William Elliot Whitmore returned to Minneapolis Friday night to promote his upcoming disc Animal in the Dark with a show at the Varsity Theater. Animal in the Dark, his fifth album of stomping folk music and revivalist banjo and acoustic stompers, is his first on the Anti Record label. Whitmore made light of the fact that the cozy confines of the lushly decorated theater was a stark difference than his previous gigs in Minneapolis at the more desolate rooms of the 400 bar and the Triple Rock.

Longtime fans of Whitmore won’t be surprised that he stayed true to his style and had his whiskey and beer combo sitting next to him as he ran through his stirring blues and folk songs spanning his entire catalog. The seated crowd, who skewed younger and many of whom were there strictly to see the headliners Canadian upstart band City and Colour, quickly warmed to the funny story telling and the rousing songs Whitmore played over the course of his 45 minute set. The last half of the set was dedicated to crowd requests, and Whitmore found more than enough fans who wanted to hear their favorite songs amply fill his allotted time. Highlights from the set included his new song “Who Stole the Soul”, bruising balled “Take it on the Chin”, “Diggin’ My Grave” and the rousing set closer “Black Iowa Dirt.”

Over the course of his short opening set, Whitmore managed to not only gain the attention of the capacity crowd at the Varsity, but win them over with his grizzled songs and his down to earth story telling. Hopefully he will be coming back through (at a more appropriate venue) in a headlining slot in the near future. If he does, do yourself a favor and check him out, and look for his great new record, ‘Animals in the Dark’, coming out February 17th.

Review by Josh Keller