On a chilly spring night in Olympia, Washington, Des Ark arrived at the Northern and put on a show to remember, well worth the lack of sleep I was risking by attending on a work night.

The opening band was Olympia’s All Green Lights, and they put on a charming set that included a little girl in a tutu providing lead vocals. Pygmy Lush were next up, and the crowd (as well as the other bands on the bill) enjoyed their folk punk melodies. When Des Ark Came on, Chris from Pygmy Lush jumped on stage and shared a mic with Aimée Argote, backing her up on vocals. Aimée has a strong on-stage presence and excellent chemistry with Noah Howard. They would lock eyes and meet center stage, as if drawn by a magnetic field, and pressed their bodies against each other as they tore at their instruments. It wasn’t choreographed, it wasn’t staged; it was just raw, passionate, and real.

The highlight of the show happened when Argote shouted out, asking Chris if she could borrow an acoustic guitar — she’d decided to play a quiet tune. As she hopped down off the venue’s creaky stage, she said, with laughter in her voice, “This is like a play; everyone’s quiet, everything’s creaking…” The crowd spread out to give the two performers breathing room, and I stepped up onto the stage to get a better view. The drummer played the violin as Aimée strummed her guitar and sang sans-mic at a heartbreaking timbre.

It was one of those moments at a show when everyone is fully under the spell of the performer, the crowd silent and attentive. After the duo finished playing two songs, the quiet was shredded by enthusiastic applause. I felt as though I wanted to give a standing ovation, but couldn’t because I was already on my feet.

Olympia’s Gun Outfit closed out the evening, playing older tunes, as well as some new ones. They blew out a few cables, and I had some difficulty hearing the vocals due to problems with the levels, but overall it was a strong set. I headed off into the night with my ears ringing and a smile on my face, and I’ve been listening to the Des Ark’s album Don’t Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker nonstop ever since.