Sure New York is a town full of insane rents, overpriced beer, and overrated delis but it’s also full of unparalleled opportunities for musical moments that just don’t exist anywhere else. One of those took place last night as Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit snuck in sorta secret acoustic set at The Living Room in the Lower East Side in advance of Friday’s show at The Bowery Ballroom.

Isbell made his name as the third guitarist and songwriter in the Drive by Truckers, more than holding his own against the bands acclaimed lyricists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood. The circumstances around the split are still disputed but now on his own what can’t be disputed is his evolution as a front man in his own right.

Last week saw the release of his second album in the two years since the split and the record reflects both the growth and cohesion of his new band and the time he has had to sit down and develop its tracks. Since leaving the Truckers, Isbell has cultivated a more bluesy rock sound that belies his Muscle Shoals roots; the kind of sound sort of sneaks up on you like suddenly realizing the band playing in the background at the bar has a lot better stories to tell you than the guy you were talking to.

The show found Isbell and the band a little more than a week into an album promoting tour lasting till May, and tonight reflected the excitement of a band just getting started. A private show, with almost no promotion the only way to get in The Living Room’s intimate performance space was be one of the lucky ten winners on his website lotto or finagle an invite which made for a small but devoted audience.

The band played a semi acoustical fifty-minute set, bassist Jimbo Hart and keyboardist Derry deBorja stayed plugged in, that appropriate focused on new material. Emotional songs like “Streetlights” and “Cigarettes and Wine” benefited from the acoustic guitars and personal setting but the highlight of the late evening set was clearly the new song “Soldiers Get Strange” about veterans back from Iraq now fighting with PTSD backed up against “Dress Blues” a song about a friend of his who didn’t come back from Iraq at all, released on his previous album, Sirens in the Ditch.

They rounded off the friendly performance in typical Isbell fashion with a cover song, this one “Just to Know What You’ve Been Dreaming” by Will Johnson of Centro-Matic. It was a loose version due to the fact it was the first time anyone in the group other than Isbell and guitarist Browan Lollar had ever played it, but it reflected the comfort level both of the band with itself and with their audience.

It will present a fun comparison to Thursday’s plugged in and amped up show at The Bowery Ballroom.

Full setlist below:

Sunstroke
Streetlights
Soldiers Get Strange
Dress Blues
Seven Mile Island
Last Song
Cigarettes and Wine
Chicago Promenade
Just to Know What You’ve Been Dreaming*

*Will Johnson cover