"This is the best Christmas I ever had," a fan sitting at the table to my left yelled at the Lake Street Dive show last Tuesday night. His comment was in response to the evening's ongoing joke initiated by trumpeter and guitarist Mike Olson, who commented on the sold-out Tuesday night show as feeling like Christmas.

In many ways, the concert at Club Passim in Cambridge was a lot like Christmas, making the opener, Billy Wylder, the Christmas Eve of the night. According to Lake Street Dive singer Rachael Price, the four-piece band had only played three or four times prior to this show. It warmed up the crowd in the small, homey club with its upbeat rhythms on the guitar, mandolin, bass, fiddle and harmonica. The band's music was reminiscent of country music from another time with a bluegrass twang. My favorite song of the band's set was about a lost love and the lead singer's reflection of that love, lying in the grass with his "feet in the sky." Billy Wylder's set was short but exciting in the way that Christmas Eve often is with the promise of Santa's visit.

As I waited for Lake Street Dive to step onto the small stage a few feet from my table, I noticed familiar faces in the room. We were all regular Lake Street Dive concertgoers—essentially groupies. The band has gained a following in the Boston area due to their strong live performances. The band opened its set with "Neighbor Song." The slow song is a fitting introduction to lead singer Rachael Price's powerful, sultry voice. She started off the song as if she was telling her close friend a story, and as the song progressed, decided she needs everyone to hear the story as she belts out, "I can hear my neighbors making love upstairs." Along the way, Olson responded to Price's story with caressing trumpet solos. This is only the first Christmas morning gift.

The night's second song, "Hello? Goodbye!" offered swinging drum beats by Mike Calabrese, Bridgett Kearney's moving bass, Olson's trumpet solos and Price's scatting.

In between songs, Price made the audience laugh with jokes and anecdotes. She talked about the sexual tension between the characters Mulder and Scully on the 1990s television show The X Files as the inspiration for the song "Don't Make Me Hold Your Hand," written by Olson. In this song, he played guitar with the same talent he had on the trumpet.

At that point in the evening, I felt restricted by the table covered in delights from Veggie Planet, a vegetarian restaurant in Harvard Square, in front of me. I could not help but move, even if that just meant bopping my head up and down and swaying my shoulders, and I noticed that the rest of the audience felt similarly.

Price's music is something that should be experienced live. Her voice commands attention, and, as clichéd as it sounds, it gives you chills. In the middle of the song "Don't Make Me Hold Your Hand," the instruments stopped and Price sang, accompanied by Calabrese's backing vocals as they belted out, "Why won't you let me love you?" The instruments paused, allowing the small audience to hear the power and precision in Price's voice.

The group went on to sing "Henrietta," "My Heart's in Its Right Place" and "Elijah," among others, from its self-titled third album and songs from their second album, Promises, Promises. Lake Street Dive also played a few covers: "Faith," by George Michael and Roy Orbison's "This Magic Moment."

Sadly, Christmas always has to end. The show finally closed with the encore performance of the song "Got Me Fooled," which calls for group participation during the line, "tapes and some Thai food." The song reminds me of an Aretha Franklin, "Respect"-esque Motown song.

Hearing Lake Street Dive perform, it is clear that Price, Olson, Kearney and Calabrese's strength as a group is their musicality. Coming from the New England Conservatory, all four are fine-tuned musicians. Yet what distinguishes them even more is that, while it is clear that they take their music seriously, they have fun while playing it. They are interactive with the crowd but dance onstage as if no one is watching them and as if they are completely immersed in their music.

The band's sound is unique in its combination of elements from genres that are completely familiar—classic Americana, pop music and soul, along with unique elements of country and jazz.

The group will release an EP of covers sometime in December when they return to play at the Lizard Lounge. In an interview with justArts, the band said that they will be playing some Fleetwood Mac covers when they return. The band has played covers at every live show I have seen them. Calabrese says that the ideas of which songs to cover often come to them on tour when they are driving from city to city, and that, although oftentimes they just stumble onto them, the songs are hard to choose.

"[Price] is definitely instrumental in making that call," Olson says, explaining that the decision is heavily based on music as opposed to which songs are, for example, the most fun or will provoke the biggest responses.

This band is really one that needs to be seen live. Although I do also recommend their albums, the band's live show is fantastic. Lake Street Dive performs around Boston frequently; as Price says, "Boston is the band's home." But for those of you bogged down with books, theses, clubs, etc., I encourage you to get the band's newest live release of their performance at the Lizard Lounge. Of course, I also encourage everyone to see them live.

Dive shows, for me, are a staple of my Boston experience, and it was great to start this semester off with them at Passim.