In a compact set that packed a heartfelt wallop, L.A. band Earlimart wanted to serenade a love lost too soon. “It feels like Elliott’s spirit is here,” said singer Aaron Espinoza. He was talking about the late Elliott Smith, the soft-spoken singer-songwriter, friend, and muse who, according to Espinoza, used to “weird” the band out by standing front and center at their L.A. gigs back in the early aughts. Smith, who died in 2003, inspired the sound of Earlimart’s most well-known album, Treble and Tremble, released in 2004. That album conjured Smith in its whispered, resonant lyrics and mellowed-out vibes, the sound of soft-spoken indie rock shows that filled Spaceland and other intimate venues around Echo Park and Silverlake, where I’d see them play regularly back in the day.

Celebrating the album’s 20th anniversary, Espinoza and bandmate Ariana Murray were proud to credit their late friend for its sound. Espinoza, playing at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill 25 years to the day after Smith played a show at the same venue, mentioned that they were using his old drum kit for the show that night. “I didn’t know how to say this album was in tribute to him, but now I can,” he said.

To a grateful crowd packed with friends, family, and fans, the band wore its heart on its sleeve, channeling Smith and other bands like Grandaddy and Sparklehorse—fitful, melodic bursts of guitar and keyboards and hushed vocals, building up around crescendos of shimmering indie pop. Smith would be proud. With a backing band on drums and keyboards filling out the sound, Murray and Espinoza, who’d played the Noise Pop Festival before, created a beautiful noise. “Heaven adores you,” Espinoza sang to an adoring audience, who echoed back that adoration with grateful applause.

They were supported by Fime, an L.A. band originally from the Bay Area, who made a riff-heavy, melodic racket of their own, reminiscent of Letters to Cleo. The duo Poppy Patica started the night off with their self-proclaimed “odd-rock” and slightly askew indie vibes. It all portended a night full of nostalgic, guitar-driven sounds that had us thanking our lucky stars for the magic of live music that night.