POP REVIEW : Miracle Legion Sheds Album Image

Even if Miracle Legion’s performance on Tuesday at the Whisky hadn’t been so aurally exciting, it would deserve some sort of prize for providing one of the year’s most memorable visual moments: singer Mark Mulcahy, clad in a full-length, see-through gold lame gown, combat boots and a ratty suit jacket, fronting 15 very respectable-looking members of the Crenshaw District’s Friendship Choir.

The choir’s contribution to the “Waiting Room” (reprising its appearance on that song from Miracle Legion’s most recent album, “Drenched”) was almost imperceptible live, but that was about the only part of the record that got lost in the translation to the stage.

On the contrary, the veteran Connecticut band’s performance often improved upon “Drenched,” shedding some of the busyness of its production and arrangements and devoting more attention to the emotional guitar playing of Mr. Ray Neal (the Mr. is mandatory).

The result was a sound closer to the band’s original R.E.M.-like roots of nearly a decade ago than to today’s ambitious but less accessible mix of instruments and ideas. Over the years Mulcahy has honed his appealingly nasal vocals to a purr, effectively setting off the more politically and socially aware lyrics of the group’s recent material.