After a beguiling opening set from Me Lost Me, Deerhoof are eager to get things going, starting approximately six minutes early. Main man/drummer Greg Saunier later explains that this is to allow him more time to hold forth on subjects like the sound quality from the monitors and simply “lights.” But the energy and joy coming from the band during the opening ‘Future Teenage Cave Artists’ makes it seem more likely they just couldn’t wait to bring their strange, avant-pop compositions to a packed house at The Caves.

The dual guitars from John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez skew a little heavier than you might expect, but they’re more than matched by Saunier’s near-constant clattering. Satomi Matsuzaki has always been something of the Deerhoof secret weapon, her voice switching from delicate to screech to deadpan on the turn of a sixpence (not to mention the flailing dance moves). The commitment to reinvention has been another hallmark of the band over the past thirty years, and the set tonight showcases the breadth of their abilities. Though most songs are post-2010, they can do hardcore shredding and feather-light indie-folk with equal aplomb.

Older favourites do appear in the form ‘+81’, ‘My Purple Past’ and the chaotic melodies of ‘Milk Man.’ But these songs fit in seamlessly with newer cuts like ‘Kingtoe’ and ‘Sparrow Sparrow,’ the abrupt tonal and tempo shifts becoming the norm rather than the exception. So when a reasonably straightforward song like ‘Life is Suffering’ appears it’s almost jarring in its verse-chorus-verse normality.

Saunier is his usual verbose self, drawing out each thought with Mitch Hedberg levels of meticulous forethought and difficulty. In the quest to achieve perfection there are asks on the sound desk and lights operators, but delivered more like charmingly pained apologies rather than requests. Dieterich breaks a guitar string late on, but is unable to fix it during the encore break as security won’t let him back stage. It matters not a jot – furious strumming commences and cuts off Saunier before his next diatribe.

Ultimately Deerhoof are the rare indie-rock institution that buck the trend towards complacency and retreading old ground, especially among acts in their fourth decade. They’ve moved relentlessly forward and never cared much for mainstream trends. That they can do that on record for twenty albums and then still seem so excited to share their music with audiences around the world is truly miracle-level.