“We’ve been in Ann Arbor before!” announced Rachael Price, lead singer of Lake Street Dive, at the band’s performance Wednesday night at the Michigan Theater. “We played The Ark way back when -- was anyone here at that show?” One or two members of the crowd hooted. “That seems about right,” said Price with a laugh. “Because that’s about the number of people who were at that show.”

Since then, Lake Street Dive’s star has risen rapidly. The four-member band filled the Michigan Theater, and Lake Street Dive has been touring almost constantly for the past year and a half, simultaneously promoting its acclaimed 2016 album, Side Pony, and bringing some of their overlooked older work back to the stage.

Named after a street of dive bars in guitarist and trumpeter Mike “McDuck” Olson’s hometown of Minneapolis, Lake Street Dive has been together since 2004, after meeting at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Price, Olson, upright bass player Bridget Kearney, and drummer Mike Calabrese all dabbled in other projects while working on Lake Street Dive’s first, self-titled album, released in 2010. Afterward, they mutually agreed to commit more strongly to the band and touring, and the foursome spent much of 2013 and 2014 on the road, especially after the release of its 2014 album, Bad Self Portraits, which earned them increasing fame. It seems now that with every tour stop, Lake Street Dive is able to fill bigger and bigger venues.

Although Price’s powerful jazz-influenced vocals are the first thing anyone will notice about the band, Lake Street Dive does an excellent job highlighting each member’s talents in live shows. Calabrese, Kearney, and Olson all performed solos on their respective instruments at various points throughout Wednesday’s show. Kearney’s extended solo on her upright bass, fingers flying up and down the larger-than-her instrument, was a particular crowd pleaser (although this Pulp reviewer could have done without multiple people shouting “slappin' de bass!” over the course of it).

A noteworthy addition to Lake Street Dive on this tour is electric keyboardist Akie Bermiss, which allowed the band to play some of its songs more robustly than was possible only as a quartet.

Now with three albums under its collective belt -- and increased confidence in playing older songs that many fans aren’t familiar with -- Lake Street Dive's repertoire has expanded significantly since its early years. The Michigan Theater concert was a mix of songs from all three albums. Still, the band kicked off the show with fan favorite “Bad Self Portraits” and worked in lots of its most popular songs, including the danceable “Side Pony” and “Rabid Animal.”

“You Go Down Smooth,” “Godawful Things,” and “Saving All My Sinning” all allowed Price to show off her wildly impressive vocals. Before playing “Mistakes,” off Bad Self Portraits, Price revealed that she had started writing the song in Ann Arbor. Kearney jumped in: “It was my birthday and my mom had baked me a cake and sent it along with us on tour. After our show in Ann Arbor, Rachael found herself standing out in the cold at the back of the van just eating my cake by the handful.” Price laughed ruefully. “And that’s the origin of the line, ‘Look at my mistakes,’” she said as the crowd cackled.

Lake Street Dive has delighted fans for years with jazzy covers of popular, older songs like the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl.” On this night, Lake Street Dive delved deep into the past to bring out its cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It,” off the band's 2012 EP of covers, Fun Machine. Price also taught the crowd the chorus of one of the band's early tunes, “My Speed,” so all could sing along with the final song of the encore.

One of the most fun things about seeing Lake Street Dive perform has always been how different each band member is and yet how cohesive and close-knit a unit they appear to be, both onstage and off. Frontwoman Price is often clad in something unique and glamorous; on Wednesday it was a pair of iridescent maroon leather overalls and sparkly platform shoes. Meanwhile, drummer Calabrese offers up the antithesis with a Springsteen-like sweat bandana, white T-shirt, and bare feet. Calabrese and Kearney invest their entire bodies into their instruments, along with extravagant facial expressions, and it's hard to tear your eyes away from them. Olson is almost comical in his opposition to all this -- audiences are lucky if he makes eye contact with them even once during a show, let alone cracks a smile. When introduced, his signature move is a slight wave and a subdued nod of the head, immediately turning his attention back to his trumpet or guitar.

Despite their differences in appearance and personality, the closeness that (ideally) comes with spending 15 years together is apparent among Lake Street Dive members. They’re friends first, bandmates second. In fact, they were planning what to do for Olson’s birthday before the Ann Arbor show. “I woke up to a text stream this morning,” said Kearney between songs. “Rachael had texted us saying, ‘It’s McDuck’s birthday tomorrow and even though he usually likes to be alone on his days off, I really think we should make an exception and plan a surprise for him since it’s a special day.’” She pauses. “The next text was from McDuck saying, “Um, I’m on this thread.’”

As the audience laughed, even Olson had to grin.

Elizabeth Pearce is a Library Technician at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Lake Street Dive continues its tour over the coming weeks, which began in Portland, Maine, and ends in Los Angeles at the end of March. The band will spend the summer playing various music festivals and jazz events. And perhaps Lake Street Dive will get a chance to break out that "Rich Girl" cover when it plays Aspen, Colorado, on September 1 with Hall & Oates.