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Over the course of human history, hundreds upon thousands of roaring rock bands and awkward dancers have attempted to "raise the roof." For the band Punch Brothers, however, it knows raising the roof is just a bit out of range for its particular brand of old-school pluck-happy folk factory tunes – and, for that matter, that it can be hard for a band to do anything less than rock out at a festival like Summerfest (just ask Bastille, who tried for just one song to slow things down with a piano ballad, only for the EDM act next door to go all Michael Bay and immediately explode gallons of confetti, lasers and bass into the air).

So Punch Brothers tried something different and set their goals somewhere new Friday night at the BMO Harris Pavilion. As the five band members crowded around a single mic, preparing to do the traditional Irish a cappella folk tune "The Auld Triangle" (which the band performed for the Coen Brothers’ "Inside Llewyn Davis" two years back), lead singer and maniacal mandolinist Chris Thile said their mission was not to raise the roof, but "tap the roof," delicately nudging the ceiling with his pointer fingers. "Can we make that a thing, Milwaukee, for folk bands at loud rock festivals?" he asked afterward.

Well, congratulations Punch Brothers; you tapped the roof Friday night at Summerfest. And then some.

Don’t let the nice suits and ties confuse you; Punch Brothers are a no-frills old-fashioned folk band, playing an energetic set list full of both original tunes and traditional numbers showing little to no resemblance to the rock-ified boom-clap sound and furious roaring crescendos of Mumford & Sons and other folk rock groups Punch Brothers is often lassoed in with.

The Brooklyn-based modern bluegrass band is instead all about its vigorous and plucky classically-inspired instrumentation, and for 90 minutes, that sent the half-filled but fully appreciative BMO Harris Pavilion crowd (which included members of Wisconsin's own PHOX, whose lead singer Monica Martin even joined opener Shakey Graves on stage earlier in the evening) into an entertained tizzy.

All of the band’s skills were on display right from the opening number, "My Oh My." All five strumming bandmates played tightly together though at the same time relaxed. Each member would take the lead for a bit, then ably passing the baton back and forth – from Madison’s own Paul Kowert and his stand-up bass to Noam Pikelny on the banjo to Gabe Witcher’s fiddle then back again – with Thile’s mandolin working as the plucky glue keeping all the parts together. The strong audio mix made sure each individual string instrument was accounted for. Combine that with the band’s rich vocal harmonies, and the opener made for some lovely, loose-limbed folk music.

Punch Brothers quickly charged into several more songs, bounding from instrumentals to originals to traditionals – many of which about that most favorite of old-timey folk topics: the apocalypse. No matter the type of song (or the grim subject matter) the band kept the energy up, so much so I could feel myself getting carpal tunnel merely watching Thile and company plink, fiddle and plunk up and down their instruments’ necks. 

That’s not even including Thile’s on-stage presence. Even though the frontman’s mandolin leaves his upper body mostly tight and compact, his charisma is anything but. He constantly turkey strutted around the stage in his suit like a gentleman tyrannosaurus rex, and his playful facial reactions during "This Girl" early in the set added to the fun vibe of the fiddle-ful tune.

Even though it’d been two years since the band’s last Milwaukee visit, his on-stage banter still showed familiarity with the crowd, coyly commenting in the early goings, "Oh, I think this is going to be fun," and later asking, "Why don’t we do this every week?" It was certainly several steps above the usual salutations, and when Thile would look over the crowd, he seemed genuinely taken aback and appreciative of the vocal audience turnout.

Speaking of familiarity, after a brief playful greeting from Pikelny, "Familiarity" was the next song on deck, ironically a change of pace from the manic strumming of the first several numbers. The new song off the band’s recent record "The Phosphorescent Blues" played more like dreamscape folk, the mandolin turned twinkling, delicately waterfalling through notes, while a booming drum made its first appearance of the night. Even with the escalating finale, the song serves as a nice contrasting mellow, folk that evoked floating peacefully down a river rather than evoking Mark Twain providing the manic soundtrack to a Hollywood car chase (a later dreamy attempt near the end of the show, "Julep," didn’t seem to work as well, with several folks taking their seats).

It wasn’t long, however, before the Punch Brothers’ rollicking hoedown picked back up with even more peppy originals ("Rye Whiskey"), spirited traditional covers (The Seldom Scene’s "Through the Bottom of the Glass," complete with Kowert impressively crawling his fingers all the way down to his bass’s bridge) and inspired classic instrumentals. For instance, I highly doubt any other Summerfest show will be busting out a cover of turn of the 19th century impressionistic French composer Claude Debussy. Just a guess.

After attempting "the nearly unattemptable" "Auld Triangle" – and mostly succeeding saving for missing a bit on the low end – Punch Brothers rounded out the gig with "New York City," "Julep" and the rocking finale "Magnet." And even though the Pavilion was a little more than just half full, the crowd enthusiastically earned its encore of "Little Lights," hamstrung a bit by a very long attempted sing-along but not enough to dampen the song’s explosive ending. Nor was it enough to dampen the entire performance, which snappily and successfully turned the Pavilion into something sonically resembling the BMO Harris Barnyard.

You could even say they tapped the roof.