Kathleen Edwards at the Music Mill in Indianapolis

Near the end of her set Wednesday at the Music Mill, Kathleen Edwards pranced onto the stage with a birthday cake for Jim Bryson, a keyboard player and guitarist in her band. But when Bryson tried to cut the cake, the knife Edwards had given him got stuck; the cake was made of ice cream and it was frozen. Edwards could barely control her laughter.

The spunky young singer's show was filled with mirth. Edwards joked with the crowd throughout the evening; at one point a loud audience member started plugging presidential candidate Barack Obama. Edwards grinned and said she didn't give a shit about Obama or American politics because she's from Canada.

She also had a bit of fun with her husband, guitarist Colin Cripps, when she announced that she and the band would be flying back to Canada in a few days to make a music video for "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory," a tune Edwards wrote for Bryson. Edwards seemed delighted when she said the video will give her an opportunity to kiss Marty McSorley, the hockey thug who's prominently name-checked in the song's lyrics.

Mostly, though, Edwards expressed her joy through her music. Every few minutes, Edwards sidled up to Cripps or Bryson to jam. The move's a rock 'n' roll cliche, perhaps, but it seemed sweet and genuine when Edwards did it. She clearly loves playing with her band.

She's a good musician, too. That's the thing that surprised me the most about the show. I knew the sweet twang of Edwards' voice had the power to mesmerize a crowd, but I didn't remember her using a guitar to do the same when I saw her a couple of years ago. Edwards isn't as polished a guitarist as Cripps, but she's clearly more than just a rhythm guitarist these days. She also displayed some virtuosity on the fiddle and harmonica.

Edwards also impressed me with the pacing of the show. She opened with the lovely, almost ethereal, "Mercury," and slowed the tempo for other beauties such as "Asking for Flowers," "Alicia Ross" and "Goodbye California." Between them, she rocked the house with songs such as "6 O'Clock News," "12 Bellevue" and "The Cheapest Key."

As Edwards and the band left the stage, Bryson held the knife above his head, the ice cream cake still attached. Edwards laughed again, of course. Cindy and I did, too ... all the way back to Lafayette. Go see Edwards and her band if you get a chance. I guarantee she'll put a smile on your face.