“It feels really good!” Rhye frontman Mike Milosh said that after him and his band – regular member Robin Hannibal, along with a few other musicians in tow – finished a stretched-out version of their song “The Fall.” Milosh at times seemed nervous on the Red Marquee stage Friday afternoon – Rhye do not perform often, and are very persnickety about maintaining an air of privacy around the project. That, and they are just a really new act, let alone one that has had many chances to perform live. Yet Friday afternoon, Rhye proved that not only are they capable of handling a live stage, but of taking their music and making it stand out even more live.

On album, most of Rhye’s music is shadowy and intimate, the aural equivalent of a lover whispering things into your ear. Those sort of numbers could work in a smoky club, but Fuji Rock requires something bigger. So Rhye stretched out their songs, turning them into larger creations with new segments and flourishes. The already-rhythmic “Last Dance” lasted longer and featured a killer trombone solo. “Open,” nearly hushed on record, was given added thump. The aforementioned “The Fall” was way longer, and featured moments of ecstatic noise and near silence, all parts adding more drama to the track. They at one point had everyone snapping along with them.

Oh, equally spellbinding – Milosh’s voice, a high-pitched thing that he controls magnificently, wringing out all sort of emotion from it. It wowed the crowd from the get go, and whatever doubts Milosh had at times (“It’s so hot in here, is it always so hot?”) were erased when he sang. It felt really good.