Shohei Muto with Koji Ueno

The pair of Shohei Muto and Koji Ueno came out for their early afternoon set at the Cafe de Paris Friday looking relatively serious — they sported all-black outfits, and the music serving as their entrance theme was a dramatic mariachi number that sounded suitable for a spaghetti Western. Yet that pose ended pretty quickly, as the two — billed as “mariachi punks” — played a loose and generally fun set from the warm venue. A decent chunk of Muto and Ueno’s performance was sent chatting with the crowd, or goofing around with one another.

As playful as Muto and Ueno’s set got, the pair still spent the bulk of their Cafe de Paris gig delivering an energetic performance. They opened with a strong strummer, the pair playing a heavy number featuring brief pauses for handclaps and a yelp or two (provided by Ueno). The duo’s character, though, came from Muto’s voice, a raspy delivery that added a gruffness and raggedness to the show, which gave even the silliest moments an edge. It was just the two of them on stage, so at one point they implored the crowd to stand in as their percussion, getting dozens in the spot to clap along. They also worked in an extended take on “Waltzing Matilda,” not necessarily the most upbeat passage of the set, but there was plenty of goofy charm to follow afterwards.