“We never really broke up. We sort of drifted, like a cloud,” Juliana Hatfield explained to the small-but-mighty gathering at the Belly Up Tavern.

Comprised of Hatfield on vocals/guitar, Dean Fisher on bass, and Todd Phillips on drums, the newly reunited Juliana Hatfield Three celebrated the 21st anniversary of their iconic 1993 album, Become What You Are.

The band kicked off its set with the album’s title track, followed by “Supermodel” and “My Sister.” Throughout the night, the sheer happiness of the audience was palpable, from fans lined up at the front of the stage, to those peppered throughout the Belly Up. Everyone was elated to sing along to every Become What You Are track — and not just to the hit singles.

After performing the album in its entirety, the band returned with the fast-paced “What a Life” for its first encore. Although some of the crowd’s energy had dissipated, one could argue that this helped give the notoriously shy Hatfield some breathing room, without so many eyes fixated on every pluck of the guitar and every personal lyric sung.

“Thanks a lot… We’ll see you in a couple of decades,” Hatfield told the crowd after the final encore. Hopefully, this won’t be true and we’ll see them return to fully perform more from Whatever, My Love the next time around.

Local favorites The Burning of Rome turned in a lively opening set and once again reminding everyone why they receive all the attention they do — with plenty of hair flips and over-the-top rock and roll antics.

Photos: Juliana Hatfield at the Belly Up

The Burning of Rome