Deb Talan and Steve Tannen of folk duo The Weepies had just launched into heart-melter "Gotta Have You", when they noticed their three-year-old son, Theo, in the VIP balcony above. Both parents abruptly stopped their guitar picking to smile and wave up at Theo from their onstage chairs. "Great, now I'm nervous," cracked Tannen.

Not shockingly, the audience (overwhelmingly young and female) responded to this whole display with a collective "awwww..." usually reserved for the sight of baby kittens in Snuggies bounding across a gumdrop meadow.

Of course, taking issue with the crushing adorability of The Weepies in concert is like watching a Saw marathon and complaining there's too much torture. Call it cute or twee or cloying, but it's simply an innate part of what Talan and Tannen do-lyrically, melodically, and even in their stagecraft. When's the last time you saw a giant mobile of stars hanging from the rafters at a show?

Following a successful full-band circuit supporting their last record (Be My Thrill) The Weepies opted for an acoustic tour for summer 2011, showcasing material from both members' solo careers as well as their four studio albums. At the 9:30 Club in D.C. on Monday, older tunes like Talan's "Ashes On Your Eyes" and Tannen's "San Francisco" offered the audience vibrant examples of two accomplished songwriters' back catalogs.

Gently plucking their way through 26 songs (plus an encore) in under two hours, The Weepies' set dialed in on the lovelorn ("Nobody Knows Me", "How Will He Find Me") and the lovey-dovey ("Be My Honeypie", "Sunny Days"). The acoustic guitars, stripped down arrangements, and intimate atmosphere of the 9:30 Club all complemented such selections. In between songs, Tannen noted that most of their catalog originated as "living room songs...or bedroom songs, depending on how things go." Their show felt a little like both.

Setlist: