Watching Chris Wood attack his upright bass onstage is a thing of beauty, and Oliver Wood’s honey-warm vocals and chopping, dance-inspiring rhythms on his beat up old National guitar aren’t far behind. Last Friday night, The Wood Brothers played to a near capacity crowd at The Stone Church in Newmarket. It was the duo’s third time at the venerable old room on the hill, and their second visit since the release of their excellent Blue Note Records debut, “Ways Not to Lose.”

Far from the self-indulgent wank-a-thons put on by lesser players, the pair display the kind of discipline and restraint that can only come from the countless tour dates each brother has logged with their respective projects. Chris Wood is the “Wood” in Medeski, Martin and Wood, and Oliver put in time touring the South with the blues/jazz outfit King Johnson. On Friday, they offered heartfelt and lively versions of the rootsy Americana/blues songs from their CD, like the brilliant “Tried and Tempted” and the up-tempo jumper “Atlas,” without straying or stretching the arrangements too much. That said, when it came time for bassist Chris to show his stuff, he did so with gusto. Lordy, the man is simply world class. Oliver sat for the set, closing his eyes and swaying his head gently as he sang. Chris seemed like Oliver’s secret weapon until about three quarters through the show when Oliver grabbed his electric and the duo started to stretch out a few songs, with Oliver turning himself loose on some truly tasteful and skilled soloing. The Brothers sure make a big beautiful noise for two guys, and there was enough of a beat to keep some of the mostly college-age crowd dancing in the free space. Most clearly had come via Chris’s MMW fame and were (unbelievably) a little chatty at some points, but they ate up the music nonetheless. The boys were called out for two genuine encores to end the magical night.