In an evening punctuated by dry, witty banter (the bandleader's) and sparkling instrumental flourishes (the band's), Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester reincarnated popular favorites of the 1920s and 30s with panache and humor.

Skillfully employing a single arched eyebrow and a smooth, candy-coated baritone, band leader Raabe opened Friday's concert at Overture Hall with a seamless five-song set. In the "Overture Presents" season, their stop in Madison was part of the "Tonight or Never" tour, a title taken from the first song in the set, "Heute Nacht oder nie."

The Palast Orchester premiered in Berlin in 1987. Since then, they have recorded 20 albums focusing on the popular music of the pre-World War II years, or the Weimar period in Germany. A 2004 performance in Carnegie Hall spurred an enthusiastic critical and popular reception.

Raabe and his group embrace nostalgia without sentimentality. They played the songs of the 20s and 30s "in the arrangements of the 20s and 30s," Raabe said, making it sound novel, which perhaps it is.

"Singing in the Rain" -- not the big band version made famous by Gene Kelly, Raabe insisted, the slightly less showy dance band version -- was utterly charming. "Cheek to Cheek" was delightful as well, featuring string trio Cecilia Crisafulli and Ulrich Hoffmeier on violin and Jorn Ranke on viola.

Crisafulli, the only female in the talented 12-piece band, was featured on several numbers, including the lovely "Du bist nicht die Erste." Most of the performers played multiple instruments, switching from saxophone to clarinet or trombone to viola with ease.

The orchestra's playing was expressive and clever. The group's sense of humor livened up numbers like "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" and "Mein kleiner gruner Kaktus." Two tributes to Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, "Moon of Alabama" (the "show me the way to the next whiskey bar" song) and "Tango-Ballade," opened the second half with fun and familiarity.

Raabe's sonorous, subtly accented voice melts in the ears on pieces like "Dream a Little Dream" and the piano-voice duet "Liebesleid." Never overpowering, scooping up to notes with excellent control, he led the orchestra in turning Overture Hall into a 1930s dance hall.

Some of the evening's missteps were ultimately part of its charm. Raabe re-started one number after a very visible missed word, cutting off the orchestra and confessing, "It seems there was a mistake." And though the first half seemed more energetic than the second, some exceptions, like "Dort tanzt Lulu" earned the group multiple standing ovations.

Aided by the able music direction of Bernd Frank and the artful lighting design of Dirk Lehmann, the rest of the "Tonight or Never" tour is sure to be a success.

by Lindsay Christians