On the last night of a three-day swing through Montana, Asleep at the Wheel didn't seem too fazed by the mellow Monday night crowd that filled the lower section of the Babcock Theater.

With a "aw, good evening, friends," Ray Benson and the band took the stage promptly at 8 p.m. and kicked off the night with the Bob Wills classic "Miles and Miles of Texas."

Benson is an imposing figure on stage, his tall frame and huge hands making his custom Fender Strat (featuring an inlay in the shape of Texas) look like a miniature guitar.

Although initially he seemed stoic, Benson's showmanship and humor throughout the night complimented the stellar music.

He apoligized for the change in dates, saying "I was either pregnant or getting married, I don't know."

Toward the end of the set, he also showed off his juggling skills, and even played a solo with his guitar behind his head, finishing it with some Pete Townshend windmills.

Benson has assembled a supremely talented group of musicians, featuring Elizabeth McQueen on rhythm guitar and sharing lead vocal duties, and multi-talented steel guitarist Eddie Rivers, who took two turns on saxaphone during the band's nearly 2-hour set.

AATW may be known as a quintessential Western swing band and bearers of the Bob Wills torch, but Benson was unafraid to experiment with sounds throughout the set, like the jazz fusion turn at the end of their standard set piece "Hot Rod Lincoln."

They also played a number of Willie Nelson songs in honor of their latest release, "Willie and the Wheel," although Nelson couldn't make it, Benson noted, "because he was never supposed to be here in the first place."

AATW and Nelson are scheduled to tour together in support of the album this December through California and the Southwest.

The crowd was appreciative but restrained, and it was strange to see a dance band with no dancers in front of the stage.

Things heated up at the end of the set with favorites like "Big Balls in Cowtown," but the audience was reluctant to leave their seats.

The standing ovation at the end of the show brought out the band for three more songs, and with some prodding, finally filled the dancefloor for the last song of the night.