MJ Lenderman’s “Manning Fireworks” was one of my favorite albums of 2024, so I would have gone to his Cleveland show on Tuesday regardless.

But the lure of checking out a new concert venue was at least half of the appeal when I bought my ticket last December.

Globe Iron opened earlier this month on the West Bank of The Flats. The building started as an iron works foundry in the 19th century and more recently was used for different dance clubs, such as Metropolis.

The 1,200-capacity performance space has been renovated to look as if it’s been stripped down to its bones — lots of exposed brick and heavy wood beams — although I’m guessing the foundry workers didn’t have multiple bars to choose from on their lunch break.

It looks cool, but I was apprehensive. All those hard surfaces seemed like a recipe for amplified sound ricocheting off of those bricks and creating echo-y acoustics.

I’m not sure what kind of wizardry the designers managed, but the space sounded great on Tuesday. Except for a spin of its record on Spotify the night before the show, I’d never heard opening act This Is Lorelei before, but it was easy to hear Nate Amos’ lyrics in the mostly acoustic music, and that continued during Lenderman’s louder, more electric set.

Similar to Stage AE in Pittsburgh or the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, standing is the primary option. Globe Iron has a small deck at the back of the main room that offered an elevated view and what appeared to be padded bench seating that couldn’t accommodate more than a few dozen people. Considering the extra money that can be made from VIP areas, I expected it to be bigger.

It sounds like that deck could have held the whole crowd with room to spare for Lenderman’s early Cleveland gigs.

In the middle of his 23-song, 110-minute set, Lenderman asked how many people saw him when he played Mahall’s in Lakewood.

“It couldn’t have been more than five of you,” he said.

Judging by the response Tuesday, he may be outgrowing Globe Iron soon. It wasn’t sold out, but I’d estimate the crowd was around 1,000 as Lenderman and his five-piece backing band played all of “Manning Fireworks,” 10 songs from his other two albums and covers of This Is Lorelei’s “Dancing in the Club” (joined by Amos), Bob Dylan’s “Something There Is About You” and Neil Young’s “Lotta Love.”

While a Crazy Horse song might have been more expected, Lenderman covering Young certainly wasn’t out of place. It’s the artist he’s most frequently compared to with both vocal and sonic similarities. Lenderman has a faster right hand than Young ever had — it was a blur on several solos — but like Neil with the Horse, Lenderman and his band enjoy finding a groove and burrowing into it as well as exploring the textures of sound that can be created with feedback, something the band did at the end of “Bark at the Moon.”

Even when his influences are evident, he’s not simply aping his idols. Lyrically his work reflects being in his mid-20s in the 2020s. Oftentimes, those words float amiably above a more laid back groove. It’s a similar vibe to Courtney Barnett’s more recent work.

He has a likable stage presence, and I like the confidence of playing his best known song, “She’s Leaving You,” in the middle of the set instead of saving it for the end.

I wouldn’t hesitate to see Lenderman again … or to go back to Globe Iron.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com.