Cold reception Let’s set the scene: It’s Tuesday night at the Exit/In. The Cold War Kids, darlings of the music blogosphere, have just rolled into town, a mere five days after getting bitch-slapped by Pitchfork. How would the indie masses react? Everyone pretends they don’t care about Pitchfork, but we would argue its insidious influence plants tiny seeds of doubt in indie heads: maybe this band isn’t as amazing as I thought they were, maybe their sound is a little redundant, maybe my jeans aren’t quite skinny enough. Adding to the drama was the fact that the tour’s headliner, The Futureheads, had cancelled because of injury, abandoning CWK to venues bigger than they could have booked otherwise. All this was enough to set our little music-nerd brains atwitter, but we got little more than your average Nashville night out: solid performance met by a relatively thin crowd, crossed arms, a healthy dose of skepticism and one very excited muscle-bound super fan. Truth be told, the evening standout might have been opener Swearing at Motorists. Led by songwriter Dave Doughman and his high kicks, this guitar-drums duo muscled through quirky, dynamic, emotionally direct tunes. But both acts were a testament to the power of “putting on a show”: Cold War Kids bounded around the stage bobbing, weaving and even bumping into each other. Frontman Nathan Willett’s rangy voice is an arresting tool and he puts it to good work on his band’s soulful, idiosyncratic rock songs. The verdict on Cold War Kids: perhaps not up to the buzz (but what band is?), but definitely not deserving of the classic Pitchfork “let me use this record as a soapbox to deride everything that is currently pissing me off about indie rock” beat-down. That song “Hospital Beds” is pretty sweet, and they get extra points for being one of the best live bands we’ve seen in a while. So...let’s say...8.1. (If they had an Asian chick in the band it would have been higher). Tween town We’re kind of sad we missed the all-ages portion of The Pink Spiders’ double-set show last Wednesday night at Mercy Lounge—nothing like googly-eyed 14-year-olds to perk up your hump day. We did witness the last five minutes of the first set, where an enthusiastic, pink-outfitted throng pressed up to the front of the stage aiming to get as close as possible to their favorite pop-punkers. Meanwhile, their parents hung at the back of the club, probably anxious to get home in time for LOST. According to guitarist Ben Brown and drummer Neil Mason of Bang Bang Bang, their own set of muscular Southern rock was greeted with something more akin to slack-jawed confusion. “They had no idea who we were,” said Brown. It was the recent Warner Brothers signees first all-ages show, where eye contact and audience interaction sparked awkward giggles and embarrassed glances (Kelby’s hair is so hot!), as opposed to the raised beers and devil horns they’re used to. But The Spin were just in time for Bang Bang Bang’s second set. The local boys seemed no worse for the wear and pumped out an energetic set of hard-charging, beer-drinking, sing-along tunes. The Pink Spiders took the stage last, their light-lined mic stands and rosy gear in tow. (Bob Ferrari’s new pink drum kit says “Bob Ferrari” in bubble letters on the front!) Freshly returned from dates with Good Charlotte and 30 Seconds to Mars (we’d offer some Leto stories we overheard if we weren’t kind of afraid—in a recent scuffle he apparently hurt the dude from Stereogum’s finger, his blogging finger!), The Spiders were tight, loud and in high spirits. We left after “Little Razorblade,” but before Matt Friction tested out his new wireless guitar with a solo on the bar. Damn! The tweens would have loved that. !!! The Spin makes no secret of our love for The Drive-By Truckers. But if we ever again begin to question our objectivity, all we need to do is bring along a newbie. The show was moved at the last minute from War Memorial to The Cannery and the Thursday night crowd seemed a little thin—don’t know if it was the confusion or just your average Nashville blip. But that didn’t seem to bother the Truckers, as they rampaged through an over-two-hour set and sent their faithful into a frenzy. Peppering the set with songs from all six of their studio albums (and leaning heavily on the last three), Patterson Hood, Jason Isbell and Mike Cooley traded off vocal, lead guitar and backup duties. A particular, if solemn, highlight was Isbell’s unreleased wartime ballad “Dress Blues,” a song about a kid from his hometown who died in Iraq. “Mamas and grandmamas love you, ’cause that’s what they know how to do / But you never planned on bombs in the sand and sleeping in your dress blues,” he sang. During the inevitable encore interlude, members of the crowd started to chant, “One more song! One more song!” Hood came back to the stage and remarked with a chuckle, “Don’t you know us better than that!” Proving yet again the assertion that they are one of the best live bands around, the Truckers played a whole second set that included the stellar “Zip City” (Yesss!!!) and the sternum-shaking “Lookout Mountain.” As for our little canary, there to warn us if our journalistic distance was in danger, he sang the whole way home. Smash rock The rainy weather outside didn’t keep the Grand Palace extended family from turning out in droves to celebrate the release of the first 7-inch for the ’Boro label. The swagger of openers SJ & the Props and the brotherly love bomb of Jake and Jamin Orrall that is JEFF primed the crowd for a smashing set from Turncoats, including a mini-mosh during the encore. And by asking nicely, The Spin got to keep our commemorative button, instead of trading it for the record at the end of the show. Straight truth A group of comedians have banded together for a night of stand-up to benefit the “Vote No on 1” Campaign. Billed as “Straight Up Stand Up—Against Discrimination,” the evening features four comedians who, though straight, want to make their voices heard on this extremely important ballot issue that, if allowed to pass, would define marriage as being between one man and one woman in the state constitution. (It would effectively kill any possibility of gay marriages ever being recognized in Tennessee.) This isn’t a gay cause, after all—it’s a human rights cause. Slaying the crowd will be comedians Hugh Mundy, Heather Ho, Tim Lyons and Robert Luke. We’ve seen Mundy before, and he’s hysterical. A public defender by day and wisecracking playboy by night, he’s got an unassuming demeanor that makes his rapier wit all the more cutting. If you’re lucky, maybe he’ll break out his Cherokee Crossings routine, or revisit his short-lived career thinking up titles for porn flicks. “Straight Up Stand Up” takes place 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at Church Street Cafe, 1707 Church St. Admission is $10, and all proceeds go to the “Vote No on 1” Campaign. (Harold Jr., if you should decide to get a conscience and show up Saturday, we won’t tell anyone. Promise.) Send examples of things that set your music-nerd brain atwitter, Jared Leto stories and your favorite rock ’n’ roll Halloween costume sightings to thespin@nashvillescene.com.
