Pull Chains at No Quarter, 5/20/2026
The unofficial theme of Wednesday’s gig at East Side pinball bar No Quarter was new songs and old friends, with three acts consisting of just five different people, most of them toggling between lead and sideperson from set to set, even from one song to the next. The group with the most players is Pull Chains, a meeting of the minds between Memphis-raised, Asheville, N.C.-residing punk tunesmith par excellence Greg Cartwright, with Joey Plunket from stalwart Nashville rockers Country Westerns and his old friend from Atlanta “Gentleman Jesse” Smith also contributing tunes, and Asheville drummer-about-town Eliza Hill keeping time.
No Quarter is an arcade and sports bar primarily, but has a side room that can host shows, as well as a smoking patio from where bands can be seen and, if loud enough, heard clearly through two windows on the side of the building. Smith kicked things off with a solo acoustic set. He overcame loud talkers and pinball machines on the bar side of the curtain that threatened to drown out his melancholic yet driving, Tommy Keene- and Paul Westerberg-inspired originals — which, with a band behind him, could easily have gone from good to great.
Gentleman Jesse at No Quarter, 5/20/2026
Little did I know we’d get to witness that soon. More than once, Cartwright emphasized that Pull Chains isn’t solely his project — songwriting is done collectively, whenever the members can find time to link up here or in Asheville. Smith’s songs for this band, and in general, were entirely new to me. Occupying the scrappier side of the power-pop spectrum, they were loose in a good way. He, Plunket and Hill all asserted themselves confidently, the bass and guitar interplay was colorful, and the drumming uncomplicated but authoritative — especially on a late-set standout ID’d by Plunket as “I Know, Right?”
Regardless, Cartwright is the draw. The voice and face of Bluff City garage rockers Reigning Sound between 2001 and 2022 (in addition to tons of other projects like The Oblivians), the 54-year-old musician is an indefatigable songwriter whose influence, especially around these parts, can’t be overestimated. Ahead of Pull Chains’ set, he performed alone on guitar and vocals. Haunting yet comforting, it conjured traveling alone at night, catching a beautiful, timeless song on the FM dial just before it disappears into static. It came early, but was my favorite part of the evening. Plunket, sitting onstage, eyes closed, lost in thought, looked inclined to agree. All the material played Wednesday is slated to come out on an LP tracked this week at the Bomb Shelter here in town. Keep an eye out.
Greg Cartwright at No Quarter, 5/20/2026
I’ve spilled lots of ink in these pages on Country Westerns over the years, but six years onward from their instant-classic self-titled 2020 debut, singer-songwriter-guitarist Plunket and drummer Brian Kotzur are a veritable local institution, a go-to answer to any question about good, active Nashville bands. There will always be a place for gritty, jangly, quintessentially American indie rock of this ilk.
But for a band so seemingly straightforward, Country Westerns have also always shown a penchant for experimenting with the delivery. An early incarnation featured then-Bully bassist Reece Lazarus on saxophone; after bassist Sabrina Rush moved on, the core duo had to figure out how to still sound like a full band. They’ve recorded and toured as a trio with other bassists, but lately they’ve come up with a recipe that calls for Plunket’s ebullient 12-string to fill the soundscape and for Kotzur to somehow make keeping time and playing synth bass simultaneously look easy. Staggering material from their forthcoming third LP — which had more of a Tom Petty influence than I can remember ever hearing before — appeared alongside tunes that’ve never left the set list like “Guest Checks” and perennial closer “I’m Not Ready.” This performance felt mellower than others I’ve seen, but coming at the end of a gloomy-weather day, suited the mood.
The Spin: Pull Chains at No Quarter, 5/20/2026
With Gentleman Jesse and Greg Cartwright
Pull Chains at No Quarter, 5/20/2026
