The Heart of Rock ’n' Roll Beats at Sweet by Sweet Time

Nashville has long been — and continues to be — home to its share of outrageous rock ’n’ roll and other outstanding underground music, but Memphis got a much earlier start. The list of inventive acts who’ve come from the Bluff City in just the past four decades runs the gamut from “somewhat provocative” to “so far to the left that you can’t pick it up on the dial.” It includes the wild antics of Mud Boy and the Neutrons, the post-Big Star punk of The Klitz, the off-kilter rockabilly of Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, the uncompromising political hardcore of Negro Terror (who suffered a painful loss with the death of founder Omar Higgins in April) and tons more. 

But for a couple of days over the weekend, Nashville felt like the center of the rock universe. Two of Memphis’ finest groups — The Oblivians and Sweet Knives — made the 200-plus-mile trek to Nashville, joining local and regional bands and groups from as far away as New York for the DIY rock festival Sweet by Sweet Time. The fest, curated by local promoter and musician Ryan Sweeney, took over The 5 Spot on Friday and Saturday. (There was also a daytime extravaganza Saturday at all-ages venue Drkmttr that I unfortunately didn’t get to see.) Even though SXST was only on its second running, it’s become a major bright spot in the local rock scene.

As the first night of the fest began, the crowd looked a little thin. Far too few people caught the first two bands, both of whom drove up from Birmingham, Ala. Those who were tardy missed out on Me and My Knife blasting out a half-hour of speedy, snot-rocket-fueled punk, followed up by the thunderous fuzzed-out roar of Dirty Lungs. Around 10 p.m., the audience started filling in a little, like a patchy beard getting just long enough to cover the empty spots. Louisville, Ky., trio Archaeas rewarded the new arrivals with fast, moody punk featuring berserker solos, reminiscent of The Damned’s third LP Machine Gun Etiquette. Local heavy-psych freaks Ttotals and Georgia one-man band Deadly Lo-Fi warmed everyone up for the main event.

The bar filled to capacity with beer-drenched, denim-clad rockers a little after midnight. Greg Cartwright (aka Greg Oblivian) struck his first chord, and a mass of aging record nerds combusted into a fist-pumping sing-along. The Oblivians bring out the feral spirit of rock ’n’ roll, the kind of frantic band whose songwriting makes it mean even more when they run amok — they’re not concerned with putting those brilliant songs on a pedestal. Every sweat-soaked Oblivians advocate got one of the best shows of their life to close out the first night of the fest. 

When showtime rolled around on Saturday night, it seemed like everyone was a little hungover. The Tennessee August heat and humidity seemed have crept in during the day show. But the opening act was quick to ratchet up the action. After three years as Nashville’s finest pro-wrestling punk band, The Mighty Jabronis have decided to throw in the towel, and their SXST set was their final performance. They came out swinging and left it all in the ring, exactly as you’d expect. Heel Two Dollar Elvis took a cue from The Honky Tonk Man: He knocked out babyface frontman Cat Taylor with a guitar before taking the mic for a cover of Rick Derringer’s “Real American” (which you know as Hulk Hogan’s entrance music, brother). 

Detroit proto-prog unit Tin Foil teed up the vicious Killed by Death-style punk of Austin, Texas’ Love Collector, leading into one of Nashville’s finest acts, Modern Convenience. Mod Cons, who released their frenetic, ominous sci-fi-punk opus So So Modern in 2018, have all the energy and excitement you could ever want from a live act, channeled through stellar songs. Their emotionally intense 30-minute set ended with frontman Mike “Mikey B” Bibbs (a Memphis native, by the way) screaming on the floor, wrapped in his mic cable.

The aforementioned five-piece Sweet Knives came next. The core of the group is Alicja Trout, Jon Garland and Rich Crook, who are carrying on the legacy of their earlier band Lost Sounds, co-founded by late garage-rock revival legend Jay Reatard. Sweet Knives played as a five-piece that also included Nashville rock vet and Mighty Jabronis guitarist Eli Steele, pulling a double shift. Their bizarre New Wave was a total throwback to seeing Lost Sounds a few blocks away at Slow Bar (now Three Crow Bar) in 2002. Trout still has some of the fiercest guitar chops in Tennessee and continues to make music that stops you in your tracks — whether you got to the show or not, don’t miss out on the “I Don’t Wanna Die” double 7-inch. 

Brooklyn quintet Habibi wrapped up the rock ’n’ roll marathon in exactly the way you’d hope, with one helluva dance party. They offered up a sparkling, psychedelic take on ’60s girl-group pop and Middle Eastern rock that’s thoughtful as well as something you’d have a hard time not moving to. Their set list included music from their 2013 self-titled LP, their 2018 EP Cardamom Garden and an album they have in the works. 

There's a ton of other music besides rock ’n' roll going on right now in Nashville. Our growing pop and hip-hop scenes, the rise of Americana, and the continuing evolution in country music are all drawing more widespread attention than local rock and punk at the moment. But we're still making plenty of great rock here, not to mention celebrating rock from all over with the kind of raucous hang the genre deserves.

See our slideshow for more photos.