Those Darlins Take a Bow at The Basement East

The Spin's had two months to get used to the idea of seeing Those Darlins for the last time. And yet, we were still surprised to find ourselves feeling a bit bummed on our way to The Basement East on Friday night. And we had our reasons: Over the course of the past decade, the band has played such a significant role in the local rock scene that imagining a day without Jessi Wariner, Nikki Kvarnes and Linwood Regensberg rocking out together was a little like imagining a weekend round-up without music editor Adam Gold's grinning mug. But the Darlins have never been ones to spend much time looking backward, and their focus on forward motion was front and center in the grand finale shindig they threw with a boatload of friends (not actually to be their final-final show; they're scheduled to head back to the Northeast in March to make up a few dates canceled because of snow). It was also one hell of a party that quickly turned our frowns upside down.

The Beast was filling in briskly when Adia Victoria took the stage around 9:30 p.m. Since we last saw her, Victoria's recast her strong authorial voice — one of Music City's most insightful in terms of discussing inequality and discrimination — in an intriguing new light, with help from some new personnel. She's worked with ace local drummer Tiffany Minton and guitarist Mason Hickman for more than two years, but bassist Jason Harris (also one-third of QDP’s house DJ team LA FORCE) and keyboardist Alex Caress (co-founder of the defunct dream-pop outfit Ponychase) are new to the group. As a unit, they've kept the jazz-tinged blues sound that marked Adia's early work, but they've augmented it with one part icy darkwave and one part gritty post-punk boogie, making new arrangements of set staples like “Howlin’ Shame” and “Stuck in the South” even more menacing and hypnotic than we remember. Before her last song, Victoria took a time-out to toast the Darlins, who were a strong positive influence when she was just beginning to find her voice. "Don't ever forget what they did," she said.

Tristen's latest record, 2013's C A V E S (the top local record that year in the Scene's annual critics' poll), represented a dramatic shift for her, in which the singer traded the folk-pop sound of 2011's Charlatans at the Garden Gate for pop production on a grander, New Wavier scale. After spending the better part of 2015 as a member of Jenny Lewis' band, Tristen is back at home from her own backing band, featuring guitarist/harmonist/husband Buddy Hughen, bassist Coley Hinson and drummer Kaleb Kirby. Friday's set cast C A V E S faves like "Catalyst," "Gold Star" and "No One’s Gonna Know" alongside Charlatans chestnuts that we hadn't heard in years, like “Matchstick Murder,” “Baby Drugs” and “Eager for Your Love,” with harmonies courtesy of Caitlin Rose.

We thought the emotional peak of the set was going to be a massive “Heart and Hope to Die,” during which Tristen seemed to channel Nick Cave by way of Iggy Pop (with a little nod to Cheap Trick), writhing on the floor and in the audience to emphasize the desperation of the lovers in the story. But she might have one-upped herself with what she called “a Darlins appetizer,” a cover of Television's "See No Evil" that featured contributions from Jessi, Nikki and Linwood. While Hughen shredded his way through the solo, sending mic stands flying in the process, Tristen seemed to hit a new octave every time she screamed “eviiiiil!” in the chorus. And she still had plenty of voice left to close out with a new ballad called “Psychic Vampire,” about the loneliness of someone obsessed with social media.

After a short break, the Darlins filed in and got down to business with no fanfare beyond a "Hello! Thank you for being here" from Jessi. The band kicked off the farewell set with a stream of cuts from Screws Get Loose, their sophomore album, which had enough grit and weight to settle any questions from those who doubted their ability to rock. After the Ramones-y "Hives," the droning psych opus "Mystic Mind," the anthem to platonic hijnks "Be Your Bro" and the jangly "Screws Get Loose," they dropped into the slinky "Female Trouble," the title theme from the John Waters film, originally sung by its star, drag icon Divine, which the Darlins recorded and released in December as a parting gift to fans. 

Then came a deep cut. We're not sure how long it's been since we heard "Snaggle Tooth Mama," but the band rocked it out like they'd just written it. That the song can still hold its own in the set next to Nikki's spotlight gem "In the Wilderness" — a standout cut from 2013's dark, rich Blur the Line LP — is a testament to Jessi's writing skills found in the Darlins' early batch of songs cut almost a decade ago.

Next, pedal-steel sideman extraordinaire  Luke Schneider (currently a member of Margo Price's backing band) was the first in a slew of guests who graced the back half of the set. Schneider added swoops and swells to "Guitar World," a fun talking blues number with a serious sentiment about how women still have to fight to not be marginalized. One real regret we have about the Darlins breaking up is that they never released a studio version of this song, which captures their essence about as succinctly as possible. It wasn't until this point deep in the set that the band acknowledged they were waving goodbye. “We’re gonna play every song we know," Regensberg bantered. "Well, maybe minus 10 or 15.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Jessi said with a laugh as they launched into "Wild One," a rallying cry against possessive significant others. The song was one of their earliest signature tunes, and stayed in their repertoire long after the Carter Family covers went by the wayside.

The parade of guests continued with Hughen on a righteous cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Man in Me,” followed by Tristen on a song she co-wrote with Nikki, a ferocious Chrissie Hynde-echoing tune called "Stay on Track." Half of Diarrhea Planet’s guitarmy joined Jessi to build a wall of shred behind Nikki during “Night Jogger.” Music Band's Duncan Shea took up the bass for a double-time cover of “White Light/White Heat,” allowing the multitalented Linwood to rip a righteous guitar solo that came close to being too much for the guitar to handle.

After calling for some love for manager John Turner, “who’s put up with our bullshit for a decade,” the Darlins capped the main set with “That Man,” featuring harmonies from Tristen, Adia Victoria, Caitlin Rose and Tiffany Minton — an even bigger version of the choir that backed them up that time they played in our office.

And just like that, it was encore time. Not content to let the energy dip, the Darlins led off with a punked-up version of one of their earliest live staples, old-time banjo icon Uncle Dave Macon's “Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy," followed by the unabashedly raunchy dance rave-up “Funstix Party," and finally Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ R&B garage classic “Shakin’ All Over,” during which Nikki doused the front row with a bottle of bubbly.

We expected to walk away from this show reminiscing about what a blast it was to watch Those Darlins grow from many in the crowds' Murfreesboro drinking buddies to a top local band to an international touring act. Instead, we found ourselves and everyone we talked to more excited about whatever it is they've got up their sleeves now that this project is finished. And that's exactly the way it's supposed to be.