The Spin: British Sea Power, Jeffrey Lewis and The Rosebuds

(All photos by Steve Cross.)

It was a Saturday night much like any other in Nashville last night. The air was cool with spring still struggling to get sprung and Mercy Lounge was host to an exciting, assorted line up of touring bands. Despite our best efforts toward an early arrival so as not to miss opener Jeffrey Lewis, he was already playing once we got inside.

Mumbling a mile a minute like the lovechild of Bob Dylan and Woody Allen, NYC anti-folk troubadour Lewis regaled us with neurotic worries and woes in a nasally speak-sing that often cracked into a higher pitch like some pubescent drive-thru cashier. Twice Lewis put down the guitar and treated us to what he called his “films,” which basically consisted of him singing along to a handheld cassette recorder while flipping through self-illustrated sheets of paper that depicted the events in the songs. It’s definitely a pretty low-rent way to make a movie, but we promise it was a hell of a lot more entertaining than it sounds.

There was a decent amount of people in the room, but when you have a venue full of chairs like Mercy and a band with fewer than three people on stage, it’s almost impossible to get anyone to stand. However, a few crept closer to the stage, perhaps just to get a closer look at his drawings of the history of communism in China.

Following were Raleigh, N.C.’s The Rosebuds, who brought a little more amplitude, and thus pulled a few more people out of their seats. Dealing out a reasonably catchy and especially danceable mix of indie rock and '80s disco pop, The Rosebuds got more than a few people tapping toes and dancing out on the floor, but grew pretty bland as their set wore on. Their jams were solid enough to justify the band’s appeal, but just a little too polished to keep from being forgettable. Making an appearance, though, was one John Bruton sporting a full size Gumby costume. John/Gumby was dancing about the floor, encouraging others to join him, and eventually wound up on stage during The Rosebuds' last song.

Rounding out the evening was main attraction British Sea Power, who had Mercy’s small crowd in full bloom. BSP play a dense and blistering style of guitar rock fleshed out with spacious arrangements and stadium-friendly choruses. Both the band and the stage were adorned with English flags and fake foliage, their set drawing heavily from the latest Do You Like Rock Music? Turns out this crowd did indeed like rock music and had no reservations in expressing their gratitude for hear BSP's particular variation of it.

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