The Carter Administration, a Nashville group whose members look like they took a break from fixing computers to play rock music, opened The Basement NBN showcase Thursday, Oct. 8. Mixing nerd charm with infectious riffs that are easy to follow, they keep things at mid-tempo unlike the following Wheels on Fire.
Wheels on Fire was a screech of garage rock simmered down by a lot of keys and tambourine rattles. Touches of soul and a country twang sophisticated a sound that was energetic but not especially memorable.
The venue was pretty full by the time The Deep Vibration was up, and Reno Bo, who apparently seems determined to play in every Nashville band at some point (in addition to fronting his own killer act), took the stage with the guys from The Deep Vibration to show his support. The band put on a decent show with Matt Campbell’s high, quirky vocals layered over happy, americana guitar-heavy melodies.
Mississippi band Colour Revolt followed and presented more standard rock fair with a trippy, meandering edge in the guitar. Sometimes it just sucks to be the fourth rock band in a lineup, at which point the audience, apart from avid fans, ceases to be entertained by the typical guitar-bass-drums combination. Yet despite this obstacle, they still held their own respectably.
Kopecky Family Band was the night’s highlight, picking things up in a brotherly-sisterly fashion. Looking like The Outsiders with a female addition. They have Carter Family-closeness and a ghostly, rustic sound quite like what is found on Sun Kil Moon’s “Ghosts of the Great Highway.” Mountain folk achieved through strings mixed with the tech-savvy sound on the keys makes modern Appalachian music. –Jessica Pace