What do you get when you put four of the skinniest dudes in Nashville onstage? In this case, you get a great set from PUJOL, who had a busy Record Store Day with an earlier set at Rocketown before heading over to Mercy to open for The Greenhornes. It was Sean Thompson’s and Joey Scala’s last show with PUJOL before they’re off to focus on their new band, Promised Land (which also includes Jamin of JEFF the Brotherhood and Jessi of Those Darlins), and they finished with a typically stripped-down and roughly stylish set. To use a tootsie pop analogy, PUJOL’s songs are sugary and hooky on the surface (whenever they play “Butterflyknife,” it gets stuck in my head for about 17 damn years), and at the core there are a lot of frayed, guttural riffs The Stooges could be proud of. So hurray for PUJOL!
Next was Hacienda, a foursome who illustrated their Mexican-American origins with some loose and rolling rock reminiscent, at many times, of The Band. “We’re from San Antonio,” bassist/vocalist Rene Villanueva announced. Of course they are. Something about their boots and belted jeans was kind of pointing to the southwest. And amid the pounding of the keyboard, lush guitars and Jaime Villanueva’s ceaseless energy on the drum set, it felt like all the girls there were probably thinking, “Hm. I kind of want them.” While all the guys there were probably thinking, “Hm. I kind of want them.” The set was loose, energetic and Tex-Mex flavored, and included a cover of “Bule Bule,” sung by keyboardist Abraham Villanueva, for their friends The Greenhornes! Who were up next!
And oh, such riffage! Long, scraggly hair hanging over their instruments, it was all denim-and-vinyl retro rock ‘n’ roll with bass-heavy blues, glowering keys and Craig Fox and Jack Lawrence trading off on vocals. Oh, and some intense, sweaty drum solos from Patrick Keeler. The Greenhornes have a distinct and not quite definable aesthetic, from Lawrence’s obnoxiously black hair and matching glasses to that jaguar splashed across the kick drum (and the cover of their latest album, ****), and it added to the songs as they stretched out into entrancing instrumental jams. They’re fans of the lingering finish, always prolonging that last chord, and everyone was grateful that they did. – Jessica Pace