10/30/07 The Whigs @ Exit/In, Nashville, Tenn.

When I arrived midway through Broken West’s set at the Exit/In in Nashville, Tenn., I felt like I was at an open mic night. Certainly this wasn’t the rock show I had so anxiously awaited all day long. The room lacked the typical energy of an elbow to elbow crowd sipping $3 PBR’s.When I arrived midway through Broken West’s set at the Exit/In in Nashville, Tenn., I felt like I was at an open mic night. Certainly this wasn’t the rock show I had so anxiously awaited all day long. The room lacked the typical energy of an elbow to elbow crowd sipping $3 PBR’s. By the time The Whigs hit the stage, the crowd came in and sang along to a slew of highlights from their debut, Give Em’ a Big Fat Lip, such as “Technology,” and “Nothing is Easy.” The old songs were a hit with the crowd, but the two new tunes off their upcoming sophomore release, “Like a Vibration” and the kiss off, “Already Young,” were the highlights of the night. Parker Gispert set the record straight singing, “I don’t care what your old man thinks,” over and over again. Much like the songs off their debut, the new ones are a gritty mix of minimalistic garage rock and wonderfully constructed pop. And despite the small crowd, The Whigs never lacked energy: their drummer beat the skins like a red headed stepchild and frontman Parker Gispert did his best Pete Townshend impression by jumping around and thrashing on his guitar (while wearing his guitar high on his chest-like The Beatles used to do). The show was a short one, about three or four beers long with no encore, but The Whigs did not disappoint, and it sounds like their new record won’t either.