Summer Hymns

Habana Calle 6, Saturday, March 17

Zachary Gresham is a breath of fresh, unaffected air in this sea of suits with dollar signs in their eyes and malnourished musicians with more eyeliner and skinny jeans than sense. Potbellied and hairy, clad in a T-shirt and yellowed white jeans, Gresham asserted with his charming little lisp that he and his band would “fuck things up a little bit – that’s rock & roll!” The Athens, Ga.-based band swelled to three times its normal size for their showcase, with nine musicians onstage, adding bongo and a horn section to the outfit’s already pleasingly plump sound. New tunes “Bombay Brown India Ink” and “Start Swimming” were performed with the same confidence as older selections “Trouble” and “Trolling on the Lake.” The crowd was comfortable – not too sparse, not too crowded – and Gresham was pleasantly chatty. All told, this set felt like a homey get-together in a chum’s back yard.

This article appears in March 23 • 2007.

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