This summer was a relatively mild one by typical Southern standards, but we had the heat turned up full blast down here on Cannery Row. From Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends to underground hipster buzz bands, Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ballroom were the place to be once the sun went down in Nashville. Behold:

LONG PLAYERS: BORN TO RUN

The Long Players are a nationally recognized Nashville institution that we here at Mercy Lounge take great pride in, and we would be remiss if we failed to mention them here. While we had hoped to find some video from their performance of “Purple Rain”, we’ll just have to settle for a spot-on video clip from their performance of “Born To Run”.

JOHN FOGERTY:

It’s impossible to keep a secret in this town, but John Fogerty’s surprise appearance at the Mercy Lounge during the Americana Music festival was nonetheless astonishing. While word got around town early that he’d be gracing our humble stage, the general consensus was that he’d just be stopping in to sing a couple acoustic songs before sneaking out the back door. Instead, the man brought a full band, his own PA, and a two hour marathon set of CCR classics and solo hits that rocked the entire house. Less than 24 hours after receiving the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award For Songwriting, he and his band delivered with an energy and a fierceness that most modern bands can’t fathom, much less emulate. There’s truly no proper way to describe the thrill of watching a true rock and roll legend- the kind of performer who sells out arenas and has more chart topping hits than the average age of the Jonas Brothers- strut his stuff in front of such an intimate crowd.

Our friend Steve Cross has a great slideshow of pictures right here.

DAUGHTRY

There are no words to describle the incredible rock power that is Daughtry. Instead, let’s let the fans tell you about the band’s “badass” performance at Cannery Ballroom.

WHITE RABBITS

White Rabbits, one of the latest buzz bands to emerge from Williamsburg and take the blogosphere by storm, brought their percussive brand of indie-rock to town in mid-September to the delight of many a PBR-pounding Pitchfork readers. Their set was a detached batch of cool, mid-tempo tunes, pushed along by a duo of drummers, that lived up to every bit of hype we’d heard: it was a tight, energetic performance of Spoon-influenced jams that got the eager crowd bouncing. Fiery Furnaces also turned in a very stellar set. We give ‘em a couple thumbs up, for sure.

VIDEO:

LORD T & ELOISE/AL KAPONE/SKINNY PIMP

If you’re one of those people that like to party, and we bet you are, then you’re surely no stranger to Memphis superstars Lord T & Eloise. But according to our resident party animal/leisure-expert, Chark Kinsolving, it was not the so-called “kings of aristocrunk” that brought the best and most party to the Mercy Lounge in September, but Al Kapone. Pictured below is Al Kapone’s setlist, proudly hung above Chark’s desk:

More than just a setlist, this incredible piece of paper also doubles as a sort of magic 8-ball for most day to day questions and/or activities in the life of Mr. Kinsolving. Ask Chark what he’s going to be doing later and he’ll probably respond with “Gettin’ Mine” or “Gettin’ Crunk, Gettin’ Buck”. Ask him for advice: “Don’t Worry Bout Me”. The purpose of life on Earth? He’ll probably shrug and tell you “The Music”. Just don’t make him get to that last one…it’s not a pretty sight.

Unfortunately, Memphis gangster-rapper Skinny Pimp couldn’t make it up to Music City in time for the show (he had to “give a friend a ride to work”?), but Mr. Kapone and Lord T & Eloise more than made up for his absence with a rowdy, raucous, and ridiculous set. As a final parting gift, Lord T and Eloise generously left a pair of their dirty whitey-tighties in Todd’s office. An unconfirmed rumor has it that Todd keeps them in his desk drawer as a souvenir.

THE PROTOMEN

We’ve seen some dedicated fans before, but these kids blew us away. Seriously, a 20 hour drive from Colorado to camp out on our front steps all day before the show? Wow. They set the tone for a great evening filled with hordes of The Protomen’s insansely devoted fans, all of whom were visibly hyped. The unveiling of Act 2 of the Mega Man-themed band’s musical voyage was eagerly awaited by these faithful minions, and the minions showed it by dressing up, making signs, and singing along to every single song. It was a refreshing night of bright-eyed, unjaded fun, to say the least. Drew gives these guys credit as the band that ruled Nashville in 2009 in next week’s Rock and Roll Poll for the Nashville Scene. Check it when it comes out.

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SUNN O)))

Rightfully earning a reputation for being one of the loudest bands of all time, Sunn O))) filled our stage to capacity with possibly the largest wall of amps we’ve ever seen and enough smoke machines to ensure that we couldn’t see said wall of amps, the exits, or the rest of the crowd. They proceeded to summon the very demons of hell with an occult-themed, volume fest that had our ears ringing for days. We had to bring in sound reinforcement in the form of the entire arsenal of Cannery Ballroom subwoofers just to power their gigantic wall of ambient, power-drone, doom-metal sound out of Mercy Lounge, onto 8th Avenue, to infinity and beyond. Intense, to say the least:

Don’t forget, we’re giving away tickets to our insane New Years Eve party on Twitter…follow us! www.twitter.com/09happyending