THURSDAY, JULY 12:

The filtered synth bass, DIY drums, and fingerpicked pawn-shop guitar stylings beneath a sort of Bob Wills-gone-desert-trance sound of Restaurant never seems contrived. Unlike the grotesque Swedish country/house of the mid-‘90s, the Texas-originated duo of Restaurant takes a decidedly lo-fi approach, and their direct and mesmerizing lyrics hit with gut-level intensity worthy of their Lone Star-state pedigree. Following them to the stage, the well-traveled psych-rockers Lion of Panjshir: named after Afghani revolutionary Ahmed Shah Massoud, the band recently returned from recording in that war-torn country to play a Thursdays-in-July double residency at Bordello with Hecuba. An awful lot of good old-fashioned rockin’ love songs for a band named after such a revolutionary figure, but the violin and harmonium added a needed respite from guitar overdose. The final Afghani traditional song done as violin/vocal duet transported the crowd into the sure-footed cultural legacy that Lion of Panjshir represents. (RS)