Erb, The Profits make good night mix at Scarlet and Grey

Strumming an acoustic guitar, Daniel Erb stood at center stage anxiously waiting for the crowd to settle down. Erb, a member of the Columbus band Rayburn, was a last-minute, throw-on opener for the highlight event, The Profits.

Scarlet and Grey Café's small performance area quickly filled up Saturday night to see the Wisconsin natives perform for their third time in the Buckeye State. Chatty fans lined the floor with their beers as Erb pulled the microphone close and began his first song. Erb's one-hour set consisted of songs by his band and some unexpected covers. His sound was acoustic, fresh and crisp with smart lyrics, paralleling The Profits. Erb liked to stop between songs and talk with the audience. He filled listeners in on a musician's life and said he would play some R. Kelly. He wasn't joking - later, he really did play his version of "Ignition."

After his cover, Erb switched back to more original rock, but he wasn't done with covers yet. He next played his rendition of some Tenacious D, and the audience exploded with laughter and applause. Nearly everyone in the bar sang along or stared as Erb belted out the vulgar lyrics. Erb wrapped his set up with a song about his first days in Columbus.

"I was 18 when I moved here," he said. "And bums used to ask me for money. I would give it to them. 'Here, here's seven bucks go get yourself something to eat.' But now, f-ck that."

The song "Columbus" told of his encounters on High Street with a certain bum who says "help is on the way" and how unusual Ohio weather is in April. The song really hit home and the crowd laughed. His set ended around 11 p.m.

JP Roney, vocalist and acoustic guitarist of The Profits, took the stage alone with his acoustic guitar. He greeted fans and started playing a little solo while the bassist, Scott Lamps, ran around barefoot backstage messing with sound equipment.

Lamps came on stage next, but instead of his bass, he carried an acoustic guitar. After playing only one song, he announced the entire band would take the stage and begin the show.

The band opened with a steady, mesmerizing beat that burst into a fast-paced trance. From this one song, it was clear to see the untraditional instruments, upright bass and percussion, created an intense and diverse sound.

Off its new CD, "Far From You and Your Everday Noise," the band played "London Rain," a song that Roney claims is about his terrible relationships with girls. For this song, Roney put the acoustic guitar down and got situated in front of the piano and Lamps traded his bass for an acoustic guitar.

After listening to a skinny white boy do renditions of R. Kelly, The Profits felt the pressure to do some covers of rappers as well. Schaefer's superior solo morphed into a cover of Blackstreet's "No Diggity."

Finally, The Profits went back to doing what they're good at - rock music - and played another song off their new record, "Life's Worth Living." This emotional song moved the audience with its beautiful lyrics and easy-listening beat, but Mike Drohomyreky's electric-guitar line stole the song.

The Profits went on to play a few more songs off their new record including "High Horse" and "Atlantic," and also threw in some new songs titled "City Life," about falling in love with a uni-brow gypsy, and "Shame," which Roney wrote after pounding down six Red Bulls and cruising on autopilot for three hours.

The set ended with the most popular song of the night.

"Some people like to sing this one, some like to do it," Roney said. The listeners cheered and stood up before the band played "Sex at Six."

Once the song ended, the band members set their instruments down and did something not usually seen at concerts - talked with the fans. The band members also took turns doing solo performances on stage, ending their performance for the night. The Profits will continue their tour through March and plan to be in the studio recording a new record this summer.