If you kept your eyes closed, the past lived again. Retro raiders, the Squirrel Nut Zippers roared into Columbus Monday night, at the newly renovated Southern Theatre.”We like to call it the ‘Suth-in,'” Jim Mathus announced to the audience, making a play on the theatre’s name and reminding the audience of the band’s home in North Carolina. Mathus plays the trombone and guitar, and heads up vocals along with his wife, Katharine Whalen. The Zippers have been lumped in with the neo-swing movement but nothing could be further from the truth. Instead the Zippers take their inspiration from the radio sounds of the pre-Fifties. Instead of ironic distance, the Zippers have an honest love for the music. Jazz, calypso and klemzer music are all part of the musical gumbo.The wide variety of talent found onstage at the Zippers was amazing. Mathus and Tom Maxwell (vocals, guitar, clarinet, baritone, and tenor sax) kept switching their instruments and playing each one as well as the last. Alto sax player Ken Mosher hopped out of his seat and played the guitar, Whalen played the banjo and a small steel drum, Je Widenhouse produced many screams and cheers from the audience with his trumpet and coronets–the musical talent was exceptional. The band drove guitar and horn lines through the roof and constantly added little licks and subtle touches to the instrumental passages.And it was obvious that the band was having a good time. Mathus danced around like the spawn of Jerry Lewis, Whalen shimmied and pouted like a 5-year-old at an adult party. Grins were many and the chemistry between the band was stunning.The band played for 90 minutes, focusing on their newest release “Perennial Favorites” but also dipping into its back catalog. The highlights were a many. Tunes like “Suits are Picking Up the Bill,” and “The Ghost of Stephen Foster crackled with manic energy.The stunner of the show was any song performed by Whalen. Whenever she opened her mouth, early Billy Holiday came out. It was creepy how close she echoed Holiday. “Fat Cat Keeps Getting Fatter” and her contribution to “Put A Lid On It” could be taken from a “Sounds of Past” CD. Another high point was Maxwell’s truly possessed vocal turn for former MTV staple “Hell.” He spit out the lyrics with the bile of a punk rocker, while the band spun a deep calypso groove. The only downer of the concert was the subdued audience. While the crowd enjoyed the show its energy wasn’t there. Still, it didn’t overshadow the Zippers performance. A surprise of the show was local trombone player Sarah Morrow who joined the Zippers on stage for the encores. She almost stole the show with her strong, playful trombone solos. Definitely one to watch.So where did their crazy name come from? Squirrel Nut Zippers was actually an old brand of chewy, peanut-flavored candy, which is still made in Massachusetts today.