By Amber Meatte

As the True/False Film Fest is reaching its end, things seemed to be slowing down at the third and final showcase at Café Berlin. Although nearly all the booths and tables were occupied, hardly anyone appeared to have an interest in the performance.

Busman’s Holiday’s guitarist began strumming the guitar, but had to stop and shout, “C’mon, the show’s starting!” A few people heeded the call, but many stayed in their seats for a few more minutes.

Busman’s Holiday, from Bloomington, Ind., consisted of two brothers playing an acoustic guitar and small drum kit.  Although the set-up was simple, they produced quite a loud and efficient sound.

The brothers maintained a very successful conversational tone, both between and during songs, while commenting on a couple films they saw or want to see the next day. Their cheerfulness and beaming smiles brought warmth to the room.

The last song they played featured both brothers singing together. The vocals blended together perfectly, almost lingering in the air after the song ended.

The audience seemed to thin out a bit during the brief intermission. But that didn’t stop Nick Jaina from hopping on stage.

Jaina’s ensemble featured people from various other bands, which had a noticeable effect on the sound. While the approach to instrumentation varied from each song to the next, the vocals remained relatively static. Not to say that the vocals weren’t easy on the ears – it just made the set seem like one long song at times.

The music seemed to slip into the background behind some people’s conversations at times, yet still could be heard and appreciated without interruption.

The third and final band of the evening was Run-On Sentence. Almost all of the lights were completely dimmed, per the band’s request. Each number sounded like several songs put into one with surprisingly seamless transitions between the varieties in sound. Although mostly a folk-rock band, they incorporated a lot of short, jazzy guitar riffs, and an occasional trumpet bit provided a bluesy feel.

The band’s liveliness and soulful performance was an excellent way to end this year’s final Café Berlin showcase.