It was difficult to distinguish whether or not the members of the Maintenance Shop crowd waiting to see Dave Zollo were old friends, families or musicians about ready to grab an acoustic guitar and hop on stage.

Zollo along with backing band The Body Electric and opener Brother Trucker brought together the crowd of about 150 people. Both bands are on Trailer Records, an Iowa City label that specializes in country-flavored alternative rock.

Feet stomping and bodies swaying, Zollo – barefoot – and family knew how to make a good first impression.

With a humble country-based style that somehow integrated the intensity of boogying Southern blues, Zollo closed his eyes and vocalized visions of long nights on the road, drinking celebrations and lost loves as he pounded out saloon-style piano solos with a mischievous grin.

The Body Electric’s guitarist wailed out solos based on 12 bar blues, leaned over his guitar, face twisting in unison with the notes he was bending.

“Moondog Tavern,” originally by Todd Snider, was the most energetic piece of the night. Zollo hunched over his keyboards and bounced up and down, eyebrows raised as he smiled at his bandmates.

The night was certainly not without quiet moments.

“I Am a Diamond (Anyway)” was a dreamy slow song that Zollo projected through his ragged, twangy drawl. “Parnell” was a darker piece that strayed a little bit away from the group’s style, adding more of a salsa feel through the guitar solos.

Another 12 bar blues song “Poor Backslider,” written by fellow Trailer Records artist Greg Brown, was an excellent feature of Zollo’s trademark sound. It described a small-town saloon that was all too appealing and a wife who consequently left with the kids while the preacher shook his finger in scolding dismay.

Zollo sang the way the family dog howls at the moon when he’s not allowed back inside the house on a cold evening.

None of the music was particularly groundbreaking or inventive, based on themes of leisurely days, kisses from old loves, traveling and home towns.

Nearly every song was based on a 16 measure format: 16 measures of verse, 16 measures of chorus, 16 measures of solos, repeat.

Also, Zollo’s vocals did not stand out against the driving beat but rather echoed them much of the time.

However, it seemed that this was exactly the way the music was supposed to be. Zollo’s music is meant as a soundtrack to a laid-back good time that accomplished just that as audience members chatted with each other throughout the performance, shouted out requests and conversed with the members on stage.

The most captivating moment of the evening was the last song, “The Body Electric,” written by Zollo in 1994. Each member got into the music in his own way, completely oblivious to everything else and totally drawn into the moment.

Zollo’s band is appropriately named after this song as it shows the music – and the concert – was really about the friendship between band members and everyone in the room.