The two brothers from Nashville who comprise the great band JEFF the Brotherhood stopped in Brooklyn Wednesday night for a sold out show at the small, anything-goes venue Death By Audio.

Jake (pictured above right) and Jamin Orrall (above left) are known collectively by their fans as “JEFF.”  They’re currently on the tail-end of a tour as openers for another two piece – The Kills.

With a few off days from the Kills itinerary, JEFF booked shows in the New York-area for Wednesday and Thursday nights.  They had done 18 performances in 18 cities the past 19 days coming into this gig.  The previous night was a show in Toronto which meant JEFF had a 6:30 AM wake up call for Wednesday’s 500-mile drive in a short bus.

The Orrall brothers have recorded songs under the JEFF name since 2001.  It’s only been in the last year or two that their tireless live show efforts have started to pay off.

JEFF followers are multiplying in big numbers since last year’s release of the full-length “We Are The Champions.”  If you didn’t know the back story, that record would lead you to believe there is more than two guys in the band.  Like the White Stripes, there’s a depth of sound to JEFF’s music that defies the minimal manpower that makes it.  There are just three strings on Jake’s guitar and Jamin’s drum kit is pretty basic.  The effects and sound equipment used by Jake appears to be of a premium quality.  Both Jake and Jamin are skilled musicians and both appeared to be having great fun Wednesday night.  The two brothers smiled at each other repeatedly.  Their father is Robert Ellis Orrall, a prominent Nashville songwriter who has helped produce JEFF records.  The three together own and have built the independent Infinity Cat record label.

Early in Wednesday’s 85-minute set, Jamin broke a snare drum.  A brief delay ensued before a member of the Brooklyn band Hunters brought up a loaner.  The crowd was stuffed in tightly.  The mosh was near non-stop.  The crowd went wild when JEFF played “Cool Out.”   Bodies surfed.  Jake went for an in-song ride late in the set and played guitar all the way.

JEFF labelmate Uncle Bad Touch was supposed to open this show but Jake said Touch “got stopped at the Canadian border” and was unable to continue.  Perhaps it was the band’s ill-conceived name that raised a red flag.

I’d been planning on going to this show for a couple weeks.  I got a ticket for $12 when they went on sale.  A few nights ago, I was reading the new issue of Magnet magazine.  In a column devoted to spotlighting negative trends in music, the Memphis-based writer Andrew Earles took a pot-shot at JEFF.

Fair enough.  That’s what the guy does.  But all the Orrall brothers are doing is experiencing a bit of a breakthrough after logging hundreds of small shows across a wide swath.  These are two witty young men making a unique brand of loud, sing-along-type rock and roll that is beginning to reach a broader audience.

The duo’s next record will have major label support.  Published interviews with Jake leave open the prospect of adding members to the band.  I’m rooting for them.  The fun everybody was having in the audience clinches my seal of approval for JEFF the Brotherhood.  It was a seriously fun show.  People were walking out happy as can be.

This was my first visit to Death By Audio.  PBR cans were $3.  It was a bit of a chore to reach the one and only bar in the rear of the single level space.  A bottleneck forms at the narrow passageway connecting the main space to the back room where anything goes.  I’d estimate the crowd at about 200.

Before the show, I stopped in Trash Bar on Grand for the $5 beer and a shot special.  It was right on the way.

I rode a late-night (1:37 AM) B62 bus up to Queens Plaza and caught a connecting 7 train home to end the evening.