Drivin' N' Cryin' frontman Kevn Kinney, who left Milwaukee for Atlanta a quarter-century ago, returns to his hometown regularly to visit family and friends, bringing with him a slight accent ("Happy new year, y'all") and an appreciation for Southern music traditions like the "Sunday Song Swap" he initiated with Sammy Llanas of the BoDeans last night at Shank Hall.

"Kevn called me about a week ago and said he was coming home for his mother's birthday," Shank Hall owner Peter Jest said. "He said, ‘Let's do a show.' So, we did."

Perched on chairs with their acoustic guitars and an end table (and lamp) between them to add to the "parlor" motif, Kinney and Llanas traded songs and stories during an intimate 90-minute set of original and cover tunes that thrilled a crowd of roughly 100.

During a duet on his song "Broken Hearts and Auto Parts," Kinney talked told of his first girlfriend saying the three words no man wants to hear:

"We need to talk ..."

"I guarantee nothing good comes out of a woman's mouth when she says that," Kinney said. "Just once, I'd like to hear ‘We need to talk ... I got you Packers tickets.'"

Kinney and Llanas, who played similar shows together at the Gordon Park Pub, seemed completely at ease with each other and their surroundings. Both men wore black hats, with Llanas strumming rhythmically on a black Taylor guitar and Kinney using a large blonde Takamine to add blues-soaked lead runs to BoDeans songs like "She's a Runaway," a 1983 song that Llanas said, "Started out as a Bo Diddley-(type) song ... but I ain't Bo Diddley."

Reading lyrics from a printout on a music stand, Kinney filled in Kurt Neumann's vocal part flawlessly -- until his pages got mixed up, prompting Llanas to fill for a few bars while he found the right page.

"That was awesome," Llanas said. "Very dramatic."

The drama continued as Kinney played soulful harmonica on "I Ain't Waiting on Tomorrow," and used the harp to add accents to Llanas' plaintive "I'm in Trouble Again," which included a verse of Bruce Springsteen's "Stolen Car."

After recent research on the "typewriter-television" that his wife seldom lets him use, Kinney dedicated the Drivin' N' Cryin' song "Peacemaker" to late Milwaukee civil rights activist Father James Groppi.

"Peacemaker make me peace and I will be the man you seek," he sang.

After that heavy song, Llanas lightened the mood. "Let's have some fun," he said, launching into a cover of Patsy Klein's "Walkin' After Midnight."

Emboldened by the collaboration -- and a couple of Crown Royals ordered from the bar -- the entertainers provided more covers. Kinney sang "Jumpin' Jack Flash," in a Dylan-like voice. Llanas told a humorous story about attending his first concert -- a Rolling Stones show at County Stadium -- and blasted through "Satisfaction."

The main set ended with the pair teaming on Kinney's song "Straight to Hell," and segueing into the BoDeans' song "Still the Night."

Llanas opened the encore with a version of "Naked," and Kinney followed with some recollections about the hippie vibe and hot girls that permeate his memories of the East Side in the late 1970s.

"Milwaukee was always a few years behind the times," he said. "So, 1978 was like 1968. It was awesome." With a nod to his friends in The Haskells and the Oil Tasters, Kinney played "House Above Tina's Grocery," sprinkling in an Elvis homage with "That's Alright Mama" and "Mystery Train" before and watched silently as Llanas played "Far Far Away From My Heart."

"I've got the best seat in the house," Kinney said, beaming.

The night closed with a medley of songs played over a hypnotic three-chord progression. The duo wandered through snippets of "All Along the Watchtower," "Don't Fear the Reaper," Drivin' N' Cryin's "Fly Me Courageous," Tom Petty's "Breakdown," the Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone," the BoDeans' "Fadeaway," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and a show-closing "Stairway to Heaven."