“Grab your partner, get real close and get to the business,” Matt Campbell said as the audience laughed and began to slow dance.

Campbell, lead vocalist and guitarist for The Deep Vibration, has one goal with his music.

“We just want to take over the world,” he said nonchalantly. “You know, not a big deal.”

The Deep Vibration, a Nashville-based folk rock band performed at Bread & Bagel on Sept. 19.

The group is one of many bands to play at Bread & Bagel, making it a staple in the Bowling Green music scene.

The four-man band, including bass guitarist Adam Binder, guitarist Jeremy Fetzer and drummer Luke Herbert, opened with raging chords and intense energy.

Though the group has only been together since May, their chemistry is unmistakable.

“They’re all very skilled,” Louisville junior Nathan Warren said. “Their music made me dance because they had their sound together.”

Warren, a guitarist for seven years, said he watches live shows intently to correlate the sound of the instruments with the player’s movement.

“I love live music here,” Warren said. “Even if it’s stuff I don’t listen to, I respect people who do it.”

Another musician, John Perry, used live shows for his growth as well.

“I try to learn from each band,” he said.

Perry, a Bowling Green junior, is an avid Bread & Bagel supporter. He mostly likes the intimate setting and, of course, the beer.

“This place rocks,” Perry said. “That’s pretty much all there is to it.”

Only nine small, wooden tables, some with yellowed mosaic surfaces, and 24 chairs are peppered around the dimly lit performance room.

When the music plays, customers crowd into the back half, making it standing-room-only.

Artwork hangs from the mustard-colored walls done by local artists and students, which is changed at least once a month. An electric blue and orange painting with the words “Live Love Local” provides the backdrop of the stage.

Kaleidoscope’s youth art program created the painting, amplifying Bread & Bagel’s promise: to bring everyone in the community together.

“We’re all about community involvement,” Manager Emily McDonald said.

Produce from the farmers’ market, coffee beans grown at Greener Grounds and hemp necklaces made and sold by art students are a few ways Bread & Bagel keeps its promise.

The restaurant has four dining areas, each with its own distinct charm.

Green ivy and decorative lights cover the patio fence. Spectators converse and sip coffee as they listen and bob their heads.

One man walks around Bread & Bagel hurriedly, greeting each person with a smile and an occasional high-five.

His red cheeks and frazzled, dark hair show that he has been working hard all night.

He is the man who puts it all together.

“I attempt to expose people here to things outside Bowling Green,” Jordan Pendley said.

Bread & Bagel opened in 1993, but Emily Spence started the concerts in March 2007. Pendley has been the booker since April 2008 and arranges at least two shows a week on Friday and Saturday.

The Nick Jaina Band from Portland, Ore., Via Audio from Brooklyn, N.Y. and The Shake ‘Em Ups from Austin, Texas have played at Bread & Bagel, among others.

“You can see the character of the city in their music,” Pendley said. “Hearing music from all over the country is a gift in this town.”

Pendley, a musician himself, usually matches local bands with bigger indie bands for crowd appeal.

Pendley books the indie bands on their stops between big cities.

“It’s humbling to see people who are next to make it big,” he said.

And he said he thinks The Deep Vibration could be one of those bands.

With influences such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young and a name given to them by rock great Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground- he might be right.

“I like when things are unpredictable,” Pendley said. “And their music is.”

The band is touring to promote its upcoming EP, scheduled for release on Oct. 21.

The Deep Vibration fits effortlessly with the mood of Bread & Bagel concert-goers.

Whether by reaching up and manually spinning the ceiling fan or strumming his guitar for a solo only inches from the listeners’ faces, Campbell isn’t afraid to show off.

Almost every seat is empty as the band played its last song. The small crowd is up swaying and clapping along; a few encouraging shouts travel through the room.

“This was our first night here,” Campbell said. “But we’ll be back for sure.”

Reach Angela Oliver at diversions@chherald.com.