Jake Smith is on holiday from his home in Nottingham, England. Smith and his wife, Freda Love, moved their family to the United Kingdom in 2006, leaving a void in the Indianapolis and Bloomington music communities. Smith was in the States to reprise his role as the bassist in the Vulgar Boatmen for the wedding of longtime fans of the band.

Smith kicked off the evening with a solo set. He played mostly original songs, including, as he called it, a “spookier version” of “Magnetic Fields,” which was also covered by Juliana Hatfield and her band Some Girls. Smith ended his set with a poignantly beautiful cover of Frankie Camaro’s “In The Dark” in memory of his friend and bandmate LonPaul Ellrich.

Kenny Childers called the stripped-down edition of his band “The Gentleman Caller Experiment.” He was joined on stage by Mitch Harris and Chris Kupersmith — and at one point on cell phone by Josh Bennett. Gentleman Caller’s songs translated well to the trio format. They ended the set with a relatively new song from Childers. The chorus, “I did not find the answer,” is hauntingly powerful.

The Vulgar Boatmen had people bouncing and dancing from the beginning. Smith jumped back in to his old spot like he’d never left. The band features some of the best musicians in the city — and across the pond. Bandleader, singer and songwriter Dale Lawrence is also an excellent guitar player. Smith plays bass with infectious abandon. Matt Speake makes the lead guitar parts seem impossibly simple. And Andy Richards ties it all together with his spot-on drumming.

When Lawrence paused to switch guitars, he promised, “Don’t let the acoustic guitar scare you. We still need dancers.” And he was right: They continued to rock through the whole set. When the band returned for its encore, “Hippy Hippy Shake” had a lot of 40-somethings shaking their hips.