by Geno Thackara

If it ain’t broke, it don’t need fixin’. Jonathan Jackson + Enation draw on the time-tested and true: a loud rock-and-roll blend of ringing guitars, anthemic choruses, and quiet tunes as straightforward and sincere as the simplest folk song. Thursday night’s blistering set at World Cafe Live presented a range of moments that could have come from the ’50s through the noughties, all delivered with high energy and unmistakable heart.

The trio’s recent Blame-Shifter release is an energetic piece of guitar rock, but it still doesn’t quite convey the voltage they crank out onstage. They burst off the starting blocks in unison with the EP’s opener “Ascending” and stayed perfectly in synch all night, just as you’d expect from bandmates with a (literally) lifelong history. From the crazy psychedelic wailing through “Let the Beauty Out” to the loping Southern boogie of “Keep Asking Why” and the gentle balladry of “Unchained Melody,” they always stayed tight and gave it everything they had.

The crowd had a wide range of ages and tastes, certainly not just limited to TV viewers who’ve followed his run on Nashville. Jackson’s heartthrob looks and vocal acrobatics had the fangirls swooning, certainly, but he also wasn’t shy about sharing love for his classic-rock and alternative influences for the rest of us to enjoy. The first R.E.M. cover came early on with a slow haunted “The One I Love.” He declared a couple songs later that “it was a big blow to us” to miss seeing the group in person before they disbanded (I feel your pain, brother), also offering a truly wild barn-stormer of “All the Best” followed by a feedback-drenched instrumental workout on Pearl Jam’s “Corduroy.”

Enation tunes such as “Kicked in the Head” fit alongside crowd-pleasing Nashville offerings like “Eyes of Grace.” What made it all crackle was the obvious emotion behind everything they played. You’d expect such a star actor to be somewhat jaded; it’s much more unusual to hear one who can write a joyously optimistic piece like their single “Everything Is Possible” and sing the hell out of it without any trace of self-consciousness.

It may be easy for the openers to get overlooked in light of all that, which would really be most unfair. The Beatleish look and charming English accent of Ben Jones might have almost made it seem like we were in for some kind of Britpop, but right away he and Andrea McGee were taking us straight down to the American south (by way of Dublin) instead. Beat Root Revival provides just the kind of good humor and fun their name suggests: they handily had the place bouncing with just guitar and bodhran, while weaving rich voice harmonies into something folky and sweet.

They really deserved more than a quick 35-minute slot. Nonetheless it was still enough to give an inviting taste of their three-week-old self-titled album with the catchy “Before It Gets Too Late” and “Russian Roulette,” include a dash of Fleetwood Mac complete with Irish whistle, and let Jones break strings on both his guitars in the process. Not bad for a first visit to Philadelphia; they did a fine job breaking the ice before Enation stomped in and made an impression nobody should forget any time soon. We’d be happy to have them both back any time.