Sitting down on stage a half an hour before show time, Paul Campanella, Evil Jake’s drummer, talked to Aaron Tubric, bassist, about the possibility of not playing. They were opening for Double Zero, who promoted their show as over-underage. That night the Nines decided to set an over-21 policy because they were caught for underage drinking the night before.

They had driven five hours from New York City to play that evening, but said their loyalty to support Double Zero was a matter of principle.

“If they don’t play, we won’t play,” said Mick Jacobs, lead vocalist.

Evil Jake describe themselves as “post punk alternative psycho power pop with a shot of rockabilly and a twist of glam — or something like that,” said Campanella, with a smile. Some of their principle influences have been The Police, The Beatles and The Strokes, the last who they shared the same stage with six months earlier. They have been together for five months and consider Evil Jake more of a business than a band.

“A band would play twice a week, try and get a gig and invite all their friends to see them,” Campanella said. “We’re a start up business. We built this from the ground up, and we love to do it.”

“We’re all f**kups part of the time, we’re very human and know that we’re all a little overweight,” said Trubic, Evil Jake’s most sincere member.

Jacobs continued to scamper around stage, setting up for a show that might not go on. His gas-station-attendant button down had a forestry commission patch sewn on to it. His goatee and Elvis style sideburns gave him a ’50s greaser look.

“We’re working on our image,” Campanella said. “We look rockabillie but sound power pop — except for me. I’m in the back so no one sees me anyway.”

“We’re playing,” Jacobs said. Trubic stood up and put on his cowboy hat. Jacobs quickly changed into a black button down and threw his metallic guitar strap over his chest. “I’m missing a song, Paul. There’s a song missing from my play list.”

The Nines was packed with an anxious crowd who had been waiting for over half an hour for the show to begin. Initially the bass and drums dominated the sound and overpowered the vocals. This was not a fault of the bands but of the Nines, which often provides less than average sound service. Regardless, the audience kept their interest and a few people began to move closer to the stage to dance. With the exception of their third song having no ending, the night went smoothly. They played “Be My Ex-Girlfriend,” the fifth song on their album “Music to Strip By.” The audience immediately responded to the energy in the song and humor in the lyrics.

At the end of the show, Jacobs could not hide his huge smile. The culmination of relief and satisfaction was obvious. “You’ve been Ithaca, we’ve been evil,” said Jacobs. Evil Jake finished by rocking out their instruments and reminding the audience to visit their Web site. On a night almost spoiled by poor planning on behalf of the Nines, Evil Jake successfully closed their sixth show ever.