Jon Moses started things off. He’s clearly more comfortable improvising and being inclusive and seemed a little off being on-stage separated from the sparse audience. Nonetheless, he showed his acoustic soloist skills admirably. Then it was Les Shelleys turn which shrank the audience notably further since Jon relinquished the stage to once audience-members Tom Brosseau and Angela Correa. They provided an impressive display of their elegant vocal harmonies and evocative lyrics — the only other instrumentation being Tom’s guitar and Angie’s percussive clapping and stomping which gives exactly the kind of minimal-but-not a capella sound you’d expect.

Daryl Fleming was next and played his own style that is loosely an interesting mix of lyrical, groove-rock-ish country/folk/rock. He was saying beforehand that he’s recently been fascinated by the unusual chord progressions in some fairly popular 1960’s songs — he demonstrated it with a vocoder-enhanced cover of The Seekers’ “Georgy Girl”. You really never know where Daryl’s mind is going to take him on stage.

Finishing up was Hinkley who I consistently re-experience as excellent, deceptively mellow, complex rock-and-roll. I never catch on right away, but quicker-and-quicker I’m swept into the nuances of this excellent band.

Afterward, I headed to Castaways (413 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca) to catch the show there. The place is great to see live music. I can’t think of a comparable venue in Rochester: it’s laid out as one big room with the bar on one side and the stage on the other. Low ceilings and acoustic drapes keep the sound from being overwhelming. Plus, the people I met were pretty nice … I expected it out of Ithaca, realizing it was just an arbitrary opinion about the town.

Starting off the show, Willie B. (a.k.a. Brian Wilson) played drums with some MIDI electronics. I was kind of disappointed because I thought his songs really don’t go anywhere — I suspect he’s better in a band such as Johnny Dowd which I really liked years ago (although I don’t remember if it was this same guy on drums). Headlining was That One Guy who was just fantastic. As I’ve described before, he plays a custom-made, 7-foot tall “magic pipe” which includes a guitar string and a bass string along with a bunch of buttons that control a synthesizer. As such, the gyrations necessary to play the magic pipe automatically affect a dance performance. Plus the sound is practically unclassifiable: it’s cousin to jam bands, hip-hop, rock, synth-pop, and novelty acts — in degrees that vary considerably from song-to-song.

Although I didn’t leave all that late, the two-hour drive won out against my stay-up-late practice and I had to pull over for a quick nap before getting home around 2:30 a.m.

First up was Walri who are a nice, harmonius rock band; “psychedelic love rock”, they say. Gerry Szymanski told me to check them out, and despite numerous performances in town, this is the first time I’ve seen them. The Static Jacks were next and did an entertaining, animated, high-energy punk-rock show. I lent a hand to plug in a lost microphone cable and keep the show going. These Electric Lives finished off the night with some excellent, thumping, power-pop rock. And, like The Static Jacks, I was there to try and keep the microphones connected, working, and not breaking in half (the last of which without success as the lead singer was so brutally strong and/or the mic stand was already busted.) In all, it was a fantastic show in my book.

Next up was the new-to-me band The Corrections. I threw the word “warm” in the adjectives in my notes, down from “extra warm” for Hinkley, so I guess it was all about average kinetic energy after all. I also described them as bouncy, alt-country rock. I’m easily swayed, and visiting their website, I decided to add “acoustic pop-rock” as well. Any of those descriptions will do. Their musicmanship was also top-notch — and their lead singer was a charismatic smiler, sending a message of welcoming familiarity to the audience. Their musical style led me to compare them to early Barenaked Ladies, 1980’s Elvis Costello, and a bit of Tears for Fears, even though cliché dictates the last band be obscure. Alas, I may have tainted you alls opinions, but I believe in your ability to ignore me.

Finishing up was Burning Daylight and I was getting tired and still had an hour of walking ahead of me, so I left after just a few songs. I can’t help but give them lukewarm monikers like “solid acoustic-driven bar-rock” because I just don’t hear the complexity. It’s good, accessible, and it rocks, but I’m seldom surprised. Like Hinkley, I have weak memories of enjoying them. However, in this case, it’s indistinguishable from strong memories of somewhat enjoying them. Lots of people love them, so don’t take my word for it, and don’t sweat it that I’m not a big fan.

Paul encouraged me to go to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) as well so I went there and caught the tail-end of other/other/other. Next was Cuddle Magic who I hadn’t seen before. They are a large band with a variety of instruments. They play what I’ve come to call “motley folk” like Baby Shiver’s Boutique but with their own nearly orchestral arrangement. I was getting tired, and alas, couldn’t stay for the rest of the night. I’ll look forward to seeing them sometime soon, though.

They apparently had [although in a more thorough search, I don't think they did], so we went to The Neptune Lounge and Cyclery (13 S. Safford Ave., Tarpon Springs, FL): a bar/lounge by night and a bicycle shop by day (albeit next-door to one another) situated along The Pinellas Trail. We managed to hear the last song from the first band but got to see The Sound of Armada who played a good variety of jammy modern rock with a distinctive country flair.

From there we went to The Zone (121 E. Tarpon Ave., Tarpon Springs, FL) which was a nightclub and lounge. I gather that the reggae-funk band on the nice outdoor patio was called Paris, and indoors, they were playing a typical dance DJ mix. It was almost like two clubs in one … something I guess I should expect from such a small town.