Music and more tonight & tomorrow

Tonight (Friday): the smooth and comfy acoustic stylings of Mr. Lloyd Rohr. 8:00pm. Come on down and unwind after a long week (it was long for me anyway).

Lloyd Rohr

Tomorrow (Saturday): Matt & Steph Davies in from Chicago. 8:00pm. Really wonderful folk music. Steph is an artist who will have an exhibition here on Nov. 7, and her hubby Matt is a heckuva fine guitar player and songwriter, and the two of them make a very fine combo. BUT WAIT, there's more! Our own Becky Markvart will be sitting in a bit with Matt and Steph too. Now that should be fun and I'm anxious to see and hear them perform together (Becky also told me that she has written a special "Stumpjack song" that she'll be unveiling Saturday night...gonna be a fun evening).

We've been working hard on trying to pull things together for the wine and tapas bar thingy (my excuse for the lack of posting this past few days). Have a few sets of images to put on from the last week or so as well...today I promise, maybe within the hour.

The knee is packed in ice and I am thinking that I may have to go see a witchdoctor after all (the "rub some dirt on it" remedy was only moderately successful).

Steph and Matt Davies

Steph Davies

Small crowd last night (Fri, July 11) for Steph and Matt Davies, which was too bad for people who dig good, original folk and blues music. These two musicians write some real heartfelt and lyrically intelligent songs. They alternated sets between each other, which made for a nice juxtaposition, and received very appreciative applause after each song from the dozen or so people in the audience.

Matt's performance was perhaps a bit more "forceful" in that his voice and guitar work was more aggressive than Steph's, with his song list covering both his own compositions and some very complementary and somewhat deep cut covers of people like Dylan, Waits and Taylor. He's definitely got the traveling folk/blues songster mojo, and his own songs are thoughtful, clever and honest.

This was cool. This little boy's name is Bodin and his Dad asked Matt if he could pose with him on the bench outside. "Bodee" was so into playing Matt's guitar. I like this picture.

Steph's performance was (forgive this trite description) sensitive and endearing, with her own songs being very sincere and emotionally beautiful. Her voice is pillowy soft, almost shy, which fit quite nicely with the kind of personal and love-filled lyrics she writes. She forces you to pay attention to what she sings...it's the kind of music that mellows you out and makes you feel good inside or glad to be in love (or want to be in love of you're not already).

They did join together on a couple of songs, which was cool to watch (they ought to do it a couple more times, imho, when they play together...they complement one another beautifully. Anyway, it was a night that I personally enjoyed very much because even though the cash drawer didn't open as much as we might like, I did get to really relax and enjoy the music, which I don't always get a chance to do.

Steph is an accomplished graphic artist as well and we've tentatively scheduled an art exhibition of her work for November 7. I just got an email from Steph as I was finishing this post and they're going to be coming back to perform at the Stump on Saturday, September 27th...mark your calendar and plan to be here if you can.

Click here for the Steph & Matt Davies Flickr set.

Special guests this Friday

This Friday night (July 11) at 8:00 Stumpjack has the pleasure of hosting musicians/poets/artists Steph and Matt Davies during their current summer tour of the country.

My 13-year old daughter, Jesse, made this cool poster for the show.

Here's the press release:

Steph Davies and her husband Matt will be performing in Two Rivers at Stumpjack Coffee Friday evening as part of their two-month nationwide, coast-to-coast tour. Loosely calling Chicago home, the couple has earned numerous fans and kudos on their current summer tour. Steph, an Art School of Chicago alumni, found her musical voice in 2003 after a friend’s passing, when she picked up her grandfather’s old acoustic guitar and began singing. She began writing and performing her own compositions, which she says both influence and are influenced by her graphic art. She recently recorded and released her first full length CD, “After the Fall” with her husband, guitarist and engineer Matt Davies. Matthew Davies is also a poet and artist who has recorded a seven-song CD titled “Road Song.” He lists as among his musical influences Tom Waits, Bob Marley, Big Bill Broonzy, Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, Woody Guthrie, Mississippi John Hurt and Hank Williams.

Chris Darby, of ThemDamnKids wrote of Davies’ “After the Fall”:

"Steph Davies’ newest effort is far and away her finest and most thoughtful to date. Steph has a way of taking the most ordinary experiences in life, and turning them into wonderfully magical things...etched into a beautiful paradox of temporal permanence. It’s a quality not found in many writers, but is fast becoming evident in Mrs. Davies work, and is really quite remarkable. To call this simply a collection of love songs would somehow cheapen the detailed arrangement of words within. This is a collection of life, those living in it, and the songs that go with that. These are songs to listen to on lonely nights in old cabins- a true representation of beauty in the living world."

Steph Davies’ music can be heard online at http://www.myspace.com/versionsoftruth.

Matthew Davies’ music can be heard at http://www.myspace.com/matthewdavies.