Sure hope you all can make it, should be a great intense dramatic-pop time.

First off, it was a great crowd despite the questionable weather. Secondly, I love 3-band bills. I wish more clubs would do that, instead of 4 or 5 band bills.

I was impressed with the Casual Lean. They were really energetic and tight. They reminded me a lot of current post-post-new wave pop bands like the Killers or the Bravery. Keep your eyes peeled.

I was also really impressed with The Theorists with Andrew Brown featuring Dave Witham and former members of Of The Hour. Their name was really long, but they played a very colorful indie rock set with some keys, dual guitars, bass and even a drumkit! The songs were really good, and despite Witham's sore throat, he sounded great on the songs he performed with them. I never got to see Of The Hour when they were still together, but I'm wishing I did now. I really liked their mix of jagged and syncopated Dismemberment Plan-esque indie, with the moody edge (but not so much the billowing and dark sound) of bands like Editors or the Dears. I love with I like something but can't describe it.

I can only speak of my own experience of Peyote Radio Theater. The stage was clean and Ron had a nice new bass and it was yellow. I give a lot of credit to him, Dave Witham (nice to finally meet him for the 4th time) and Derek Kerswill. They performed some of my favorite Buckley tunes and did them more than justice, even their own interpretation of "I Know We Could Be So Happy (If We Wanted To Be)" from it's 4-track demo state on the Sketches for My Sweetheart, The Drunk collection. Again, even though he suffered with a sudden sore throat, Dave Witham had the spirit and soul to pull off singing these challenging Jeff Buckley tunes which is not a small task. It's almost sacred ground, as Buckley's voice and vibe were such an inimitable signature of his music. You have to let yourself sink into the music or else it will never be more than a dull impression of it.

The set started with the staple show opener for Jeff Buckley's tours, "Dream Brother" with it's creeping dramatic build and sudden screeching halts. This song in particular shows so many facets of what was appealing about Buckley: The swirling and almost psychedelic Led Zeppelin influence, the Eastern melody that makes for such a unique sound in an American rock song. Of course, Buckley's enraptured wailing as if he was being consumed by flames as the song reached it's climax. This is the perfect indoctrination into the Church of Buckley.

The only guest singer, Erik Godin (Lucky Dog proprietor) did a very sexy version of "Everybody Here Wants You" which was quite a crowd pleaser.

As a performer, I was very much in awe of the three people I shared the stage with. Because of the pedestal that I've always put Jeff Buckley's music on, I had a hard time not focusing on my misplaced fingers and failing memory. I don't think I've ever felt more intimidated by someone's music as I was to be performing these songs. That said, and though it was a short set that went by in a flash, it was a great experience to be a witness to, let alone part of.

Roger