In this day and age of music that is mostly "scratch, sample and scream" (scream being defined in my Websters as “cry out loudly and shrilly”), it is refreshing to attend a performance were people sing and play. The five artists performing were The Bookstore Cowboys, James Laczkowski, Ellen Rosner, Marlon Longid, and Immortality.

The Bookstore Cowboys, who are Mike O’Cull and Dan Baron, started off the evening with a roots-rock-blues tinged set that consisted of 7 songs. All of the songs had a strong pop feel, but also kept well within their genre. What I mean is that roots-rock-blues has a realism about it, that most don’t equate with pop, but hey a catchy tune is a catchy tune and O’Cull and Baron have some catchy tunes. While I was listening I kept thinking to myself that they sound like someone, but who? Then it hit me - Willie Nile. Nile is someone I spent a lot of time listening to back in the early 80s. Dan Baron sang lead vocals on two songs and that’s when the blues came out. Boy-oh-boy does Baron have a voice! The combination of strong vocals and well-written songs, along with fine musicianship, make the Bookstore Cowboys a band to see.

Next up was James Laczkowski. As much as I liked his voice, the songs ran into each other a bit too much to for my liking. Sometimes in this kind of setting it is hard to pull off an acoustic set, especially if the music is in a harder rock vein. Not to say that it can’t be done, but it's all in how you approach it. It's one thing to play live with a band, and its another to play acoustically. Over all his set wasn’t bad, I just felt that there was something missing.

Ellen Rosner followed James Laczkowski, and Ellen is the embodiment of the singer/songwriter. Her set was perfect. You know when you hear the real thing and Ellen is just that. Her voice is somewhat reminiscent of Joan Armatrading and is very powerful. The thing is that Ellen knows how to use her voice - the song is never the voice, but the voice breathes life into the song. And in Ellen's case, the song(s) are about life: her life, with the good, the bad, and all points in between. Song after song Ellen showed her ability as a songwriter and as a performer. Here’s my life, here’s my song, everything. Ok, well almost. As Ellen may tell you, she is the perfect malcontent. She is also someone who should be seen, and heard. What a joy!

Coming off the high of Ellen Rosner, and the buzz of the coffee, I wondered if Marlon Longid would be able to be as great. Well in many ways, he was. In terms of voice, I have heard few that are better, at least in ChiTown. Marlon Longid is the lead singer for Soul Fix. I have never heard them, nor have I seen them, but after hearing Marlon I think I want to. His songs are both tight and radio friendly, and on top of that, he has a very charismatic stage presence. All in all I have to say that the combination of Marlon Longid's voice, guitar playing, and strong songs may have been one of the high lights of the evening for me.

Last but not least was Immortality. This band shows a lot of promise, but this was not their night. While I was watching, I never felt that they were completely comfortable in this setting. I think that they felt held back, again this is an acoustic show, and I think they want to rock. The lead singer sounded like Eddie Vetter, so there was a Pearl Jam feel here and maybe a Creed one to. All this is fine, but somehow it just didn’t fit with the night. Like I said, they do show promise and I hope to see them as a full band when they can do what they do, I’m guessing it's what they do best, and that’s rock.