TURN THAT THING DOWN!!

This past Saturday night was so hot at the Stumpjack that the front windows were steamed up enough to prevent passersby from seeing the place packed wall to wall with people gettin' into Marcella and The Lonely Sound. Several people came in Sunday morning and told us that when they drove by Saturday evening they could barely see through the windows but that the music pumping out into the street and the people outside in front told them that something was goin' down at the Stump. I couldn't say it in my last post announcing Marcella but the night really came together because of our friend and poster artist-extraordinaire Wade Marks (the opening reception for Wade's showing is this Friday night). The party and band gig were a surprise birthday gift from Wade to his gorgeous wife, Melissa.

Wade & Melissa

So the place was loaded with people invited to the party and people who came in just to hear the band (everybody yelled "Surprise!" when Melissa came in). Even though we had a half-barrel of Sleeman Honey Brown, bottled beer and wine available, we served a lot of coffee early in the evening, with a number of single and double shots of espresso, which was both a little surprising and very cool.

Marcella was simply awesome. Anna, Ben, Dana, James are a well oiled machine, play their own tunes and have a really unique jazzy rock sound. Trust me, it probably won't be long before Marcella has a national recording contract and is getting a lot of critical acclaim. These "guys" are that good.

Marcella

They're so good, in fact, that the local police came by a couple of times to see and hear the band (yes, many of our local police officers are blessed with good taste in both coffee and music). The boys in blue responded to a noise complaint (we were loud and proud) and they handled it with class, humor and professionalism. We did have to turn things down a notch or two to jive with the city ordinance and decibel meter, but that had no affect on the energy the band generated. We play Marcella's CD in regular rotation now, and you can get a copy either directly from them (visit their web site) or from us here at the Stumpjack.

The Lonely Sound is a duo of Dylan Koch (drums) and Derek Czekala (guitar) and these two cats are unbelievable. All instrumental...like the best tiramisu you've ever had, ethereal and very heavy and rich at the same time. We were totally blown away. We quit and went home a bit after 1:00 a.m.. And a good time was had by all...

The Lonely Sound

This Friday (the 16th) is Wade's opening reception for his poster art exhibition; it's open to the public, of course. The local paper is coming to interview him today. Then, this Saturday (the 17th) we have Happenstance, an acoustic/vocal duo playing here. Then next weekend it's off to Chicago for CoffeeFest for me and Kim (the Stumpjack will be open, manned by my charming partner, Glen).