up next at the Café

Paul Lefebvre, writer and columnist for the Barton Chronicle, will read a selection of columns from his collection “Perimeter Check, Essays from Vermont’s Upper Kingdom”, accompanied by noted Central Vermont fiddler, Susan Reid, on Wednesday, March 10th at 6 pm. Paul lives in Newark, Vermont and is a native of Island Pond. His weekly column, Yours From the Perimeter, has been appearing weekly in the Barton Chronicle since 1999. A born storyteller, Paul brings a reporter’s ear and a native’s insight to the lives and places of Vermont’s Upper Kingdom. Copies of his collection will be available for sale.

"Local music aficionados likely know Seth Gallant as the lead vocalist for Burlington’s In Memory of Pluto. On stage and on record with his interstellar indie-rock outfit, the dynamic front man is nothing short of a firebrand. A veritable powder keg of energy, he is an electrifying performer. But with his charmingly understated solo EP Songs for a Snowstorm — the disc comes packaged in, of all things, a brown paper bag — Gallant sets glitzy showmanship aside and offers a glimpse into the blue-eyed soul of a multifaceted artist." -Seven Days

Spirit and Dust is music driven by the wind, the force within."Spirit and Dust are intrepid tourers of the 50 states, a hardy band of minstrels that conquer boredom in audiences with a musical outreach that could very easily be just the thing that the Obama team needs to get America in shape: it's a musical stimulus plan! This all may sound like hyperbole. However, when you consider that the leader of the band, Kristen Sylvester, is only 19, and has the "old sorrow" in her voice of the most traveled box-car crooner, you get an injection of hope that her band's kind of earnestness in songwriting is what will carry Philadelphia into its own, alongside Nashville, Seattle, etc..." -Mike, Autism Living and Working

PA. folk and indie outfit Eyes for Volume makes their first appearance on the Langdon Street Cafe stage.

Vorcza is explosive; a musical evolution at high speed. Their sound marries jazz, funk and world-influenced rhythms into a layered, sultry, and at times lusty sound. The band features Ray Paczkowski of Trey Anastasio's 70 VOLT PARADE on vocals and keys, Robinson Morse on acoustic and electric bass and Gabriel Jarrett (formerly of Jazz Mandolin Project) on drums.

Mark LeGrand returns to hold down the Happy Hour slot that he has been made famous for! Mark LeGrand has been playing music in Vermont since 1967. Moving as a youngster from the coast of Connecticut at age fourteen Mark says was "like moving into a Norman Rockwell painting." Maybe it seemed that way because he moved to West Arlington, Vermont, where the famous painter lived and many of the townspeople were the subjects of his paintings. Mark carried around an old acoustic guitar and had a head filled with New York City radio waves and a heart filled with homesickness.. A school friend turned him onto Hank Williams via a 78 rpm crank up Victrola at a deer camp and Mark was never the same again. He already had The Lovesick Blues, and now he knew what they sounded like. Mark was in the first electric band in West Arlington and when they played outside on warm summer nights all the cows must have loved it. More than 40 yrs have passed since that wandering boy roamed the fields, streams, Grange Halls and Honky-Tonks of a very different Vermont. A Vermont that was transcending into a more modern era. Interstate highways and big ski area's were on the way and the small farms that dotted the hillsides were vanishing. Yet many people still value the old ways and work hard to maintain them. New, small organic farms and markets, land set aside for future generations and folks coming together to preserve stronger communities are setting the stage for a new era. This is more than a place, it's a way of life. It's here that Mark chooses to live, write and perform his music. The people and the landscape are the raw material for his songs. Old or new, rich or poor, Vermont is a magical kingdom to dream in.

Greg Klyma plays instruments and sings songs, often telling a tale before and sometimes telling a tale afterward, but never with his tale between his legs. It's a family show! Born in Buffalo, NY on his father's bowling night, entertainer Greg Klyma grew up in a blue-collar town with a blue-collar work ethic and an appreciation of blue-collar fun. He has matured into man of homespun, timeless elegance, often clad in a vintage wear, and telling stories with a delightful precision of language. The stories blend seamlessly into songs, evoking a flavor of Mark Twain, Woody Guthrie, and David Sedaris.

Ekis has performed and created dozens of potent, regionally favorite musical projects. He has Concrete Rivals, the surf/spy band. He has fully integrated into kufui, the Jessie Gile instrumental trip orchestra. (see Geek Week 3/30) He is the front lead with Made in Iron, the metal tribute band. He is the shredder and sensitive long hair in Sputnik, the local 80s party explosion. (see Geek Week 3/26) He's also the sing-a-long guy, belting out dozens of classic fm radio tunes with a roomful of fans at the Cafe. On top of this, Ekis is the riff/rhythm that lifts up the giant-sized Fela Kuti project, Movement of the People, generously holding torches aside up-and-coming jazz prodigy Max Bronstein. The legend of Ekis is carving its name into every ear within earshot. Tonight, though, is Ekis' own. The Jay Ekis band performs Ekis originals from his most recent 2008 Touched By War CD. The music has a timeless quality of windows-down, sing-it-loud, power and emotion. It is high- quality live music without bullshit, courtesy, once again, of Ekis. Listen to his song "Bleed" and you will know that Jay's talent as a songwriter is by far his most understated role on the Vermont music scene. Come listen and give mad respect to the man that has come to be known as Ekis, the most solid musician in town. Raise one to Jay! -source: Langdon Street Cafe

The Hungry Rat Revue is a collaborative effort between young, emerging poets and local musicians that brings poetry beyond the page and into the audience by meshing words with music. Kris Gruen fronts tonight's Hungry Rat Revue music ensemble, which features student musicians from three area schools. [www.krisgruen.com]

Burlington-based klesmer accordianist and Brechtian singer returns to the Cafe stage with a host of pals.

From Southern VT: Gold Town is a string band with a strong respect for old timey bluegrass. At night clubs, farmers markets, dive bars and pig roasts, Gold Town stomps the b-jeezum out of the Cafe for the first time.

East Anglian born singer-songwriter Jess Morgan writes and performs folk and roots music that is inspired by both the British and American Folk traditions. She has a distinct voice and style and an approach to song-writing that is extremely evocative and much of her repertoire involves plots and characters anchored in real places and times. In 2009 Jess was adopted by the thriving music scene in Bergen, Norway, where Jess recorded her first full-length album and embarked on a three week tour with her Co-producer: HP Gundersen playing Pedal Steel. Following the success of the Summer’s Crosses/Pamela e.p - The record will be released on Jess’s own label: Amateur Boxer Records in the Spring and promises to be an unusual but accessible spring-loaded box of stories and adventures.

Sign up begins promptly at 7pm. Stage opens at 7:30pm. Please make a purchase at the bar before signing up. No pushing or shoving! Slots are now 10 minutes in length. Last slot is 10:20pm. Your host: Kevin Kerner

Dynamic songwriting, dazzling acoustic guitar chops, vocals that hit the sweet highs of pop and limbo the lows of the blues. This is Kierstin Gray. The depth of this singer-songwriters melodic range, command of her instrument, and on-stage presence illustrate that Gray surely has that undeniable “thing” that people recognize as star quality. Within a few notes, one instantly bears witness to the wiles of an alluring storyteller.

Musical accompaniment by a yet-to-be-determined Ben Roy project.

This event is $8 in advance and $10 at the door. The monthly Summit School Showcase falls on St. Patrick's Day and features Hilari Farrington and Benedict Koelher, two Summit School teachers who are internationally recognized Irish musicians. This musical couple now living in East Montpelier, Vermont, met at a benefit for the Champlain Festival in 1986. Strongly influenced by the playing of the great musicians of East Galway and County Clare, both Benedict and Hilari have played and taught widely at Irish music festivals and events such as the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Chris Langan Weekend in Toronto, the St. Louis Tionol, the Piper's Gathering in North Hero, and the Champlain Valley Folk Festival. Known as insightful and generous teachers, Benedict and Hilari are also engaging performers on uilleann bagpipes, penny whistle, Irish harp, and button accordion. They join the stage with local fiddle legend Pete Sutherland, who plays the Cafe stage for the first time. To be followed by a traditional irish session and traditional drinking of beer.

Newcomer Danielle Doyle has been garnering much attention among audiences and fellow musicians, since she first emerged on the scene at the beginning of 2009. Danielle has been named a 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong Youth Winner, a winner of the weekly Lizard Lounge Open Mic challenge and has earned some incredible supporting slots including opening for Loudon Wainwright III, Dawn Landes, and Heather Masse (of The Wailin’ Jennys). A true performer, Danielle’s songs are best heard when she’s singing them live, when beautiful melodies, “sultry alt-country” vocals, and rich lyrics are interspersed with relaxed and comic banter that makes you feel like you’ve known the young songwriter forever.

With the fall release of her debut album Cozy Razor's Edge, she is quickly becoming known for her powerhouse performances, her highly original songwriting, her memorable melodies, her expressive vocals and evocative lyricism. Her debut album Cozy Razor's Edge will take you through the depths of the human experience. Maloney describes this record as her "heartfelt effort to integrate music and awareness, creativity and presence; the intention to dance along the line between sound and silence." The Seven Days said: “Read up enough on Massachusetts-based songwriter Heather Maloney’s debut disc Cozy Razor’s Edge and you’ll notice a curious critical conundrum unfold, as one bewildered scribe after another attempts to pin down her sound by invoking an eyebrow-raising range of presumed influences” "Maloney writes evocative music that urges peace and harmony and boasts full-bodied, knock you dead vocal" The Valley Advocate (Northampton MA)

Boston-based Garlic & Moonshine developed roots in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts when long-time friends and collaborators Matthew Rowen (acoustic guitar), Kirsten Lamb (upright bass), and Avi David (electric guitar) came together in January 2009 to record their debut album In Waves (to be released in March 2010). Their eclectic sound is grounded in creative songwriting and strong musicianship. In Waves is at times playful and bouncy, at others sparse and introspective. With just three members, Garlic & Moonshine's is a substantial sound sometimes ambient, sometimes two-stepping, sometimes infectiously groovy.

Klesmer accordianist David Symons reunites with his trio from Providence, RI. for this reunion show. "The members of The Salt Wives were all born at very young ages, and spent the following years mastering the rudiments of human behavior. At some point, we learned to agitate air molecules in an agreeable manner. We would like you to give us money to do this."- from the band's MySpace

Mark LeGrand returns to hold down the Happy Hour slot that he has been made famous for! Mark LeGrand has been playing music in Vermont since 1967. Moving as a youngster from the coast of Connecticut at age fourteen Mark says was "like moving into a Norman Rockwell painting." Maybe it seemed that way because he moved to West Arlington, Vermont, where the famous painter lived and many of the townspeople were the subjects of his paintings. Mark carried around an old acoustic guitar and had a head filled with New York City radio waves and a heart filled with homesickness.. A school friend turned him onto Hank Williams via a 78 rpm crank up Victrola at a deer camp and Mark was never the same again. He already had The Lovesick Blues, and now he knew what they sounded like. Mark was in the first electric band in West Arlington and when they played outside on warm summer nights all the cows must have loved it. More than 40 yrs have passed since that wandering boy roamed the fields, streams, Grange Halls and Honky-Tonks of a very different Vermont. A Vermont that was transcending into a more modern era. Interstate highways and big ski area's were on the way and the small farms that dotted the hillsides were vanishing. Yet many people still value the old ways and work hard to maintain them. New, small organic farms and markets, land set aside for future generations and folks coming together to preserve stronger communities are setting the stage for a new era. This is more than a place, it's a way of life. It's here that Mark chooses to live, write and perform his music. The people and the landscape are the raw material for his songs. Old or new, rich or poor, Vermont is a magical kingdom to dream in.

The Avi Fox-Rosen Band brings you Absurdist Rock Cabaret straight outa Brooklyn, New York. Whisper to wail singing accompanied by screaming clarinet, junk yard razor blade guitar playing, cantankerous outbursts, moments of serenity, and grooves that make your backside weep. A spiffy dressed man takes the stage and escorts you through a universe populated by hot girls on bikes, religious fundamentalists who worship themselves, and renegade criminal bankers. Enjoy your evening.

Corporate America. It’s alive and endowed with the rights of humanity, but can it also get the flu? Chicken pox? Zombie virus? Don’t become lost in a morass of lies and explanations, come see the RPM Puppet Conspiracy’s thrilling answer to this and other perhaps more unsettling questions in “The Only Good Corporation is an Undead Corporation”. Watch as capital invests in it’s own infection! Puppetshow by RPM Puppet Conspiracy puppeteer Dumpsterland Dave.

With original songs, and much merriment, mOss circle formed in 2009 in the NE Kingdom of Vermont. Lead singer Margot Day has performed coast to coast. Day fronted the legendary band The Plague, released a solo CD, and the SACRED! CD. For reviews and more info visit margotday.com " ...mOss gives a good show in its visual as well as with its sounds, with a definite appeal to a generation familiar with the magical mythologies of Tolkein's Lord Of The Rings and even Harry Potter" Hardwick Gazette. " .... mystical vibe appropriate to their name is apparent" Times Argus "The new songs show Margot Day and company in fine form indeed... she was the trendsetter that others emulated and a whole new generation will come to know Day in the latest incarnation of mOss".Mike V - Hidden Sanctuary. Fantasy Rock! Join the mOss circle

The Three Meese Band brings an honest to goodness, rootin' tootin, knee slappin', aluminum foil chewin', slap your grandma, good time that is sure to soon be forgotten and not to be missed. Made up of Chuck Meese and two sons Cavan and Jan, they play a variety of instruments and a wide ranging [INVALID]ion of songs and styles from Woody Guthrie to Randy Newman, all tied together in one fast paced night. These guys have been performing together their entire lives, from puppet shows to large concerts, touring theater, and guest appearing in each other's shows. In their carefully pre-meditated escape from the frozen woods of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom (hoping for a warm welcome) they bring south their “Popular With People” tour. To celebrate, they're offering a special, pay to hear one song and get the rest free, a deal for sure! The Meese Family says they are like a mix between a run-away truck and a fruit vendor, but you'll have to see for yourself.

DON'T MISS THIS INCREDIBLE DANCE PARTY! The Underscore Orkestra is a Portland OR based band, playing a blend of Balkan, Klezmer, Gypsy Jazz and Swing, with a repertoire consisting of both original and traditional material The Underscore Orkestra has been performing for the past 5 + years, touring all around the western U.S., Europe, Mexico and Guatemala and has been seen from intimate coffee shop setting all the way to huge outdoor festivals. We are also working with and interested in continuing to meet performance artists, jugglers, poets, storytellers, clowns, actors and tech folk alike…

Together since 1993, Ocracoke’s Molasses Creek has toured throughout the United States, released 9 Cds and has received worldwide radio airplay. This high-energy acoustic group continues to win loyal followings with their captivating stage presence, elegant harmonies, blazing instrumentals, and a quirky sense of humor.

Doors open at 7pm. Matt Lorenz of Rusty Belle debuts his solo CD entitled The Suitcase Junket to open the festivities for Langdon Street Cafe's 4th annual Geek Week. $5 or one punch from the Geek Week Preregistration Pass

Matt Lorenz and two cronies give Casios cameos at Langdon Street Cafe's Geek Week. What can vintage keyboards do when joined together to make glitchy music. Dance party to follow.

Durians are a trio out of Burlington sailing the largely uncharted waters of live electronic music. Drawing from genres such as Jungle, Drum n Bass, House, Trance, Dubstep, and Glitch they create a unique fusion of electronic dance music and electroacoustic experimentation while maintaining bits of the classical melodicism, jazzy pretentiousness, and balls out rock and roll enthusiasm on which the three were raised . Durians will fill your every orifice with sonic delights and demons meant to stimulate the nether regions of your musical consciousness, leaving you satiated, elevated, and only slightly violated.$5 suggested donation

The triumphant return of our local 80's tribute band featuring Anais Mitchell, Sara Grace, Jay Ekis and Noah Hahn with guest Ben t. Matchstick. This will be the hottest Geek Week dance party of all time! And its Anais' birthday! Lets party like its 1989! $10 admission

Jen Dole dons her sweatbands and jelly bracelets for live trivia and fantastic prizes. Teams or individuals. Test your knowledge of culture, news, and useless garble from the decade that was so totally radical- the 80s!

The band is comprised of one 6 year old girl, her dad Sasha on bass, Jeff on Drums and a BR-600. The lyrics are all written by the 6 year old, which you can probably guess....

Vermont cartoonist and Superstar James Kochalka ruins your notions of music with 8 bit music composed on a Game Boy Advance.

Get with the freaking party. Best Electropop Band: BEWARE! the Other Head of Science “Don’t even think about asking who the original head of science is or why you shouldn’t excercise caution around him/her. Just dance. BEWARE!’s spazzy synth-pop is like a can of root beer, filled with Pop Rocks, poured down the pants of a hyperactive 7th grader. Yeah.” -Metroland, Best of the Capital Region 2009

We (The Mathematicians) are a band from the tri-county region of Upstate NY. We formed in summer of 2003, released our first CD “Level One” in 2004, our second CD “Level Two” in 2006 and our feature length movie “Mathematicians: Transdimensional Odyssey of Doom” in 2009 which features footage from 100 shows and an animated story-line. We have spent a lot of our time on the road playing shows over the last 6 years. We are currently working on a new record. The band is: Dewi Decimal- Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals Albert Gorithm IV- Drums, Laptop, Vocals Pete Pythagoras- Bass, Guitar, Vox/M.C.

A gaming convention that is befitting of Geek Week. Like Monopoly? Too bad! We only do Euro Games like Catan, Carcassonne, Agricola, and Tikal! We don't just play Scrabble, we prefer Bananagrams. We play Last Night on Earth, Memoir 44 (Overlord Scenerio), and Lord of the Rings. Hundreds of other games and gamemasters available for teaching thanks to your contribution.

Miss Wizard Anne Watson joins IBM's Chief Engineer John Cohn for a school night filled with science, equations, mathmatix, lightning, and thunder of brainwaves galore!

Jessie Giles returns with the ability to stun audiences with his sonic ride through the stratos via his insane arrangements on bass guitar, Sootsy on drums and Ekis on guitar. Horns in effect as well. Don't mess with kufui!

Our fourth annual Geek Week convenes with the monthly showcase of local, live electronica. Nick Painter, Ben Roy, Lillie Jayne, noisemkr, and others join host robo for this evening of glitch, scratch, loop, and knob twisty. All performers have committed to creating power sets of dance music befitting of the Geek Week closing ceremony.