doors 8/show 8:30, $6/9

Stephen Sebastian isn’t going mad. Seriously. Granted, musical comparisons to eccentric influences like Ryan Adams, Tom Petty and Elliott Smith abound. But Steve Sebastian is a young college graduate from Cleveland who drives to work, eats home-cooked meals, walks his dog, attends church, and tries to call his parents every couple of weeks. Still, he’s not strictly typical, either. His music might best fit into a cozy but lonesome middle ground between the mundane and the unorthodox, between the old and the new, tradition and rebellion. It’s like the blues as seen in a funhouse mirror, or all of rock ’n’ roll history thrown into a blender and played in reverse, a twisting kaleidoscope of five decades worth of guitar-based pop music. Riffs and solos give way to twang and shuffle in a tag-team match of alt-country haze and classic rock immediacy, accented all the while by lyrics equally forceful and vulnerable, both visceral and broken. Rightly enough, his voice actually keeps up with the shape-shifting act. He growls like Tom Waits, croons like Ryan Adams, whispers like Thom Yorke, and bellows like The Boss. Equipped as such, he follows the blues around to just about anywhere it’s made its home in the past, from the delta to the honky tonk to the arena and all in between. Yet his vagabond sound is rooted firmly in the bright, not-too-distant future. Call him an observant scholar of the past or a bold poet of years to come, or maybe just a cool guy who might as well be your next door neighbor, but it’s worth the trouble to listen to the evidence and decide for yourself.

Beauty/Beast | Back in the 1600s, there was a man playing a lute. He bumped into a woman while playing on the street. They looked at each other; he began playing his lute once more and the woman began to sing. At that point they realized, “For Heaven’s sake, let us shout a chorus or two.” Then, in the year 2000 of 9, a man playing a geetar bumped into a woman while playing on the street. They looked at each other and he began to play his geetar once more, and the woman began to sing. At that point, they both realized, “Fuck yeah, dude, let’s rock out.”

Andy Berkhout | As he continues a musical journey that has spanned cities, states, countries and continents, Andy Berkhout now resides in St. Louis. In July 2009, Andy released his self-produced album, Wake Up for the Day. The album, which has brought comparisons to Sufjan Stevens and Iron & Wine, features songs composed on the guitar, banjo and ukulele. In the months that followed, he completed a tour of the Midwest that included performances at Milwaukee’s Summerfest and an internationally syndicated program for the University of Wisconsin’s WSUM radio station. Andy’s latest endeavor, the free Songs on Tape EP, showcases three new songs that were recorded on an analog four-track.

Anthony Meyer | Started writing music at 14; it sucked. Has played guitar for 10 years and loving constant inspiration. Is almost finished creating his EP Social Acceptance, which should hit iTunes around Christmastime.