Now We're Talkin'-Weekly Blog #3

So this past Friday, I was determined to fight through the week's fatigue and check out a band or a new place in town. So in the spirit of cooperation, my fiance did the research while I got ready to go out. We narrowed it down to some contenders but ultimately decided to stay in Virginia and check out what the folks in the 'burbs were into. He'd come across a place called Jammin Java in Vienna. OK I will not lie. I thought this sounded pretty corny but I listened to the band that was scheduled for that night and it sounded promising. Plus, the venue was ranked one of the top 40 music venues in the country by Paste magazine. It's owned by brothers and musicians Daniel and Luke Brindley of The Brindley Brothers so they probably knew how a band would want to sound, right? Right. Jammin Java is located in the suburbs. In a shopping strip. Next to a CVS. When you walk in it becomes clear why its name references coffee. Clearly during the day, this is a cool local coffee shop and cafe. At night, the bar is open for business and the area at the back is cleared to leave room for about 200 music fans. All in all, my first impression was that this was a pretty cool place with a cool concept.

 Photo by Rachel Brown Photography

 The band that we went to see was called Kid Architect. They sounded melodic and well-produced from the clip on the website, but nothing could prepare for their live performance. The show doubled as their album release party so the crowd was filled with their fans. I was beginning to wonder if the crowd was going to talk loudly near the bar throughout the entire show as the did during the first band's performance, but as soon as the first note from the lead singer's keyboard rang out, it drew the crowd to the stage like a super-magnet. I was so impressed with the balance of the sound again at this venue. Props to all the sound guys I've heard so far. Kid Architect's songs were creative and well-written. And though I am a singer and the lead singer was one of the best male leads I've seen in a long time, I will also say that all the members were strong on their instruments. No weak links here. There were even some strong harmonies toward the end. So to sum it up, it was pretty good night. Definitely worth the trip.