Sola Luna, a quartet consisting of Nora Huges, Sonja Irene, Ariel Morgan, and Kelsey Beckmeyer, sang songs in Spanish and English against a video backdrop of line drawings. Ghosts and dogs chased across the screen, accompanied by a mixture of spoken word poetry, vocal harmonies and delicate guitar melodies. The performance comprised the culmination of a long-term project by Sola Luna’s members, who traveled earlier this year to the Dominican Republic to help with relief efforts in the wake of devastation by the Haitian earthquake. This trip also gave birth to the Bellingham-Hispaniola Solidarity Project, an effort to raise awareness of this issue.

Nearby, a tree of paper balloons bloomed–symbolic of months spent asking citizens to make balloons in order to raise money and awareness for the cause. Even though I could only catch a little of the meaning of the songs, I was moved by their palpable sense of desolation and loss.

Next came a short film by Nina Mouritzen, “Pola-film,” which slowly built an enigmatic story through a series of dreamy stills and words.

Marsha, a piano and guitar duo featuring Ariel and Alexis Diltz, performed lush songs reminiscent of CocoRosie. A vaudevillian banter between songs contrasted amusing with the kind of minor harmonies one imagines might be composed by freak folk opera school drop-outs.

“My Life in Saints,” by Liz Darrow, examined the narrator’s personal pantheon of heroes, from mothers and aunts to female icons like Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur, relating them to Catholicism’s rich tradition of female religious warriors.

Maple Nightingale, a former member of Yes We Are, sang a mixture of wistful covers and originals. Intricate guitar finger-picking complemented thoughtful, pensively humorous lyrics.

Mary Mary, a trio led by Alexandra Song and backed by Geoff Traeger and the suddenly ubiquitous Zach Zinn, will hopefully record an album soon. Their songs were impossibly loud and catchy, blowing the roof off not only the Meat Market but also drowning out the jazz performance taking place at the Chuckanut Ridge Wine Company next door.

Mae West’s Leg, featuring the formidable combination of Tina North, Kat Bula, and Amanda Kalkwarf, played songs with names like “Blood,” “Drinkin’,” and “Skullfuckery,” creating a mighty noise that both exhilarated and intimidated.

Then a film by myself, entitled “Male Heterosexuality: A Celebration,” was shown. It featured the acting talents of Tracy Reilly, Amanda Kalkwarf, Kelly Bjork, Jed Bailey, and Joel Hollander. Some liked it; others did not!

The evening finished with music by O Paon, the project of one Genevieve Castree. Beautiful, hypnotic guitar playing was backed by inscrutable, melancholy French vocals. Castree made brilliant use of her loop pedal, building trance-like circular melodies that slowly stretched into violently emotional crescendos.

First off, I want to say that I was impressed by Teo Crider when I reviewed his EP Songs last year. Since then I’d been meaning to see his band Candysound live around town. The show at the Anker Cafe was my first chance at finally seeing them perform, and the two-man band didn’t disappoint.

Both Teo (guitar/vocals) and Tom (drums/vocals) pack a lot of punch with such a small set-up. Their indie pop sound is reminiscent of Pinback with its ethereal guitar and the vocals remind me of a pop-punk Radiohead; alt-crooning with a little edge. Plus, the coffee shop definitely granted a more intimate performance. You could notice all of the band’s subtleties from the small size of the venue. I could see Candysound becoming even more successful… and soon.

The duo is young, both are under 21. This qualified them for a slot in EMP’s Sound Off! competition, which will take place at the EMP Skychurch on Feb. 13. It’s an accomplishment shared by Bellingham’s Pan Pan as well.

Maple Nightingale came next. She had a real delicate manner about her, which was emphasized by her lighter-than-air voice. Playing a strictly acoustic show, Maple did a couple gorgeous covers which included a Regina Spektor song and Karen O and the Kids’ “All Is Love” off the “Where The Wild Things Are” soundtrack.

As I was leaving the Anker Cafe, I let Teo and Tom know that they played a great show. But before I left, Teo stopped me. “I want you to put in the magazine that Maple has the best voice ever,” said Teo, “actually, put ‘in the universe.’”

Go Slowpoke starts off this compilation CD with a catchy Beatles like tune called “Now that I’m Dumb” that made me bob my head as if to an old favorite song. Then they switched gears dramatically and pulled off an acoustic, raw, slower sound that is very 60s. I caught a hippy vibe that made me want to pick up my guitar and strum along. The last two songs on their piece are live. The lyrics, or the voice, are comedic but worth listening to.

Maple Nightingale was next with five songs and again there was a Woodstock-like throwback. I like the lead singer’s voice better from Maple Nightingale, it was sweet and kind of reminded me of Juno (of Juno or of Kimya Dawson?).

Daschel Schueler had a poor vocal tracking for the first song; it sounded very far away, but sounded like it would be great live, so keep a look out for them. The rest of their songs were catchy and I bounced along a little, but nothing mind blowing, just soft and heard before. However, their cover of “Solitary Man” by Neil Diamond was enjoyable and is now on my ipod, the CD was worth it just for that!

1985 seemed like a continuum of the acoustic folk music that the CD covered. If you would like a 60s acoustic local sound, the CD did well. Nothing was amazing; nothing was bad. The entire CD is great for movie background music of a group of friends road-tripping through desert scenery. You will understand and agree if you can get a hold of any of their music. Look for these bands at coffee shops, not bars.

Released on Masa Records

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