It had been a few months since the little town I live in had live music. By chance, I saw a flyer in the cafe advertising a free show on Saturday night. I decided to go out of curiosity and because it was so close to home.

Ben Arthur and Jennifer Marks were the billed headliners. To keep things fair and avoid bruised egos, they took turns performing. Without the aid of microphones, they sang over the hiss of the espresso machine. Arthur's set started out slow, but ended strongly with a catchy tune called "Mary Ann". Marks had the more pleasant voice and I liked "Live", one of her upbeat songs.

More impressive than either one of them was a young woman named Rae, who drove all the way from Sacramento to play just three songs, two original pieces and then a beautiful cover of Radiohead's "Creep".

The show made for a decent Saturday night, but was only a warm up, a way to whet my musical appetite for an eagerly awaited concert on Sunday.