There is nothing quite like a packed show at The Silent Barn on a Friday night. If you didn’t know better you might think that you were seeing a show in a squat in Neukölln, Berlin, or perhaps on the fringes of Amsterdam. Nestled in a rather desolate stretch of Wyckoff Avenue between a car service and a Spanish Caribbean bar that is plenty loud itself, you get a sense of freedom and that the party is gonna go late. The fact that people are actually living at The Silent Barn and that the stage is set up within their kitchen gives it a very relaxed vibe and certain coziness despite it’s outwardly gritty appearance. If you need a break from the music you can always retire to the basement, where they are serving stiff drinks along side of a permanent installation of DIY video games thanks to Baby Castles .

On this particular Friday night Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard played a fantastic set. With a band to back him up he mixed in some punkier songs and looked to be genuinely enjoying rocking out. The crowd dug it and the floor heaved under the weight of the full house. Jeff is showcasing some of his comic books @ the MoCCa fundraiser today and tomorrow.

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Last night I attended the Inflatable Sculpture Show @ 3rd Ward. I was curious to check out the show mainly because of the Air Bear sculptures built over the subway grates a couple years ago that swept across the Internet.

The sculptures at the show last night were produced via the inflatable sculpture class that 3rd Ward offers for people who want to learn the tricks of the trade. There was certainly some interesting pieces at the show, although what I missed was the incorporation of motion that was present in earlier pieces like the Air Bear and other subway grate sculptures.

There was one standout piece from the show, a hybrid cross between an inflatable sculpture and projected light art. Looking forward to seeing what the next round of students produce.

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This past Friday I had the pleasure of attending the sold out Jeff Buckley Tribute Show at The Knitting Factory which was curated by legendary guitarist Gary Lucas. This was a benefit for Road Recovery, a charity for helping young people battle addiction.  The bands he hand-picked for this intimate evening were wide-ranging to say the least. Some standouts were the Gothic folk music of Villa Delirium complete with a singing saw, kora infused pop from German singer song writer Jan Klose, Jeffrey Lewis’ unique anti-folk sound complete with a handmade comic book for his interpretation of Jeff Buckley’s Mojo Pin, and a number of amazing singer songwriters backed up by Gary on guitar. What the artists did have in common was raw talent and a passion for a man that inspired them.

Each artist played 2 or 3 songs, a nice format for getting a taste for so many bands in the space of a couple hours. I wanted to share a few of the special moments from the show. First up is Diana Silveira backed up by Gary Lucas, she is a Portuguese singer and her vocal energy almost immediately silenced the crowd:

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