Every once in a while, an opening act you’ve never heard of takes you by surprise and truly impresses. You weren’t planning on paying that much attention. You were just going to have a couple of beers, talk with your friends and maybe check out the merch table.  These guys were just going to provide an inconsequential backing soundtrack for the moments that led up to the headliners taking the stage. But they start playing. And they’re good. Really good. You stop chatting up your friends and you fall in love with finding new music again.

It was a cold Thursday night and after a Guiness at Finnhenry’s we were headed to the Social to see Midlake, the seven-piece folk rockers from Denton, TX. From the moment we walked in, I was drawn in and made my way to the floor. Sarah Jaffe had already started her set and I was immediately disappointed that I may have missed something–even if it was only one song. It was mezmerizing. Sarah delivered smart, sensative lyrics with elegant phrasing, beautifully restrained melodies and a very honest, soulful voice. Thankfully, I can’t exactly pin down the sound. A little Neko Case. A bit Madeline Peyroux. A touch of Adele. She and her band, featuring some very tasteful guitar and accordian work from Robert Gomez, switched seamlessly from swing to sorrow.

“Somewhere someone is listening to the sound a record spinning.”  That would be me. The record would be Sarah Jaffe’s EP, Even Born Again. And that should probably be you, too.