Image by YarnImage by 20090702-yarn.jpg Yarn at a January performance.

The band that was supposed to open for Yarn at The Pour House on Monday, June 29th, never show up.

Instead, Carey Ann Hearst and Michael Trent of the band Shovels and Rope showed up with a dog in tow and played on the back deck despite the sudden thunderstorm. -- If you missed that great set this time, Hearst will be performing at the Pour House again on Monday, July 6th.

But it was Yarn, a folk indie band from Brooklyn, New York who really blew me away.

Two of the band’s members were out of commission, but the other four members rocked out anyway. With a voice reminiscent of Clem Snide, Jeff Tweedy, M. Ward and even a bit of Jim James, lead singer Blake Christiana was friendly and talkative between his songs. It became quickly apparent that the whole band is made up of skilled musicians; drummer Jay Frederick at one point blew everyone away with a 7 minute drum solo.

Yarn played a set of their older songs, but also some stuff from their upcoming album which they hope will be released in November.

All things considered, it was a fun night. The crowd was sparse due to the Monday night booking, but that just made the whole thing feel more intimate ... like we were all just old buddies.