Last night I stopped into the Children's Home Society Coffee House that featured Athens, West Virginia musician Kathleen Coffee. Steve Tuck brought her to town and I happen to have the good luck of being on his email list. When he sent out an invite and description of her that included the magic words "Ani Difranco" my interest was peaked. I checked out Kathleen's myspace page on Friday afternoon and decided that seeing her was a priority!
The Coffee House Atmosphere was great, it was a very intimate setting and I had the best seat in the house - the very comfy couch. I saw some old friends and a long lost family member (I love you sweetie!) and had a great cup of coffee. My friend Jennifer immediately commented that she reminded her of a young Dar Williams. I had to agree - her stage presence and sense of humor were definitely reminiscent of Dar.
She played some great tunes - I particularly liked Paint From the Brain & Harboring. Kat explained that her songs are often inspired by one word for example, Tragedy.
Kat has a self titled album coming out on May 23rd and is having a CD release party in Princeton, WV at the Room Upstairs. Her album was recorded live at the Riff Raff and according to Kat she is committed to keeping that "back porch" sound and not being overly engineered.
As I was watching her I couldn't help but think that I was being let in on a secret - that I was lucky to get to see her in such an intimate setting and that there may be a time when she is playing much larger venues, yep ladies and gentlemen, she's a keeper. I suspect that time will only enhance Miss Kat's young voice and song writing - she is staying on my radar. I'm definitely going to grab a copy of her upcoming CD.
I didn't bring my camera - only my cell phone & used it to take notes and snap a quick shot - the lighting was non-existent so I opted to work with it . Thanks Steve for bringing more amazing music to Parkersburg (and a belated thank you for Anais Mitchell) !
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