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Given the sorry state of my office this week (it’s time for some cleanin’), the pile of bills waiting in my inbox to be paid, and the fact that I only got about 4 hours’ sleep, this week’s edition of Saturday Morning Tuneage is going to be a short one.

If you noticed the countdown in the nav bar anytime in the last two months, you probably already know that I checked out Teagan and the Tweeds, the Katy Wright Band, and Teressa Wilcox at Lovin’ Cup last night, along with Kelly and a couple of good friends. Between the great covers (highlights included Janis Joplin, Sara Bareilles and K T Tunstall, just to start) and plenty of originals in every set, every song they rocked out was a crowd-pleaser.

Aside from my personal favorite, Don’t Walk Away, The Tweeds got everyone on their feet and clapping when they broke out Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz, and they gave us a taste of what happens when they crank up the soul with their take on Nothing but the Water by Grace Potter and the Noctournals.

Aside from the music, the venue was a winner, too. It was our first visit, and we tried out the food, the coffee, the hot cocoa and some nothing-short-of-kickass chai. Obviously set up for live music, the layout is just what you’d imagine for an ideal “intimate concert” setting – sit-down booths on the outer edges flank high-top tables, all of which surrounds a well-lit rounded stage. The front row sits about ten feet from the musicians, and no one is far enough away to feel disconnected from the show. It reminded me a lot of seeing John Mayer perform tracks from Inside Wants Out at the now-defunct Milestones Music Room – along with a whopping 200-or-so other fans – long before his rise to superstardom.

If you didn’t make it to last night’s show, you can still check out Teagan Ward on Tuesday nights at the Beale Street Cafe on South Avenue. And for those with more “classical” tastes, there is some excellent local music yet to be heard this month: The Eastman Philharmonia – a student ensemble at the world-renowned Eastman School of Music – will be playing works by Elgar and Rismky-Korsakov this coming Friday night (January 30th) from 8-10PM at the Eastman Theater.

Hmm…so much for keeping it short this week!