MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH

August 11, 2007 by PT Rothschild.

‘THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME’
 

For anyone who remembers the scene back in the Java Jo’z days, you know that you saw groups that have gone on to be huge, though none more so than Meg & Dia. Now that Johnny has returned and taken the reigns over at CUPPY’S, formally Java Jo’z where the original name is still on the entrance marquee (newbie tourists take note), more and more businesses are finding that the namesake signature sandwiches are back, along with new hungry customers discovering what a meal each CUPPY’S sandwich is. But as the day business has started to return to its pre-CUPPY’S days, the night-time cabaret side which features new music HAS returned to its past scene-ness. This was validated by the stunning performance on Wednesday night’s open mike set from one Samantha Cathcart, a local artist that we all watched start here at the scene, gaining more confidence and poise all the while she opened herself more and more artistically to the audience. On Monday the ‘divine’ Miss Cathcart is leaving T-town and moving to the Windy City (Chicago) to refine her craft and learn from the environment that nurtured many a blues singer and slinger, including Janis Joplin. Janis comes to mind because the gutsy delivery and raw sincerity of Samantha harkens the image of a young ‘Janis’ just starting out, and Janis did go through the South Side of Chi-town, performing and refining, just before she ‘blew up’ into the mainstream. That’s the thing about the scene. You see a lot of talent, but sometimes you see talent that you ‘feel’ you will see again in the big time. The night capped off for all us late-nighters when Joe Tran played with his first time drummer, a young woman of about 18 years old. Together they were awesome, and you could just see the female drummer expand with appreciation from the fans for the excellent job she did in keeping with Joe. You could almost see the chemistry happening between them in spontaneity on stage. It is that personal growth you witness happening to someone, both as an artist and as a person, which is the hypnotic energy of the new music scene found once again, at Java Jo’z, er, CUPPY’S. Yes, the magic is back.

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