Graig Markel, accompanied by a snowman. Centro-Matic, lost in thought. Jon Auer clings desperately to the audience's attention.

Ah, the solo artist. A wily beast, the solo artist can take up varying plumage, sometimes appearing in his true form, with merely his honeyed voice and acoustic guitar thrust to the fore, or sometimes gathering together a passel of like-minded chums to form what is often referred to as the "backing band". However, for the solo artist, the name always remains the same. Tonight's show was comprised of two solo artists who sometimes appear with the backing band and sometimes go it alone, and one full-fledged band. Or so I thought. I was actually hoping for full bands all around, for several reasons -- because I like the rock, and because both solo artists mentioned above kick ass when they have a band behind them

Now, don't get me wrong -- when it comes to solo artists, there ain't too many better at what they do than Graig Markel. Haven't heard of him? Not terribly surprising, although with any luck you will soon, as his material just keeps getting better and better. At the moment, he does practically everything himself, from playing most of the instruments on his records to producing and engineering to putting the damn things out on his own label, Recovery Records. He is also one of the few artists I've seen who can masterfully hold the attention of an audience using nothing more than his spellbinding voice and guitar playing. He can leap from a breathy whisper to a sturdy holler without breaking a sweat or blinking an eye, and he has an amazing stage presence, looking as if he's truly grateful for the opportunity to stand on a stage and play his music for people -- and in the process, looking as if he's truly being moved by his own music. As good as he is by himself, however, he's even better with a tight band behind him; the last time I saw him play, he and his band simply brought the roof down. However, tonight it was just Graig and his guitar, and in the end, that's just fine. He debuted a few excellent new songs, as well as taking diplomatically from each of his three solo releases. Graig Markel is perhaps the most underrated, overlooked musician in the Seattle scene right now, and while he seems to be happy enough doing it all by himself, one can only hope that his big break is right around the corner, if for no other reason than that his songs deserve to be heard by a much wider audience (and that he's a pretty swell guy, and totally deserves it).

Graig's set was short but sweet, leaving the audience more than ready for the slice of zany indie rock that Centro-Matic was sure to offer. On All the Falsest Hearts Can Try, the only album of theirs I'm familiar with, C-M drop the science of Guided by Voices meets flaming Lips meets Denton, TX. That is, catchy, semi-lo-fi, surrealistic pop songs, all delivered in Will Johnson's cracked, strained, utterly charming drawl. As (only) two scruffy, amiable-looking gentlemen ambled onto the stage, I realized that the night was likely to be a "no-drums" night; Centro-Matic was pared down to core members Johnson, on drawl and guitar, and multi-instrumentalist Scott Danborn, who over the course of the evening found himself behind the wheels of a violin and a cheesy Casio keyboard, as well as contributing some fine background vocals. Johnson's droll sense of humor was revealed with the first words that came out of his mouth once he sat down to play: "This place sounds like a big cake...tastes", he deadpanned.

Johnson, although likely only in his mid-thirties, more closely resembles an old man on his front porch plunking away at a banjo for whoever happens to be listening than the frontman of an indie rock band. His genial personality and comfortable stage presence were utterly infectious, and a pleasure to watch. Although I wasn't familiar with any of the material they played (which doesn't mean that much, since, as I mentioned above, I only know one of their records), and thus don't know if it was new material or simply stuff from their less rock-based albums, it was all quite agreeable. The obvious focal point was Johnson's vocals, which in this intimate setting absolutely shone. Perfectly scruffy and rough around the edges, and straining in all the right places like a too-tight button-up shirt on a busty girl, it was calming, soothing and utterly enjoyable. However, most of these songs, as wonderful as they were, were slooow, and without the benefit of a backbeat, my feet started complaining loudly towards the end of Centro-Matic's set, and I felt compelled to sit the last few songs out.

In keeping with the "guys n' guitars n' not much else" theme of the night, ex/current/who-really-knows-at-this-point Posies co-frontman Jon Auer took the stage with nothing but an acoustic guitar. Of the two singer/songwriters in the Posies (the other being Ken Stringfellow), Auer's songs have always been the sweetest and most poppy, which is why the big guitars that the Posies usually brought out en force benefited his songs so much. There's nothing quite like beating the stuffing out of a nice, pleasant pop song with a barrage of snarky guitars, which is why the Posies often worked so brilliantly (oh yeah, that and their top-notch songwriting. Can't forget that). This is also why the recent "Acoustic Posies" thing has absolutely bored me to tears. Not that there's anything at all wrong with the songs, but the thing that was so great about the Posies was the juxtaposition of their sugary sweet vocal harmonies with a throbbing wall of guitars and their often deceptively bitter lyrics. When you take the drums and the amplification away, in my opinion, you're left with not much but a bunch of fluffy, manic-depressive pop songs that don't quite hold up.

Although not exactly the most animated performer this evening, Auer was still in fine form, playing a set consisting of many covers, some new songs, and a few old Posies favorites tossed in for good measure. On the menu were covers such as the Chameleons' "Tears", which Auer showcased on his latest covers-only release, 6 1/2, as well as less standard fare (for Auer, that is) such as Guided by Voices' "Gold Star for Robot Boy". However, it's still kind of frustrating to see Auer play acoustic, because he's really one of the best, and perhaps most underrated rock guitarists out there. When he has a full band behind him, you get to see him stretch out a bit and display some chops, which he has in abundance -- which you wouldn't really guess from tonight's performance, which showed him gamely strumming away at an acoustic guitar.

Which brings me back to my original comment -- there are some solo artists who are more than capable of going it alone and still providing an audience with more than enough entertainment value. These guys are few and far between. To his credit, Graig Markel fits right in with this crowd; a few others that spring to mind are Chicago's Chris Mills, and the venerable, always amazing Richard Thompson. On the other side of the coin, there are artists who, although they may be quite accomplished musicians and/or excellent songwriters, aren't quite able to pull it off without the aid of a band behind them. Auer, unfortunately, falls into this camp. While he's a fantastic guitar player and an ace songwriter with a beautiful voice, it seems that these traits aren't quite enough to make for a truly engaging, entertaining performance without the benefit of a backup band.

Article and photos by Jeremy Schneyer