Carabar is one of my new favorite venues in Columbus. It is a place were memorable people watching happens on a nightly basis, a place with no cover charge, and hot acts playing most nights in a given week.

New friends MODES are playing in the next IATU showcase, so tonight served as the perfect avenue for previewing their marquee performance at Scarlet and Grey Cafe. The quartet, all multi-instrumental, play a post-rock with vocals style. Their vibe was compelling, but not pretentious or repetitive. The transition from role to role was seamless. Despite the varied vocalists, I still had the sense it was same band. Everyone complements each other well. The music also has the ability to move people – as it did the middle aged gentleman and his young female companion in the back of the room, doing some sort of Tai-Chi-esque routine, plainly under the influence of some psychedelic drug. Or is it just the music? The world may never know.

Eric Vacheresse and friends (now dubbing themselves “The Holy Family”) played a bare-bones brand of ethereal rock. The echo-effect from the mic (not sure if this was on purpose or not) added to the grit-factor of the performance. Fields and Planes played a folk-ambient-altnerative fusion that featured the talents of Fran Litterski (also in Kid Runner) and Paul Valdivez (also in Dave Buker and the Historians). Needless to say this band had less grit and more polish. Fran’s adept singing and ukelele playing put a whimsical spin on the ambience and I’m curious to hear more. Be forewarned though, Kid Runner (a indie/electronic project with lots of muscle) could put a damper on the performances of Fields and Planes if it really takes off. So, every performance of Fields and Planes is special. Organic.

If you want a place to get plugged into the Columbus music scene with minimal impact to your pocketbook Carabar is good place to do thus.

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