When I got the invite to this show, an acoustic AIDS benefit in Soho, I immediately paid attention when I saw the name of Jeb Loy Nichols. I'd heard his name mentioned in dub circles because of his work with Adrian Sherwood, and it turns out he is a bona-fide member of the original Slits family. As I checked the other acts I decided that KaiserCartel - a duo from Brooklyn with a budding reputation and an imminent record were also punkcast-worthy. The gig was in the Housing Works Bookstore - a place that I have to recommend not just because the profit goes to the worthy cause of housing messed-up people, but also because it has a really good selection of books at great prices. I walked out with several bargains after the shoot. KaiserCartel, on first, matched their buzz. Directly engaging - cute folky boy-girl on the surface - one discerns an engrained moodiness. I don't like to make references in my descriptions but when watching them I recall thinking it was somewhere between Mazzy Star and Judy Collins. The two songs I've picked are opener 'Oh No', from the forthcoming album 'March Forth', and 'Okay', from a recent EP. I knew Jeb Loy lives in Wales, but was further surprised to discover that he is an American from Missouri. He sang in a gentle country style - on some songs joined by a pick up band that included Garry West, head of his current label, Nashville's Compass Records, on bass. Listening I could hear what would have attracted Sherwood to his sound. He has a silky voice not unsimilar to Bim Sherman, plus the soul-phrasing so much loved by great reggae singers. In the first clip 'Days Are Mighty' - the title song of his new album - he even drops in a little Marley. The other one I've picked is a cover of The Miracles' 'Tracks Of My Tears' which Jeb turns into a country lament. On a day that it so happened NYC was soaked by torrential rain, Jeb definitely brought to the city the sense of rustic timelessness that is the theme of his record.