The hauntingly beautiful music filled the room as Strand of Oaks took the stage at Mercury Lounge before Joe Pug last night. Not what I expected from a guy that “looks like a cross between The Lion from the Wizard of Oz and The Dude.’ His name is Tim Showalter and his voice will cut through you and show you something you were missing out on before.

Here’s Strand of Oaks doing Daniel’s Blues [4.4] written from Dan Ackroyd’s perspective on the loss of John Belushi and what will become of the Ghostbusters. With lines like “who will I call / Chevy’s an ass and Gilda’s got a cold.” Even Eddie Murphy gets a shout out in this one, a very interesting piece.

Another great track, Sterling [4.6MB]

With a heartwarming voice that gets you every time, up next was the Joe Pug set. I love checking out Joe every chance I get. Thanks to The Low Anthem for the introduction. Here is I Do My Father’s Drugs [4.8MB] Afterwards he jokes around telling the crowd they came out on a Saturday night in Manhattan for ‘brooding introspective folk ballads’ which he will providing. Joe is always a good time.

I’ll put the rest of the MP3s online when Joe finishes his current tour this summer, so check back here next month.