Across genres, Kansas City has relied, by necessity, on its underground music scene to bring independent, experimental artists to town. Very few venues around town have taken chances on these edgier acts, instead preferring to stay within the comforts of 80’s and 90’s throwback rawk bands that should, in all seriousness, be thrown back.

There are those, however, who are doing what they can. One of these individuals, Doby Watson (who records as Boo Hiss), is doing everything he can to bolster the burgeoning indie folk movement’s exposure in Kansas City through inventive booking of both local and nationally-touring acts. I’d talked with Doby a few times after learning of his existence from the guys in Grumpy Bear, who had done a split EP release with Boo Hiss on the great Tract label, and have been extremely impressed by not only his musical output, but by his motivation to bring acts like Thanksgiving and Tiger Saw to the area.

With great weather and an extended weekend in front of us, we couldn’t think of a much better way to spend our evening than seeing Doby’s latest endeavor, a free show featuring a combination of local and national acts playing at the Roasterie Cafe in Brookside.

We arrived around 6, and had found we’d missed the first couple of sets, which had been played out on the front patio. We grabbed a couple of drinks to cool down from the short bike ride over, and made our way inside with the good-sized crowd. By and large, the spectators seemed to be quite a bit younger than Stephanie and me, and most of them were much more familiar with the acts than either of us as well. Throughout the night’s sets, they were attentive and appreciative of the artists, which was a refreshing change from the usual awkward self-conscious posturing that often occurs with the younger set.

First up for us was Austin’s Tony Presley, who performs as Real Live Tigers. Presley’s set began with a loud, clear, strong voice that resonated off the walls of the coffee shop and brought an immediate hush from the uninvolved patrons on the other side of the cafe. He offered the inspiration and meaning behind the stories between many of the songs, and Presley’s deep vocals and halting method of delivery brought to mind both Will Oldham and Bill Callahan’s more morose work.

Tinyfolk was up next. This Indiana native, who also goes by Russ and is currently on tour with Real Live Tigers, writes songs on the ukelele about owls, boys with lizard scales who listen to DMX, and shrugging off his birth name. His creative lyrics combined with a very upbeat sound to produce a surprisingly enjoyable set.

Boo Hiss followed with a shortened set of songs dealing largely with being out on the road away from friends and family, and then closed out with a new song he’d just written from a forth-coming song cycle. His songs were done with the assured confidence brought on by Watson’s extensive touring, and his humble graciousness to the other acts playing was evident in the decision to keep his set short to allow the others a chance to play.

Red Bear was next. The Chicago native’s infectiously boisterous humor won over those in the crowd not already familiar with him (including us), and his set of bright, loud acoustic songs was full of surprises. One thing can be said for sure – there is a lot of life in this guy.

Manipulator Alligator was next. Essentially a local artist, he played a semi-short set of acoustic songs due to the impending closure of the cafe. His plaintive, intimate lyrics demonstrated a lot of personal expressiveness.

Closing out the night was another Chicagoan, Super Famicon, who was joined by Red Bear on banjo. A free spirit indeed, Super Famicon rolled through a set of both upbeat and downtempo acoustic songs full of personal stories told through colorful imagery.

One of the best parts about nights like this is the opportunity to pick up albums from artists that I otherwise wouldn’t have exposure to. Not only do I get a memento of a previously unknown act, but the money I spend on their release goes directly to back to them – and probably ends up in either their gas tank or stomache within a matter of hours.

Thankfully, the small merch table at the show was well-stocked with a wide variety of materials from all the artists of the night, and so we concentrated on the out-of-towners as best we could. Some highlights included the 8″ lathe-cut EP from Manipulator Alligator (featuring an interesting glitch-beat track); a locally-compiled cassette compilation featuring all of the traveling acts present as well as Lake and many others; the fourth installment of Tract Records’ Eye of the Beholder compilation featuring Real Live Tigers, Tinyfolk, Great Lake Swimmers, and Haley Bonar; the newest releases from Real Live Tigers, Tinyfolk, and Red Bear; and lastly, the great selection of home-made bookmarks, zines, tapes, and cds of Super Famicon, of which we had to have one of each.

Doby has recently put out the call to those interested in helping out with these sort of events locally, and on the bike ride home we discussed what we could do to get involved. The sincerity of the artists present that night and the genuine enjoyment experienced by the diverse crowd was invigorating, and provided a real motivation for us to move beyond a spectator role and into a more participatory position within the culture.