Full Flavor was at Michael's Bistro, so I headed up there. The impetus of the Flavor is Matthew Willner, whose legacy as funkmeister goofball entertainer extrordinaire and Plutonian guitar experimenter has been looming in this town to little public acclaim for at least 6 years. He runs a rag-tag fugitive funk band with a revolving back door that musicians perpetually seem to slip through. I swear the line-up changes by at least one member every other time I see them.

This Monday he was without a bass player, or, since he was playing bass, without a guitar player. The band sounded good but was a little down without Matthew's psychedelic funk freak-outs. The jam was revived with the chance arrival of Warren Richardson, former bassmaster for TR3 who, as luck would have it, was taking a break from his duties with Stomp, the avant-junkyard-dance-and-jam troupe, and just happened by. What a bonus. If you miss the old TR3 groove or Full Flavor in full motion, you would have been a happy duck, as I was when the flavorful free-for-all resumed with Matthew back on guitar antics and Warren kicking up the serious groove.

On Wednesday I waddled to the Mudhouse where Nickeltown was having an evening coffee session for fans who prefer a smoke-and-alchohol-free environment. These guys have been riding the undercurrents of Charlottesville's music scene for far too long, so let me tell you a little about 'em.

It began in the late '80's when Jeff Romano and Browning Porter were two-thirds of the front end of the Jolly Llamas, a very tongue-in-cheek semi-acoustic "hippy" type band, god bless 'em. They became somewhat notorious around the East coast small bar and party scene playing their nutty social-awareness and consciousness tunes, but unfortunately they went the way of a great many college affairs. The Porter/Romano songwriting partnership survived in the form of the Tao Jones Combustibles, the Treefrogs and then most recently, Nickeltown.

They compose intelligent and silly acoustic folk pop and mix it up with killer original arrangements of Rickie Lee Jones, Tom Waits and Randy Newman songs. Not a bad resume. Jeff plays lots of intricate open tuning guitar stuff with a "Michael Hedges" edge and an educated jazz and classical sensibility while Browning is a poet who scats, sings and whistles. They have an ominous "wizardly kook" vibe about them that's really enchanting and those tunes of theirs can really stir the chakras.

After Nickeltown I hit Trax to peruse the Jazz Poets Society scene. The Rising Sons had been rapping to a crowd of 150 or so when the Jazz Poets took the stage one singer short. They kicked it up anyway, jamming impromptu soul rants. The second vocalist showed up a short time later and they fired into a set of some dynamite modern soul and funk. The Jazz Poets are blessed with excellent songs and gifted frontmen, a squad of deft jamsters and a groove that can't be denied. The running social commentary between tunes was relevant, hilarious and pointed, and I'll definitely be back to enroll in their street nightschool again in the future.

On Thursday I couldn't seem to resist going out to Shut Up and Listen, a songwriter's showcase at the Tokyo Rose, hosted by Lauren Hoffman. I think I was enamored with the concept. The performers were pretty sweet too. It started with The My Art Project, an unlikely duo between Bella Morte's guitarist Bn and Barling, underdog songsmith and guitarist for b.c. They swapped cool original tunes and a goofy acoustic reggae Cure cover in a laid-back gothic folk kind of way, warming up the stage for Karmen, who played first solo and then with her band The Fridgean Mode. Her songs are warm acoustic rock full of introspective love and poetry, and if her collaboration with Lauren Hoffman continues the way it's going, expect a very cool CD from her on Free Union Records, Lauren's label.

I caught The Fridgean Mode again on Saturday at Espresso Corner and was pleased to hear Supertanker's guitarist Raphael Wintersberger added to the mix. He brings a nice edge to the the rest of the band which consists of bass, guitar, viola and violin. The arrangements are beautiful and sounded good even over the noise of the capuccino spewer or the occasional oblivious loud-talkers. Please respect music! And tip your waitress.

-Cripsy Duck

Is your music food for the soul? E-mail cripsyduck@mindspring.com.