Visiting from the land of big shoulders, singer/songwriter Dan Coyle took the Boulder Coffee stage unassuming and barefoot Thursday night. Unassuming I admire, bare feet on stage I don't get. Anyhow, Coyle fits nicely between folk insight and a clever musicality that avoided minor chords where you'd ordinarily expect them, like when he covered Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound." Perhaps this added to his overall upbeat demeanor and charm. Coyle was pleasant and genuinely shy, but came out strong with the start of each new song. I liked him. Now if the boy would just get some shoes...

Jill McCracken was on when I first arrived and was percussively working at her guitar as her pretty voice teetered a little out of control in the upper registers. But it was within those moments that I admired her most, as it felt the most genuine. I believed her. Oh, and she wasn't wearing shoes either. These kids...