It's very strange when an artist is introduced -- whose name is the same as the band -- and she doesn't come out on stage. After a bit of piano into, Viktoria Tolstoy sidled on to the stage at the Lutheran Church Monday night. And yes, there is a connection. The Swedish singer is the great-granddaughter of famed Russian author Leo.

I was sitting up against the wall of the church (packed, but not like sardines), and maybe the mezzanine (balcony?) was obstructing the sound, but still I thought they could have turned up Tolstoy's mic. A few songs in and the piano launched into a solo that I would normally define as (con)fusion jazz, but I managed to follow. I was impressed. Actually, the show heavily featured the piano.

Tolstoy's tone sounds a bit like Dionne Warwick's coo; you can imagine bedroom window curtains blowing in a balmy breeze. Her interpretation of a Tchaikovsky piece transformed into a traditional Russian folk song sounded like a lullaby. I left after her rendition of Peter Gabriel's "Kiss That Frog" that it was nice, but barely recognizable to the original.

I hopped over to the little tent (Abilene) to see the Amy LaVere Trio. I've been looking forward to seeing this woman since I heard her sing "Killing Him" (didn't make the love go away) on a rebroadcast of Mountain Stage back in February. I think it's pretty easy to figure out what it's about. I was lucky enough to walk in just as she was introducing it. She's got a little girl voice, but there's something very powerful about a woman slapping around a big ol' bass.

I think she said her regular guitar player wasn't with her, but I didn't confirm it. Whoever he was, he was great. The trio - bass, guitar, drums - really packed a wallop, playing with finesse and sometimes replicating the sounds of the song's subjects, like a washing machine or train, and bringing the drummer front and center for a few tunes with just a snare and brushes. Her song "Washing Machine" brings up the authentic and raw emotions of battered-wife syndrome, like Suzanne Vega's "Luka" does for child abuse. It's really a touching piece.

Side notes: It would be great if they gave the media little cliff notes with the names of the players, etc. Even if you know the names, sometimes you can't spell them. And sometimes they're playing with replacements, like LaVere. Tolstoy introduced her band and I could barely pronounce the names, much less spell them.

Although I like the little Abilene tent, I'm confounded as to why they have three men's porta-potties and only one women's.  Yeah, yeah, they're the same inside, except as a woman you're sitting with your face next to a recently used urinal. Yuck.

Apparently Stanley Jordan didn't have any CD's to sell at his Harro East gigs. The woman I spoke to said they told her to go to Borders. She also told me he asked that the stage be swept after his sound check so that he could do his yoga. I'm not saying anything about that.

Next I'll be checking out Das Contras at the Big Tent on Wednesday night.