On the eighth night of Shindig, first up we had an act that was exactly what I needed to hear. Private Eyes (formerly Body Politic) is a dude named Damon who had to play solo because his band bailed before the show. But it was better that way. Armed with a delightful voice, battered guitar and a secret weapon (a fancy new looping station), Private Eyes delivered a warm and impressive set. Although he had great backing riffs and impressive picking over top, where he got me was lyrically. I am a bit of a gearhead but this guy actually got me to listen to the words.

Next up was Hidden Fortress, a tubular DJ and MC combo. When I say tubular I mean the group acted as more of a nephron, regulating the musical PH of the night’s performances. I am not super into hip-hop and I don’t know a lot about flow, but I think I can identify it and these guys had flow—I think. The angry “everything burns” lyrics felt somewhat out of place given the “Yes we can” smiles on people’s faces from what’s his face winning down south earlier that night, but who am I to judge? Let’s just call it the audacity of dope. [ed. If you’re still confused he’s referring to Obama.]

The last act of the night was another solo performance by a guy called the Magician. He had a keyboard and cardboard cutouts of Michael Jordan and football star Drew Bledsoe holding (with the help of tape) percussive instruments. He also, as his name might suggest, performed magic tricks, which were a tad more impressive than his tunes. In the end, though, it was enough to sway the judges who I think were stunned to see the likes of Jordan rocking out.