Dung beetles and scimitars; Wednesday night highlights from the Tractor.

By Daniel Catchpole

The evening's headliner, Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn has a remarkable voice capable of captivating an audience, but she has yet to really capitalize on it. Her recent performance showed promise, but never really got started until the impromptu encore. The slow melodic set was hesitating and short. The songs were written for an animated children's film about insects that will debut next year at Seattle's International Children's Festival.

Mirah's performance ended up being lo-fi indie rock and part entomology lesson. After each song she enthusiastically explained which insect the song was about, such as a mother dung beetle creating a cocoon for its offspring. Mirah is extremely comfortable on stage, and gives an intimate, sincere performance. Her sultry voice has a playful innocence about it, as if it didn't know how sensual it was. But she can sing with force, as well, in a "talk softly, but carry a big stick" way.

The two song encore was worth the price of admission. The crowd had thinned considerably by then, making the impromptu performance that much better. The first song was an upbeat, celebratory springtime song that allowed Mirah to really stretch her vocal legs. The second song was a beautifully written and performed lament for Hurricane Katrina's victims.

The preceding act, The Toids from San Francisco played an exciting, boppy set full of up tempo world fusion music with a rock sensibility. Several times, they launched into expansive, searching improvisations, allowing their instruments to really feel out the Tractor's cavernous interior. And then as they approached the limits of space, they would quickly, almost effortlessly slip back into the song. A strong performance all around, which brings us to belly-dancing Elizabeth Strong.

Strong joined the band on stage for a couple of their Turkish inspired songs. For the second song, she lithely moved her body while balancing a scimitar atop her head. The sword, which hardly moved was also standing on its edge. Her knowledge and control of her body were incredible.

Blowing 'Smoke'

By Helen Freund

The Seattle-based band Left Hand Smoke returns home next week to play at the legendary Ballard venue, the Tractor Tavern.

Seattle natives themselves, the members of Left Hand Smoke are no strangers to the Northwest music scene. They have played at festivals such as Bumbershoot, venues like the Showbox and Neumos, and collaborated with artists such as Eddie Vedder and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. It came as no great surprise when in 2005 the band was voted Seattle's Best Pop/Rock Band by the Seattle Weekly.

A haven for groups that belt out anything from alternative country to rock and blues and jazz to folk, the Tractor Tavern, located at 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., welcomes Left Hand Smoke and their accompanying act, the Scott Fisher Band, on Friday, May 19.

The group, which many describe as a "jam band," blends the genres of neo-soul and rock as well as fusing in elements of blues and bluegrass that are reminiscent of the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison and Stevie Wonder.

A collaboration of two brothers, Ben (piano, vocals and harp) and Will Mish (guitar), as well as guitarist Ronan O'Mahony, drummer Andrew Cloutier and bassist Eric Bryson, the band formed in 1998 when Ben Mish and O'Mahony, who both attended the University of Washington, began creating what were soon to become the band's first songs. Friends since second grade, Mish and O'Mahony had long been performing together in one way or another.

In 1999 Mish's brother Will joined on lead guitar. Their first album, "Left Hand Smoke," was released in 2000.

After just a few rave reviews, the band quickly gained somewhat of a cult-following on the West Coast, most notably for its reputation for lively performances and captivating stage presence. Four songs off the first album were licensed for use on network television (most popular of which was likely the "Blue Eyes Shining" track that appeared on the show "ER").

With the addition of Cloutier on drums the band released two subsequent albums, "So Many Faces" (2001) and "Nonsense Parade" (2003). While the first album reflected late '70s rock acts, these later albums incorporated more soul and funk with an obvious Motown influence that when blended together came to represent the classic Left Hand Smoke sound.

The upcoming show will undoubtedly highlight the recent release of the band's fourth album, "At the Hotel." This album incorporates more of a mainstream pop sound while still managing to resonate along similar lines of typical Left Hand Smoke tunes and potentially appealing to an even broader audience than before.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show. They can be purchased online and at the box office, with doors opening at 8 p.m. and the show starting at 9:30 p.m. Also note that, like all Tractor shows, this one too is for age 21 and over.

So leave the kids at home and go blow off some smoke.

Helen Freund is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.