Chris Kasper Opens For Small Ponds at Newtown Square's Coffeehouse

NEWTOWN SQUARE—The rain hit again, making the name of the headliner for on Friday, Sept. 30 slightly appropriate or just funny and ironic. Matt Douglas, who had been a headliner for Burlap and Bean's open mic night, recently teamed up with Caitlin Cary to form Small Ponds. The Raleigh, NC, duo are still getting their feet wet and developing a unique sound. Opening for Small Ponds was Philadelphia folk rocker Chris Kasper.

Earlier this year Kasper released his third solo album and has developed quite a local fan base. He has played and recorded with other frequent Burlap and Bean musicians like Phil D'Agastino, and

While closely linked to the Philly music scene, he doesn't always get out to the suburban coffeehouse, so Friday's performance was an extra treat. Kasper's guitar playing is a cool combination of blues and folk. His lyrics even ride the fence as heard in the line, "I ain't no saint, spare me if you can." 

He also sings with an almost innocent simplicity–early on in his set he shared a song about a treehouse. "We could sing like summers here even though it is January."

Kasper has released all of his solo albums while living in the City of Brotherly Love and attributes the city and the local music scene as inspirational.

"I'm mostly influenced by my friends and peers in the immediate music scene. When you hang out and play music with the same people who you go to see, over years and years, you start to really appreciate the essence of everyone's character. It becomes a part of your character too," said Kasper.

While his current songs are about emotional notions, Kasper puts in a twist either lyrically or in the narrative to make his music a little more dynamic. He joked about the cliché nature of the first song he wrote back in 1996. He was in West Virginia for school and the same thing that fuels hundreds of songs fueled the song: "A Girl And a Breakup."

"The situation sounds so cliché, but you know, the sadness was real," shared Kasper. "I think that's what fueled it. I just moved out there for school, didn't know a soul, had no one to talk to, and was 500 miles from home. A perfect recipe for a tune."

Small Ponds took the stage with rousing and dramatic combinations of gypsy guitar and violin. Their set for the evening was a quirky combination of smoky bluesy showstoppers and gypsy bluegrass.

Caitlin Cary feels the band is still in the "development" stage. The pair had preformed and recorded separately prior to teaming up. The duo decided to work together out of a mutual respect for each other’s work and appears to enjoy exploring sounds and each other's talents.

"I do think that both of us find real value in song craft, and we'll probably always require a discernable melody, some lovable singing, and (we hope) a 'grabby' something-or-other that'll work like a hook. Beyond that, we're wide open, and we're not making promises," said Cary.

"This is two people singing their inventions, and neither of us is eager to get hemmed in by trying for something particular at this point," she continued.

Douglas and Cary work together well onstage. While they do not harmonize in the traditional sense, they musically and personally complement each other.

Their set included lyrically unique songs, ("Love comes crazy like a horse of a bus") and ended with their strongest song of the set. There was a complete cohesion between the two musicians when they sang the lyrics, "We are tangled. We are stolen. We are living with things hidden."

Coming up this week at Burlap and Bean                                      

Wednesday, Oct 5, 8 p.m.: Grayson Capps with Marc Silver

Thursday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.:  Open Mic 

Friday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m.: First Friday's with Charlie Phillips and Chris Adams  

Saturday, Oct. 8, 8 p.m.: Seth Glier with Mia Dyson