This rain-soaked summer may be coming to a close, but the melodies emitting from Toad and the Lizard Lounge have kept us holding tight to these last long days of August all because of the month-long residencies of Mieka Canon, Jesse Dee, John Powhida International Airport and the Tim Gearan Band.  As two of Boston’s most respected venues favored by patrons and performers alike, the Lizard Lounge and Toad, found just a stone’s throw away from each other on Mass Ave in Cambridge, have been hosting all four acts throughout the month and will continue to do so tonight with Jesse Dee’s final set.  We were particularly intrigued by the parallels between the residencies and the similarities all of the artists share: Sure, as singers/songwriters who prefer the jazz, blues and rock haunts of Cambridge and Somerville to the flashier venues and clubs of the center of our fair city, these groups all tend to stick to this side of the river.  Geographical preferences aside, they’re also all brilliant masters when it comes to mixing attributes of soul, bluegrass, folk and rock standards with their own modern musical tendencies to produce exciting sounds that can’t be found anywhere else outside of Boston.  (Well, technically the Mieka Canon lives in New York now, but you get the point.)

The girls of TeaParty Boston have been hanging around Toad and Lizard over the past couple of weeks in order to catch these acts in action.  We’ve been caught with our jaws dropping during Mieka Pauley of the Mieka Canon’s heart-stopping rendition of “Marked Man”.  We’ve seen the sweat drip from Jesse Dee’s face as he wails and hollers and furiously strums along with the rest of his exuberant band.  We’ve giggled at the hilarious showmanship at John Powhida while trying to peer over the heads of other spectators crowding the bar at Toad, and we’ve envied Tim Gearan’s ability to look classically cool in his trademark topper while busting out a grin Cheshire cat-style and driving a showstopper home.

We’re sad to see our August nights in the Reptile District (as Gab so affectionately refers to this stretch of Mass Ave between Toad and the Lizard Lounge), but there’s still time to catch some of the bands in action.  Jesse’s on tonight, the Mieka Canon’s handing out free copies of their brand new EP tomorrow night at Lizard, and John Powhida and Tim Gearan will be working their magic early next week on Sunday and Monday night at Toad, respectively.  Read on below to catch up on our conversations with the Mieka Canon and Jesse Dee, and be sure to check back next week for exclusive chats with John and Tim.

-Hilary Hughes

The Powerful Pipes of a Boston Boy: Jesse Dee and his Local Lizard Lounge Residency

“Cambridge Doesn’t F_ck Around”: Cutting Teeth with the Mieka Canon