You know where all the kids are going these days? Phoenixville. And for good reason. They really have all of these cool little spots that have been popping up in the past few years. It's not a bad little stretch of town, if you ask me.

Coffee houses, books stores, pubs, live music, lots of happy folks. It doesn't get much better than that. (Although any one else catch that Philly's music scene was listed as the "HOT" scene in their recent "Hot Issue?" Bout time they got some props there on South St!)

Anyway, last night, I took in some tunes at Steel City Coffee House and had a smug little time there. It was open mic night, and while it certainly presented some cringing acts, a handful of performers made sitting painfully through the inevitable Dashboard Confessional wannabes well worth it. In fact the guy who hosted was THE MAN.

I didn't even catch the bro's name, but when he started his first set, he goes, "You probably never heard of me, but quite frankly, that doesn't bother me any." And then the dude just tore UP his electric guitar, spitting out all kinds of dirty little licks on his shiny 6 string. Seriously, guy had me banging my hands and feet all over the place. And it was just him, channeling pure unbridled emotion through the strings. No backing. And he covered The Allman Brothers, man. He was like a senior intellectual white blues guitarist fella. And he knew how to pull the trigger on that dang guitar.

Later, some kids covered Eminem's "Lose Yourself" with their acoustics, but they couldn't stop giggling about it and made it more into a joke than a cool cover. Which is a shame because, that song can actually be made into a REALLY awesome cover when taken seriously, especially in a coffee shop. I'm not being sarcastic either. But beforehand, they covered The Beatles "Don't Let Me Down" pretty awesomely.

Then another elder dude stepped up and showed the pupils who the real teachers are. Didn't catch his name either, but he reminded me of Eric Clapton, note for note. From his voice to his style to his lyrics, he was a regular Clapton, and it was awesome. Before launching into his beautifully structured second song, he said "To me, songs are like children. They're a gift." and then dedicated it to all the songwriters out there who try their darndest to sniff out their muse wherever it may be. And while I'm not a songwriter, I was totally sucked into those words he said. It still harped with me and my personal writing and poetry, or just as a listener trying to find a great song that speaks to you louder than the average song.

Or as a little duder from Douglassville trying to find a cool place to hang out on Thursday nights around here. And I'd say I found it.

And the fact that Molly Maguire's is waiting right across the street with great food and a nice selection of beer for the post show hang out doesn't hurt either.