ToST is "Fremont's only martini bar / restaurant featuring live music and DJs six nights a week in a smoke-free (inside), industrial chic atmosphere." Yeah -- I'll go with that! Not nearly has yuppie as I expected after looking at the website, so I was pleasantly surprised upon my first arrival at the club.

As I had just come from the Musicquarium, I was already revved up and ready to hear more music, and the BMW Trio surely kept me in fifth gear. Made up of Ryan Burns on organ, Rick Mandyck on guitar, and Reade Whitwell on drums, the BMW Trio is SMOKIN'! If I didn't know all these guys and their playing really well, I might have thought I was listening to a blues band if I had walked in during the set. They opened with a solid organ-groove blues -- sadly, I didn't get the title or any information about it. They continued with a crazy blues in 19/8 (or a bar of 6/4 and a bar or 7/8) composed by John McLaughlin called Binky's Beam, recorded on his 1969 release Extrapolation. Talk about crazy! I'd be ready to shoot myself after a chorus on this tune, but these guys made some emotional music come out of it. Mandyck's The Way Back was a nice contrast, finally giving more of a jazz feel to the group sound. The set closed with Burns' Freedom from Commitment, a burnout-blues that gave the set a great bookend. A solid band with a solid set -- find out where these guys are playing and check 'em out!

The second set was by the Katherine Moore Situation, a rock-tinged group with Kathy Moore on guitar, Geoff Harper on bass, Reade Whitwell on drums and Ryan Burns on keyboards. While the tune titles weren't announced, I'm really excited about this group -- I've known Kathy for years, and with this group she seems super-comfortable, the songs were varied and well-executed, and she really knows what to do in front of a band. Her guitar playing has really found a voice in this style, and I can't wait to hear the group's upcoming release. From strong, hard rock grooves, to bluesier tinges and darker tones, The Katherine Moore Situation is a group on the rise -- hopefully they can get some recognition beyond the friends and jazz connections that were there last night. Go Kathy!