Part of the reason we Zipcar-ed out to Ballard was to see the space that The Space (aka the 608 Club, at 608 NW 65th) is in. We found a door that said 608 on it and walked into a foyer crammed with electric organs and keyboards and a couch. People glanced up at us, but we kept on, down a hall to a small merch table that also contained a paper bag filled with small brownie squares. To the right was a larger room with instruments at one end, a few chairs at the other. We ended up sitting on the floor for the shows (Faun Fables sat next to us during Estradasphere's set). People--mainly Estradasphere, we think--live upstairs.

Santa Cruz transplants Estradasphere opened by blowing us away with a high-energy "Bulgarian Surf" (their description) version of G&R's "Sweet Child O' Mine." At least we think that's what it was. If they hadn't mentioned it being a Guns & Roses cover, we wouldn't have guessed. (They also specialize in "Romanian Gypsy-Metal" and "Spaghetti Eastern.") The six multi-instrumentalists bring enough musical savvy to create whatever sound they like, from a gypsy-violin tune to straight-sounding jazz--whatever, so long as the results leave you trying to catch your breath. (Listen to "Smuggled Mutations" here.) They're as fun to watch as to listen to.

We couldn't stay for the whole Faun Fables set, but that's who we'd come to see, having been in the audience for their Transit Rider at the Triple Door awhile ago. Led by Dawn McCarthy, with Nils Frykdahl, they began with a home-themed, art-folk couple of songs, one about gathering around the kitchen table and one in praise of the homemaker's domestic work. Many electrons have already been spilled trying to describe McCarthy's voice; we're out of new analogies. Let's just say that the person she sounds most like is herself. Nils was wearing a black sleeveless Satan t-shirt he claimed caught his eye when he about 16. They were playing to about 30 of their closest-friend fans, and it felt a little weird to be there, like subbing in for Scrooge during a ghost's tour of why people made music before music labels existed.