Maria Taylor at Troubadour

Continuing the pursuit of cool musical appearances this summer, we swing our warm lights around to settle on Maria Taylor. She's one half of Azure Ray, whose warm and synth-laced "Burn and Shiver" was one of the nicest discs to come out of 2002. Last month, Taylor released her first solo effort, titled "11:11" (make a wish!) The collection of ten tunes is forty minutes of pulsing, melancholy bliss, above which drifts Taylor's voice, as smooth and quiet as velvet across the rim of a wine glass. Good stuff.

But don't take our word for it. Check her out at Troubadour. She'll be there Saturday, July 2 (appearing with Statistics and Color Turning.) Doors open at 8:00 PM. You can order tickets via fax, at the door or through Ticketmaster. They're just $10.00, which, in a time of bloated concert ticket prices, is music to our ears.