Lesbian Poetry, Paper Ceilings and Flavor Basket performed from 8-9:30 p.m. Wednesday night at the Iowa Music Store.

Lesbian Poetry and Paper Ceilings are currently touring around the Midwest together and Wednesday was their fifth show. Both are longtime friends and fellow musicians. After the show, both explained how much fun it has been being able to tour together, hang out and meet new people along the way.

Lesbian Poetry’s Elliot Burke kicked off the night with his acoustic guitar. He started by playing music from one of his older albums, “Lo-Fi Country for the Whole Family,” which the Iowa Music Store sold out of their in-store copies that night. 

“I’m supposed to be promoting my new album tonight, but I really want go get that last copy sold!” Burke said to the audience.

Burke played songs off of his new album, “Rock & Roll is Easy,” including the title track, which was an audience favorite. 

Paper Ceilings, also known as Jesse Ceilings, followed Lesbian Poetry with acoustic guitar music. He started the night by singing songs from his most recent album called “Baseball,” including “Eddie Basinski,” a song about a baseball-playing violinist, and “Home Run Baker.” 

With his unique style of songs, he charmed the audience and made everyone smile by playing songs from his album, “So Many Dogs,” which is about dogs. One song played was entitled “Dogs in Space!,” which is a song that asks the question, “What if dogs had their own planet?” This had many laughing and chuckling and was one of the favorites of the entire show.

Finally, local Ames musician Flavor Basket, also known as Charlie Vestal, took the stage.  Vestal has been seen in many venues around Ames and is known for his local presence. He said that he loves the sense of community in Ames and the family of local artists in the area.

“I’ve moved, but I always come back,” Vestal said. “I love it here.”

Vestal was dressed casually with a unique, black hat and played the electric guitar. Vestal played songs like “Insanity” and “1995,” bringing a punk rock style to the night, much of which featured intricate guitar playing. 

After every song, he received a round of applause from the audience and nods of approval from Burke and Ceilings.

Vestal closed the night by describing how cool it was to be able to do a show with Burke and Ceilings. All three artists where especially happy to talk after the show, sticking around to sell albums and discuss their passion for music.

Overall, the artists worked well with each other and performed a solid rock show for the Ames audience.

The Iowa Music Store may be a smaller venue with a tight space, but it brings a unique and more personal experience to performances.