Despite a small audience, the quintet Georgie James played loudly and warmly at the House Cafe on Sunday.

Sundays are inherently not good days for a rock shows, especially in a college town. A good number of students are either recovering from the previous two days or catching up on homework.

Georgie James is a collaboration between singer-songwriters Laura Burhenn and John Davis, formerly of the Washington D.C. band, Q And Not U.

On stage, the two harmonize over full band arrangements. Their songs are melodic and comfortable sounding pop/rock. It’s catchy without sounding too ambitious or above itself.

The band members also proved to be charming on-stage. Starting their set by joking, the band made reference that when everyone sits at a show, it as a “special night” with Georgie James.

Then the band asked the small crowd of around 30 to come to the front of the stage and stand. The band that played before them, Villains of Verona, asked the same thing, but were ignored. Yet, Georgie James got what they asked for.

This is not a slight against Villains of Verona. The Elmhurst natives played enthusiastically with plenty of style and pinache.

The group is currently wrapping a new record. They came out playing sharper and more confidently, with vocalist Rachel Verona bopping her hips to each track.

The band has clear ambitions of making it big, and it sounds like they’re getting closer.

Opening up the show was Chicago’s Yeni Raki, a fast-paced rock quartet who combine three part vocal harmonies with punk rock energy.

The group shows a lot of promise, but still need work toward being great. While their sound was infectious for the first three or four songs, at the set’s end, it was clear they needed more variety so their songs didn’t blend together.

Still, for a few handfuls of people, each band played with good grace and enthusiasm.

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