The House Cafe was filled Saturday night with sounds not typically heard there.

The J. Davis Trio, a hip-hop group from Chicago, headlined the show with a unique set that had audience members dancing.

The group’s rapper, known simply as Stuart, is a talented emcee whose words flowed effortlessly through his clear voice. They are not the typical hip-hop group, as they blend styles of jazz, hip-hop and soul to create a unique and fresh style.

They used a trumpet, bass, vibes and drums instead of electronic beats and rhythms, adding emotion and class to the laid-back jams.

Unfortunately, all the songs had a very similar sound to them. Almost every one of them had Stuart on his shaker, playing the same tempo to rap to for every song. Every song had the same structure and sounded almost identical. But the animated audience grooved to the smooth beats, and some started break dancing as the show went on.

Prior to the J. Davis Trio was probably one of the most interesting and entertaining groups of musicians that have played the House — the Andreas Kapsalis Trio.

Guitarist Kapsalis was surrounded by two percussionists, one on a drum set and the other on an arrangement of auxiliary percussion instruments that ranged from congas to a tambourine,to various hand drums.

“I like to keep the percussion element because it is the heart and soul of everything,” said Kapsalis. With his fingers flying over his fret board and hands manipulating his guitar’s uncustomary sounds, Kapsalis made his instrument sing in ways that are rarely seen or heard around DeKalb.

When he played a rendition of “Money” by Pink Floyd on his acoustic, it made the entire crowd turn their heads. Kapsalis not only played the guitar part, but also the percussion, as he hit the body of his guitar, and made the noise of the cash drawer like in the original song.

When asked to describe his unique style, Kapsalis said, “We are a harmonic, avant-garde, worldly music with a gypsy spirit.”

Opening the show was The Employees. The four boys climbed onto the small stage in business casual attire, and the first song jolted out of the gate with a loud, fun rock song that got the audience involved.

It was apparent the band must have had some followers in the crowd, as some enthusiastic audience members shouted along with the band.