Winter Showcase supplement: Blue Birds & Bright Lights Electronica and beauty in Northwest Indiana Projected on the back wall of the Blue Room Cafe, a balloon bounces and floats in a forest clearing. A voice as innocent sounding as the placid image floats in a soundscape of keys and processed beats. Angelina Lucero (Hammond) and David Lubarski (Highland) are performing music from a soon-to-be-released EP for an attentive audience on Sunday of the Winter Singer/Songwriter Showcase. After weeks of rehersals and 10 hours of audio-visual labor starting in a Highland forest, their craftsmanship and hard work is evident in the 30 minute set. Starting as an instrumental act for Lubarski, audience members let him know that vocals were needed. He sought out Lucero, who had worked with him on previous projects. "Dave told me he wanted to make the most beautiful music to ever come out of Northwest Indiana, and that was a little intimidating. But from the first time we practiced together, we knew it would work," said Lucero. Lubarski is disturbed by what he sees as the anger present in many forms of music. "With Blue Birds, we want to bring audiences music with positive emotions, sharing a sense of peace and hope." As a listener, I find their sound is heavily influenced by electronic music and art rock acts such as Air and Sigur Ros. The vocal style by Lucero reminds me of singers conveying a mood in sound as well as lyrics, such as a little of the deceptively child-like phrasings of Chicago's Joanna Newsom. With a pair of strong performances behind them at the Showcase, they'll continue with the EP release, a late January show in Jacksonville, Illinois (perhaps inspired by one of their favorite artists, Sufjan Stevens?), and a possible release party soon thereafter. Of their Blue Room appearance, Lubarski stated, "I wanted it to be a culmination and celebration of our work." It succeeded on those levels and more. Hopefully local and regional audiences will be treated to more live celebrations of Blue Bird happiness soon.