The after-party following The Vagina Monologues Feb. 23 was a pleasantly low-key, avant-garde evening, with a diverse trio of singer-songwriters providing the soundtrack.

Opening the night was Sarah Grain, whose crystal-clear voice is perfect for her brand of poetic storytelling — folk songs with universal themes, with my personal favorite being “Recovery Room,” a particularly realistic take on the aftermath and make up of couples after they fight. Which isn’t to say her stuff is overly dark; it’s bright and optimistic on the whole, a vision of a better tomorrow.

Theresa Reynolds and friends, meanwhile, perform from a decidedly jazzy perspective. Reynolds is someone who can make the lyric “I got stood up on a Friday night” sound chipper and cheery, which ought to tell you something about her approach to the material. But just when you think you’ve got THAT figured out, she launches into a full-on Motown breakdown or a jam improv (with a whole lot of help from an exquisitely talented backing band). A woman of many talents, indeed.

Closing out the night was spoken word artist Tasha Jones. Her style is the Wall of Sound writ large and applied to spoken word, with gospel-style singing and a full band backing her delivery, which in itself fluctuates between machine-gun bursts and a gentle, hypnotic pentameter. Compelling stuff no matter how you cut it.