It's somewhat befuddling that the song that brought Jeffrey Gaines the most notoriety in his career is one that he didn't even write, nor was it even really meant to be released. But when a radio station latched onto a live version of "In Your Eyes" — a Peter Gabriel tune he had covered on a whim — and began giving it airplay, it suddenly caught fire. But as good as the original and his rendition are, the material Gaines has written on his own over the years is infinitely more arresting. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a resoundingly expressive voice, he writes songs that are simple, poignant and honest. Sorting through the complicated mire of our everyday existence, Gaines — making his first local appearance in a decade — has a knack for examining the array of emotions we all experience and conveying them in a way that is eloquent, profound and deeply affecting. (Visit backbeatblog.com for a full Q&A.)