It's all about ambience.

Sometimes, the greatest musicians in the world fail to inspire when their music clashes incongruously with their surroundings. Imagine U2 at an Appalachian barn dance or Johnny Cash at an underground rave. OK, Johnny Cash is cool no matter what.

For most musicians, setting is an integral part of their performance. The way an audience is gathered can change their response to a performer, or alter how the musicians interact with the crowd. Like great real estate, concerts can be all about location, location, location.

Corvallis women Brook Colley and Aliantha Helmboldt wanted to find the perfect venue to showcase some of their favorite local talent but soon realized that there was no place in town that suited their needs. That's when they decided to create their own ambience using Iovino's Ristorante as a backdrop by subtly changing the restaurant to suit their vision.

The event, entitled "Moonlight and Velvet," takes place at 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27. It features three local performers and groups, including Skarlet9, Top Dead Center and kid quiz.

"There's all this great music in town," Colley said, "but there's no place that fits them. So we're trying to create an atmosphere for bands."

The atmosphere includes draping Iovino's in velvet, covering the tables with chocolates and candles, and making the room lush with plants. Volunteer performers will be placed around the room as living statues to add to the ambiance. Iovino's kitchen will remain open for dinner and wine.

"Iovino's has the best physical atmosphere and an owner (Regina Iovino) who is willing to try new things," Colley said.

Colley and Helmboldt threw around ideas trying to come up with a theme for the evening, and the words smooth and chocolately kept coming up, as well as the idea of moonlight. The idea is to make the scene as romantic, comforting and suave as possible. They were especially interested in creating a venue where their friends from kid quiz would be able to perform to their best advantage.

"We wanted to promote a show that had what felt right for them," Colley said.

Donations from local businesses Gallery Gazelle, Garland Nursery, Zooeys, Gracewinds Music and the Chippery will help set the mood.

Skarlet9 opens the show. Singer and musician Camelia Nine will present cabaret songs by Kurt Weill, as well as perform her original songs. The singer accompanies herself on keyboard, and her style ranges from operatic to jazz and tribal.

Skarlet9 has released a self-titled CD available on MP3.com. Nine is a member of Corvallis Repertory Singers and has performed as a soloist with orchestras. Her most recent performance was at the Holiday Concert at LaSells Stewart Center, where she sang an aria and duet from Handel's Dixit Dominus.

Top Dead Center follows Skarlet9. The trio includes members from the group Eleven Eyes, and performs free improvisations drawing on free jazz, hip-hop, ambient music, experimental, electronica and other forms. The band's influences range from '60s electric music to modern artists Aphex Twin and Squarepusher.

The band includes tenor/soprano saxophonist Matt Calkins, JD Monroe, aka The Turntable Enabler, and keyboardist Dave Trenkel. All three men have performed with a number of area bands, including Admiral Twinkle Devil and Eleven Eyes.

Rounding off the evening is duo kid quiz. Emily Beezhold and Sailor form kid quiz perform music that is both sweet and soothing and dark and unexpected. Mixing strong vocals with piano, guitar and other sometimes surprising sounds, kid quiz will bring magic and mystery to the night. Their first CD, "tokpela," has been released on perilymph records.

If the evening is successful, Colley said she and Helmboldt want to hold other events, changing their themes to complement different types of performances and music.

"We want to start drawing people to Corvallis," Colley said.

Admission is $6 at the door. Seating is limited, so be sure to arrive before 9 p.m. Iovino's Ristorante is located at 126 S.W. First St., Corvallis.