An Evening of Music in a Cafe then a Cool Studio

A lovely evening of music began at a cafe that’s even smaller than the GoNOMAD Cafe tonight called the Blue House Cafe in Haydenville. We had been invited by our friend Chris Cappello, who was playing the drums for the Fran Ciccarcarelli Quartet. In the tiny space, a big bass, full drum kit, guitar and a lanky sultry namesake singer were there to entertain the packed house.

Over homemade lasagna and salad, we sipped red wine and the players ran through an eclectic set list, including “Cruella da Ville,” Nancy Griffith’s “Five and Dime” and Kathy Matea’s “18 wheels and a dozen roses,” each lead by the flexible, sunny singer up front, gyrating and putting her own unique spin on each song and getting the lyrics just right. It was funny having the band so close to the audience, almost like they were in a living room.

After the gig, we were invited back to the studio where a piano restorer, Sean, and an electrical engineeer, Steve, share a space. The 14-foot ceilings and cool lighting made me envious that they got to work here every day. A repast was set before us…a keg of Berkshire Ale, slices of hot pizza, and bottles of wine and whisky. They set up for more music, and soon we were listening to a married couple who sang in the perfect harmony of the very familiar. Our friend Joe commented on how much he liked their duet, and how well their voices blended together on a Richard Thompson song.

Then after more singing with sultry Fran coming back to the mike, were were charmed by an old classic. “A Surry With a Fringe On Top,” was another choice. The grand piano was played by Sean and later a guitarist played bossa nova solo. The scene was pleasant…sophisticated music played by people our age in a classy studio with plenty of refreshments. We looked over and saw Cindy beginning to nod, soon it was time to depart. We could have stayed a lot longer because it was clear there was a whole lot of music left to come.