Adventure #1: Questionable Belting and Lessons in Karaoke Etiquette

For my first adventure to the good old Ivy Inn, I chose to attend one of my favorite events offered by the establishment: karaoke night. The Ivy offers Karaoke night every Wednesday and Thursday, and seems to draw a pretty regular crowd of locals who enjoy belting and imbibing (myself included). The set up of the karaoke bar is intimate. The small stage is positioned directly across from the bar, allowing potential singers easy access to the liquid courage they so desire. The atmosphere was just as festive and slightly frenzied as ever, although this particular evening seemed slightly less attended than many of the other nights I’ve been to karaoke.

The evening’s participants were diverse, both in levels of talent and intoxication. The song choice seemed to align with the singer’s age, with the younger singers usually sticking to top 20 hits from the past few years (and the requisite throwback hits from the ’90s), and the older singers sticking to pop and classic rock hits from their respective youths.

What I found most interesting about this evening was the clear divide in the group of karaoke participants into two groups: Westminster students and non-Westminster students. The Divy, which at this time is Princeton’s only true bar, resides within spitting distance of Princeton’s own classical music establishment, Westminster Choir College. Although the non-Westminster singers varied in talent, song choice, and ability to stand up straight, they all seemed to have one thing in common: an air of nonchalance about their performance. Even the non-Westminster singers who seemed nervous were able to laugh off their nerves with a laugh to a friend and another swig of beer. The Westminster singers, on the other hand, were clearly “performing.” As each of them left the stage, they went immediately into their group of Westminster friends, and could often be overheard asking for feedback and casually brushing off compliments.

As I continue to do this fieldwork (which thankfully includes the occasional beer, because obviously I have to blend in with the crowd…), I’ll be interested to observe more of the interaction between the performers and the crowd, and the performers and each other. I have a feeling the same divide between Westminster and non-Westminster singers will continue to develop.

And the Dessert Takes 25 Minutes to Prepare…

Just to give you an idea of what kind of place Salt Creek Grille is…

The average dinner item is about $25, all the drinks are around $12, and the special dessert takes 25 minutes to prepare.

Maybe this is your typical night out… but my wallet is usually more suited for Wendy’s. Ya feel me?

The restaurant itself is beautiful. From the parking lot you can see that the restaurant is surrounded by cozy fireside couches. This outdoor seating must be luxurious in the warmer months, but as it was quite cold in mid-March, we opted to sit inside. The large, high-ceiling space is divided in two by the bar. Closer to the entrance is bar seating, and high table fitting snug in the smaller space. Just beyond the bar seating is a fire place and comfortable chairs providing a great view of the live band. Tonight the music of Mikey Jr. fills the room. Behind the bar the room opens up into a large dining area where I sat.

From across the restaurant the music was pretty loud but the sound fit the setting very well. The lead singer (who also played harmonica) led his band (bass guitar, upright bass, and drums) in a performance of originals and covers. Even from where I sat I felt the groove and loved listening to their music.

I went to get a closer look over by the fireplace and was surprised to see that aside from one drunk guy, no one else was really paying attention. The bar tables were full of preoccupied diners. They chatted, ate, and drank, but rarely did anyone tap a toe, bop their head, or glance over at the band. The band had a jazzy sound with a bit of a country flare. The music was loud but well balanced, and the genre was well-suited for the wide range of customers.

While the band took a break we went up and had a word with the lead singer. Based on his speech and mannerisms it was pretty clear… he was more than tipsy. He was selling CDs and gave us his card. He urged us to visit his website and sign up for his email list. Even a little drunk he was a businessman. After sitting and listening to the band for a while, our 25 minute dessert was ready.

I enjoyed listening the band. I thought it was well-suited for the restaurant but I was really surprised that none of the other patrons seemed to be actively listening. I think next time I’ll sit by the bar and get a feel for what that section is like.

Field Research…sort of

I am going to really stress that this is not my fault. I have loads to do. Classwork, homework, a job, an apartment, a summer internship to prepare for…etc. Whatever. The Princeton Public Library is a venue not only for music but for films and classes and other events, so this means that music events share the space (and calendar) with all of these other things. My schedule has been conflicting greatly with theirs, but I finally found an event on a date that I could attend: Let’s Dance…a children’s event. A children’s event where a roomful of kids dance to music, and I would be “observing” all of them with a notebook in my hand…

So, I decided to bring along one of the kids I babysit as an escort and a way to avoid looking like a creep. Tommy and I got there a little bit late because he fell asleep in the car…and once Tommy is asleep, he’s really, really asleep. And he skipped his nap, so I was welcomed with the stone cold grumpiness and high-pitched wailing that only a two and a half year old can master. After much coercing and promising to watch episodes of Calliou later (hooray, one of my least favorite children’s shows ever!), I got him to come out of the car without crying. His mother was staying in the library to do some work herself, so I wandered around with Tommy to the community room, my hand trapped in a sweaty death grip with his.

And I have no idea what happened after that, because when we got there, Tommy immediately ran behind my legs and clutched at the back of knees wailing at the top of his lungs AAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I immediately picked him up (and was nearly choked to death in a surprising strong “hug”) and took him outside to try to calm him down. He threw himself on the floor and began throwing a full on temper tantrum, all while continuing his high-pitched wail for 15 minutes straight, so I decided to give up and went to find his mother.

Might I add that I had to walk through a good bit of the library with a kicking, screaming two-year old in my arms to find his mother.

No Calliou for you today, Tommy, no Calliou for you.

Pretty sure I have permanent two-year old snot stains on my blouse.

Great experience, A+ material.

Trying New Things at Cafe 44

On February 19th, I had the wonderful pleasure of attending Cafe 44’s very first open mic night, as part of my research project on music venues in the Princeton area. The whole venue lasted for about two hours, starting at 7pm, and ending right around 9pm, when people started to leave. There were quite a few performers there, who performed all types of music, from popular music, to original works, to well known folk songs. Because this event was sponsored by Westminster students, all of the performers were students themselves. I was very surprised at how successful the event was, seeing as it was quite a small cafe, and that the only people who really knew about it were the students of Westminster Choir College. It was nice seeing how such a small little cafe could hold such a wide array of talent.

When I walked in, initially, the place was packed with people and performers from front to back. Most of the people I saw there were friends and people I knew from school, but there were a few Princeton residents spread out amongst the crowd, as well. I was lucky enough to get a seat right in front, so I could see all of the action right in front of my face. They were promoting their new dinner service, so people were sampling things from their new menu while the show was going on. The atmosphere of the event was very relaxed and casual. People would chatter amongst themselves as performers would sing or play. There was even some interaction between the audience and the performer at times, which was very nice to see. I even saw the manager out and openly interacting with the rest of the people there, which was something that I’m not really used to seeing myself. It gave the venue a very comforting feeling to me, and I felt like I was right at home. There were small groups who performed popular tunes by Mumford and Sons and Bon Iver, and even an a cappella group from Westminster called the “Deaftones” there performing. They mostly performed popular tunes from Florence and the Machine, and David Guetta. There were a few students there performing original songs, as well. Overall, it was very successful first showing of the open mic night, and it inspired them to put on another one, which took place on March 12th. I cannot wait to go back and see what the next mic night has to offer for the Princeton community!

But then I remembered…this is a Supermarket!

I have decided to do field work on music venues at McCaffrey’s Super Market in Princeton Shopping Center. Though it is not a typical location for live music to take place, I thought it would be interesting to see how live music in this sort of setting would be. The performer is an instrumentalist. His name is Arturo Romay. He composes his own music and plays guitar. Arturo has performed at Lincoln Center and with famous musicians, such as Marc Anthony. He also plays locally because it is something he loves to do. Arturo is a self-taught musician. I watched him perform at McCaffrey’s on a Saturday morning from 11:30 AM to 12:30PM in the bakery section. The area where he performed was well-lighted. It did not really seem like they changed the vibe in any special way to compliment the performer. It was also the morning, so everyone was ready to take on the day.

His set up consisted of a single amp and a chair for him to sit on. He used an iPod to provide the rest of the instruments (i.e. the drums and bass). I was hoping there would be some place for me to sit in this section, but there was not. I wound up leaning on the counter of the hot food section and just watched from the distance. People gave me some stares, which I found to be humorous, but I ignored it. I found it interesting how people thought it was odd of me to stop and listen to the music for a period of time, but then I remembered…this is a super market. Not your typical setting to be indulging in some live music. His music had a Latin flare, definitely taking on the roots of his culture.

I began taking note of the shoppers and how they responded to him and his music. Some treated him as if he was a part of the background: blending in. I noticed that the people who did acknowledge him tended to be middle-aged women. They would stop, stare and listen for about a minute or pass by and put a tip in his jar. They could tell he was very into his music and I could too. The children who were shopping with their parents redirected their attention to the area where he was playing. Their parents saw that they enjoyed the music. Each time I saw a child enjoy what they heard, it happened to be a faster beat. Some clapped their hands and then the parents would smile. This gave Arturo something to play off of and acknowledged his audience. He only ever acknowledged them if he was acknowledged.

When he paused I went up to him to introduce myself and let him know what I was there for. He gave me some background and told me he also performed on Royal Caribbean Cruise lines. He seemed very passionate about his instrument. His eyes lit up as he spoke. Arturo also seemed happy to have someone talk to him about what he does. I went back to my spot and continued to listen.

The music was all instrumental guitar with a beat. The tempo was at a medium pace for most of the time, but on occasion the beat would really pick up. It was good music to get you going in the morning/afternoon. I noticed that he was promoting himself as an artist since there were a stack of CDs out and cards. A woman stopped to take one and he was very pleased. One girl pulled out her phone to take a video and another male stopped to take a picture. I am sure both were pleasantly surprised to hear live music taking place during their morning errands.

At one point he called me over and asked if I wanted to sing with him. I said sure, but I did not know what song to sing. After discussing music that we both know, we came to the conclusion that I would e-mail him songs that he might know so we could sing one together on one of my next visits. Trip one to my venue was certainly an experience, and I’m interested to see if trip number two will be any different. Perhaps I will try food shopping and listening next time to take on the essence of this venue. It should be another unpredictable experience.