I’ve been employed by The Alchemist & Barrister for almost a year, but it took me until just this past Thursday to experience their music scene. Apparently it just so happens that I seem to work on all the nights that there isn’t live music…so I did not know what I was missing out on!
My first visit was on Thursday, April 3rd. I arrived at approximately 10:00 PM, and the band was setting up (testing sound, moving things, etc). I took a seat at one of the tables in the covered patio, where the band was going to be. As I looked around, I saw that 6 out of the 12 tables in the patio were being occupied by customers. The bar had much more activity, and I wondered if people in the bar area could hear the music as well. The crowd in the patio was on average, mid-20s-30s. It seemed like mostly groups of friends, a few dates here and there. Most of the tables only had alcohol on their tables. Perhaps they had finished dinner and were enjoying each other’s company over one more beer before heading back out into the rain. Or, maybe they solely came for drinks…or to hear the band! Who knows.
The band looks about ready to start at just around quarter after. This band is comprised of two men, both middle-aged. One has an electric guitar, and the other is sporting an electric bass. There are two microphones. I heard a harmonica…but it didn’t make an appearance during the set (at least while I was there). The band begins without announcing who they are or interacting with the guests at all. As the music starts, I notice that each song is primarily guitar/bass with a few vocals here and there. The songs I heard were all covers. I would classify the genre as “soft rock” but they also played country hits like “Margaritaville.”
The band members seemed very “into” what they were doing. You could tell that they really enjoyed playing and singing and were in the zone. From a customer point of view, their presence was not distracting — to me at least. The other customers seemed to go about their conversations, laughing and talking. They didn’t seem affected by the music in anyway. It’s as if the customers are characters in a movie and the background music isn’t actually playing in real life, but it’s heard by the movie watchers….
After leaving, I wondered if the crowd would have been bigger if the weather was nicer…or if the people at the bar were enjoying the music (or could even hear it..) I decided that on my next visit I would sit at the bar and hopefully answer that question.
Music in Princeton 