Last Thursday marked the grand re-opening of the Acoustic Café in sunny Blackrock, CT. Blackrock is the neighborhood between Bridgeport and Fairfield, and if you’ve been to the kickass Gathering of the Vibes, you know what’s goin on round there. Seemingly desolate on the outside, there are some serious cats on the stages, floors, garages, and makeshift studios. One place that any insider has been to: the Acoustic Café. And that was before the renovations.
For the past few months, the venue has upgraded from popular dive to desperately needed venue. With the new feng shui comes the new vibe, if I may be so far out, dude. With the stage moved to the opposite side, the music carries further, echoing to those future fans outside, putting out a cigarette and contemplating rolling through the joint. The stage is higher off the ground, the lights are a higher echelon, and the acoustics are much more balanced. The jams have more room to roam.
The night opened up with some real deal Blackrock local legends. On guitar, Kung Fu’s Tim Palimieri immolates our ears with his burnin axe riffs developed by that illegitimate child of a frusicante/zappa sound we all wished existed. Turns out it does, fools. Next we move on to Rich Zurkowski, on bass hailing from the new group on the scene Jen Durkin and the Business. He’s got the low end game on lock and the groove loaded.
Adrian Tranmontano from Kung Fu breaks the beat down, keeping it in the pocket, a perfect circle, and to the drunkard magically appears as zach galfinakis on the drums. It’s incredible to watch this man perform. Johnny Durkin from Deep Banana Blackout does what every percussion player is supposed to do yet not all do, make the audience realize that every band in all genres needs percussion! This dude adds such a flavor to the mix that stings me when I hear them Timbales on the fill. His sister Jen Durkin of Deep Banana and Her very own, “The Business” is leonine at the microphone. As Her golden locks swing she lion-heartedly belts notes with such volume at such pitches it can be constituted as a roar. With such control as she slices through the myriad sounds bellowing from stage, I’m sure all the sound techs tip their hat to how well she does it.
To finally slay the listener comes Cyrus Madan from Deep Banana and Black rock Funk All Stars on the organ. In my personal opinion, Cyrus delivered the final blow on those dirty dirty keysounds swishing around through that Leslie speaker. As a Berklee Graduate, I have been trained to be salty to all musicians on stage who aren’t me in the limelight. However, you’ll notice pretty violent adjective used to describe these Black rock legends playing but they are killin’.
Recently Gene Simmons stated, “Rock is Finally Dead”. Someone needs to show him the Main Squeeze. This Chicago based Quintet has everything that defines Rock and Roll. The Rock in the beat, the Roll in the feet, and such a sound that must have been somehow touched by the hand of the Devil or Jesus. Something tells me Jesus would dig this band. Each musician is the only one on their instrument; that’s a burden that separates the hobbyists from the real deal cats. It’s funky, it’s riffy, and at times sounds like a symphony piece due to the way the move chords around and use passing tones in a way that would please Robert Johnson and J.S. Bach. Do yourself a favor, oh critic of bands you haven’t heard yet, buy a ticket to a Main Squeeze show. You’re welcome.
Moral of the story, next time you’re off the metro north somewhere in between God knows no man’s land Bridgeport/Fairfield CT, check out the Acoustic at 2926 Fairfield Avenue. Pay the damn cover and hear some good music played by the folks from down the street. Local legends tend to be awesome at what they do. Trust me, I’m currently being inspired to do the same.