Opening Night at Uncle Charlie's

Lightning! Thunder! Torrential downpours! A dramatic and annoying storm delayed my arrival at the official opening of Uncle Charlie's, New York City 's newest hangout.  It's smack in the middle of midtown Manhattan , very welcome on the more cabaret-challenged East side of town. By the time I arrived, only a half hour after the announced official party time of 6 pm, the front bar was already packed. And I do mean packed---think of rush hour subway rides, but with martinis and more smiling -- with folks crowding around the free food platters and buzzing about, getting a buzz with drinks served up readily and steadily. Uncle Charlie's has been open for a few weeks really, quickly developing its following, but this week was the official opening celebration. More parties will follow this summer. 

Dripping but determined, I make my way through the throng in the larger bar area with its constant music of the recorded variety to where the live music was, another room (or maybe another mini-universe) separated by glass doors so you can see it is there. 

New York piano bars creating their own mindsets, it seemed appropriate that house pianist-singer David Pellegrene happened to be right in the middle of a joyful version of the song "New York State of Mind." An established Manhattan entertainer, David is the kind of guy who knows half a zillion songs and can go with the flow. While playing piano and singing his heart out, his eyes dart about the room checking out how everyone is doing, greeting people, slipping in side comments and sometimes mischievously changing a lyric line. For example, in "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," instead of singing, "You give your love so sweetly," he croons, "You give your love so cheaply..." It gets a chuckle from those who've been especially attentive and catches the ears of those who are chatting on the side. Looking behind him through another glass door that leads to the outdoor deck where nicotine-addicted customers sneak out for a smoke even in the relentless rain, he notes their big black umbrellas. "It looks like the cast of 'Mary Poppins,'" he cracks.  Claiming he can't think of the name of the bartender coming in and out with drinks, he says, "Oh, yes, his name is Jacob. I had to go through the names of all the brothers in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to remember."  From my perspective in a corner spot along the three walls surrounding the grand piano, I see his smiling face somewhat distorted through the glass of any piano bar's obligatory adornment, the giant glass tip bowl. It's happily fed frequently by grateful customers without prodding, even though David 's sense of humor has him saying, with a big smile, "And, if anyone has a  request....please go somewhere else." It gets a laugh, and you get the feeling he's said it a thousand times over the years and it usually gets that laugh. Actually, he's happy to take requests and his recently CD, in fact, is called At Your Request, the repertoire reflecting songs that his customers asked for repeatedly. Referring to the comments he got about the CD from his cruise ship audiences, he puns, "It's getting wave reviews."  

Chrysler Building . David tells me something that I find to be very important and exciting news for cabaret fans and singers who know all too well how the costs of some shows (for new singers and audiences on a budget) can be a killer. David is also the Entertainment Coordinator and will be coordinating actual shows presenting singers doing a full set of songs on some early evenings --- without the usual roadblocks: a cover charge and two-drink minimum. Artists will be responsible for bringing in their own accompanist, but won't need to pay a fee to use the space. It's a more informal arrangement, and a way for audiences to discover singers as they develop a fan base. And, of course, it will be good for the bar's business afterwards, too. Everybody wins, short term and long term. The first such night will be Thursday, June 7, and he's chosen a winner for the first show.  The singer will be German Rodriguez, who fortunately shows up later. He's a young tenor with a disarming manner. Possessing a simply beautiful voice, he has an appealing modesty about him-- a shy but radiant smile with a thrilling yet unaffected approach to material that showcases his soaring tones, like "Unchained Melody."  

David, who will generally be on duty from 9 pm ‘til around 2am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (he continues at the Townhouse on other nights) and has also been at Brandy's loves his new spot. "It's relaxed and friendly, a real neighborhood bar. We welcome everyone." He's enthusiastic, funny, and friendly. He's host and primary singer, but there's plenty of open mic time. During the evening, the versatile man of music is joined by a couple of people who appear on his CD spend a part of the night joining him. One is Beth Sacks, a young woman with a sensational and wide-ranging voice, and a down-to-earth personality. They do their duet from the CD, "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?" and, as happens numerous times during the night, it's all kidding aside and just serious singing, ardently and dramatically. Beth shows off some impressive pipes with Broadway show tunes. Also appearing on David's CD is harpist José Luis Rodriguez, now known as simply José Luis -- or he might be introduced as the Bistro Award-winning José Luis, since he just won one of those honors. He came and brought his harp and his talent, and later in the evening mesmerized us with some beautiful playing. You don't often catch a harpist doing solos in a bar when you'd expect people wouldn't be the ideal hushed audience, but trust me, it happened and it worked.

David is generous with bringing up singers even though he could easily hog the show and charm on his own. I'll leave it to my colleague John Hoglund, who's logged the cabaret equivalent of a record-breaking number of frequent flyer miles in such rooms to make more comments on the other guest performers in his own piece. It was good to see John and other people who have a longtime perspective and continuing appreciation of New York cabaret talent---like Don Schaefer and Stu Hamstra--  coming in for a long stretch.  They came after the earlier evening appearances by some. There was the dapper guy named Tom LaBarbera who crooned some standards in a straightforwardly sincere manner. His choices included "Who Can I Turn To" and "I've Got You Under My Skin."  

Reflecting on other pianist-singers he'd brought on board for the extended evening, David firmly told me, "I don't hire clones." Indeed the others here each had a different quality. Charlie James (no relation the bar's name) hails from London originally, and tends to do more pop than show tunes, with a great way with a song by Elton John and especially effective doing a request for Don McLean's "American Pie," prompting a sing-along. From Chicago , Mark Farris flew in for the occasion and also guested on piano and vocals. Wow! He's a pleasure and a half, with a kind of creative musicality, ingratiating manner, and skill that makes him the opposite of the word "hack" that can too often describe run-of-the-mill tired piano bar players whose work you can tune out. Mark pulls you in and I'm looking forward to getting the CD recorded by this refreshing talent. "It's not too early for show tunes, is it?" he said as he began his first set, with a twinkle in his eye and then proceeded to do fill the air with a bright, airy voice and piano style and contagious smile.    

The good spirits and good music made me forget about the time. At first, I intended to just stay for an hour or two, and then thought I'd linger to avoid another hit of the nasty rain. But one hour blended into the next and it became addictive. As Judy Garland famously said, "I'll sing 'em all and we'll stay all night." I confess that I did stay all night and they did sing 'em all---well, a good start anyway. I look forward to going back.

Best of luck to Uncle Charlie's. I'm happy to make this article my first piece for Cabaret Exchange, and I'm honored to be among the contributors to what promises to be an important, multi-faceted new part of the world of cabaret. And what better topic to start with than a bar, when the name of fearless leader, Mr. Barbarino has the word "bar" in it, twice.