I went down last night to Jalopy, a fairly new performance space (I believe it opened last year) on the edge of Red Hook. It’s a vintage instrument store in the front, and a wonderful performance space in the back, with church pews, a full stage, and an excellent sound system. The location is a tad remote (unless you’re driving; when you step out the front door you’re looking at the Battery Tunnel). But they book a fantastic mix of roots music, including some big names. Ann Rabson of Saffire has played there and King Wilkie was there last weekend.
I was there to see an acoustic blues band. The show was fantastic, a wide range of songs (old blues, pop tunes, Hank Williams, Brenda Lee, Gillian Welch) driven by Bob Guida’s outstanding voice and the wonderfully understated playing of Peter Kohmann on guitar, Steve Uhrik on fiddle and Mike Saccolitti on bass. And I got some great photos.
But at one point Geoff and Lynette, the owners of Jalopy, started dancing in the back, and that was perhaps the best moment of the night. They love this music, that’s why they own the place, that’s why we’re all able to go down and listen or play at a room that sounds so wonderful and where the bands and musicians feel so well-loved. Dance on, both of you, and thank you for bringing your love of music to all of us.