Saturday, January 30
Trying my best to ignore the cold weather, I went out with my hubby and some good friends last night for dinner and a concert. We had a delicious meal at Piccola Italia, an Italian restaurant located in Cobblestone Village in Ocean Township. What a nice surprise! The restaurant is located next to my favorite local place for Chinese food, Magic Rice.
The decor was lovely and simple. The restaurant has a very nice staff, which is always a plus in my book. There is nothing worse than being served by people who want to be elsewhere. Anyway, everyone in my little party loved their entrees and the Antipasti appetizer that we shared was perfect. I had a pasta dish named “Gnocci Alla Carbonara”, which was really good!
Later, we went to the Pollack Theater at Monmouth University in West Long Branch to listen to the legendary American Folk performer, Richie Havens. I was familiar with his music, but I’d never seen him perform before. He is a songwriter who also plays the guitar and sings both original tunes and covers. Havens has even tried acting in the past. Our friends were longtime fans of his work. Judging from the crowd (mostly aged 50+, with a splash of 20-somethings), his devoted followers can still fill a room.
When speaking, Havens is quite gentle and soft; almost inaudible, but when he sings his voice is very strong and powerful. His guitar playing can be quite intense, though it is obvious that he is slowing down a bit. As a Brooklyn native and longtime player on the music scene, 69-year old Havens is remembered by most Americans (even those who are not fans of folk music) for his performance at Woodstock in 1969. Some of his hits include “Here Comes The Sun” and most notably, “Freedom”. Both songs were met with wild applause by the audience.
The rest of the performance was soothing and mellow. He was accompanied by guitarist Walter Parks, of the trio Swamp Cabbage. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Parks play guitar and sing, you will be moved. His voice is just incredible. At the end of the evening, Haven’s announced that Walter Parks has just put out his first solo CD, so check it out.
Havens is a legend for good reason. It was a pleasant experience, and not at all what I expected, not being a Folk fan.
But variety is the spice of life!
