Artist-friendly World Cafe Live sets new stage for music
By Jennifer Kay
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - It's not hard to find musicians at World Cafe Live. Yes, they're playing on stage - they're also tuning guitars at the bar, warming up in the hallway, or signing CDs while wait-staff move past them with dinner plates.
If people want to call it a nightclub, that's fine, owner Hal Real said. But he likes to think of it as a clubhouse where musicians and music lovers can mingle and listen to local artists perform any night of the week.
Instrumental guitarist Lee Wanicur plays the open mic night every Monday, hoping to connect with a new audience.
"They're playing here the music I play. Here is where I find my market - other musicians and people who are going to listen to music for music," said Wanicur, 37, of Philadelphia, after a recent performance. At least one couple liked what they heard - they followed Wanicur from the stage to his guitar case at a back table to buy his CD.
Real rock stars have been spotted here, too. Buskers singing outside the glass front doors have found themselves inside playing with musical guests John Fogerty and Sophie B. Hawkins. Lunch crowds have caught Donovan and Lyle Lovett hanging out after recording at WXPN-FM next door.
Two concert stages make up World Cafe Live. The main stage, Downstairs Live, holds up to 700 people for ticket-only concerts. Upstairs Live, offering dinner and drinks, can handle about 100 people and offers almost daily free performances.
On a recent Monday night, Upstairs Live had the dim, late-night, smoky vibe of a cool coffee house, minus the smoke - the entire venue is smoke-free.
Real said he approached WXPN seven years ago with a proposal for new studio space for the station (originally broadcast from a small house on the University of Pennsylvania campus) and an adjoining concert venue.
World Cafe Live opened in October. Real licenses the name of WXPN's nationally syndicated "World Cafe with David Dye" program for the venue, and though it shares building space with the radio station, they operate independently.
Even so, Real and talent buyer Karl Mullen said they hope to capitalize on the reputation WXPN's "World Cafe" has established with its audience for introducing new singer/songwriters before they break on the national scene.
"The idea is to take it to a third dimension," Real said.
While more established artists take the Downstairs stage, Mullen schedules newer performers for Upstairs Live. He said every performance Upstairs, from lunchtime shows to the weekly open mic and songwriter showcases, aims for the "real concert" experience.
That level of professionalism attracts a music-savvy audience, musicians said.
"You go to some (other bars) people throw beers at you. Not here," said 33-year-old Philadelphia singer Bill Butler, who performed two songs on his guitar at open mic night at Upstairs Live while wearing a pinstriped suit.
"It's nice that if you take the time to write a song ... people listen to you sing it," said Butler, one of 15 musicians who took turns playing over the chatter of about 40 lounging diners and drinkers.
They also performed to the sounds of the city passing by 30th and Walnut streets. Unlike the soundproofed main stage downstairs, Upstairs Live faintly rumbles with noise from the train tracks and Schuylkill Expressway outside.
"The idea here was a little more urban," Mullen said. "You can hear the trains going by, but that was on purpose." |
