Personably Acoustic

Your hand is stamped with a black music note as you pay your cover fee. You enter a room adorned with purple tie-died tapestries hanging behind the small platform of a stage, photos of previous musicians who have played at the Cafe, and guitar picks glued to the side-wall.

The lighting is soft and the atmosphere warm. It is the Acoustic Cafe, located about 10 minutes away from campus on Fairfield Ave., in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. While the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport offers the opportunity to attend large-scale concerts when scheduled, the Acoustic Cafe provides an inexpensive, intimate musical experience every night. It is also an experience that many Fairfield students have come to appreciate.

“I love that place,” said Justin Colby ’02. “It carries a certain familiarity, like the artist you are going to see is playing for you and your friends in your living room. It’s a shame that there aren’t many places like that anymore to see an artist in that kind of intimate setting, especially without going to the City.”

“I think it is a great place close to school that has a very relaxed atmosphere,” said John Griffin ’04. “You can listen to some great music and not have to worry about having a bad seat.”

Although you can order beer and wine, Rich Franzino, owner and founder of the Cafe says it is not a traditional bar.

“It’s a place where girls can come and not get hit on and still see guys” and have a drink, Franzino said. It’s not a place where “guys drink Budweiser, watch the game, and butt their chests together. I’ve always hated that.”

Perhaps disillusioned with the traditional local bar experience, Franzino decided to create the Acoustic Cafe and opened it about two and a half years ago. It has drawn regional and nationally known acts, in addition to local talent. Some of the headliners include Jill Sobule, Ellis Paul, Peter Mulvey, and Matt Nathanson.

“I wanted to build a place that is more the style that I like,” Franzino said. “More relaxed and more hippie. I was an old hippie,” he laughed.

The laid back atmosphere of the Cafe is one of its appealing draws. Along with beer and wine, other beverages, such as coffee, tea and chai, sandwiches and desserts are also served.

Franzino said he wanted a place where you could sit down and have a beer, or drink tea, or even decide not to order anything without “feeling weird.”

In addition to the relaxed atmosphere, the Cafe offers live, original music every night (except Mondays when they are closed.)

Tuesdays are open mike night in which Franzino said many Fairfield students partake.

“It’s a great place to perform and get your name out to the public,” said Griffin, who has played at open mike nights with his roommate. “It has helped me so! It’s fun to go and play songs for new people. It’s always a good time at the Acoustic Cafe.”

Professional musicians also seem to enjoy playing the cafe.

“The Acoustic Cafe is a great place,” said Matt Nathanson, a musician hailing from California who has made a stop at the Cafe twice this year on his East Coast tour. “They’re like one of the few places in the world that are really into musicians. Most are really into only making money, but this place is into allowing cool people to play.”

Nathanson said that the employees of the cafe are able to strike a balance between making money and staying true to the music and “doing it right.”

Erin Gleason, ’03, was able to see the Cafe’s appeal in witnessing Nathanson’s performance a few weeks ago.

“It was really cool to see him in such as small venue like the Acoustic Cafe,” she said. “He interacts with the crowd well and the small setting really helped.”

While the musical styles can range from rock, to blues, to alternative country, Franzino said the “basic music is acoustic folk rock, like MTV Unplugged.”

Tickets can range from $3 to $25, but the more expensive tickets are usually geared for the older crowd, “more your parent’s music because they got the $25, and you don’t,” said Franzino.

With affordable prices and an inviting atmosphere, the Acoustic Cafe lives up to its motto of “good food, good music, good vibes.”

For directions and information, contact the Acoustic Cafe at 335-FOLK (or 335-3655). You could also visit their website at: http://www.acousticafe.com.