Every venue has its own ticks, charms, and characteristics. The East Village Coffee Lounge in Monterey, CA is no exception. I attended a bunch of shows there back in the building’s previous incarnation, sitting right in the front row of that little coffee shop to hear folks like Richard Shindell, Slaid Cleaves, Lucy Kaplansky and Nina Gerber. Was certainly not a bad way to spend an evening.

These days, in its present (and I hope, long-term) incarnation, the main room serves the cappuccino and wireless crowd, and the musicians play in a long narrow lounge that runs the rear of the building. It’s cozy in a good way. Last night we took the whole band, even managing to squeeze in a drum kit. Here’s a shot from the closed-circuit TV that’s pumped from the back lounge to a widescreen monitor in the front room:

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We did two long, fun sets of music (our second set somehow clocked in at nearly 90 minutes), our favorite newlyweds Breanna and Dipendra hopped onstage for a couple of songs, and we even pulled this kid Noah up to take over rhythm guitar while I grabbed a tambourine for what became a jam-bandish run through Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”.

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It was pretty loud and rocking, and from the looks of folks who wandered in from the main room, we weren’t the only ones having a good time. Funny thing: In the music grid in Coast Weekly, we were billed as a folk act. I’m honestly not sure what to call it anymore, but whatever it is, it seems to be working. Hey, if it ain’t broke…