Musical Chairs, Trish Consunji

Posted on June 3, 2011 – 5:18 AM | by Admin
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Trish Consunji is a writer, music nut and travel addict, so it seemed natural to combine all three in Travel to Music, a blog that was “part concert review and mostly personal concert experience.” She moved to Sacto in 2008 (from Canada, by way of Florida) and currently lives on P Street with her boyfriend and pit bull pup. Here she chose to write about five café venues and their live music offerings- a funny choice considering that she doesn’t drink coffee.

LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR
1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931
Musicians, comedians, poets, flamenco dancers, all are welcome here. Art Luna, owner of Luna’s Café & Juice Bar, likes to mix it up and it has been his goal to have an inviting place for artists to share their talents, while sipping a carrot juice or a brew. Luna’s is also a café, gallery and hosts a variety of events including community meetings and fundraisers. Their event calendar is loaded: weekly experimental jazz nights called Nebraska Mondays, open mic poetry night, and Wednesday comedy night. I have a sweet spot for Luna’s because when I first moved to Sac, I was invited to my first show here. A co-worker’s band, Baby Grand, performed to an enthusiastic crowd in a warm and intimate setting. It was such a great show and the performances that night left me thinking that I would fit in quite nicely here.

NAKED LOUNGE
1111 H St.,
(916) 443-1927
Already known for their sumptuous caffeinated offerings, Naked Lounge’s Downtown location offers something a little extra than its Midtown counterpart—a live music venue. The coffee house is a popular spot for artists to showcase their talents and a place where locals and visitors to the Capitol can gather and listen to some great tunes.

CAPITOL GARAGE COFFEE COMPANY
1500 K St., (916) 444-3633
This coffee establishment doubles as a café serving organic coffee during the day and a nightclub at night. It may be just me but with their promotion of local visual and musical artists, karaoke nights on Sundays, trivia & movie nights, open jazz jams, and reggae/dub nights, it’s kinda like they’re aiming to cater to all your entertainment – not just beverage – needs.

MONDO BIZARRO CAFÉ
1827 I St.,
(916) 443-6133
Mondo Bizarro Café features not only good coffee and sandwiches, but a weekly open mic music night hosted by Matt the Bastard (who did the open mic night for the True Love Coffeehouses). Erin Newbold, the café’s owner, says that while this weekly event has only been going on for a couple of months, it’s slowly gaining in popularity. It occurs every Tuesday with sign-ups starting at 7:30 PM Performers are given a 10-minute slot, which includes set-up. Mondo Bizarro Café also has a poetry open mic night called Midtown Outloud on the first and third Wednesday of the month. And it gets intense! Imagine a welcoming place that not only works to provide its patrons with a friendly atmosphere, but one that promotes local talent.

COFFEE GARDEN
2904 Franklin Blvd., (916) 457-5507
Wow, not only is the Coffee Garden a meeting place for like minds to congregate (with regular meetings taking place for different interest groups), but it also boasts the only all-original-songs open mic night. Try saying that five times. It’s every Thursday from 8 PM to 10 PM, with sign-ups starting at 7:30 p.m. Performers are given 15-20 minutes to showcase their original work. Established local performers pop in from time to time as well.

Want to be our guest Music Reviewer? Write us: music@midtownmonthly.net

  1. 2 Responses to “Musical Chairs, Trish Consunji”

  2. avatar

    By Mark on Jun 7, 2011 | Reply

    Several other local venues/coffee houses/cafes are also Original only.. Coffee Garden is not alone…

  3. avatar

    By brigette on Jun 16, 2011 | Reply

    I loved this take on Musical Chairs! So fun.

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