Willie Nile Duo ~ 2014 October 18 ~ Swing the Teapot ~ Floral Park, NY
Personnel: Willie Nile, lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Johnny Pisano, bass, backing vocals.
Set List
Dear Lord - Life on Bleecker Street - That's the Reason - The Innocent Ones - Beautiful Wreck of the World - Doors of Paradise {new song} - I'm Gonna Love You Too {Buddy Holly} - Oatmeal Box - Sunrise in New York City ... short intermission ... American Ride - Sweet Jane {Lou Reed} - Les Champs-Élysées - One Guitar
Scroll down past the video for review.
Videos
"Oatmeal Box"
Please note that I used the special "oatmeal filter" in my video editor for the resulting grainy video quality -- just kidding! -- there was no light at all on the stage and the result was this poor video quality ... but the sound is good and the song is so rarely played, the video is still worth a look.
Review
This show couldn't have been more different from the one two nights ago at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Everything at Ridgefield was huge; everything here was tiny. The result was a far more intimate show than the one at Ridgefield, but guess what? This show was still bursting with energy and joy.
Swing the Teapot is a tiny, tiny pub on a street corner in the charmingly named Long Island community of Floral Park, where the streets are Carnation Ave., Verbena St., Rhododendron Road, you get it? It is located a one-minute walk from the Long Island Railroad and served by abundant free street parking. The food menu was also brief, consisting of about four appetizers and three or four main dishes, but that was enough.
Everything was about one tenth the size of the Ridgefield Playhouse, from the venue capacity to the size of the stage. At least there was a stage; I've been to venues this size where the performer gets a corner of the room. The stage was about ten inches high, and there was just barely room for Willie and Johnny to stand side-by-side. Willie solved the problem by jumping out into the aisle with his guitar to give Johnny a little room during solos, and even climbed up onto the table next to the stage during one song.
The only thing that wasn't smaller at Swing the Teapot was the love and enthusiasm showed by the audience, made up of two and a half score of Willie Nile fans. The singing along was just as hearty, and the dancing in the aisles just as teenyboppy, as at the much much much bigger space at Ridgefield. There was one new song played, "Doors of Paradise," and it was an instant sing-along in the best Willie Nile style.
The duo shows are always the chance for Johnny Pi to shine, and with the aid of his "octave pedal," he made his bass into a fabulous lead guitar. Johnny was really surprised when he saw me and Concert Going Partner come in ... "you're here!" said he; "where else would I be?" said I; "but this is Long Island" said he; "it is? I thought it was Cape Cod" said I.
Concert Going Partner and I had spent the day seeing some of the sights on Long Island, which really isn't that much like Cape Cod. We had a fine time visiting Fire Island and climbing the lighthouse to the spectacular view from the top.
More Willie
Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Willie Nile.
Click for 2014 Concert Page with links to all 2014 concerts ... Click for Main Concert Page with links to all years