Local Entertainment: What's Hot in Town?
More by Lily Boe - 11/11
Are you sick of doing the ‘same old same old’ on the weekends with your friends? Might you be looking for something new and amusing to entertain you on a Friday or Saturday night? Well, if you are, then there is a simple solution for you: make one of the following places your weekend destination as you will be pleasantly charmed by some live entertainment.
Phil's Grill
Everyone in Darien now seems to know about Phil’s Grill, the restaurant that opened in the Noroton Heights shopping area last March. Something that not everyone might know, however, is that Phil’s is now Darien’s live entertainment hotspot on Friday and Saturday nights. The restaurant began its summer music program this past June. The songstress who kicked off the music program was none other than Darien’s own Sarah McGowan. McGowan is currently a sophomore at New York University. She is a Darien High School alumna, having graduated in 2010. Although McGowan, who started playing guitar her freshman year of high school, has played many serious gigs locally and in New York City in the past year, she still loves the hometown gigs. “Hometown gigs are a great way to practice my musicianship and performance skills,” McGowan said. On a few occasions over the summer, McGowan sang a beautiful acoustic set on the back Patio at Phil’s. McGowan and her backing band, The Sweet Edge, also recently closed off Phil’s season of outdoor music on Saturday, Oct. 15. Members of The Sweet Edge include Jason Polise on guitar, John Pioli on bass, Matt Dinsick on drums, and Ben Kibbey on keyboards. McGowan only began playing with the full band in June. Prior to doing so, she played acoustically, accompanied solely by Polise.
Although this year’s season of outdoor music at Phil’s Grill has concluded, Sarah’s performances at the restaurant have not. She said she hopes to play Phil’s once a month this winter with her acoustic duo. During the performance, she plays a mix of originals and cover songs. Her favorite cover songs to play are Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” and “Hallelujah,” originally performed by Jeff Buckley. “I basically like songs that I can lose myself in and really get emotional,” McGowan said. Customers are not the only people captivated by the engaging atmosphere that McGowan’s passionate music creates at Phil’s; McGowan herself adores playing there. “I think having live music at Phil’s Grill sets his restaurant apart from the others in Darien. I think Phil is hoping to create a more laid back, ambient environment by having live music, which is unique for Darien,” she said.
What comes next for this young, gifted musician? She fully intends to continue with her dream of being a singer. “Writing songs and singing to people to make them happy—that’s the most amazing feeling in the world,” she said. She has begun recording an EP, which she describes as “basically a mini-CD.” The EP is set to be released this December and she encourages all her hometown fans to check it out! Fans are also encouraged to keep up on news via her fanpage: www.facebook.com/sarahmcgowanmusic.
The Depot
The Darien Depot, conveniently located right on Heights Road, is Darien High School students’ usual go-to place if they are looking to share their talent before an audience. The Depot provides students with several opportunities for revealing their remarkable abilities. Firstly, it hosts a regular band night, usually once or twice a month. Senior Jimmy Quinn is a band night promoter at the Depot. Since last Spring, he has helped organize numerous band nights. “It’s been very successful,” he said. Before Quinn was in charge of band night at the Depot, the events rarely had more than a handful of attendees. However, since he has officially begun promoting Band Night, the turnout has substantially increased. “At the past four or five events, we’ve had like 40 people show up,” Quinn said. Among the local bands that have performed at the Depot Band Nights is the DHS band Stealing Free Samples. With Quinn taking charge, the incredible Band Nights are bound to continue to be wildly successful. “This year I hope to have even more successful band nights every month so DHS students can come and enjoy themselves,” Quinn said.
Quinn not only hosts band nights at the Depot, but he has also had the opportunity to play his own music there. Quinn essentially composes and produces instrumental music. Last spring, he hosted and DJed a Techno Rave dance at the Depot. This year, he plans to hold more dances and get an even greater showing of students. For more on Quinn’s music, check out page seven of the April 2011 print issue in the archives: http://darienps.org/neirad/archive/201104.pdf.
The Depot is also host to an Open Mic event, which is usually conducted by Darien’s Theater 308 students. “It’s a night where student performers can come to the Depot and perform either their own personal music or anything they’d like—you can sing, you can dance, or you can perform a monologue or poetry,” senior and Theater 308 President Abby Leinroth said. Open Mic is a casual event, and it gives interested performers an open forum for anything they might want to present on stage. The first Open Mic of the year took place on Saturday, Oct. 22. According to Leinroth, there were about 6 to 7 performers, the majority of which were singers. She herself sang a cover of “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. Senior Emily Elliott sang Coldplay’s “Fix You,” accompanied by senior Kevin Koenitzer on guitar. Seniors Nicole Gutierrez and Felicia Knise performed a dance number to a parody of Aaron Carter’s “Aaron’s Party.” Koenitzer also accompanied and sang with senior McKinley Stauffer on the guitar as they performed Boyce Avenue’s version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”. If Theater 308 continues to have students interested in performing, they can hold an Open Mic as frequently as once a month. “We had a lot of positive response so hopefully in the next few months we’ll have another,” Leinroth said.
SoNo Caffeine
To Darien High School students, SoNo, or South Norwalk is most popularly known as the part of Norwalk that is near the water and is home to the Maritime Aquarium. However, also lodged in SoNo is a quaint little coffee shop called SoNo Caffeine.
Junior Emily Karlik sings at SoNo Caffeine, accompanied by her uncle Pete Nelson on guitar.
Norwalk resident John Stuart has been managing the music at SoNo Caffeine since its opening, which he said was about nine years ago. “We have a mix of performers at SoNo Caffeine: mostly established singer/songwriters who are producing CDs of their own music and who perform actively in the area,” Stuart said. However, SoNo Caffeine also gives talented high school students the opportunity to sing upon its stage. In fact, on Friday, Oct. 14, Darien High School junior Emily Karlik lit up the little stage with her stunning vocals. Accompanied by her uncle, Pete Nelson, on guitar, Emily sang a variety of cover songs: “When She Loved Me,” a tune from the popular film “Toy Story 2;” the hit song “The Man Who Can’t be Moved” by The Script; the famous “What a Wonderful World,” originally performed by Louis Armstrong; and Anna Nalick’s “Breathe (2 AM).” This was Emily’s second time performing at SoNo Caffeine. “We regularly have some high school students like Emily who are starting out and value the experience of performing in a receptive, public place,” Stuart said.
On Friday, Nov. 25, at 8 pm, an extremely talented musician will be performing at SoNo Caffeine. Can you guess who it is? If you are thinking Sarah McGowan, then you are correct. McGowan will once again be returning to a local stage for your entertainment. That is one event you surely do not want to miss!
SoNo Caffeine opens its doors to any student or young performer who wants to share their talent. If you are interested in performing, contact John Stuart at johnstuartmktg@aol.com.
