Critelli.
While introducing Ian Fitzgerald Monday evening, Frank Critelli — fixture of New Haven’s singer-songwriter scene and that night’s master of ceremonies — interjected into his description of seeing Ian at the Newport Folk Festival last year that “everything is good.”
Some of the mumblings in the crowd about what was going on in the rest of the world suggested that not everyone was so sure of that. But it was easy to believe Critelli that everything was, and was going to be, good right where we were.
Jan. 30 was the first night of “Monthly Mondays” with Frank Critelli at Cafe Nine, a series that promises a different lineup on the last Monday of the next four months, except that the one and only Critelli will host and play at each. He promised that he will never repeat a song, and that he will attempt to perform his own material in a somewhat chronological order.
But first to the stage was the duo of Hugh Birdsall and Dana Takaki from New London, Critelli described Birdsall as “out of control,” reminding him of Popeye: “sensitive, but a badass too.” Meanwhile, Takaki was “just wonderful.”
With his cap, bandana around his neck, and rolled-up sleeves, Birdsall did indeed look a bit like the beloved cartoon character. However, his words and music were about as real as it gets. Songs such as “The Almighty Dollar” and “No Job, No Car, No Money, Doing Alright” made Birdsall into a modern-day Woody Guthrie as he played his guitar and sang both delicately and forcefully at the same time. Takaki’s violin accompanied each song easily and feverishly, her solos bringing warmth to a chilly night.
After Birdsall announced he was about to play a song “from before you were born,” the familiar strains of “La Vie En Rose” filled the room — followed by his singing in French, which brought smiles to many faces. Playing with the tempo, both performers made the song less melancholy than it can often sound. When the set was over, the crowd let out loud requests of “one more!”
“You don’t have to ask twice,” Birdsall said sweetly. After they left the stage, Takaki, full of smiles, mentioned that she is always learning, whether on stage or not, about her music. Duo and audience alike benefited from her drive and passion.
Karen Ponzio Photo
Fitzgerald.
Ian Fitzgerald, from Providence, was next. Denim clad and guitar in hand, he stood center stage and spoke very little between songs except for thanking the crowd and mentioning that one song was about a love triangle. Instead, Fitzgerald conveyed intimacy through his lyrics, taking advantage of the musician’s‑living-room aspect of Cafe Nine and letting every audience member feel as if he was singing directly to them. Lines such as “nobody told me where the time goes,” backed by his soothing and steady strumming, gave everyone the sense that, yes, just like Critelli said, everything was indeed good — but also, we’re all still questioning, trying to figure out a new way. Fitzgerald mentioned that he’d be returning to the Nine on March 24.
The final performance of the night was Critelli himself. He’d already been working hard introducing each act and traveling around the room, talking with the couples and groups that made this quite a bustling Monday night. Onstage he said he would play selections from his first three recordings, conveying a story about each song prior to singing it.
Critelli is a master storyteller, his between-song banter as entertaining as the music itself. From his first song, “Home By the Sea,” written on a commuter rail from Rockport, Maine, to his final song, “Digging a Hole,” which he said was written “one day when it finally occurred to me that I was going to die,” Critelli let the crowd into his process not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a human being making his way through the world.
Even Critelli’s covers of songs — whether written by street performers he knew back in his Cambridge, Mass., days or by Talking Heads — brought a deeply personal and inclusive vibe to the evening. His guitar work was affectionate, too, as if the instrument were an old friend. By the time the set was complete, it was difficult not to try to anticipate where Critelli’s story would go next, and not to be eager to be a part of it.
Critelli invited the audience to come back for the next three shows and told everyone gently but firmly to “be kind to one another.” A former English teacher and forever student of life, he’s just the person to learn that with.
Monthly Mondays with Frank Critelli at Cafe Nine continue on Feb. 27, Mar. 27, and Apr. 24. All shows start at 8 p.m. and all are free.