RSS Feed

Category Archives: local musician

Cool Music on a Hot Night

Yesterday I noticed that Phil Arcuri was playing at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY.  While waiting to punch out after work, I called my husband, Steve.  The answering machine picked up.

“Hi, honey, I just wanted to put this in your mind before I get home…”

“Get your ass in the shower, we’re going out!”  my work friend Rick shouted behind me.  Steve picked up the phone at that point.  He had not heard Rick’s interjection, so I filled him in on that.  The current heat wave has drained up both of energy (yes, I KNOW other parts of the country have it worse, at least we have fans, we are just big babies, oh, shut up), but we decided it would be nice to go sit somewhere air conditioned, eat some good food and hear some music from one of our favorites.

Oh no, my computer is doing the thing where I add the picture and it does not let me type anything below it.  When I try to the cursor jumps back up here.  Well I don’t have time to futz with it now.  I’ll just leave the picture at the end of the post.  It is not a current picture anyways.  I did not bring my Tablet, because I forgot to charge it.  I took one picture with my phone, which I immediately shared on Facebook, in case any local friends might like to hurry out and join us, but right now my phone is charging.  This is all by the way.  Let’s get back to the post.

Steve and I agree that nobody seems to have more joy in music and living than Phil Arcuri.  It is always a pleasure to hear him play.  Additionally, he includes the setting and audience in his songs.  In “Margaritaville,” he said his “brand new tattoo” is “a Fratello’s cutie,” and in one chorus it was “all Geno’s fault.”  Geno is a member of Fratello’s excellent staff.

Speaking of staff, we had a new bartender, Savannah.  She was new to Fratello’s, too.  I asked her what the Cali sauce was like in the Cali Chicken, available as a sandwich or wrap.  She said it was barbecue and spicy, but not too spicy.  I decided to try it, as a wrap, only with grilled instead of fried chicken.  Geno once suggested that substitution to me, when I wanted the chicken wing salad but hesitated, because deep fried does not always agree with me (although I confess I love it).  It was a delicious sandwich.  Steven contented himself with a salad.

We had not been to Fratello’s for food and music in a while, because I usually have rehearsal for Love’s Labour’s Lost in Little Falls (perhaps you read a few of by blog posts about that).  We were delighted to have the opportunity to go last night.  It made a nice break from hunkering down in front of fans at our house (YES, I am grateful I have fans! Sheesh!)

He always has a great time, and makes sure everybody else does, too!

Advertisement

Yes! More Music!

It is a week of returns! Tonight my husband, Steve, and I returned to our favorite Wednesday night thing of going to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY for food and music!

I had a cheeseburger, adding sauteed mushrooms and onions. Steven enjoyed a shrimp basket. And we grooved to the tunes of Mark Nanni!

He is multi-talented.

Full disclosure: this is a picture from a previous night when we heard Nanni. He plays guitar, keyboard, and accordion. We were loving it!

On previous Wednesdays we have been waited on by our favorite bartender, Toni. Tonight we had Kayla, who was also a delightful server. I admired her butterfly pen. She said she was into fun pens, and I said Toni was, too.

“She has a llama pen,” Kayla said.

“We gave it to her!” I said. I mentioned Toni’s mermaid tail pen.

“She stole it from me!” Kayla said. Now the truth comes out! Oh well, I have been known to filch a writing implement or two in my time.

We had a wonderful time. I was happy we returned to our favorite Wednesday night thing.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484. They are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 to p.m. Sunday.

Wednesday Night, What Else Is New?

Here is yet another short post about our Wednesday Night Thing of going to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY for great food and music. It was our favorite, Phil Arcuri.

He’s so fun!

This is a picture of a previous appearance, but it was the same wonderful Phil. He is so fun to watch, and he loves his fans. He incorporated my name into “Under the Boardwalk.” When he sang “Margaritaville,” it was all Steve’s fault. And after we “Sha-la-la-la’d” with him, it was his green-eyed girl, instead of the usual brown-eyed.

As always, we enjoyed delicious food. Steve had a shrimp basket while I tried a Cuban wrap. Yum! We also had an enjoyable conversation with another fellow sitting at the bar.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St. In Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484. They are open 11 a.m. to 0 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 to p.m. on Sunday.

Another Short Post About Wednesday Music

Once again we had a lovely evening at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, enjoying yummy food and great music. And once again, I have not upgraded my WordPress site to allow myself to upload new photos. However, I can include a previously shared photo of Max Scialdone, the musician of the evening.

He’s so cool.

We were joined this evening by our friend Kim. We had food and wine, exchanged Christmas presents, and sang along to songs we knew the words to.

I think I will bill this as a Wuss-out Wednesday Post, because I really feel too tired to say much else. However, I reserve the right to feel pleased with myself, because at least I posted something.

More Music? Yes, Please!

Here is yet another post about food, music, and a good time at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort on a Wednesday night.

Our guy Phil

Once again we grooved to the tunes of Phillip Arcuri. A number of his fans were there. When he sang “Margaritaville” and got to the refrain, “Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame….” a woman sitting near us at the bar said it was Ron’s fault. I immediately blamed Steve.

“But he’s so quiet!” Phil said. For the rest of the song he included Ron and Steve in the refrain, adding Alex and Toni at the end. Toni, regular readers may remember, is our favorite bartender. I think Alex owns the place (how embarrassing that I don’t know).

Always a good show!

When Phil sang “Last Kiss,” of course Steve and I sang along: “Oh where oh where can my baby be?” I said to a guy sitting next to me that Phil always sings that song because we like it so much. I don’t know if that is strictly true, but he does seem to sing it every time we see him.

“You look familiar,” I continued. “Do I know you?”

He reminded me that he had moved one seat down for us at a previous visit to Fratello’s (perhaps you read my blog post about it). His name is Joe. I was delighted to renew the acquaintance.

You can see a little of the Christmas decor.

I do enjoy our Wednesday thing, even if I am too tired to make the blog post till Thursday.

More Fun at Fratello’s

This past Wednesday my husband, Steve, and I experienced a little indecision as to whether or not we would go to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort as usual. The reason was we had not seen any Facebook posts about any musical entertainment. Of course, the food alone is reason enough to go to Fratello’s, but we are just so into the local music scene these days. Finally Steve called and found out Max Scialdone would be there. Max Scialdone? Yes, please!

He is fine, yes.

When we walked in, a whole group of women was sitting on my preferred side of the bar. When they noticed me looking at them I explained I seemed to be staring because they were sitting where I like to.

“We like sitting over here, too,” Steve reminded me, leading me to the opposite side. Max Scialdone, who was setting up, told us there were seats on the perpendicular side as well; it was just his stuff in the seats.

“We like this side better,” I said, “so our back’s not to the music.”

We split a grilled chicken sub with French fries. Yum!

Another couple sat near us, and we soon got into a nice conversation with them. Their names were Shirley and Russ. Steve asked if we could get a selfie (I guess it’s an ussie in the plural. I was sceptical of my abilities to get a good one, but while we were situating ourselves, our favorite bartender, Toni, volunteered to take the picture.

From left: Russ, Shirley, Steve, and me

They said it was OK to use the picture in my blog post. They asked about the blog, and Russ even had me type the link into his phone. So I might have a new follower!

Good food, good music, good company… it was quite a delightful evening.

We loved grooving to the tunes!

Short Post, Good Wednesday

I KNOW what hump!

To us Monday through Friday schlubs (YES, I am grateful to be one of them; must we go through this every time? Sheesh!), Wednesday has a particular significance. It’s either, “Yay! We’re halfway through!” or, “Rats! We’re only halfway through!”

Recently I have tried giving Wednesday a different meaning by making it my Local Music at Fratello’s night. I believe I mentioned it in yesterday’s post. Today I saw Phil Arcuri, one of my favorite music makers.

Different day, same smile!

The great thing about watching Phil play is that he is having so much fun up there. The man is pure joy, and it is contagious. The above is a picture I took a few weeks ago. I did not get any pictures tonight but enjoyed some good music and a calzone. I took home some leftover calzone and the happy feeling of having an enjoyable evening.

I do not have a whole lot else to say. I think that is OK. For Fratello’s information, arrow back to yesterday’s post. Or search Fratello’s on Facebook. Or wait till the next time I go there to enjoy food and music. It might be soon!

Good Music, Good Food

Since I am unemployed, it might behoove me not to eat out very often. Then again, I have to support my local eateries AND my local musicians. With that in mind, I headed to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, to hear Phillip Arcuri.

As I sat down at the bar, the bartender told me it was Happy Hour and showed me on the menu where the buy-one-get-one appetizers were listed. Score! I ordered mild buffalo chicken tenders, jalapeno poppers, and a glass of Cabernet. I happily sipped wine waiting for food and music.

He has as much fun as his audience does.

I love watching and listening to Phillip Arcuri. He has a terrific smile and an eclectic play list. He started with Johnny Cash and went on to The Beatles. The audience was having a great time. “Brown-eyed Girl” seemed particularly directed to one lady, especially when he changed the lyric to “Blue-eyed Girl.” I felt a little left out with my green eyes!

The view from where I sat.

I sang along with “Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la,” as did almost everyone else. I sang along with all the words to “Where Oh Where Can My Baby Be?” Steve should have been there for that one!

Ah, deep fried yumminess!

I know I should avoid deep fried, but how could I resist the Happy Hour special? One thing I particularly noticed behind the bar was a rather large cork collector. I should have a cork collector that big!

I should have asked where they got it.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484. They are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday.

Great Music, Great Food!

Yesterday at work, I noticed a co-worker’s t-shirt read, “Support local music.”  I thought that was definitely something Mohawk Valley Girl should do.  What I didn’t know was that opportunity awaited me that very night!

I had suggested another shop and dine evening, with the dinner part at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort,  NY.  When I got home from work, Steven told me Phil Arcuri was playing there from 6 to 8 p.m. Perfect!

We sat at the bar, right across from where Phil was going to play, and ordered wine and food.  I got angel hair pasta with a meatball.  Steven got the shrimp basket with fries. Yum! We both brought leftovers home, and I am really looking forward to eating mine!

He is a great musician!

Arcuri plays great tunes from the ’60’s and ’70’s.  I chair danced to most of them and sang along with the ones I knew the words to.  I was not the only one singing along.

Another angle.

I took a few pictures of Arcuri, but I did not manage to catch his smile.  It is a pleasure to watch such a talented musician who is so obviously enjoying himself.  I’m sure everyone there was having fun.

My delightful date for the evening.

I took a picture of Steven.  He tried to take one of me, but the Tablet would not cooperate.  I finally managed to take an ussie (I’m better at ussies than selfies, but not really good at either).

I guess we don’t look too bad.

We had a wonderful time.  I look forward to the next time we hear Phil Arcuri, and to our next great meal at Fratello’s.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484.  They are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday.  You can follow them on Facebook to find out when Phil Arcuri is going to be there again!