Frankie Club Café is a 15-minute ride from our apartment so we took a cab and gave my guitar the middle seat. She deserves shotgun but we saved that seat for a friend.
I presume you imagine a club pumping out techno beats with flashy lights and clouds of cigarette smoke as thick as fog. Yes there are underground labyrinths with multiple rooms filled with couches for the mingling, chain-smoking Europeans but Frankie Club Café is an underground pub the size of your average American living room. Equipped with delicious Romanian beer, a dozen love seats and a stage make this cafe a great venue for intimate performances.
I heard about the café through Alex’s friend who knows the owner, Ady. He started the venue as a side project to fulfill his passion for music and entertainment. The club is open weekends only and showcases the local talent of Romania and even distant visitors like myself.
Before continuing my story let me tell you about my expectations I had before arriving. The Romanian culture has been welcoming and I am treated with respect and kindness everywhere I go despite the time I ordered bread in half ass Romanian and received the most dumbfounded look of my life. The cashier finally made out my words and the fresh baked bread was mine after all.
Now back to the café…
The club owner placed my pedals and guitar in a corner and ordered me a beer when I entered. I had never received service like that before. He proposed that I play some songs before the main act started.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to use my pedals due to a power issue that affected the compatibility with the Europe electric system. Lesson #1 when traveling to Europe – The power voltage is much higher than in the states. I profusely sweated through my set of six songs and received a humble applause from the intimate audience of about 20 people. Ady invited me back to play my own show the following weekend.
The band after me was called Castor 604 named after the claw that does the digging on construction rigs. Their name justified their dirty rock/grunge sound. They got together to perform for their close family and friends. I couldn’t understand their lyrics but I’m convinced they are big fans of Deep Purple. It turns out that the lead singer of the band is a famous Romanian musician.
This evening was a great opportunity to showcase my favorite original songs before a unique audience in a place I now call home. Now I can say I opened for a Romanian rock band. Check.
