Sing us a Song at the Piano Bar

It really was nine o’clock on a Saturday when the regular crowd shuffled in. We were at the new Piano’s Bar and Grill, in Bloomfield for an evening of drink, food and song.

Two dueling piano men, Steven Lowenthall and Ron Reagen, played to a friendly ambience. People ranging from their 20s to, uhm, older middle age, sang along to standards from several eras and of different genres. Broadway tunes like “I Feel Pretty,” the doo-wop classic “Tears on my Pillow,” Ringo Starr’s 1970s hit “You’re 16 (You're Beautiful and You're Mine).”

It wasn’t just a crowd sing-along. Silvia Santos walked up to the mic and wowed the room with her powerful rendition of “At Last,” made famous by legendary blues singer Etta James. She said her experience comes from singing in a gospel choir. Her voice is so brassy, her onstage presence so self-possessed, that we are sure Simon Cowell would love her on American Idol.

Another one with Idol potential was Dave Smyly, who almost, he says, signed a recording contract when he had a rock band in South Florida a couple of years ago. At Piano’s Bar Saturday, he made Billy Joel’s worn-out “Love you Just the Way you Are” sound fresh again. 

You can watch highlights of evening by watching Mark Brodie’s video on NJ My Way.
 
Piano’s Bar and Grill is owned by Rick Hathaway, who last summer decided to convert the saloon he has owned since the 1970s into an old fashioned piano bar. He proceeded little by little, and last weekend was the grand opening.

Chris Budinich, the bar’s manager, has set up a weekly schedule featuring dueling pianos, dueling guitars, comedians, improv, and performances from the Broad Street Playhouse theater company. Since we are in the digital 21st century, there will also be karaoke nights for
sing-alongs.

We don’t have to be good singers to enjoy Piano’s Bar and Grill. We just have to be, as the best known Piano Man once said, in the mood for a melody.

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