A Great Trio for The Night

Delicate Steve, Grand Piano and

Andre Costello and the Cool Minors

@Club Cafe, Southside, Pittsburgh

Monday, April 10, 2017 

Photos and Story by Lisa Sikon

It was a nice evening on Monday, with a lot of people milling about the Southside, and I was headed over to Club Cafe to catch Delicate Steve. This wasn't Steve Marion's first time in Pittsburgh and there was a good crowd gathered to see him work his magic. Kicking off the evening was one of my favorite local Pittsburgh bands, Andre Costello and the Cool Minors.

This band is a mix of folk, rock and a bit of jazz, with Andre singing the lead vocals, Matthew

Cool Minors

Fiorillo on bass, Nicholas Charters on drums and James Hart playing the keyboard. They played some of my favorites, including, 'Kind of Makes You Feel Good', and 'She Took My Hand' but adding extra instrumental elements, bass and character into each song. Andre mentioned his birthday was at midnight and got a round of applause from the crowd. They ended their set with 'NSA', an upbeat and yet a bit dark song that had the crowd singing along with the band. This is a very consistent band, always giving 100% at each performance and playing with heart every time.

Grand Piano

Next up was another local Pittsburgh band, Grand Piano. I wasn't sure what to expect with this band, I have heard of them but had never seen them perform. At first glance, this band looks like a hard rock band but Grand Piano is mainly instrumental band, fusing rock, blues, jazz and maybe a bit of rockabilly thrown together to form a unique sound. Front man Zak Kane introduced the songs with a bit of ambiguity and humor. There was a lot of interesting music from this band, sax player, Ryan Booth added a hint of jazz and blues to the songs, while Thomas Cipolione played an additional guitar to add some depth to the music. Wesley Conroy on bass and Nick DeAngelo provided the beat, often driving and up front in many of the songs. This band was sometimes playful, sometimes serious, but definitely having fun creating a refreshing mix of music.

Each song had its own personality, with the beat often picking up in mid song, then coming down to a soft sound. I definitely enjoyed this band.

The last song, 'Finleyville' caught my attention, starting with a driving beak with rock undertones, but

Delicate Steve

ending soft then the beat ramped up again. I had to ask about this song, and Zak Kane did grow up in Finleyville, small world indeed. I highly recommend going out and seeing this band perform, they put on an amazing show and I just love the music, covering so many different styles all while having a good time on stage and delivering some fascinating music.

Delicate Steve took command of the stage and played the crowd with his utterly unique guitar sounds. Using just a glass slide he can make the guitar sound like vocals. Most of the songs that were played tonight came from his recent album, released in January, 'This is Steve'. Steve produced and played all the instruments on this album and it's definitely a work of art. Steve Marion is a highly talented artist and can make a guitar perform various types of sound. He had the crowd into the music, often prompting them to sway, jump and count in with the music. Some songs that stood out were 'Nightlife', which he said could be a ringtone. I found the song upbeat and catchy. 'Winners' reminded me a bit of 'Mrs. Robinson' but with a modern upbeat sound. There's lots of bass and hints of blues in the music along with solid drumming. I was impressed at how the music merged from techno to rock and how Steve interacted with the audience. At one point he did come into the audience and instructed the crowd to jump and dip to the music. The crowd definitely was into the entire performance, almost like an answer and response to the guitar playing of Steve. Delicate Steve is a totally unique band, with so much talent, I enjoyed the entire set and found myself wanting more in the end. To be able to actually see him play and create such art from the instrument is worth the show itself. I highly recommend seeing him live the next time he comes around town, his style and stage presence are so unique and incredible.

NAME     Delicate Steve
WEB SITE     http://www.delicatesteve.com/
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/this-is-steve/id1168804445
Amazon
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4NBB09?_encoding=UTF8&tag=foundee-20
Facebook     https://www.facebook.com/pg/DelicateSteve/
YouTube     https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ7QPuvv91JtBfnp1BaY4guDcQoqVosA2
Google Plus     https://play.google.com/music/preview/Bj64szpoguavqknfezy6c5zjooy


NAME Grand Piano
WEB SITE     https://grandpiano.bandcamp.com/
Facebook     https://www.facebook.com/pg/GrandPianoMusic  

NAME     Andre Costello and the Cool Minors
WEB SITE     http://costelloandthecoolminors.com/
Facebook     https://www.facebook.com/pg/costelloandthecoolminors