For those who complain that Concord doesn’t have a nightlife, I would like to suggest two things: 1. Stop complaining and 2. Visit the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Spotlight Café.
The Spotlight Café, located in the Capitol Center’s Governor’s Hall, provides a more intimate setting than the center’s main theater to catch a performance. With acts ranging from local comedians to up-and-coming singer/songwriters, there’s truly something for every one.
According to Angela King, marketing director for the center, the cafe’s first performance was a pre-show concert on May 17, 2008, by Brooks Young before BB King took the center’s main stage. Since then the venue has been doing much more than just pre-shows.
“We wanted to have a space to explore new art forms,” Angela said. “We can’t book every artist into a 1,300-seat theater, so this allows us to explore new artists and take less financial risk. The café fits about 250 people. So far we’ve had a lot of local musicians, a poetry slam, a theatrical adaptation of a Jodi Picoult novel, ‘The Pact’ and a few comedy nights. It’s a very versatile space.”
I had my first experience with the café on Sept. 11 when my fiancé, Rob, and I attended “Live Free or Die Laughing” – a standup comedy show featuring Mike Koutrobis, Steve Scarfo and Ryan Gartley, with host Kelly MacFarland. Although I was not familiar with the men, I had heard of Boston-based comic and former “Biggest Loser” contestant Kelly, so thought I’d give the show a shot. Plus, each $20-ticket sold benefited the Granite Chapter of the American Red Cross, and you can’t go wrong with that.
The show began at 8 p.m., but Rob and I arrived half an hour early to find a good seat since the tickets were general admission. Seating includes café tables and banquet chairs. Since the venue is rather small, there’s no bad seat in the house. We chose a table that sat six and were later joined by another couple. Sitting with strangers didn’t bother us, but I would recommend selecting a banquet chair if you’re not open to sharing your space.
Finding seating was a piece of cake for us, but if it isn’t for you there are plenty of staff members willing to point you to a spot. I would still recommend getting there early if you’re planning on having a beverage. Instead of a wait staff, the café has a counter that sells beer ($4-$5), wine ($6-$7), cocktails ($6) and assorted soda and water ($2). Rob was able to get in line right away to get me a cabernet sauvignon and a bottle of Redhook ESB for himself, but the line doubled in size right before the start of the show.
The show began shortly after 8 and started strong with host Kelly MacFarland. In my opinion, the host was much funnier than the comedians who relied a little too strongly on the typical men-and-women-are-so-different jokes, but the rest of the crowd ate it up and the room was consistently full of laughter. This was another benefit of a small setting – the crowd’s laughter was contagious, so even if I didn’t chuckle at a particular joke, I at least had to smile at the guy loudly guffawing next to me.
The show had a 15-minute intermission after the first two comedians, which provided enough time for the audience to get in line for more drinks and/or use the bathroom. I scoped out the latter option and am happy to report that the bathrooms are very conveniently located to the café (the women’s room is directly to the right when you walk out, and the men’s room is to the left), clean and best of all – there was no line. I don’t know how many times I’ve been to a show and spent the entire intermission slowly shuffling toward a stall.
Everything wrapped up a little before 10:30 and the comedians made an announcement that they – along with Miss New Hampshire USA – would be hanging out in the hall after the show to chat and sign autographs. No one ever really explained why Miss New Hampshire USA was there, other than the hand raffle prizes during intermission, but she seemed like a nice girl and I’m sure we could have had a lovely conversation after the show if we had stuck around.
Why I didn’t stay brings me to my one grievance about the place: I was hungry. On the café’s website it states that there’s a “cash bar and concessions,” but we didn’t see any “concessions” on this evening. There was a basket of pretzels on our table, but I was hoping to purchase some sort of snack that I didn’t have to share with the people sitting next to me.
However, since I told you in the beginning of this article to stop complaining, I’ll take my own advice and get a bite to eat prior to my next visit. And with plenty of cool acts coming up – beginning with singer Jessica Ingui on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. – there will definitely be a next time. To learn about more upcoming shows at the café and the Capitol Center, 44 S. Main St., visit ccanh.com or call 225-1111.
