Howard Fishman Quartet at Club Helsinki

This weekend we saw the Howard Fishman Quartet at the Club Helsinki in Great Barrington, Mass. with Steve & Lil Barker. The group is desribed as post-modern pop with music influences ranging from Hoagie Carmichael to Bob Dylan. In fact he has recent CD's focusing on both of them. Chris has originally discovered him from a small article in the Times a number of years ago, and we see him whenever we can. Note: He is currently playing at Joe's Pub in the Village.

The quartet consists of Howard Fishman playing a classic acoustic guitar (picture), a tuba, a violin and a trumpet. They played many selections from the Bob Dylan "Basement Tapes" collection, which they've recently released and original compositions. They also have a tribute to Hoagie Carmichael coming out later this year.

All four of us really enjoyed the show, which ran just under 2 hours (for a cover charge of $20). I have often complained about how hard it is to hear music in intimate settings in NY (for a reasonable price). The room holds 75 people and was sold out. We were sitting about three feet from the stage. This was a really pleasant surprise.

Club Helsinki is attached to the Helsinki Cafe Great Barrington and serves the same pseudo-Finnish food. Not bad, but not exceptional. I had Blini with Gravlax (cured salmon) and Chris had Gnocchi (one of her favorites). We both had the daily special Rosemary Roast Chicken. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here, but it's fine with a show.