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WXPN's World Cafe Live gives concertgoers something different
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It's nice to have a dream. It's even nicer when you have the resources - financial and otherwise - to make that dream come true.
Suburban Philadelphia businessman Hal Real has done just that with World Cafe Live, which, after some six years on the drawing board, opened for business earlier this month.
The smoke-free club licensed its name from World Cafe, the nationally syndicated music-and-conversation program produced by WXPN-FM (88.5). The influential "Adult Alternative Album (AAA)" station's offices and studios share space with the nightspot in what used to be a plumbing supply factory at 3025 Walnut St., on the eastern fringe of University City.
The region's newest musical venue is the result of Real's determination to bring to older, but still passionate, fans like himself a new kind of concert-going experience.
"There are (millions of) people over the age of 30 who love live music who need a place to go," said Real moments after 1960s folk-rock stalwart Donovan had concluded a recent performance.
Specifically, Real, who made millions in the technology security field, was referring to what he perceived as the need for a space that caters to more mature and upscale rock music devotees who have outgrown seeing artists in sticky-floored, smoke-filled clubs where the house specialty tends to be $2 beers.
World Cafe oozes class
To fill that void, Real and his minions have conjured a sophisticated, multilevel supper club where fine dining and ambience are almost as important as the music itself.
The main performance area, the 300-seat Downstairs Live room, is on the building's ground floor; patrons actually enter on the second level via Walnut Street, which, along this stretch, is elevated.
They are greeted by a spacious lobby that houses the ticket counter and is adjacent to the logically named Upstairs Live. This smaller restaurant-bar features the same nouvelle cuisine menu as the first-floor room. Unlike Downstairs Live, it is open daily for breakfast and lunch as well as dinner.
The second-floor eatery also features live music, mostly unknown singer-songwriter types.
The floor and mezzanine levels of Downstairs Live are set up in traditional nightclub style with long, rectangular tables arranged perpendicular to the stage.
The balcony level has bar stools and some sofas facing the stage. These may provide the best - most comfortable, anyway - seats in the house.
Club officials proudly note that no seat is more than 70 feet from the stage.
Eclectic music fills bill
Musically, the bill of fare is an eclectic mix of rock, folk, roots and pop that generally hews to WXPN's playlist, said Karl Mullen, who is in charge of booking talent. But, he added, "We're looking at some jazz, classical, soul, blues and world beat."
The room is wired to record shows for future broadcast on the radio.
The upcoming schedule is typically diverse. Among those due are red-hot, twentysomething classic pop stylist Jamie Cullum (Saturday); Philly-based jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco (Oct. 30); veteran Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn (Nov. 1); cutting-edge comedian Sandra Bernhard (Nov. 5) and actress Minnie Driver, who has embarked on a musical career (Nov. 28).
What you won't see at World Cafe Live, said Mullen, are hard rock, teen-pop and hip-hop acts.
World Cafe opens to raves
So far, the club appears to be a smash hit with those on both sides of the footlights.
"I absolutely love this place. I would say this is the new happening place. It's the premiere showplace right now," enthused Cherry Hill's Bob Williford, 54, the business manager at Mercedes Benz of Cherry Hill.
However, Williford, a singer-songwriter who, in the 1980s toured as John Lennon in Beatlemania, did find some fault with the venue.
"I felt the $9 beers were a bit much," he said referring to what he paid for a single bottle of Heineken. "But I guess it has to be that way."
For Ellen Voell, a 41-year-old homemaker from Sicklerville, the comfortable layout is its best feature. "It's a great place to see a show because you don't have to be squashed," she said.
"Being a (mobile) disc jockey and musician, I'm a stickler for good sound, and the sound here is good," said fellow Sicklerville resident 37-year-old Gregg Schmidt.
"The place is a little sterile. It needs a little dirt on the walls. But the desserts are killer. I had this banana creme brulee thing. I thought I died and went to heaven!"
Donovan, whose performing career has spanned 39 years and more music clubs that can possibly be enumerated, was especially impressed by World Cafe Live's recording capabilities.
"This is the (best) live radio-recording room I've ever been in," said the 58-year-old troubadour whose signature hits include "Hurdy-Gurdy Man," "Season Of the Witch" and "Mellow Yellow."
"It's a world-class venue that for years will be state-of-the-art.
"Hal Real has not cut any corners."
IF YOU GO
- What: World Cafe Live
- Where: 3025 Walnut St., Philadelphia
- Box office hours: 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily.
- Upstairs Live restaurant hours: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; 8 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday.
- Phone: (215) 222-1400
- Online: www.worldcafelive.com
