Expectantly, 25 people sat in the audience as the performer took out his guitar, the face of it covered in oil paints.
Shea Vaccaro, 20, made a timid modesty topos before going into an array of songs off his new album. The velvet voice of the singer, whose sound seemed influenced by Nashua native Ray LaMontagne, spilled onto in ripples, then waves, then onrushes of notes — the simple guitar accompaniment barely noticeable below the tones of Vaccaro’s voice.
The Wilton-based Vaccaro — who quadruples as a clown, musician, comedian and circus act — was the featured performer at an
open mic at Studio 99 in downtown Nashua.
He said his influences include Jeff Buckley, Wilco, Neal Young, and of course, Bob Dylan, who he said influenced the influencers.
“There’s definitely a little bit of soul influence, but it’s not too apparent,” Vaccaro said. “I’m a big fan of Otis Redding and even Michael Jackson, and old Motown stuff. I think that’s more the influence of my voice.”
Vaccaro chose a selection of songs from his forthcoming album, “The Wild and Willing Wrecker of Things,” which is slated to be released in February.
He’d played at Studio 99 before, but this night he was highlighted at the event, where some 15 singers were on the bill.
Studio 99, which moved recently from a Main Street location to where it is now on Factory Street, was originally housed in one of Nashua’s historic mill buildings.
It’s now blessed with street-side visibility, its large windowpanes showcasing whatever singer sits belting away for all to see and hear.
Gary St. Laurent and
Bob Pope have run this first-Saturday-of-the-month open mic night almost since its inception three years ago. Pope himself opened the night with a Peter, Paul, and Mary song before playing an arrangement from Joan Baez.
“At first it was sparse,” Pope said of the open mic series. “Not many people came. But then word got out. We use a lot of social networking — Meetup and Facebook. Now it’s something of an institution.”
Pope, who’s the lead singer in a bluegrass band, said the best thing about this open mic is that the audiences really give musicians the opportunity to share their talents.
“This particular open mic has a really great listening crowd,” Pope said. “It’s not some bar with a tinkle tinkle (from a lone piano player) in the background.”
Before Vaccaro’s performance, several men performed cover songs and a smattering of originals. Each performer was allowed two songs, the order of service decided by drawing from a hat.
The performers ranged from rookies still shaky with fingerings and rhythm to hard-hitting lyricists and complex finger-pickers.
A trio called Soulshine (sic) played the song that’s its namesake, a tune written by Warren Haynes. The group then hit the crowd with a soulful rendition Chris Daughtry’s “Tennessee Line,” laced thick with harmony.
Blind Dr. Bob of Hollis played a choppy version of “Loser” by the Grateful Dead, as well as a Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” Before that, the not-so-blind doctor spoke of how Simone never did much with the song, but when the Animals got it they shot to No. 1 on the charts.
The variety of songs stretched across a gamut of American folk music, though they all seemed to have one thing in common: their introspective nature.
In addition to this
open mic program, Studio 99 features a general open mic night every first and third Saturday. Second and fourth Fridays feature a
college/20s open mic, and first and third Fridays feature a
young musicians’ open mic for teenagers.
The general open mic has a cover of $5, or $8 for those who wish to bring alcoholic beverages of their own. Light snacks are available for purchase, and a hat goes around to donate to the featured artist. The youth open mic is $2, and the college kids pay $3.
The space also offers musical instruction in piano, voice, guitar, flute, sax, trombone, lowbrass, bass, drums, percussion, music theory, sight reading, and ear training from a staff trained in contemporary and classical music. The space can be rented out for special occasions, and is a venue for touring musicians as well.
The fourth Thursday of every month, there’s a Brasil jam. There are also monthly jams in bluegrass, jazz, blues, acoustic and one dedicated to the style of Django Reinhardt.
“It runs kind of haphazard,” Pope said. “Sometimes we’ll have as many as 12, 15, or 18 players (tonight we got 11), and there’s always new people coming in.
There’s a lot of people that are the standards that come back and they love it.”
For more information, log onto Studio99Nashua.com.
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 02:43AM 
... On the short walk from MT's Local to the donation-based Studio 99 - a BYOB location offering a corkscrew and cups - we swung by the car to grab the bottle of white we had chilling in my trunk.
