Dispatch from the Coolest Place on Earth

Last Thursday night, our sleepy suburb of Havertown, Pennsylvania was briefly transformed into the coolest place on earth when our neighbor, musician Scott McClatchy, threw a house concert featuring two of his good friends.  Those two friends were Scott Kempner and Eric Ambel, one half of the legendary NYC band, the Del-Lords.

Andre and I have been huge Del-Lords fans for a long time, but until pretty recently we were sure we'd missed our chance to see them live.  We'd been hoping they might someday reunite, and then--to our delight--they did, recording last year's impressive comeback album, Elvis Club.  

We hoped we'd get to see them in concert some day, and we did, first in New York City, then in northern New Jersey.  But we never dared hope we'd get to see them in our neighbor's living room.  Sure, the universe grants a wish here and there.  But it usually isn't quite that accommodating.

The concert opened with a set by Scott McClatchy, whose own catalog of songs definitely warrants a close listen.

Then Scott Kempner and Eric Ambel came on, playing a delightfully wide ranging set list that included old and new Del-Lords songs and material from both men's solo careers. 

To our sheer joy the show ended with "Stay With Me," a song Andre and I both love, but one we never thought we'd hear live.  

And because we just can't get enough of a good thing, we drove to Asbury Park on Friday to see Scott and Eric play in Rich Russo's Anything Anything benefit for the Light of Day Foundation.  More about that soon.