Uked

A few weeks back I ventured to Wormtown, (Worcester for the non-locals) to catch Melvern Taylor and his Fabulous Meltones at a cool new joint called Nicks. With a moosehead behind the bar, a killer micro brew list, and a juke box cranking out the likes of Hoagy Carmichael and Gene Kupra, Nicks is the kind of neighborhood bar that would make any Lowellian long for the days of Evos and Capos. It wasn’t that long ago that Maria “Midnight at the Oasis” Muldaur graced the stage at Capos and sang her heart out to an appreciative but sparse crowd of twenty five to thirty people. After singing along to Melvern classics like “Working Stiff”, “Angel on My Shoulder” and “Salisbury Beach, we left the church pews of the listening room at Nicks and started back up I290. With the rain dancing on the windshield and Melvern’s CD blaring on the stereo the same thought began to haunt me like a scratched LP… I’m driving to freakin Worcester to see a Lowell musician! And next week I’m driving to Somerville to see Jen Kearney at Johnny D’s. And after that I’m driving to Cambridge to see Frank Morey at the Plough. Lowell is overflowing with talented singer/songwriters and they’re playing in every hip city EXCEPT Lowell. We need a Johnny D’s; we need a Toad; we need a Tupelo! And more than ever before we need Middle Street to be the music haven that it once was. Someone step up to the plate. I’m begging you. And maybe someday as loud as the screams for Kevin Youkilis at Fenway we’ll all be screaming for Melvern to take the stage for one more in some Middle St. bar. Uke , Uke , Uke…