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People Lounge's Thursday night jazz offers plenty of sweet sounds...if you can pull yourself away from the screen.

Monday Sep 04, 2006.     By Ben Rubenstein

Music Feed

I love Caddyshack. I know I'm not alone in this; in fact, I've yet to meet a reasonably sane person who feels differently. There's just something about a mechanized gopher running around a golf course to the tune of Kenny Loggins hits that's irresistible. The movie's universal likeability does have its drawbacks, however; whenever it's on, you have to watch it.

So I can't understand why the manager of People Lounge thought it would be a good idea to show the film during resident acid jazz trio Orange Alert's set last Thursday night. I can only imagine that as the band's members jammed away for a distracted crowd, their feelings toward the Bucktown tapas joint could be summed up in the words of the immortal Ty Webb: "Thank you very little."

People Lounge is not a small place, but the way it's divided in half by a partition makes it seem a bit more pressed for space than it actually is. Sitting at one of the intimate tables in the back corner, my friend Kevin and I (knowing full well that this seating choice made us seem more like life partners than platonic roommates) could barely see anything but the tables surrounding us. It seemed unlikely that we'd be getting the full musical experience, but it was also hard to see how anyone could.

A trip to the bathroom (a one-commode affair, something I will never understand in a busy restaurant) confirmed there was no performance space hidden in the back. I wondered if perhaps the band's "live" show would take place in some comfortable loft space somewhere above Milwaukee Avenue, to be broadcast to the restaurant on the giant projection screen currently showcasing a very frustrated DeNunzio.

My suspicions were proved wrong, however, as we began to hear the unmistakable sounds of musicians tuning up not long after we received our feast of paella, calamari and potatoes. The last dish was insisted upon by our waiter, a short, eager guy with a penchant for touching Kevin on the shoulder. Though his menu suggestions proved beneficial to both of us, I couldn't help but feel a little like an emasculated Jerry Seinfeld when strange men brazenly flirted with his companions as he sat next to them. It's a good thing I'm not the jealous type.

Thanks to the partition, it wasn't until the end of the meal that I was actually able to see the source of the smooth jazz/hip-hop hybrid that had been floating around the room. Up in the front corner, hemmed in by various sangria-swilling patrons, a drummer, keyboardist and saxophonist/DJ were giving it their all to a fairly unappreciative crowd. As far as beat-heavy jazz goes, it sounded pretty good. However, it's not really the kind of music that moves a crowd to snap to attention. After several of the songs, there was pretty much no response from the half-full room, and I couldn't tell if the one true ovation I did hear was for the band or in response to Danny Noonan's caddy tournament-winning putt.

While I did get the sense that Orange Alert would rise to the occasion if given a more supportive environment (turntables aren't really meant to be hushed), the trio also served perfectly well as pleasant background music. People Lounge knows what its crowd wants; a mellow, welcoming place where you can munch and sip for hours for a relatively low price. Plus, in what we assumed would be a fairly wine-heavy spot, there was a beer list that could satisfy even Kevin's refined palate. So it's got that going for it. Which is nice.

People Lounge (1560 N Milwaukee Ave) hosts free live jazz every Thursday night from 9pm-midnight, and a DJ spinning international tunes on Fridays and Saturdays. Visit http://www.peoplechicago.com for more information.

Ben Rubenstein jumps under the covers every other week in an ongoing search for freebie music that rocks. If you know of a no-cover night he should check out, email him.