Armando's Was The Headliner Last Friday At Armando's

Last Friday night, it was difficult to move at Armando’s. If anyone had any doubts about the amount of support this place has, those doubts were dispelled definitively on Friday, as owner Roy Jeans asked the community to help him retire some debts and keep the doors open. And boy, did the community respond.

It was standing room only, and it was difficult to find a place to stand. People of all ages (as long as they were 21 or older) packed the place to the rafters to hear a variety of music and join in the community that has become Armando’s.

A host of local musicians answered the call to perform, and gladly, because one thing Armando’s does is offers musicians a place to play like no other. And while the club brings in a variety of music from all over the Bay Area, it is the local musicians that tend to draw the largest crowds most consistently, and it was the local musicians who stepped up to the plate to help out on Friday night.

Chris Bryant and Jenny Starmack of Garageland Rodeo opened things up with a lovely set, and since it’s almost Roy’s birthday (Nov. 9), he decided to sing a song or two with each performer. That certainly added a, well, a unique dimension to the musical offerings.

Next up, the Hopeful Romantics hit the stage and sang their hearts out, bringing their special brand of Americana to the evening. Then Scotty O’Neil and Johnny Burr brought their original material to the stage, showing the adoring crowd that a piano and guitar can make a major amount of lovely noise.

And then the amazing Sin Silver took to the keys and demonstrated her Irish magic. What this woman does with a song is nothing short of remarkable. She takes Irish ballads and pub songs and weaves them into gold, but when she sings her own tunes, the room lights up with a celestial glow.

The edgy and fun Gary King came next, howling and growling his way through a set of tunes in ways that no one had quite heard before. King comes out of a 1960s tradition of free-form abandon, and it’s a blast to listen to. Yours truly came next, and then the glorious sounds of Jeff and Isabelle Magidson closed the evening. Jeff can do things on the guitar that really aren’t possible, or shouldn’t be, and Isabelle sings with a warmth and grace that reaches out and grabs your heart.

Through it all, the crowd shared their love and affection for the music, and the place they were there to support. It was a gathering that could only happen in Martinez – for a brief and glorious moment, the entire city came together, put divisions aside and came together to celebrate and honor a small but vital institution to the community.

If there is such a thing as magic, it was in evidence on Friday night.