Review: PANGEA FRONT LOUNGE A Warm and Relaxing Way To Spend an Evening

I happened into Pangea on Friday night to meet a friend for drinks.  Well, he had drinks, I had coffee - usually, we meet for what we call “Tea and Martinis” and he goes in for hooch, while I keep my pinkie up, but, on this occasion, coffee seemed appropriate.  It was such a downtown evening, such a grown-up outing, such a Friday night in the lounge kind of thing… and Friday night in the lounge is exactly what we got.  And that was fantastic.

I haven’t been to Pangea in a while, and more’s the pity because it is a particular favorite spot of mine.  It is the coziest of nooks in town with the most welcoming of staffs, a warm ambiance, and even though my vegan diet does not permit me to eat off of the menu, my eyes and my nose certainly enjoy the dishes they serve - were I not on a restrictive diet, I would have to spend my life on a treadmill, for I would be eating the luscious Pangea delicacies all of the time.  For my Friday night in the East Village, my chum and I were not partaking of a cabaret show, but were, instead, treated to the front lounge of the 2nd Avenue eatery.  It is here, in that front lounge, that the guests are treated, regularly, to live music without a cover charge.  Artists of the cabaret and concert community tuck themselves up into the front window of the establishment and perform from an upper-level ledge that creates a kind of a stage overlooking the front dining room.  There, artists like Karen Mack (who was in the audience on Friday) and Lisa Viggiano (who was on the ledge on Friday) can sing, not for their supper, but for tips, for practice, and for a grateful audience of people who divide their time between listening intently to the music, or chatting casually with their table mates.  It’s a refined but relaxed atmosphere that harkens back to another time, a time only to be found in the movies of the fifties and the sixties, these days.  And it is a most welcome way to spend a night out with a friend.

Over our coffee and cocktails, we were treated to two sets of music by Ms. Viggiano and her regular collaborator, Wells Hanley.  Hanley and Viggiano have been doing some duo shows around town, and the timing has been off for this writer to catch their actual act, but after two sets in the front lounge of Pangea, I’m ready to be front and center to see what Lisa and Wells have to offer, by way of a structured piece of cabaret theater, because, as lounge performers, the two proficients were quite charming, and very enjoyable indeed.   Speaking from the most basic level of entertainment, Wells Hanley is quite the pianist - it is a pleasure to listen to him play, especially on a piano that has been tuned (for, you know, not all the pianos in all the rooms are tuned on a regular basis, tsk tsk tsk), and Lisa Viggiano has, authentically, one of the prettiest voices you’re going to hear in a club, cabaret, or concert hall.  So putting the two talents together is a treat for the ears - they’re also pretty easy on the eyes, especially since Viggiano has entered her rock star era, all glittery knee-high boots and billowy blouse blanche.  Indeed, La Lisa is exuding a star quality that glows like a new bloom.  It’s interesting seeing her in this setting.  When she does one of her cabaret shows, she is locked into a structure, a script, and a theatricality, none of which, here, pressurized her to do anything other than talk to the crowd, sing her songs, and be herself, and that put her, solidly, on two glittery rock star heels.  It doesn’t hurt that she has a partner like Mr. Hanley upon whom she can lean, because relaxation is key when it comes to lounge work.  No pressure.  Stress-free zone.  Playful Lane.  That’s the key to a good lounge act, and Hanley and Viggiano have it in the bag.

For their two music sets on Friday night, Lisa and Wells ran the gamut, style-wise, from Broadway (“Being Alive”) to Blues (“Love Me Like A Man”), from Classics (“The Man I Love”) to Country (“Annie’s Song”), and no matter the genre, the twosome scored high marks with the perfect marriage of Hanley’s treatments and Viggiano’s voice.  This is clearly a case of two artists fortuitously finding someone that not only ‘gets’ them but lifts them up - nothing could have been more apparent when, four times, Lisa Viggiano sang some wonderful songs that, it turns out, were written by Wells Hanley, himself.   So THAT’s what we must be getting when we see one of their duo shows.  These four songs, “Maybe a Song,” “I Am A Song,” “Ready to Be Loved,” and “Holiday Song” were solid indication that Hanley is a gifted composer and lyricist, and Viggiano is the singer sent to interpret his catalogue.  Every songwriter has that person who, best, presents their stories, and it looks like this is a classic situation of such.  Of course, a lounge set of only original compositions would never work, which Lisa and Wells clearly understand: restaurant and bar room audiences need to hear songs they know and can clap along to, sing along with, or just mouth the words to while swaying in their seats.  So a little John Prine was in order (“Angel of Montgomery”), a touch of Rodgers & Hart was served up (“My Romance”), some Police was in the room (“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”), and more than a sampling of Bruce Springsteen.  This was one of the really successful aspects of the evening, and one of Lisa Viggiano’s superpowers: she’s a cabaret singer who doesn’t just want to sing showtunes and the Great American Songbook.  Lisa V’s interests go out spherically, in many different directions, so whatever your particular musical tastes, the chances of hearing one of your favorites in Lisa’s pristine vocals are pretty strong - and you know that when they get to your favorite it’s going to sound good.  One note, though, and it’s a tough one to observe:  the room needs to freshen up their amplification system.  It’s a simple observation expressed in a simple way, but it is something the owners might call a staff meeting about.  Other than that, though, every aspect of the front lounge at Pangea checks off a box in the positivity column, particularly with Lisa Viggiano and Wells Hanley providing the entertainment - but given Pangea’s knack for inviting only the most interesting and enjoyable of artists to their stages, no matter which act you catch in the front window of the East Village’s most welcoming room, you’re going to have a good time.  That much can be guaranteed.

Lisa Viggiano and Wells Hanley will return to the front lounge on a regular basis, this fall and winter.  See their schedule and all of the cabaret calendar on the Pangea website HERE.  Update:  Wells and Lisa will appear on 12/5 from 8:30 to 10:30 pm.

Visit the Lisa Viggiano website HERE and the Wells Hanley IG page is HERE.