On Thursday January 16 Caffe Motivo on 229 Victoria Street hosted their bimonthly open mic music night. There were plenty of musicians on hand. They primarily played acoustic guitars and sang. There were many solo musicians and a few duos and one trio. While the genres varied a bit, mostly folk/roots and pop tunes were played. The first musician I saw was Joey Marini. He played guitar and sang 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, the popular Paul Simon composition. Up next, CJ, a regular in this format, played mostly originals. Troy Bishop, who also performs in other venues around town, worked on a wintery theme with his original compositions. He told of a spur of the moment trip to Mount Robson in the dead of the winter and writing tunes in his SUV when it was minus 15 degrees.

Next up was Mike. He used his 4 string tenor guitar and covered Blue Rodeo, The Eagles and Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Blue on Black. The only trio, Dirty Lizards. consisted of Toby, Kianna and Benji. One of the men sang vocals, one played guitar and sang. Kianna played bass and sang. After a few songs the lead vocalist left. The remaining duo did a cool version of the Talking Heads hit, Psycho Killer.

The last few I saw were Terry, Tracy and Ella and the host Tucker. Terry provided the only electric guitar of the evening. Tracy played a solo song and Ella joined her on vocals for a couple of songs. Tucker had a rootsy feel to his music and played originals and his version of I’m Not the Only One, a Sam Smith tune.

Caffe Motive provided a nice ambience with minimal lighting and reconfigured seating. The musicians varied in talent from local professionals to some just starting out.

The friendly staff and respectful audience made for a fun evening of music. I appreciated the variety offered. The musicians played originals, obscure covers and big hits. This made for a really enjoyable evening at Caffe Motivo.