LIVE: Peppino D’Agostino @ Caffe Lena, 10/9/09

Last Friday night, Caffe Lena hosted an evening that could only be categorized as a guitarist’s or a guitar fan’s dream. At the Saratoga Springs second-floor coffeehouse Italian born Bay Area resident Peppino D’Agostino took the stage to present two sets of mesmerizing acoustic guitar work.

The stunning repertoire was drawn from many of his nine critically acclaimed albums, including the breathtaking “Grand Canyon” and the Latin-tinged “Cost Rica,” both from his most recent release, “Every Step Of The Way.”

With an illustrious career spanning almost three decades, D’Agostino still remains a relatively unknown master of his instrument to most of the general public, despite the fact that he was voted Best Acoustic Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine’s 2007 readers’ poll.

Opening act Dan LaVoie brought his harpguitar and proceeded to play a beautifully crafted, 20-minute set of original tunes that set the tone for the evening. Finishing his set, LaVoie stated with a grin that it “felt like I was playing for friends in my own living room.” Very true, and it doesn’t get any better than that…

Review and photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk