IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LIVE MUSIC.
It's a small L shaped room, that seats 75ish. Â Good, better and great music at a low to inexpensive cost. Â Nice coffee+ nice people + volunteer staff= terrible service.
It's a coffee house. Â I have to bring my own napkins and spoons. Â Can't seem to get the volunteers to bring them.
Is is worth it? Â Yeah, it is!.
I need to adjust my expectations to the price. Â That's all.
We recently got back from our annual trip northward when the colors are changing. This year it was to Saratoga Springs rather than New England. While there we stopped at Caffe Lena for a show. For those who don't know Caffe Lena's is the oldest active music Coffee House in the US. It was here that Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie. Emmy Lou Harris and many others got their starts. Great venue. Only seats about 85 people so there are no bad seats. Tonights performace was by folk singers/comics Christine Lavin & Don White. Both very talented performers. It's the second time that we have been to Lena's and it certainly won't be our last. Just a terriific venue with great acoustics. Â Worth a trip if you will be anywhere near Saratoga..
Review Source:Caffé Lena is the saving grace of saratoga springs. While I only had an iced tea lemonade, it just has a nice, calm, relaxed vibe, they don't serve alcohol. If you are into folk music one cannot go wrong to attend any show here. It is a nice respite from the incessant  onslaught of noise and drunkenness that surrounds it.
Review Source:Caffe Lena is a national treasure (voted best Small Venue by International Folk Alliance) and it's right here in Saratoga. In this tiny place you could have been among the first to see Bob Dylan, Kate Wolf, Greg Brown... or, tonight at First Night, Seth Glier who may be famous a year from today.
The acoustics are great and the chairs are set up for serious listening. The door charge can be somewhat steep for some acts but there are also open mic nights and other opportunities, like First Night, to check out the venue without a large investment. When you do, linger on the stairs going up to see who has played over the past 50 years. Pretty impressive.
Skidmore students:
Take a date to Caffe Lena, and they wont think you're the wastoid alcoholic punk you really are. Â
Great music, nice atmosphere, and surprisingly good acts. Â It has a ton of history, and both Bob Dylan and Don McLean have slammed it here. Â If you're only in town for a short period of time, get your tickets in advance, because this place is intimate and the best shows sell out quick.
Caffe Lena is non-profit, so they do awesome stuff like let crappy jazz ensemble classes from Skidmore play here every semester. Â They depend a lot on donations, so if you really enjoyed your experience, think about tossing them a few bones to keep some culture in Saratoga that doesn't involve extravagant hats.
Cafe Lena's is why Saratoga Springs is cool. The girlie and I went to see Horse Flies there last night. I had seen them at the Flurry over the weekend and thought they were cool.
Lena's was packed and kind of warm. When there are not many people it can get cool in there but when it's full it gets hot.
Dancing to a band, and staring at them for 3 hours are very different things. when you are dancing you're worried about all kinds of other things than each note. However  it is much easier to be critical when thats all you're doing is listening.
So I'll just come out and say I didn't really like the singing. As a band they are very good with a great sound, but none of them had strong voices and in my opinion the lyrics were weird, not needed. It always took away from a really magical groove they could play. They have added a Moog synth and some pretty interesting effects, but at times that felt thrown together.
The girlie loved their voices and so did many people around me, so I'm not the last word on the subject, just one voice.
Having listened to them as texture to movement they were amazing, and they grooves and fiddle tunes they played at Lena were stellar. overall it was  a great evening.
Lena is a listening space. Your there to play acute attention to a band. The intimate feeling is one of the things that makes it so cool, but it's not like a bar or club where you can talk while the music is playing. you can't get a drink (alcohol or otherwise) once they start, and it can get a little claustrophobic if you're a fidgety pants.
Caffè Lena is an incredible venue for enjoying emerging artists in an intimate setting -- I can't recommend it highly enough.
I've been there several times to see artists like Anaïs Mitchell (who opened for Ani Difranco) and Antje Duvekot (protege of Ellis Paul). Each show has been incredible -- Caffè Lena seems to bring out the best in performers.
Like other similar venues, Caffè Lena only seats around eighty people and fills up quickly.  I definitely recommend reserving tickets!
Went to Cafe Lena yesterday for open mic. Â What a great venue with some great music. Â I love the intimate nature of the small space. Â And, for $3 to get in and $1 for a cup of coffee, it makes for a cheap way to hear some great music. Â Thinking about making it a recurring habit in my life.
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