The live-music scene at steakhouses doesn’t immediately bring to mind hot new bands. Maybe a cheesy lounge-lizard-type crooner or some jazz trio playing in the background while diners pass the gravy.
But now there’s a steakhouse in Healdsburg that’s got some really sizzling, juicy cuts of music. It’s called Frank and Ernie’s, and S.F. psych-rockers Zodiac Death Valley are there this week. These guys are more like something heard at the Bottom of the Hill after midnight rather than after dinner in Healdsburg’s fine-dining scene. A little bit of funk, a little ’70s bravado and a good groove make up most of this band’s sound, brought to life with catchy piano and guitar hooks; imagine a larger, more expansive version of the retro sound that the Black Keys and Jack White hath wrought.
How did Healdsburg get a nightlife? Chalk it up to longtime local K. C. Mosso, who for years has tirelessly vaulted vibrancy and volume into the sleepy after-hours of his hometown, from theaters to restaurants to dive bars. Here’s to Frank and Ernie’s for giving him another platform.
Zodiac Death Valley and the great HugeLarge play Saturday, Feb. 9, at Frank and Ernie’s. 9 Mitchell Lane, Healdsburg. 10:30pm. $5. 707.433.2147.
