Caravan of Thieves begins me and thee fall season

On Friday, September 11, the me & thee welcomes back the Caravan of Thieves, a quartet of Gypsy Swinging Serenading Fire Breathing Circus Freaks. If Django Reinhardt, the cast of Stomp and the Beatles all had a party at Tim Burton’s house, Caravan of Thieves would be the band they hired. Local favorites, Bird Mancini opens the show. Doors open at 7:30 PM for this 8:00 PM show. The me & thee coffeehouse is located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead at 28 Mugford Street.

Like many families, this one started with a married couple- Fuzz and Carrie Sangiovanni, writing and performing as a duo. “It started as a romantic, bohemian vision of a couple making music, performing on the road, in parks, venues, traveling around and avoiding responsibility as much as possible,” says Fuzz. “The first thing we discovered was we loved singing together, harmonizing our voices. Then Fuzz and Carrie extended their family to include fiery violinist Ben Dean and double bass madman, Brian Anderson to complete their colorful vision. Since then, the four of them ran away from home and never looked back. The group recently released their latest recording, KISS KISS. It combines the dark humor and sarcastic social commentary of their previous efforts with an added emphasis on love and all the beauty and danger it brings. They have created the music to match, adding in tuba, beat box, and everything including the kitchen sink to draw listeners in to the Caravan of Thieves’ world.

Since the very beginning, the Caravan of Thieves began to win immediate praise for their unique blend of gypsy swing and popular music, inspiring them to record and release the debut full-length album Bouquet. To accompany this collection of dramatic and satirical tales, they built an interactive stage set of percussive junk and the ragtag quartet took their newly animated show on the road. Driving gypsy jazz rhythms, acoustic guitars, upright bass and violin lay the foundation for mesmerizing vocal harmonies and fantastic stories. Their show entertains, dazzles and defies classification while welcoming the spectator to join the band throughout the performance in momentary fits of claps, snaps and sing-alongs. According to Fuzz and Carrie, “Our ultimate goal is to always thoroughly entertain our audience, in concert and on our records, and to build a community who we can feel connected to, and who feels connected to us….and we try to embody the spirit and liveliness of the old time entertainers to help invite more and more people into our timeless world.”

Bird Mancini, Boston’s accordion/guitar rock duo features eclectic and at times a bit psychedelic acoustic rock pop style with lush vocal arrangements, blues-tinged guitar, accordion, harmonica, and a variety of percussion, bells and whistles. Gospel choirs in country churches and Kansas City blues and swing were Ruby Bird’s early upbringing, while Billy Carl Mancini cut his guitar-playing teeth on high school rock and roll bands covering songs by 60’s greats like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles and the Stones. Their recordings have an astonishingly colorful palette. As AllMusic.com puts it, “Bird Mancini is likely to please a wide array of listeners.”

Tickets for the performance by Caravan of Thieves with Bird-Mancini opening are $16 in advance and $19 at the door. Student tickets are $10. Tickets are available online at www.meandthee.org and can be purchased in person at the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore or the Arnould Gallery in Marblehead. The Landing Restaurant at 81 Front Street, Marblehead offers a 10% discount on dinner if you show your ticket or receipt. Enjoy a meal before the show! As at all me & thee coffeehouse events, refreshments are available, including homemade pastries, coffee, and teas. The me & thee has a handicapped-accessible entrance and an accessible bathroom, is a smoke-free environment, and is easily reached by MBTA bus.

The me & thee is one of the oldest continually running acoustic coffeehouses in New England, and probably the country. It has been and will always be a volunteer, non-profit organization sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead. For information and directions, call 781-631-8987 or check the website atwww.meandthee.org.