In the back of Brooklyn’s Manhattan Inn, stylish 20- and 30-somethings sip well-crafted cocktails, some lounging on salvaged theater seats that ring the room. As music plays, all attention is on the center of the space, which would make a killer dance floor — if it weren’t for the white baby grand prominently situated in its center.
The restored piano — purchased off of Craigslist — reflects the DIY aesthetic of this Greenpoint bar-restaurant, which is constructed largely from reclaimed materials. (Grammar school desks provide resting places for drinks and storage for belongings, while bicycle seats serve as bar stools.) It also signals a lo-fi shift away from the ubiquitous deejay, which is increasingly just an iPod playlist.
“I would prefer a live performance by an artist — someone who’s actually talented — to someone with good taste in music,” says Justin Orford, 23, who works in fashion sales. “The piano is one of the most soulful instruments. It connects really well with people.”
In the era of Twitter, there’s something appealing about the communal aspect of the piano: “I have a piano in my loft,” says TraDo’n Turner, a 27-year-old artist and Manhattan Inn regular. “It brings people together — think about the tradition of pianos. Before TV, this was the focal point of sound and visual [stimulation] — the high-contrast keys.”
The Manhattan Inn isn’t the only new spot serving cocktails with an ebony-and-ivory twist. At the clubby new Le Caprice in the Pierre Hotel, a black piano wedged between the front bar and back dining room adds to the room’s art deco glamour — a nod to the eatery’s fabled London outpost, where musicians such as Jools Holland drop by to play. Over in the Museum of Arts & Design, the neon-hued Robert restaurant tips its hat to the Rainbow Room, with gorgeous views and a white player piano (plus live music Thursday to Saturday nights). And at Graceland, a new hair salon that opened Friday in Williamsburg, a piano that patrons are free to play adds to the vintage vibe.
“The resurgence of piano bars is similar to the analog revolution — the resurgence of vinyl in reaction to digital [media],” says the Rev. Vince Anderson, who performs gospel, blues and honky-tonk on Sunday nights at the Manhattan Inn. (A rotating cast of piano players performs during weekend brunch and evenings from 7 to 11 p.m.)
DJ Jonathan Toubin, 38, agrees: “It’s revolutionary for the neighborhood in that there’s usually a deejay booth in every corner,” he says, adding with a laugh that he’s unsure if he should support it. “It could be the death knell for my occupation.”
But unlike raucous singalong piano bars like Marie’s Crisis in Greenwich Village (show tunes) and Bill’s Gay Nineties in Midtown (prep-friendly pop), the new breed of piano bar appears to be more about aesthetics and mood.
“[We] designed the whole backroom [around] the piano. It’s a large, beautiful instrument that deserves an entire room be dedicated to it,” says Evan Haslegrave, who designed the Manhattan Inn with his brother Oliver.
Opened last November by Brooke Baxter and Rolyn Hu, the Manhattan Inn serves eclectic gastropub fare ($11 pulled pork wraps) to complement cocktails like a brisk $9 Manhattan’s Manhattan (Rittenhouse Rye, Carpano Antica, Fee’s orange bitters).
“I think this is part of the whole speakeasy thing,” says Ann Carroll, a 35-year-old student, noting, “The piano adds another layer. [The speakeasy trend] is playing out for sure, but this is something real. It’s not just dudes with handlebar mustaches.”
Justin Orford concurs: “It doesn’t feel contrived. No one is wearing a waistcoat with a pocket watch.”
The crowd is diverse, but with an air of downtown cool: You might encounter a Euro-hipster, a steam punk or a girl dressed in vintage with a feather in her hair.
“There are lots of well-known musicians walking through the door,” notes Stephanie Nicole Smith, a 27-year-old photographer who hangs out regularly at the Manhattan Inn, citing artists from Brooklyn-based bands like MGMT.
“The piano is totally unexpected, yet somehow makes sense,” says Porfirio Munoz, a 25-year-old artist’s assistant who was recently there sipping Manhattans.
Meanwhile, more piano bars are in the works: Ken Friedman (Spotted Pig, the Breslin) says he hopes to open a speakeasy/piano lounge in the basement of the Ace Hotel. And rocker Jesse Malin is said to be considering a piano for a new bar he is opening adjacent to his Niagara in the East Village.
Though diverse, the Manhattan Inn crowd attracts lots of artists and musicians by virtue of the bar’s owners. The scene, which 30-year-old regular John Bracken describes as “a mixed bag of young people — not a ton of hipsters or preppy people,” is also reflected in the style of music played, which tends toward boogie-woogie and old New Orleans jazz, not renditions of “The Impossible Dream.”
“No one’s ever requested ‘Piano Man’ or any Billy Joel song,” says Anderson. “It’s usually, ‘Hey, do you know any Willie Dixon?’ ”
But for hard-core piano bar fans, the singalong is key. “It’s always nice when you have someone tinkling away while you’re eating, but I don’t consider that a classic piano bar,” says Joe McGinty, the pianist behind the long-running “Loser’s Lounge” tribute night. (In addition to a weekly Tuesday night piano karaoke gig at Marfa Music, he plays at the Manhattan Inn the first Friday of every month.)
But whether there’s vocal accompaniment or not, there’s an ineffable quality to the instrument: “There’s something comforting about it — maybe your grandmother had a piano,” says McGinty, adding, “In the world of deejays and synthesizers and iPods, it’s a nice classic touch.”