Abeja at Sierra Grille

Last Thursday I went to a show at the Sierra Grille in Northampton. The Sierra Grille is a nice restaurant which takes pride in the eats and the ambiance and its beer and wine selections.It's a nice place to go.There is something else very special about the Sierra Grille. A few years ago the Sierra Grille looked a little bit dingy-er. It was dark in there and dirty. The beer choices weren't as interesting but the bar was a jewel. Anyone familiar with the indie (and other) music scene of Northampton, MA knows that it used to be called The Bay State and the music heard within its walls is too memorable and monumental to be mentioned with any integrity.There is still a thriving music scene in Northampton but for a while after The Bay State was sold not much music was heard there. Just the low hum of rich foodies talking and the clink of china and silver. Recently this has changed. The owner of the Sierra Grille, OBrien, has brought back live concerts with the help of a friendly booker named Sheehan.Last Thursday a great band played there. The name of the band is Abeja and their music is the kind of stuff one can get excited about. I won't try to describe it but you can look it up on myspace.A very cool, very special thing about their set was the music being made by this guy, an old standard from the BayState.Bruce Tull sounded better than ever.