Monday? That means Rohn Lawrence must be in town.
Musical acts may come and go in the Elm City, but Lawrence’s weekly gig remains eternal.
The bartender at Lilly’s Pad at Toad’s Place assured me that Rohn Lawrence’s act has \held down the Monday night slot for only the past six years. Its seems longer: This reporter does not remember a New Haven music scene deprived of Lawrence’s joyful expression on the guitar. In other parts of the state he is well known as a bluesman, and that influence shows in his playing. But New Haven knows Lawrence, her native son, to get smooth — that is, play his brand of soulful, R&B-infused jazz — every Monday.
“I’m going to hell, but so are my friends,” said Lawrence on a recent Monday evening. A smile played its way across his face as his tremendous fingers ran the length of his guitar’s neck. “It’s fun when it’s ladies’ night,” he added.
His bandmates for the evening were Trevor Sommerville on drums and Jay Rowe on keyboards. The group tours widely, but somehow makes it back to Toad’s every Monday for its residence.
Lilly’s Pad feels like it was custom-built for Lawrence’s band, with its slick, angular lighting, retro dance floor, low leather sofas, high cocktail tables, even higher ceilings, and blue neon Christmas lights reflected in the second-story windows. Musicianship of Lawrence’s caliber — he often sounds like he’s delivering a tasty solo even when he’s playing backup — draws an astounding array of local ears. People showed up in t‑shirts, three-piece suits, leather jackets, cocktail dresses, flowing gowns, and Yale sweaters alike.
Lawrence often features a new area musician for every set. For this set, his guest was singer Rahsaan Langley, whose voice was so powerful Lawrence actually stopped scatting while playing guitar as the man sang.
Lawrence began playing guitar when he was two-and-a-half years old. His parents remember him playing real music on his Mickey Mouse guitar. Now, perched atop his trademark stool, Lawrence makes his solos look easy. If you are a dolphin, you swim; if you are spider, you weave; if you are Rohn Lawrence, you play smooth jazz guitar every Monday night at Lilly’s Pad. It’s just what you do.
A local couple was celebrating their 30th anniversary, and Langley sang a Sinatra number for them. The couple danced in a pinstripe suit and turquoise dress like it was the last time they saw Lawrence play in New Haven, about 15 years ago.
Langley, meanwhile, stunned the audience with his range. It took this reporter about a minute and a half to realize the highest note of the night was emanating not from Lawrence’s guitar, but from Langley’s vocal chords, stretched to their earthly limits — the kind of performance a stage presence like Lawrence’s elicits.
Rohn Lawrence plays every Monday night at Lilly’s Pad at Toad’s Place. Tickets are $5
