So indulge me, if you will, as I do what I do every Friday evening through Monday afternoon (and any random occasion that it seems appropriate in between); sing the praises of Market Market. If you live in the Hudson Valley you probably already know about it in some capacity, either as that delightful little cafe off 32, or as that building that was, at some point in time, the Springtown Green Grocer. For those of you outside of the Hudson Valley, where ever you might be, this information is good to know in case you ever come North from New York City and begin to have a panic attack. MKTx2 can help. So let me just take a moment to say that the humble little building on the corner of Madeline Lane and Route 32 is, in fact, not the Springtown Green Grocer, nor has it been for nearly 3 years. It is, in reality, the premier purveyor of excellent foods in the greater New Paltz/Rosendale/High Falls area. Not only is the day to day menu solid and inviting, but the weekly specials are off the charts. From massive portions of organic, free-range chicken to delicious scallops with polenta, the food at Market Market is simply unrivaled. So when you're hungry on Friday night, think outside Main Street and enjoy an awesome dinner at Market Market.

Not only does MKTx2 have killer food, but it's just straight up a cool place. Case in point, the Tributon. Now, pretty much every weekend Market Market has live entertainment of some breed, be it local or touring musicians, or monthly events like Jazz night (first Tursday of every month) or Karaoke (3rd Friday of every month), but a couple months back it hosted what turned out to be it's biggest event, Tributon - a night of covers performed by local musicians, dedicated to the collective works of one artist. The first round was Madonna, and half of Rosendale turned out to see it. Last Saturday was round two, a night dedicated to the music of Prince. Now I can say I'm no large fan of either of these spotlighted musicians, but I'm a huge fan of everything that happened both nights.

From the haunting opening by Kelleigh Mckenzie with her banjo and amplified stomps; the dirty lyrics of Prince in contrast with her sweet face straight through to the techno-beat dance party that it ended with, care of Michael Truckpile. Throughout it was a steady mixture of funny and sincere, with acts like Julie Novak and her lounge rendition of Raspberry Beret and Altar Egos who sum up "So a nun and a rabbi walk into this bar..." and deliver a sermon via Prince's '7', or tender moments like Chris Kelly performing 'Under the Cherry Moon' (during which I was horrified to find that the crowd was a steady hum of chatter), and Market Market's own Lara Hope, who, as per usual, learned her song 20 minutes before the performance, though I challenge you to find even a single flaw.

Anyways, I caught almost the entire set with my camera, save a few where the audio was shot or at the end when a girl named Anna snuck on stage to sing 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. Since it was so dark that night I had to use nightshot, which is why everything is grainy and black and white, though it does have a pleasing artsy-fartsy sort of thing to it. If you weren't there, that's a shame, but there's good news! The third Tributon is coming on February 27th, featuring the music of David Bowie. If you want to sign up to perform, contact Jen, if you want to attend, just bring yourself and come early to enjoy some dinner.