Frankie Capri 1986 Pittsburgh, PA

Frankie Capri at the Liberty Belle lounge, south side, Pittsburgh-1987. This was when Frankie played every Friday night at the Liberty Belle Lounge- before it became the Lava Lounge, and before all the collage kids started coming.

At the foot of a bridge on Pittsburgh's South Side there was a bar called the Liberty Belle. It seemed like a typical hole in the wall except for the fact that very very late on Friday nights, for three dollars, you could go to the back room to see the Frankie Capri show. The back room was no bigger than a horse's stable, crowded with a few tables and chairs, and a small clearing at one end to serve as the "stage." The room was so dark that you couldn't even see how many people were there with you, except for the coterie of older yinzer women with platinum hair perched on bar stools by the doorway between the back room and the bar. They were wearing red bowling shirts featuring a white heart with the performers name written inside: FRANKIE CAPRI. All eyes were turned toward the stage. Shaped like a fort made from cardboard boxes, but colorful and glittery, the stage was manned by a variety of animatronic animals. Cymbal clapping monkeys, blinking colored lights, a tiny tinsel draped bear gyrating. The aging Italian American (?) entertainer sits in his stage stabbing out Elvis tunes on a casio keyboard to a polka beat while the animatronic animals do their bit and the light show goes crazy. First you laugh, then you feel annoyed, and then you drink a lot, and before long it starts to grow on you. The throaty Elvis tunes, the tinny casio, the maddening polka beat, the older women swooning in a long sad drawl Frraannnkieeee...writer unknown

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Entertainment

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• Frankie Capri

[melbalee]

Oh, hey, just for the record, I wrote that piece that you have posted above. Those were great times hanging out at the Liberty Belle.

[ShawnQuinlan]

@melbalee Glad u posted...for some reason I could not find a name to the piece I posted.

[yinzer89]

OH MY! Wow, thanks for posting. I thought I hallucinated most of that stuff along with pink elephants after a long night on the South Side. What ever happened to the Liberty Belle and Frankie?

[ShawnQuinlan]

@yinzer89 He has a fan page on facebook and also check out a website called pittsburgh things

[tertommy]

where's the animal head dance? thanx for this vid

[cardonethemagician]

I was studying theatre arts at a snoby university in the burgh and I found what Frankie was doing to be what I considered to be more of a fine art that what I was being taught. He is a true original and a pure and honest artist!!!

[griffinhurt1]

Dude this is awesome!! 

[alfer102]

Thanks for bringing back great memories!! Love it - nice job!