Midnight Train Trio

Thursday night in Carcaixent is about to get a serious dose of old-school swagger when Midnight Train Trio rolls into El Cafè de la Plaça for a 20:30 show built around the blues, rock’n’roll and classic sounds of the 1950s and 60s.

And this is exactly the kind of gig that makes El Café such a good fit. Forget giant stages and ridiculous production. This is music stripped back to the essentials: guitar, trumpet, bass, groove and songs that have survived because they still know how to move a room. The trio features Will McCarthy on guitar and vocals, Stefano Cecci on trumpet, and Rafa Arriaza on electric bass, a combination that promises plenty of room for blues grit, rock’n’roll swing and the kind of loose, intimate playing that works beautifully in a venue like this.

The poster itself looks like it has been dragged out of some forgotten American roadside bar, dusted down and given a second life in Carcaixent — and the music follows the same philosophy. Expect classic blues and rock’n’roll from an era when three minutes and a killer riff could change everything.

There should be plenty of space for the musicians to stretch their legs, too. McCarthy's guitar sits at the heart of the operation, with Cecci's trumpet adding that smoky, late-night punch while Arriaza keeps the whole train moving underneath. It is a deliberately traditional setup, but traditional doesn't mean tame.

Quite the opposite.

There is something particularly satisfying about hearing this music in a small room where you can actually see the musicians working. The bends, the breathing, the little exchanges between players — all the stuff that gets swallowed by a huge concert production suddenly becomes part of the show.

And then there is El Café itself. Under Enric's stewardship, the Carcaixent venue has increasingly become one of those places where live music feels like part of the community rather than an occasional event bolted onto a bar. Previous lunchtime sessions have brought together musicians, locals, music obsessives and curious passers-by in exactly the sort of relaxed atmosphere that makes the venue special.

Thursday's show shifts things into the evening, but the principle remains the same: good musicians, close quarters, cold drinks and absolutely nowhere to hide behind a lighting rig.

The choice of repertoire should make this one particularly appealing for anyone who believes rock'n'roll didn't begin with stadiums and laser shows. This is the music of smoky bars, jukeboxes, dance floors and battered records — blues foundations feeding directly into the rock revolution.

Midnight Train Trio arrive at El Café on Thursday 10 September at 20:30. If the poster is anything to go by, this isn't going to be a museum piece dressed up as a gig. It should be a proper night of roots, rhythm and rock'n'roll — the sort of small-room show where the distance between band and audience disappears and everybody ends up riding the same train. Next stop: Carcaixent.