Peter Calo
Pangea, NYC, March 8, 2026
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Peter Calo is an expert at playing the guitar and singing with great feeling, especially but not exclusively his own material. But what makes him even more appealing as a performer is his warmth and humor. Even if you’ve never seen him in the spotlight previously, he comes across like an old friend. He presents himself as so relaxed that you just have to relax with him. Many of his best songs are deeply tied to his private life, such as the one he wrote with his wife Marianne as their daughter was being born, “Every Ordinary Day.” He was backed throughout the show by veteran bassist, and obviously long-term friend, Paul Adamy.
A really touching number was Calo’s “Elephants Never Forget,” he introduced with a lovely story about his father. He was assured that “you can always depend on this magnificent friend”; the song definitely touched our hearts. Another song he wrote with his wife was “Way Up on a Mountain,” the first song he wrote after moving to New York City, one that expresses the overwhelming effect Gotham has had on him. He later touched our hearts with a number devoted to his wife, “Have You Seen My Sweetheart?”: “I love that girl so much, there’s no plan B.”
He did celebrate a few other songwriters as well. For Carly Simon, with whom he had toured for many years, he offered her “Anticipation.” Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home” was dramatically blended with his own “Full Moon Tango” in an arrangement that brought his teamwork with Adamy to the forefront. Bobby Hebb’s “Love You” also gave both musicians a great opportunity to show off. Best of all were the songs Calo had written, such as his reflection on growing older, “On My Way Up the Hill”; it was magic. Such intimacy is what the cabaret art form is all about.
