Cabaroke Wednesdays

Do you like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury belting out "Under Pressure?" How about Kermit the Frog singing "Rainbow Connection?"

You can hear them nearly every Week at Maduro, 117 E. Main St., along with Niel Diamond, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billy Joel.

How, do you ask?

Anthony and Leslie Cao sing them by request every Wednesday night at "Cabaroke." The harmonic duo blend ragtime and heavy metal in only a way a classically-trained avant-gardist can do.

Leslie can be as alluring as Nora Jones or as poppy as Madonna, and Anthony can switch between Cat Stevens, Disturbed and Coolio. Both carry a sort of self-aware bravado.

Maduro doesn't charge for the show, but the triviality of a tip can bring a whole night of laughs and lounge singing. At the same time, enjoy a La Crema chardonnay or a Gray's Oatmeal Stout as the soft candlelight at the tables creates little pockets of warmth.

Below, the Caos sing "How to save a Life," by the Fray. Anthony joked that this may be the last song before some of the audience ran away scared. Though with chuckles and sweet sentimentality, that's not going to happen anytime soon.



Anthony and Leslie also play at the Ivory Room, 116 W. Mifflin, and they appeared in Four Seasons Theater Production of "Miss Saigon" in late March. Anthony was Thuy and played with the orchestra. Leslie was an Alto in the chorus.