Gretchen Witt, Rupert Wates Perform at Long Island Best Desserts

Settling into his fourth gig within the last year at Long Island's Best Desserts Saturday night, British-born singer/songwriter Rupert Wates carried himself and his songs with the confidence and charm of someone who has truly found their calling, regularly thanking LIBD owner Robert Buonaspina for his hospitality. 

"I think the point at which we would have given up was long ago," said an amused Wates of his career, who has lived in New York for the past four years. He is touring in support of his latest album, Joe's Cafe, released this spring on his own label, Bitemusic Limited. The album is filled with characters of all stripes from the hypnotic paean "Prayer", about people in all their varied and occasionally clashing ways of life, to the titular stand-up comedian in "Stand Up Comedians," which Wates dedicated to the late comic legend George Carlin.

Starting out as a songwriter, he released his first solo album, Sweet or Bitter Wine, in 2005 while living in Paris. He credited the more permissive attitudes of Parisian culture - "in every way," he added facetiously - where artistic endeavors are taken more seriously relative to his former base in London, with instilling greater confidence in him as an artist. 

"I owe the French a debt of gratitude," he said. "That was where I really began to believe that I could do it."

Joined by fellow singer/songwriter Gretchen Witt, who relocated from Ohio and has lived in New York for over a decade, both artist's songs were uniformly excellent in both performance and creation. Paired with unobstructed views of human nature from the vantage points of the songs' characters, both Witt and Wates's gift for smart lyrics and sharp hooks only hint at the depth of their talents.

Trading off on mostly original material during their three-hour set, Rupert Wates's wry, off-the-cuff manner informed both song and speech. 

"I come from London and I write a lot of songs about rain," he deadpanned before his fingers were in flight across the fretboard of his acoustic; the entrancing, arpeggiated figures enveloping his nimble baritone for the aptly-titled "Rainfall."" 

Sneaking in a spirited cover of the Harry Nilsson chestnut "Everybody's Talkin,'" he concluded: "I wish I'd written that. I'd be a lot richer than I am," to the amusement of the crowd.

Witt's equally strong work showcased her abilities on guitar and piano but never distracted from her powerful, involving voice, varying the mood with selections like the somber, piano-driven "Buried Alive" and the more up-beat, countrified "Mama's Boy."

Though they collaborate in performance, Wates said, they pursue songwriting independently. And that process can be an arduous one. Songs that emerge fully formed in relative short order - "miracle songs," as Witt calls them - are always a thrill to create but are rare. 

"I try to write do lyrics first, but when the lyrics are separate from the music, there can be a disconnect," she said.

Originally from Ohio and now a part-time musician due to schooling for social work (music remains Wates' full-time vocation), she cites Joni Mitchell, early Elton John and Patty Griffin as key musical influences, as well as poets Anne Sexton and W.S. Merwin and novelists Margaret Atwood and Richard Yates (among others). 

For Wates's part, the character-rich songwriting of Kinks frontman Ray Davies loomed large in his formative years, as well as the work of 20th century classical composer Igor Stravinsky.

"I usually get bored with instrumentals, except Rite of Spring," he said. "I usually need a vocal to pull me in."

Situated near where 25A meets the north end of 112, LIBD enjoys a fantastic location that doesn't hurt for business beyond the summer season, says owner Robert Buonaspina. 

Being quieter than would be expected in the summer, when the downtown area of the village overflows with people while its parking lots routinely have their capabilities tested (and creatively, though often unsuccessfully, stretched).