Sessions @ The Westin Philadelphia

Wednesdays, 7 to 8 p.m.

The Lobby Bar at the Westin Philadelphia Hotel

99 S. 17th St. at Liberty Place.

Free

215-575-6909

What's the deal? Mia Johnson - a lovely fixture on Philly's songwriter scene who usually mixes it up down-to-earth style at the Tin Angel and Fergie's - is wearing a short BCBG dress and high heels. She whistles and sings her wry lines, then local record producer/host Eric Vincent quizzes her about her songs. Every Wednesday, a new performer is up.

Vincent, who works in the Westin's catering department, came up with the idea. Recent show/interviews have featured soul-jazz singer/pianist Anam Owili-Eger and Tin Pan Alley blues singer Alex Radus. It's just like what David Byrne did on his PBS show

Sessions at West 54th

. Only the host doesn't wear a baggy suit.

Who's there?

Under-30 professionals on dates where they'll dig the funky folk and vocal jazz before eating in City Grange, Westin's restaurant; a retinue of happy hour-hunting women looking for something swankier than a pub to get their drink in; band managers with ponytails; hotel guests from Turkey.

Playlist:

Mia Johnson, "I Move Past You," "Wakin' Up"; Alex Radus, "Temporarily," "Madeline."

What's the look?

As Sessions is meant to rethink the hotel lounge singer, musicians come dolled up in sliplike dresses and suits from Hugo Boss and Armani. Visitors from outside the Westin gear up for a night on the town: gentlemen wear chalk pinstriped suits and white shirts, while women wear black pencil skirts, sleeveless sleek blouses, and white after Labor Day.

Overheard:

"Don't you know any love songs?" says Rene, a gentleman from Turkey, to Mia Johnson, whose tunes deal sarcastically with modern romance.

"Being a cabdriver in Lindenwold, New Jersey, is the best job a female musician can have," says Johnson.

What not to do.

Fill up on nuts, what with the City Grange offering food at the bar. Or talk too loudly while the singer and quizmaster are speaking.

What to do.

Have a Lancaster mandarin martini filled with locally grown carrots, Mandarin orange vodka, bitters and fresh lime from bartender Bryn Archard who, with Vincent, is a host with the most.

Why go?

Sessions rethinks the tony hotel lounge setting of the '30s and '40s as a new place for the crooner. It gives local musicians a chance to dress up. And it gets music-literate host Vincent out of the kitchen.

- A.D. Amorosi