Amazing Western Classical concert

It hasn't been even a week, and I was still trying to chew the cud reminiscing the good time I had at the bluegrass concert, when I heard of a western classical concert being held at the same venue. I decided to take the plunge, not because I am a serious fan of western classical instrumental music, but because I have cherished the dream of seeing, or rather listening to a live western classical orchestral concert for a long time.

The concert was on last Tuesday, and was being conducted by the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra. They performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 and Mahler Symphony 4. The former featured Beethoven's virtuoso piano composition played by Timothy LeVan and the latter had a soprano voice rendition by Kaitlyn Lusk.

The concert was top-notch. I don’t mind using the word ‘impeccable’ here, as me, a person who doesn’t know anything about western classical music, am too far from nit-picking their performance. The only gripe is with the seating position. Not able to spend too much on the ticket, I gave in to the $14 ticket, and was ushered to the balcony, about 500 feet away from the stage. And to my dismay, I realized they do not use any loud speaker system, and we had to depend upon the acoustics of the theatre to hear anything. I could hear most of it, but the volume was a tad too low for my comfort. Because of the low volume, I didn’t have the feeling of being part of the whole ambience. I felt thrown out. But otherwise, the clarity was excellent, and I could hear every little note played by every instrument.

Now I’d like to talk about a few things here. I discovered that arts like classical music get the recognition they deserve here in the US. People here know the importance of taking the culture forward through to the next generation. I saw so many kids and young crowd at the concert. Parents here do a commendable job trying to get their kids interested in classical music. I do not see that happening in India. Back in India, a local orchestra trained in classical music wouldn’t dare to hold a concert in a theatre with a capacity of 3000. You would probably see 300 enthusiasts there, out of which 270 would be aged 60 and above.

The second point is here now. This is, after all, a symphony group of a small town. Williamsport is not a big city like Philadelphia or Boston. It makes sense to understand that big cities have cultural societies that are nurtured by a large community. But I was really taken aback by the professionalism with which the show was run in such a small town. I was truly amazed at the quality of the performance, the costumes, the theatre, the audience, in fact, everything present there was top-notch. Such a measure of quality, that is hard to expect at a concert by a local group supported by a small community, in a small town.

Another very interesting thing that I observed here is the kind of silence people maintain here when the performance is on. The entire theatre, filled with about 2000 people, just goes dead silent, except for the odd cough or sneeze from some corner of the theatre. And when such a sneeze does come in, it reverberates along the entire theatre. I can very clearly hear and distinguish even the sound of a plastic wrapper that rattled far across the theatre. Now, it is time for an astonishing discovery. None, I say again, none of the mobile phones in the theatre ever made a sound for the whole duration of the concert. Will this ever be possible in India?

Bluegrass bonanza

"There are two types of people in the world, those who love Bluegrass and those who don't know it yet." - some bluegrass fan

This seems to be the philosophy of a band called "The Backwaters Experiment", a bluegrass band playing today at the Bullfrog in Williamsport. I find it hard to disagree, and this is why.

We had been to a St.Patty's day bluegrass gathering today held at the local community arts centre. This concert featured several local bands that played bluegrass.

Before I move on to the musicians, let me talk about Bluegress. Bluegrass is one of the genres of American music that features acoustic instrumentation with roots in traditional irish and scottish music. They feature all sorts of acoustic instruments like guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, bass, dobro etc., and the music is typically lively, fast and foot-tap-inducing and enjoyable.

There were several bands that played today. I couldn't listen to all of them - I had to come away. I did listen to three bands - the Lockport Drifters, Stained grass window and the Hillbilly Gypsies. They were really good.

The Lockport Drifters started out with a bang. The music was lively and entertaining. Everyone played good, but a special mention goes to Lucy McLaughlin who played the Mandolin. The way she played the mandolin was just amazing. She would step into an interlude, and take the crowd away to a different world.

Then played the Stained Grass Window. This was the band that we were looking for, coz one of the members of the band, Ken Shafranko, who plays the dobro, or the resophonic guitar. They played well. We know Ken at work, a guy full of enthusiasm, and a lot of witty laughables up his sleeve. He invited us to the concert, and that's how we were there. This band played an instrumental number to start with, and then spread out. I liked the way Ken sang "If I were a suoerman...". The band was pretty enhanting, but I thought they lost a bit of attention from the audience when they played a couple of sorrowful numbers, which didn't fit into the joyfull mood of the spectators, even though they were good. You could listen to a couple of numbers from this band here.

Then played the Hillbilly Gypsies. Wow... weren't they a treat to watch and listen! Theirs was a unique performance. They were a band of 5 musicians, but played with a single mike. The players that need to perform at a particular moment would come forward and perform. Then, immediately, they withdraw and make room for the one to perform next. These guys play fast, and you your foot wouldn't stop tapping. They're a fun to watch, and received such a royal encore that they had to return back and play an extra number to pacify the crowds.

I couldn't catch the rest of the evening as I had to come back. But I guess everyone there had a great time enjoying the music.

Bluegrass is a type of music that appeals to young and old, and is like a tradition that needs to be preserved, like the classical music in India. Tbe younger generation must wait for a minute and listen to this genre before they get overwhelmed with the electronics of contemporary rock.

Bullfrog Brewery

I've heard that Bullfrog Brewery is renowned all over North-East USA for its local brews - mostly ales and beers. And it happens to be right here in Williamsport. Locals seem to like its ambience a lot, and they often play live music. So, I've decided to check out the place over a weekend, and I did check the place out the last weekend.

The image on the right is one of the photos I have clicked there, and I like it. Hope you like it too.

The place is about a five-minute walk from where I stay, and I went there with my friend at about 9pm last Saturday. The place was pretty packed-up, and we were ushered to a small table next to a window.

The whole area had the usual pubish look to it, and the colour resembled a mix of red wine and beer. Unfortunately, I am not the best person to judge the food here, as I am a vegetarian, and the menu is very limited to vegetarians. Thank God they had an appetizer and an entree for vegetarians. The appetizer was good and filling, but the entree, which was made of pasta, was pretty bland. See the photo of the appetizer I ordered here. The photo is not good, but I guess, you will like the starter if you see it yourself. The starter tasted more like a very bland mexican salsa.

Now, we had to order some beer. Yes, this place is famous for its beer, but I never liked it. I have had a couple of sips before, and I always wondered how people liked beers so much. I've ordered some Red Inspiration here, and the situation was no different. I didn't like it much. But I guess beer lovers would have been absolutely fascinated by the poor drink.

Then came the part I liked the most. Live music performance. This was by a blues trio called "Blind Chitlin Kahunas". One played an electric guitar, the second played a bass guitar, and the third played drums. The electric guitarist was named Chris Bovard I guess, and he's the best guitarist I have seen. He's even better than Susmit Sen of Indian Ocean. Well, I shouldn't actually compare them. Both of them are the emperors of their own genre.

The music went on from 10pm to 12pm with a 10-minute break in between for beer. Of all the aspects of this place, the live band was the best.

Remember, this is a subjective review of a person who neither likes beers nor dark pubs. So, take it with a pinch of salt and a shot of vodka.