Milford Fine Arts Center, Milford, CT

Friday, 26 March 2010
Updated Monday, 31 October 2016

_____________________________________________________

In March 2010 the Ken Lelen Combo played for
the Milford CT Fine Arts Council, which hosts a
coffeehouse series in this former train station.

Our concert at Milford Fine Arts Center was the high point of Ken Lelen Combo’s Spring 2010 tours. We performed for 85 people in a Performance Coffeehouse — an all-acoustic venue located in a former train-station waiting room that was outfitted with 100 chairs set around 15 tables.
     The room was a long rectangle topped by a high ceiling. With a simple stage at one end and reception area at the other, we didn’t need a sound system. We could see everyone in their $15 and $20 seats and everyone could see and hear us.
     Unlike our audiences at retirement communities, our audience at Milford Fine Arts Center was not retirees looking to take a nostalgic bath in old songs. Here, the audience was the typical mixed-age group who frequent acoustic music clubs and offer musical programs by singer-songwriters or folk and traditional singers.
     To our pleasant surprise, the crowd at Milford Fine Arts Center was eager to hear ragtime, jazz and swing. They also wanted to hear vintage acoustic guitars made in the same era as the music and catch info nuggets about Tin Pan Alley and the characters who once dwelt there.
     Playing for a warm and friendly crowd on a Friday night, the concert went well for us. sang 18 songs in two 45-minute sets. I displayed and played five vintage guitars, including a 1933 Martin OM-18 once owned by Carl Sandburg. There were refreshments at the break in a separate area and free CDs on the tables for club members and their guests. After the concert we relished in the familiar hub-bub of people on the stage visiting me or Matt with questions and comments or grabbing a look at the guitars.
     In all, everything worked well. So, our thanks to William Meddick, director of the Milford Fine Arts Center, Laura Garrity, head of the acoustic-music club's coffeehouse committee, and a powerhouse of committed volunteers.

Here are the guitars played and the songs performed at Milford Fine Arts Center:

1938 B & D — Groton 1

            Lady Is A Tramp                                     ©  1937           

            Pennies From Heaven                           ©  1936

            Love Is Here To Stay                              ©  1938

            I’m In The Mood For Love                      ©  1935

1912 Grauso — Auditorium

            Nobody Knows You Down & Out           ©  1923

            After You’ve Gone                                  ©  1918

            Ain’t Misbehavin’                                    ©  1929

1925 Maurer — Style #493

            Georgia On My Mind                              ©  1930

            Dream Little Dream Of Me                     ©  1930

            Rising Sun Blues                                    ©  1934

1938 B & D — Groton 1

            I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm      ©  1937

_______________   BREAK   _______________

1938 B & D — Groton 1

            Abilene                                                    ©  1963

            My Dream For You                                  ©  1998

            Sunny Side Of The Street                       ©  1930

1937 Kalamazoo — KG-21 (Floyd Riggs)

            Glory Of Love                                          ©  1936

            Somebody Else Is Taking My Place        ©  1937

            Paper Doll                                                ©  1915

1933 Martin — OM-18 (Carl Sandburg)

            Peach Pickin Time in Georgia                 ©  1932           

1936 Sovereign — OM

            You Are My Sunshine                              ©  1940

            Tennessee Waltz                                     ©  1948

1938 B & D — Groton 1

            Don’t Be Ashamed Of Your Age              ©  1947

            On A Slow Boat To China                        ©  1948

            Sit Right Down, Write Myself Letter         ©  1935

            Goodnight, Irene                                      ©  1936

____________________________________________

                     © 2010 by Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

Elderweek Concert
Delaware County Community College, Media PA

Wednesday, 24 March 2010
_______________________________________

This concert was an unusual pleasure for the Ken Lelen Combo because few people knew about the event and our audience was a noisy, moving target.

         Our sponsor was Elderweek, an adult education series hosted by Delaware County Community College in Media PA. Several hundred people attended the event, which offered classes on senior health, finances and lifestyles. Of these, about 100 people visited the roped-off area of the lobby in the STEM Center for a brown-bag lunch and our Vintage Music Concert.

         Nevertheless, our 45-minute program went well enough for us, though it felt like it was over as soon as it began. I played four vintage guitars, sang 11 great old songs and told Tin Pan Alley anecdotes to amuse the audience.
         To my dismay, the concert was broken up by people coming and going, people talking on cell phones, and people sitting down, standing up or chatting as they passed into and through the lobby.

         Alas, 125 feet from where we stood was the STEM lecture hall, a large auditorium. It would have served nicely for a concert for Elderweek attendees. For unknown reasons, however, it was not considered appropriate by the event's sponsors.

         What’s more, publicity for the concert was limited. We saw it listed in the Elder Week program guide, but saw nothing about the concert at the college’s website. In addition, there were no posters, radio PSAs or press releases in the media.
         Still, our modest-sized audience was deemed a success, so showing up and doing a good job is reward enough after all.

__________________________________________
© 2010 by Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved