Fall 2011 — Western Pennsylvania Tour

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 to Thursday, September 22, 2011

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I sang for more than 200 people at five concerts and played four guitars:
1938 B&D Groton 1; 1926 Maurer Style 493; 1933 Martin
OM-18 (Sandburg); and 1937 Gibson KG-21 (Riggs).

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

St Barnabas Community, Gibsonia, PA

I performed an early afternoon concert — a 17-song program that ran 70 minutes — for a happy crowd of 55 oldsters in the basement-level auditorium of this small community located 17 miles north of Pittsburgh. I previously played this site in November, 2008 — only three years ago — but it felt like I'd been gone a longer time and overdue for a visit considering the enthusiastic response and many song requests offered by today's audience.

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Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Laurel View Village, Davidsville, PA

Located 75 miles east of Pittsburgh, Laurel View Village is a small continuing care retirement community that holds concerts in a low-ceilinged but comfy chapel. Tonight we drew 50 people who were evenly split between the facility's younger, mobile independent residents and its older, personal-care residents. Many of the latter group were brought to the room in walkers and wheelchairs by a hardy group of staff and volunteers. At my previous concert for this group in late January, 2011 I received many requests. So, this time I played more dance tunes, including "Heartaches" and "On The Sunny Side of The Street," and, of course, "Star Dust," everyone's favorite.

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Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Hollidaysburg Veterans Home, Hollidaysburg, PA

Every year since 2001 

I've performed a half-dozen veterans-only events. Many of these folks are not as mobile as other retiree groups and budgets for concerts like mine at veteran's facilities are a fraction of conventional retirement centers.

     Still, they are intelligent, attentive and discerning audiences who want to be entertained. They know a lot about the music and performers I play and the composers I mention in my programs. Many have played musical instruments. They ask unexpected or off-the-wall questions and they tell funny stories. So, I enjoy playing for military veterans.

     However, the two mid-day concerts I performed at this veteran's community were dubious pleasures.

     Hollidaysburg Veterans Home is a large retirement and rehabilitation campus of low-slung, 1950s-era brick buildings on a hillside south of Altoona. Finding the facility without adequate driving directions was hard, but grabbing and holding the attention of distracted audiences was harder still.

     The first event was offered to about 40 people in Arnold Hall, a low-ceilinged activity room. At this event the staff noisily worked in and among the audience to serve hot dogs, snacks and pop throughout the program. A few people in the room were unhappy their lunch was disturbed by a concert and bellowed to let one and all know this.

     My second concert that day was offered an hour later to about 30 people in MacArthur Hall. This room is an enormous two-story, brick-walled amphitheater with the chilly ambiance of a tiled toilet. Many people came to the room to pick out their lunch at MacArthur Hall's cafeteria, then left. Others came in for lunch, noisily pulled up a heavy wooden chair to one of the 40 tables, ate, then noisily pulled out their heavy woode chair and left. A few others came in for lunch and stayed for the concert. Those who stayed were enthusiastic but spread across a room full of echo, din and distraction.

     Alas, I never saw either of my hosts - only the apologetic staff assigned to manage the diners attending both of my events.

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Thursday, 22 September 2011

Southwest Pennsylvania Veterans Center, Pittsburgh, PA

I've performed at this veterans center at least once a year since 2001. It is a large new facility set high on a bluff overlooking the Allegheny River just east of downtown. This afternoon event, not unlike many before it, brought about 35 people to a concert of 15 songs in a 60-minute program.

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©  2011 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved