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October 30, 2006
Bluegrass in Bridgeport
I checked out the Ralph Stanley concert at The Klein in Bridgeport Friday night and, once again, I was a little saddened by the low turnout.
To have one of the legends of bluegrass in our own backyard and to see just a few hundred people at the show was a bit disheartening.
Concert organizer Fred Sailer would only admit to being a little disappointed, but was confident the show was just a "building block" in getting a series of concerts to the venue.
Premier Concerts is bringing two concerts to The Klein, which hopefully will pack in a few more people: "American Idol's" Ruben Studdard on Nov. 7 and Donovan on Nov. 10.
I mentioned the concert to the Post's Steve Winters, a fan of bluegrass and folk music, and he wasn't surprised by the lack of attendance. He seems to feel that bluegrass has a small core audience of devotees and that the genre doesn't really rack in the big numbers.
I know first-hand that the Alison Krauss and Union Station and Ricky Skaggs concerts at the Shubert in New Haven a few years back attracted at least triple the number of fans as Stanley. Maybe that's because Stanley can't really bring it like he used to. He is, after all, 79 years old. But he's smart enough to surround himself with top-notch musicians in the Clinch Mountain Boys, which includes his son, Ralph II, and 14-year-old grandson, Nathan.
Even with his shotcomings - he played very little banjo and he was just getting over a cold - I always find it special to see someone who was there at the beginning. I felt the same way when I saw Chuck Berry and Little Richard in Westport a few summers ago. It wasn't so much an expectation of seeing these icons perform as if it were 40 years ago, as just hoping to get an occasional glimpse into what made these men stars to begin with, to see an originator reclaim a bit of the spark that helped them create his classic songs.
You can easily walk away from concerts like this disappointed at what time has done to the artists, but I rarely do. I go in with low expectations and hope they're exceeded.
Friday night at The Klein, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys went well beyond my hopes for the night. You should have been there.
Apropos of nothing, it was a nice touch for Stanley and the band to set up a table at the front of the theater to sell their albums, hats, T-shirts, etc. Fans got to meet each member and shake hands and it definitely took away any coldness you can get visiting any other merchandise table.
Posted by Sean on October 30, 2006 4:54 PM
