Category Archives: Lovell

August 15, 2017 · 3:27 pm

Miss Maybell and Slimpickin’s

Erik Koeppel and Lauren Sansaricq

(Lovell ME) I went to see Miss Maybell and Slimpickin’s perform but instead, landscape painters Lauren Sansaricq and Erik Koeppel showed up.

Actually, they’re one in the same.

The August 10^th performance at The Brick Church in Lovell was part of the summer program at the continuing-to-improve site in that Maine village.

The most noticeable improvement was the lighting. This year I could actually get a well-lighted shot. Last year? Not so much.

The talented twosome appeared with a collection of instruments and a ton of talent. They were well worth seeing.

The theme of their show was to revisit music from the early 1900’s. With just two of them you wondered how it would go but their instrumentation was more than enough to carry the day.

Lauren successfully mimicked the singing styles of a variety of the early singers.

The couple from New Hampshire had plenty of songs that were just plain fun to listen to. Terrific harmony.

I tried to find out about Lauren and Erik before the show and that was where I learned about their landscape-painting skills.

What I didn’t find out was how the music “thing” came about. Someone ought to write that story.

Here are links to Lauren’s paintings and Erik’s paintings. They are truly multi-talented.

Bennett & Perkins in concert at Brick Church in Lovell (ME)

Taylor Whiteside, Kathy Bennett, and Thom Perkins in concert at the Brick Church

Kathy Bennett

Thom Perkins

(Lovell ME) My wife and I took in Bennett & Perkins on a very warm Thursday night at the Brick Church for the Performing Arts in Lovell.

Husband and wife, Thom Perkins and Kathy Bennett, were joined by Taylor Whiteside in an evening of folk songs, impressive strumming, and terrific harmonizing.

Lead singer Kathy had the typically powerful folk singing voice that those of us a bit older remember fondly from “back in the day.”

No question that the trio are veteran performers. No sheet music needed by any of them for any of the songs they did.

The songs chosen were new to me but all of them had stories to go along with them. Quite a few sad songs in the bunch.

Taylor Whiteside

Several of the songs that I liked particularly were, “Walk in My Garden,” and “Her Name was Kathleen.”

The song I could best identify with was “Hurricane Claire.” I guess that every family has daughters and/or granddaughters who are a bit rambunctious.

I learned of the August 11^th performance via the Bridgton News.

Disappointment? Why so few people in attendance? I’m not sure that there were thirty on hand. $10 is not a steep price for a show of this quality.

We enjoyed the performance a lot. If they come to our area (Bridgton ME) in the future, we’ll probably try to attend their show.

(All of my pictures from the show will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Lovell Liars’ Club Storytellers performed at The Brick Church

(Lovell ME) My wife and I spent an enjoyable evening in Lovell at the Brick Church for the Performing Arts being entertained by the Lovell Liars’ Club Storytellers on Thursday night.

Ten performers presented a variety of stories in a pleasant setting.

The performance was the result of a monthly gathering in Lovell led by Jo Radner of those interested in the art of telling stories. My suspicion is that one thing led to another and that the stories shared and polished within the group led to the drive to perform them for an audience.

I happened upon a Jo Radner solo performance at the Lovell Library many years ago and have watched for some sort of repeat presentation ever since.

Stories, well told, are a pleasure to hear. They hark back to a time when the electronic age we now live in was less dominating.

I grew up as a church kid and I heard plenty of presentations. Often the most compelling part of sermons to me was “illustrations” or stories that were used to accentuate a point.

Roster of performers

Three of the performers in this show (Jo Radner, Michael Parent, Meg Gillman) were experienced/professional storytellers. Their ability to bring the listeners into the settings and specifics of their stories was noticeable. Management of voice and mannerisms was terrific.

I was a bit nervous for the other seven performers as a former teacher. Putting newbies up front is not always easy. To do it in front of friends/family probably helped ease the concern of the developing storytellers.

That being said, I thought that the “other seven” did a nice job. Six of them shared personal experiences. The seventh, Mary Heroux, related a historical event.

I am hoping that this storytelling event becomes at least an annual happening.

I wished that my two teenaged granddaughters would have been in attendance. They are deeply involved in the “gadget” era and would have benefitted from a significant change of pace.

Other things:

Refreshments were provided. Whoever made those chocolate-chip cookies needs to know that they were remarkable.
Outdoor bathrooms. That arrangement might not work well with a larger audience.
Finding the performance site. Good thing there was a sign out on Route 5. Christian Hill Road is a long road. With no number given for The Brick Church except the street name throws us GPS folks off.

My wife and I really enjoyed our evening listening to stories. Congrats to all involved. Make it happen again, please.