Even though the sky was screaming rain, the forecast was gently saying no.
Only one hour to showtime and a decision had to be made. With one look at
the scenic Allegheny River serving as a backdrop and the wooded
amphitheater in which the concert was to be held we decided to indeed have
the concert outside and enjoy God's nature in concert with the excellent
music that was about to be presented.
As Tom finished setting up his equipment for that afternoon's performance,
he spotted two small toddlers who had filtered in with their parents to
enjoy the concert. Tom seemed to light up as his charm and gentle, cordial
nature was brought to the forefront with the arrival of these youngsters.
5 minutes to showtime and Tom was found playing with the 2-year-olds by the
river that would serve as his panoramic setting for the afternoon.
As Tom opened the set, we knew that we were in for a perfect afternoon.
The fingerstyle accompaniment on his well-traveled Martin guitar was a
matchless complement to his smooth, emotion laden voice. His songs and
stories seemed to take life as he wove tales of loves found and lost. The
audience laughed as he shared stories of his life as an aspiring artist and
sat spellbound as he shared songs from his CD, "Our Mutual Angels".
Tom captured the audience in his first set and endeared himself to them
during the intermission. During the break he took the time to sit among
the 25 audience members and talk to each one, answering their questions and
graciously accepting their comments. He was explaining an alternate
'Stephen Stills' tuning to one of the audience members and within seconds
an impromptu jam of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" broke out with Tom and several
musician members of the audience, bringing the crowd to its feet.
Following a captivating second set we sat down to dinner and then formed a
musician's circle where we shared the music of our past and the music of
our souls until the evening's waning light bid us goodnight.
As Tom and Matthew pulled away from the Bed & Breakfast to continue their
late-night trek back to Philadelphia I smiled inwardly as I knew that I had
not only experienced a memorable musical experience, but also a rare life
experience.
Jerry Baum
Riverside House Concert Series: http://listen.to/folkmusic