Tuesday, April 8, 2008 • Third Acoustic Café offers wide variety of music
Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, April 8, 2008 edition of the Lassen County Times.
Audience members at the Acoustic Café concert series in the Lassen Community College cafeteria were treated to a memorable evening by the largest number of performers yet on Friday, March 28.
Carol Fontana, left, Sue Bateson, Owen Bateson and Robbin Peterson make up the Susanville String Quartet, who performed 10 songs at the Friday, March 28 edition of the Acoustic Café at the Cougar Lair Cafeteria at Lassen Community College.The opening act for the show was none other than the Susanville String Quartet, a talented string instrument group with members of the Susanville Symphony Orchestra. The group consisted of Carol Fontana on first violin, Sue Bateson on second violin, Robbin Peterson on viola and Owen Bateson playing the cello.
With programs made available to show what they would be performing — an Acoustic Café first — the string quartet performed 10 songs to the delight of the audience, which consisted of a myriad of age groups, from toddlers to senior citizens.
The haunting and soothing sound was represented well, with a number of familiar melodies floating through the air. From Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Bach Cantata No. 99,” to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Music of the Night,” (from the play “Phantom of the Opera”), the quartet lit up the room as the sun went down.
After the quartet finished with another familiar song (“Memory,” another piece by Webber from the musical “Cats”) the quartet stood and bowed to thunderous applause from the audience.
Zack Bouyear’s wild hairdo and energetic performance along with Matt Petrie make for a memorable performance at the third Acoustic Café of 2008.It was at that moment that the concert switched gears in a huge way. Concert emcee Stephen Cramer came on stage and explained to the audience how the next three acts consisted of students who have all been involved in Doug Sheehy’s music program — including performances from Acoustic Café veterans Matt Petrie and Zack Bouyear, newcomers to the cafeteria stage included Jake Nolan performing solo, Eric Jeffries (who also performed at the January show) was on stage along with partner Dillon Douglas.
Nolan kicked off the student performances with enthusiasm and a friendly stage presence.
Each of the student groups performed a small set, consisting of about three to four songs. While some of the groups performed their own songs, a few cover songs came into the mix as well, including Nolan’s memorable cover of U2’s “In God’s Country.” With fast fingers and a booming voice, Nolan wrapped himself up in his performance, almost reluctant to leave the stage when his set was over.
Dillon Douglas, left, and Eric Jeffries perform both original songs and a couple of covers. Here, they perform U2’s, ”In God’s Country,” with Jeffries providing powerful vocals.Next up was Jeffries and Douglas. Jeffries was a lot more outgoing on stage than in his previous solo effort in January, displaying a powerful voice that filled the room while performing his set. Douglas kept pace as well, providing both solid backup vocals and nimble fingers.
Eric Petrie, left, and Zack Bouyear perform in their second Acoustic Café. Here they are playing a rather unique cover of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” to the delight of the large audience.The last of the students on stage for the night were Petrie and Bouyear, who was sporting a huge Mohawk.
Playing with the poise of much older musicians, the duo started off with an interesting rendition on the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” converting the famous electric punk song into something more mellow and acoustic. The two were easily the most energetic performers of the night, to the delight of the crowd.
College music professor Doug Sheehy and Acoustic Café emcee Stephen Cramer finish the night’s performance with a handful of songs. Here, they are performing, “Beans and Rice,” a song written by Bonnie Raitt’s brother David.At the end of the evening, Cramer and Sheehy came on stage to finish the show performing together as they have at many past shows in the county. While Sheehy was heard complaining about how out of tune his guitar was after the show, the audience didn’t seem to notice.
During the switch from strings to acoustic rock, College Public Relations Specialist Bill Noonberg asked audience members to keep in mind how the college was able to put the Café on for free.
Since the series began this year, the college has had a deal worked out with Starbucks to provide free coffee and free coffee cake, with no cost to anyone in attendance. He said everyone involved with putting on the show wanted to see the show become a local mainstay, complimenting the college’s summer music series, Nights on the Green.
He announced the beginning of a donation and sponsorship program for the series. Larger donations would receive larger gifts, as well as recognition of being a sponsor.
As for the next series, Tim Leslie and Steve Spear will be performing as two separate acts. Cramer said Leslie is more acoustic, while he described Spear as essentially a one-man band, who will play multiple instruments. He said both performers are very talented, and will put on a terrific show.
