Visit ‘Olde Spokane’ For Holidays
A Spokane tradition, if ever there were one, is the Spokane Falls Brass Band’s “Christmas in Olde Spokane.”
The brass boys, soprano Ann Fennessy, pianist Sara Logan and percussionist Marty Zyskowski prove year after year that warm and welcoming is not about what you wear or how well you act, but who you really are.
The entrancing quality of this show, which sells four seatings at The Met today through Saturday, is that the performers are not pretending to be happy to share some music with you and get along with each other, they genuinely are.
There is much the same in this year’s production - tunes from the past have been cycled back in with a few new charts added to keep it from getting stale. The animated film “The Snowman” is back after a year off, with hornist Roger Logan’s simple and sweet scoring for a live accompaniment. “Teddy Bears’ Picnic” and “Old Toy Train” are also standbys worth another listen.
The Spokane Falls Brass Band could not give a concert without a few novelty numbers, so trumpeter and mind-bogglingly fluent-fingered yo-yo master Chris Cook will spin some fascination to Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy,” and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” finds Fennessy with a whip.
Trombonist Dave Matern gets his vocal and comedic debut in a number dealing with an ill-fitted gift from the man in red, called “The Hat I Got For Christmas Is Too Big.” Ensemble spokesman Verne Windham declares that “Dave’s singing is way off any scale and constitutes a threat to Ann Fennessy’s primacy.”
By this, oh best beloved, I think he means it’s funny.
After the laughter, there will probably be some sensitive and touching moments in the program, like “Greensleeves” and “Still, Still, Still.” For those who want entertainment with the honest, homey approach, this is the holiday program for you and the family.
xxxx CONCERT The Spokane Falls Brass Band will present “Christmas in Olde Spokane” at The Met today through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10, $13 or $16, available at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT.