Date: Fri 21-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Denns-Booth-Zimmermann-Texas

Full Text:

Summer Ends On A Nice Note At Booth Library

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

A concert by the husband-wife duo The Denns last Friday evening at C.H. Booth

Library in Newtown brought music into the night air for a few hours, and

signaled the approaching end of yet another summer.

The library sponsors a free concert series each summer, offering area

residents the opportunity to enjoy an early evening concert to welcome a

weekend. After a major renovation project during last winter and earlier this

year, the 1998 series was a chance for music lovers to not only enjoy free

performances in a variety of musical styles, but also to see the redesigned

grounds of Newtown's library.

The grassy area of the library's back lawn may be smaller now than it was

before, but the property now has a larger parking lot (part of which took over

the field area formerly behind the library building), a brick walkway, more

benches for seating and even a picnic table. Concertgoers were welcome to use

any part of the property to set up a few chairs or a blanket, where they could

enjoy the grounds and the music at the same time.

"We expected about 200 people for each concert, but the weather played a big

part each week," said Andrea Zimmermann, the former director of adult programs

at Booth Library. Ms Zimmermann resigned her post at the beginning of the

month, but was at the Denns show last week to make sure everything went

smoothly.

Indeed, while the rain never fell, overcast weather and humid weather on

Friday probably prevented a number of people from venturing to an outdoor

concert. The turnout was smaller than usual. Threatening skies all day kept

Newtowners and library staff holding their breath, waiting to see whether the

concert would be moved indoors that night or not. The library meeting room had

actually been committed to another group, so a rainfall Friday night would

have been disastrous for the final concert in this summer's series.

For the 1998 concert series, Ms Zimmermann not only found The Denns for last

week, but also brought Treblehook and The Tornadoes to the library's lawn

earlier this summer for separate performances. Treblehook is a trio of

musicians from Sandy Hook which performs music of the 70s and original

compositions; The Tornadoes is a 50s rock n' roll-style band.

"We were happy to have such a diverse line-up to showcase the new library

addition," Ms Zimmermann said this week. "There seemed to be a core group of

people who came out each of the three Fridays, and we were lucky to have good

weather for all three shows.

"Some people tended to come early to each concert to watch the band set up,

and they would bring pizza or picnics. It was really a nice family series."

The Denns perform what they call "Texas music." Their performances are fun

mixtures of their own folky compositions, traditional country-western and some

boogie woogie songs. Valerie and James Denn have released four albums. She

plays guitar and sings; he plays keyboard, flute and sax, and also sings.

The program last week included standards like "Dream A Little Dream, "As Time

Goes By" and "Route 66." The couple also sang songs of their own, saluting

their home state with "Under The X in Texas"; acknowledging James' obsession

in "Ode To Tomato Farming"; and sharing their plans for getting old in the

song they call "Lost Time."

James and Valerie have a very nice banter together, part of which probably

comes from having been married for so many years. A good sense of humor also

helps. For their summer touring, which this year also included a jaunt as

roadies for a few Dan Fogelberg concerts, it helps that the two get along so

well while traveling around the country in their van with their son, Taylor.

The family was in Newtown last week to play one of the final shows for its

summer touring schedule. For the 12 days prior to their arrival in Newtown the

Denns had been in Nantucket. Immediately after the show at Booth Library, the

family was making one stop in Fairfield to pick up some belongings before

getting on the road for home... more than 30 hours away.

The Denns concert was a nice way for Newtown and area music lovers to ease

into the weekend. It was also a reminder that another season is about to end.

The Denns were wrapping up their summer tour schedule, and the library was

hosting one of its final "summer" events.