Chelmsford reads and listens
A few years ago, I was involved with the “Lowell Reads” project, where we tried to get the community reading and discussing one book. In our case, it was Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett. Chelmsford has been doing the same type of thing this year with Empire Falls, by Richard Russo. I personally disliked that book , but the HBO movie was pretty good, with Ed Harris (has he ever done a bad movie?) as the main character. Anyway, the Chelmsford committee had a coffee-shop concert Friday night at the library as a tie-in with the book, featuring Lowell musician, Bob Martin and local talent, Sandy Spence. The main room of the library with comfy chairs, couches and stools was filled to capacity as the audience sipped coffee and enjoyed the show.
Sandy Spence did some great covers and a few original pieces from her CD (Not Without Looking Back). Sandy remembers going to Lowell as a kid, back when it was the place to go – to shop, to meet friends and listen to music. She sang the sixties-hit Dowtown in tribute to that vibrant memory of Lowell. Bob Martin’s gritty, folk-style music evokes the downside of capitalism, people living on the street or just scraping by on the minimum wage. Each song unfolds like a short story, drawing you in to the lives he describes. His tightly-woven lyrics, down-to-earth vocals and intricate guitar playing just get better the more you listen. On top of that, he’s a pretty funny guy and kept the audience laughing in between some of his more serious songs.
The evening of music fit in well with Lowell’s history and with the chosen book, which is about a failed mill town in Maine and the lives left behind when the corporations move on.