Staff Writer
Anyone who decided to stay inside Saturday evening, Nov. 7, to those of you who had other commitments or just desired to chill in front of the set — you have no idea what you missed at CPAC.
Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
It was a New England Sampler that packed the Caribou Performing Arts Center Nov. 7 with musicians, from left, Taylor Whiteside, Rick Shaw, Tim Sample, Noel Paul Stookey and Ron Shaw.
“A New England Sampler,” on stage at the Caribou Performing Arts Center, treated a near full house to the best story telling and music anyone could hope for on an early November evening in The County.
Tim Sample, Noel Paul Stookey and the Shaw Brothers shared their gifts of talent and humor throughout the unique performance.
“Time flies whether your having fun or not,” said Tim Sample, “I was the first performer here on this CPAC stage, more than 20 years ago; getting old is tough but for me, its also a gold mine. People ask me where I get my material, I just say, you’ve got to be kidding me. I once spent time interviewing tourists in Maine asking them what they thought of native Mainers, then I asked the natives what they thought about the tourists — that was pure reality TV before reality TV came into being.”
Sample opened the evening with his one-of-a-kind storytelling before giving way to the Shaw Brothers, Rick and Ron, who were joined by Taylor Whiteside, a solo musician and performer in his own right, and together the three enchanted the full house. “Let the music take you where it may,” said the Shaws, “and we’ll try to keep up.”
With their complimenting voices, the twin brothers, sang Scottish sea shanties, a Caribbean Calypso tune that brought laughter from their intense audience and received appreciative applause when they performed the soul-stirring song, “Follow Me,” during which the audience, with little encouragement, sang along.
The Shaw Brothers, known as the musical ambassadors to the world, captivated listeners with their quiet words, their humor and their stage presence but no more than when they sang, “The Day the Tall Ships Came.” This song, was written by Rick Shaw, for Operation Sail, the organization that is responsible for bringing all the tall ships into Boston and New York harbors.
Whiteside continuing with the same musical theme performed, “The Martin Grey,” which easily allowed the audience to envision the harbor and feel the concern during the refrain, “four boats in the harbor, where is the Martin Grey?” Whiteside also entertained with, “The Gift,” and a tune that once again, brought the audience into action, “The Yodeling Song.” With each verse, the yodeling became faster and for the performer, more impressive, but for the audience members, more challenging and even funnier.
Rick and Ron Shaw performed a song that they had been asked to write about their native New Hampshire which became through legislative statue the official state song, “New Hampshire, Naturally.”
The brothers stated that over the years as they performed worldwide, their hearts were and remain in New England. The two tall, slender identical twin brothers joked about their biggest (and only one according to them) hit they every had back in 1971 when a group of nine musicians, The Hillside Singers, brought the song, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” to the world during the fall and by Christmas, the song had reached the top of every music chart worldwide.
When the popular number was mentioned at CPAC, the crowd once again showed their respect and appreciation with applause and couldn’t refrain from once again joining voices with the master musicians.
Following a brief intermission, Tim Sample, recognized as Maine’s humorist laureate, once again took charge of the stage and regaled the audience with his storytelling, relating that he too was a musician, (his first and most favorite guitar was the kind that had the crank on the side) belonged to a group in his earlier days, “The Dubious Brothers.” From there on it was a fast paced, laughter filled description of not when they ran into the, ‘ski crowd,’ during what might have been their performances at certain places near the popular mountain, but rather, “ running head-on into the Skidder Crowd — you take it from there —just imagine Sample’s descriptive humor.
From the T-shirt slogan, earth first, we’ll log the other planets later,” to skidder starter kits, the Maine humorist spoke of Gremlins, Fairlanes, Blazers and Broncos; descriptions of those popular Maine designer jeans, the irony of words in country music and a certain recipe created with equal parts of Old Spice, old motor oil and Old Granddad.
Sample, is never disrespectful in his humor, he just describes things the way they truly are, allowing the humorous side of humanity to surface and helps the rest of us recognize what we’ve always been aware of — people are funny and it is not a bad thing to laugh at ourselves.
Sample announced that 22 years ago in Portland City Hall, he was the opening act for Noel Paul Stookey, whose influence had encouraged Sample to refine his comedy and music act, allowing for more entertainment than distraction.
When Stookey, a member of the popular group, Peter, Paul and Mary, took center stage, it was with quiet confidence, a bit of humor and a lot of talent that he engaged the audience with songs, both old and new, at times seemingly losing himself in his words and music.
Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
Maine humorist/storyteller/musician extraordinaire Tim Sample visited with fans following the conclusion of the New England Sampler event held Nov. 7 at CPAC. Sample, known for his Down East accent and humor has sold well over one million copies of his books, albums, CDs and videos and was the first performer to take to the stage when the Caribou Performing Arts Center opened more than 20 years ago.
Stookey didn’t disappoint the CPAC crowd with his performance which began with the song, “The Big Picture,” followed by a tune that most everybody learned as a child (and had never forgotten the words) “Puff the Magic Dragon.”
Stookey continued his performance mixing in humorous titles such as “Playing Right Field,” with others that would cause one to ponder the words as they were sung, including the lyrics from, “Be Real, Be True, Be Now, Be You,” “For the Love of It,” and “One Flame, Many Candles.”
With each song, those seated were once again captured by the well-known performer’s voice but even more than that, it was difficult not to close one’s eyes and be absorbed in all the memories his music brought about, especially with the performance of “The Wedding Song.”
The grand finale of the evening that transpired way too quickly, was nothing short of pure fun and admiration as Tim Sample, Rick and Ron Shaw, Noel Paul Stookey and Taylor Whiteside joined forces and voices, closing out the evening with a little more laughter and a song. Breaking into “This Land is Your Land,” the audience was on its feet, clapping and once more blending their voices, filling CPAC with the wonderful sound of music.
As everyone filed out of the Caribou Performing Arts Center making their way to their vehicles, it is without a doubt that most found themselves singing or humming a line or two from one of the many wonderful musical selections or laughing out loud as they recalled a Tim Sample remark.
For those of us preparing once again for a long Maine winter, the New England Sampler allowed us to be ourselves — for a few hours we could appreciate the words of the songs we heard, we let ourselves push back the nagging thoughts of how far behind we might be at work, we forgot the price of gas and heating fuel and how late we might be on a deadline Monday morning. Through the magic of these gifted performers we let ourselves laugh — a most crucial act in order to survive life’s curveballs.
“There is a particular kind of storytelling and music that is the fabric of life in Maine,” said Tim Sample.
The New England Sampler performance was sponsored by Key Bank and Cary Medical Center, with all proceeds going to benefit the “Healthy You Program,” that provides more than 120 programs in which over 7,000 individuals have participated in since its inception in 2008.
Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
Bob Sprague, right, speaks with Rick Shaw, following the New England Sampler performance at the Caribou Performing Arts Center.
