Bucks Live! is a free concert series
being held in the Gallagher
Room in Rollins Center. Five
days of live music of different
genres, including a day of
karaoke, came to the Newtown
campus Nov. 9-13, with the goal
of opening the minds of students
to new sounds.
I had the pleasure of attending
two of these concerts, and was
happily entertained. The concert
on Tuesday was a seven-piece
band called Anthony D’Amato
and the Emancipation Congregation.
Basing their set on funky songs,
some from the 1970s, the Emancipation
Congregation jammed
their way through an hour’s performance.
Singer Anthony D’Amato,
dressed in a bright purple shirt and
jeans, sang lead, accompanied by
C.J. Thouret on percussion and
vocals. Natasha Kurilew completed
the vocal trio.
Guitarists Keith McCarthy and
Steve Minutillo accompanied
Billy Vegas on bass, and the group
was rounded out by Andrew
Lenaghan on drums and Mark
Masefield on keyboard.
All are accomplished musicians;
they’ve got a dozen awards
from New Jersey and Pennsylvania
to pass around the whole band.
The set list was fairly familiar to
most of the audience, who consisted
of students and educators
alike.
Everyone who walked by felt
the need to tap their feet or nod
their heads as they walked
through, and many stopped to sit
and listen awhile.
A highlight of the show was a
cover of Michael Jackson’s
“Black and White,” which got
people really clapping along.
Their set ended with an extended
rhythmic version of
Donna Summer’s hit “Bad Girls”
while D’Amato introduced the
band and allowed them to each
have a bit of the limelight on
stage.
The singer D’Amato interacted
with the audience, joking with students
and generally having a great
time, while the band jammed
away through each song.
I really enjoyed the concert and
the comments from the students
confirmed that I wasn’t the only
one. They walked away from the
Gallagher Room smiling and
happy, while they went on to their
classes.
Thursday’s performance was a
selection of songs performed by
the Bucks County Community
College Jazz Orchestra. The
small band consisted of both students
and non-students alike, including
a professor, all brought
together by their love of jazz
music.
While not as attention-grabbing
to the students as a rock band
would be, they easily captured the
interest of the students and employees
of the college by the second
song, and those who stayed
seemed to thoroughly enjoy the
music. People stopped talking
and started really listening to the
mix of upbeat jazz and smoky
beats.
They also played for an hour in
the Gallagher room, and their
closing Jaco Pastorius number got
people clapping and cheering after
each solo.
As far as lunchtime concerts are
concerned, the students were
treated to some really great music
from more than one genre. Free
concerts are the perfect way to get
people to listen to music that they
otherwise might never be exposed
to, and Bucks really did it right!