Arlo Guthrie strums his stories
Folksinger shares stage at The Klein with his family
By SEAN SPILLANE/CT Post 9/28/03

The Klein in Bridgeport kicked off its 2003 season Sunday with a visit from veteran folksinger Arlo Guthrie, who brought along a few family members for the occasion.

Joined by son Abe on keyboards and daughter Sarah Lee and her husband, Johnny Irion, on guitar and vocals, Arlo Guthrie gave the crowd of nearly 700 a two-and-a half-hour show filled with music and plenty of laughs.

"What a dream it must be to travel with your family, sharing the music with his kids," said Tim Quinn of Fairfield, who shared the music at Sunday's event with his wife and two kids.

Quinn's son Brendan, 12, didn't expect to enjoy seeing Guthrie, but the music and the humor of the concert changed his mind.

"I thought it would be boring, but it's really cool," he said at intermission.

For Tom Hannan, of Milford, Sunday's show was an excuse to catch up with an artist he hadn't thought about in a while.

"I've always liked Arlo Guthrie, but it's been a long time since I listened to his music," he said. "This is a good opportunity to go out and see one of the older generation's performers."

Hannan, who had never been to The Klein, liked what he saw of the venue, in its second season since being refurbished. Guthrie himself commented on the concert hall and he's been to quite a few in his 35 years on the road.

Guthrie used his first set to pay tribute, not just to his father, Woody Guthrie, but to all the songwriters and musicians who paved the way for him and future folksingers. Singled out were Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, Cisco Houston and Derroll Adams, the subject of a tribute album, "Banjoman," that Guthrie helped organize.

Of course, his father's music was prominent throughout the show, with takes on "Poor Lazarus," "Gypsy Davey" and "This Land is Your Land."

The second set relied much more on humor with Guthrie using the songs as a starting point for his monologues.

Later in the show, he spoke of moose sightings in Massachusetts which he blamed on NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Act)
as a segue into a poem, "Mooses Come Walking," which, in turn, led to a comic conversation about poets and poetry.

As for his song selection, he didn't play "Alice's Restaurant," but he played some of the other songs he has become known for, "Coming Into Los Angeles," "City of New Orleans" and "Motorcycle Song (Significance of the Pickle)," among them.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Irion opened the show by playing four songs from an album they are working on together. The two have albums of their own, but this project will be their first together.