Following pandemic intermission, charitable concert series returns

LACONIA — After delaying its charitable concert series for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Temple B’nai Israel raised $24,000 for The Bridge House in Plymouth on Saturday with a show in the Colonial Theatre by the Five O’Clock Shadow a cappella group.

The ornate, 107-year-old theater reopened over the summer after a major repair and refurbishment project.

“It was more than fabulous,” said Barbara Katz, one of the event organizers. “It has to be one of the best venues I’ve ever been in. The acoustics were beyond great.”

The theater seats 750, but attendance was limited to about 270 to allow for social distancing. Audience members were required to wear face masks to ensure safety. 

“Given the uncertainty, even still we wanted to make sure we were not going to be a super spreader event, but rather something that set our audience’s minds at ease,” said band member Dan Lennon.

But it is strange to perform in front of a masked audience.

“It felt not entirely like a performance but like being wheeled into surgery,” he said.

Five O’Clock Shadow changed its cover of “Stuck in the Middle with You,” by Stealers Wheel, to “Stuck Quarantining with You,” with lyrics highlighting early-pandemic oddities such as:

“Trying to mask from a bra that I borrowed from my ma.”

The six-member, Boston-based, upbeat pop/rock group mimics instruments, making it seem as though their singing has musical accompaniment. This was their second live performance since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We kept ourselves busy the last 18 months or so doing some videos, but there’s really nothing like performing for a live audience and such an appreciative one,” Lennon said. “We can sense their excitement and feed on that.

“And it was such a gorgeous room. They’ve turned it into an absolute state of the art facility with all the bells and whistles you could ever want. It is one of our most favorite venues in the band’s 30-year history.”

The vocalists arrived well ahead of the concert so they could do a master class with Plymouth State University’s two a cappella groups, which performed as an opening act.

“I have to say it was not only great to get back to performing, but also the first time in almost two years we’ve been able to work with students again,” Lennon said. “It brings a great deal of satisfaction to us to connect with students and to share what we have gleaned over three decades of performing and to see their excitement.”

Concert organizer Stu Needleman said it was gratifying to be able to hold a major charitable event after a two-year hiatus.

“As you get closer and everything starts to come together and you start to realize that you really are going to accomplish what you set out to do, you really get a sense that you’re contributing, helping the people we set out to help. We like to assist local nonprofits where $10,000 or $20,000 is meaningful,” he said.

“The groups we work with generally don’t have the human resources to put something like this together and now that we’ve done this for seven or eight years we have some expertise. None of us had any expertise when we started.”

Needleman said the temple's “We Care” concert series, which typically puts on one show in the spring and another in the fall, has raised more than $100,000 for local charitable causes since its inception.

Sponsors of the concert were Audi Nashua, Miracle Farms Landscaping, The Bank of New Hampshire, Pemi River Fuels and Hannaford.

Bridge House provides emergency shelter, food, job training and transitional living support. It also offers specialized services and assistance for veterans.

“This event raised my appreciation for how individuals, who are committed to supporting and uplifting their community, can move mountains,” said Marybeth Bentwood, marketing coordinator for The Bridge House.

The next concert in the “We Care” series is planned for May 28.