Maurizio @ The Arts Center of The Capital Region, 1/26/19

"It's good to have friends."---Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), "The Expendables", 2010.

Nearly 3 1/2 years after the release of his debut solo CD, "Before The Crowd", Maurizio Russomanno hosted a night of acoustic music in front of a near-sell out crowd comprised largely of family and friends inside the Joe Bruno Theatre at the Arts Center of The Capital Region on Saturday night. The occasion was a celebration of Russomanno's 20 years as a solo performer, after he'd spent almost a decade in various local bands such as the Anomalies.

Proceeds from the event, he announced, would be for the benefit of long-time Hudson Valley Community College professor and Record columnist John Ostwald, who is battling cancer, and had a fundraiser earlier in the day in his honor at the Italian Community Center.

Two relatively short sets, less than an hour apiece, showcased Russomanno's gifts as a singer & songwriter, mixing material from "Crowd" and more recent compositions in the course of the evening, with room for one cover song, a John Prine track. Considering that attendance was built on the strength of social media alone, as there was no mention of the event in the local press, it was a solid night of music. Russomanno's interaction with the audience , with short ancedotes between songs, recalls VH-1 Storytellers, or, for the home district readers, the late, lamented Sounding Board, which was must-watch for local music fans in the 90's. He owned up to being nervous, which explained a Thermos filled with coffee during the first set. The party, if you will, broke up sometime around 10:30, leaving at least one attendant wondering if the Bruno Theatre has hosted plays as well as concerts. Personally, I can't say for sure, but a steady schedule would give the Theatre Institute at Russell Sage College a run for their money. However, I do know a theatre group associated with Sage that could use the space...............!