Music in the nonagon

Blazing Celtic display meets architectural splendor

By FRITZ MAYER

BETHEL, NY — The nice thing about having multiple stages is that if one doesn’t fit the occasion, the show can easily be moved to another.

The debut concert of the outdoor Terrace Stage, located outside of the new museum at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, was set to take place on July 9. But the weatherman predicted thunderstorms, so the show was moved to the indoor Events Gallery, which is part of the museum complex.

The Events Gallery is a nine-sided room, or nonagon, with nine soaring curved columns that stretch from the floor to some 50 feet in the air and culminate in a glass enclosed cupola that pours light into the room during the daylight hours.

The architects who designed the space thought it would be best to make those soaring beams out of metal. But Alan Gerry, the force behind the center, wanted to stay with the natural rustic look and feel. He insisted that the columns be made of wood. And so they are.

Another imposing feature of the room is a large fireplace, surrounded by concentric semi-circles of carefully cut stones, topped by a large rock ledge that serves as a giant-sized mantle. Above that, a wall, made of various sized rocks, stretches skyward.

Against that backdrop, Eileen Ivers, best known for being the musical star of the hit show “Riverdance,” baptized the space in front of an audience of about 300.

Ivers, who has been called the Jimi Hendrix of the fiddle, praised the acoustics of the room and noted the import of the occasion. Then, she and the four other members of her band launched into a fiery mix of tunes that had just about all of the audience members, including those with white hair, clapping hands, tapping feet and even singing along on a few tunes.

The traditional Irish folk tunes were impressive. But what really got the crowd going was when Ivers launched into heavy rock music. She made her fiddle sound like a sizzling electric guitar that growled, howled and soared as fiercely as Hendrix’ guitar ever did.

There were two sets to the show, with a lengthy intermission in the middle, during which patrons could buy sandwiches, wine or gifts from the museum gift shop.

For music lovers who might not enjoy listening to music with 10,000 of their closest friends, which is what it sometimes seems like at the big Bethel Woods concerts, these smaller, more intimate performances might be just the ticket to an interesting night out.

There are no traffic backups, no long lines and, if Ivers is any indication, the music will be just as good, or better, than the acts on the big stage.