By DEBORA SHAULIS

By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Hearld Hardick has an intent look on his thin, mature face as he tickles the keys of his electric piano. He's trying to make eye contact with each person in his audience.
That would be impossible in a 2,000-seat concert hall or a 20,000-seat amphitheatre. It's easy at Selah, a cafe inside Old Stone Tavern in Poland. Stage is one of the regulars at Selah's Friday night jazz jam sessions, which are held in a second-floor room that seats about 40 people.
People "love the smaller venues because of that connection," says Michael Powell, a career musician who has lived in Youngstown for the last eight months. "It's romance in a way. It's romantic."
Comparing the experience to Impressionist art, which was known for its natural, spontaneous qualities, Powell said musicians "see and feel the reaction. For the people in the audience, they feel as if it's their portrait being painted."
Intimacy is the buzzword in live entertainment, locally and nationally.
An example is Cirque du Soleil, the performance group that plays nightly for audiences of 2,500 in Las Vegas. Capacity will drop more than 50 percent for the newest production, "Zumanity," which will debut next month and focus on human sexuality. Cirque du Soleil's president has said the time is right for "Zumanity" because recent movies such as "Moulin Rouge" have piqued public interest in cabaret-style performance.
Closer to home, the newest nightlife options are for even smaller numbers of people. Music at Madison, a showcase for local singers at Dorian Books on Youngstown's North Side, averages about 70 patrons every other weekend. Euphorium Emporium, which opened in April in Wedgewood Plaza in Austintown, is an antique store, gift shop, deli and coffeehouse. Rock, country, jazz and Christian musicians perform there for a potential audience of about 100.
Here's one attraction
Shows in cozy environments are beneficial for players and listeners alike.
"When you can see somebody sweat ... when you can see them close, [see] their eyes ... it's a good thing for people who really appreciate the music," says Therese Joseph of Youngstown, who has promoted concerts in an 80-seat dining room at B & amp;O Station Restaurant.
While Joseph lived in San Diego, Calif., in the early 1970s, she worked for a promoter who believed that small-scale performances were crucial to the development of musicians. Thus, Joseph said, she was able to see and hear big-time musicians such as John Mayall and Boz Scaggs in a room that held only 48 people. She still calls those shows" some of my greatest experiences."
In these environments, audiences provide immediate feedback that helps players to create and shape their music. "When you can connect with someone, look in their eyes and see how your music is moving them -- that is the unaccountable. That is synergy," Joseph said.
Powell, who is Joseph's husband, agreed.
"If you're playing a large auditorium, it's sort of like you're in a huge, empty hall. It's like an airplane hangar ... you seldom have any real contact with anyone in the audience." The result is music that is "commercial, less emotional."
"In a smaller venue, you can touch everyone in a larger way," Powell added.
Format works for them
That's happening at Music at Madison, which Dorian Books owner Jack Peterson and seasoned performer Rodd Coonce launched last Valentine's Day. Coonce is the show's permanent vocalist. He's joined by other singers -- some seasoned, others making their solo debuts -- who audition at the bookstore Tuesday nights and attend rehearsals with pianists Anthony Ruggiero and Kris Harper. The auditions aren't held to weed out people, but for "finding songs that work best for them and that they're most comfortable with," Coonce said.
While people comment favorably about the intimacy of those shows, the format pleases Coonce because "it's like doing a new show every two weeks," he said. Other singers like it because "you can actually do a show in three rehearsals. It's not a two-month commitment."
For every aesthetic reason to attend an intimate show, there's a practical reason, too.
"We all want the better seats. Of course, we pay for the better seats," said Sheri DeHaven of Howland, who attends Music at Madison. Compared with big concerts, "Everybody pays the same here and we all have good seats. You don't have to be vice president of blah-blah-blah bank to enjoy the entertainment and sit up close."
People feel safe and comfortable in smaller venues where there's "more hands-on management and operation," Powell said.
A personal touch
That personal touch is evident in the atmosphere at these places. At Selah, visitors sit at small tables covered with semisheer gray tablecloths. The walls are creamy white, and historical and nostalgic artifacts are prominent in the decorating scheme.
Music at Madison patrons are greeted with linen-covered tables, antique armchairs, candles and a serve-yourself buffet of finger foods at intermission. On pleasant evenings, performances are relocated to garden outside the home that Coonce and Peterson are renovating on Madison Avenue, around the corner from the bookstore.
It doesn't cost more to attend an event in a smaller space than a big hall, Powell said. Then again, using small rooms isn't necessarily cheaper for promoters, Joseph noted: "So for intimacy, you give up profitability and possibilities. You pretty much do it for the love of the music and the love of the connection that's made between the audience and the musicians."
There is "definitely a target market of people in this area who will pay the right buck to see the local group that's really good and has something to say," Joseph said.
The bigger chunk of the market, she added, "feels like they have to go the long distance, pay the parking lot thing, be around other people being excited. Maybe that's part of what people are paying for ... they're paying for all the hullabaloo, the stuff that's generated as a result of the band or musician that's playing there. That doesn't do it for me."
Behind the scenes
Keeping it small can be rewarding for the business people behind the shows.
Music is bringing people to Selah, a multifaceted business. Rooms on the first floor of the 200-year-old building are occupied by a florist; a cafe that serves sandwiches, baked goods, coffee and tea; and a store that sells handmade greeting cards and paper goods.
"We're trying to get something going here," said drummer Ron Eiselstein, whose wife is going to open a bulk-food store down the block from Selah. Eiselstein has been coordinating the music with Selah's owner, Brian Palumbo, who occasionally sings.
Eiselstein and Hardick, who goes by "Stage," comprise the rhythm section Friday nights. Other musicians are welcome to join them. On a recent Friday night, Eiselstein and Stage had just begun their second set when guitarist Rick Miracle arrived. He added another element to songs such as "Girl From Ipanema" and "All of Me."
Alumni of Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music often play at the jazz jam sessions, Eiselstein said. Music is more varied on Saturdays, which are open microphone nights. Weather permitting, the musicians move outdoors to Selah's patio.
Seasonal changes
Mocha House in downtown Warren, which just marked its 11th anniversary, schedules live entertainment Saturday nights. Less is planned during the summer, when people focus on seasonal activities such as festivals and open houses, owner Maria Liakaris said.
During the rest of the year, up to 200 people show up to listen to musicians such as acoustic guitarist Dave Lemasters of Howland, who is "one of the favorites," Liakaris said. "He's fun. He does a little from every era, songs that most age groups have heard of."
The coffee shop is an alternative for people who don't like bars or loud music, Liakaris said: "They want to be able to carry on a conversation."
Lisa Collins owned an antique store in New Springfield before she opened Euphorium Emporium, in retail space formerly occupied by a drugstore. Now she's closer to her home on Youngstown's West Side, and her business is in a high-traffic area, at New and Raccoon roads. She hopes weekly entertainment will "give people another reason to come here," she said.
If Collins could book shows in a larger space, she wouldn't. The musicians take song requests and talk to people from the stage. "I like that part of it, the personal touch," she said.
So, when you see Stage's gaze slide your way, give him a smile, a wink, even a frown. That's why he's there. That's why he plays.
shaulis@vindy.com