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mokenamessenger.com life & Arts<br />

the Mokena Messenger | February 16, 2017 | 27<br />

A dose of Smooth, a glimmer of Zirconia<br />

Sinatra, Diamond<br />

singers perform at<br />

Mokena Library<br />

Jason Maholy<br />

Freelance Reporter<br />

Singing in a library back<br />

in the day would have been<br />

frowned upon.<br />

Even if the crooner was<br />

performing the timeless<br />

classics of Frank Sinatra,<br />

Bobby Darin and Tony Bennett,<br />

an old-school librarian<br />

with the glasses on the<br />

edge of her nose and wearing<br />

a crocheted shawl over<br />

her shoulders would have<br />

curtly told the unwelcome<br />

offender to pipe down – or,<br />

perhaps, even kick him out.<br />

OK, maybe that depiction<br />

of the librarian is a<br />

caricature, but it was not so<br />

long ago that making noise<br />

above a whisper in a library<br />

was grounds for a reprimand;<br />

but as libraries become<br />

more utilized as multipurpose<br />

venues instead of<br />

solely as places people go<br />

to study in silence, a little<br />

loudness is, on occasion,<br />

tolerated and even encouraged.<br />

Such was the case the afternoon<br />

of Saturday, Feb. 11,<br />

when performers of songs<br />

by Frank, Dean Martin and<br />

Neil Diamond, among others,<br />

had a crowd of more<br />

than 30 people clapping and<br />

dancing in their seats. Even<br />

a few patrons checking out<br />

books within earshot of the<br />

show could not help but<br />

move to the beat.<br />

“Songs of the Legends<br />

with Mr. Smooth” featured<br />

Vincent DiFiore in a Valentine’s<br />

Day-themed performance<br />

that drew primarily<br />

senior citizens looking for a<br />

good time on an unseasonably<br />

warm February day.<br />

DiFiore was joined by Joey<br />

Zirconia, who performed<br />

Joey Zirconia, who joked that his name comes from<br />

“a cheap imitation diamond,” belts out a song by Neil<br />

Diamond during the performance.<br />

spot-on renditions of several<br />

Neil Diamond classics,<br />

and joked his last name<br />

stems from the fact he is “a<br />

cheap imitation diamond.”<br />

The show was part of a<br />

series that runs at the library<br />

from September through<br />

May and will on upcoming<br />

Saturdays include Broadway<br />

show tunes, a Mardi<br />

Gras celebration and a St.<br />

Patrick’s Day jazz concert.<br />

The concept is to bring music<br />

and other arts to library<br />

patrons, library Director<br />

of Young Adults Programs<br />

Wendy Asbridge said.<br />

“We’ve always done the<br />

music side as well as the<br />

educational,” Asbridge said,<br />

noting that the musical acts<br />

have been a huge draw. “We<br />

had 60 people for Elvis in<br />

January. People really like<br />

the legends or the oldies, so<br />

it’s a lot of fun. It’s great.<br />

They’re very appreciative,<br />

and they really enjoy it.”<br />

The two entertainers<br />

kept the audience’s attention<br />

with both music and<br />

friendly banter between<br />

songs. DiFiore frequently<br />

provided background and<br />

history to the songs before<br />

singing — such as when he<br />

noted his performance of<br />

“Unchained Melody” would<br />

be Barry Manilow’s version<br />

— and at one point while he<br />

Vincent DiFiore performs a tune during a “Songs of the Legends” show held Saturday,<br />

Feb. 11, at the Mokena Community Public Library District. DiFiore sang songs by Frank<br />

Sinatra, Dean Martin, Barry Manilow and other vocalists. Photos by Jason Maholy/22nd<br />

Century Media<br />

was crooning, he passed out<br />

roses to the ladies in the audience.<br />

Leona Kremsner, of Orland<br />

Park, was captivated<br />

by the performers.<br />

“Oh, my gosh, I thought<br />

it was wonderful, just was<br />

fabulous,” she said. “I love<br />

it, I love it. Neil Diamond,<br />

he’s terrific, I couldn’t believe<br />

how good he was, but<br />

I like them all.”<br />

DiFiore, a former electrical<br />

contractor, has been<br />

producing “legends” shows<br />

since 1972. He is a lifelong<br />

lover of music, and as<br />

a youth sang in the school<br />

choir; then as a young<br />

adult had the opportunity<br />

to sing occasionally with a<br />

big band. He took over as<br />

a vocalist full-time when<br />

one night, while producing<br />

an event, his Sinatra performer<br />

balked at opening<br />

the show.<br />

“He said Sinatra never<br />

opened a show,” he recalled.<br />

“So my Elvis vocalist said,<br />

‘What are we going to do?’”<br />

DiFiore coaxed “Frank,”<br />

whose real name was Frank<br />

as well, into performing that<br />

night, but that would be the<br />

reluctant Blue Eyes’ final<br />

show.<br />

“After that I though that,<br />

‘You know, I can do as well<br />

as him,’ and I started singing<br />

Sinatra and Dean Martin.”<br />

The vocalists whose<br />

songs DiFiore performs —<br />

he does not impersonate,<br />

but rather sings in his own<br />

voice — are entertainers<br />

he has admired for years.<br />

Which songs are his favorites<br />

has largely depended<br />

on variables, including the<br />

time of the year and where<br />

DiFiore is in his life at the<br />

time, he said.<br />

“‘My Way’ is always<br />

touching ‘cause it’s a Sinatra<br />

song,” he explained.<br />

“The song that is always a<br />

real hit with me is ‘That’s<br />

Amore,’ because the crowd<br />

really gets into it; I can<br />

probably sing that forever<br />

and no one ever gets tired of<br />

it. Then there’s other songs<br />

that, as your life changes,<br />

they become your favorites.”<br />

DiFiore’s objective when<br />

Library patrons (left to right) Ann Marie Mikaiayunas and<br />

Nancy Healy applaud after a song by entertainer “Mr.<br />

Smooth.”<br />

he performs is to provide<br />

his audience a good show,<br />

engage his listeners and<br />

even touch them in some<br />

way.<br />

“Music touches everyone<br />

in different ways,” he<br />

said. “All I want to do is<br />

make someone happy when<br />

I entertain. This is live, so<br />

there’s good action that happens<br />

with the audience. And<br />

that’s what you want to do,<br />

is touch that audience, have<br />

them remember you after<br />

you’re done.”

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