Many was the flashback experienced at the original Woodstock. And goodness knows what the hell you saw if you ate that tainted brown acid, but rumor has it you could travel through time as easily as Back To The Future's Marty McFly.
For this, the 19th installment of its annual Transperformance benefit concert, the Northampton Arts Council has decided to revisit the theme of its very first incarnation with LookStock: "5.5 hours of music and peace at Look Park in Florence, MA."
And, according to Council member Bob Cilman, the rationale for returning to the familiar terrain was at least twofold. "In 1991, we did a Woodstock: The Performance Peace," Cilman recalls. "But that was before we came up with the Transperformance title and allowed performers to play originals as well as covers. So that, plus the fact that it's Woodstock's 40th anniversary, was the reason to go back to it… but this definitely doesn't mean this will become a trend."
Among those lending the psychedelic-tinged rock to this year's LookStock—occurring Tuesday, Aug. 25—are King Radio as Blood, Sweat and Tears, The Winterpills as Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bruce Mandaro as Grateful Dead. For a full list of performers, schedules and ticket info, take a gander at northamptonartscouncil.org.
Meanwhile… as chronicled in last week's Crawler, the Iron Horse Entertainment Group has purchased—and subsequently re-opened—Holyoke's Mountain Park. Now, Mike Barrasso, an owner of the former Hippodrome in Springfield, has issued an announcement that he believes to be of paramount importance as well.
"My business partner, Steve Stein, and I closed on a loan that will enable us to bring the former Paramount Theater back to life," Barrasso reports. "We know this will be a huge boost to the economy in not only downtown Springfield, but the entire region."
Barrasso went on to explain that the renovation project will unfold in three phases, with the first including updating the existing sprinkler system so that it is in compliance with current fire codes as well as paying the city $210,000 to bring all taxes current.
Among the punchlist of items to be completed by phase two are a new marquee and overall upgrade to the facility and for phase three, office spaces, market-rate housing and artisan "live-work" units will be created in the upper floors of the property. To monitor the progress, visit Barrasso's blog at downtowndiaries.net.
In other news, Daniel Hales of The Frost Heaves/The Ambiguities fame checked in to report that he has assembled a unique cast of characters to help him pass the downtime during a recent injury.
"I'm literally making trying to make the best of a bad break—specifically, the three pins I am sporting under my cast in my radius bone as a result of a bad mountain-biking accident," Hales says about the start of his new Velveteen Underground project, a Franklin County supergroup of sorts that puts a countrified spin on VU classics. "So I figured out I could play 'lap bass'—and keep my spirits up—while my wrist is entombed, and here we are."
Helping Hales realize his Velvety vision are Charlie Conant on dobro (best known for his work with the Green River String Band), Steve Koziol (Span of Sunshine) on six-string and Hilary Weiner (Sunshine/Ambiguities) rounding out the vocals.The Velveteens make their official debut Thursday, Aug. 20 at Greenfield's Energy Park on a bill that also includes folk favorite Jennie McAvoy. For more info, kindly point your browser to coopconcerts.org.
Last up, those still craving more from members of the collective like Katie Clark and the Green River Band—not to mention The Nields, Girl Howdy and Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, may want to consider a scenic drive to the Heath Fair Grounds in Heath, Aug. 21-23. Those are the dates—and a choice few of the featured performers confirmed—for the 92nd annual Heath Fair this year.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email garycarra@aol.com.
