Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler: A Leprechaun Looks Back, Lazer’s Rob “The Leprechaun” reflects on a decade at the mic
In an industry in more upheaval than the Athens Stock Exchange, Rob “The Leprechaun” Allen’s aluminum anniversary at Lazer 99.3 FM would probably be more accurately accounted for utilizing dog-year calculations. The Crawler recently checked in with the veteran jock....
Nightcrawler: Rock ’n’ Remember, Northampton’s summer series and Living Colour at Mohegan Sun
The Northampton Summer Concert Series kicks off its freebie Friday shows July 17. And while event producer Jamie Kent notes that he and his Collective Music Group are certainly looking to uphold the established tradition of offering fresh, new acts, he is quick to...
Nightcrawler: Tor-id Affair, Rev. Tor Band’s audio/visual onslaught, free concerts in Holyoke and Enfield
You name it, The Reverend Tor Band is celebrating it this weekend — s seventh CD, a first DVD, and then there’s the 20-year milestone of cranking out some of the most consistent groove-oriented rock in the area. “It’s been an amazing journey, and I’m really happy...
Nightcrawler: KISS and Tell
Others can light up the skies this Independence Day weekend. Big E Talent Buyer John Juliano says he’s hoping to light up the ticket purchase phone lines when he announces a “major country act” who will join his 2015 roster “on or around” July 4. In the meantime,...
Nightcrawler: For Penniless Parrotheads
From country to crooners, Wilbraham’s free Fountain Park concert series springs nocturnal, offering all of this and more on Thursdays 6:30-8 p.m. Kicking things off June 25 are Margaritaville-inspired Buffett mimics Changes In Latitudes. Country rockers Whiskey &...
Nightcrawler: Presto-Chango, magicians come to CT
Magician Criss Angel recently appeared at a special press conference at Connecticut’s Foxwoods casino to reveal his latest trick. “My goal is to redefine magic touring like Cirque du Soleil did for the circus,” Angel said of his upcoming Supernaturalist show, an...
Nightcrawler: Kiddin’ Around and Getting Phishy
Noho’s And The Kids are more than allright. In fact, they’ve been called everything from “fearless and entertaining” to one of “Western Massachusetts’ indie scene’s brightest creative lights,” depending on whom you ask. The observations cited just happened to come...
The Arts: Nominations for the Advocate Grand Band Slam are Open
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Nightcrawler: Cropping Up All Over
Two celebrations of area agriculture and audio sprout up on the local landscape this week. The first, Watermelon Wednesdays in Whately (watermelonwednesdays.com), began its 16th season May 28 with singer/songwriters Pat Alger, Jim Rooney, and Chris Brashear....
Nightcrawler: Blocked In, Janet Monheit, Tom Keifer, and FAT join the 2015 Cityblock Series; Mason and friends peddle their musical wares
We knew that the powers that be were reverting back to the old name. Then we found out that they were getting a new logo. In fact, until recently, the only thing we didn’t know about Springfield’s Cityblock-turned-Bike Nite-back-to-Cityblock was who would be gracing...
Between the Lines: Advocate Grand Band Slam Is Back, now with more slam!
Back in the final year of the 1900s, I stood, guitar in hand, on the steps of Northampton’s old courthouse at the main intersection. The occasion was the (then new) Valley Advocate Grand Band Slam. My bandmates and I had won top honors in the...
Nightcrawler: Color-Coded, Colorway releases Black Sky Sequined at the Iron Horse
After the band’s successful East Coast mini-tour, Colorway’s May 14 Iron Horse engagement certainly has all the hallmarks of a homecoming show. It’s also a CD release party, celebrating the band’s recently completed sophomore studio effort, The Black Sky Sequined....
Nightcrawler: Linking In, Music aplenty at Kielbasa Fest; Travelers’ golf tourney; Barlow & betrothed tie knot
Last year, local musician/promoter Thomas Kielbania Jr. believed there was enough interest to resurrect the fabled “Kielbasa Fest” in his hometown of Chicopee after it lay dormant for nearly two decades. Gate totals of nearly 20,000 meat-seekers at the city’s Szot...
Nightcrawler: Apple Jam festival pairs local notables with nationals
Just when you thought it was safe to put your wallet away, out trots another apple product. But with more than two dozen bands cranking out more than 32 hours of music Aug. 21-23, Gary Phelps’ Apple Jam Roots Music Festival is a relative bargain, with three-day...
Nightcrawler: ‘Bank’-ing on the Past, Green River Festival expands to three-day affair; Crestview gives voice to The Voice contestants
Normally, when looking to tinker with the formula on a time-tested venture, feasibility studies are conducted. Will the target population support the change? Do current trends indicate the potential for growth? In the case of the 29th annual Green River Festival and...
Nightcrawler: Kindred Spirits, Whiskey Treaty, Dirty Bourbon River Show pour into the Valley; Fab Faux stroll down Abbey Road
In its earliest form back in Ireland and Scotland circa the 15th century, the distilled spirit we now call whiskey was commonly referred to as “aqua vitae.” Curiously, the word “vitae” means “blameless in life; innocent.” But as history has well chronicled, aqua vitae...
Nightcrawler: Crowd Fundamentals
There’s certainly nobody waiting in line any given Tuesday to grab the latest CD from their favorite group at the local record store. Heck, there are barely any local record stores left. (Except for in the Valley, it seems.) The exit of record stores has seen the...
Nightcrawler: Lane Changer, Robin Lane biopic chronicles Shelburne Falls resident’s life
Perhaps it’s only appropriate — given the state of area roadways after this relentless winter — that the new Robin Lane documentary will be screened at Pothole Pictures this weekend. Certainly makes sense that it’s occurring in Shelburne Fall, as the subject of said...
Nightcrawler: Something To Crow About, Crowrider calendar riddled with shows and sessions; Black Crows’ founding brothers on separate paths
Fans looking to wet their beaks on new Crowrider material may want to venture out to one of the many live engagements the band has lined up for the coming months. Guitarist Dino Bambino reports that they are laying down tracks for a forthcoming disc and the chemistry...
Nightcrawler: Fire Power, Bash benefits Christmas Eve fire victims; Amy Fairchild joins members of Extreme, The Allmans, Megadeth and more for Boston charity
She’s seen fire. She’s seen (freezing) rain. But Kristy Librera Chapman remains undaunted in her quest to aid her family and her community. A cousin to one of the families affected by a tragic Christmas Eve fire in Southwick, Chapman says that she knew she needed to...
Nightcrawler: Sibling Revelry, The Levin Brothers’ first official collaboration; Eric Holden holdin’ court in Pittsfield
He’s been a bona fide member of King Crimson’s court for more than three decades. Prior to securing his status as a veritable prog-rock deity, Brookline’s Tony Levin was trading licks with the likes of Chuck Mangione and Buddy Rich. Now 68, Levin is revisiting his...
Riffs Meet Spliffs
They recently retooled their lineup, and they are juggling live shows with the recording of their highly anticipated sophomore studio effort. Despite such distractions, guitarist Tom Hamel maintains that Odds of Eden are always a safe bet when it comes to delivering...
Nightcrawler: Give ’Em The Boot
Nancy Sinatra’s boots may have been made for walkin’, but the way Ludlow Firefighter Dan McKenney sees it, his Rock The Boot Winter Jam — slated for Feb. 28 in the town’s Gremio Lusitano Club — will serve two decidedly different purposes. For starters, music fans...
Nightcrawler: The The Band Band Plays On
On the back of such seminal works as Goodfellas and Casino, Martin Scorsese is roundly regarded as an authority on all things mafioso. Less famously — at least, when considering his body of work in its entirety — Scorsese also filmed and released the final concert by...
Nightcrawler: Dream On, fantasy camp pairs weekend warriors with megastars; Rev. Tor, Golden Oldies shows make Pittsfield stops this weekend
“And this one time at band camp, I got to play with Joe Perry, Mark Clarke, and Steve Morse!” Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, that is. After an impassioned written plea from his daughter Kristin, Bernardston’s Bill Cheney got to swap solos with some of his childhood...
Nightcrawler: Reality Bytes
The song may be more than three decades old, but even now, when musicians play a local watering hole, they know there’s a good chance someone will yell out “Freebird” at some point. Plucking even the opening arpeggio of 1971’s “Stairway to Heaven” at any given guitar...
Nightcrawler: Trash Talkin’
They may call themselves Trailer Trash, but in talking to lead singer Joe Fazio and six-stringer Bob Stanek about the band’s inception, it sure sounds more like a recycling/re-tooling project. “Everyone in this band are friends and we’ve played together in various...
Nightcrawler: Bawdy by Nature, Berkshire burlesque group; Cantalini performs solo, duo, and with his trio
In the spirit of the performers they honor and emulate, the Berkshire-based Gypsy Lane burlesque troupe takes the show on the road this weekend. The campy cast of cabaret characters makes its debut at Norfolk, Conn.’s storied Infinity Music Hall & Bistro Jan. 22,...
Nightcrawler: Sir Mix-A-Lot
The Crawler knows. You just got through returning all those clunker presents from the office Secret Santas. Now here comes scene stalwart Henning Ohlenbusch, playing sonic Santa. “As physical copies of music are becoming more and more obsolete, we feel this is an...
Nightcrawler: Taylor Made
J ames Taylor’s brother Livingston need only pull out his self-titled, debut album from 1970 to cover the “something old” requirement. His just released CD Blue Sky fulfills both the “new” and “blue.” Not sure what Livingston Taylor is going to borrow between now and...
Nightcrawler: The Elephant in the Newsroom
How do you start an interview with a 59-year-old actor who is coming off a year that included (literally) anchoring one of television’s most critically acclaimed series and co-starring in a flatulence-laden, sophomoric smash hit box office comedy weeks before his...
Nightcrawler: The Elephant in the Newsroom
How do you start an interview with a 59-year-old actor who is coming off a year that included (literally) anchoring one of television’s most critically acclaimed series and co-starring in a flatulence-laden, sophomoric smash hit box office comedy weeks before...
The 2014 Nightcrawler Notable Awards
In no particular order and assembled for reasons no loftier than your enjoyment plus the Crawler’s pressing need to hurry over to the holiday party before the open bar closes… here are your 2014 Nightcrawler Notable Awards: The You Never Sausage A...
Nightcrawler: Styx and Stones
We all knew the Midwest Rock ’n’ Roll Express had passenger cars. In fact, that tour is responsible for transporting three of the larger names in classic rock—Styx, REO Speedwagon and Ted Nugent—to various venues the country over, including...Nightcrawler: Can't Find a Better Band
The name of the new disc and tour—Lightning Bolt—may suggest a quick, intense burst of energy. But as Pearl Jam pushed its way past the 30-song, three-hour mark at Harford’s XL Center on Friday, Oct. 25, it was evident to all in the sold-out audience...
Nightcrawler: They Built This City
Forgive Group Deville's Rick Murnane if he's not quite as bubbly as you'd expect him to be when he performs this Saturday, June 30 at Bishop's Lounge in Noho. Sure, that's the night he and his Group troupe will be celebrating their first release in...
Nightcrawler: Building (City) Block
When the need arises, the folks at the Springfield Business Improvement District (SBID) can break out market projections, Powerpoint presentations and trend analyses with the best of them. In addressing the desires of Springfield restaurateurs and club owners to...
Nightcrawler: Fireworks, Music, Melons
It started as an opportunity for locals to sample savories from various area eateries and soak in the sounds of a few of the region's bigger bands. Since that summer of 1985, however, Committee President Scott Crosson says that his Enfield, Connecticut Fourth of...E-Edition
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