According to legend—or at least whoever wrote the latest Wikepedia entry about it—Finn MacCool was a mythological hunter/warrior who had prophetic powers derived from his thumb.
By all accounts, local promoter Scott "Ogre" Lee is a peaceable man whose opposable digits bear no special significance. Yet somehow, in a somewhat similar fashion to the famed Irish leader of Fianna, Lee has managed to raise a wetted finger to the winds and successfully navigate across the regional music landscape for a decade and a half and counting—propping up dozens of venues and bands along the way and watching others fall prey to the struggles of the road to "making it." Those hazards include—but are certainly not limited to—clubs trying to "grow too fast too quick," someone in any given group being forced to "get a real job" or the dreaded catch-all of catch-alls: "artistic differences."
In 2006, Lee and several partners announced the opening of what they hoped would be their newest stronghold on the scene they helped build, Finn MacCool's in Westfield.
When your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler caught up with the always-affable Ogre one recent, wind-chilled December afternoon, however, not only was the fate of the Finn itself in question, but the concert-promoting crusader who'd overcome so many setbacks and outlasted so many others in all facets of the industry appeared to reveal traces of genuine battle fatigue.
"The club is in a period of transition, I would say," he explains. "I should have more on that soon, but I was talking with [fellow co-owner] Terry [Ward] the other day and we just don't know what to do. We try our best at everything we do, and it gets frustrating."
Adding to the difficulty was the recent five-finger acquisition someone made of several thousand dollars worth of amps, speakers, instruments and other assorted audio accessories from the club between Nov. 26-27.
While Lee stops short of calling the gear grab the largest contributor to his current doldrums, he is quick to dub the perpetrator(s) a "coward" and "low-life"—and to sympathize with friend Josh Enemy, who owned the equipment.
"Terry's in bands, and he and I know how hard it is to acquire these things," he concludes. "I just hope and pray someone can help make this right." For a complete list of the stolen goods and Enemy's contact info, visit his myspace (.com/joshenemy).
In other acts of assorted pilferage, Tor Krautter of The Reverend Tor Band reports that the upstairs bar of La Cocina in Pittsfield was recently relieved of a hand-drawn portrait of Jerry Garcia.
Although Krautter was uncertain of the item's monetary worth, he notes that it has "huge sentimental value" to its rightful owner. Aspiring sleuths looking to get on the trail of that "Dead-lift" art caper can contact Krautter direct at revtor@tactonic.net.
Meanwhile, Crawler comrade Brian Anastasi has tracked down Bay State icon Mal Thursday via Mal's myspace (myspace.com/MalThursday). According to Anastasi, Thursday has no recent larcenies to lament, but he is currently searching for two significant chunks of his Valley history.
"I'm in need of two minor classics of American literature to complete the next installment of 'The Chunk Records Story,'" Thursday stated. "David Berman's liner notes for the Scud Mountain Boys' Pine Box LP and Stephen Malkmus' liners for the Push King's 7-inch Slow Down, This Is Not Monte Carlo." Those who can help Mal find either or both items can reach him direct at jm@jmdobies.com.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
