Forget about the crackling Yule logs, li’l ones practically yanking your nightshirt off at 4 a.m. as they shriek, “Come on, come on, wake up!” or late-afternoon, fully contented catnaps on the couch after a copious meal. For your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler, nothing conjures up more heartwarming images of the season than the American office party.
There you can witness sights like Bob from legal sucking face with Carol from accounting in the coat room, and that dude whose actual name everyone is unsure of (let alone what he does) hijacking the mic for an impromptu a cappella rendition of “Carry On My Wayward Son” amidst dropped jaws and nervous laughter. Then there’s Steve from HR attempting to conceal his projectile vomiting behind the rubber plants while guys from IT stream video of it live from their Iphones to the anti-company blogsite they secretly run on the side.
Members of the fourth estate have the added luxury of being able to regurgitate clips and columns from throughout the year under the guise of a “Best Of” or “Year-End Review” in order to hit said office parties early. And since the current economy has once again forced the powers that be to close the bar after the first hour this year, that is precisely what the Crawler intends to do, too.
So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, presented solely for your entertainment—in no particular order and admittedly not even that well thought out—the ninth annual Nightcrawler Notable awards!
The Song Remains the Thane Award:
Goes to best friend ever Brian Marchese. Realizing that he had only been aware of bandmate Thane Thomsen‘s birthday for roughly four of its last 15 occurrences, Marchese pulled out all the stops in 2010—dropping a two-disc, 24-track tribute to Thomsen that included offerings from bands the region over.
“I was playing a solo show at Eastworks, and Brian had intimated that there may be some birthday festivities/gift, but I had no idea of the scope of what he had done until I sat down in front of the stereo,” Thomsen recalls. “Needless to say, I have certainly never been so honored in my life.”
Marchese’s handiwork still lingers online and is available for free download at http://thesongsofthanethomsen.bandcamp.com.
The Take Two Tracks and Call Me in the Morning Award:
Goes to roots rockers Merrick Section, whose music apparently has medicinal qualities.
“I’m certainly no doctor, but apparently a therapist at UMass has been using our music on aphasia patients and having some success with it,” reported Section leader Jim Walsh earlier this year. “Something to do with singing involving the right lobe and disconnects.”
The We Didn’t Start the Fire Award:
Goes to the local music community at large. It was this time last year when an arsonist terrorized Northampton with a rash of fires in a residential neighborhood. True to form, however, area musicians proved equally prolific, seemingly dousing each attack with quickly organized benefit concerts at Bishop’s Lounge, The Sierra Grille, The Rendezvous, the Academy of Music and the Iron Horse, to name a choice few.
In the end, a suspect was captured, of course. And in the wake of his devastation, the combined concerts netted nearly $20,000 for the cause.
Other 2010 highlights included reunions by Shoot The Dancing Bear, Joined Forces and the Zone Art Center, the successful re-opening and subsequent inaugural concert series launch at Mountain Park and other assorted musical milestones passed by the likes of Ray Mason (who celebrated his 60th birthday/quarter century with the Lonesome Brothers), Erin McKeown (who marked her decade in the industry by not only performing her debut disc, Distillation, in its entirety, but doing it in the dress she donned on the cover) and The Mitchells (who released their fourth full-length in 11 years of existence).
On the flip side, a heartfelt thanks to Ray Neades (Miss Reed, Beefy/DC), UMass band director George Parks, “Mikey The Busker,” Thomas Major and all the others we lost in 2010 for entertaining so many—so long—with their respective musical talents.
Catch the Nightcrawler every Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. on the Steve Cantara Radio Show, WRNX 100.9 FM. Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
