On Saturday, Aug. 27 at around 2 p.m., Brattleboro teen Marble Arvidson left a note that he would be going out for about a half hour. It was the day before Hurricane Irene ravaged the region.

He never came back, and his family and friends have never stopped their quest to bring their beloved Marble home.

“He had a date with his girlfriend at 4 p.m., and she showed up and Marble had not returned,” recalls his aunt, Trish Kittredge. “Marble has no history of running away, and those close to him report no signs of him being unhappy.”

On Nov. 5, Kittredge and company coordinated a concert at Brattleboro’s Stone Church featuring Spirella, Message Received, Clayton Savine, Heather Maloney, Bob Stannard and Christopher Kleeman. On Thursday, Nov. 17, further funds for flyers, private detectives’ fees and the like will be gathered courtesy of the Find Marble Gala, an evening of food,music, spirits and a silent auction that will occur at the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland.

“The support for finding Marble has been amazing,” notes Kittredge. “We are also looking to increase awareness of all missing teens, but we do have a separate, $2,500 reward specifically for Marble, too.”

Tickets for the Find Marble Gala are $30 and can be purchased by emailing findmarble@gmail.com or calling (413) 478-1669.

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Meanwhile, Valley icon Steve Westfield checked in to report that this Thursday, Nov. 10, is shaping up to be a memorable occasion for all involved in his Slow Band reunion.

The special, one-night only Sierra Grille show marks Westfield’s first official gig in some seven years with Slow Band members Kevin French (formerly of The Vandals), Jim Joe Greedy (of Angry Johnny & The Killbillies and, like Westfield himself, a former Pajama Slave Dancer), Marc Turcotte (Treefort), Bob Richards (Big Bad Bollocks), Tom Mahnken (Unit 7) and Joe Hoye (High School Marching Band).

“We had a practice, and it was weird,” Westfield revealed. “If you thought about the songs, it wouldn’t work, but if you let your muscle memory take over, it happened.”

Real Loud Productions is also slated to stream the event live online. For more information, find the Steve Westfield & The Slow Band page on Facebook.

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In other news, it appears that musical instrument dealers and music lesson providers are the next to crumble into a local landscape already littered with the remains of once mighty brick and mortar stores.

A couple of months ago, Falcetti Music—serving the Pioneer Valley’s musical education needs since 1954—closed all its locations save the main office on Boston Road. On October 26, 39-year-old regional favorite Daddy’s Junky Music followed suit, closing all 12 stores in four states abruptly.

“I had to tell people who had been working with me for decades they were losing their jobs, and it was heartbreaking,” founder Fred Bramante told the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Daddy’s Junky Music now says that customers who had brought items in for repair can still call the head office number (603-623-7900) in New Hampshire for assistance.

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Last up—and hot off the heels of a star-spangled performance singing the national anthem in her home state of Texas during the World Series—Demi Lovato has announced an MGM Grand show at Foxwoods (foxwoods.com) Nov. 19 in support of her latest studio effort, Unbroken.

Lovato has made her way up the children’s television career ladder in much the same fashion as former Mouseketeers Timberlake and Spears or Kids Incorporated alum Fergie. After a stint on Barney & Friends, she graduated to Camp Rock and then assumed the lead role in Disney’s Sonny With A Chance before breaking out to focus on her solo career. (Can you tell the Crawler has daughters?)

Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email Garycarra@aol.com.