It may lack some of the momentum it enjoyed a little more than a decade ago, when “local album of the year” and Grand Band Slam honors seemed to shower down with the frequency of Mel Gibson racist rant tape leaks. And it certainly doesn’t stop ’round these parts anywhere near as frequently as it used to.
But make no mistake about it: any time Noho’s Aloha Steamtrain pulls into town with its patented pastiche of psychedelic pop rock—as will be the case once again this Saturday, July 31 at the Iron Horse—it’s still a bona fide happening.
“I actually think of it as a recurring dream I always look forward to,” says Russell Brooks, de facto Steamtrain “conductor” in that he handles lead vocals and plays guitar in the band. “It’s part reality, part fantasy… sometimes black and white, sometimes color. But a thousand shows and seven albums later, it’s always fresh and spontaneous.”
“It’s also great to have so many folks express excitement in coming out to the show, too,” adds drummer Brian Marchese. “I suppose that’s a testament to all the hard work and crowd-pleasing we’ve put in over the years.”
Despite enlisting the opening services of no less than North Carolina’s Tasha Yar for this weekend’s Summer Reunion show, the Aloha-ians have also worked diligently to ensure that fans would have to say “adios” to as few dollars as possible (as little as $5 in advance) for admission tickets. To obtain yours, visit iheg.com.
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The following day, Aug. 1, the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Theater (mahaiwe.org) in Great Barrington brings Tower to the people. Tower of Power, that is.
The band that has toured with everyone from Santana and Sly Stone and performed on records with Smokey Robinson and Aerosmith will bring their four decades-plus of funk mastery to town on the heels of their 18th studio effort, The Great American Soulbook.
For those keeping score at home, original trumpet player Mic Gillette has also returned to the fold for this trek. And that’s a situation that seems to evoke equal parts nostalgia and amazement for TOP’s Emilio Castillo.
“It’s so incredible that after all these years, the three original horn players are back together,” Castillo comments. “Having Mic back in the band brings back incredible memories. And his ability to play screaming lead trumpet and then switch effortlessly to trombone is world class.”
Tickets are $42 for Mahaiwe members, $47 for general public and $57 for Gold Circle.
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Meanwhile, over in West Whately, Watermelon Wednesday music series mastermind Paul Newlin is excited about the buzz around his Aug. 4 performers.
“This will be the first time we’ve hosted The Bee Eaters [a bluegrass, old-time outfit from Roslindale],” Newlin notes, “and they are a fairly new band that I’m certain will be playing much bigger venues in years to come.” Future shows include Lau, direct from Edinburgh, Scotland, on Aug. 11 and celebrated cellist Matt Haimovitz Aug. 18. For full schedule and series details, kindly point your browser to watermelonwednesdays.com.
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Last up, it’s been almost a month to the day since the Route 63 Roadhouse in Turners Falls closed its doors, but local lament lingers on.
“I have fond memories of the Lonesome Brothers playing outdoors at the Drunk Stuntmen‘s annual horseshoe tournament,” recalls Valley staple Ray Mason. “Jamie and Carol were great club owners and I am so sorry to see it go.”
True to form, Drunk Stuntmen frontman Steve Sanderson provided a decidedly more candid commentary: “Another nail in the coffin of the heart of America,” he concluded.
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 0071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email garycarra@aol.com.
