Cornucopias brimming with pumpkins, apples and grapes; canned cranberries; of course, chestnuts roasting over an open fire; these are a few of the top culinary images of the season, at least in the traditional sense.
Cut to the area club scene, however, and the coming days are beginning to look a lot like… Peaches and Herb?
Yep, some of the Bay State's top faces and places will be reunited this holiday weekend. To be honest, your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler can't guarantee that it will all "feel so good"—in fact, he's pretty certain many will feel less than stellar the mornings after these sonic strolls down memory lane. But for certain fans of certain bands, at least, there will be opportunities to get in on some historic audio occasions.
Consider the case of Noho's legendary The Sighs, for example. The former Virgin Record label act of the '90s hadn't been together onstage for nearly a dozen years until the day after Thanksgiving last year, bassist/vocalist Tommy Pluta recalls.
"We knew there was interest, but weren't really sure what to expect," he remembers thinking at the time. "We figured if 200, 300 people came, that would be great, and I am pretty much sure we doubled those figures by the actual night of the performance."
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The impressive attendance—particularly when coupled with the general "good time had by all"—was enough to prompt Pluta and his merry band of power-popsters to come together again this Friday, Nov. 27 at the Pearl Street ballroom. If interest holds, he believes the post-Turkey Day date may become an annual event.
While he and his bandmates appreciate the masses, Pluta says he has learned that interactions with lone individuals can prove equally gratifying.
"You know, last year, we met this one guy who drove up from New Jersey to see us and catch the show," he remembers. "Turns out he had bought our CD What Goes On back when it was released, and played it constantly for years—leaving it in the radio of three or four cars. We had a drink with him later and he said he never imagined he would get the chance to see us live. … He will be in San Diego for Thanksgiving this year, but says he is flying home on the 5 a.m. and will drive up again."
Tickets for The Sighs reunion show are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door and available at iheg.com. Veteran Valley singer/songwriter Ray Mason gets the opening nod.
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The following night, Nov. 28, local entrepreneur Michael Barrasso is giving people the chance to party like it's… 2002?
"The nightclub business has changed, and going to one just isn't as fun as it was from say, 2000 to 2004," he explains. "So I would run into all these people from my former Hippodrome, for example—and back then, we'd get 6,000 customers a week and I'd have 150 employees any given time—and we'd reminisce on this." The recollections led to a revelation: why not invite all the original staff and customers from one of the most popular nightclubs ever to open in Springfield for one more night of bass-thumping fun?
While Barrasso's Paramount Theater is presently unavailable—deep into a major renovation aimed at restoring the storied venue to its former glory—his Skyplex (skyplex.us) at Stearns Square could certainly fit the bill. That's just where he's putting his Hippodrome/Rain/Hot Club reunion bash this Saturday. Doors open at 9 p.m.
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Last up, seminal '80s alt rockers The Pixies wrap up their current nine-city reunion mini-tour with a two-night stand in their hometown of Boston Nov. 27 and 28. Both shows take place at the Citi Performing Arts Center and include all songs from the band's highest chart-topping release, Doolittle, and related B-sides. Tickets are $48 and available at citicenter.org.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or e-mail garycarra@aol.com.
