He may be a member of some half dozen of the area's more high-profile bands and a contributor/collaborator to virtually all of the others in varying ways. But at the end of the day, veteran Valley musician Henning Ohlenbusch has always considered himself a singer/songwriter. And at the end of several days turned weeks turned months, the affable multi-instrumentalist says he realized it had been a while since he last sat down by his lonesome and delved deep into his copious collection of pretty pop ditties. And, with some help from his friends the Lonesome Brothers, that's a situation he says he plans to remedy this Friday, May 22 at Mocha Maya's in Shelburne Falls.
"I was itching to get back out solo, and Ray Mason [of the Lonesomes] suggested the venue," Ohlenbusch explains. "So I went there to see the Lonesome Brothers play, and just loved everything about the evening… the band, of course, and the friendly and comfortable atmosphere."
In addition to selections from his solo CD catalogue and tunes from his bands School For The Dead and Humbert, the evening's headliner says that he may very well dust off some chestnuts that, for whatever reason—not fitting in properly with a certain batch of material, or simply being brand spanking new—never found their way onto recorded media. Ohlenbusch, unaccompanied, starts at 8 p.m., and admission is free.
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In other news, for those in the dark about the backstory behind May 24 Iron Horse headliners The Deadly Nightshade—allow your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler to shed some light on the subject.
In short, these Shady ladies have deep roots in both the Valley and the biz. The all-female band is comprised of Smith and Mount Holyoke alums who signed an RCA record deal that would propel them to national tours, supporting roles for the likes of Billy Joel and Peter Frampton and even the occasional guest visit to PBS' famed Sesame Street. Some of the group's artifacts currently reside at the Smithsonian's Women's History Collection, in fact.
To purchase your tix to this one-night only affair before they all become history and the event becomes a sell-out, go to iheg.com.
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Last up, the Crawler and company were able to both tour Norfolk, Connecticut's Infinity Music Hall & Bistro, a newly refurbished 19th-century hall, and chat with owner Dan Hincks, whose vision and financial backing made it all possible… all the while nibbling on a seemingly endless array of hors d'oeuvres.
With our heads full of knowledge and stomachs full of savories, it was time to feed the eyes and ears and adjourn to Infinity's crown jewel, the 300-seat music hall upstairs, for a private concert. An impressive amalgam of original proscenium stage and woodwork adorned with cutting edge technology, the Infinity Music Hall proved itself to be an instantly intimate, beautiful-sounding venue that lacks nothing—save maybe a proverbial bad seat in the house.
And how appropriate that no less than the Little River Band were the evening's headliners? If this kick-off ceremony was in fact a harbinger of things to come, then little Norfolk—situated in the state's so-called "Quiet Corner"—seems poised for a very "Cool Change," indeed. Upcoming performers include fusion fretboard guru Stanley Jordan (May 24), Billy Joel-bellowers Big Shot (May 30) and smooth jazz statesmen Spyro Gyra (June 4). For more info, kindly point your browser to infinityhall.com
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
