Articles
Monte Belmonte Wines: Elsa Petit, the Bordeaux-born prof teaching vine science at UMass
I have never been to wine country. At least never to any of the famous wine countries. Not Napa. Not Bordeaux. Not Piedmont. Nowhere. This is yet another one of the many reasons why it could be considered a lapse in judgment every time the Advocate prints one of my...
Could it happen here?: Gas explosion in Merrimack Valley hangs over new pipeline efforts
Across Massachusetts people rely on natural gas to heat their homes and businesses, provide their electricity, cook meals every day, and for their hot water supply. Most of the time, natural gas, which is delivered to residents via local distribution lines, is...
Bizarro Briefs: Frostbitten toe used as ice in drink
Here’s to your health A former British Marine became the first person to drink a cocktail using his own mummified toe, after he had lost it to frostbite during a long-distance race in Yukon. Bolton, U.K., resident Nick Griffiths had lost three toes during a 300-mile...
Sessions Podcast – Ali Kat and the Revelators
Ali Kat and the Revelators perform rocking funk and soul with sax, guitars, and high energy vocals. For the video recording of this session, as well as over 100 other sessions performances, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com. Listen here: You can hear more of the...
Valley Show Girl: Life of Brian
I recently met up with Valley country frontman Brian Chicoine to chat about some cool future projects he’s been working on. A unique benefit show, a solo album and, most importantly, working on bettering his health are just a few things keeping Mr. Chicoine busy these...
Cinemadope: Wild Card
When it comes to superheroes, it’s pretty clear that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has claimed the throne in Hollywood. Picture a big-budget blockbuster from the last decade, and there’s a good chance it starred at least a couple of Avengers. DC Comics — their main...
Stagestruck: Forced to the Border
Two Latinx plays in the area revolve around themes of dislocation — displaced neighborhoods, populations, and minds. Quixote Nuevo, at Hartford Stage, transplants Cervantes’ demented knight errant to a Texas border town, and Not for Sale, in Holyoke, puts the gente in...
Locals take advantage of snubbing out marijuana offenses
Jim Robinson is close to opening a retail marijuana shop in Chicopee, but until recently, cannabis actually might have been holding him back from getting work. Robinson had two minor offenses for possession of marijuana on his criminal record. “I had an active...
Podcast: Truck Stop Troubadours front-man Brian Chicoine on his music and a recent health scare
Columnist Jennifer Levesque speaks to Truck Stop Troubadours front-man Brian Chicoine about his music and a recent health scare. He also talks about an upcoming show at Poor Richard’s in Chicopee. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley Advocate’s podcasts...
V Spot: How Do I Talk To My Partner Directly?
Dear Yana, I’ve noticed that quite often in your column you point people in the direction of clear, direct communication in relationships; establishing boundaries, asking for what you need, and so on, which is great advice that always feels so simple and elegant when...
Free Will Astrology: LeBron sleeps 12 hours a day; you should, too, Cancer
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1956, the U.S. federal government launched a program to build 40,000 miles of high-speed roads to connect all major American cities. It was completed 36 years later at a cost of $521 billion. In the coming months, I’d love to see you draw...
Matthew Thornton on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Matthew Thornton combines progressive folk rock on uke and guitar with protest themes. Check out his full performance on Advocate Sessions in the video below. Interview with Matthew Thornton:
Letters to the Editor: ‘Joe Biden should not be our president’
‘Joe Biden should not be our president’ In response to “Between the Lines: Biden’s Electability Argument is Crumbling.” I have to say I agree with this. I don’t agree with being “mean” about it all, but objectively, Joe Biden should not be our president … It is...
Clueless Parent: My son is ready for potty training. I may not be.
What I’ve learned about parenting in my short two-plus-year tenure, is that everything is a phase, and some last longer than others. When my son was still an infant, laying still was a nice phase — he stayed where we put him. But that was replaced by rolling, and we...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: Disappointing attendance at Area 51 raid, a nonexistent flatulence competition, and biting a camel in self defense
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Learn this week about disappointing attendance at Area 51 raid, a nonexistent flatulence...
Sessions podcast: Amber Belle
Amber Belle is a singer-songwriter with a honey toned voice who performs original folk and country music. For the video recording of this session, as well as over 100 other sessions performances, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com. Listen here: You can hear more of the...
Staff Picks: Tony Silva, the Molice, Mile Twelve, and Far Out Films
Spanish guitarist Tony Silva at Progression Brewing // THURSDAY Easthampton resident and phenomenal Spanish guitarist Tony Silva is one of the Valley’s true artistic gems. He’s been playing acoustic guitar for more than 40 years and his influenced by everything from...
Fall Arts Preview
Who says the arts have to stop when summer is over? The Pioneer Valley, as always, delivers when it comes to creative nights out and interesting things to check out. Here is a sampling from the Advocate staff. -DE Arcadian sounds Date: Sept. 28 Though summer is prime...
Bizarro Briefs: Bread-throwing girl costs robber his dough
Bread-throwing girl costs robber his dough A would-be robber armed with a knife in a supermarket in the UK met an adversary he hadn’t counted on — an 11-year-old girl wielding a loaf of bread. As seen on security footage at an Express Supermarket in the city of...
Editorial: Animal rights is the elephant in the room for the Big E
It is long past time the Big E ended displays involving wild animals — or what should be wild animals — held in captivity. As if to prove the point, earlier this month, Beulah the elephant, owned by R.W. Commerford & Sons Traveling Petting Zoo in Goshen,...
V-Spot: Actually, I will answer this fake question
Dear Yana, My attachment style is avoidant Scorpio but my partner is a totally secure Gemini. He says anal sex will fix all of my avoidance problems, but I think we should just bring in a third and be polyamorous instead. What do you think we should do? Sincerely,...
Blaise’s Bad Movie Guide: Puppy Swap, Love Unleashed
Have you ever done something that you knew was a bad idea but against all judgment you did it anyway? That’s what I did when I bought a copy of Puppy Swap, Love Unleashed. First a bit of background. Our family has been blessed with Sasha, a two-and-a-half-year-old...
Podcast: Steve Pfarrer on David Berman and his ties to the Valley
Musician and poet David Berman, who was a part of the UMass Amherst MFA program and went on to front the music group Silver Jews, committed suicide last month. Steve Pfarrer wrote about his ties to the Valley and those that remember Berman and his music and writing....
Cinemadope: Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Where is the Friend’s House?’ comes to Amherst Cinema
One of the most magical things about great storytelling is the ability of the storyteller to transform a seemingly simple thing into a grand or heart-pounding adventure. A guy chases a whale (or a shark chases some people). Two teenagers fall in love, but their...
Free Will Astrology: A beach bonfire of Scorpio secrets
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Comedian John Cleese speaks of two different modes toward which we humans gravitate. The closed style is tight, guarded, rigid, controlling, hierarchical, and tunnel-visioned. The open is more relaxed, receptive, exploratory, democratic,...
Bethany Killian on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Bethany Killian is an indie acoustic folk singer-songwriter with smoky-toned vocals. Check out her performance on Advocate Sessions in the video below. Interview with Bethany Killian:
Sessions Podcast: Jake Klar
Jake Klar is a local artist who performs folk and blues music with a poetic sensibility. For the video recording of this session, as well as over 100 other sessions performances, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley...
Letters to the Editor: Was Gateway City Arts wrong to fire Cait Simpson over IHEG petition?
Defining ‘bad for business’ In response to “Petition directed at IHEG costs co-creator her job at Gateway City Arts,” published Sept 12 – 18. This is horrible. Gateway City Arts should be proud to have employees who stand up for the rights of musicians, artists,...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Remembering wine minutiae
“Write drunk, edit sober,” said someone who is not Ernest Hemingway, although the quote is often attributed to him. It’s bad writing advice. Worse advice is “write drunk, edit drunk.” And I wish I could blame my own editing mistake in my last column on either of those...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: Explosive bull semen, beating an elevator up a building, stuffed Cheez-It pizza
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Learn this week about explosive bull semen, beating an elevator up a building, and stuffed...
Staff Picks: Out! For Reel, Quinn Sullivan, Northampton Record Fair, and Juan Wauters/Jesus Vio/Stoner Will
Out! For Reel LGBTQ Film Fest // SATURDAY Out! For Reel screens films featuring LGBTQ issues throughout the year, and this latest collection looks to be a great one. Showing both shorts and a featurette, the evening at the Academy of Music will have a film about a...
Cinemadope: Control/Shift
My two oldest children started kindergarten a few weeks back. New school, new friends (one hopes), new experiences. It’s been an adjustment — maybe more for me than for them, I sometimes think — and it has had me thinking a lot of how much has changed in the 40 years...
Remembering David Berman and his ties to the Valley
For a long time, he was unsure of his singing voice, wondering if it was really good enough to front a band. And for a good part of the time he was making albums, he also shunned most live performances, not feeling he could sing in front of an audience. But David...
Editorial: Biden’s Electability Argument Is Crumbling
I’ve never been an enthusiastic Joe Biden supporter. His history on criminal justice — supporting harsh sentences for drug crimes and the War on Drugs — his mishandling of the Clarence Thomas hearings, his vote for the Iraq War, and his lack of support for Medicare...
Deported Valley activist Eduardo Samaniego says he has appealed his deportation
In one of his first public statements since being deported in February, immigrant rights activist Eduardo Samaniego wrote about the support he received from his friends and of the difficulties of the time he spent in prison, also stating he has appealed his...
Valley Show Girl: Ascendant, the Latest Release from Easthampton’s Problem With Dragons
“Yo Jenny!!!!” I saw on my phone screen a couple months ago from Easthampton musician Robert Ives. “Want to do a review of new unreleased PWD album?” “Um, duh!” I responded. I’ve been a fan of the doom, stoner metal band Problem With Dragons for years. Listening to...
Bizarro Briefs: A Race to the Top
A Race to the Top The 2016 world champion of sport climbing took on an unexpected challenger earlier this month: an elevator. The 26-year-old Polish man, Marcin Dzienski, raced a neon-lit elevator on the side of a Warsaw hotel and reached the top of a 75-foot...
Stagestruck: Badass Women
These days it seems you can’t put on a play without your publicity assuring the public it’s going to be funny – no matter what play it is. (“Hamlet, a timeless tragedy with doses of wacky humor.”) So it might be a little suspect to report that Silverthorne Theater...
Podcast: Gena Mangiaratti on student-teacher sexual relationships in Massachusetts
Gena Mangiaratti speaks about her Advocate cover story in which she spoke with Gina Rose Napolitano, a young woman who says she engaged in a sexual relationship with a teacher at her school. The relationship had consequences that affected her mental health, she said....
V-Spot: How Do I Raise a Sex-Positive Kid?
Hi Yana! My partner and I are people who were raised in households where sex was not discussed; indeed, in my house all questions and curiosity about sex were avoided and suppressed. As such, as adults and now parents of a young child, I feel we need support and tools...
Free Will Astrology: Be pure as peanut butter, Virgo
ARIES (March 21-April 19): We’re in the equinoctial season. During this pregnant pause, the sun seems to hover directly over the equator; the lengths of night and day are equal. For all of us, but especially for you, it’s a favorable phase to conjure and cultivate...
Ona Canoa on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Ona Canoa combines three-part folk harmonies with baritone uke, flute, and guitar. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Ona Canoa:
Letters to the editor: A lifetime of suffering for a moment’s diversion?
A lifetime of suffering for a moment’s diversion? It’s time for the Big E to stop featuring animal abuse as a cheap diversion. Times have changed since the early days of this festival, and most folks do not enjoy seeing wild animals living such unnatural and horrific...
Bizarro Briefs: Praying with Robot Priests
Praying with Robot Priests Religion, that opiate of the masses, has found a new way to spread dystopia — robot priests. A robot named Mindar is operating at a 400-year-old Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and is programmed to give sermons. Right now it only knows one...
Valley Advocate Sessions Podcast: OroborO
OroborO combines experimental rock with punk, metal, and mathy riffs. For the video recording of this session, as well as over 100 other sessions performances, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com.
The Beerhunter: Caleb Hiliadis Takes the Lead at Amherst Brewing
When Amherst Brewing Company opened it doors in 1997, Caleb Hiliadis was just five years old. Now, at 27, he’s running the joint. Well, not the whole joint — just the brewhouse. But that brewhouse has evolved through many twists and turns over the years. And the beers...
Staff Picks: Irish Fest, Northampton Arts Night Out, Chillifest, and Mead Art Museum
Millpond.Live & Easthampton Irish Festival // SATURDAY This Saturday marks the return of Easthampton’s Irish Fest to close out this season of Millpond.Live. The free outdoor music series at Millside Park will bring a blend of Irish, Scottish, and French Canadian...
‘I Was Told What He Did To Me Was Legal’: Woman testifies about teen relationship with Granby teacher to change state consent laws
When Gina Rose Napolitano was a freshman in college, she received an unexpected call from the Granby police. An officer asked if a teacher at her high school had sexual contact with her. She said no. That was in early 2017, and she was still communicating with the man...
Stagestruck: On the Border, and Beyond
Two shows coming to this area have Mexican echoes. One is a children’s-story allegory of the current border crisis, the other a Mexican dramedy with an international range. Ropes, by Bárbara Colio, has been performed extensively in Spanish-speaking countries,...
Editorial: Where is Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement in the Neal-Morse race?
Massachusetts Senator and presidential Front-Runner-To-Be Elizabeth Warren made waves this week by endorsing two progressive Democratic challengers to sitting conservative Democrats in districts in Illinois and Texas. These insurgent candidates — immigration lawyer...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: Awful gun testing, robot priests, and a poop knife
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about awful gun testing, robot priests, and a poop knife. Listen here: You can hear more of...
Basemental Farewell: Was I a Music Critic?
Editor’s note: This is Will Meyer’s last column as the author of Basemental. A music critic is something I’d never thought I’d be. I hardly knew anything about music, I certainly was no authority. I was a little surprised when former Adovcate editors...
Free Will Astrology: Stop worrying, Aries
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Hi, I’m your sales representative for UnTherapy, a free program designed to provide healing strategies for people who are trying too hard. Forgive me for being blunt, but I think you could benefit from our services. I don’t have space here...
Petition directed at IHEG costs co-creator her job at Gateway City Arts
In mid-August, an online petition calling for touring bands to boycott Iron Horse Entertainment Group venues began collecting signatures of musicians, performers, and community members. Less than three weeks later, an organizer of the boycott lost her job at Gateway...
Podcast: The consequences of working third shift
Editorial intern Jonathan Kermah talks about the night shift, both from his own perspective working nights at a local gas station as well as speaking with first responders and a sleep expert. His article on the topic can be found here. Listen here: You can hear more...
The V-Spot: Yana’s short-and-sweet anal education
Hi Yana, My husband just started letting me put a finger up his anus for stimulation and he’s loving it. Now, how do I make sure I’m pleasuring him in the best way possible? —Derriere Digiter Dear Digiter, My two main pieces of advice for making sure your partner is...
Cinemadope: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live at the Academy of Music
One of the great pleasures of movie-going, in my experience, is going alone. Even when surrounded by strangers in the dark, there is something wonderfully personal about being blanketed by the sound and image of a big screen projection; a show just for you, where you...
Born IV Blues on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Born IV Blues is a teenage soulful blues band from the Berkshires. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Born IV Blues:
Letters to the Editor: RIP Frances Crowe
RIP Frances Crowe In response to “‘An organizer to the very end’: Northampton activist Frances Crowe dies at age 100,” on Page 6. How sad to learn that we’ve lost Frances Crowe. But she had a good run, 100 years. When I heard of her death my thought was, “She lives on...E-Edition
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