Articles
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 24, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
In Los Angeles, an all time high temperature of 111 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded. Montreal, Canada, also recorded its all-time high. Death Valley experienced the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, with an average of 108 degrees. Japan set a new national...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 24, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Come back with my dog! Many of us have had the experience of getting a slice of pizza or food item snatched from us by a greedy seagull while minding our own business near the beach. Few, however, can say that their pet dog was snatched by the grabby birds. But that’s...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 23, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
Two timely dramas are playing in the Valley this week and next, while a timeless tragedy is prequelled in the Berkshires, all of them grappling with essential questions of life and death. New Century Theatre’s comeback season, which opened with a riveting performance...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 23, 2019 | Articles, Clueless Parent, Columns, Featured
It’s not easy getting out of the house and out to events with a toddler, but my wife and I have been doing our best to nurture a budding interest in music for our 2½-year-old. One of our greatest successes to date was a free youth orchestra concert we found listed in...
by Jack Brown | Jul 23, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Film
It can be interesting to track how new editions of popular books change with the times. Even the titles, sometimes, can reflect the state of the era. When Lewis Hyde’s now-classic book The Gift was first published in 1983, it carried the wonderfully evocative subtitle...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 23, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
The Taming of the Shrew is Shakespeare’s trickiest play to perform these days – a thoroughly misogynistic tale in which daughters are auctioned to the highest bidder and the “shrew” of the title is “tamed” by a cunning fortune hunter. He (of course, he) is Petruchio,...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Podcast
Michael Kusek, who used to be the marketing manager at the Valley Advocate and publisher of the now-closed Take Magazine, has just come out with his first issue of Different Leaf, a cannabis publication. Kusek talks with Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter about his...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, News
Half a century ago, humanity took its first step outward into the greater universe around us during the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. In celebration of that achievement, Bandella, a Houston, Texas-based folk-rock and world acoustic group made up of retired astronauts,...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Astrology, Featured
ARIES (March 21-April 19): After analyzing unusual animal behavior, magnetic fluctuations, outbreaks of mayhem on Twitter, and the position of the moon, a psychic has foretold that a moderate earthquake will rumble through the St. Louis, Missouri, area in the coming...
by Dusty Christensen | Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
HOLYOKE — It’s official: U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, has a 2020 challenger for his seat in the 1st Congressional District. After months of speculation about his political plans, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse officially jumped into the race on Monday. He will...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 19, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
This week’s Valley Advocate Sessions performer is bluesy indie rock and soul pop group Bad Tenants. Interview with Bad Tenants:
by Our Readers | Jul 19, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Chicopee Police and online bullying In response to “Public Information or Public Shaming?: Some say Chicopee Police enable bullying on their Facebook page,” published July 11-17, 2019. Thank you for covering this phenomenon. I have noticed it and it’s not good for...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 19, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The V-Spot
Editor’s note: Sex and relationship advice columnist Yana Tallon-Hicks is currently on maternity leave. While she’s gone, we’re reprinting some of her best columns of the past several years, and are looking forward to her return in September. This column was...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 18, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Editor Dave Eisenstadter and Trumpy of Hits 94.3 talk about the weird news of the week, including a proposed raid on Area 51 (are there really aliens there?), a mall sword fight using tiki torches, and a loud fart that reveals the location of someone hiding from...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 18, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Colorway’s Last Show // THURSDAY, 7/18 If you haven’t heard Colorway yet, or if you’re a diehard fan, this is a must-see show before Alex Johnson heads off to Japan. 6:30 – 8 p.m. Free. Florence Civic Center, 90 Park St., Florence. info@colorwaymusic.com. — Dave...
by Monte Belmonte | Jul 18, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
Champagne has long been a celebratory beverage hoisted during the world’s most famous bicycling event — The Tour de France. It makes sense. France is where Champagne comes from. But closer to home, our Western Mass wine world is also strangely connected to the world...
by Noah Baustin | Jul 18, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
The Greenfield City Council adopted a new “Safe City” ordinance on Wednesday night in a 10-3 vote, reversing its stance on a similar ordinance in 2017, which failed in a 6-4 vote. Effective as of its passage, the ordinance prohibits Greenfield officials,...
by Gary Carra | Jul 17, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, News
When he’s not aboard Iron Maiden’s private jet en route to a 50,000-plus stadium gig in South America or Europe, Anthrax guitarist Jonathan Donais says there’s no place he’d rather be than his Easthampton home and “triangle.” “‘The Triangle’ is what I call this little...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 17, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
It used to feel worthwhile to list off the terrible things that Donald Trump has done since assuming office in the beginning of 2017 — particularly the examples of his blatant racism. The Advocate did as much in a story at the beginning of 2018 pushing back on when he...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 17, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured
Let’s All Go to Area 51 At least a million people have pledged over Facebook to raid the United State Air Force’s Area 51, a highly classified Nevada military base that conspiracy theorists and UFO-ologists claim houses or once housed remains of alien spaceships and...
by Jack Brown | Jul 16, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
Everyone has their own idea of what really makes it summer in New England. For some, it’s getting that first soft serve, melting in the after-dinner sun. Another might mark it with the first visit to a favorite swimming hole, when the water is still just a little too...
by Jennifer Levesque | Jul 16, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Music, Valley Show Girl
From concerts to theatrical plays, from art galleries to a bistro and even co-working spaces and drag queen bingo. Holyoke’s Gateway City Arts has something for everyone. Located on Race Street in a beautiful old industrial building, it has been reinvented into an...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 16, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
It’s summer, folks, time to get off our butts and take some exercise. A little stroll, perhaps, to enjoy the scenery – and a play. That’s the current invitation from two hilltown theaters. Double Edge Theatre presents a brand-new Summer Spectacle on its Ashfield farm,...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 15, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
At least once a week, Jose Mediavilla, a 37-year-old Easthampton resident, stands near a crosswalk median along Main Street holding signs that read, “Microplastics are in our air and food.” He stands there holding the sign for passing cars and pedestrians for hours in...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 15, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Podcast
Chris Goudreau, associate editor of the Valley Advocate, speaks with editor Dave Eisenstadter about his recent cover story, “From the Valley to the Border: Sickening news on the treatment of migrants inspiring locals to travel down to help.” Hear how he...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 15, 2019 | Articles, Astrology, Featured
ARIES (March 21-April 19): An Aries reader sent me a boisterous email. “I was afraid I was getting too bogged down by my duties,” he said, “too hypnotized by routine, too serious about my problems. So I took drastic action.” He then described the ways he broke out of...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 12, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The V-Spot
Originally published June 14, 2016 Note: Sexual trauma is addressed in this week’s column. Editor’s note: Sex and relationship advice columnist Yana Tallon-Hicks is currently on maternity leave. While she’s gone, we’re reprinting some of her best columns of the past...
by Valley Advocate Readers | Jul 12, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Historical examples appropriate in border discussion In response to “Between the Lines: A Moral and Humanitarian Crisis at the Border,” published July 4-10, 2019. Hello, Dave. My family background is similar to yours. My parents and grandparents were refugees from...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 12, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
This week’s Advocate Sessions performer is Hevvi Synthia, a Greenfield-based band that combines heavy rock ‘n’ roll with synth, swagger, and grooves. Check out the band’s Valley Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 11, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, Podcast
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 DJ Trumpy talk about the weird news of the week. Bizarro Briefs this week can be read at https://valleyadvocate.com/2019/07/10/bizarro-briefs-do-starfish-have-butts/. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley...
by Jonathan Kermah | Jul 11, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music
Twenty-three-year-old Springfield rapper Championxiii, has garnered quite the Internet following nearly overnight. In what started out as a part of his video series “rappers be like” on the short video sharing app Tick Tock, Championxiii’s hit single “Becky” now has...
by Jennifer Levesque | Jul 11, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Music, Valley Show Girl
Ever have a project you are so excited about doing — then mid-way, you get road-blocked and you can’t finish it at that time? Then boom, for real! Another artistic idea pops in your head and you get all excited, and that project takes flight. The never-ending shelf of...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 11, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Folk Duo Tours to Shows by Bike // THURSDAY Fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger and her husband Corey DiMario are playing a series of shows they plan to get to on their bikes. They’ll be loading up their electrical gear, child, and instruments onto cargo bikes and peddling...
by Miasha S. Lee | Jul 10, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Springfield resident and Holyoke community organizer Jacqueline Velez said she no longer feels safe in her home after an action by the Chicopee Police: they posted her address on their Facebook page, along with her son’s mugshot. Velez’s son, who lives in her home,...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 10, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured
It’s back. Greenfield’s “Safe City Ordinance,” which was voted down in a 6-4 vote in 2017, has been proposed once again by City Councilor Karen “Rudy” Renaud. The ordinance, which would prohibit city officials from asking about a person’s immigration status or to take...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 10, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
Do starfish have butts? A sea star at an aquarium in California has gone viral after a photo of the starfish was shared showing it as seeming to have large assets on its lower half. Although it looks like the starfish has a butt, marine wildlife experts at the...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 9, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
This year’s through-theme at the Ko Festival of Performance, is Habitat (human) – a topic that also runs through two more current Valley offerings: How I Learned to Drive, from Ghost Light Theater in Holyoke, and Moving Water, a work in progress at Serious Play...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 9, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, News
In October of 1991, guitarist and singer-songwriter F. Alex Johnson moved to the Pioneer Valley from Fall River to be part of the strong musical community. In the here and now, almost three decades later, Johnson is a mainstay in the Valley music scene. He’s played...
by Hunter Styles | Jul 9, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, The Beerhunter
Every now and then, a four-word notification pops up on the homescreen of my phone. It says: “batch from the patch.” That’s my calendar, reminding me to hop over to Turners Falls — specifically, the 11th Street bridge to the Patch neighborhood — and purchase a batch...
by Jack Brown | Jul 9, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
We often consider our visual artists in terms of their medium — a watercolorist, a sculptor, a portrait painter. But whatever their chosen tools, almost all artists share one thing that is so fundamental that we often overlook it: the gift of vision. And here I’m not...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 8, 2019 | Articles, Astrology, Featured
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’re in the Land of Green Magic. That’s potentially very good news, but you must also be cautious. Why? Because in the Land of Green Magic, the seeds of extraneous follies and the seeds of important necessities both grow extra fast. Unless...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 8, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
“Who knew?” is the question in the air these days at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. For example: Who knew that many of the great Duke Ellington’s compositions were written by someone else? And who knew that the pious religious community known as Shakers had...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 5, 2019 | Advocate Sessions, Articles, Featured, Music
This week’s Advocate Sessions performer is singer-songwriter Pamela Means, who writes politically conscious roots music and jazz. Check out her full performance in the video below. Interview with Pamela Means:
by Advocate Staff | Jul 5, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Brazilian folk-pop with Sessa at Historic Northampton // SATURDAY Historic Northampton will kick off its Parsons Lawn Concert Series with Brazilian folk-pop artist Sessa this Saturday, who will be accompanied with three vocalists and a percussionist. Sessa is a...
by From Our Readers | Jul 5, 2019 | Articles, Featured
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 4, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
More than any other summer theater festival in these parts, Williamstown thrives on stars. For the theater it’s a sure-fire audience and income generator, but for the stars it’s an opportunity. Here they can dig into roles they might not otherwise be offered, and...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 3, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
Sharon Lehmann, 69, was watching the news on TV at her home in Granby more than a month ago and saw a story about militia groups aiming guns at migrant families. She turned to her partner, Audrey Walker, 66, and said, “I can’t watch this. I just can’t do this anymore....
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 3, 2019 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News
UFO abduction memorialized There’s now a historical landmark in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where two men claimed to be abducted by aliens near a river in southern Mississippi in 1973. The two men were said to have been on the shores of the Pascagoula River when aliens...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 3, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
Independence Day is here again — the 243rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But as we celebrate the foundation of this country, it is difficult to ignore the human rights abuses being perpetrated in its name on our southern border. The...
by Will Meyer | Jul 2, 2019 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Featured, Music
Deerhoof has been making topsy-turvy, explosive rock music for over 25 years. Founded in the ‘90s, the group is still at it. They have released 15 albums, collaborated with countless musicians, and have inspired many more (myself included). The band will play Hawks...
by Monte Belmonte | Jul 2, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
Her shirt read “Thunder Cunt” as she sallied up to her bar at The Ashfield Lake House. She had the shirt printed because she says it is her “lifestyle brand.” Dre Rawlings is a nasty woman, in the best most badass way. In the way that would piss off the Commander-in...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 2, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
Last weekend, Strident Theatre strode confidently onto the Valley stage. The brand-new company debuted at Smith College with The Final Say, a dramedy by local playwright Meryl Cohn. According to founder Susanna Apgar, who co-directs the show with Shakespeare &...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 1, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Podcast
Jennifer Levesque, the Valley Advocate’s art director, also writes columns for us. Recently, she wrote two hard-hitting pieces: one about her personal experience with abortion, and the other about gun violence response programs at her son’s school....
by Jack Brown | Jul 1, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
Since its inception in 2007, the Ashfield Film Festival has become an annual gathering point for film lovers of the Valley. With an emphasis on local filmmaking, the fall festival — co-founded by Ashfield Cultural Council chair Tamsen Merrill and film editor Harry...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 1, 2019 | Articles, Astrology, Featured
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When the universe began 13.8 billion years ago, there were only four elements: mostly hydrogen and helium, plus tiny amounts of lithium and beryllium. Now there are 118 elements, including five that are key components of your body: oxygen,...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 29, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
When I was in England recently, I saw two shows at the country’s flagship playhouse, the National Theatre. One is a new play, the other a timely revival, both of them responding to current hot topics. Small Island, the premiere, reflects the crisis of...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jun 28, 2019 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Food Booze and Beyond, The V-Spot
Editor’s note: Sex and relationship advice columnist Yana Tallon-Hicks is currently on maternity leave. While she’s gone, we’re reprinting some of her best columns of the past several years, and are looking forward to her return in September. In the mean time,...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 28, 2019 | Advocate Sessions, Articles, Featured, Music
Lush Honey is a and that makes funky soul and progressive rock ‘n’ roll. The band performed live at the Summit View in Holyoke during the 2019 Best of the Valley Readers’ Poll party.
by Katie Gartner | Jun 28, 2019 | Articles, Clueless Parent, Columns, Featured
When I was expecting my son, I started to watch YouTube channels about traveling with kids. I felt a little smug sometimes watching a young child run happily through a World Heritage Site during a polished montage set to an indie track. “Oh, please,” I scoffed. “This...
by Our Readers | Jun 27, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News
Three reasons not to put a biomass burning plant in Springfield, and what to do about it In response to “Biomass isn’t Clean Energy: Springfield activists blast state plan at hearing,” published June 13-19, 2019. The state Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has its...
