Articles
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Mar 26, 2018 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot
Content Warning: This column mentions childhood and adult sexual abuse and violence. Hey there! This is a question but also a need for some clarity and reassurance. I’m a 20-something bi female living in Portland, Oregon. I consider myself a sexual, curious, and...
by Rob Brezny | Mar 26, 2018 | Articles, Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): A few years ago, a New Zealander named Bruce Simpson announced plans to build a cruise missile at his home using parts he bought legally from eBay and other online stores. In accordance with current astrological omens, I suggest you initiate...
by Jack Brown | Mar 26, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Film
So much can depend on a word. Ava DuVernay’s 2016 documentary about race and the sprawling prison-industrial complex that has bloomed in modern America is called “13th,” but it could very well have been titled with another single word: “Except.” That word, nestled...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 23, 2018 | Articles, Columns, News, O Cannabis!
The statewide adult-use cannabis regulations are finally in place, but for many small towns the almost-90 pages of regulations aren’t much help when it comes to actual implementation. In Erving, a town with a population of 1,800, planning board members have been...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 23, 2018 | Articles, Columns, News, O Cannabis!
Towns and cities across the commonwealth have already passed marijuana moratoriums and bans as the date that the state can issue business licenses draws closer. Below is a map of moratoriums (in yellow) and bans (in red) in the Pioneer Valley to date. Those cities and...
by Sarah Heinonen | Mar 23, 2018 | Articles, News
It’s an old conundrum: vote for the person you really want or vote for the lesser of evils who has a chance to win. Some activists are trying to give Western Mass voters the chance to do both. A meeting was held on March 22 at Amherst College to discuss the potential...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 23, 2018 | Articles, Staff Picks
If you like folk and bluegrass and haunting vocals you shouldn’t miss Darlingside’s tour stop at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton. I’m a little biased because the four members of Darlingside met while they were attending my alma mater, Williams College but...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 23, 2018 | Articles, Daily Calendar
Saturday 3/24 MUSIC Art and Music: Novi Cantori at the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts: 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. The professional chamber choir Novi Cantori performs a variety of music highlighting art works. Museum Admission. D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, 21 Edwards St.,...
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 23, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Music, Newsletter, Review, The CDs You Gave Me
Northampton-based singer-songwriter Rob Maher’s debut 10-track album, “A Man of Many Misses,” is a an ode to the underdog and to overcoming life’s pains with a wry sense of humor and unshakable empathy. It’s a record that blends melancholy folk with haunting...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 23, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Okay, if you’re into the Grim Reaper, a disillusioned knight, the plague, a terrible stage performer who sees visions, chess and the oh-so-fun Crusades, then you’ll be into Ingmar Bergman’s classic film The Seventh Seal. It involves a lot more but...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 22, 2018 | Advocate Sessions, Articles, Music
Pinedrop is a jammy bluegrass meets rocking Americana band from Brattleboro, VT. Check out the band’s complete Valley Advocate Sessions performance. (Click on the video below) Interview with Pinedrop:
by Gina Beavers, Meg Bantle, and Chris Goudreau | Mar 22, 2018 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, Newsletter
Marlon Bundo is probably the most famous bunny in the news right now. He’s the grand-bunny of Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence and he’s been a wascally wabbit this week. Karen Pence and her daughter wrote and illustrated a children’s book that...
by Chris Rohmann | Mar 22, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
It might seem like a conflict of interest, but for me, it’s a confluence of interests. You see, in addition to being the Advocate’s theater critic, I’m also a director. I work both sides of the curtain, so to speak. When I’m not sitting in a theater watching actors...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 22, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Jeremy Turgeon is a young guy, but man does he have chops and the Jeremy Turgeon Quintet, or “JTQ,” brings a fresh, new sound to modern jazz. As part of Rootstock tonight, they’ll be making magic, fusing the timeless combination of Jazz, R & B...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 22, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Smith College wants Emily Dickinson to just shut up already! There’s no better way to describe this show than “Emily Dickinson: poet, recluse, a**hole.” HA!!! And furthermore, this is “a pseudo-historical, quasi-biographical, hysterically existential...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 22, 2018 | Articles, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
Thursday 3/22 MUSIC CLICK Music Presents May Erlewine: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. An evening of traditional folk, old time country swing, soul, and rock and roll. Advanced Sales: $12, Door Sales: $15; service fees apply. CLICK Workspace, 9 1/2 Market St., Northampton....
by Advocate Staff | Mar 22, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
Pinedrop is jammy bluegrass meets rocking Americana. Check out a teaser video of the band’s upcoming Valley Advocate Sessions performance online this Friday.
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 21, 2018 | Articles, Music, News, Newsletter
Folk-pop super-group Cry Cry Cry, a trio consisting of acclaimed singer-songwriters Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell, is heading to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton on Saturday, March 31. The band made their debut in 1998 with a self-titled release...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 21, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter, Wellness
Even though it didn’t get a catchy name, this flu season in the United States has been the most severe since the swine flu epidemic in 2009. While influenza season is winding down with the melting snow, there are still a few more risky weeks to get through....
by Advocate Staff | Mar 21, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Darlingside // SATURDAY, March 24 If you like folk and bluegrass and haunting vocals you shouldn’t miss Darlingside’s tour stop at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton. I’m a little biased because the four members of Darlingside met while they were attending my...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 21, 2018 | Articles, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MUSIC All Ages Open Mic Night With Host F. Alex Johnson: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free and open to all. Award winning guitarist F. Alex Johnson hosts this weekly open mic featuring some of the best talent in the valley. Brew Practitioners, 36 Main St., Florence....
by Gina Beavers | Mar 21, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
It took Ingmar Bergman fifteen films to attract an international following, and it was his 1955 erotic comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens Leende) that did it. The black and white film follows 8 Swedes (four women and four men) through mating rituals and...
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 20, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
There’s a new cafe that’ll be opening in Northampton in the summer of 2019 where you’ll be able to hang out with seven or eight lounging felines while enjoying a cup of tea. It’ll be the first of its kind in the Pioneer Valley. Cat.Fe Northampton is the...
by Monte Belmonte | Mar 20, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
“There’s nothing in the Torah about the Passover Seder. We first hear of it about 2000 years ago in a book of Rabbinic custom and law called the Mishnah. And the first thing they talk about is that everyone has to have four cups of wine.” Well G-d, if you insist! I...
by Sarah Heinonen | Mar 20, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
The Berkshires 100 Percent Renewable Energy Summit brought local business leaders, activists, and politicians together to discuss ways in which municipalities in the county can move towards a goal of relying on only renewable energy by 2050. This was the fifth in a...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 20, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Boston artists Rick and Laura Brown of Handhouse Studio embarked on a 10-year journey to reconstruct the elaborate roof painting and ceiling of the Gwoździec synagogue. The project involved over 300 students and professionals from 16 countries. During those years...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 20, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, News, Newsletter
MUSIC Faculty Concert: Voices of a New World: 7:30 p.m. Free. Jamie-Rose Guarrine, soprano and Seth Keeton, bass-baritoneNadine Shank and Laura Bolton, piano and Karl Knapp, celloBezanson Recital Hall, FAC, 151 President’s Dr., Amherst. 413-577-2154....
by Advocate Staff | Mar 19, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter, Podcast
Karima Rizk was hoping to have one of the first cafes in the country where patrons could come and use marijuana legally. Unfortunately, Massachusetts put the kibosh on that with it’s new regulations. Rizk hasn’t given up and still plans to move forward...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Mar 19, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana! I’ve been with my partner for a year. He’s in his mid-30s and has some chronic back pain from a sports accident that happened a few years ago and he still takes pain meds for. Our sex life is nonexistent right now. We agree we both want more sex and that his...
by Jack Brown | Mar 19, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
When Tommy Wiseau’s film The Room finally found its audience, it was as a famously awful piece of filmmaking — watching it was like seeing a tornado tear through a garbage dump. Whether or not the director has ever fully grasped the workings of his fame is still an...
by Rob Brezny | Mar 19, 2018 | Articles, Astrology, Newsletter
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The “School of Hard Knocks” is an old-fashioned idiom referring to the unofficial and accidental course of study available via life’s tough experiences. The wisdom one gains through this alternate approach to education may...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 19, 2018 | Articles, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MUSIC AMHERST JAZZ ORCHESTRA: 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. With vocalist Ethel Lee. No cover, free parking and great food. Union Station Grand Ballroom, 125A Pleasant St., Northampton. 413-253- 1607. info@amherstjazzorchestra.com. STAGE/FILM/DANCE PVJFF: East Jerusalem...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 19, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
As part of the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival : Released in 2014, East Jerusalem West Jerusalem is a musical documentary which follows Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza as he records a new album with a mix of Israeli and Palestinian musicians. Broza is able...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 16, 2018 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
While the humans, are away the pets will play, but if cannabis is in the house, it could be a health risk to your furry friends. Doctor Ellie Shelburne, one of the co-owners of the Northampton Veterinary Clinic, said that cannabis is one of the top 10 toxins she...
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 16, 2018 | Articles, Music, News, Newsletter
Toronto-based alternative country, blues, and folk rockers, Cowboy Junkies, creates a melancholic feeling that’s combined with a mixture of genres and a collection of rock originals, cover tunes, and traditional songs. The band is best known for its critically...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 16, 2018 | Articles, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MUSIC Banish Misfortune, Traditional Irish Music: 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Free. Traditional Irish hornpipes, reels, jigs, waltzes, polkas, airs, songs and craic. Northampton Brewery, 11 Brewster Ct., Northampton. 413-586-4997. davemeuser@msn.com. The East Pointers //...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 16, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Channel your inner Streep — or Brosnan — and dance your way to a special screening of the smash hit movie musical Mamma Mia! Don’t worry if you don’t know the words, there will be onscreen lyrics. Come dressed as your favorite character and sing-along!...
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 16, 2018 | Advocate Sessions, Articles, Music
Sunshine Brothers Inc is a funky psychedelic pop group with waves of synth and surf. Interview with Sunshine Brothers Inc.
by Gina Beavers | Mar 16, 2018 | Articles, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MUSIC Big Bad Bollocks: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St, Northampton. Brattleboro Pub Sing: 3rd Saturdays 3-5 p.m. at McNeill’s. Pub songs, work songs, sea shanties, etc. Led by Tony Barrand & Amanda Witman. McNeill’s Brewery, 90 Elliot...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 16, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
It’s the second day of the High Mud Comedy Fest and you’re invited to MASS MoCA to get in on the fun. Headlined by Mike Birbiglia of This American Life, comedians will spend the late afternoon and evening making funny. At 4 p.m. you can take a...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 15, 2018 | Articles, Daily Calendar
Looking for something to do tonight? You may just find it below. We’ve taken our beloved print calendar and placed it online. We’ll post it everyday just for you. -Gina Beavers MUSIC The Big Takeover, Shokazoba: 9 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. $10 – $13....
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 15, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Local students want to meet with P. James Debney, CEO of Springfield-based gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson, in the next 30 days to create a dialogue about ways to end urban gun violence, not just mass shootings. Students from Springfield, Holyoke, and Boston...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 15, 2018 | Advocate Sessions, Articles, Music
Sunshine Brothers Inc plays funky psychedelic pop with waves of synth and surf. Check out a teaser video of the band’s upcoming Advocate Sessions video, which will be released this Friday.
by Gina Beavers | Mar 15, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
We made it! It’s Friday and it’s time to let it all hang out … in Holyoke. The Dust Bowl Revival is blowing into Gateway City Arts tonight. It’s a nine-piece juggernaut of super sonic jazz and folk-inspired music. You might be witness to a...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 15, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
Beware the Ides of March … or not. But you might want to head up to Greenfield to check out Brattleboro’s Pinedrop band. In staff writer Chris Goudreau’s Staff Pick this week, he describes them as “folk and jammy bluegrass quartet.” Lexi...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 14, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
About 200 students assembled in front of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School at 10 a.m. on the morning of March 14. Gathered together, huddled against the cold, young activists solemnly honored the memory of the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Mar 14, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
At John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton, a police officer and administrator kept outsiders clear of hundreds of students gathered outside, but their words were audible in the cold, March morning. Students went up to a microphone one by one and gave the name...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 14, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
The Pioneer Valley has a rich agricultural history and is home to many famous products, including “Hadley grass” (asparagus grown in Hadley) and enough tobacco in the 1800s for the region to be known as the “tobacco valley.” The Valley now has the opportunity to take...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 14, 2018 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, Newsletter
A 19-year-old Canadian went to catch an event at Toronto’s Rogers Centre but was forced to park his Nissan Versa in a garage several miles away from the venue and from there take a cab. But when the show was over, he couldn’t remember where the garage was....
by Gina Beavers, Chris Goudreau, and Meg Bantle | Mar 14, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Smiles of a Summer Night // SUNDAY, March 18 It took Ingmar Bergman fifteen films to attract an international following, and it was his 1955 erotic comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) that did it. The black and white film follows 8 Swedes (four...
by Naila Moreira | Mar 14, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, Newsletter
Two summers ago, I visited the grasslands of southwestern Brazil. I stayed at a fazenda, a farm property offering lodging for tourists on the side. Our pousada or lodge was especially tiny as these properties go – run by a woman and her partner who had rented space on...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 14, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Did you know the National Park Service hosts artists-in-residence? I didn’t! But Ben Cosgrove is that guy. Cosgrove is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Methuen whose “work mainly explores the intersection of sound and place.” Which means his...
by Chris Goudreau | Mar 13, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
It wasn’t always such a bucolic village. Turners Falls, a village in the town of Montague has undergone a renaissance during the past decade. Where there was once empty storefronts, there’s now a vibrant downtown with a plethora of restaurants, a thriving arts...
by Will Meyer | Mar 13, 2018 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Music, Newsletter, Review, Review
Before writing this column, I stopped by Tundrastomper’s band house near the border of Easthampton and Southampton. Bassist Andrew Jones was getting surgical with a vacuum in the suburban home’s awkwardly large bathroom. He then offered me a bowl of black beans, which...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Mar 13, 2018 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
I’ll never forget the Open Meeting Law conference I covered a few years ago in Northampton. Then State Senate President Stanley Rosenberg held the conference in March 2015 for local civic leaders and venting about the Open Meeting Law, which is in place for all of us...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 13, 2018 | Articles, Film, Newsletter
If you haven’t noticed, winter and spring are in an epic battle for dominance; my money is on spring because nobody puts spring in a corner. Today, however, winter is landing another merciless flurry of punches and opening a great big can of whoop a**. And if...
by From our Readers | Mar 13, 2018 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
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 Advocate Staff | Mar 12, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Podcast
T.X. Watson, a transgender student at Hampshire College, feels grateful to the academic institution for the level of aid they received. However, upon graduation this spring, T.X. will still have more than $45,000 in debt between student loans and credit card debt for...
by Jack Brown | Mar 12, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
It couldn’t have been easy to be known as The Most Beautiful Woman in the World. But that was the way actress Hedy Lamarr was presented to American audiences by studio head Louis B. Mayer, who came across the star during a European jaunt in the late 1930s. By then,...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 12, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Well, we’re just about half way through March, which means in a couple of weeks being a woman will once again be out of fashion. But you still have time to celebrate Women’s History Month by checking out the Floyd Gallery’s 17th annual Women in...
