Articles
by Chris Rohmann | Nov 1, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck, Uncategorized
As artists, how can one watch the millions of refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, not to mention countries in Africa and Asia, and not want to address this issue? That question provoked the latest handmade production from Sandglass Theater, the world-class...
by Chris Goudreau | Nov 1, 2017 | Articles, News
Justin Orwat, 46 of Springfield, has been charged with aggravated murder and first degree arson as a result of a previously reported house fire on the morning of Oct. 27 in Townshend, Vermont. Orwat is currently being held at the Hampden County Jail in Ludlow for...
by Steve Musal | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Arts, News, Newsletter
Art flourishes in uncertain times. From the critical poetry of World War I and the post World War II Beat Generation to the innovative music of the Beatles and the Stones and beyond, during and after strife, creative types will make art. They rush to prove Jonathan...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
November has rolled around again, and no it’s not a presidential election year. But there are important elections both here and in other parts of the country this week you should be paying attention to. Since Donald Trump was elected president just about a year ago...
by Jennifer Levesque | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Music, Review, Valley Show Girl
Later this month, Chicopee’s Maximum Capacity will close and open at some point in the future with new ownership. Will there still be shows? If so, will they include metal/rock shows? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, you still have a chance to get to “one...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News
You know how when you used to stick your tongue out, your grandma would say that it was going to get stuck that way? One asiatic black bear, which are more commonly called moon bears, in Myanmar found this out the hard way. The bear, named Nyan Htoo, had to have an...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Stage, Stagestruck
“Once upon a time / There was a boy or a girl / Who ran far away from home …” But this is no fairy tale. Runaways, which opens this week at UMass, is a grown-up musical about homeless children — kids who have fled from home and are living on the street....
by Meg Bantle | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Loretta Ross, an author, feminist, and expert on human rights and racism now teaching at Hampshire College, is clear on her views about President Donald Trump’s election: “The sky fell,” she said in a recent interview. But the point she really wants to drive home as...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Newsletter, Review
As I wait for Brattleboro artist Joan O’Beirne to arrive at her exhibit “The Scarf,” showing now through Feb. 11 at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, curator Mara Williams brings a museum guest into the showroom. She gestures to the (at least) 12-foot orange...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, News, Staff Picks
Inside Art IV // FRIDAY The Elm Street Think Tank is a group of incarcerated locals and community educators who meet weekly inside the jail to have discussions, raise awareness, and work on a collection of different projects. The fourth annual “Inside Art,” an art...
by Meg Bantle | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Wellness
Madeleine Vanstory was visiting her sister, Melissa Redwin of Westhampton, when they decided to come to Nourish Wellness Cafe in Northampton for lunch with Melissa’s newborn, Lucena. “I finally made the connection, after decades of bad eating, (between) how you...
by Monte Belmonte | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
As we tiptoe toward the holiday season, you may find yourself with the opportunity to attend a wine tasting. A chance to try endless, free, tiny pours of wines and other alcoholic beverages in anticipation of having to endure the darkest and saddest time of the year —...
by Letters from our Readers | Oct 30, 2017 | 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 Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Dear Yana, I’m a 30-something guy in a long-term relationship with a bisexual woman. She’s got a high sex drive and wants to have sex almost constantly. My desire doesn’t really match up with hers but I wonder if the issue is really that her sexual techniques don’t...
by Jack Brown | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns
When my grandfather died, some years ago now, my mother and I spent the days that followed going through his apartment to sort through the belongings he’d left behind, trying to figure out what we should keep and what we could safely shunt along to the garbage heap....
by Rob Brezsny | Oct 30, 2017 | Articles, Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): America’s Civil War ended in 1865. A veteran from that conflict later produced a daughter, Irene Triplett, who is still alive today and collecting his pension. In the coming months, I foresee you being able to take advantage of a comparable...
by Jennifer Levesque | Oct 27, 2017 | Articles, Music, Uncategorized
Reverend Dan and the Dirty Catechism, Springfield-based preacher rock n’ roll with a side of post punk. BONUS: Reverend Dan and the Dirty Catechism interview: Check out our past Sessions performers, including Seth Newton, Old Flame, Shokazoba, and Tang...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 26, 2017 | Articles, Music
This week’s Valley Advocate Sessions artist is Reverend Dan and the Dirty Catechism, preacher rock n’ roll with a side of post punk. RD&tDC’s full Sessions performance will be released this Friday. Until then, here’s a teaser video.
by Chris Goudreau | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Jim Emerson, 53, wakes up at 5 a.m. three or four days out of the work week to make the commute from his home in Wilbraham to Boston. He’s typically out the door around 5:45 a.m. and is on the road driving east on the Massachusetts Turnpike for 50 minutes in his 2016...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Editor’s note: This week instead of answering a reader question, Yana writes about an event she co-sponsored involving, well … read on! It’s not what you’d expect — this whole watching porn in a room full of strangers with your friends thing. On Saturday night,...
by Letters from our readers | Oct 23, 2017 | 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 | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Staff Picks
A Haunted Evening at Gateway City Arts // SATURDAY The weekend before Halloween is usually when all the fun happens. The Valley is full of events going on, and this just happens to be one of them. There will be many treats in store. Halloween-inspired cocktails and...
by Blaise Majkowski | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Blaise's Bad Movie Guide, Columns, Film, Newsletter, Review
I recently had the opportunity to visit the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem and view an exhibit by Kirk Hammett. “Kirk who?” you ask. Why, none other than the lead guitarist for the thrash metal band Metallica. Can’t say I was ever a fan, but Hammett’s collection on...
by Andy Castillo | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
As a newspaper journalist who cares deeply about good, necessary and morally grounded journalism, I must decry a recent trend of sleazy, tabloid-like reporting I now frequently see from trusted local television news stations: the act of sharing irrelevant articles,...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Oct 19, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
In an extraordinary step, the First Congregational Church in Amherst is providing physical sanctuary to undocumented immigrant Lucio Perez. Perez, a Springfield resident who has been in the country for 20 years, told a group of about 100 clergy members, activists,...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
The harvest is in and I can’t believe the results. My husband and I didn’t weigh our cannabis haul from our home garden, but we were able to fill a bunch of regular-size salsa jars with marijuana. This is more than good enough for me! Like many weed enthusiasts in the...
by Will Meyer | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Music
The Young Tricksters have returned. After what felt like forever, the Amherst quartet have broken their quiet to give the people what they want: a full-length album. After releasing a couple self-recorded demos back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth (March 2013 to...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, Newsletter
Uh, How Did That Get In There? In retrospect, it was a horrible idea, but so many of these entries start that way. A British man fishing on a pier in southern England took a six-inch sole he had just caught and jokingly placed it in front of his open mouth. The fish,...
by Jack Brown | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Film
When we write the history of the last decade, the smartphone will surely loom large. Since 2007, when the iPhone was unveiled, these little packages of silicon and glass have become almost literally an extension of ourselves, attached to the ends of our arms to...
by Rob Brezsny | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I share Vincent Van Gogh’s belief that “the best way to know life is to love many things.” But I also think that the next twelve months will be an inspiring time for you to be focused and single-minded in your involvement with love. That’s...
by Lena Wilson | Oct 23, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Film, Newsletter, Stream Queen
The leaves are changing, there’s a chill in the air, and every cafe has restocked their pumpkin spice syrup. Fall is finally here, and if you’re interested in movies, that means two things: nearby Oscar season means there are finally some good films in theatres again,...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 20, 2017 | Articles, News
Activist Doug Wight is hosting a fundraiser for he and engineer Garrett Connelly to fly to Puerto Rico to help install two-tank rainwater-fed drinking water systems. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21, from 7 to 11 p.m. at 237 Conway St. in Greenfield....
by Advocate Staff | Oct 20, 2017 | Articles, Music
Seth Glier is an Easthampton-based multi-instrumentalist pop and folk singer-songwriter, who switches between guitar and keyboard. He’s been nominated for a Grammy and has released numerous past records, including his most recent album, “Birds,” released in 2017....
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 19, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
The timing was kind of perfect. Last week, just as the U.S. men’s soccer team was being eliminated from qualifying for next year’s World Cup, Hartford’s TheaterWorks was opening The Wolves, an energetic if puzzling play about women’s soccer. Make that girls’ soccer....
by Advocate Staff | Oct 19, 2017 | Articles, Music
Check out a teaser video for multi-instrumentalist pop and folk songwriter, Seth Glier. His full Sessions performance will be released this Friday.
by Dave Eisenstadter | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
As president of the UMass faculty and librarians union, it is Eve Weinbaum’s job to fight for equity of all her union’s members. And beyond that, being a woman in a leadership position, she has thought long and hard about equal pay for equal work and how to achieve...
by Chris Goudreau | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from Precinct 8 candidate Kelly Dixon. Following the failure over the summer of a safe city ordinance in Greenfield, which would have offered additional support and protection to residents...
by Daily Hampshire Gazette Editorial Board | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey recently slapped five Valley restaurants with about $17,000 in penalties for paying workers less than minimum wage, violating the state’s Earned Sick Time law and other violations of regulations meant to keep workers from...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Staff Picks
HeART for Puerto Rico Benefit Fundraiser // FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY It’s a weekend of music, live shows, and art at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke all in support of a relief fund for Puerto Rico and the Holyoke community, which is preparing to receive more...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
In last week’s column I covered a fistful of shows playing in the Valley, and now it’s the Berkshires’ turn. Shakespeare & Company’s God of Carnage recently completed a late-season run, and three quite varied fall productions are now running on other western...
by Letters From Our Readers | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, 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 Chris Goudreau | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Music, Review
Northampton-based indie rock band LuxDeluxe’s newest 12-track record, Let’s Do Lunch, is a meditation on crafting the perfect two to three minute pop song. The group draws its influence from classic bands like the Beatles, NRBQ, and the Rolling Stones, and excels at...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles
Editor’s Note: Check out the links below to find the answers to our trivia questions. 1. You won’t have to ask to turn up the volume at this local used record, CD, and DVD shop. 2. This vape and smokeless tobacco shop is enthusiastic about it’s hookahs and...
by Jennifer Levesque | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Music, Review, Valley Show Girl
After having a so-long get together at Galaxy in Easthampton with my coworkers to send off Kristin Palpini on her next adventure, I dragged my sad ass down the street to Luthier’s Coop. And I tell ya, there’s nothing like seeing Pee Wee Herman’s inviting...
by Monte Belmonte | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Monte Belmonte Wines
You already know that Russia hacked our election. What you might not have heard is how Russia has also inadvertently hacked our American wine market. And the two main culprits currently under investigation are from Agawam, the husband and wife team of Andrei Birsan...
by Lena Wilson | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Film, Stream Queen
If you’re anything like me, you’ve shuffled through the Horror section on Netflix, glassy-eyed yet hopeful that somehow, while you weren’t looking, they added something worth watching. It feels like you’ve seen everything in this section worth seeing, and next month...
by Jack Brown | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns
In his four-plus decades of filmmaking, director Les Blank (1935-2013) embodied the best of American documentary filmmaking. While his best-known work remains Burden of Dreams (a wild look at the insanity that was the production of his fellow director and friend...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Dear Yana, I recently had an ~interesting~ first sexual encounter with a man. We had been talking for a couple weeks and it was our second date, and it was all going pretty well. So far we seem to connect pretty well on an intellectual level and there was some great...
by Dave Eisenstadter, Chris Goudreau, and Steve Musal | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News
Do They Make Hard Hats That Small? Ever have one of those days where you just wanted someone else to do your work for you? Well, there are bacteria out there being trained for just that! Researchers at Duke University taught a bunch of bacteria — using gene...
by Rob Brezsny | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I am my own muse,” wrote painter Frida Kahlo. “I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.” Would you consider trying out this perspective for a while, Aries? If so, you might generate a few ticklish surprises. You may...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 16, 2017 | Articles
Get Out! Place to see local bands 1. Iron Horse Music Hall 2. The Parlor Room at Signature Sounds 3. Luthiers Co-op Place for karaoke 1. World War II Club 2. Amy’s Place 3. Doc’s Place Neighborhood bar 1. Amy’s Place 2. Packards Bar 3. The...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 13, 2017 | Articles, Music
Mark Schwaber is an indie folk artist with punk rock influences from Easthampton, MA. Check out his complete Valley Advocate Sessions performance and interview in the videos below. Interview with Mark Schwaber:
by Advocate Staff | Oct 12, 2017 | Articles, Music
Check out a teaser indie folk rock artist Mark Schwaber on Valley Advocate Sessions. His full performance will be released this Friday. Can’t wait until Friday? Check out our Sessions page to watch past performers such as Tundra Toddler, Lonely Whale, and Court...
by Chris Goudreau and Dave Eisenstadter | Oct 9, 2017 | Articles, Featured, News, Newsletter
These weren’t the circumstances in which Holyoke resident Israel Rivera had imagined he would be meeting his nieces — ages 13 and 17 — for the first time. Rivera, who is of Puerto Rican descent, recently agreed to house his sister’s children after his sister Amarilis...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 9, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News, Newsletter
It’s been real, but it’s time for me to be moving on. I’ve stepped down as editor to pursue other writing opportunities and I’m looking forward to getting back into reporting on, rather than assigning, stories. Reporting is how I got my start in the business back in...
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 9, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Review
The weather is getting colder, so it’s time for us New Englanders to look inward for some of that warm toasty comfort — literally. Fill yourself with some happy via one of everyone’s favorite comfort foods, mac ‘n’ cheese (even the dish’s name is nice ‘n’ cozy). At...
by Letters from our Readers | Oct 9, 2017 | 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 Chris Goudreau | Oct 9, 2017 | Articles, Music, Newsletter, Review
Northampton-based psychedelic pop and garage grunge quintet, Sun Parade, delivers a hard rocking album that doesn’t skimp on delivering quiet moments of poignancy on its 12-track record, Shuggy Mtn. Breakdown, released on Oct. 12. Sun Parade consists of Chris...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 9, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Stone Cow Brewing helps keep an old dairy farm going Massachusetts used to be covered in dairy farms. But industries change with the times. “You can’t really make it in New England solely as a dairy farmer anymore,” says Sean DuBois. “Wholesale milk prices have really...
by Chris Rohmann | Oct 9, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Stage, Stagestruck
At the end of summer, there’s a pause before the fall season unfolds — or rather, explodes. Suddenly, this weekend and next there’s a bumper crop of shows in an abundance of Valley venues. By my count, no fewer than seven productions are on hand — 21 if you count the...
