Articles
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
The annual Puerto Rican Parade kicks off Sunday in Springfield. The parade, which featured more than 100 marching contingents and floats last year, will start at 11 a.m. and go down Main Street, from Wason Avenue to Boland Way. Expect to get your dance on and enjoy...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, News
As student president of his high school class in Georgia, Eduardo Samaniego sat on stage at graduation next to his principal as he and his classmates received diplomas. But in a cruel twist, he couldn’t apply to his top pick school — the University of Georgia —...
by Will Meyer | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Featured, Newsletter
I used to think touring was excessive, stupid, and generally felt existentially conflicted about it. Why should I leave the house and use fossil fuels to do anything that’s trivial? Why should we impose our music on these seemingly nice people when there’s so much...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Newsletter
No one gives Picasso shit for all the self portraits he’s painted. And I’m yet to hear someone call Frida Kahlo’s self portraits “navel gazing.” But right now, the self portrait is under fire. People like to heap a lot of scorn on selfie-takers, folks who have read up...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Kindly Stopping for Emily Dickinson Amherst’s annual celebration of one of its most famed artists begins Thursday, Sept. 14, and carries on through the weekend with the Amherst Poetry Festival and Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon. The fest, held at various locations,...
by Chris Rohmann | Sep 12, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
When Robert Freedman tells people about Silent Sky, the play he directs this weekend at the Shea Theater, they often think he’s talking about Hidden Figures, the recent movie about black women mathematicians who worked as “computers” for NASA in the 1960s. But, he...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts
Alumnae House Gallery: Greenhouse Panoramas — A Process of Reinvention. Large-scale greenhouse images by photographer/artist Esther Pullman. Through Jan. 8. Free. 33 Elm St., Northampton. (413) 585-2190. mhobbes@smith.edu. Amherst Town Hall: Changing Landscapes. By...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Earlier this year, I reached into a friend’s beer fridge to grab something light and refreshing before heading outdoors for a hike (as far as I understand the rules, writing this column gives me free access to everyone’s beer). That afternoon’s chatter distracted me,...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, News of the Weird
Urine Town Massachusetts is home to so many agricultural fairs, it can be difficult to stand out during fair season, which we’re in the midst of right now. Setting themselves apart from the pack is the annual North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival in Orange, Mass.,...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Missed Connections, News
The Missed Connections forum on Craigslist is a wasteland of terrible poetry, dick pics, and whining, but among the detritus are some truly fascinating, funny, and occasionally sweet entries. The following are highlights from the Western Mass Missed Connections forum,...
by Jack Brown | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
When September hits, the kids head back to school — and for film fans, that can be a great thing. One of the many film events that are hosted on area campuses is The German Film Series, presented by the Amherst College department of German on irregular Thursdays in...
by Valley Advocate Readers | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find comments from readers 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?...
by Naila Moreira | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, News, Newsletter
During the summer 12 years ago, I interned at Science News, a national magazine that reports on science for the public. As a young and inexperienced writer, part of my reporting included visiting the offices of my more experienced colleagues to ask them what good...
by Chris Goudreau | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Not in a million years would I have predicted the Governator would be the one to kickstart a campaign to stop the legal election-rigging scheme used to weaken the voting power of one political power over another, aka gerrymandering, but here we are. I am less...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Sep 7, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation on Thursday announced that the creepy Mass Pike All Electronic Tolling project — those 16 camera-laden gantries above the highway — is a finalist in a national transportation competition. The statement they sent out asks...
by Chris Rohmann | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Fifty-seven years ago this month, agents of the Anti-Smut Unit of the Massachusetts State Police raided the Northampton apartment of Smith College literature professor Newton Arvin and discovered copies of “beefcake” magazines he had collected and shared with friends....
by Rob Brezsny | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Two animals are pictured prominently on Australia’s coat of arms: the kangaroo and the large flightless bird known as the emu. One of the reasons they were chosen is that both creatures rarely walk backward. They move forward or not at all....
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Editor’s Note: This column refers to sexual trauma responses. Hi Yana, My girlfriend and I have been together for four months, but lately I’ve been noticing we’ve only been having sex when we’re drinking. Nothing to put consent into question for either of us, of...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Review
The paintings in Susannah Auferoth’s exhibit at the Grubbs Gallery in Easthampton, have one thing in common: They all use the template of three exact lines, two thick, the middle one thin, in colors with cavernous depth. But that’s it. Within this framework Auferoth...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 8, 2017 | Articles, Music
The Buddy McEarns Band is blue roots rock n’roll with a voice out of classic soul. The band performed on the Valley Advocate Sessions stage on August 15. Bonus Interview with the Buddy McEarns Band:
by Advocate Staff | Sep 7, 2017 | Articles, Music
The Buddy McEarns Band is blue roots rock n’roll with a voice out of classic soul. The band performed on the Valley Advocate Sessions stage on August 15 and their full performance will be released this Friday. Until then, here’s a teaser of the Buddy...
by Chris Goudreau | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
There’s no band quite like the Pixies with its blend of dissonant noise pop, psychedelic hard rock, surf-drenched reverb, punk rock-ish DIY leanings, and surreal lyrics that cover bizarre topics from extraterrestrials to biblical violence. Since the band’s 1986...
by Monte Belmonte | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, News
You are reading a wine column that was written by a non-expert: a rank novice who has never worked in the wine industry, or the restaurant industry; who has never been to France (outside of Charles de Gaulle) or to California (outside of L.A.); and who, frankly, has...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music
Unband bassist Michael Ruffino doesn’t bullshit. Outside on the deck at Northampton Brewery, I ask the rocker with a new memoir about music, the Valley, LA, the creative process, his book; and he’s refreshingly candid. How do you feel about the music in the ‘90s,...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, News, Wellness
Northampton resident Bob Flaherty, a radio personality on WHMP, was practicing for a golf tournament earlier this year when he missed the ball and hit the dirt. Pain shot through his arm; he thought he broke it. “I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “I figure I’m not...
by Greenfield Recorder Editorial Board | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Between the Lines, News
Forty years ago, the Shea Theater building in downtown Turners Falls was a shell about to collapse in on itself. But Montague leaders saw the building’s potential to boost the village’s economic fortunes and acquired the Shea. With help from grants, Montague...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, News of the Weird
Score One For The Peaceful Frog Dude White supremacists love Pepe the Frog, and have been using the cartoon character to promote their racist ideals, including through a children’s book. But the original creator of the frog, from whom white supremacists stole the...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Missed Connections, News, Newsletter
The Missed Connections forum on Craigslist is a wasteland of terrible poetry, dick pics, and whining, but among the detritus are some truly fascinating, funny, and occasionally sweet entries. The following are highlights from the Western Mass Missed Connections forum,...
by Chris Goudreau | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Review
Easthampton-based basement rock band Tundrastomper is an experimental psychedelia mutant grown from a vat of math rock that explodes into a storm with manic ferocity. There’s more than a glob of progressive rock stylings thrown into the mixer with the band’s new...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Third Eye Roaming
Google yoga images and you’ll find a sea of thin, white women who look as if the road rises to greet them. Their bodies are ideologically perfect. Their yoga attire and accessories are meticulous. They are serene and smiling. Gee — if they’re so perfect, then do they...
by Rob Brezsny | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’re half-intoxicated by your puzzling adventures — and half-bewildered, as well. Sometimes you’re spinning out fancy moves, sweet tricks, and surprising gambits. On other occasions you’re stumbling and bumbling and mumbling. Are you...
by Jennifer Levesque | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Valley Show Girl
Sometimes you wanna make it out to a show, but let’s face it life happens. Maybe you’re sick, or you can’t find a babysitter, or that snowstorm that’s fast approaching cancels everything and you are stuck inside. Have no fear! Documentaries galore are here! If you’re...
by From Our Readers | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Featured, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find comments from readers 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?...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot
I have a little bit of a problem that most people wouldn’t consider a problem, so there aren’t a lot of resources for me. I am extremely orgasmic. Now, of course, I’m grateful for this and all, but it’s to the point that I usually come like 10-plus times during...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Lady Snowblood at Amherst Cinema // FRIDAY Ah, the classic story of bloody and brutal revenge. There’s nothing quite like it. Although many think Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films are the peak of stylized action in the sub-genre, there is another film...
by Jack Brown | Sep 5, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns
For all its ham-fistedness, the world of Star Trek has done an impressive job of putting important issues in front of its audience over the years. And while the first series was set sometime in the 2200s, it all began, in our world, during the late 1960s — and Star...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 1, 2017 | Articles, Music
Valley Advocate staff writer – Chris Goudreau – is this week’s Sessions performer. Goudreau sings with an operatic sounding voice and has plenty of 12-string guitar chops. Goudreau is also a member of 10-piece avant-garde pop/ experimental theatrical band, The Leafies...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 31, 2017 | Articles, Music
Our very own Valley Advocate staff writer – Chris Goudreau – is this week’s Sessions performer. Goudreau sings with an operatic sounding voice and has plenty of 12-string guitar chops. Goudreau is also a member of 10-piece avant-garde pop/...
by Will Meyer | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Music, Newsletter
I kept hearing that Ian (Thee Arcadians) and Androo (ex-Spirit Ghost, Nancy Drool) would disappear into different basements and jam on one chord for hours at a time. The roommates tolerated it (within reason), the neighbors were never “chill” to begin with. But that...
by Jack Brown | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
One of the more disturbing things about cinema is the establishment of who is a hero and who is a villain. Most often this looks like a white man taking down a non-white man. The specifics may change with the era — from the villain being African-American to South...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Stage
Come Play With Ghosts In Deus Ex Machina, audience members become part of the show — a vaudeville rehearsal at The Shea, the ghosts of the past, the costuming, the makeup —through dozens of disorienting and thrilling encounters, and reunite when the world resolves at...
by Blaise Majkowski | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Blaise's Bad Movie Guide, Columns
Allll aboard! Welcome to the Trans-Siberian express. I hope your journey is a pleasant one. Try not to be bothered by the marauding yeti in the baggage department. A bit of background may be in order so you can properly appreciate your trip. Spanish director Eugenio...
by Lena Wilson | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Film, Newsletter, Stream Queen
In this ever-expanding world of streaming platforms, it can be difficult to look outside the Big Three: Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Viewers mainly feel constrained to these options because of their connections with major networks, their buying power for big-name...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Arts, News, Newsletter
What can you say about how much fun the Blandford Fair is that hasn’t been said 150 times before? The four-day agricultural fair has been going strong for a century and a half, tweaking the format a little every year to keep up with the times while staying...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Since the violence in Charlottesville (and Donald Trump’s equivocal response), much more attention is being paid to a topic that sparked the white supremacist August rally — taking down historical monuments and changing names that many people find offensive and...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Music, News, Newsletter
Crash, Mmm, Moo, Whee! Sounds Like a Fair to Me It’s a few days away, but I can already smell a unique blend of corn dogs, funnel cakes, old engines, smashed buses, and livestock that can only mean one thing: It’s fair time, baby! The Three County Fair is...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Rolling papers and Rodney Dangerfield have long had a lot in common: they didn’t get no respect. But as marijuana’s cultural cachet has risen, so too have the quality and variety of smoking equipment. The humble rolling paper has been elevated to prestige level with...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, My boyfriend refuses to go down on me. As a bisexual woman who has been in long term relationships with women, it’s something I miss. I bring it up and he gets defensive about it. I’m always down to give the blow jobs and don’t believe in not doing so just...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Featured, News
I have a friend, she’s a trip: She loves, LOVES, smoking marijuana where she isn’t supposed to. I call her a guerilla smoker, lighting up any time we’re in public no matter who’s around or what we’re doing. With recreational marijuana now being legal in Massachusetts,...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find comments from readers 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?...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Arts
Amherst Town Hall: Echoes of the Past — Photographs of Abandoned Places explores the beauty of decay and what’s been left behind. Through Sept. 4. Free. Amherst Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave., Amherst. (413) 222-4924. echoesofthepast2014@gmail.com. A.P.E. Gallery: The...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
THURSDAY 8/31 Buccaneer Lounge: DJ. 86 Maple St., Agawam. Christy’s Lounge: DJ. 278 Main St., Indian Orchard. Doc’s Place: Karaoke. 1264 Granby Road, Chicopee. Froggy’s Saloon: DJ karaoke. 846 Airport Industrial Park, Westfield. Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center:...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, News of the Weird
Getting High Off Trump German police, during a random traffic stop, seized a stash of Donald Trump-shaped drugs. The drugs were ecstasy pills pressed into the shape of Trump’s head, and the word “Trump” was on the back. Police recovered 5,000 of the pills, worth about...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, News
Recreational and medical weed, now legal in a growing number of states, is putting an emphasis for law enforcement on pulling people over for driving-while-high. But the problem is that marijuana affects drivers differently than alcohol, is more difficult to detect,...
by Chris Goudreau | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, News
At age 45, marijuana-grower Anscomb says it’s time for him to go legit. He’s been illegally raising and harvesting weed for 13 years in an underground capacity (here’s a guide to how to grow your own), but now that recreational marijuana is legal, Anscomb is...
by Rob Brezsny | Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems,” said businessman Lee Iacocca. You are currently wrestling with an example of this phenomenon, Aries. The camouflage is well-rendered. To expose...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 25, 2017 | Articles, Music
The Jeremy Turgeon Quintet from Springfield, MA, is a funky jazz band set to an R&B and neo-soul groove. The band performed on the Valley Advocate Sessions stage on August 8. The group released its debut EP, New Journey, in 2015 and is planning to record a future...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 23, 2017 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
The Jeremy Turgeon Quintet is a Springfield-based funky jazz band with an R&B and neo-soul groove that performed on Valley Advocate Sessions on August 8. The band’s full performance will be released on Friday. Until then, here’s a teaser of the band in...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 21, 2017 | Articles, Arts, News
Print artist Leni Fried is standing over a silk-screen printer flipping through a stack of stencils of peace signs and words such as “nasty,” “peace,” and “freedom,” but she’s looking for the stencil she uses most often these days: “RESIST.” Fried, a printmaker and...
by Jennifer Levesque | Aug 21, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Music, Review, Review, Valley Show Girl
The white supremacy horror show that happened earlier this month in Charlottesville really got to me. That Sunday, I barely left my bed. I mainly watched stupid chick flicks to occupy my mind with less meaningful things. After dinner however, I took my 6-year old son...
