Articles
by Advocate Staff | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
By Kristin Palpini Lady and the Amp Rock n’ roll isn’t a given; it’s born, nurtured, and cultivated into existence. And one of the best incubators of rock in the Valley is the Institute for Musical Arts. Now in its 30th year, the Goshen program to support girls in...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 16, 2017 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
Old Flame is rollicking bluesy garage rock mixed with folk protest music. The local band performed on the Valley Advocate Sessions stage on July 18. Here’s a teaser of Old Flame’s performance, which will be available in its entirety this Friday. Can’t wait...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Newsletter
Whether you’re pulling an all-nighter cramming for a test, pub crawling with friends, working the graveyard shift, or just woke up in the middle of the night with the sudden urge for a slice of pizza, there are restaurants, diners, joints, and donut shops in the...
by Laura Holland | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Review
If a white cube is your comfort zone for viewing contemporary art, then the recent expansion of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) pushes well outside the box. “Building 6” is the modest name of an ambitious project that adds 130,000 square feet...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
By Kristin Palpini Outside Art Amid the apple trees at Park Hill Orchard one of the surprises you will see is a towering silver spear shooting into the sky. We don’t know what any of the other art installations will be, so expect lots more artful surprises at...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
With the ongoing avalanche of reporting on Russia and that nation’s relationship with our current president, it feels almost quaint to look back on the days of the Reagan era. Certainly there was international intrigue then, but today, the jelly beans and faux...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
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. Amherst Visitor’s...
by Chris Rohmann | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Stage, Stagestruck
New Century Theatre is closing its summer season as it began — with “a full-out comedy,” as director Sam Rush puts it. This one is The 39 Steps, a jokey reconstruction of Alfred Hitchcock’s epic 1935 thriller. Or perhaps I should say deconstruction, since it’s...
by From Our Readers | Aug 14, 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 valleyadvoate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
by Rob Brezsny | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “To disobey in order to take action is the byword of all creative spirits,” said philosopher Gaston Bachelard. This mischievous advice is perfect for your use right now, Aries. I believe you’ll thrive through the practice of ingenious...
by Will Meyer | Aug 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Basemental, Columns, Music, Newsletter, Review
I first caught Nanny at the 13th Floor in Northampton this past March; one of my bands was sharing a bill with them. Earlier this summer, I saw them again and had that feeling I was starting to grasp the songs. It wasn’t long before I learned a debut EP was right...
by Jack Brown | Aug 11, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Film
With the ongoing avalanche of reporting on Russia and that nation’s relationship with our current president, it feels almost quaint to look back on the days of the Reagan era. Certainly there was international intrigue then, but today, the jelly beans and faux...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music
Click the image to hear Jack Dwyer’s style of jazz, folk, and blues in the spirit of Tin Pan Alley.
by Lena Wilson | Aug 11, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Film, Newsletter, Stream Queen
Since its inception in the late 19th century, film has evolved from a seemingly trivial medium into one of the most wide-reaching and popular industries. Film criticism has grown right along with it, as academic and journalistic reviewers endlessly argue over film’s...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 14, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
It’s gotten beyond name-calling at this point. When Paul Krugman of the New York Times calls Donald Trump “not a real American,” he now has solid facts backing him up. Krugman’s Monday morning column, titled, “When The President Is Un-American,” lays out a convincing,...
by Chris Goudreau | Aug 10, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Local immigrant rights groups aren’t happy with Gov. Charlie Baker and his proposed legislation that would mandate state and local law enforcement to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests. A group of more than 50 people affiliated...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 10, 2017 | Articles, Music
Jack Dwyer is a local singer-songwriter who plays a nylon-stringed guitar with a mix of jazz, folk, and blues in the spirit of Tin Pan Alley songs from the 1920s and 1930s. Dwyer performed on the Valley Advocate Sessions stage on July 18 and his full performance will...
by Chris Rohmann | Aug 10, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
The Fitzpatrick Mainstage on the Berkshire Theatre Group’s Stockbridge campus is the site of what I’m told is the country’s oldest continuously operating summer theater. For 89 years the building, converted from a former casino in 1928 by Broadway star Eva Le...
by Chris Rohmann | Aug 8, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
This is the title of the play now running at Barrington Stage Company (through August 27). But it might be more accurately called This and That. Melissa James Gibson’s script is a grab-bag of seriocomic situations, satirical barbs and personal anguish that harks back...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Stage
Company, one of Stephen Sondheim’s early musicals, is a funny, relatable, and insightful look at marriage, divorce, and single life. The story follows Bobby, a single man on his 35th birthday, who is celebrating with his married friends — who are all in various...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 9, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, What can we do to build our case to hesitant doctors to perform vasectomies on young people (between 18-25 years old)? What would you recommend to someone interested in this procedure? I have been trying to get my GP (general practitioner) on board since my...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 9, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
Bear Takes Joyride Into Mailbox In Durango, Colorado, bears frequently break into cars looking for food. This week was the first that one resident can recall a bear actually taking the car for a short drive. After likely releasing a Subaru SUV’s parking brake in a...
by Jennifer Levesque | Aug 4, 2017 | Articles, Music, Newsletter, Review, Review
Back in January of this past year, the members of Westfield-based pop punkers, The Prozacs, parted ways. Formed in 2001 by Jay Gauvin (or better known as J Prozac), the band had seen many different line-ups of members throughout their time performing. Gauvin was going...
by Chris Rohmann | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, Review, Stagestruck
Everyone needs something to live for. Some of us have a harder time finding it than others. Much harder. So … if you’re a young child and your mom has just tried to kill herself, what can you do about it? Well, you could give her a list of everything that makes the...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Smell You Later // Thursday The Osmotheque in Versailles, France, brings visitors to the museum on a journey of smells, cataloging the historic smells of perfumes. It’s name comes from the Greek words meaning “smell storehouse.” Now Williams College is taking a stab...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 4, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food Booze and Beyond, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
The thing to remember about summer in the Valley — aside from which SPF to use and which local farm stands sell the best corn — is that it will be over before you know it. Sure, the swimming holes don’t really warm up until September, and the cows at Cook Farm gamely...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
I have a confession to make: I’ve always worried about being underpaid. This concern has been present whether working for a supportive company or fast food joints. Why? Because I’m a woman aware of the U.S. wage statistics that say there’s a good chance I am being...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Blown Away Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Superman? Better. It’s LOTS of planes. This Saturday and Sunday Barnes-Airport, the home of the 104th Fighter Wing in Westfield, is hosting its insanely popular international air show. There will be live...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Ballet and farming go together like fine art and craft beer — the combo isn’t typical, but it should be. On Saturday, Vermont’s Farm to Ballet troupe will perform at Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, an historic farm dating back to 1836 that has long shared a connection...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Arts
Amherst Visitor’s Center: Pioneer Valley Perspectives II. Susan Dion will share art depicting local scenes in Western Mass. Portion of proceeds goes to Trustees of Reservations. Aug. 3-25. Free. 35 South Pleasant St., Amherst. sue1952us@yahoo.com. Anchor House of...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 4, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Go see it, go see it, go see it, here.
by Jennifer Levesque | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Review, Valley Show Girl
Staind. Remember them? I think at one point in our late-’90s lives we were all blasting “Tormented” or “Dysfunction” and relating to the ultra-sensitive alternative rock that was birthed right here in the Valley. Well, times have changed, and people change. Aaron...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Film, News
I’ve always been interested in surrealism, but never quite enough to actually do any research into it beyond looking at some Salvador Dali paintings. But one reference to a surrealist work stuck with me. In the 2011 Woody Allen movie Midnight In Paris, the surrealist...
by Rob Brezsny | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hope you’re making wise use of the surging fertility that has been coursing through you. Maybe you’ve been reinventing a long-term relationship that needed creative tinkering. Perhaps you have been hammering together an innovative business...
by Naila Moreira | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, News
One favorable consequence of always carrying binoculars in plain view is that they help create an international citizenry of nature lovers. I’ve just returned from a trip to England visiting family. There, we camped in the chilly, Scotland-like region of northeast...
by Chris Goudreau and Christin Howard | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, News
Barry Roberts has heard Massachusetts is facing an energy crisis, but he doesn’t buy it. Roberts is a commercial landlord who owns several buildings in Amherst including the Amherst Cinema building and the block where Amherst Ice Cream is located, as well as...
by Chris Goudreau | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, News
The barricade is a small wooden cabin-like structure modeled off the one 1800s transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau built near Walden Pond. A life guard chair stands directly in front of a fence set up by Tennessee Gas where onlookers can view the 100-foot wide path...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 7, 2017 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Editors’ 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 Warren Johnston | Aug 9, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, The Pour Man
Riojana; Rosé, 2016; La Rioja, Argentina, $6.99 Not only is Riojana rosé a very good wine that sells for an incredibly low price, but it is also a wine that you can feel good about drinking. Riojana wines are produced by La Riojana, a certified Fairtrade cooperative...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 3, 2017 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
Hipster Dogs Don’t Need Shots The anti-vaccination movement has expanded — to include additional species. Many pet owners in Brooklyn are refusing to vaccinate their beloved canines, in some cases for fear that the vaccines will give the dogs autism,...
by Chris Rohmann | Aug 3, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
What is it with all the Chekhov parodies? Just this summer Silverthorne Theater Company gave us Stupid Fucking Bird, Aaron Posner’s metatheatrical riff on The Seagull. There’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Christopher Durang’s Uncle Vanya mashup. And last year...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 2, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, I always thought of myself as a monogamous person who sometimes dabbled with non-monogamy, but lately I’ve really been struggling to determine just what my “relationship paradigm” is. It started when I was in a non-mono relationship that transitioned to a...
by Jack Brown | Aug 2, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film
For as long as stories have been told, they have been told about pairs: Odysseus and Penelope, Arthur and Merlin, Bugs and Elmer. It’s a rare tale that doesn’t focus, in some way, on that essential human desire to connect. It can bring us to ecstasy or despair —...
by Jack Brown | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
Summer Cinema Slam 2017 is taking place at the New England Youth Theater in Brattleboro this Saturday night. Featuring an all-Vermont slate of films and artists — the bill includes four shorts and one hour-long feature, with musical act Hungrytown providing ambiance...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Newsletter
DreamCycle at the Academy of Music // SATURDAY You won’t find any creepy clowns here. DreamCycle is a traditional circus with acrobats, jugglers, and aerial stunts complete with tightrope walkers tiptoeing across a narrow wire. Acrophobes be warned: you’ll...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, 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 Chris Rohmann | Aug 3, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Two small-scale productions playing in the area this weekend have one thing in common. They both take place in the jungle. Apart from that, they couldn’t be more different. Slowgirl traces a tentative, emotionally fraught encounter between a motormouth teenager and...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Ray Mason, the Valley’s Neil Young If there’s a mic and some place for him to plug in his old Silvertone guitar, you’ve got a good chance of seeing Ray Mason. The tireless musician gigs up and down the Valley several times a week and for good reason — he’s awesome....
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Ales for Tails Hoist a pint for man’s best friend Friday in downtown Westfield for the third annual Ales for Tails Pub Crawl. Organized by Susie Howard, the roaming pack of beer nuts are raising money for the Westfield Animal Shelter. Things get going at 6 p.m. at...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 2, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Krunkelstiltskin is a heavy electronic driven eclectic rock band with a sense of humor. The group played on the Valley Advocate Sessions stage on July 12. Krunkelstiltskin’s full performance will be available online this Friday. Until then, here’s a teaser...
by Chris Rohmann | Aug 1, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
A highlight of my summer theater season is always the magical change of pace afforded by Double Edge Theatre’s annual indoor/outdoor performance. This year, that peripatetic spectacle offers its own change of pace. Where previous seasons have given us captivating...
by Kristin Palpini | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, News, Newsletter
Music is never just some notes of a melody — it’s always something more, says legendary New Orleans jazz saxophonist Charles Neville. Neville, who grew up in New Orleans during the Jim Crow era, but now resides in Huntington with his wife and children, has seen music...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Newsletter, Stage
We (Sort Of) Hold These Truths When the U.S. ordered more than 100,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to relocate to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942, Gordon Hirabayashi refused to listen. The son of Japanese immigrants and a...
by Steve Pfarrer | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Review
Put several dozen artists in a building called “The Beehive,” and what do you get? A space brimming and buzzing with new ideas and fresh perspectives on art, as a new exhibit at the Springfield Museums illustrates. Marc Chagall and Friends, a display of prints drawn...
by Kristin Palpini | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Metal Reflections “With bounced light, magic can happen. Curving or bending light and the resulting shapes and forms open a doorway for our subjective minds. Whimsical or mysterious possibilities abound,” says Tom Wyatt in his artist bio on the Salmon Falls Gallery...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Arts
Amherst Visitor’s Center: Pioneer Valley Perspectives II. Susan Dion will share art depicting local scenes in Western Mass. Portion of proceeds goes to Trustees of Reservations. Aug. 3-25. Free. 35 South Pleasant St., Amherst. sue1952us@yahoo.com. Anchor House...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In my astrological opinion, your life in the coming days should draw inspiration from the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, a six-day bout of revelry that encouraged everyone to indulge in pleasure, speak freely, and give gifts. Your...
by Amanda Drane | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, Third Eye Roaming, Wellness
Yoga may free you from your suffering, but sometimes you’re suffering too much to do yoga. That’s where the marijuana comes in. Knee aching too much for warrior pose? There’s a THC-infused lotion that works well. Stress of the day weighing you down too much for yogic...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, The V-Spot
How does one respectfully remove themselves from a relationship that in fact does not have any huge problems? I’m with a righteous man who checks a lot of boxes but doesn’t get me excited. I enjoy his company, we have a great time and do a lot of cultural things. The...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 31, 2017 | Articles, News, Wellness
Many people think of massage as a great way to relax and pamper yourself. That’s true, but it’s not the only reason to get one. Massage in and of itself has a number of health benefits. Darius Greenbacher, medical director of Baystate Medical Practices in sports and...
