Articles
by Advocate Staff | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Feel like makin’ love? You could bang along to the radio Top 40, Advocate reader, but that’s probably not your style. If you’re not into Selena Gomez, Ed Sheerhan, or Calvin Harris — ugh — we’ve got you covered with alternative love songs. Because metal heads, rude...
by Chuck Shepherd | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
Field work is always challenging, explained Courtney Marneweck of South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal in a recent journal article, but studying the sociology of a white rhino’s dung meant developing a “pattern-recognition algorithm” to figure out “smell...
by Kristin Palpini | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
The Trump administration’s order that all presentations and publications by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency be vetted by political appointees before their release to the public sent a shot of pain down my neck.Doug Ericksen, the EPA’s communications director...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot, Wellness
I’ve been in an on-again/off-again, oftentimes long-distance, relationship with my for-now ex-boyfriend for six years. Right now we have a “when we’re together, we’re together” arrangement and we’ve defined our relationship as open in the past.Well, things are...
by Chance Viles | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
If you have a cellphone and the ability to access the internet,no one has to celebrate a Valentine’s day alone anymore. Now there is a separate outlet for specific needs to accommodate the growing culture of online dating. Want to find a date that definitely is into...
by Naila Moreira | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, News, Newsletter
Nurturing. It’s so often a feminine term, bringing thoughts of mothers, sisters, daughters; of Gaia, the Mother Earth. For a synonym, my thesaurus gives me “motherly.” It’s a term linked, too, with gentleness and tenderness, which in turn are associated with...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Newsletter
If you’ve never checked out Craigslist’s Missed Connections section, you really should. The Western Mass forum is full of wistful near-meets and longing. Below is a compilation of “missed connection” items from craigslist.org. Entries include post date. Someone for me...
by From Our Readers | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Heroin Coverage Doesn’t Go Far EnoughThe reality is no one knows “how to get off heroin,” if that is defined as the final product of a treatment that has proven, predictable efficacy in creating long-term remission from opioid use disorders (“How to Get Off Heroin: An...
by Chance Viles | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Arts
Still Easy Being Green Although this winter has not been particularly brutal, there is nothing wrong with enjoying summertime activities in February. Relish in the warmth indoors at the Mill 180 park for “Winterfest – Summer in the City.” The park is outfitted with...
by Chance Viles | Feb 6, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Stage
Mortal Heroes Michael Pili Pang and the Halau Hula Ka No’eau dance studio returns to the Northeast to showcase traditional Hula. The company commemorates its 30th year producing traditional Hawaiian dance, chants, and art. Audiences can expect to be captivated...
by Chris Rohmann | Feb 3, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
Two shows this week find performers venturing beyond the usual parameters of their craft. At UMass, students in the music department’s Opera Workshop take on Gilbert and Sullivan, and in Northampton, stage actors meet improvisers in a mashup of scripts and ad libs. On...
by Will Meyer | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Basemental, Columns, Music, Newsletter
When I started at Hampshire College in 2010, there was this cool band of upperclassmen that kind of blew my mind. They were called Pale Cowboy. They had jazz influences, but it was clear that making irresistible pop music was their thing. One song won me over, which...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Beyond the Burger If you knew only that Eugene Boris Mirman was born in the Soviet Union in the mid 1970s, you might be skeptical of the quality of his stand-up comedy. If you knew Mirman only from the animated FOX show Bob’s Burgers, where he portrays an 11-year-old...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Wash and Dry (Easthampton) Wanted to comment on the man I saw at the laundromat in Easthampton on Tuesday afternoon. you have beautiful blue eyes. We were folding our clothes at the same time. Hopefully you will read this, I would love to hear from you. Jan. 24, 2017...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
The Super Bowl is as mainstream America as an apple pie filled with mini U.S. flags and red Solo cups, so what is an alternative-type person to do at an upcoming super football party if he wants to keep it real? Represent. The pull to party with the people you love is...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
The first time I watched “Holyoke High Fight! Stop Violence,” I expected to see a video of a couple kids beating on each other or a message from a parent-teacher association pleading for peace.“Couple high school kids from Holyoke,” said an email from a colleague who...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, Third Eye Roaming, Wellness
Brian Leaf wants you to pass gas, audibly, in yoga class at least once.Why, you might ask? He says the practice reacquaints you with your humanity.The barrier-breaking suggestion is one of many in a new book written by local author Leaf, The Teacher Appears: 108...
by From Our Readers | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
One Week. Still Alive.My liberal friends are freaking over the prospect of the 45th president. But to be fair and balanced, I’ve decided to give the new president a chance. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. I think I’m going to enjoy the “post-reality era”...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Bad Vibes Dear Yana,I want a new vibrator. The problem is that my body is SO sensitive that even the first setting on all of them are way too intense for me. I could do it manually, but I’m lazy. Advice? — Vibrators Can Buzz Off Dear Buzz Off, First thing’s first:...
by Chuck Shepherd | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
Schools’ standardized tests are often criticized as harmfully rigid, and in the latest version of the Texas Education Agency’s STAAR test, poet Sara Holbrook said she flubbed the “correct” answer for author motivation — in two of her own poems that were on the test....
by Warren Johnston | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, News, Newsletter, The Pour Man
Broadside Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon; $12.99 Although it might be hard to tell from our contradictory weather these days, we’re in the dead of winter, a season that cries out for deep, rich red wines full of dark berry and plum flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon is one...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 30, 2017 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Once upon a time, Calvin of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip made this bold declaration: “Happiness isn’t good enough for me! I demand euphoria!” Given your current astrological aspects, Aries, I think you have every right to invoke that...
by Chris Rohmann | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Film, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Travels with a Masked Man, John Hadden’s compelling “two-character solo performance,” seems to fall squarely in the by-now-familiar genre of the one-person memoir, in this case exploring a rocky relationship with his father. Except that this one is not at all typical....
by Advocate Staff | Jan 24, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Metal Shenanigans at Shenanigans • Friday Once a month, Shenanigans in Westfield hosts a free metal night. A night full of metal, with a bar in earshot of the stage? Sign me up. But hey, since there is no cover charge, bring some extra cash in case you wanna buy merch...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Spiritual Rez Setting in the West Self-released People love reggae songs for the same reason people hate reggae songs: every slow, delirious second laid down is in service to the beat. Everyone from Bob Marley on down has brought flair, trippy switch-ups, and...
by Jack Brown | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
The Man Upstairs Let me say this right up front: I’ve never acted a day in my life. The closest I came was tagging along with a friend while he auditioned for an open call for extras on a pirate movie, where my college-freshman goatee briefly attracted the attention...
by Chris Rohmann | Jan 24, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
When I was in California last month, I saw two plays by a small, adventurous professional theater company in Berkeley that I’d never heard of. They’re called Shotgun Players, and they’ve gone straight to the top of my Bay Area must-see list. The shows I saw were...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
My impression of the Women’s March in D.C. was one of amazement, relief, and hope. At first, the prospect of joining the march was intimidating. I was unsure of my safety, of how the opposition would react toward the protest. We arrived at the rally site...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Art, Life, and the Connecting Corridor In last week’s opinion column “Between the Lines: Censorship or Good Sense?” editor Kristin Palpini asked readers for their thoughts on a painting depicting police officers as feral pigs, which was recently removed from a...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
From the Daily Hampshire Gazette editorial board Shortly after Donald J. Trump gave his inaugural address Friday, the Rev. Franklin Graham described the rain that began when our nation’s 45th president stepped to the podium as a symbol of blessing. After hearing...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Recreational marijuana was legalized in Massachusetts on Dec. 15, 2016, but the state is in a legal gray area right now as a system to sell weed is established. The consumption of recreational marijuana is now legal, but the sale of recreational marijuana isn’t yet....
by Advocate Staff | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Newsletter
If you’ve never checked out Craigslist’s Missed Connections section, you really should. Like all geographic designations on the forum, the Western Mass list is full of wistful near-meets and longing. Below is a compilation of “missed connection” items from...
by Chuck Shepard | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals finally pulled the plug on Orange County, California, social workers who had been arguing in court for 16 years that they were not guilty of lying under oath because, after all, they did not understand that lying under oath in...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 23, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Dear Yana, I’m a 19-year-old girl who has never had sex. I want to sleep with my boyfriend, 23. He’s had sex before, but doesn’t know I’m a virgin. I don’t really want him to know I’m a virgin, but I know I’ll probably have to tell him. The only reason I haven’t told...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
We All Float On Leverett artist Susan Valentine acquired a kayak last summer. It was worth it. “Leverett Pond is a tiny walk from my studio,” she explains. “On the pond, I was inspired to slow down. I spent many a day on the water’s surface, tooling around and being...
by Will Meyer | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Basemental, Columns, Music, Newsletter
Roxy Leblanc has been a mainstay in the Hadley underground for as long as I can remember. She fronted the band Great Smokey, an earnest and groovy psych group that took a few forms between 2009 and 2016, before calling an indefinite hiatus last winter. Since then she...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Food Booze and Beyond, News
Everyone has a favorite dive bar — a place you can go in your old jeans and sweater, have a beer for under $3 and watch some Jeopardy! with townies looking to unwind.Dive bars — and we use the term lovingly — tend to be physically and metaphysically secluded. Signs...
by Jack Brown | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Newsletter
More than most people, Americans love a good road story. I think it’s something that is simply part of our collective national subconscious, a metaphysical result of the vast physical breadth of the nation. Few of us, even today, really get (or take) the chance...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
The Holy Monty Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a comedy classic that has been creating rabid fans for decades. If you’ve never seen it, the film, a silly trek with mythical King Arthur and his Spamalot knights of the round table, is highly quotable and hillarious....
by Hunter Styles | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
EAST COAST NEW ENGLAND BOY Ian Cat Salieri Records If you pick up a copy of Ian Cat’s new album, grab a pair of headphones, too. Or, at the very least, play East Coast New England Boy with the volume turned way up. Within this static and fuzz beats the meticulous...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Off The Prozacs This poppy punk band from Westfield is calling it quits after more than a decade of making music. The band’s last show is Thursday at the 13th Floor Lounge in Florence. Say farewell to the band that rocked you with their three albums and multiple...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana, I’ve been with my husband for a decade. We married young and, in a lot of ways, he’s a great guy and right for me. But I still want to leave. I did leave once a few years ago and he put me on a major guilt trip until I came home. Things have been better, but...
by Michael Majchrowicz | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Downtown Northampton now boasts a new recovery center aimed at providing addicts and loved ones with emotional support.The Northampton Recovery Center at Edwards Church, 297 Main St., which officially opened Monday, was a project that was roughly eight months in the...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
A painting depicting police officers as feral pigs has been ordered removed from the Capitol after months of controversy and a tug of war over whether the art should be on display. What do you think? As I write this on Monday, Donald Trump is yet to be sworn in as...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
If you’ve never checked out Craigslist’s Missed Connections section, you really should. Like all geographic designations on the forum, the Western Mass list is full of wistful near-meets and longing. Below is a compilation of “missed connection” items from...
by Chuck Shepherd | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
The salary the Golden State Warriors pay to basketball whiz Stephen Curry may be a bargain at $12 million a year, but the economics is weirder about the prices Curry’s fans pay on the street for one of his used mouthguards retrieved from the arena floor after a game....
by From Our Readers | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
More WishesIn response to Hunter Styles’ “Between the Lines: Our Wish List for 2017” posted on Facebook.James Moses: “In the meantime, we’re trying to wish Hillary out of the woods and back into her pantsuit. Maybe the Clintons should relocate from Chappaqua to...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Day One On the first day of a Donald Trump presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, the streets of D.C. as well as cities and towns across the country will be jammed with women and their allies demanding that leaders protect the rights of women through the Women’s March on...
by Warren Johnston | Jan 16, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Food Booze and Beyond, News, Newsletter, The Pour Man
For more than three decades, New Zealand winemakers have been known for producing some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world.Until recently, however, the Kiwi producers haven’t been bringing home international accolades for their Pinot Noir. The country’s...
by Peter Vancini | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, Newsletter, Stage
Reflecting on a Tragedy The night of June 12, 2016, news of a horrific shooting unfolding in an Orlando gay nightclub sent shockwaves around the world, leaving collective heartbreak in its wake for the 49 lives cut cruelly short that fateful night. The pain cut...
by Gary Carra | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Columns, Music, Newsletter, Nightcrawler
This week, a few of the Valley’s more notable country boys will slap on their Stetsons and give the scene a swift, cowboy boot to the posterior. First out of the gate: on Friday Jan. 13, Trailer Trash will serve up heaping portions of modern country rock at Holyoke’s...
by Jennifer Levesque | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Bone Chilling Metal Turn those cold winter blues into face-melting metal this weekend at the 3rd Annual Hothfest! Two full days of killer lineups featuring local bands scattered throughout touring bands. “When death metal takes over New England!” says the man behind...
by Chris Rohmann | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Blogs, Columns, Music, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Partway through last Friday’s performance at West Springfield’s Majestic Theater, something unscripted, overdue, and quite wonderful happened. The show was Peter Shaffer’s brilliant examination of genius and envy, Amadeus. The title refers to Mozart, but the...
by Jack Brown | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film, Leisure, Newsletter
There are times when I look back on my youth and shake my head at my younger self. Mostly, it’s when I think about the dreck that was on in the after-school hours on the local UHF stations: sugar-cereal cartoons that were a 12-year-old’s forbidden fruit. It is with a...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter
So, you want to get off heroin; now what? If it’s an emergency, go to the hospital. If you’re lucid, get to a detox center. If you’re Section 35 court ordered to get clean, the state will place you in a bed put aside specifically for Section 35ers.After...
by Peter Vancini | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Scene Here
As temperatures dip and the ice thickens on Heritage Park in East Longmeadow, ice skaters and hockey players of all ages lace up their freshly sharpened skates and brave the cold to carry on a generations-old winter tradition. Just ask Ryan Morton. He used to play...
by Chuck Shepherd | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, News, News of the Weird, Newsletter
Russian producers are planning the so-far-ultimate survivors’ show — in the Siberian wilderness for nine months with temperatures as low as minus-40-degrees Fahrenheit, with 30 contestants selected after signing liability waivers that protect the show even if someone...
by From Our Readers | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Love for the Advocate Cheers to the Valley Advocate writers and staff for excellence in informative journalism covering topics with both local and universal appeal. Particularly notable in recent months was the “Extra Credit on Question 2 — Follow the Money” article...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Our annual December Halos and Horns issue of the paper, which sums up staffers’ thoughts on who in the Valley (and the world) has been naughty and nice for the past year, only allows us to look backward. But with a new year rolled out before us, Advocate writers...
by Blaise Majkowski | Jan 9, 2017 | Articles, Arts, Blaise's Bad Movie Guide, Columns, Film, Leisure
Recently, I visited the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington where my sister and her family helped to lavishly decorate the rooms with Yuletide trimmings. Yet my mind was not on sugarplums. Instead, it was on the movie I knew I was going to review for this...
