Articles
‘It’s sort of hanging over everything’: Local doctor volunteering at Mexico border talks about coronavirus concerns at refugee camps
David Katz, a retired family practice physician from Northampton, arrived in Brownsville, Texas, on March 14 to help refugees across the border living in a camp in Matamoros, Mexico. He planned on arriving with two other physicians, one of which is also from...
Podcast: Seeking Asylum in Western Mass Part 1, fleeing violence to arrive
Staff writer Luis Fieldman speaks about the first part of his three-part series on asylum seekers coming to Western Mass. This part focuses on the stories of Ramon and Santiago, whose names we changed to protect their identities as they escaped violence in their home...
V-Spot: The non-monogamous rumor mill and me
Hi Yana, After 16 years of monogamy, my wife and I decided to try polyamory a few years ago. It’s going well and we’ve grown a lot. Our marriage is truly stronger than ever. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves, about relationships and, major bonus, the sex within our...
Stagestruck: State of Plays
Yesterday morning I filed my column for next week’s Advocate, previewing upcoming screenings in Amherst Cinema’s National Theatre Live series. Yesterday afternoon I cancelled it when the cinema announced it’s closing until at least April 17th. There won’t be a...
Bizarro Briefs: More Than Just Birdcage Liner
More Than Just Birdcage Liner At the Advocate, we’ve had our fair share of readers disagreeing with our coverage claim the only thing this paper is good for is lining their birdcages. Well, an Australian newspaper took things a step further, and printed extra blank...
Henning Ohlenbusch on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Henning Ohlenbusch is a Northampton-based singer-songwriter who performs acoustic indie rock and anti-folk with a sense of humor. Check out his Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Henning Ohlenbusch:
The CD’s You Gave Me: Grunge and indie rock with musical clones
Take one part grunge, another part shoegaze pop, and throw in some indie rock in the vein of Elliott Smith, and you have the building blocks of Taking Space the debut nine-song, full-length album by local songwriter Aaron Noble. What’s immediately striking about this...
Seeking Asylum in Western Mass Part 1 of 3: Fleeing danger and violence to arrive in the Valley
Editor’s note: Due to the dangers facing those seeking asylum and their families in their home countries, as well as the sensitive nature of their legal cases, the Advocate is using pseudonyms Ramon and Santiago for two asylum seekers featured in this story and...
Editorial: Investigating the treatment of asylum seekers in the U.S.
This week, the Advocate begins a three-part series by Luis Fieldman about asylum seekers who have made it to western Massachusetts, and those who have helped to get them here. Political stability is something we in the United States take for granted. Even having the...
Seeking Asylum Series: Trump has made seeking asylum harder
Over the course of the Trump presidency, seeking asylum in the United States has become more difficult. Below are some policies implemented by the Trump administration that have placed additional obstacles before asylum seekers in recent years. Detaining asylum...
The Beerhunter: Road Trip to Southern Worcester County
I was a kid from the Western Mass hills, and proud of it. But at my far-off college campus, where I’d flown in search of a higher education wearing Teva sandals and an Enter the Haggis hat, my college friends would raise their eyebrows when I’d say I came from...
Cinemadope: Dog Days
“All it takes is one bad day,” a famous cartoon villain once said, “to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy.” And while Kelly Reichardt’s 2008 film Wendy and Lucy is about as far as one can get from the world of the Dark Knight, it takes that “one bad day” idea and...
Podcast: Coronavirus preparations in the Valley discussed by Chris Goudreau
Valley Advocate Associate Editor Chris Goudreau speaks with Editor Dave Eisenstadter about local preparations for the coronavirus in the Pioneer Valley, based on reporting he did speaking with hospitals, municipalities, and individuals. In the time since this podcast...
V-Spot: Has My Date Been Canceled?
Writer’s note: I’ve added completely random and fake names into this column for reading clarity! Hi Yana, I ran into Sam who is a friend of mine that I have been distancing myself from because I think they’re mean and selfish. Sam invited me out and I said “Oh, I have...
Peter J. Newland on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions performer is blues/ rock singer and songwriter Peter J. Newland (of legendary Valley-based band FAT). Check out his performance in the video below. Interview with Peter J. Newland:
Bizarro Briefs: Gecko CPR
Gecko CPR A man from Australia might have saved a tiny gecko’s life after he fished the lizard out of his beer at a pub and then performed CPR on the animal when it seemingly stopped breathing. The man thought staff at the Amble Inn in Corindi Beach, New South Wales...
Staff Picks: Loudon Wainwright III, Valley Voices Story Slam, 13th Floor Music Lounge show, and Irish music
Loundon Wainwright III at the Iron Horse // Saturday There are few songwriters who have raided their family history as much as Loudon Wainwright III — and even fewer who have done it as successfully. Like a guy on the proverbial psychiatrist’s couch, the veteran...
Editorial: Lessons from a less-than-super Tuesday
It’s Opposite Day in the Democratic primary. Super Tuesday was forecast to be a major victory for the progressive movement, culminating in a possibly insurmountable delegate lead for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with moderates hopelessly divided. Instead, former Vice...
Coronavirus under the Microscope: Western Mass hospitals, municipalities, and individuals prepare for a possible outbreak
With countries across the world responding to the threat of coronavirus outbreaks, here in Massachusetts and, more locally, in the Pioneer Valley, local hospitals and municipalities are working to prepare and plan for a potential outbreak of the new respiratory viral...
Valley Show Girl: Experimental Noise Fixations
“Our focus is equal parts towards experimental art and hosting great DJ nights,” Ten Forward owner Sarah Lanzillotta told me through an email. “We aim to serve as a home for artists in Western MA to grow creatively, to try out ideas with one another, and as a resource...
Editorial: Preserving community amid a communicable disease
I’ve watched with growing concern the reports about the coronavirus morphing from an outbreak local to a region of China into what health experts are warning could become a full-blown pandemic. It’s important to state up front that the risk of contracting the virus in...
Stagestruck: One-Pitch Wonder
In baseball parlance, having “a cup of coffee” refers to a player who is called up from the minors for a brief stint with the major-league team – staying just long enough to have a figurative cuppa. Stan Freeman’s The Pitch is about a fictional ballplayer who barely...
The V-Spot: Can My Clit Learn to Trust Again?
Dear Yana, I recently got out of a seven-year relationship and a five-year heterosexual marriage. Initially, we had a very regular and healthy sexual relationship but over time it disintegrated to an essentially sexless relationship. He had an affair and we divorced....
Brian Dickens on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions performer is Americana/ folk singer-songwriter Brian Dickens who brings a contemporary feel to classic folk inspired songs. Check out his Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Brian Dickens:
Local drone pilots organize national protest against FAA rule changes, citing privacy and expense concerns
A local man concerned about new rules proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) affecting drone pilots is organizing a national protest in Washington, D.C., this weekend. Michael Duhl of Deerfield is the head organizer of “Help Save Our Hobby,” which will...
Staff Picks: Celseigh’s album release, ‘Peter and the Starcatcher,’ Bernie Sanders, and DREAM Project
Celseigh’s Album Release Party at the 413 // FRIDAY Doom ballad folk and outlaw country inspired artist (and Valley Advocate Sessions alumna) Celseigh will be releasing her debut album, “Ghosts’ Stories,” at the 413 in Easthampton this Friday. The show will also...
Stagestruck: Plain Jane
Jane Eyre may be the most-adapted of 19th-century English novels, and that’s saying something, in a field shared with Austen and Dickens. The Wikipedia entry for Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 gothic masterpiece lists over 50 film, radio and TV versions, together with dozens...
Spring Arts Preview 2020
Spring is in the air. Sort of. In some ways, after a snowy start, it has felt that winter didn’t come at all. But with clocks about to change to Daylight Savings (on Sunday, March 8!) it’s time to come out of our shells and check out a good show or museum. Here is an...
Cinemadope: Toon in — animation for the late-night crowd
In the run-up to the Oscars a few weeks ago, you might have seen a flurry of activity from local theaters as they featured the yearly roundup of animated short films that were vying for the golden statuette. It’s always a treat to see that collection of film on the...
Clueless Parent: Another one on the way
For the past three-plus years, I’ve been the parent of an amazing child. In a couple months time, I will be a parent of two. A friend who has two children recently told me that it would be impossible to describe to me the amount of work that will go into parenting...
Stagestruck: Facts & Fancies
In these fake-news days, when fiction rules the cybersphere and truth is called a lie (and vice versa), the lifespan of a fact can be the length of a tweet (if it’s not stillborn). The play now running at TheaterWorks in Hartford (through March 8) can’t help but be...
Podcast: Chris Goudreau on the end of free recycling in Western Mass
Since China has stopped accepting much of the United States’ recycling, many communities have had to pay to have their recyclables hauled away. Western Mass has been spared that up to now, but beginning July 1 that will change. Writer Chris Goudreau speaks about...
The V-Spot: How to break the habit of not having sex
Hi Yana, My partner and I get into the habit of not having sex. We have a bunch of kids, full-time jobs, and all of that. It causes emotional tension to build and then we use that as an excuse to not sexually connect. We fall into a very platonic state. However, I’m...
Stagestruck: Peter Pan, Meet Lizzie Borden
Two of the shows coming up on three Five College stages this week and next are family-friendly journeys into Neverland’s backstory. The other is a rock musical about a sensational axe murder. First up is Finding Neverland, the musical based on the 2004 film. It was...
Black Pyramid on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions performer is Black Pyramid, a psychedelic war metal band with doom and stoner metal influences. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Black Pyramid:
Monte Belmonte Wines: (Gently) trashing California wine
In my last column, I mentioned how my main motivations for writing this column are to justify my habit and to get free wine, and how I’ve succeeded on both counts. I also wrote about some rather good wines that just miraculously showed up on my doorstep, as if...
Staff Picks: Wet’suwet’en Nation fundraiser, Wishbone Zoë, Shelter Me: In Times of Need, and a Sherlock Holmes mystery
Fundraiser for The Wet’suwet’en Nation at Majestic Saloon // FRIDAY The Majestic Saloon and Lupinewood, a trans sanctuary in Greenfield, are holding a fundraiser for the Wet’suwet’en Nation, an indigenous group in the British Columbia region. The Wet’suwet’en Nation...
Free recycling in Western Mass is about to end: What people are doing about it at the local and state level
For three years, since China instituted stricter purity standards in the recyclable materials they accept, a single piece of paper has shielded most Western Mass communities from the higher price of recycling experienced in much of the country: a multi-year contract...
Editorial: It really is time to abolish ICE
Tactical forces are descending upon Massachusetts. What is the existential threat that brought this about? A hunt for the undocumented among us. WBUR reported last week that “SWAT-like immigration officers” are in Boston, and possibly will be coming to other parts of...
Bizarro Briefs: The Bite of a Yogi
The Bite of a Yogi A 46-year-old Maryland woman is charged in court with second-degree assault after she allegedly bit a man’s neck for peeing on her yoga mat in late January. The story appeared in the Baltimore Sun last week. Although there are still details to come...
Valley Show Girl: ‘Soulfly! … Fly High! … Soulfly! … Fly Free!’
Arizona-based metal band Soulfly are coming back to our local music scene here in the Valley on their latest tour. They were here in 2014 when they played to a complete packed house at Maximum Capacity in Chicopee. The same venue under a different name, Poor Richards,...
Stagestruck: The Shape of Silence
In 1981, Ota Shogo had a vision: “A broken faucet center stage. A thin line of water from the spout. The sound of water. A variety of people come by, approach, touch the water, and pass on. In this composition, silence breathes as living human time, not as form.” From...
The V-Spot: We’re BOTH Healing From Trauma
Writer’s note: In this week’s column, we talk about childhood sexual abuse. Hi Yana, I’m a childhood sexual abuse survivor and I worked really hard to put my mental and emotional well-being back in order. I met my husband during the initial stages of my healing and he...
Sister Jawbone on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions band is gospel-tinged vintage soul and bluesy rock group Sister Jawbone. Check out the band’s performance in the video below. Interview with Sister Jawbone:
Staff Picks: Hawthorn, KidsBestFest, Ruth Garbus, and a staged Smith play reading
Shea Lobby Series Presents: Sweet Lightning, Wallace Field, and Hawthorn // SUNDAY Boston-based duo Hawthorn, made up by Heather Scott and Taylor Holland, blend their voices expertly in arrangements that tackle themes of maternity, divorce, parenting, and healing from...
Stagestruck: Filling in the Blank
Brian Stanton, an aspiring actor, is doing a class exercise based on Oedipus Rex, and he freezes. The story of the Greek king who’s tragically ignorant of his real parents strikes too close to home. Brian, like Oedipus, was adopted, and like Oedipus he’s both eager...
Endorsement: Bernie Sanders for President
Democrats, and truly all Americans outside of the president’s devoted base, have now been spending years trying to think up who best to challenge Trump to vote him out of office. The editorial staff at the Valley Advocate is unanimous. Our choice is Vermont Senator...
Beerhunter: Vanished Valley opens new taproom and kitchen in Ludlow
For better or worse, craft beer fans tend to think like tourists, with an eager eye toward the next brewery opening and a fondness for day-long taproom treks. I can understand the excitement, given how quickly the American craft beer map continues to grow. As I noted...
Bizarro Briefs: You’ve Got (lots of) Mail
You’ve Got (lots of) Mail In what we can only imagine was a scene reminiscent of Harry Potter’s acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a couple from Ohio received 55,000 identical letters. But the contents of those letters — and the reason there...
Cinemadope: Screen Time
I still remember that day, bright with promise, just after the new year had dawned, when my children finally had to go to school again. Don’t get me wrong, I love the little scamps more than I’ve ever loved anything on this earth, but two weeks of holidays, sugar, and...
Some Advocate Accolades: Staff wins 4 NENPA awards at this year’s newspaper conference
The Advocate took home four awards at this year’s New England Better Newspaper Competition, including a first place award for a front page design by Jennifer Levesque. The winning design of the March 28 Valley Advocate earlier this year featured the cover story...
The V-Spot: Can I open up my relationship to date my ex?
Hi Yana, I’m currently one year and six months deep into a heterosexual relationship with my boyfriend. I’ve long regretted not asking for an open relationship from the beginning. I’m bisexual and I’ve always been in monogamous relationships. For the past two to three...
Stagestruck: Stand Tall, Mi Gente!
The name of the Performance Project’s youth program, First Generation, comes from its entrance requirement. All the participants identify as being a “first” in their family – the first to grow up in this country, to graduate high school or go to college, to be...
Caylin Lee on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions artist is Caylin Lee, a singer-songwriter who writes modern country with slice of life pop wisdom. Check out her Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Caylin Lee:
Letters to the Editor: Are we there yet?
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we now living under the rule of an authoritarian style government? Do we have a supreme leader who rules as a dictator want-to-be? Has our government become subject to fascism? Have we sacrificed freedom for a...
Bizarro Briefs: A Drug Lord’s Zoo
A Drug Lord’s Zoo There likely wouldn’t be hippopotamuses living in Columbia if it weren’t for Pablo Escobar. After his death in 1993, the drug lord’s abandoned zoo was dismantled, and while African animals such as rhinos and giraffes were given new homes, there...
Staff Picks: Eleanor Levine, Left Hand Backwards, Hellen Fremont, and a movement workshop for tired activists
Left Hand Backwards, Lobotomobile, The Freqs, and Sciencefight at 13th Floor Music Lounge // SATURDAY Palmer-based punk and metal group Left Hand Backwards celebrates its 10th anniversary as a band this Saturday in Florence at the 13th Floor Music Lounge. Joining them...
Cinemadope: Torch Song
Waiting is hard. Some of us skip ahead in our books, others sneak a peek at a bride before the ceremony. Some of us roar past a minivan going a perfectly reasonable 70 mph on 91 South — I’m looking at you, white Honda Civic. There’s just something about getting an...
Valley Show Girl: Sister Act
“There are stars, there is music, but where are you? I am calling you home tonight.” The beginning lyrics to opening track “Come On Home” from the latest release from Americana duo Ari & Mia welcomes you into their album as if it’s an intimate dinner party, with...E-Edition
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