Articles
by Kristin Palpini | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Massachusetts State Troopers can now detain for 48 hours people suspected of being in the country illegally — allowing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enough time to show up, arrest the person on federal charges, and begin deportation...
by By Kristin Palpini | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
It’s okay to be stumped when your friend invites you out to see his favorite math rock funk band — tonight with a Zydeco guest washboard player! The variety of musicians in the Valley is immense, and so is the range of music they play. So, if you ever wondered whether...
by By Naila Moreira | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, News
I’ve always had a thing for creepy crawlies. I was the kid who caught the wasp stuck in the classroom to let it out the window. And I still crouch to move a worm from the sidewalk into the grass. So, when a colleague of mine, Sara Eddy, started her first beehive, I...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana, My partner (cis-male) and I (queer bisexual lady) enjoy getting super hot and bothered with each other, but we’re both frustrated with my seeming inability to orgasm. When we’re fooling around, just warming up, sometimes clitoral stimulation gets...
by Kristin Palpini | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Mythologist Joseph Campbell analyzed fairy tales for clues about how the human psyche works. For example, he said that a fairy tale character who’s riding a horse is a representation of our relationship with our instinctual nature. If...
by Hunter Styles, a.k.a. The Beerhunter | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
The Beerhunter’s ears are always pricked to news of local craft beer happenings, and this month, they’re positively tingling. All that excitement in the air is thanks to the first-ever Western Mass Beer Week, a series of events at breweries, bars and restaurants all...
by From Our Readers | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
What is Columbus Day, really? Interesting article by Kristin Palpini (“Between the Lines: Columbus, Genocidal Slave-Traders Should Not Get Their Own Holidays” May 26-June 1, 2016). As a child growing up in the ’60s and ’70s I learned from my family and...
by Peter Vancini | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News, Scene Here
Daniel Evans, 63, has been playing his guitar on Main Street in Northampton for over 15 years, but as of Sunday, June 5, the man locals have come to know as “Downtown Daniel” has officially retired. Evans, who’s struggled with homelessness, became a part of the fabric...
by Gary Carra | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Carrots enhance the eyesight. Spinach helps you grow big and strong. And cranberries … make you rock?”It’s how I learned to play guitar back when I was 14,” explains the 33-year-old singer-songwriter Holly Miranda. “I was on a...
by By Peter Vancini | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles
An animal welfare watchdog group is alleging that “gross negligence” led to the death of a research monkey in a UMass Amherst animal care facility on Oct. 15, 2015. The marmoset was severely burned while it recovered from surgery. The incident was noted in a May 2016...
by By Chuck Shepherd | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
By 2009, when Zimbabwe’s central bank gave up on controlling inflation, its largest currency was the 100 trillion-dollar bill — barely enough for bus fare in Harare and not even worth the paper needed to print it. However, that 100 trillion-dollar note has...
by Peter Vancini | Jun 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News
Mel Bosworth caught the writing bug early. In fifth or sixth grade, he told his mother about an idea he had for a newspaper column and she immediately brought him down to the newspaper’s office to pitch the column to the editor. He spent the following summer producing...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 3, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Two world-premiere musicals have just opened in the region. One is an unassuming little pocket piece with a nifty hook, the other a glamorous spectacular that assumes it’s going to Broadway. The Musical Theatre Lab at Barrington Stage has developed dozens of new works...
by Peter Vancini | Jun 3, 2016 | Articles, News, Newsletter
By Peter Vancini An animal welfare watchdog group is alleging that “gross negligence” led to the death of a research monkey in a UMass Amherst animal care facility on Oct. 15, 2015. The marmoset was severely burned while it recovered from surgery. The incident was...
by Hunter Styles | Jun 2, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music
Natural Born Killers Fourth of July comes twice this year: once on the date you’d expect, and again on July 21, when Vegas-based power-rock balladeers The Killers play Mohegan Sun. It’s been a few years since we’ve come out to see Brandon Flowers and his friends play...
by Hunter Styles | Jun 2, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured
In Good Compagnie Jacob’s Pillow’s 2016 festival line-up features 20 talented dance companies from around the world and across the U.S., but we’re most excited for the Valley debut of Compangie Hervé Koubi, a company of 12 . male dancers from Algeria and Burkina Faso....
by Hunter Styles | Jun 2, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured
Fame, Fortune, and a Little Fine Tuning The Valley Talent Showcase launched last fall to give up-and-coming local bands the chance to play a sizeable venue in front of new listeners and celebrity judges. It’s been held on the first Friday of each month, and so far, so...
by Hunter Styles | Jun 2, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured
Eddie, Louis. Louis, Eddie. We couldn’t decide whether to spotlight Eddie Izzard or Louis C.K., since both comedy titans touch down in the Valley this summer. So, we’re cramming them into one listing, and they’ll probably feel pretty awkward about it. Izzard,...
by Hunter Styles | Jun 2, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured
If Mama Ain’t Happy… Nothing triggers resentment and affirmation in equal measure like a family get-together, and that unsteady ceremony looms large in playwright Cheryl L. West’s family comedy-drama Jar the Floor. The play follows four single African-American...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | May 31, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana,I’m in my early 30s and have been polyamorous for a couple of years. Not long ago my wife of 13 years and I split. Now I’m kind of going through a dating/poly crisis. I strongly identify as poly despite not really having a primary relationship....
by Hunter Styles | Jun 2, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured
Em Dash “Because I could not stop for Death — He kindly stopped for me,” wrote Emily Dickinson. But in the Valley, celebrations of the famous Amherst poet never stop for long, and come September, fans of Miss Emily will once again grab the chance to do a mad dash...
by Peter Vancini | May 31, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure, News, Newsletter, Wellness
Ah, spring: The time of year when nature wakes up from its deep winter slumber: birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and allergy sufferers are miserable. A runny nose, itchy eyes, and constant sneezing are facts of life for the nearly 8 percent of Americans that...
by By Kristin Palpini | May 31, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
There are a lot of allies living in the Pioneer Valley — we’re a woke bunch.The Valley is home to many people who are allies of the LGBTQ community, Black Lives Matter, feminists, workers’ rights and social justice causes, people with disabilities or mental illness,...
by By Chuck Shepherd | May 31, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Pixee Fox reported in May that she was recovering nicely from cosmetic rib-removal surgery, performed by one of the few doctors in the world who offers it, Dr. Barry Eppley of Carmel, Indiana. Though she has had more than a dozen “beautifying” procedures,...
by Hunter Styles | May 31, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News
It’s time, everyone! Spring is well under way and summer is just around the corner (or maybe it’s already here, judging by last week’s heat wave). Time to supercharge your shop local skills and hit the streets (and fields, and parking lots) for the Valley’s spring and...
by Advocate Staff | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Blaise's Bad Movie Guide, Columns, Film
The first Wet, Hot American Summer was so bad, how did it get a sequel?I’ll let you in on a little secret: the newsroom once had a library of old VCR tapes we all could share. After VCR tapes went the way of the Walkman there was a purge and I snagged Wet, Hot...
by Kristin Palpini | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
Brian Cooper has what seems like an obvious suggestion when it comes to fixing the C_lvin Theater’s marquee: Use money collected through the $2 “Historic Preservation Fund” fee attached to every Calvin ticket sold to buy a new one.The letter “A” has been missing from...
by By Peter Vancini | May 23, 2016 | Articles, News
When Ray Sebold set out to build his environmentally-friendly dream house in Montague, he knew he would have to do it on the cheap.“By no means are we rich,” Sebold says. “There’s no family money involved here. I personally have more skills than money.”Seabold, 64, is...
by Kristin Palpini | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Here are some things that, if you do them, should disqualify you from ever having a national holiday in your honor:Driving civilizations that once consisted of millions of people to near-extinction through starvation and murder;Enslaving people to force them to work...
by Advocate Staff | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, Music, News, Stage
Happy Brffday, GirlThe self-anointed Queen of Crossplay (a blend of cross dressing and cosplay) Serenity Lockhart is having a birthday party Saturday night at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke and everyone is invited. Dress to impress Her Majesty and to coordinate with the...
by Advocate Staff | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music
The Big Easty New Orleans and Easthampton are 1,500 miles and a couple of cultural lightyears apart, but both cities love good music like nothing else. Brewmaster’s Jazz, the recently-opened concert venue inside New City Brewery on Pleasant Street, hosts a two-night...
by Gary Carra | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
By Gary Carra In 2014, Thomas Kielbania Jr. revived Chicopee’s storied Kielbasa Festival after a nearly two-decade hiatus. Now, he’s reinventing it – and renaming it, and relocating it – to West Springfield, for what’s shaping up to be a...
by Advocate Staff | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, News
Springtime in Paradise One of the biggest arts fairs in New England makes its annual spring stop in Northampton this week, with over 250 artists from every corner of the country showing work in ceramics, painting, decorative fiber, art glass, furniture, jewelry,...
by By Jack Brown | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film
Ask people what they like in art, and you might think that all they want is “the real world” mirrored back at them. We hail the Old Masters — their mastery of light and shadow, their ability to make hard marble seem like supple skin. But where would we story lovers be...
by By Rivka Solomon | May 23, 2016 | Articles, News, Wellness
Last fall, when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced they would finally help the 1 million to 2.5 million Americans with the disease commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, patients hoped this would be our moment of recognition — like when the NIH...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hello Yana,I’ve been dating my boyfriend for almost a year. We’re in our 20s, and he’s a few years older than me. There have been times when we’re intimate when he doesn’t provide me with oral sex. He’s never close to ejaculating while inside me. He only does so...
by Kristin Palpini | May 24, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, Music, News, Stage
By Kristin Palpini After looking into what the Historic Preservation Fund fee charged for admission to Calvin Theater concerts is for, Advocate staff wanted to know how fees compare around the area. Below is a comparison of the fees charged for upcoming shows at area...
by Advocate Staff | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): To convey the best strategy for you to employ in the coming weeks, I have drawn inspiration from a set of instructions composed by aphorist Alex Stein: “Scribble, scribble, erase. Scribble, erase, scribble. Scribble, scribble, scribble,...
by Kristin Palpini | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Leisure, News, O Cannabis!
The hungry stoner is a crude cliche. Ravenous, bug-eyed, slovenly, and insatiable is how the type is usually portrayed in pop culture. The truly initiated, however, know that while weed can bring on a powerful case of the munchies, it’s nothing to go all reefer...
by Chuck Shepherd | May 23, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced they had recently transmitted high-speed digital data through slabs of pork loin and beef liver. The signal cleared the muscle and gristle so cleanly that it permitted streaming of high-definition...
by Advocate Staff | May 23, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News, Scene Here, Wellness
Through the open door of Springfield’s Virtue Brazilian Jiu Jitsu come the sounds of little bare feet rapidly thumping on gym mats. Inside, Kym Sturdivant’s watchful gaze over the tiny fighters is sober. Arms raised, the grade-school grapplers circle each other,...
by Advocate Staff | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News
We walk, bike, and drive past it all the time, but the abundance of art decorating the Valley’s streets deserves more attention than a fleeting glance. There is some amazing work sticking it out in the rain, snow, and sun just to inspire. To bring more attention to...
by Advocate Staff | May 18, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Scene Here
It’s 8:30 a.m. and the sun already feels warm on Main St. in Springfield’s South End. Birdsong can be heard beyond the roar of a passing bus. Across from a patchy, untended lot enclosed by a chainlink fence, children in backpacks skip along the sidewalk, weaving...
by Advocate Staff | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana,I’m 21 years young, genderqueer, very sexual, and polyamorous! I have a penis; I also have genital herpes. Is there a best time to tell a partner?If I have symptoms or have had them recently it’s not much of a conundrum because there’s no...
by Hunter Styles | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
Adhamh Roland has the look down pat: black-jacket tuxedo, bowler hat, and a friendly twinkle in his eye that speaks volumes. “Yes,” his smile says, “I have an accordion. Yes, I show up unannounced, bearing a special message from someone you know. And yes, I’m going to...
by Advocate Staff | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Arts, News
Don’t misjudge Agawam’s quiet streets as a sign that nothing is going on. There’s a lot happening in this community — and we’re not talking about Six Flags.Agawam Cinemas: It’s more than nostalgia that draws people to the newly re-opened Agawam Cinemas; it’s...
by From Our Readers | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Assault on Assault WeaponsEditor’s Note: Earlier this month, residents of Longmeadow voted on three proposed measures to ban all assault weapons from the town, keep a more detailed catalog of guns kept in town, and to ban any firearm from public buildings and...
by Hunter Styles | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
Last October, I sat among hundreds of Springfield public students in the dark of the downtown venue CityStage. We had gathered for a touring performance, created by Double Edge Theatre of Ashfield, called The Grand Parade (of the 20th Century). It was a delightfully...
by Kristin Palpini | May 18, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
By Gary Carra Forget about the unemployment rates and bleak economic forecasts from the usual cast of politicos and pundits. Northampton’s Betsy-Dawn Williams says she has proof positive it’s a bull market out there. “I’ve just been signed for...
by By Chris Rohmann | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck
I see a lot of plays, and I cover as many as I can. But the feast of performances always overwhelms the column inches, so now, with a new summer theater season on the horizon, I’m taking a final look back at the shows I’ve enjoyed since last summer. Promising...
by Advocate Staff | May 16, 2016 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “An oar moves a boat by entering what lies outside it,” writes poet Jane Hirshfield. You can’t use the paddle inside the boat. It’s of no value to you unless you thrust it into the drink and move it around vigorously....
by Chuck Shepherd | May 16, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
Google filed a U.S. Patent Office application on April 28 for a vision-improvement device in liquid form that, once inserted — i.e., injected directly into the eyeball — solidifies into not only a lens replacement for the eye, but an instrument that carries its own...
by Naila Moreira | May 9, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, News
It’s one of the things we need most for survival, yet take most for granted. We need it to drink, to cook, to bathe, to brush our teeth.Water.We’re blessed to live in a zone of abundant rainfall, and the Mill and Connecticut Rivers pour through the Valley. But even...
by Hunter Styles | May 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, Music, News
Holyoke Rocks The enterprising staff at Gateway City Arts always seems to be revving its engines, pushing the canal-side arts center to host the most fun and interesting programming in a rapidly-evolving downtown Holyoke. This weekend, they’ve outdone...
by Hunter Styles | May 9, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The Beerhunter
After dark, standing in a 24-hour convenience store in downtown Kyoto, I scanned the rows of canned and bottled beers in a bright refrigerated case. Virtually everything on offer was a product of one of the “big four” Japanese breweries: Sapporo, Suntory, Asahi, and...
by Kristin Palpini | May 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, News
The timer started when the door closed, and for a moment it was very confusing. Inside Puzzled Escape Games’ first escape room, the Advocate staff stood frozen like the Scooby-Doo gang before a haunted house — silent, wide-eyed, and a little hungry (it was dinner...
by Kristin Palpini | May 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
OMG, ya’ll Frost your hair tips, put a logo across your rear, and dig out your puka shell necklace because it’s 2000 again and Aaron Carter is coming to sing at the Waterfront on Main Street in Holyoke Saturday night. It’s being promoted as a “girls night out”...
by Advocate Staff | May 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, News
Stories in Strokes The Abraham Project, developed by German artist Marlis Glaser over the past 10 years, contains more than 200 drawings and paintings of Holocaust survivors and their children in Israel. Glaser based each of these artworks on narrative...
by Kristin Palpini | May 10, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, News
At the Best of the Valley 2016 winners’ party at the Log Cabin in Holyoke last week, there was a photo booth. Hundreds of the community’s top community leaders and business owners were there. Here is what...
by Michael Cimaomo | May 10, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Blogs, Music, Northeast Underground
House shows have always been an important part of the DIY music scene. Whether it’s some garage rockers providing the soundtrack to a backyard party, a punk rock band playing a concert in a basement or even some indie folk musicians holding court in a living room, the...
