Articles
by Jennifer Levesque | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles, Music
When you hear the term “rock star,” who comes to mind first? Elvis Presley maybe, or The Rolling Stones? When I was little, I was introduced to Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, and Led Zeppelin. All male-based rock bands. When I stepped out of my parent-influenced taste...
by Jack Brown | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles
One of my favorite memories of being young and broke in New York is of a night my then-partner and I went to a Manhattan music spot to hear one of her co-workers play. The venue was a second floor residence — it seemed a good bet that, despite the space made for a...
by From Our Readers | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers
Healthcare: More Bern for Your Buck As a surgeon, I have participated in our healthcare system since 1979. I have witnessed the attempts of medically naive politicians seeking to reform our compromised healthcare system. Bankrolled by health industry lobbyists, these...
by Gary Carra | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles
The Crawler talks with up-and-comers Rockett Queen during Palladium stop; Bottle Rockets pull double duty at Iron Horse There are so many entry points when it comes to interviewing Rockett Queen frontman Walter Lee. His band’s hit single “The Next Big Thing” was...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles
Historians use “BCE” to refer to those years before the common era, but in the New England craft beer world, we mark our bygone times with a different label: “BHT.” This refers to any and all beer happenings before 2003 — in other words, Before Heady Topper. That...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles
Winter’s Here, but have no fear! Empanadas can warm the soul The Valley is rich in the empanada department. And that’s a good thing, because who doesn’t want their meal lovingly stuffed into a delicious pastry? Flaky, gold-colored dough makes...
by Gary Carra | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
As evidenced by the recent, massive outpouring by fans and contemporaries alike, David Robert Jones — better known as David Bowie — touched generations the world over. In fact, some would go so far to say that the Starman may have even possessed intergalactic...
by Warren Johnston | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles
When I was growing up as the youngest of four boys, I didn’t always get the straight scoop from my older brothers. For example, although I was the smallest of the crowd and about 4 years old, they convinced me to play the big, dumb galoot in our cowboy games, and...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, News
Who knows what’ll happen with legalization on the ballot in November, but in the meantime, the state seems to finally have a handle on the whole medical marijuana thing. Previous caps that limited potential dispensaries to one per county, and then 35 statewide, were...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 25, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines
Last week, I wrote a column, “Hillary Clinton is the Real Revolution” about why I will cast my vote for Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the March primary. An immensely qualified candidate, Clinton also has the advantage of being a woman, which allows her to bring a...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
It’s difficult to argue against Beyoncé’s greatness, it is true. But skimming through clips of marching bands past elicits one big question about the Super Bowl halftime shows of today: with all the fireworks and special effects, have we strayed too far away from the...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, Leisure, Music
The Thunder From Down Under Ladies and gentlemen get your singles out for the beefcake coming to Chicopee by way of the Las Vegas performing strippers, The Thunder From Down Under. The “blokes” are toned, tanned, and sassy. First row is in the sweat/splash-zone if...
by Naila Moreira | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles
About a year ago, I saw three deer running across the Connecticut River. They weren’t walking on water: the river had frozen, thick enough to support their lightly tripping hooves. Last winter, Bostonians got so much snow they called it the Snowpocalypse. This...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana, My boyfriend and I have recently started exploring anal play. We’re starting small with just his finger. We use plenty of lube and it goes in pretty easily and isn’t painful at all, but almost every time we’ve done anal play, I’ve bled the next day and been...
by From Our Readers | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Many ways to volunteer I read your article about volunteering, “Giving Back” (Dec. 24-30, 2015), and I was a little irritated. Why is it that when someone says “volunteer,” the focus immediately goes to homeless/food banks/shelters. There are other organizations that...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
With many people in the U.S. prepared to bomb the fictional land of Agrabah, plus a full-on conservative war against women, the Affordable Care Act under siege and a fragile economy, America needs Hillary Clinton to be the next president. The former senator and...
by Chuck Shepherd | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
They are simply “‘spas’ designed to attract teenagers,” according to one university official — plush, state-of-the-art “training” complexes built by universities in the richest athletic conferences to entice elite 17-year-old athletes to come play for and, perhaps,...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles, Arts
“Madonna” is the Italian name for the Christian Virgin Mary, but the phrase has taken on a life aside from Jesus’ mom. Madonna has become synonymous with maternal domesticity … and the other Madonna, the Material Girl, of course. Amherst native Misa Chappell...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 18, 2016 | Articles
Otter’s Slick Licks The jazz-pop quartet Northampton didn’t know it was missing With a few cold, hard months of winter on the way, Otter’s first full-length album arrives just in time to help melt the ice. “No Sleep No Dreams,” the first track on I Am My Brother, sets...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Wellness
It’s about that muscle Don’t stress about losing weight — put your effort into getting strong. Many gain some weight when working out because muscle weighs more than fat. It’s not about the scale, it’s about how you feel. And when you’re the strongest possible version...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot, Wellness
Hi Yana, My partner and I have been together for five months. He wants to be polyamorous, specifically to have sex and be in relationships with other women. He recently got out of a long term relationship so he doesn’t really want to be in a serious relationship now,...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Wellness
The “recommended” apps on Google Playstore and iTunes are jammed with seven-minute workouts right now. We checked out three of the most popular seven-minute apps to see if they’re seven minutes in health heaven or a waste of time. 7-Minute Core (Perigee) Recommended?...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Music, News
One Bar and Grill — formerly Tully O’Reilly’s and The Elevens — is once again reborn after little more than a year in its former incarnation. Following last week’s convening of the Northampton License Commission, the establishment is officially doing business as...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 13, 2016 | Articles, Get Out With Staff Picks
Wine tasting for Dakin • Sunday What’s better than wine and cheese? Wine and cheese, plus knowledge? You had me at wine and cheese. Wine and cheese and knowledge, plus the proceeds go to animals in need? I’m sold three times over! Get your wine basics on with...
by From Our Readers | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Halos and Horns: You’re doing it wrong Editor’s note: One Dec. 31, 2015, the Advocate came out with its annual Halos and Horns, an edition dedicated to skewering and praising the people, places, things, and events of 2015. Here’s some reader reaction: Responding to...
by Chuck Shepherd | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
A tractor-trailer driver with a load of bottled water tried to make it over an historic bridge in Paoli, Indiana, on Christmas Day, with the obvious outcome when 35 tons of water starts across a limit-6-tons span. The driver told police she saw the 6-ton sign, but did...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, Columns, News
Massachusetts has some of the most ineffective and restrictive public information laws in the country. Data that is published online in most U.S. states is difficult to access in Massachusetts. For example, Massachusetts is one of a handful of states in the nation...
by Warren Johnston | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, The Pour Man
A wine with a good back story is one thing, but when you find a good wine with a great back story, it makes the drinking all the better. The South Eastern Australian line of wines 19 Crimes — a red blend and a Cabernet Sauvignon — are well crafted and honor the...
by Jack Brown | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film
Twice in the 1990s, a striking debut made a splash in creative circles. There were, of course, other debuts that have left their marks — Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, for instance, hit screens in 1992, cutting the channel for the coming river of pop...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles
Did you know that the U.S. represents about 4.4 percent of the world’s population, but it houses around 22 percent of the world’s prisoners? The U.S. has an incarceration rate of 716 people in federal, state or local jails or prisons per 100,000 of the population —...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music
This wild night is calling you: the ultimate tribute to one of rock’s lovingest godfathers Van Morrison is going down in Springfield Friday night. Moondance, 7:30 p.m. $25-$29. CityStage, One Columbus Center, Springfield, (413) 788-7033. — Kristin...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Stage
America is obsessed with breasts. So what does it mean for a woman when she has to give hers up? Written by local playwright Laurel Turk, Breastless is the story of one woman’s determinedly truthful exploration of body image and sexuality after a double mastectomy....
by Amanda Drane | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Scene Here
DAN LITTLE PHOTO The camels may not be here at this year’s Three King’s Day celebration put on by Springfield’s Women of the Vanguard and various community partners, but the party’s so much fun that no one seems to mind. Arriving around 5:30 at Main Street’s...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Stage
Stuffed to the brim after enjoying a dinner celebrating their daughter’s engagement to a business competitor’s son, the wealthy Birlings are all rubbing their bellies when Inspector Goole shows up and accuses them of being involved in the murder of a working-class...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Wellness
The best part about working out in the comfort of your own home: you can do it in your underwear. Hell, you can even do it naked. Just don’t be like me and forget to close the blinds. I never do yoga on the screen, and I’m sure it’s always best to have a personal...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles, Arts
Large and luminous, these portraits by Marjorie Morgan appear to be painted from the point of view of a small child. The brightly colored adults are expressive with exaggerated hands and feet. The best part of these portraits “by memory” is that they casually...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 11, 2016 | Articles
Mike Tyson glares at the members of the boxing gym. Tyson’s tattooed face is printed on a poster, hung high on one wall, alongside the quotation: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Below the poster, a big wooden door swings open, and Jacob...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 7, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
By Amanda Drane One Bar and Grill — formerly Tully O’Reilly’s and The Elevens — is once again reborn after little more than a year in its former incarnation. Following Wednesday’s convening of the Northampton License Commission, the establishment is officially doing...
by Fran Ryan and Katherine Hazen
for The Recorder | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Wellness
On Tuesday evenings at the Wellness House, a complementary care practice in Northampton, women with a variety of health problems are finding relief through acupuncture treatments done in a group setting to keep the cost down. “The clinic was born out of the...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Third Eye Roaming, Wellness
A staggering 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail, and yogis can tell you why. These surface-level resolutions — get a gym membership, lose ten pounds, and the like — lack San Culpa, or deep-seated intention. In yoga, the phrase means that you set an intention in...
by Jack Brown | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Film
Here in the Pioneer Valley, bikes and biking are part of the fabric of daily life. People come from miles away to roll along the long bike path. Built on an old rail line that stretches across the Connecticut river and connects far-flung towns, the bike path has grown...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Astrology, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. His novel Of Mice and Men helped win him the award, but it required extra persistence. When he’d almost finished the manuscript, he went out on a date with his wife. While they were...
by Chuck Shepherd | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, News, News of the Weird
In December, Canada’s supportive organization The Transgender Project released a biographical video of the former Paul Wolscht, 46, and the father of seven children with his ex-wife, Marie, describing his new life as not only a female, but a 6-year-old female,...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music
Joshua Davis: A Miracle of Birds (Independent release) Joshua Davis had me at The Voice. While other finalists in last winter’s season of the show scrambled to find themselves as artists, Davis came into the competition knowing exactly who he was — a piercingly...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, News, Wellness
Steve Alves rolls up an chair, sits down at his desk, and opens a spreadsheet of every food co-op in America. He has been compiling this list for years. As his finger flicks the scroll wheel, hundreds of rows spill upward on the monitor: co-ops in states like Idaho,...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 6, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Uncategorized
Shokazoba featuring DJ Megha • Friday Friday nights were made for chill reggae and funky beats, especially Fridays that cap the first full post-holiday week. Breathe deep, relax, and shake that thang with Northampton-based Afrofunk band Shokazaba. DJ Megha Amira will...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot, Wellness
Dear Yana, I’m seeking out dating websites that have individuals who are thoughtful and open to trying or having more casual sex, but also respect boundaries in sexual exploration. I don’t trust Craigslist, and I’m not really into OKCupid or Tinder. I would love some...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music
Thirty metal bands from around the world will descend on Chicopee this weekend for the second annual Hothfest organized by metal Renaissance man musician/promoter/tattoo artist Jamie Cross. On Saturday and Sunday, bands that will take the Max Cap stage include:...
by From Our Readers | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News
Social media mobs bully those who make mistakes In place of the N-bomb, I would like to offer the P-word – p-r-o-p-o-r-t-i-o-n-a-l-i-t-y. Nowadays, a person makes an error, uses a nasty word, commits some politically incorrect faux pas and the hunt is on! Go...
by Gary Carra | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
With some 30 heavy bands hailing from the world over, Hothfest 2016 organizers decided to jump ship on their originally scheduled venue. At the time, the future of Holyoke’s Waterfront Tavern was just too uncertain. “It’s Jamie Cross’ show, and with the future of the...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
In December the Boston-based Disability Law Center rocked the Valley with a report about alleged physical and psychological abuse suffered by students at the Peck School in Holyoke. In the report, the protection and advocacy agency details a number of disturbing...
by Hunter Styles | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles
Here are our greatest hits on the casino playlist this week: Size Matters: It’s really happening, folks. In late December, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission signed off on the final state license MGM needs in order to begin knocking down buildings and starting...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Food + Booze, Leisure
Cottage Street in Easthampton is a busy street on any night, and this New Year’s Eve is no different. I approach The Library’s front door and am warned by its words that I must be properly dressed to enter. Given the holiday — luckily — I’m dressed for the occasion,...
by The Recorder Editorial Board | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, News
Those who worried about accidents at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant causing environmental and health hazards severe enough to affect its downwind neighbors in Franklin County have less to worry about now. For about a year now, the 42-year-old, 620-megawatt...
by Amanda Drane | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Scene Here
AMANDA DRANE PHOTO It’s here — the white we all wanted on Christmas. But they sent the wrong stuff. Given the Valley’s tropical Christmas — we saw people posting Christmas bikini pics on social media — it’s really a mean joke that flakes fell last Tuesday while...
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Arts
The Annual Artistic Dance Gala: SOAR Hosted by Artistic Dance Conservatory featuring The Little Mermaid and many guest artists. 7-10:30 p.m. $35. CityStage, One Columbus Center, Springfield, (413) 525-8810.
by Kristin Palpini | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles, Arts, Music
Bobby D (Chicopee), Claire Dacey (Easthampton), Elric Walker (Cummington), Ed Bentley (Westfield), Bruce King (Easthampton). 7-10 p.m. Unitarian Society, 220 Main St., Northampton, (413) 527-1900.
by Hunter Styles | Jan 4, 2016 | Articles
Nuts to you, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, for roasting the Valley’s own STEEM caffeinated peanut butter. Schumer, a long-time naysayer of caffeinated products, called for an FDA investigation last month into whether the stuff is safe to consume. And although no one...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 28, 2015 | Articles, Featured, News
Halos and Horns is the Advocate’s kind of annual review of the Pioneer Valley and beyond. We take aim at everything from politicians to pants, awarding kudos and condemnation. Food Justice Workers For some strange reason, humanity has gotten so far ahead...
by Hunter Styles | Dec 28, 2015 | Articles, Food + Booze
Can Springfield’s Main Street ever hope to attract more foot traffic? At a brainstorming session on Dec. 17, MassDevelopment posed the question to residents and stakeholders. What’s missing from sidewalk life? One common response: good cafes and coffee shops. The idea...
