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V-Spot: Actually, I will answer this fake question
Dear Yana, My attachment style is avoidant Scorpio but my partner is a totally secure Gemini. He says anal sex will fix all of my avoidance problems, but I think we should just bring in a third and be polyamorous instead. What do you think we should do? Sincerely,...
Blaise’s Bad Movie Guide: Puppy Swap, Love Unleashed
Have you ever done something that you knew was a bad idea but against all judgment you did it anyway? That’s what I did when I bought a copy of Puppy Swap, Love Unleashed. First a bit of background. Our family has been blessed with Sasha, a two-and-a-half-year-old...
Podcast: Steve Pfarrer on David Berman and his ties to the Valley
Musician and poet David Berman, who was a part of the UMass Amherst MFA program and went on to front the music group Silver Jews, committed suicide last month. Steve Pfarrer wrote about his ties to the Valley and those that remember Berman and his music and writing....
Cinemadope: Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Where is the Friend’s House?’ comes to Amherst Cinema
One of the most magical things about great storytelling is the ability of the storyteller to transform a seemingly simple thing into a grand or heart-pounding adventure. A guy chases a whale (or a shark chases some people). Two teenagers fall in love, but their...
Free Will Astrology: A beach bonfire of Scorpio secrets
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Comedian John Cleese speaks of two different modes toward which we humans gravitate. The closed style is tight, guarded, rigid, controlling, hierarchical, and tunnel-visioned. The open is more relaxed, receptive, exploratory, democratic,...
Bethany Killian on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Bethany Killian is an indie acoustic folk singer-songwriter with smoky-toned vocals. Check out her performance on Advocate Sessions in the video below. Interview with Bethany Killian:
Sessions Podcast: Jake Klar
Jake Klar is a local artist who performs folk and blues music with a poetic sensibility. For the video recording of this session, as well as over 100 other sessions performances, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley...
Letters to the Editor: Was Gateway City Arts wrong to fire Cait Simpson over IHEG petition?
Defining ‘bad for business’ In response to “Petition directed at IHEG costs co-creator her job at Gateway City Arts,” published Sept 12 – 18. This is horrible. Gateway City Arts should be proud to have employees who stand up for the rights of musicians, artists,...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Remembering wine minutiae
“Write drunk, edit sober,” said someone who is not Ernest Hemingway, although the quote is often attributed to him. It’s bad writing advice. Worse advice is “write drunk, edit drunk.” And I wish I could blame my own editing mistake in my last column on either of those...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: Explosive bull semen, beating an elevator up a building, stuffed Cheez-It pizza
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Learn this week about explosive bull semen, beating an elevator up a building, and stuffed...
Staff Picks: Out! For Reel, Quinn Sullivan, Northampton Record Fair, and Juan Wauters/Jesus Vio/Stoner Will
Out! For Reel LGBTQ Film Fest // SATURDAY Out! For Reel screens films featuring LGBTQ issues throughout the year, and this latest collection looks to be a great one. Showing both shorts and a featurette, the evening at the Academy of Music will have a film about a...
Cinemadope: Control/Shift
My two oldest children started kindergarten a few weeks back. New school, new friends (one hopes), new experiences. It’s been an adjustment — maybe more for me than for them, I sometimes think — and it has had me thinking a lot of how much has changed in the 40 years...
Remembering David Berman and his ties to the Valley
For a long time, he was unsure of his singing voice, wondering if it was really good enough to front a band. And for a good part of the time he was making albums, he also shunned most live performances, not feeling he could sing in front of an audience. But David...
Editorial: Biden’s Electability Argument Is Crumbling
I’ve never been an enthusiastic Joe Biden supporter. His history on criminal justice — supporting harsh sentences for drug crimes and the War on Drugs — his mishandling of the Clarence Thomas hearings, his vote for the Iraq War, and his lack of support for Medicare...
Deported Valley activist Eduardo Samaniego says he has appealed his deportation
In one of his first public statements since being deported in February, immigrant rights activist Eduardo Samaniego wrote about the support he received from his friends and of the difficulties of the time he spent in prison, also stating he has appealed his...
Valley Show Girl: Ascendant, the Latest Release from Easthampton’s Problem With Dragons
“Yo Jenny!!!!” I saw on my phone screen a couple months ago from Easthampton musician Robert Ives. “Want to do a review of new unreleased PWD album?” “Um, duh!” I responded. I’ve been a fan of the doom, stoner metal band Problem With Dragons for years. Listening to...
Bizarro Briefs: A Race to the Top
A Race to the Top The 2016 world champion of sport climbing took on an unexpected challenger earlier this month: an elevator. The 26-year-old Polish man, Marcin Dzienski, raced a neon-lit elevator on the side of a Warsaw hotel and reached the top of a 75-foot...
Stagestruck: Badass Women
These days it seems you can’t put on a play without your publicity assuring the public it’s going to be funny – no matter what play it is. (“Hamlet, a timeless tragedy with doses of wacky humor.”) So it might be a little suspect to report that Silverthorne Theater...
Podcast: Gena Mangiaratti on student-teacher sexual relationships in Massachusetts
Gena Mangiaratti speaks about her Advocate cover story in which she spoke with Gina Rose Napolitano, a young woman who says she engaged in a sexual relationship with a teacher at her school. The relationship had consequences that affected her mental health, she said....
V-Spot: How Do I Raise a Sex-Positive Kid?
Hi Yana! My partner and I are people who were raised in households where sex was not discussed; indeed, in my house all questions and curiosity about sex were avoided and suppressed. As such, as adults and now parents of a young child, I feel we need support and tools...
Free Will Astrology: Be pure as peanut butter, Virgo
ARIES (March 21-April 19): We’re in the equinoctial season. During this pregnant pause, the sun seems to hover directly over the equator; the lengths of night and day are equal. For all of us, but especially for you, it’s a favorable phase to conjure and cultivate...
Ona Canoa on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Ona Canoa combines three-part folk harmonies with baritone uke, flute, and guitar. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Ona Canoa:
Letters to the editor: A lifetime of suffering for a moment’s diversion?
A lifetime of suffering for a moment’s diversion? It’s time for the Big E to stop featuring animal abuse as a cheap diversion. Times have changed since the early days of this festival, and most folks do not enjoy seeing wild animals living such unnatural and horrific...
Bizarro Briefs: Praying with Robot Priests
Praying with Robot Priests Religion, that opiate of the masses, has found a new way to spread dystopia — robot priests. A robot named Mindar is operating at a 400-year-old Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and is programmed to give sermons. Right now it only knows one...
Valley Advocate Sessions Podcast: OroborO
OroborO combines experimental rock with punk, metal, and mathy riffs. For the video recording of this session, as well as over 100 other sessions performances, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com.
The Beerhunter: Caleb Hiliadis Takes the Lead at Amherst Brewing
When Amherst Brewing Company opened it doors in 1997, Caleb Hiliadis was just five years old. Now, at 27, he’s running the joint. Well, not the whole joint — just the brewhouse. But that brewhouse has evolved through many twists and turns over the years. And the beers...
Staff Picks: Irish Fest, Northampton Arts Night Out, Chillifest, and Mead Art Museum
Millpond.Live & Easthampton Irish Festival // SATURDAY This Saturday marks the return of Easthampton’s Irish Fest to close out this season of Millpond.Live. The free outdoor music series at Millside Park will bring a blend of Irish, Scottish, and French Canadian...
‘I Was Told What He Did To Me Was Legal’: Woman testifies about teen relationship with Granby teacher to change state consent laws
When Gina Rose Napolitano was a freshman in college, she received an unexpected call from the Granby police. An officer asked if a teacher at her high school had sexual contact with her. She said no. That was in early 2017, and she was still communicating with the man...
Stagestruck: On the Border, and Beyond
Two shows coming to this area have Mexican echoes. One is a children’s-story allegory of the current border crisis, the other a Mexican dramedy with an international range. Ropes, by Bárbara Colio, has been performed extensively in Spanish-speaking countries,...
Editorial: Where is Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement in the Neal-Morse race?
Massachusetts Senator and presidential Front-Runner-To-Be Elizabeth Warren made waves this week by endorsing two progressive Democratic challengers to sitting conservative Democrats in districts in Illinois and Texas. These insurgent candidates — immigration lawyer...
Bizarro Briefs Podcast: Awful gun testing, robot priests, and a poop knife
Valley Advocate editor Dave Eisenstadter and Hits 94.3 host Trumpy talk about the week’s weird news in a podcast version of the Valley Advocate’s Bizarro Briefs section. Hear about awful gun testing, robot priests, and a poop knife. Listen here: You can hear more of...
Basemental Farewell: Was I a Music Critic?
Editor’s note: This is Will Meyer’s last column as the author of Basemental. A music critic is something I’d never thought I’d be. I hardly knew anything about music, I certainly was no authority. I was a little surprised when former Adovcate editors...
Free Will Astrology: Stop worrying, Aries
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Hi, I’m your sales representative for UnTherapy, a free program designed to provide healing strategies for people who are trying too hard. Forgive me for being blunt, but I think you could benefit from our services. I don’t have space here...
Petition directed at IHEG costs co-creator her job at Gateway City Arts
In mid-August, an online petition calling for touring bands to boycott Iron Horse Entertainment Group venues began collecting signatures of musicians, performers, and community members. Less than three weeks later, an organizer of the boycott lost her job at Gateway...
Podcast: The consequences of working third shift
Editorial intern Jonathan Kermah talks about the night shift, both from his own perspective working nights at a local gas station as well as speaking with first responders and a sleep expert. His article on the topic can be found here. Listen here: You can hear more...
The V-Spot: Yana’s short-and-sweet anal education
Hi Yana, My husband just started letting me put a finger up his anus for stimulation and he’s loving it. Now, how do I make sure I’m pleasuring him in the best way possible? —Derriere Digiter Dear Digiter, My two main pieces of advice for making sure your partner is...
Cinemadope: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live at the Academy of Music
One of the great pleasures of movie-going, in my experience, is going alone. Even when surrounded by strangers in the dark, there is something wonderfully personal about being blanketed by the sound and image of a big screen projection; a show just for you, where you...
Born IV Blues on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
Born IV Blues is a teenage soulful blues band from the Berkshires. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Born IV Blues:
Letters to the Editor: RIP Frances Crowe
RIP Frances Crowe In response to “‘An organizer to the very end’: Northampton activist Frances Crowe dies at age 100,” on Page 6. How sad to learn that we’ve lost Frances Crowe. But she had a good run, 100 years. When I heard of her death my thought was, “She lives on...
Free Will Astrology: Leo, Visualize Ancient Rome
ARIES (March 21-April 19): John Muir (1838–1914) was skilled at creating and using machinery. In his twenties, he diligently expressed those aptitudes. But at age 27, while working in a carriage parts factory, he suffered an accident that blinded him. For several...
Monte Belmonte Wines: New Hampshire’s tax-free liquor lie
It’s getting to be the end of summer. I admit, while I’m trying to drink dry the last vestiges of the season, coming up with an idea for a late summer wine column has been like drawing wine from a stone. I should be drinking wine on vacation, not worrying about...
Lightning strikes: Valley psych folk band Sweet Lightning makes its music video debut
The lush pastoral sounds of acoustic guitar, flute, fiddle, and upright bass echoed in slow motion through the Pushkin Gallery in Greenfield, before returning to normal time in an effect that’s much akin to rewinding an old VHS tape and hitting play. From there, the...
Valley Advocate Sessions Podcast – Blame Cadence
Blame Cadence is a one woman chorus of looped soulful a cappella pop. For the video version of this performance, go to sessions.valleyadvocate.com.
Staff Picks: Midsommar, Bread & Puppet, Weege & The Wondertwins, and Country Music
Midsommar: Director’s Cut at Amherst Cinema // THURSDAY My favorite film of the summer is director Ari Aster’s sophomore film, “Midsommar,” a folk-horror movie in the vein of classic 1973 British horror flick, “The Wickerman.” Without spoiling too much, this is a...
The V-Spot: Get Off the Metaphorical Tit
Hi Yana, My fiancé is sick and was just like “I’m gonna call my mom for soup” and he (LOL) has done shit like this since we moved out on our own. Like, I’m here – ready, willing, and able to take care of you. Get off the tit. I feel like I’m crazy, but at the same...
Cinemadope: Inside Man
It is sometimes difficult to believe that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — ICE — is only 16 years old. Created in 2003 under George W. Bush in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks, the new agency merged the two previously separate...
A safer alternative? Health officials investigating links between vaping and lung damage
Rick Paiva, of Northampton, said he smoked cigarettes before switching over to vaping, but “it wasn’t helping my health any better.” He quit vaping two-and-a-half years ago because he said it worsened his asthma, caused bronchitis, made his chest tight and caused him...
The Night Show: Learning the consequences of working the late shift
Whether it be for a late night snack after a long night of partying or studying, or calling the police to handle an emergency in the wee hours of the morning, you’ve probably interacted with a third shift (loosely defined as work between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.) worker at...
Editorial: The Life of Frances Crowe
As all the world knows, Frances Crowe is an activist institution in the Valley, and well beyond. And that’s why, even having lived the full life she did, the community still feels her passing deeply. But in her 100 years, we can all find some inspiration. I’m proud to...
Bizarro Briefs: Naked lunch … er … dinner
Naked lunch … er … dinner A family from Fortuna, California, came home to unexpected — and unwanted — visitors. After returning from dinner last week, the family found two naked strangers that had broken into the household and made themselves a little too comfortable....
Valley Show Girl: Opening Night at the 5th Annual RPM Fest
I walked down the forest path of the Millers Falls Rod & Gun Club for the opening night of the 5th annual RPM Fest. Once I got to the clearing, the field was open with people playing yard games, groups of others gathered in small huddles chatting and enjoying...
Podcast: A victory against residential pipelines
Longmeadow resident and activist Michele Marantz was interviewed in the Advocate story “Longmeadow voters say no to gas pipeline project in residential neighborhood,” about her community group, which managed to get a zoning bylaw passed that could halt a...
Stagestruck: Summer Snapshots
Thinking back over the summer theater season just ended, images from memorable shows are passing before my mind’s eye, and ear — from striking moments in performances to sets and soundscapes. Here are some Valley snapshots. Chester Theatre Company celebrated its 30th...
Cars Go West on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions performer is Cars Go West, which combines psychedelic jams with catchy indie rock. Check out the band’s performance in the video below. Interview with Cars Go West:
Letters to the Editor: A mayor that makes blood boil
A mayor that makes blood boil In response to “Sarno a No Show: As election looms, critics say Springfield’s mayor not there for all,” published August 22 – 28, 2019. The mayor led the charge and marched onto the Hampshire College campus to protest the decision...
Staff Picks: Munio Makuuch, Elmer’s open mic, From the Woods, Lonesome Brothers
Smith College Museum of Art // TUESDAY-SATURDAY The Smith College Museum of Art has just opened a new exhibit on the late Japanese-Amercan poet and printmaker Munio Makuuch, who with his family spent much of World War II in an internment camp in Idaho for Japanese...
Valley Advocate Sessions Podcast – Lush Honey
Lush Honey is a group that makes funky soul and progressive rock ‘n’ roll. The band performed live at the Summit View in Holyoke during the 2019 Best of the Valley Readers’ Poll party this past June. Listen to Lush Honey’s extended, 40-plus minute set,...
Fifty Years From Now, What Will They Say About the “Summer of ’19”?
In this summer of half-century look-backs to the “Summer of ’69,” it’s natural to wonder: What will the summer of 2019 be remembered for 50 years from now? Will the grandchildren of today’s Millennials wonder what took us so long to do something about the mass murders...
Editorial: Fear of ‘straight white guys’
Perhaps the two most visceral issues of our modern political era collided last week in the words of Greenfield City Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud — immigration and gun violence. While defending her Safe City Ordinance, which essentially prohibits local law...E-Edition
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