Featured
by Chris Rohmann | Sep 19, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
Walk down Main Street in any small American town and look around. There are the unassuming shopfronts and placid homes, holding private, ordinary lives. But behind the doors lie extraordinary secrets and dreams. Three plays this weekend in our not-so-ordinary Valley...
by Will Meyer | Sep 17, 2018 | Basemental, Columns, Featured, Music
Two years ago when I wrote a profile about Finley Janes’ project Pussyvision, the project was just getting started. A year prior, Janes wasn’t making music—yet. Pussyvision had yet to go on multiple tours, one of which took Janes as far as Mexico, and produce, record...
by Monte Belmonte | Sep 17, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
Some of the greatest ideas in human history were concocted while cocked. Allegedly, Grant won the Civil War while entirely inebriated. Kruschev avoided war while gently jingled. And Iron Butterfly wrote their biggest hit, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, while thoroughly...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Sep 14, 2018 | Columns, Featured, The V-Spot, Uncategorized
Hi Yana, Can you even find The ONE when searching for The One? I know that when searching for The One, you have a list of all the things you’re attracted to, but what if those things are what are bad for you? Like, when you’re into hot and rough sex and you find the...
by Jack Brown | Sep 11, 2018 | Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
Pull up the details on the Franklin County town of Ashfield, and it might look like a sleepy little drive-through of a place: population hovering somewhere under two thousand, a pizza place that gets good reviews, a lot of trees. You could be forgiven for thinking...
by Will Meyer | Aug 31, 2018 | Basemental, Columns, Featured, Music
Western Massachusetts is known for its rich lineage of foundational bands that have defined underground music from different eras. Of course Dinosaur Jr. comes to mind, not to mention Pixies. While the shadow of bands like that certainly looms large (“omg, Murph just...
by Jennifer Levesque | Aug 29, 2018 | Columns, Featured, News, Valley Show Girl
On a stormy Wednesday afternoon, I huddled in my car, pushed the driver’s seat back to get comfy and opened up my Wonder Woman notebook, clicked my pen and put my phone on ‘do not disturb.’ After a failed attempt to reach her, she called me back two minutes later and...
by Chris Goudreau | Aug 29, 2018 | Featured, News
For the past four years, students at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst have been bringing alternative DIY local and regional music to the college through a student organization called Students For Alternative Music (SALT). Whether it’s heady math rock,...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 29, 2018 | Columns, Featured, The Beerhunter
This month’s local craft beer update highlights a pair of new Valley breweries that are opening soon. If your first thought is ‘Oh man, not again,’ this probably isn’t the column for you. Massachusetts is in the midst of another wave of entries into the craft beer...
by Jack Brown | Aug 24, 2018 | Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
When I opened Instagram over my morning coffee one recent morning, the first face staring back at me was that of a blue-haired Alice Bag, the fifty-nine year old punk icon and activist. Still a force after some four decades in the game, Bag and her band had played a...
by Monte Belmonte | Aug 24, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
The morning after the 2016 election, I was grateful that one of the disc jockeys at the radio station where I work kept a bottle of Jägermeister stashed in our freezer. And while these 2018 midterms are not necessarily driving me to drink, things are pretty wild here...
by Steve Pfarrer | Aug 21, 2018 | Featured, News
There was a time earlier in her career, Andrea Dezsö recalls, when people told her that if she wanted to succeed as an artist, she needed to find something to specialize in — and to stick with it. That idea never appealed to her, though. As Dezsö puts it, “I like a...
by Monte Belmonte | Aug 14, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
I ain’t gonna lie. I got into this wine writing racket for three reasons: 1) as an attempt to write off all of my alcoholic beverage purchases, which I will list as “considerable,” 2) to see my name in print, and 3) in the hopes that I would receive free wine on a...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Aug 14, 2018 | Columns, Featured, The V-Spot
Dear Yana, I’m a queer woman in my late 20s living in the U.S., and my girlfriend lives overseas. In the 2.5 years we’ve been together, about half that time has been long distance, and about half together. We’re absolutely crazy about each other and...
by Jack Brown | Aug 14, 2018 | Cinemadope, Columns, Featured
Like musicians and record labels, the worlds of artists and art dealers have never been quite in the same business. Despite all the often necessary crossover and interaction, there is often a nagging feeling (if our films are to be believed) that while one half of the...
by Jennifer Levesque | Aug 9, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Music, Valley Show Girl
I’d just devoured a bowlful of multi-colored Chicklet gum, then jumped up and down on the couch with my blonde pigtails smacking up against my cheeks. Blondie’s “Rapture” blared from the 80’s radio/boombox in the kitchen while my mother was either cooking or...
by Chris Goudreau | Aug 2, 2018 | Columns, Featured
The Early Snail Gets the Lettuce What probably seemed like the slowest race ever recently took place in Congham, England. More than 150 snails took part in the annual Snail Racing Championship with the grand prize being a silver tankard stuffed with lettuce. The...
by Dave Eisenstadter, Gina Beavers, and Chris Goudreau | Aug 1, 2018 | Featured
Western Massachusetts is well known as fertile ground for farming, but also for ideas. Sometimes these ideas come from the many classrooms and laboratories of our institutions of higher learning, but if you look carefully, you can find them in some pretty unexpected...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 29, 2018 | Between the Lines, Featured, News, Newsletter
So often with candidates running for public office, one must rest the decision to vote for them primarily on their words. In her short political career as a candidate for state Senate, however, Chelsea Kline has amassed some impressive actions. Kline is running in the...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 29, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana! My partner and I have been dating since October and from the beginning have had really intense sexual energy for each other (like every day, sometimes multiple times). But in the last week or two it’s sort of died out for a number of reasons. I can’t help but...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 29, 2018 | Astrology, Featured, Newsletter
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I predict that August will be a Golden Age for you. That’s mostly very good. Golden opportunities will arise, and you’ll come into possession of lead that can be transmuted into gold. But it’s also important to be prudent about your dealings...
by Jack Brown | Jul 29, 2018 | Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Newsletter
Back in my art school days, I was always fascinated by my art history classes. Seeing our changing world reflected back at me through the lens of artistic evolution made the lives lived in the distant past seem much more like my own — less a mannered bit of historical...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 26, 2018 | Columns, Featured, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
The Great New England Marijuana Accessories Swap Meet will be “like an Antique’s Roadshow for bongs.” According to Jeff Bianchine, director of the Holyoke Creative Arts Center, which will benefit from the fundraiser event, potentially hundreds of...
by Jennifer Levesque | Jul 26, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Music, Newsletter, Valley Show Girl
I have been to a handful of noise shows at The Root Cellar in downtown Greenfield and I just love the vibe. So, I gave up my usual lazy Sunday night and made my way over to check out the happenings. I sat at the bar and finally had the pleasure of ordering a Coconut...
by Will Meyer | Jul 26, 2018 | Basemental, Columns, Featured, Music, Newsletter
The experimental guitar duo Body / Head — Kim Gordon and Bill Nace — released their second studio album, The Switch, earlier this month on Matador. The band’s 2013 debut, Coming Apart, skewed closer to traditional songs, at least in the abstract sense. Gordon, who, of...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 25, 2018 | Arts, Columns, Featured, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
When I was recently in London, I saw two plays with connections to my favorite (make that favourite) British venue, the National Theatre. One was an African-American riff on a 19th-century melodrama, the other a dramatic immersion in a migrant camp on the English...
by Gina Beavers, Dave Eisenstadter, and Chris Goudreau | Jul 25, 2018 | Arts, Featured, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Greenfield Psych Fest at Hawks & Reed // SUNDAY, July 29 It’s going to be two floors of psychedelic rock music from noon until 9 p.m. at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Sunday, July 29. On the lineup are surf meets Latin-influenced psych...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 24, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter
For Ben Hellerstein, state director of advocacy organization Environment Massachusetts, the state is moving in a good direction with regard to renewable energy, but it needs to do more. “Even being number one is not enough,” he said, adding that Massachusetts is...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 24, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, I’ve been single for two years now and haven’t engaged in any partnered sexual activity throughout that time. I was wondering if you have any recommendations for adding excitement for one’s masturbation practice? I recently got a new...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 24, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter, Wellness
You can pretty much get any hair cut or styling that you could think of from around the world at Global Cuts International World of Barber Styling in Amherst, whether that’s highly stylized facial or hair cuts or something out of the ordinary. Khayyam Mahdi, owner of...
by Monte Belmonte | Jul 24, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
As an aspiring wine snob, ordering a glass of wine at a restaurant can be a risky business. Your abysmal choices may range from overly-oaked Chardonnays to mega-purple, mass produced, fruit bombs to the dreaded Pinot Grigio poured from bottles that have been open two...
by Gina Beavers | Jul 24, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter, Wellness
Summer vacation is a much needed break for both kids and parents and often serves as a respite from rigorous schedules that might include music lessons, team sports, and other extracurriculars. But while many parents concern themselves with summer learning loss, or...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 23, 2018 | Arts, Featured, News, Newsletter, Podcast
Kathy Harrison doesn’t believe the zombies are coming to get us. But she does believe in being prepared for the worst. Harrison, of Cummington, just wrote her fifth book, called Prepping 101: 40 steps you can take to be prepared. Stocking up on necessities might...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 23, 2018 | Astrology, Featured, Newsletter, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Be extra polite and deferential. Cultivate an exaggerated respect for the status quo. Spend an inordinate amount of time watching dumb TV shows while eating junk food. Make sure you’re exposed to as little natural light and fresh air...
by Jack Brown | Jul 23, 2018 | Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Film, Newsletter
Close your eyes, and think back to the stories of your youth. It’s remarkable, how strongly they stay with us. The recent release of Morgan Neville’s Mr. Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? put a spell on me, casting me back to my own childhood — Fred Rogers...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 20, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter
Two days after the state Legislature removed a set of provisions in its budget that would have protected immigrants in Massachusetts, a group of activists met in front of an immigrant detainment center in Greenfield to sing songs and demand an end to cruel treatment...
by Sarah Heinonen | Jul 20, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter, Wellness
It’s warm — very warm. I’m sitting on a wooden bench leaning against an ergonomic backrest. The small room within a room is lined on three sides by cedar paneling with a glass door looking out into a small dim entryway where towels had been provided to wrap myself in....
by Sarah Heinonen | Jul 20, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter, Wellness
Think of a gym. Muscle-bound men do tricep curls while women in spandex pedal endless miles on exercise bikes. Now forget all that. Those things may still happen, but you’re more likely to see it with people over 50. Those in their 20s and 30s, known as millennials,...
by Sarah Heinonen | Jul 19, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter, Wellness
A big yellow lab named Jack laid down on the couch while his black litter-mate, Sophie, slept stretched out on the floor. At 11 years old, both dogs are old for their breed but aside for some arthritis in Jack’s hips and a diagnosis of Lyme disease for Sophie, they...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 18, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, This is a really hard thing to write. I recently went through my partner’s phone. (Yikes I know. I wanted to know what he got for my birthday). While scrolling in the web history I found he’s been watching gay porn and Googling personal ads on...
by Gina Beavers, Dave Eisenstadter, and Chris Goudreau | Jul 18, 2018 | Featured, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Jazz in July Week 2 All Star Faculty Concert // THURSDAY, July 19 It’s not truly July until UMass launches the Jazz in July program in Amherst. And The Jazz in July faculty concerts are always showstoppers. Greg Caputo, Steve Davis, Bob Ferrier, Catherine Jensen-Hole,...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 17, 2018 | Featured, Music, News, Newsletter
Author’s note: This article discusses sexual assault and trauma and includes personal stories from victims of sexual harassment, assault, and rape. The Pioneer Valley is unique for its thriving and diverse music scene with dozens of venues and hundreds of local...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 17, 2018 | Between the Lines, Featured, News, Newsletter
Sometimes living in deep blue Massachusetts can feel comforting when observing the daily horror show that now passes for our federal government. A case in point: as the U.S. Senate edges toward nominating President Donald Trump’s second arch-conservative Supreme Court...
by Jennifer Levesque | Jul 17, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Music, Newsletter, Valley Show Girl
For the past 32 years, the Green River Festival has taken over a weekend in July, spreading out over the fields at Greenfield Community College — three days filled to the brim with music, food, drinks, art, crafts, vendors, hot air balloons, and community. This year,...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 16, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter, Podcast
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Ashfield inventor Tom Leue. When making his own brand of biodiesel, an alternative fuel made from plant matter, he accidentally set fire to his workshop and burned it to the ground (hear about the fireball that ensued at...
by Jack Brown | Jul 16, 2018 | Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Newsletter
Film and television may be the land of the moving image, but it has sure given us a lot of great music over the years. Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, quietly breathing out Moon River. Shirley Bassey’s brassy, wagging Goldfinger. The many themes and soundtracks...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 16, 2018 | Astrology, Featured, Newsletter
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” Whenever that quote appears on the Internet, it’s falsely attributed to painter Frida Kahlo. In fact, it was originally composed by poet Marty McConnell. In any case, I’ll recommend...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jul 13, 2018 | Bizarro Briefs, Featured, News, Newsletter
A waking nightmare Don’t you hate it when you wake up to find a six-foot-long snake has fallen from the ceiling into your bed? An Albany-area man certainly did. He called the police in a panicked state after finding himself next to a red-tailed boa constrictor. The...
by Meg Bantle | Jul 12, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Most people, even non-cannabis smokers, could pretty easily recognize two parts of the cannabis plant: the flower, or bud, that is dried and sold for consumption, and the fan shaped leaves that are often used in advertisements. An important aspect of turning the...
by From Our Readers | Jul 12, 2018 | Featured, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
by Naila Moreira | Jul 11, 2018 | Columns, Down to Earth, Featured, Newsletter
It’s summer, and with these golden months for many of us come trips to the seaside. As much as I love the Pioneer Valley, one of my regrets in choosing this home is its landlocked geography. Out here in Western Massachusetts, the ocean can feel almost infinitely far...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 11, 2018 | Featured, News, Newsletter
A memorial to first responders who gave their lives saving others on Sept. 11, 2001, that includes a large section of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center in New York City will be a installed at the soon to be renovated Riverfront Park on West Columbus Avenue in...
by Gina Beavers, Dave Eisenstadter, and Chris Goudreau | Jul 11, 2018 | Featured, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Next Wave Stage at Green River Fest // FRIDAY, July 13 Signature Sounds Recordings will continue its Next Wave Stage this year at the 2018 Green River Festival, highlighting up and coming teenage bands across the Pioneer Valley and northern Vermont. The lineup this...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jul 10, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana! I recently entered a new relationship and my new partner finally helped me cum for the very first time! Recently though we discovered that I sometimes squirt and now I’ve been absolutely terrified of cumming since I’m anxious about making a mess. My partner...
by Chris Goudreau | Jul 10, 2018 | Featured, Music, News, Newsletter
For more than two decades medieval folk rock duo Blackmore’s Night has been performing its unique blend of rock meets medieval folk on authentic period instruments. The band is led by husband and wife duo Ritchie Blackmore (formerly of Deep Purple and Rainbow), who...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 10, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
A new thriller, a boundary-breaking dance form, a classic tragedy, and a dramatic sequel, all on area stages this month, illustrate the creative urge to mold existing materials into new forms. In the Valley, Silverthorne Theater Company presents White, Black and Blue,...
by Monte Belmonte | Jul 10, 2018 | Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you remind me of Rachel Maddow.” That was my reaction after meeting Franchesca Thepenier, the 23 year old certified Sommelier and beverage director for ConVino Wine Bar in Northampton. I worked with Rachel for two years...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 9, 2018 | Arts, Featured, Newsletter, Podcast
Recently opened nonprofit artist space Looky Here in Greenfield is a place for workshops, art making, thrift shopping, and most things you can (or can’t) think of. Leaders Beverly Ketch and Hannah Brookman talk about how they got started, what to expect, and...
by Jack Brown | Jul 9, 2018 | Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Newsletter
When the world lost Miriam Makeba in 2008, we lost a great musical and political voice. The first African musician to become a solid international star, her powerful singing crossed national divides without ever losing touch with her South African roots — no mean...
by Rob Brezsny | Jul 9, 2018 | Astrology, Featured, Newsletter
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your key theme right now is growth. Let’s dig in and analyze its nuances. 1.) Not all growth is good for you. It may stretch you too far too fast — beyond your capacity to integrate and use it. 2.) Some growth that is good for you...
