Music
by James Heflin | May 26, 2012 | Music
A friend of mine got a ukulele a few years ago. He can play the thing well, and has a good warble to boot, so listening to the little bursts of stringy rhythm he produces is pretty swell. He said, “You ought to get one. They’re tuned pretty much like a...
by Advocate Staff | May 31, 2012 | Music
Andrew BirdBreak It Yourself(Mom + Pop) Andrew Bird has made his presence known at many ends of the musical flowchart, most notably as a solo artist toting a violin, unusual song constructions and a pleasant tenor. On his latest, Bird offers an ethereal vision...
by Michael Cimaomo | May 31, 2012 | Music
As the lights inside the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, N.Y., went down for the fourth time shortly after 10 p.m. on May 13, those still inside the building roared excitedly for the action to come. The crowd had already witnessed sets from such...
by Gary Carra | May 31, 2012 | Music
Leave it to Atomic Scissors’ singer/six-stringer Sean Callaghan to cut to the chase. “We’ve been somewhat moribund of late, say, 10 years or so,” he admits in his preamble to the announcement of the Scissors’ June 1 engagement at the...
by Gary Carra | May 31, 2012 | Music
No fewer than three upcoming area performers can credit network television singing competitions for their present headliner status. The first two, American Idol cast-off Adam Lambert and former The Voice victor Javier Colon, can be seen this Saturday, May 26 at Six...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 7, 2012 | Music
Lee RanaldoBetween The Times and The Tides(Matador) On his “first song-based solo full-length,” former Sonic Youth axeman Ranaldo capitalizes on the freedom resulting from his group’s sudden hiatus. Where past efforts veered into noise...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jun 7, 2012 | Music
For the self-taught musicians of Westfield’s Arrows Over Athens, choosing a band name that rolled off the tongue and symbolized the group’s beliefs was an important task. Fortunately, while running through a list of possibilities, members Randy Burlingame...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jun 7, 2012 | Music
“To draw an analogy, if I were a painter I would be the painter that throws handfuls of paint at an empty canvas, and when he’s done decides if it’s good,” says New England solo artist Able Thought. Though he means it as a description of his...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 14, 2012 | Music
Patrick WatsonAdventures in Your Own Backyard(Domino) Ethereal and chock full of tickly arpeggios and navigable instrumental soundscapes, Patrick Watson’s Adventures in Your Own Backyard uses every nook and cranny of the stereo spectrum to propel a listener on a...
by James Heflin | Jun 14, 2012 | Music
See Doc Westchesterson’s video “The 413,” and chances are, you’ll quickly develop a soft spot for the professorial rapper. He’s decked out in a stunning brown polyester suit and orange accessories, and he’s got a beard of...
by Gary Carra | Jun 14, 2012 | Music
Who says you never use what you learn in college? According to Valley-based bluesman Mark Nomad, he delved deep into his institutional experience when it came to “All One,” the disc closer for his recently released Torch Tones. “The words ‘all...
by Gary Carra | Jun 14, 2012 | Music
He’s gigged around the region over for more than four decades, appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and graced the stage of the Newport Folk Festival. Now, this Saturday, June 9, Valley veteran Ray Mason returns to his roots, playing a… house party?...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 21, 2012 | Music
The HivesLex Hives(independent) Dwelling in a proto-punk/glam space that’s cooler than Weezer and not quite as cool as Ween, Swedish rockers The Hives continue their well-dressed, poorly behaved journey to a place only they can see clearly. Blending elements...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jun 21, 2012 | Music
Whatever assumptions audiences might make before attending a show by Cavalcade, there is one thing that guitarist, vocalist and songwriter William Greer wants to make clear: “Expect no cover songs,” he says. “Do not expect cover songs.”...
by James Heflin | Jun 21, 2012 | Music
Everything about the production of Cook with the Hook: Live in 1974 is amateurish. The quick cuts between cameras can make your head hurt; a camera sometimes jerks erratically; gray screens and shots of trees and random audience members conspire to create maximum...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jun 21, 2012 | Music
As hometown to rock acts like Staind, All That Remains and Shadows Fall, Springfield has long had a reputation as a headbanger’s haven. However, the “City of Homes” also has ties to a growing underground rap and hip-hop scene. As part of that scene,...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 28, 2012 | Music
Billy Bragg & WilcoMermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions(Nonesuch) In the late ’90s, Billy Bragg and Wilco teamed up to put newly discovered Woody Guthrie lyrics to music. Their two Mermaid Avenue volumes are career highlights, brilliantly meshing folk and...
by Gary Carra | Jun 28, 2012 | Music
The venue has had artists as diverse as Tito Puente and Blues Traveler tear the proverbial roof off the joint. It’s also seen Mother Nature literally tear its roof off—forcing the cancellation of several subsequent seasons. While the SummerWind Performing...
by Gary Carra | Jun 28, 2012 | Music
Event president Bobby Liswell isn’t even quite sure of the origins of this, his seventh Fest Of All (festofall.com), slated for June 28-July 1 at Szot Park. “I thought it would be a nice complement to the Taste [event] we have here,” he recalls....
by Advocate Staff | Jul 5, 2012 | Music
Neneh Cherry & The ThingThe Cherry Thing(Smalltown Supersound) The real surprise here isn’t the collaboration between the singer of pop hit “Buffalo Stance” and a Scandinavian free jazz trio, but how well this set of eclectic covers works. From...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jul 5, 2012 | Music
According to the online version of Webster’s Dictionary, the original definition of the word awesome is “inspiring awe or admiration or wonder.” However, if you ask Greenfield singer and songwriter Daniel Hales, awesome is also one of the best words...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jul 5, 2012 | Music
Though their new project is only a few months old, the musicians of Trhinoceros have all played in the area for years. Ryan Crowley (guitar, vocals) has performed with, among others, Super Happy Wicked Awesome Fun Time, Azwan and the Savages and World’s Greatest...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 12, 2012 | Music
Patti SmithBanga(Columbia) It’s been eight years since Smith’s last album of new material. In the intervening years, between writing an award-winning memoir and recording bold and worthy covers of iconic rock songs, she’s traveled, played in remote...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jul 12, 2012 | Music
Referenced by poet Charles Baudelaire and situationist theorist Guy Debord, “dérive” is a concept describing “a mode of experimental behavior linked to the conditions of urban society, a technique of rapid passage through varied...
by Gary Carra | Jul 12, 2012 | Music
Perhaps Enfield’s finest should get hazardous duty pay for the annual Fourth of July celebration occurring at the town green July 6-8. The Crawler certainly isn’t a chemistry major, but when you factor in one constant (the annual festival always boasts one...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 19, 2012 | Music
The MenOpen Your Heart(Sacred Bones) This is their third album in three years, but Open Your Heart demonstrates that instead of running short on ideas, The Men are just hitting their stride. The Brooklyn band have a well deserved reputation for raw rock riffs,...
by Gary Carra | Jul 19, 2012 | Music
All-female country/rockers Antigone Rising got game… literally. To commemorate the recent release of the band’s 11th studio effort—Red 23—the Mohegan Sun dedicated one of its roulette tables to fans before and after AR’s July 9 Wolf Den...
by Gary Carra | Jul 19, 2012 | Music
Veteran troubadour Roger Salloom leaves the meek in the hands of a higher power with respect to whether or not they will truly inherit the earth. But according to the man oft regarded as “America’s Best Unknown Songwriter,” all positive vibes from...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 26, 2012 | Music
Jesca HoopThe House That Jack Built(Bella Union) Ever since I first heard her, Jesca Hoop’s eccentric and slightly unhinged music has been in steady rotation on my stereo. In the same way that Kristin Hersh, Radiohead or Sinead O’Connor took me by surprise...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jul 26, 2012 | Music
“I write all my songs initially on a beat-up classical guitar I picked up in Costa Rica on my honeymoon,” says Fiesta Brava’s Ray Keane (guitar, vocals). “[I start with ] a general outline of chords, followed by lyrics that are written...
by Michael Cimaomo | Jul 26, 2012 | Music
When asked what audiences can expect at a show by Northampton band And The Kids, singer and guitarist Hannah Mohan replies with tongue planted firmly in cheek. “They can expect to see moderately attractive people playing moderately attractive music,” she...
by Gary Carra | Aug 2, 2012 | Music
Still want more Paul “Pauly D” Delvecchio after Jersey Shore, his spin-off TV show The Pauly D Project or his recent cameos on The Voice, appearances on Britney Spears’ tour and Las Vegas residencies? If your answer is “Yeah, buddy,” then...
by Gary Carra | Aug 2, 2012 | Music
The hills of Hillsdale, N.Y. will be alive this weekend, July 27-29, when the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival touches down on Dodd’s Farm and unleashes dozens of performances by the genres’ top practitioners on the masses. Not surprisingly, event publicist Anne...
by Michael Cimaomo | Aug 2, 2012 | Music
There’s a scene in the 1993 action film Cliffhanger in which mountain climber/ rescue ranger Gabe Walker (played by Sylvester Stallone) watches a fellow climber slip through his fingers and plummet to the ground below. It’s an intense scene, and one that...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 2, 2012 | Music
Royal HeadacheRoyal Headache(What’s Your Rupture?) R&B-inflected punk is a new genre for this listener, but on their self-titled debut, these four Australians craft an energetic batch of tunes that fly by in a little over 20 minutes. Despite claims that he...
by James Heflin | Aug 9, 2012 | Music
A few months back, I followed formerly local musician extraordinaire Aric Beiganek into a dank hallway in a rambling Holyoke Victorian. (Bieganek is now a resident of Minnesota.) We wound our way to an inner sanctum where his band had set up. I was there to lend a...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 9, 2012 | Music
The Brendan HinesSmall Mistakes(independent) Singing forms the core of Small Mistakes. Singer/songwriter Brendan Hines uses his vocal clarity to tell tales of woe and heartbreak in a style with a folk/blues core. The songs are somber affairs, weighted and weary, as if...
by Gary Carra | Aug 9, 2012 | Music
Economic outlook grim? Perhaps Windsor, Conn.’s Grimm Generation (thegrimmgeneration.com) has just the way to stretch your entertainment dollar this weekend. In addition to three performances (Beantown’s Patrick Coman and the band’s own Lys Guillorn...
by James Heflin | Aug 9, 2012 | Music
Examine the current challenges faced by musicians, and you’ll find an over-arching issue that threatens to doom the whole enterprise of music-making: these several decades since the beginning of rock and roll have seriously depleted the conglomerations of words...
by James Heflin | Aug 16, 2012 | Music
Jazz drummer Alex Snydman is leaving the Valley after 12 years, and on the heels of producing his first CD as bandleader. The disc, Fortunate Action, is in many ways a stunner. It’s also the top-selling local album at Turn It Up in Northampton this week. Seven...
by Gary Carra | Aug 16, 2012 | Music
T hough Ludlow firefighter Dan McKenney is in full support of his brethren pounding the pavement in an effort to fill boots with loot for Muscular Dystrophy, he decided a couple of years ago it was time to step it up. “After considering several options, we...
by Michael Cimaomo | Aug 16, 2012 | Music
“It’s a play on words,” the members of Easthampton band Hex Lovers profess when pressed about their name. “Think ‘ex-lovers.’ We just kind of stumbled on it after running through about a dozen other names that the Internet revealed...
by Tom Sturm | Aug 23, 2012 | Music
Eric Olsson has been a mainstay of the Valley’s music scene for decades, and is familiar to many as a guitarist and singer who’s played with The Bombastics, Stash and Unit 7. He’s also lent his talents to multiple other projects. His musical...
by Gary Carra | Aug 23, 2012 | Music
Northampton Arts Council Executive Director Bob Cilman will be the first to admit that, when it came to selecting a theme for the 22nd installment of his organization’s annual “Transperformance” benefit concert, he didn’t look too far for...
by Advocate staff | Aug 23, 2012 | Music
Bombastic Meatbats Live Meat and Potatoes (Marmaduke) Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats’ base of operations is a Los Angeles jazz club named the Baked Potato, and the players are led by Chad Smith, drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Meatbats appear to...
by Michael Cimaomo | Aug 23, 2012 | Music
“There seems to be a preconceived idea that all electronic music is the same and repetitive, but we beg to differ,” says EatUrAura keyboardist Chris O’Connell. Instead, the Holyoke band, which formed in 2007 and completed its current lineup in 2010,...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 30, 2012 | Music
Grass WidowInternal Logic(HLR) Featuring layered harmonies and a propulsive beat, the third full-length from this trio of San Franciscan women is a gorgeous slice of indie pop. Opener “Goldilocks Zone” sets the mood. After something resembling an outer...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 23, 2012 | Music
Father Yod and the Source FamilyThe Thought Adjusters(Drag City) This two-LP set features the music of James Edward Baker (aka Father Yod, or YaHoWa), a business owner and spiritual commune leader in California during the late ’60s and early ’70s, and...
by Michael Cimaomo | Aug 30, 2012 | Music
Spawned from “drunken barroom jukebox fist-pumping and diplomatic talks over snow-monster shaping in January, 2011,” Greenfield band Rebel Base is ready to fight the good fight for mankind, even if it means venturing to the far reaches of the galaxy....
by James Heflin | Aug 30, 2012 | Music
What if, instead of bringing home perfumey tomatoes, boatloads of kale and pounds of purpled turnip, you could pay for an annual share that would bring to your ears the mellow tones of stand-up bass, piano improv or horn solos? That novel idea is the guiding principle...
by James Heflin | Aug 30, 2012 | Music
There’s long been an impressive level of musicianship among the Valley’s many musicmakers. And somewhere around the summit of that particular peak, you’ll find the sophisticated players Gideon Freudmann and Tony Vacca. Freudmann, a cellist, is likely...
by Michael Cimaomo | Sep 6, 2012 | Music
“Outer Stylie was a song before it was the name of the band,” says group guitarist and vocalist Nate Martel. “I wrote the song and then changed Tom [Schack] (bass) and my band name at the time, Legal Lies, to Outer Stylie. It is basically a take on a...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 6, 2012 | Music
Van Dyke ParksArrangements, Vol. 1(Bananastan) Whether it’s as lyricist for The Beach Boys’ fabled Smile or string arranger for Joanna Newsom’s acclaimed Ys, Van Dyke Parks is best known for his work with others. Despite a cult solo career,...
by Gary Carra | Sep 6, 2012 | Music
“Does anybody know how the story really goes, or should we all just hum along?” Scott Weiland famously barks in the 1996 hit “Big Bang Baby.” When it comes to the plight of Weiland and his Stone Temple Pilots over the past two decades-plus,...
by Gary Carra | Sep 6, 2012 | Music
Susie Agrillo and venue owner Ed Wierzbowski unveil a labor of love this Labor Day weekend. The two have combined forces to present what they call The Whiskey Treaty, an evening of music that features four acts on two stages at Greenfield’s Arts Block this...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 13, 2012 | Music
JapandroidsCelebration Rock(Polyvinyl) Japandroids burst onto the indie rock scene three years ago with Post-Nothing, an exuberant debut that made waves for its combo of unrelenting punk energy and infectious power chords. For their follow-up, the Vancouver...
by Michael Cimaomo | Sep 13, 2012 | Music
While some musicians take extended breaks from the road or join their bands on a prolonged hiatus, few artists manage to step away from music completely for multiple decades. Then there’s singer/songwriter Michael Silverstone. As the current leader of...
by James Heflin | Sep 13, 2012 | Music
George Jones, “The Possum,” took the stage at Northampton’s Calvin Theater after, bizarrely, a music video (Eric Lee Beddingfield’s “The Gospel According to Jones”). It was quite the somber, dramatic build-up, full of serious shots...
by James Heflin | Sep 13, 2012 | Music
If you pass Tommy Emmanuel walking down the street, you might not give him a second glance. You might think he’s just another average middle-aged guy dressed like one of those vanilla L.L. Bean catalogue models. That average-guy look is deceiving; put a guitar...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 20, 2012 | Music
Blues ControlValley Tangents(Drag City) Though only six tracks long, Blues Control is an expansive foray through multiple genres. Opener “Love’s a Rondo” is five minutes of piano and bass figures interspersed with distorted electric guitar....
