Newsletter
Bizarro Briefs: Mike Pence’s Gay Pet Rabbit
Marlon Bundo is probably the most famous bunny in the news right now. He’s the grand-bunny of Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence and he’s been a wascally wabbit this week. Karen Pence and her daughter wrote and illustrated a children’s book that...
Stagestruck: Backstage with the Director of Tar2f! — Me
It might seem like a conflict of interest, but for me, it’s a confluence of interests. You see, in addition to being the Advocate’s theater critic, I’m also a director. I work both sides of the curtain, so to speak. When I’m not sitting in a theater watching actors...
Pick of the Day 3/23: Jeremy Turgeon Quintet at Rootstock
Jeremy Turgeon is a young guy, but man does he have chops and the Jeremy Turgeon Quintet, or “JTQ,” brings a fresh, new sound to modern jazz. As part of Rootstock tonight, they’ll be making magic, fusing the timeless combination of Jazz, R & B...
Pick of the Day 3/22: Shut Up, Emily Dickinson
Smith College wants Emily Dickinson to just shut up already! There’s no better way to describe this show than “Emily Dickinson: poet, recluse, a**hole.” HA!!! And furthermore, this is “a pseudo-historical, quasi-biographical, hysterically existential...
CALENDAR: What’s Happening Thursday-Friday, 3/22-23
Thursday 3/22 MUSIC CLICK Music Presents May Erlewine: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. An evening of traditional folk, old time country swing, soul, and rock and roll. Advanced Sales: $12, Door Sales: $15; service fees apply. CLICK Workspace, 9 1/2 Market St., Northampton....
VIDEO: Pinedrop on Valley Advocate Sessions Friday
Pinedrop is jammy bluegrass meets rocking Americana. Check out a teaser video of the band’s upcoming Valley Advocate Sessions performance online this Friday.
Dar Williams Makes A Northampton Homecoming: a Q&A with the Pop Singer-Songwriter
Folk-pop super-group Cry Cry Cry, a trio consisting of acclaimed singer-songwriters Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell, is heading to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton on Saturday, March 31. The band made their debut in 1998 with a self-titled release...
Dr. Schnuffie’s Flu Fighter a Local Solution to Illness
Even though it didn’t get a catchy name, this flu season in the United States has been the most severe since the swine flu epidemic in 2009. While influenza season is winding down with the melting snow, there are still a few more risky weeks to get through....
Staff Picks: Folk music, Valley Music Showcase, Jewish Film
Darlingside // SATURDAY, March 24 If you like folk and bluegrass and haunting vocals you shouldn’t miss Darlingside’s tour stop at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton. I’m a little biased because the four members of Darlingside met while they were attending my...
CALENDAR: What’s Happening Wednesday 3/21
MUSIC All Ages Open Mic Night With Host F. Alex Johnson: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free and open to all. Award winning guitarist F. Alex Johnson hosts this weekly open mic featuring some of the best talent in the valley. Brew Practitioners, 36 Main St., Florence....
Pick of the Day 3/21: Smiles of A Summer Night at Amherst Cinema
It took Ingmar Bergman fifteen films to attract an international following, and it was his 1955 erotic comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens Leende) that did it. The black and white film follows 8 Swedes (four women and four men) through mating rituals and...
First-ever Cat Cafe in the Pioneer Valley Coming to Northampton Next Summer
There’s a new cafe that’ll be opening in Northampton in the summer of 2019 where you’ll be able to hang out with seven or eight lounging felines while enjoying a cup of tea. It’ll be the first of its kind in the Pioneer Valley. Cat.Fe Northampton is the...
Monte Belmonte Wines: So What Is Kosher Wine, Anyway?
“There’s nothing in the Torah about the Passover Seder. We first hear of it about 2000 years ago in a book of Rabbinic custom and law called the Mishnah. And the first thing they talk about is that everyone has to have four cups of wine.” Well G-d, if you insist! I...
100 percent renewables by 2050 in Massachusetts? Pittsfield activists think it’s possible
The Berkshires 100 Percent Renewable Energy Summit brought local business leaders, activists, and politicians together to discuss ways in which municipalities in the county can move towards a goal of relying on only renewable energy by 2050. This was the fifth in a...
Pick of the Day 3/20: PVJFF Raise the Roof
Boston artists Rick and Laura Brown of Handhouse Studio embarked on a 10-year journey to reconstruct the elaborate roof painting and ceiling of the Gwoździec synagogue. The project involved over 300 students and professionals from 16 countries. During those years...
CALENDAR: What’s Happening Tuesday, 3/20
MUSIC Faculty Concert: Voices of a New World: 7:30 p.m. Free. Jamie-Rose Guarrine, soprano and Seth Keeton, bass-baritoneNadine Shank and Laura Bolton, piano and Karl Knapp, celloBezanson Recital Hall, FAC, 151 President’s Dr., Amherst. 413-577-2154....
Valley Advocate Podcast: A Marijuana Cafe Plan B with Karima Rizk
Karima Rizk was hoping to have one of the first cafes in the country where patrons could come and use marijuana legally. Unfortunately, Massachusetts put the kibosh on that with it’s new regulations. Rizk hasn’t given up and still plans to move forward...
The V-Spot: My BF’s Back Pain Killed Our Sex Life
Hi Yana! I’ve been with my partner for a year. He’s in his mid-30s and has some chronic back pain from a sports accident that happened a few years ago and he still takes pain meds for. Our sex life is nonexistent right now. We agree we both want more sex and that his...
Cinemadope: The Room director returns
When Tommy Wiseau’s film The Room finally found its audience, it was as a famously awful piece of filmmaking — watching it was like seeing a tornado tear through a garbage dump. Whether or not the director has ever fully grasped the workings of his fame is still an...
Free Will Astrology: Cherish and nurture the basics, Gemini
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The “School of Hard Knocks” is an old-fashioned idiom referring to the unofficial and accidental course of study available via life’s tough experiences. The wisdom one gains through this alternate approach to education may...
CALENDAR: What’s Happening, MONDAY 3/19
MUSIC AMHERST JAZZ ORCHESTRA: 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. With vocalist Ethel Lee. No cover, free parking and great food. Union Station Grand Ballroom, 125A Pleasant St., Northampton. 413-253- 1607. info@amherstjazzorchestra.com. STAGE/FILM/DANCE PVJFF: East Jerusalem...
Pick of the Day 3/19: East Jerusalem, West Jerusalem
As part of the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival : Released in 2014, East Jerusalem West Jerusalem is a musical documentary which follows Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza as he records a new album with a mix of Israeli and Palestinian musicians. Broza is able...
O Cannabis: Pot and Pets, THC a No-No but CBD Shows Promise
While the humans, are away the pets will play, but if cannabis is in the house, it could be a health risk to your furry friends. Doctor Ellie Shelburne, one of the co-owners of the Northampton Veterinary Clinic, said that cannabis is one of the top 10 toxins she...
Three Decades of Music: Q&A with Cowboy Junkies vocalist Margo Timmins
Toronto-based alternative country, blues, and folk rockers, Cowboy Junkies, creates a melancholic feeling that’s combined with a mixture of genres and a collection of rock originals, cover tunes, and traditional songs. The band is best known for its critically...
CALENDAR: What’s Happening Sunday, 3/18
MUSIC Banish Misfortune, Traditional Irish Music: 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Free. Traditional Irish hornpipes, reels, jigs, waltzes, polkas, airs, songs and craic. Northampton Brewery, 11 Brewster Ct., Northampton. 413-586-4997. davemeuser@msn.com. The East Pointers //...
Pick of the Day 3/18: Mamma Mia!
Channel your inner Streep — or Brosnan — and dance your way to a special screening of the smash hit movie musical Mamma Mia! Don’t worry if you don’t know the words, there will be onscreen lyrics. Come dressed as your favorite character and sing-along!...
CALENDAR: What’s Happening Saturday, 3/17
MUSIC Big Bad Bollocks: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St, Northampton. Brattleboro Pub Sing: 3rd Saturdays 3-5 p.m. at McNeill’s. Pub songs, work songs, sea shanties, etc. Led by Tony Barrand & Amanda Witman. McNeill’s Brewery, 90 Elliot...
Pick of the Day 3/17: High Mud Comedy Fest at MASS MoCA in North Adams
It’s the second day of the High Mud Comedy Fest and you’re invited to MASS MoCA to get in on the fun. Headlined by Mike Birbiglia of This American Life, comedians will spend the late afternoon and evening making funny. At 4 p.m. you can take a...
Amid school walkouts, protesters in Springfield demand meeting about urban gun violence
Local students want to meet with P. James Debney, CEO of Springfield-based gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson, in the next 30 days to create a dialogue about ways to end urban gun violence, not just mass shootings. Students from Springfield, Holyoke, and Boston...
Pick of the Day 3/16: Dustbowl Revival at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke
We made it! It’s Friday and it’s time to let it all hang out … in Holyoke. The Dust Bowl Revival is blowing into Gateway City Arts tonight. It’s a nine-piece juggernaut of super sonic jazz and folk-inspired music. You might be witness to a...
Pick of the Day 3/15: Pinedrop at Hawks & Reed in Greenfield
Beware the Ides of March … or not. But you might want to head up to Greenfield to check out Brattleboro’s Pinedrop band. In staff writer Chris Goudreau’s Staff Pick this week, he describes them as “folk and jammy bluegrass quartet.” Lexi...
Amherst-Pelham Regional High students march to Amherst Common demanding action on ‘semi-automatic’ guns
About 200 students assembled in front of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School at 10 a.m. on the morning of March 14. Gathered together, huddled against the cold, young activists solemnly honored the memory of the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School...
Young Teens Blast Gun Laws in Northampton Student Walkouts
At John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton, a police officer and administrator kept outsiders clear of hundreds of students gathered outside, but their words were audible in the cold, March morning. Students went up to a microphone one by one and gave the name...
O, Cannabis! Craft marijuana co-ops in the Valley?
The Pioneer Valley has a rich agricultural history and is home to many famous products, including “Hadley grass” (asparagus grown in Hadley) and enough tobacco in the 1800s for the region to be known as the “tobacco valley.” The Valley now has the opportunity to take...
Bizarro Briefs: Dude, Where’s My Car?
A 19-year-old Canadian went to catch an event at Toronto’s Rogers Centre but was forced to park his Nissan Versa in a garage several miles away from the venue and from there take a cab. But when the show was over, he couldn’t remember where the garage was....
Get Out with Valley Advocate Staff Picks: Ingmar Bergman, Pinedrop, and High Mud Comedy Fest
Smiles of a Summer Night // SUNDAY, March 18 It took Ingmar Bergman fifteen films to attract an international following, and it was his 1955 erotic comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) that did it. The black and white film follows 8 Swedes (four...
Down to Earth: The Land Through Native Eyes
Two summers ago, I visited the grasslands of southwestern Brazil. I stayed at a fazenda, a farm property offering lodging for tourists on the side. Our pousada or lodge was especially tiny as these properties go – run by a woman and her partner who had rented space on...
Pick of the Day 3/14: Ben Cosgrove at Click Workspace
Did you know the National Park Service hosts artists-in-residence? I didn’t! But Ben Cosgrove is that guy. Cosgrove is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Methuen whose “work mainly explores the intersection of sound and place.” Which means his...
Turners Falls Experiencing a Renaissance
It wasn’t always such a bucolic village. Turners Falls, a village in the town of Montague has undergone a renaissance during the past decade. Where there was once empty storefronts, there’s now a vibrant downtown with a plethora of restaurants, a thriving arts...
Basemental: Tundrastomper Cleans It Up
Before writing this column, I stopped by Tundrastomper’s band house near the border of Easthampton and Southampton. Bassist Andrew Jones was getting surgical with a vacuum in the suburban home’s awkwardly large bathroom. He then offered me a bowl of black beans, which...
Editorial: Sunshine Week Important Now As Ever
I’ll never forget the Open Meeting Law conference I covered a few years ago in Northampton. Then State Senate President Stanley Rosenberg held the conference in March 2015 for local civic leaders and venting about the Open Meeting Law, which is in place for all of us...
Pick of the Day 3/13: Netflix
If you haven’t noticed, winter and spring are in an epic battle for dominance; my money is on spring because nobody puts spring in a corner. Today, however, winter is landing another merciless flurry of punches and opening a great big can of whoop a**. And if...
Letters to the Editor: Banning specific guns won’t work, but taking them away from violent people will
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...
Valley Advocate Podcast: TX Watson Is selling their soul to pay for student loans
T.X. Watson, a transgender student at Hampshire College, feels grateful to the academic institution for the level of aid they received. However, upon graduation this spring, T.X. will still have more than $45,000 in debt between student loans and credit card debt for...
Cinemadope: Hedy Times
It couldn’t have been easy to be known as The Most Beautiful Woman in the World. But that was the way actress Hedy Lamarr was presented to American audiences by studio head Louis B. Mayer, who came across the star during a European jaunt in the late 1930s. By then,...
Pick of the Day 3/12: Group exhibit “Women in History Month”
Well, we’re just about half way through March, which means in a couple of weeks being a woman will once again be out of fashion. But you still have time to celebrate Women’s History Month by checking out the Floyd Gallery’s 17th annual Women in...
V-Spot: I’m Feeld-ing Threesomes
Dear Yana, In my post-big-breakup dating life, I’ve decided to start using Feeld [a dating app that’s basically Tinder for couples and singles seeking to be matched for threesome arrangements]. I’ve always been open to the idea of a three-way both sexually and as a...
Free Will Astrology: Surround yourself with Beauty, Libra, Or Else
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The British science fiction TV show Dr. Who has appeared on BBC in 40 of the last 54 years. Over that span, the titular character has been played by 13 different actors. From 2005 until 2010, Aries actor David Tennant was the magic,...
Stacy Waldman loves dick pics so much she published a book of them
Stacy Waldman loves Dick pics. “I’ve got big Dicks, little Dicks, Dick dates, Dick destinations, driving Dicks, friends play with Dick, lady Dicks….” Waldman lists a few other categories, but it’s abundantly clear that she’s sitting on a lot of Dicks. As a matter of...
Pick of the Day 3/11: Homeward Vets Music Fest at World War II Club
It’s the last day of the Homeward Vets Music Fest; it’s been a full weekend of local live music at the World War II Club in Northampton. Proceeds from this festival go to support previously homeless veterans transitioning into housing. Bands will wrap up...
Infants of the Spring: A new play views the Harlem Renaissance with a jaundiced eye
The artistic nexus of the 1920s known as the Harlem Renaissance or New Negro Movement is remembered as a great flowering of black talent and a golden age in American cultural history. But at least one of its members, looking at it from the inside, saw it quite...
Pick of the Day 3/10: The Valley Letters Project: Live on Stage at the Academy of Music
Susan B. Anthony, Alexander Graham Bell, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, Leonard Nimoy, Elizabeth Taylor, Sylvia Plath, Dr. Seuss, Sojourner Truth and Kurt Vonnegut have all impacted the Pioneer Valley in one way or another. Tonight,...
Project Good Dog gives Hampden prisoners and pups a second chance
“Come here, Bella,” called Roberto Bigio, 29, to a black lab across the room. The dog trotted over to Bigio, who stood in the corner of the common area in one of the pre-release/ minimum security units at the Hampden County Jail and House of Correction in...
Review: Sally Clegg’s Bundle curious and unique; UMass’ Hampden Gallery could use work
There are so many settings in which you can find art exhibitions: Cafes, restaurants, hospitals, hotels, and of course college campuses. UMass Amherst, as a matter of fact, has four galleries under the auspices of the Fine Arts Center. The Student Union Gallery,...
Blaise’s Bad Movie Guide: David Hasselhoff in Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical
A change of scenery is in store for this month’s column. We will leave the flickering screen of the cinema and head for the bright lights of Broadway. Yes, instead of a classically bad movie, I’m going to focus on a stage adaptation of a classic novel as captured live...
Pick of the Day 3/8: Sunshine Brothers Inc. at the Iron Horse
What do you get when you take feel-good surfer boy vocal harmonies, Dick Dale-inspired guitar, some goodness and light, add a pinch of The Cure, fold in a lot of synth, and some bubble gum? You get the Sunshine Brothers Inc., an Amherst-grown trio of adorable young...
VIDEO: The Wildcat O’Halloran Band on Sessions Friday
Check out a teaser video for energetic blues and classic rock group, The Wildcat O’Halloran Band. Wildcat has been a Massachusetts staple in the local blues and rock scene for more than a decade and the band’s Sessions performance mixes original blues rock...
O Cannabis: CCC finalizes cannabis regulations, weed cafes don’t make the cut
Cannabis regulations were finally finalized on March 6 and Massachusetts marijuana enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to in 2018. Medical marijuana patients will be protected from shortages and applicants from communities worst affected by cannabis criminalization...
How to Fight Big Beer
In 2011, Anheuser-Busch InBev bought the Chicago craft brewery Goose Island. Today, the international conglomerate owns stake in a dozen formerly-craft American breweries. (Leah Kelley photo) I used to bartend at one of the oldest dive bars in Western Mass,...E-Edition
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