Some bands play, others truly perform — and leaping around at the top of the latter category is Northampton “bohemian folk-punk” group Bella’s Bartok, who’ve built up a strong following all over the Northeast thanks to their sweaty and kinetic live shows. Soaked shirts get tossed aside, on-their-feet audience members have lyrics memorized and robustly sing along.
Today, Bella’s Bartok released their new album, “Change Yer Life,” and they’ll play Pearl Street Saturday at 9 p.m. Opening the show is Burlington, Vermont, faves Rough Francis.
High-energy bands can sometimes be disappointed in how a recording session might (or might not) capture the magic they’re capable of creating on a nightly basis, but Bella’s is particularly happy with the results on “Change Yer Life,” saying it’s their first release to truly reflect their klezmer/Balkan/circus/rock intensity.
Guitarist/accordion/mandolinist Jesse Putnam said the new album “contains the songs and sounds as they are meant to be heard.” The stomping first single is “Ramona” — the horn section punches over a tight rhythm section, sparkly mandolin twitters like a tree full of birds and Asher Putnam’s full-throated voice breaks at the top of his range. It sparks like a live performance, not a hermetically sealed approximation of one.
Since the average Bella’s Bartok show is already a wild affair, to celebrate the release of the new record, the band is upping the ante, making their CD release show a masquerade party, promising “special effects and surprises galore.”
They’ve even got a contest going: make a mask and wear it to the concert and they’ll automatically enter you to win one of three prizes (a signed album, a signed limited edition poster, or a unique mask custom-made by the band).
There’s going to be a dance floor, and it’s going to be crowded. Bella’s Bartok (self-described as “Salvador Dali and Toulouse Lautrec fronting the Moulin Rouge house band”) is one of the Valley’s most popular bands for a reason — help them celebrate and see why.
Pianist Michael Mizrahi, celebrating the release of “Currents,” his second album of solo works, shares a bill with violinist Michi Wiancko at The Arts Block in Greenfield Friday at 8 p.m.
“Thought Bomb” — for which host Matthew Flynn welcomes writers, stand-ups and others to perform a story and then do a karaoke song in front of a live band — takes place on a bill with stand-up duo Ginny Leise and SJ Son at Flywheel in Easthampton Friday at 8 p.m.
The Ray Mason Band, one of the Valley’s very best, returns to the Luthiers Co-Op in Easthampton Friday at 9:30 p.m. Also on the schedule is Jamaica Plain band Love Love (featuring Chris Toppin of Fuzzy) at 8 p.m. and Robinson & Rohe at 7 p.m. No cover charge, but tips are appreciated.
Endless Mike, a Northampton quartet led by Mike Benoit, just released a new single (“Shakers” / “The Devil Reached Out”) available on Bandcamp, and they’ll share the night with Fighting Giants and Darklight at the One Bar in Northampton Saturday at 8 p.m. It’s an early show, with a deejay set following at 11 p.m.
Sandy, Zach, Vanessa, Chris, Orion join forces to becomeFleetwood Whack (playing songs by Fleetwood Mac) at the Rendezvous in Turners Falls Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
Busy local guitarist Dan Thomas doesn’t just play with countless bands, he’s also a composer. He recently started Master Blaster, an 11-piece fusion group with a six-strong horn section, to play pieces he’s been writing while working toward his master’s degree in composition at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The whole shebang is influenced by Zappa, Metheny, Mr. Bungle, Snarky Puppy and others, and the big band is full of Thomas’ friends and favorite local players, as he said in an interview earlier this week: “I put them through the ringer with this music and am honored that they would take the time to learn and care about it. It’s gonna be a blast.” At Bishop’s Lounge in Northampton Saturday at 10 p.m.
Phlegm-filled stand-up comedian Neil Hamburger (a long-popular/perplexing persona created by Gregg Turkington and the star of the recent Rick Alverson film “Entertainment”), makes a rare appearance at the Iron Horse in Northampton Monday at 7 p.m. Opening the show is Major Entertainer Mike H.
Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins shares a bill with the duo of Petra Haden & Jesse Harris at The Parlor Room in Northampton Tuesday at 7 p.m.
David Cross — star of “Mr. Show,” “W/ Bob & David,” “Arrested Development,” “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,” classic videos for Yo La Tengo and Superchunk and much more — brings his new stand-up show, “Making America Great Again,” to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton Thursday at 8 p.m.