I’m bad at goodbyes. I’ve been writing this weekly column for most of the past 22 years. This is the last one. (It’s number 940. I keep a list.)
Budgets get slashed, decisions are made. I was lucky to survive this long doing something that combines so much of what I love: experiencing live music, writing, community, conversation and connection, staying up late.
Clubland debuted April 21, 1995. I was originally hired by the Gazette (thank you, Elise Gibson) to review concerts, since the paper’s focus had been on previewing. And at the time, I guess they didn’t have anyone on staff willing to stay out until 1 a.m. and report on the nightclub world.
With a small spiral notebook and a pen (sadly, I didn’t understand the importance of earplugs until tinnitus had become a permanent part of my life), I spent a lot of time at the Bay State Cabaret, Pearl Street, the Iron Horse, the Fire & Water, Northampton Brewery, Alley Oops at the Northampton Bowl and the campus centers and concert halls of the five local colleges.
These days “going out to see live music” seems to lag far behind “stay home and watch Netflix” in the “What Should We Do Tonight” category. But positive and energetic scenes still exist, destinations for people making the effort to experience some aural art in person — the Luthiers Co-Op in Easthampton, The Parlor Room in Northampton, the Jazz Workshop at City Sports Grille at Spare Time Northampton, word-of-mouth basement house concerts, Bishop’s Lounge in Northampton, in-store shows at Amherst’s Mystery Train, the Brick House up in Turners Falls.
There’s also the new-ish Root Cellar in Greenfield, the volunteer-run Flywheel in Easthampton, The 13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence, The Rendezvous in Turners Falls, seasonal spots like the Montague Bookmill and the Dream Away Lodge in Becket, and, in Northampton, the historic Academy of Music, Pearl Street, the Calvin Theatre, The Basement and of course the long-running Iron Horse, which still has a busy calendar.
And soon there’ll be another place for live music. The Sierra Grille restaurant and bar in Northampton, which thrives where the legendary Bay State Cabaret once lived, is bringing back its Thursday-night concert series, this time booked by Robert Robinson. The first show will feature Steve Westfield’s super-fun dada ska band Beige, joining forces with the part rock, part wistful chamber-pop group King Radio, on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 9:30 p.m.
Again, I feel lucky: Writing Clubland over these decades has allowed me to experience and be a part of this musical community, one that’s vast and strong and stretches across generations. (Four years ago, local musician/writer Tom Sturm started a list of all the area bands he and others could think of. Last I knew, it was at 1,420 artists and counting.)
If I was allowed one event to sum it all up, it’d be the Ray Mason Band playing his original song “Big Hug” live at the old Bay State Hotel. It’s one of Ray’s catchiest and most-energetic tunes about one of his most-favorite topics — listening to records. It makes you want to dance, and the crowded Bay State always did.
Mason and his trademark Silvertone guitar kicked up that rock ’n’ roll rhythm, Frank Marsh muscled in with peppy drum fills and Stephen Desaulniers pushed the groove along with his signature bass tone, the best in the Valley (and I love the way he does a cool melodic syncopated climb on the E-minor chord). The first time I saw the trio play the song, it gave me a happy rush, and it’s never worn off.
Sadly, this column can’t be accompanied by a CD box set of my favorite local original songs. But if you want to hear a great weekly sampler of what this Valley has produced over the past 50 years, including current-day artists, listen to David and Michael Sokol’s “Sokol Heroes” radio show on 93.9 The River every Saturday at 7 p.m. We live in a special place and their program is a good place to hear the proof.
All my life I’ve been thankful for friends who shared their excitement about bands and songwriters, whether the artists were newfound favorites or lifelong loves. Clubland became my attempt to do that via the newspaper.
I’ll still be writing the weekly Tuned In column that appears in Hampshire Life every Friday, but Clubland is closing up shop. Thank you to anyone who read it, corresponded, or supported this life-affirming local music scene. Please keep doing it; go see a show! Say hi. … I’ll be the short guy in the crowd with the gingerale.
Ken Maiuri can be reached at tunedincolumn@gmail.com.