Editor’s note: This week we say farewell to Ken Mauri’s Clubland, which has been running since 1995. Our staff writers will continue to cover the Valley’s music scene, and Maiuri will keep writing his Tuned In column, which appears in Hampshire Life magazine. —Dave Eisenstadter, features editor
Exactly one month ago today I slipped on ice and fell, hard. A trip to the ER, X-rays, six painful days of waiting and a CT scan later, I was told I’d broken my left shoulder in four places and needed to have immediate surgery, a full shoulder replacement.
Under doctor’s orders, my left arm remains kinked into a bulky sling 24/7 until at least early March. Since I can only type with my right index finger, I asked my editor if I could please put Clubland on hiatus. Stuck indoors and glum, shuffling around carefully in sweatpants and slippers and an unwieldy arm apparatus, I wasn’t in mental or physical shape to leave the house and see any shows.
But when I saw a listing for a concert at the Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton happening January 31, featuring longtime favorite area acts the Bamboo Steamers and the Ray Mason Band plus newer duo Simple Friend, my goal was to rally and be there.
That concert took place last Friday night, and I made it.
Northampton band Simple Friend is the duo of Brandi Ediss and Frank Padellaro (who also play together in King Radio), and they started off the night with a stripped-down set of heart-on-sleeve pop songs, many of which dealt with raw emotions using melodic grace and thoughtful turns of phrase. Ediss has a debut solo record (“Bees and Bees and Bees”) due out in late spring, and around the same time, her voice (singing a song by Joe Pernice) is slated to be featured in the Netflix original film “The Half of It.”
The Bamboo Steamers are a loosey-goosey surf/spy/twang band with a winning sense of humor and a willingness to take chances. At the Luthier’s, there was an almost gospel-like fervor to their set; the venue, as crowded as I’ve ever seen it, hummed with an electric energy. (It was a record night at the bar, I was told.)
The quintet played the entirety of its new EP (“Six Minutes to Everything”) and threw in some other choice cuts, like a cover of Carl Douglas’ 1974 hit “Kung Fu Fighting.”
Frontman Don Singleman has a knack for improvising a long monologue/conversation with the audience while the band vamps underneath, addressing old friends in the crowd, ribbing his bandmates. But on this night, woven into his banter was some heartfelt information: “We weren’t sure this would ever happen again,” he told the audience, referring to the band’s very existence on stage.
One of their members was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, going through serious chemotherapy and 12 hours of surgery to remove “non-vital organs”; another had a heart transplant last March, and for months wasn’t allowed to lift anything heavier than 14 pounds.
But here they were, everyone together again, playing with true joy and energy — in fact smartly dressed keyboardist Charlie Simonich almost fell off his stool while playing a particularly passionate glissando down the keys. My shoulder situation wouldn’t allow me to get up and dance, but I wished I could. I felt lucky to be in the room, a part of the party.
Ray Mason was fighting a cold, but besides some vocal roughness, you’d never have known during his set; he and his band were as tight and tough as always. The quartet took requests and played some of their all-time best, like “Big Hug” (my vote for Official Northampton Music Scene Theme Song), “Step Back Melody,” “I’m Only Human,” and “We Don’t Get Along Anymore.”
And when the whole band slammed into the big F major 9 chord near the top of “Always Stay,” I felt a strong rush of emotions — deep happiness, melancholy, appreciation, awe.
Local artist/photographer Julian Parker-Burns was in attendance from the earliest part of the night. I overheard him tell someone he was just there “for fun,” yet he worked his butt off for four hours straight, weighed down by big cameras hanging on each hip and one more in his hands, contorting on the floor in front of the stage to get the best shots.
During downtime between acts he told me he’d been reading the David Byrne book, “How Music Works,” and had just finished the chapter on the importance of a music scene.
The night was a beautiful encapsulation of our own local scene. Julian balancing on furniture to capture a quick musical moment; an inebriated superfan dancing and singing along to every Mason song, passing out pieces of a chocolate cake she’d brought along for all the people in the room celebrating birthdays (guitarist Tom Shea, drummer Frank Marsh, herself and others); old friends invited on stage to sing backup (the Younger Brothers, aka Matt Goldman and David Simons); Pamela Means, a dedicated musician in her own right, tirelessly running the sound all night long; friends and family and co-workers in attendance and showing support; Luthier’s regular Jonathan Herbert sitting at the bar watching the music, but then also clearing empty pint glasses from tables to help out the busy staff. A couple who wandered in off the street were so taken with the vibe, they took seats and watched the whole rest of the show.
I’ve been “taken with the vibe” of the Valley music scene since my friend Alyssa first played me Ray Mason’s rocking 1992 single, which blew my mind. People around here are making music as great as this? I had to learn more!
This is the final Clubland (number 1,046), and it’ll end its run as it began, doing what I was originally hired to do by Elise Gibson, the editor who offered me the opportunity to create this column in April 1995: go see some live music and report back.
This column has been my way of learning about the artists in the area and sharing my discoveries. It’s been an honor to cover the local scene in the Gazette since the early-’90s. Thank you for the support, and to those who wrote in to share thoughts, opinions and recommendations. We live in an amazing community of creative people, and I’ve loved singing their praises in these pages.
Clubland the column is no more, but clubland the reality lives on vibrantly at the Parlor Room, the Iron Horse, the Luthier’s Co-op, Gateway City Arts, 10Forward, Flywheel, Hawks & Reed, the Calvin, the Academy of Music, Bishop’s Lounge, Progression Brewing Company, New City Brewery, the Shea Theater, The Sierra Grille, Pearl Street, the 13th Floor Music Lounge, City Sports Grille, The 413, the Stone Church, The Rendezvous, and the list goes on and on… unmissable magic is happening somewhere, every night.
Ken Maiuri can be reached at clublandcolumn@gmail.com.