FLORENCE – In a rite of late summer, The Performance Formerly Known as Transperformance drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Pines Theater at Look Park on Tuesday. “Performance 31: Unsung Heroes” brought out two dozen local bands taking on the personas of as many musical acts – acts that had never gotten their allotted 13 (not 15) minutes of fame in the previous 30 editions of the annual spectacle. Since 1991, the Northampton Arts Council has put on the benefit, raising over half a million dollars to support the arts in Northampton schools and the community and is now seeking public input and suggestions for renaming Transperformance for 2022 and beyond. This year’s line-up featured such long-neglected acts as the Modern Lovers, Willie Nelson, Tom Waits and, yes, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
Kevin Gutting can be reached at kgutting@gazettenet.com.