Eric R. Danton
@erdanton
Writer of Freak Scene, about music in #WesternMass and CT. Bylines in the Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Paste and more. IWWFJU. Ex-Hartford Courant. Knows it's only rock 'n' roll, but likes it.
Riley Mulherkar, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang (left to right) took full advantage of the sound system last night at Hope Center for the Arts in Springfield with a performance that was visceral, immersive and, in its way, meditative. Very cool show.
Let's go United States of New England (and the Good Parts of New York)
Somebody gave me a bumper sticker that reads, "You can go to Hell, I'm going to Western Mass," and I don't quite have the guts to put it on my car.
Caught @perennialtheband.bsky.social last night at UMass with Debbie Dopamine and Jaded in Paradise (from Manchester, CT) and it was, as expected, beautiful sonic mayhem. Someone asked if I was a professor, which is better than thinking I was a cop
Hadn't seen Ted Leo perform in ages before seeing him and the Pharmacists rip it up at the Iron Horse last night. Not only did the songs from "Shake the Sheets" sound amazing, he introduced me to the Irish folk singer Lisa O'Neill with a cover of "Rock the Machine." Phew.
Calvin Coolidge's former home in Northampton is displaying an upside down American flag, and not in an Samuel Alito insurrectionist way
Serious business here from the Social Security Administration with Slam the Scam
Saw Chuck Prophet last night at the Iron Horse in Northampton, and he and his cumbia band were excellent. He's a showman, in his laid back way, and kind of a low-key nut in the best way possible. I'm glad he's out there doing his thing.
Could also be all of @adamzucker.bsky.social's band Outro, which would make for a weird therapy dynamic
Fantastic Cat's bio last year was kind of along those lines, which makes sense, in that Anthony D'Amato worked as a publicist for a while. (When I saw them in December, he said, "Do you miss my emails?"
Holy God @perennialtheband.bsky.social were sheer anarchy onstage and 100 percent amazing.
At the Drake, where @radicaljoy.bsky.social slayed. Next up: @perennialtheband.bsky.social!
Still can't figure out why anyone cares what a drug-addled, union-busting, unelected, extremist-supporting loudmouth thinks about anything