Spring is officially here, and that means it's time to snap out of depression, put away the flannel and crawl your way out of hibernation. Luckily, there's always plenty to do in the Pioneer Valley to keep you busy. Here are some events to look forward to this week.
March 21st: SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN with DREDD FOOLE, MAGIK MARKERS & DJ SKOTROK
The Victoria Bar | 4 Chapman St. Greenfield, MA | 8:00 P
The local, prolific noise group Sunburned Hand Of The Man return to Greenfield, accompanied by the legendary Dredd Foole.
Impossible to pin down, Sunburned play a freakish blend of krautrockish, psychedelic noise filtered through dementia. If you've been meaning to drop some acid but don't know where to find it, hearing these guys might be your next best option.
“Vermont’s free-folk poet laureate", Dredd Foole has been an active musician since the late seventies, and has become a cult figure in the psych/folk world, having played with a range of musicians (Ben Chasney of Six Organs of Admittance, Thurston Moore, J Mascis, Mission Of Burma). Foole was channeling the ominous, ritualistic sounds of sixties outsider psych/folk/rock before the “freak-folk” movement of the 2000s, and reveals a missing link in a fragmented, undefinable genre.
Magik Markers are among the best East Coast bands to emerge in the last ten years. A noise rock band from Hartford, Magik Markers got their start on Ecstatic Peace--Thurston Moore’s label--a fitting match for a band indebted to the cacophonous mix of noise and harmony pioneered by Sonic Youth. Indeed, the powerful vocals of Elisa Ambrogio will offer welcome respite for lovers of Sonic Youth who’ve often longed for a bit less Thurston and much more Kim.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAaq2_PkypY]
March 21st: Black Lives Matter Community Forum
First Congregational Church, UCC | 165 Main St. Amherst, MA
A Black Lives Matter community forum will be held tonight at 7:00 PM promising an "amazing collection of local activists of color - including a number of current students" according to the event's Facebook page. The forum is hosted by Coming Together, a community project which, in 2013, received a grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts to spur the Amherst-area community to talk about race and better understand each other through public discussions and small group dialogues.
March 21st: Amber Wolfe with Buxton Browne, Lincoln Allen Trio
Amherst Coffee/whiskey bar, 28 Amity St, Amherst, MA, 7:00 PM
Local folky, poet, and bartender Amber Wolfe just dropped her debut CD I Left The City. Amber's sweet Americana tunes are the perfect way to wind down after a long Monday.
Lincoln Allen Trio are a three-piece jazz ensemble playing a mix of standards and original compositions.
March 23rd: SALT & WMUA Present: Girlpool // Meaux Jeaux // Loone
Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst | 121 North Pleasant St. Amherst, MA | 7:00 PM
The latest indie pop darling duo are coming to Amherst. Hailing from Los Angeles, Girlpool lives within the stripped down sweet spot of indie pop. No drums, just two women on guitar and bass crooning simple (though powerful) harmonies of adolescent longing. The kids are freaking out about this one.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNM8Tg9pvDU]
Girlpool on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series from July of 2015.
Meaux Jeaux, another female duo, are the best possible match for Girlpool. From Connecticut, Meaux Jeaux will inspire similar nostalgia for the naivety of being sixteen, only heartbroken instead of whimsical. Think Girlpool with more reverb and angst.
Loone are an “all trans and genderqueer fourpiece” from Turners Falls, playing an orchestral, baroque style of americana folk pop.
Loone are an “all trans and genderqueer fourpiece” from Turners Falls, playing an orchestral, baroque style of americana folk pop. Their chaotic, unfettered melodies will hit you unapologetically and likely inspire naked, spiritual journeys into the woods.
Concert organizers warn that the venue's capacity maxes out at 200, so be sure to get there on time.
March 24th: Florence, Arizona screening with director Andrea B Scott
[vimeo 110283757 w=500 h=281]
A small Arizona town made up of 8,500 civilians and 17,000 prison inmates became the subject of Andrea B. Scott's 2014 documentary "Florence, Arizona." Scott will attend the screening and participate in a discussion with former film editor Nina Kleinberg.
March 26th: Bella’s Bartok CD Release Masquerade w/ Rough Francis
Pearl St Nightclub, Northampton, MA, 8PM
$10 ADV
$13 DOS
Local folk-punksters Bella's Bartok have a new CD out: "Change Yer Life", and are inviting you to come celebrate with them. 
The 6-piece group play a unique style of folk-punk that blends klezmer pop (traditional eastern european Jewish music) with a carinival sensibility. A performance oriented band, Bella's is the perfect example of a group best appreciated live: to see them is to experience a spectacle in the traditional sense, like stumbling into some strange cabaret in Romania in the forties. In this case, the experience is participatory: so wear your favorite mask and enter to win a number of prizes. (including a signed copy of the new album 'Change Yer Life', signed limited edition poster, and a custom mask made by the band).Joining them is Rough Francis: a rock-n-roll band from Burlington, VT. The band includes three brothers, who originally started the group as a tribute to their father and uncle's seminal 70s proto-punk band Death.
Bella's Bartok via bellasbartok.com
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Featured image: Magik Markers via magikmarkers.tublr.com