The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
• Frost show rescheduled: Due to the inclement weather on Thursday, April 4, the production of Robert Frost: This Verse Business has been postponed to Sunday, May 12, at 2 p.m. at the Stockbridge Theatre (5 Pinkerton St., Derry; pinkertonacademy.org/stockbridge-theatre). Read an interview with star Gordon Clapp on page 16 of the April 4 issue of the Hippo; find the e-edition at hippopress.com.
• Four birthdays and a funeral: See the Majestic Theatre’s production of the comedy Birthday Club, in which “five women get together for their birthdays, each with her own story, to drink, celebrate, commiserate and support each other,” on Friday, April 12, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 13, at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 14, at 2 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre (880 Page St. in Manchester; majestictheatre.net). Tickets cost $15 to $20.
SONGS AND STORIES Singer-songwriter William Florian presents an evening of music and stories that is the final concert of the Concord Community Concert 2023-24 season on Saturday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the the City Auditorium, according to a press release. The show will include the music of The New Christy Minstrels, Peter, Paul & Mary, John Denver, Neil Diamond, The Beatles, Pete Seeger, The Mamas & The Papas, and uplifting originals presented with amusing stories in an intimate performance, according to the press release. In a statement, Florian said “there is a lot of power behind the meanings of these songs. They continue to be relevant today, but they also bring you back to a specific time in your life. They bring up feelings and memories that make you smile.” Tickets are $20 at the door, $23 online, free for those under 18, with tickets at the door available up to 90 minutes before showtime. Visit ccca-audi.org or theaudi.org/events or call 344-4747 for more information.
• Cue the “Water Works” The upcoming exhibition at Two Villages Art Society, “Water Works,” showcases work from three artists who explore the subject of water in all its guises, from tides to tears, and opens with a free reception on Saturday, April 13, from noon to 2 p.m. at the gallery at 846 Main St. in the village of Contoocook. It will run until Saturday, May 11, according to a press release. Painter Ann Saunderson and photographers Sher Kamman and John Hoglund worked with curator Rick Lugg to create the show that will include abstract and realistic paintings and artistic photographic compositions, in vibrant colors and subtle tones, according to the same release. Refreshments will be available and music will be provided by Brad Myrick for the opening reception. Two Villages Art Society’s gallery is open, free of charge, Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Visit twovillagesart.org.
• Arts cafe: The Londonderry Arts Council announced in a press release the 2024 Arts Café will take place on Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Londonderry Senior Center (535 Mammoth Road, Londonderry). The Arts Café is an annual free family event with local art, music and community spirit where attendees can enjoy complimentary coffee provided by Coffeeberries of Londonderry, hot chocolate and delicious breakfast pastries while they browse the artwork and can engage with the artists, according to the press release. The event will feature live acoustic music performances as well as a 50/50 raffle to be drawn at 3 p.m. with proceeds going to supporting local art events; participants do not need to be present to win, according to the release. Visit londonderryartscouncil.org.
• Free family concert: The Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua) hosts the Nashua Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, April 13, at 2 p.m. with top student soloists in a family-friendly program with pieces from Mendelssohn, Mozart, Tschaikovsky and more. Kids will also be introduced to the instruments of the orchestra, according to their website. Listeners of all ages are invited. Visit nco-music.org.
FOUR ARTISTS Twiggs Gallery’s (254 King St., Boscawen) first exhibit for the 2024 season, “Pushing Our Boundaries,” showcases the talent of four League of NH Craftsmen artists: woodworker Steven Hayden, textile artist Cheryl Miller, ceramist Lori Rollason, and mixed media artist and calligrapher Adele Sanborn, who collaborate as the 9th State Artisans, according to a press release. This exhibit will run until Sunday, May 19, according to the release. Hours are Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Visit twiggsgallery.org or call 975-0015.
• Four Seasons in April: Catch one or both of the candlelight concerts at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org) on Wednesday, April 17. At 6 p.m. it’s “Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and More” and at 8:30 p.m. the show is “A Tribute to Adele.” Tickets to either show cost $43 to $60. — Zachary Lewis
Dance, artistic movement of the human body, is one of humankind’s oldest forms of expression throughout all cultures. NSquared Dance, a contemporary dance company based in Manchester, believes in the power of dance and advocates for this ancient art form in the Granite State.
Zackery Betty, Artistic Director of NSquared Dance, spoke about how it’s “a company that’s really driven to bring awareness [of] the joy of dance but also the art of dance and be able to share it through empowerment, encouragement for community members, for other dancers and also for audience-goers.”
NSquared Dance is a nonprofit that Zackery Betty and his husband, Nick Neagle, who is the founder and creative director, brought up from New York City. Neagle is a New Hampshire native and both Betty and Neagle are “excited to make [New Hampshire] our home,” Betty said. “You don’t need to go to this giant metropolis in order to fulfill a life for dance. It is viable within the smaller communities and the cities [in New Hampshire] that still have a lot to give.”
Betty and Neagle both graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, he said, and “[NSquared Dance] was [Neagle’s] senior thesis … to create a company, and he did the business plan … based out of Boston but then he just really transposed it to fit more in the New Hampshire area…. Through trials and tribulations we’ve now come to have a brand new outlook.”
That outlook involves a myriad of dance styles.
“We actually are pretty happy to capitalize on our different types of genres,” Betty said. “We specialize in contemporary dance and modern but we do have a very strong tap background. We also can do jazz, ballet … checkmark [all] the dance genres except for no folk or ballroom dance, that’s not our specialty.”
They do have a specialty in their choreography, which springs from unique starting points.
“Sometimes it starts with a costume. Sometimes it starts with a music inspiration and other times it will start with either a story or an idea,” Betty said.
NSquared’s next performance will be on Saturday, April 13, at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts in Milford for the New England Inspirational Dance Festival run by Saving Grace Dance Ensemble.
“The New England Inspirational Dance Festival is a celebration of dance through inspiration,” Betty said. “Saving Grace Dance has presented several different platforms for dance companies and dance crews to come perform. We’re bringing one of our works that we did in February … it’s just a duet, but it’s a duet that brings light to what possibly could bedance in another realm … a higher realm.”
Betty and Neagle are selective yet open-minded about who becomes an NSquared Dancer.
“We are a very open and encompassing group…,” Betty said. “We look through a lens of joy mixed with technique. We have a very strong technical background underneath for all of the dancers. That doesn’t necessarily mean that all of our dancers have gone to college for dance, but we do have a large group of them that have…. We look for storytelling in relation to being able to use your voice within a room as a creative and as an advocate for the art of dance. We look for someone who can bring both of those aspects into the studio and the stage.”
After the Festival, NSquared will premiere The Lavender Scare in collaboration with dancers through New Hampshire Dance Collaborative at the Rex Theatre in Manchester in June.
As it happens, at NSquared “all of our dancers were born and raised here in New Hampshire except for myself and our rehearsal director,” Betty said. “It’s really nice to have that local group of people…. It’s nice to pride ourselves that we are locally born and raised for dancers.”
NSquared Dance also holds drop-in classes for professionals and college students on Sundays at the New England School of Dance (679 Mast Road in Manchester) for $15.
“We’re excited to invest,” Betty said, “in the best stories that have helped create us and helped create our community … to put that on the stage and not have to use words for it.”
Dance Dance New England Inspirational Dance Festival Where: Amato Center for the Performing Arts, 56 Mount Vernon St., Milford When: Saturday, April 13, 6 p.m.
The Lavender Scare Where: The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester When: Thursday, June 27, 7 p.m.
When Lorenzo Fusi joined the Currier Museum of Art in February 2023 as Chief Curator, one of his first exhibitions was “Distant Conversations.” It looked at the elective affinities between painter Ella Walker and ceramicist Betty Woodman, by displaying their works side by side.
Its success led to this year’s exhibition, which pairs painter Filippo de Pisis with photographer Robert Mappelthorpe. The latter is better known, mainly due to his often controversial photos. In a phone interview with the Hippo, Italy-born Fusi said he included de Pisis “to present and premiere the work of an Italian artist who I think is very influential and important beyond the borders of Italy.” Here’s an edited version of the interview.
Separated by years, Mappelthorpe and de Pisis never met. What do you think connects them artistically?
Mapplethorpe traveled multiple times to Italy, and I think most of these affinities originated by looking at the same work and the same monuments, the same kind of archaeological references which are basically sitting deep in Western art history. I think that most likely is the reason why there are so many uncanny similarities between the two of them.
What are some of the other elements linking them?
Each of them came from some form of prejudice. I would say de Pisis at one moment in time has been considered a bit too delicate … maybe too soft in his representation. By imposition, I think Mapplethorpe was considered too hard, too in your face, too confrontational. I think both of them have been stigmatized for this almost opposite way in which they come into art. And ironically, [via this] completely opposite or antagonist approach, they do produce work which is actually very … similar aesthetically. So I think this is not only an opportunity to discover de Pisis as an artist who has not been shown extensively in the United States, but also an opportunity to revisit Mapplethorpe’s work from a different … perspective.
They were both very purposeful in their approach.
Yes, intentional, and very deliberate in the way they wanted to represent something. If you start entering into that mindset, even the more graphic images of Mapplethorpe, and we have only one image from the more controversial portfolios … Joe Rubberman, the very famous picture of a man wearing a vinyl outfit laying down flat on a bench. It’s a very classical pose [and] although it looks very morbid and very sexual, as a matter of fact, this pose can be seen in hundreds of examples of art historical references, even though it might be very much in your face when you start looking at it…. The idea [is] to create an image that is transtemporal and it stays as an almost art historical testament. You don’t see the sexuality of it anymore. You don’t see the reference to this very murky underworld of gay life in New York in the ’70s and ’80s, you see a very iconic image of a body that could be Etruscan, could be ancient Roman or Greek. That’s where I think he stops being controversial and starts being an artist in a sense.
When did you know you were on the right track and this would be an impactful exhibition?
The Currier Museum of Art has a quite substantial collection of photography, going back to Lotte Jacobi, the first photography curator… I was surprised when I first moved to the Currier that we didn’t have any Mapplethorpe in our collection because undeniably he’s an American master of photography. I was looking at [how] we could incorporate some work by Mapplethorpe into the collection, but also … overcoming the prejudice associated with the more controversial reception of his photography. At the same time … I wanted to do something with de Pisis in the United States because he was an overlooked artist who I think should be represented. The moment of realization [came while] separately looking at the work. In my mind I had this crystallization that some of the images were very, very similar, and the more I delved into that, the more similarities I found. I think the moment for me when I became absolutely sure that it was a good exhibition or a good approach was when I showed it to a colleague of mine in Italy who immediately saw the poetry and the lyricism in this association, and he asked me to continue to do that research. Then I shared it with my team. They all saw how close the elective affinity is between these two artists, which is most surprising considering the time gap and geographical gap between the two of them. So it has not been a single moment of revelation, but multiple moments of affirmation that have happened from people who were not as yet in the project but could see immediately how powerful the association was.
Filippo de Pisis and Robert Mapplethorpe: A Distant Conversation When: Saturday, April 13, through Sept. 2 Where: Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester More: currier.org
Featured Photo: Filippo de Pisis, Fiori di Villa di Maggio. Courtesy photo.
A look at some of the gathering spots that offer their own unique character, entertainment and, of course, beer
What is a pub? With a name derived from “public house,” it’s mainly a community gathering place. At the best ones, as the song goes, “everybody knows your name” and there are plenty of reasons to be there. A proprietor at one of the six area pubs profiled in this story spoke of theirs as a respite from stress at work or home: “If either of those aren’t great, we’re that third place.”
Each has something that sets it apart and makes the place special — a signature dish, musical gathering or standout staff member. It all adds up to a vibe that can’t be replicated. Much of it is by design, particularly in Manchester. A venerable watering hole is careful to schedule events that don’t compete directly with other downtown spots, so everyone does well.
Another common thread is evolution, often disruptive, always necessary. A move to a new location, rising from a death blow delivered by the pandemic, switching things up with a new music night, expanding the spirits menu ahead of, not in response to, a boom, or cultivating a particular demographic that was previously neglected.
In the case of one venue getting ready open in May, disruptive evolution simply means taking a leap of faith, something each of these does every single day.
The Forum Pub: Friendly zone
When Area 23 opened mid-decade, it quickly became known as a hard place to find but definitely worth the effort. Set at the end of a winding road off State Street, decorated with offbeat bric-a-brac and offering a tastefully curated beer list along with craft ciders and a smart pub menu, it also welcomed the Concord music scene. More than a few performers got their start there, and jam sessions were a magnet for creatives of all stripes.
Last year, however, owner Kirk McNeil was forced to move, due to what he called “irreconcilable differences” with his landlord. In early October he began occupying a space that formerly was an Asian restaurant in Penacook’s Thirty Pines Plaza. With a vibe much different than the cavernous Area 23, McNeil gave it a new name, The Forum Pub.
Before deciding on the change, McNeil asked one of his regulars to identify Area 23’s “main feature,” he recalled while standing behind the bar in mid-March, during the Forum Pub’s third week of business. “He said, ‘you could have good discussions with people; it wasn’t just a lot of sports on TV, a lot of people getting frustrated about this thing or that thing. You could actually have discussions.’ I said, ‘I think you just named it.’”
That said, Forum Pub is a haven for civil discourse; a House Rules list at the end of the bar includes “No Politics.” This is aimed at anyone “who’s not listening but only talking,” McNeil said. “I’m happy to talk about policies … we can talk about whether or not you think this thing or that thing should happen. What makes it a better show? I just don’t want to talk about why this nimrod or that nincompoop should be running the show.”
The process of moving 3 1/2 miles down the street wasn’t easy.
“As we all know, New Hampshire doesn’t have a ton of available real estate right now,” McNeil noted, and regulatory hurdles were also challenging. What saved the day were his people. “The best part of this entire move has been our staff, because a bunch of cooks and bartenders and sound men and servers … became construction workers and decorators.”
Adjustments between the new and old location include live music. There’s a nicely lit stage, an expertly tweaked sound system, but less room means solo, duo and trio performances instead of raucous bands. Don Bartenstein hosts a weekly song circle in the center of the room, there’s a growing list of Wednesday night singer-songwriter nights, and Saturday open mic is back, but no one’s loading in big amps anymore.
One upside of relocating is that the kitchen is four times the size of the old one, increasing the number of menu options.
“We’re doing some pretty terrific food here; we don’t have anything on the menu that I don’t like,” McNeil said. Among the customer favorites is an item that was also popular at Area 23. “I can’t say enough good things about the gyro; we do our own lamb roast.”
McNeil’s daughter Anastasia, home from college, echoed her father’s sentiments. “My friend Raphael is Greek as the day is long,” she said. “He took one bite and ran to get the chef to tell him it was the best gyro he’s ever had stateside.”
The Forum Pub 15 Village St., Concord, 552-0137 Must-try: Lamb gyro. Big fun: Saturday afternoon Acoustic Circle
The Local: Rebirth in Warner
Like a lot of places, The Local, a small but scrappy and vibrant restaurant/bar on Main Street in Warner, couldn’t survive the pandemic. Owner Bill Meadows packed things up in May 2021. “We got through it and back,” he said by phone in late March. “When everything opened back up, we had people, but we were just so burned out by then that it just wasn’t worth continuing.”
As its name implies, it was more than a watering hole, and the community felt its absence. Meadows took a corporate job on the Seacoast, where he was frequently reminded why The Local was special. Its staff felt more like family, not a branch in an org chart.
“It’s not like going into a generic restaurant and being waited on by somebody you’ve never seen before,” he said. “You’re seeing the same people as when you came in a month, two months ago. It’s not just the food, the beer, the music; actually, it’s the staff bringing people back.”
When an opportunity to reopen came, in the form of another Main Street restaurant coming available, Meadows jumped. He and the owner of The Foothills began talking, and on October 13, 2023, The Local’s sign, featuring an arm wreath with two hands gripping mugs in a toast, came out of retirement.
It’s a bigger place, Meadows beamed.
“It’s an actual restaurant,” he said. “We were running the old Local out of a vanilla commercial space as best we could, but there were always restrictions, mostly with refrigeration … we could barely bring in enough stuff to last until our next delivery.”
Amanda at The Local. Photo by Michael Witthaus.
Now there are more food specials, like a daily eggroll and burger, along with a doubling of beer taps, which Meadows has filled with all-local offerings.
“Our favorite thing to do is work with independents, breweries I go directly to for beer,” he said. “No. 1, it’s a great story, and No. 2, it’s not stuff people are going to find other places.”
Live music resumed recently, with April Cushman, Charlie Chronopoulos, Ryan Williamson and others appearing every Thursday night, courtesy of NH Music Collective’s talent service.
“It’s been really handy because booking was … it wasn’t difficult, but it was time-consuming,” Meadows said, so NHMC’s approach was welcome. “They book us great acts, and we don’t really have to do anything, so it works out.”
Along with that, Meadows leads a weekly trivia night on Wednesdays like he’s hosting a house party, surrounded as he is by mostly familiar faces.
“Our complete customer base came back when we reopened,” he said, adding that The Foothills’ old crowd still comes in.
Nine-to-five life compelled Meadows to rethink how he’d run The Local anew.
“I learned in a couple of years working for other people [about] things I used to do as a manager, not even knowing how toxic they were and how they affected other people, until I was that other person,” he said. “I came in with a completely different mindset as far as how to run a restaurant from a management standpoint; more how not to do it and trying to get away from that.”
The Local 15 Main St., Warner, 456-3333 Must-try: Eggroll of the day Big fun: Wednesday trivia
The Barley House: New notes
As befits New Hampshire’s Capital City, Concord’s Barley House is packed with a mixture of locals and out-of-towners during the work week. On a recent Wednesday just past six o’clock, the bar included two men who earlier in the day were at the Statehouse talking over beers and burgers. Nearby, a couple from Cleveland who were attending an academic book conference at the Grappone Center considered a bowl of the pub’s signature Guinness Beef Stew.
“Definitely all walks of life,” said Nikki Miller, a longtime bartender at the North Main Street mainstay. Every Friday night, though, is locals’ time, she said. “A group of people in the community, they just take over the bar; they love it here. There’s also a ton of bar regulars, middle-aged people, and I’d say we do have some younger folk.”
It’s a less raucous vibe than in past years, she continued, meaning before the pandemic. “We’re not open late anymore,” she said. “People typically aren’t coming late to the Barley House, or dare I say, going out late anymore in Concord at all. It’s a changed place.”
The Barley House is very much an Irish pub. An ample supply of Redbreast, Green Spot and Jameson is always on hand, and St. Patrick’s Day is the North Star of their annual calendar. This year’s came on Sunday, a day they’ve been closed in the past. That changed this year, but Miller and her team weren’t sure what to expect.
To their relief, “it was a great day,” she said. “We didn’t have any troublemakers anywhere. Everyone was having a good time, eating great food. We had Irish step dancers, and the Irish session players for three hours. Then we had a DJ in our downstairs bar; I think a good time was had by all.”
A weekly Tuesday night gathering of Irish musicians, led by Eugene Durkee, was around before the pandemic. “Right now, we have about eight men and women that come in on a rotating basis,” Miller said. “They’re playing Celtic music, and it really just brings an awesome vibe to our dining space.”
Recently, regular live music, which ended many years ago, returned to the Barley House. Acoustic performers began appearing downstairs on Fridays and Saturdays.
“We all feel now that the world has returned to its new normal, so we decided to be creative in bringing people back,” Miller said. “Making it a place where you want to go in the community again … I think bringing music back was just the way to do it.”
Food-wise, the pub’s burgers are a constant favorite.
“I always tell my customers we have a top five burger list, which is not helpful to anyone trying to make a decision,” Miller said. Another recent addition is a personal deep-dish pizza with allegedly addictive qualities. “I don’t think anyone expected it to take off the way it did … it’s this funny little thing; people are like, ‘do you have it? I need it. I’m here for the pizza.’”
Still and all, a tight-knit staff on a first-name basis with so many of its customers is what sets the venerable downtown pub apart for Miller. “We say it’s not a Barley House, but it’s a Barley Home.”
The Barley House 132 N. Main St., Concord, 228-6363 Must-try: Guinness beef stew Big fun: Tuesday Irish Session
Strange Brew Tavern: Peaceful coexistence
How does a business endure, let alone a pub? The National Restaurant Association reports an 80 percent failure rate within five years of opening. One local beat the odds. On April 6, Strange Brew Tavern marked its 25th anniversary. For pub owner Mitch Sawaya, however, the biggest milestone was making it to the end of Year 1.
He started in 1999 in a building that had stood empty for eight years, living on the third floor while he slowly built it out. Early days were quiet, but certain moments gave him hope, like when area restaurant workers stopped by after their shifts for a bite.
“I knew if we were doing something that attracted them we had a chance of making it, because they’re kind of harsh critics,” Sawaya said in a recent phone interview.
Fast forward to 2000. Strange Brew survived and, judging by a line snaking around the block on Market Street to mark the moment, was thriving. Sawaya could exhale a bit. “I thought, ‘You know what? I think we’re going to do OK, we’ll be here for a while.’ That was a big one; it was the first time I really felt comfortable or confident.”
As for lasting two and half decades, Sawaya worked to set Strange Brew apart from other Manchester bars, beginning with a big beer list.
“I had 18 draft lines when I opened, which everybody thought was ridiculous,” he said. With the craft beer boom years off, “I couldn’t fill them, but I refused at that point to put domestics on tap; I still do.”
Strange Brew. Photo by Michael Witthaus.
Sawaya also vowed to make his pub the go-to place for blues and R&B fans, partly because he’s a fan. A favorite memory is booking Dennis Brennan; he’d followed the Boston guitarist since his days in The Martells. “What was even more odd is he was with some guys that I knew really well, and he told them that he remembered me,” he said. “I was blown away.”
Another reason for leaning into the genre, which includes a Howard Randall-hosted blues jam every Sunday and live acts every Friday and Saturday, is that Sawaya believes staying in his lane helps the overall downtown scene. Early on, he did a press interview that said as much. The next day the owners of the now-defunct Black Brimmer stopped by to thank him.
“They said, ‘That’s the best thing we’ve ever heard,’ which was great,” he said. “We made a point not to book the same bands or do the same things on the same night. They’d have Mama Kicks every Wednesday, so we just steered away from that sort of thing. I think it was good for everybody. There were lines to get into all those places.”
These days, Jordan Quinn, along with Scott Armstrong, hosts a music open mic on Wednesdays. “Everybody loves her; I think she’s been the most successful person with it,” Sawaya said, noting that there’s a similar Thursday comedy gathering. “It’s grown significantly; it’s really open mic, anybody can get up on stage, and occasionally a couple of the big guys from Boston will come down to test out material.”
Some of the best recollections are from the many New Hampshire primaries he’s seen. “I always tell the story about John Kerry,” he said. “I had a Tufts banner hanging in the corner because that’s where I went to college, and he saw it. His son and his daughter went to Tufts, and he asked the significance of the banner. They told him the owner had gone there, so he grabbed me and bought us a beer…. We spent 45 minutes talking about growing up in Massachusetts.”
Another time, Drew Barrymore had dinner at Strange Brew, but Sawaya couldn’t be coaxed to ask for an autograph. He did meet Chris Matthews when the MSNBC host did a bunch of shows there, along with Tom Brokaw and Boston Globe columnist turned television pundit Mike Barnacle, who gave his burgers a television shout-out. “Those are huge things,” he said. “All these people were coming out of the woodwork for the elections.”
Asked about the future, Sawaya said, “I intend to keep going for a while,” noting that recently he’s put a lot of focus on food offerings; the Jambalaya and Guinness Meatballs are customer favorites.
Musically, he’s tried a few new things, like recently bringing in the youthful River Sang Wild for a night.
“I’ll always have entertainment, multiple nights a week,” Sawaya said. “I’m going to keep playing around to see what works. I have a son who will be 18 in July, and he’s not interested in being part of the business. I’ve got to figure that out. I’d like to be around for quite a few more years.”
Strange Brew Tavern 88 Market St., Manchester, 666-4292 Must-try: Jimmy “The Greek” burger. Big fun: One Big Soul Sunday blues jam
Wild Rover: Hometown handoff
Manchester’s bar and restaurant community is very collegial. A good example of this is the way Jesse Twarjan purchased the Wild Rover, the landmark Irish pub on Kosciuszko Street. A musician and entrepreneur who manages a few downtown residential properties, among other things, the “Manch-ghanistan born and raised” Twarjan has a long history here.
In a recent phone interview he talked about bumping into Bonfire owner Patrick Mills outside his Elm Street restaurant. “I made a passing comment like, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll call Bob for a shift or two at the Rover,’” he recalled, referring to pub owner Robert Scribner. “I believe Patrick’s words were, ‘He might sell it to you.’ That’s how the whole thing started.”
The deal was friendly and might not have happened otherwise.
“It wasn’t necessarily something that Bob was looking to advertise for sale,” Twarjan said. “It’s a place that requires the right kind of person, an owner-operator type of situation where people want to come in and see familiar faces, that type of thing.”
Twarjan took over the pub, which has been in business since 1990, on St. Patrick’s Day. With an outdoor liquor license in flux, everything happened inside, but crowds still showed up for what’s always their biggest day of the year. “We were at capacity all day,” he said. “It was a great vibe.”
With that essential celebration out of the way, an official grand opening is in the works, though the new owner is quiet on the details. He hopes it will happen before the end of April. To prepare for it, there will be new coats of paint, as he works on a stepped-up liquor offering and a reshuffling of the beer list.
Notso Costley Productions will manage live music, though Twarjan is ready to jump in when needed.
The Wild Rover. Photo by Michael Witthaus.
“We have them as a focal point every weekend, and they always have a rotating cast of extremely talented players,” he said. “My musician past leads me to have a fairly wide network of what I would consider to be extraordinarily talented people. They know if you’re going to come in here you’d better play as well as me or I’ll do it myself.”
Former chef Jeff Volker has been recruited to help with revamping the menu. Twarjan, who’s an alum of culinary-centric Johnson & Wales University, has big plans.
“We’re really going to lean hard into some of that Irish flair and fare,” he said, adding that Volker will strive to make the Wild Rover “the best place in town for fish and chips or shepherd’s pie…. We’ll be consolidating and doing it correctly. That comes down to quality over quantity, specifically with the kitchen.”
That said, the Rover won’t be going head-to-head with the downtown’s fine dining places. Twarjan’s thoughts go back to the way he acquired the bar.
“We need to be more collaborative instead of competitive in terms of making sure that there’s enough of a demographic out there for all of us to enjoy,” he said. “We’re definitely trying to fill some gaps in the food and make sure that we’re doing quality pub fare to a very high degree.”
Wild Rover 21 Kosciuszko St., Manchester, 669-7722 Must-try: Reuben sandwich Big fun: open mic night
Pembroke City Limits: Born in a barn
Even though he can’t play a note, Rob Azevedo has an absolute passion for music. Seemingly his every waking hour is focused on it, whether he’s hosting his Granite State of Mind radio show every Friday night, blogging about a new local act he’s excited about, or gathering a bunch of his friends to do a Tom Petty or Stones tribute concert at the Shaskeen or Rex Theatre in Manchester.
Lately Azevedo has been hosting shows in his barn, adjacent to the house in Pembroke where he moved a few years back. They’re intimate affairs, with typically fewer than 100 people in attendance. Most are people he already knows, but a few new faces always show up, which got him thinking.
Which led to a new venture, his wildest and most ambitious yet.
Pembroke City Limits will present live events, everything from concerts to book signings and poetry readings, five days a week. Azevedo is putting the finishing touches on a space on Pembroke Village’s Main Street, originally an 1800s general store that most recently sold antiques. He’s been eyeing the spot for over a year.
Rob Azevedo at Pembroke City Limits. Photo by Michael Witthaus.
“It was either going to be this place or it wasn’t going to happen,” he said in late March. Granite State of Mind will broadcast live every Friday, and initially acoustic acts will provide the music.
“We have four residents upstairs and we want to see how the sound is going to work,” Azevedo said, adding that all the pieces are coming together. “Rough plumbing is done, that’s huge; fire and electrical are updated; the next thing is drywall, and then get the kitchen and bar together. We’re hoping to be open by mid-May.”
During a walk-through, Azevedo pointed out the charming space’s many features, like hardwood floors, exposed brick and lots of ambient light, while discussing what it will look like when finished. A stage and seating area will be on the right. A bar serving a selection of area craft beer and wine will sit to the left.
Rather than operate a kitchen, he asked Kelly Sue LeBlanc’s Sleazy Vegan for help.
“I don’t know anything about food or cooking, but I love food trucks,” he said, “so I found one of the best food trucks around.”
Also on the team are Paulie Stone, a musician who’ll assist with that side of things, and Azevedo’s business partner, Eric Klesper. The new proprietor has big dreams for his little village, hoping it mirrors the growth he saw in Newmarket when the mills there were renovated. He’s grateful for an understanding wife.
“She knows I lost my mind sometime in the early ’90s, but I don’t feel overwhelmed,” he said. “I’ve been ready for a number of years to do this … I feel no anxiety about it. I ask my wife, why am I not crapping my pants? She says, ‘Because you’re ready.’”
Pembroke City Limits 134 Main St., Pembroke, 264-1757 Must-try: Sleazy Vegan Grilled Sleaze Big fun: Americana Wednesdays
More Pubs
Here are a few more places where you feel like everybody knows your name. Know of a pub not mentioned here? Let us know at [email protected].
Flying Goose 40 Andover Road, New London 526-6899 Known for: Thursday night music series with best of New England’s folk scene Must-try: Space Pony IPA
Holy Grail 64 Main St., Epping , 679-9559 Known for: Repurposed church with a heavenly beer list Must-try: Bangers & Colcannon
Kathleen’s Irish Pub 91 Lake St., Bristol, 744-6336 Known for: It’s right there in the name — order a Jameson Must-try: All-Day Irish Breakfast with real black pudding
McGarvey’s 1097 Elm St., Manchester 627-2721 Known for: Being Elm Street’s longest running bar Must-try: Hot dog loaded with mac & cheese, bacon crumbles and pulled pork
Patrick’s 18 Weirs Road, Gilford, 293-0841 Known for: Wednesdays with singer-guitarist Don “Sev” Severance Must-try: Seafood chowder
Peddler’s Daughter 48 Main St., Nashua, 821-7535 Known for: Lots of local bands on the weekends Must-try: Cottage Pie is the real deal
Penuche’s Ale House 6 Pleasant St., Concord, 228-9833 Known for: The Concord music scene meets here most weekends Must-try: Any local craft beer
Penuche’s Ale House 4 Canal St., Nashua 595-9831 Known for: Rustic, friendly atmosphere Must-try: A cold beverage on their outside deck
The Pint Publik House 1111 Elm St., Manchester 206-5463 Known for: Serving Jamaican food with a friendly vibe Must-try: Jerk pork or chicken
Pipe Dream Brewing 40 Harvey Road, Londonderry, 404-0751 Known for: Monthly Flights and Flow yoga beer night Must-try: A beer flight of your favorite style, IPA, stout, take your pick
Press Room 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 431-5186 Known for: Buzzworthy live music Must-try: Maple-forward Damn You Robert Frost cocktail
Shaskeen Pub 909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246 Known for: Backroom offering music most nights, comedy on Wednesday Must-try: Proper Scotch Egg, made fresh once a week
Shopper’s Pub & Eatery 18 Lake Ave., Manchester, 232-5252 32-5252 Known for: Sports forward vibe, great game day stop Must-try: Beehive Burger
Stark Brewing Co. 500 Commercial St., Manchester, 625-4444 Known for: Craft brew veteran with a big space to unwind in Must-try: Drunken Tips, marinated in Tasha’s Red Ale
Stone Church 5 Granite St., Newmarket, 659-7700 Known for: Seacoast music hub with nonstop live entertainment Must-try: La Bamba Rice Bowl
Wally’s Pub 144 Ashworth Ave., Hampton, 926-6954 Known for: Beach bar with frequent big-name concerts Must-try: Famous Beach Pizza, a culinary choose your adventure
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, 1 Line Drive, Manchester, milb.com/new-hampshire, 641-2005) will celebrate their mascot Fungo’s birthday during their home game against the Somerset Patriots at 6:30 p.m. See more about the Cats’ plans this season in the April 4 issue of the Hippo; see hippopress.com for the e-edition.
Saturday, April 13
Celebrate Earth Day early with Stonyfield Farm (10 Burton Drive, Londonderry, stonyfield.com, 437-4040) at the Stonyfield Earth Day 5K and Earth Day Fair on Saturday, April 13, beginning with a race at 9 a.m. In addition to the 5K race/walk, there will be a kids’ fun run, vendors, a beer garden for ages 21+, games and activities. The event takes place at Londonderry West Soccer Fields (90 West Road, Londonderry). Visit Millennium Running’s website at millenniumrunning.com/stonyfield5k.
Saturday, April 13
The Little “Giant” Comics Old School Comics Show (oldschoolcomicshow.com) is today at Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road in Concord) starting at 10 a.m.. Tickets cost $15 for general admission or $50 for VIP admission (an hour early at 9 a.m. plus a red carpet entrance and a goodie bag), according to the website. The show features comic book vendors and comic book artists, including what the show is billing as Venom-palooza, a line-up of artists who have worked on Marvel’s Venom comics.
Saturday, April 13
Barrel & Baskit (377 Main St., Hopkinton, barrelandbaskit.com, 746-1375) will host a seedling workshop with Black Forest Nursery from 10 to 11 a.m. Participants will learn the basics of how to start garden plants from seed.
Saturday, April 13
To Share Brewing Co. (720 Union St. in Manchester, tosharebrewing.com, 836-6947) hosts its second annual Thrift Shop Prom from 5 to 9 p.m. Participants are encouraged to put on their fanciest or silliest dress-up clothes and dance. There will be a DJ, the Terracotta Room and more. A suggested donation of $5 at the door benefits the Pink Boots Society.
Saturday, April 13
New Boston’s Friends of the Library hold their annual auction at the Whipple Free Library (67 Mont Vernon Road, New Boston, whipplefreelibrary.org, 487-3391). A silent auction will take place from 6 to 7 p.m., and a live auction will start at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 17
The Millyard Museum (200 Bedford St., Suite 103, Manchester, manchesterhistoric.org, 622-7531) hosts the annual meeting of the Manchester Historical Association and opens a new exhibition, “Who Wore It? The Forensics of a Dress,” from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition will focus on the clothing of women who worked in the mills in the 1800s and early 1900s. The public is invited to the meeting, a reception and the exhibition opening with an RSVP.
Wednesday, April 17
Rescued Treasures is a volunteer-managed program that benefits pets awaiting adoption at the Humane Society for Greater Nashua (24 Ferry Road in Nashua, hsfn.org, 889-2275) through the resale of donated items online and at seasonal in-person marketplaces. Today is Donation Day: Donations of new and gently used items will be accepted from 9 a.m. to noon. See the Humane Society’s wish list of items online at hsfn.org (click on Events).
Save the Date! Sunday, April 21 If you can’t make it to the Thursday, April 11, Golden Girls – The Laughs Continue live show at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre in Concord (ccanh.com) make a plan to catch it at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua, nashuacenterforthearts.com, 800-657-8774) on Sunday, April 21, at 2 or 8:30 p.m. Due to adult content, this is an 18+ performance. Tickets for the Nashua show start at $52.
Just in case we forgot where we lived, April started with a snowstorm. Last week’s nor’easter brought snow, ice, winds, a snow day for many and more than 140,000 New Hampshire customers without electricity, according to an April 4 press release from the New Hampshire Department of Safety.
QOL score: -1
Comments: Knock wood, fingers crossed, no whammies — can it be spring now?
And then, an earthquake
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake on April 5 was centered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, but felt in New Hampshire, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in a report at earthquake.usgs.gov. On a map of the event, the government agency reported shocks felt throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. According to an April 5 report by the Washington Post, the geology of the Eastern Seaboard is extremely solid and rocky, which helped shockwaves travel an unusually long distance.
QOL score: -1 because the April 8 solar eclipse already had all of our “weird natural phenomenon” focus
Comments:WMUR reported that people in Concord, Manchester, Nashua and other communities across the state felt the quake. New Hampshire was home to a Gilford-centered 2.2-magnitude quake on March 27, the WMUR story said.
Notable chef
Milford chef and restaurant owner Chris Viaud is one of the finalists for a James Beard Award. In an April 3 press release, the James Beard Foundation announced that Viaud, the chef and owner of Greenleaf and Ansanm in Milford and Pavilion in Wolfeboro, is a finalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. The award criteria describe an outstanding restaurateur as one “who uses their establishment(s) as a vehicle for building community, demonstrates creativity in entrepreneurship, integrity in restaurant operations, and is making efforts to create a sustainable work culture, while contributing positively to their broader community.”
QOL score: +1
Comment: The winner of this award will be announced at the James Beard Award ceremony in Chicago in June.
Screens go dark
Chunky’s Cinema Pub’s locations in Nashua and Pelham will close on May 9, according to Facebook posts on those locations’ pages and as reported by multiple media organizations. The Chunky’s at 707 Huse Road in Manchester will thankfully remain open and gift cards can be used at that location (staff from Pelham and Nashua will also be offered positions in Manchester, the posts said). The Nashua location has been open for more than 17 years and the Pelham location has been open for 27 years, the posts said.
QOL score: -2
Comments:Nashua and Pelham locations will plan to go out in style with some screenings of modern classics — Labyrinth on April 29 at 7 p.m.; Dirty Dancing on April 30, at 7 p.m.; The Goonies on May 1 at 7 p.m.; The Big Lebowski on May 2 at 7:45 p.m., and Jaws on May 3 at 7 p.m.
Last week’s QOL score: 66
Net change: -3
QOL score this week:63
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?
