Author: Michael Witthaus

Live music changes with the season

Much to the relief of live music purveyors reeling from the hardships and challenges of life during a pandemic, weather wasn’t a problem over the last several months. A festive mood, albeit with face masks on patrons spaced six feet apart, prevailed, and songs filled the air at pop-up venues throughout the region. The only real climate danger was heat waves.

Portsmouth Music Hall Executive Director Tina Sawtelle called it a “Covid silver lining” that not one of the downtown Under The Arch outdoor shows presented by her venue was rained out. Scott Hayward, whose Tupelo Drive-In in Derry was one of the first parking lot concert facilities to open in the nation, agreed.

“We didn’t lose any shows, we didn’t cancel any, and we rescheduled one show,” he said in a Sept. 18 phone interview. “We are one of the very few concert promoters that can say we actually had a successful summer; we made money, had all of our employees back, and that was partly due to the fact that the model we chose worked in our sleep.”

Other al fresco efforts included a series of local showcases in Fletcher-Murphy Park, behind Capitol Center for the Arts and adjacent to Concord Community Music School. Swanzey Drive-In, which boasted a huge 750-car capacity, offered top-level acts like country star Chase Rice and classic rock band Blue Oyster Cult. Manchester’s Delta Dental Stadium did a series of Socially Distanced concerts, with clear skies throughout.

There was another benefit from the awful season: Local musicians owned the spotlight for a rare moment. National touring acts mostly bowed out, unwilling or unable to navigate the morass of what Hayward termed “50 dates with 50 different sets of regulations,” allowing bands like Boston’s Neighbor to break out in a big way.

As temperatures cool, however, the music must move indoors, a transition that raises many questions. Paul Costley, probably the biggest booker of bars and dining establishments in New Hampshire, has a few.

The re-opening of restaurants for outdoor service in May, after two months of quarantine, was a bonanza for his company, NotSoCostley Productions.

“A lot of the smart people in the early days got tents and then they had an outdoor venue,” he said by phone in mid-September. “In normal times, I usually have 60 to 80 events booked a week. … I was up to 135.”

That’s shifting quickly, a situation compounded when a hoped for Oct. 1 state decision to make playing indoors at dining establishments easier didn’t arrive. Currently, performers must stay a minimum of 25 feet away from patrons — easier for venues with a deep stage, but a rule that would eat up far too much space in most restaurants.

“Both Gov. Sununu and the Economic Reopening Task Force appreciate the eagerness of musicians to perform in restaurants again but public safety must remain the predominant priority,” D.J. Bettencourt, chairman of the Governor’s Economic Reopening Task Force, wrote in an email to the Hippo. “The task force has put forward a recommendation for consideration. However, Gov. Sununu, in consultation with state Epidemiologist Dr. Ben Chan, will determine the appropriate time to proceed based on a diversity of data points to ensure public safety comes first.”

Costley is crossing his fingers that the change will be come soon, as it affects so many performers in his roster.

“[If] that happens, it will be a game-changer,” Costley said. “Without it, everything’s going to come to a screeching halt.”

A few of the Lakes Region venues Costley books have suspended outdoor music, like Cactus Jack’s in Laconia. He expects most others in the southern part of the state will follow suit by the end of October.

While it’s tempting to add heaters to keep outdoor music going, it would only be for a few more weeks before winter cold really set in, he said.

“Everyone is waiting to see what they have to do indoors before they do things like heat their tents,” Costley said. “They’re expensive to rent and that’s money they won’t get back. … Anyway, what’s the difference between being inside a tent or inside a restaurant?”

Costley believes there are ways to make music work inside.

“I think they should put Plexiglas at face level for the performers,” he said. “Keep it small, see if the numbers change. Everything is going to be based on that anyway.”

Venues dedicated to live performances received a green light open at 50 percent capacity in late June. Some, like Hayward’s Tupelo Music Hall, are taking it slowly. So far, he’s only booked a Dueling Pianos show on Nov. 21 and two early December Gary Hoey dates. Other than those, he’s adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

“Being open is one thing, and being able to stay open is another thing,” Hayward said. “If we don’t have the capacity to do the shows we normally do, it doesn’t work. A good show for us is 500 people [and] a big show for a small club is 60 people. But I can’t live on 60 people.”

In the spring, Tupelo shows postponed by lockdown were optimistically rescheduled for October and November. Many of them are now pushed out until 2022, as artists “hunker down, taking time with making albums and other things,” Hayward said. “We need enough attendance to be open … national artists to be on tour. We can back fill a little bit with small local acts and stuff, but there’s not enough of it to have a full schedule.”

His popular Tupelo Drive-In shows continue, with Hot Tuna front man Jorma Kaukonen booked for the final musical performance on Oct. 25, closing after a Nov. 1 benefit auction for Derry family resource center The Upper Room.

The Music Hall plans a hybrid of outdoor and indoor shows through the end of the month, when Will Dailey of Barefoot Truth performs the final Chestnut Street show on Oct. 29. At that point, everything moves indoors.

“We must have gone through a hundred permutations of how we could do them, only to get down into the nitty gritty to find out it’s not going to be feasible,” said Monte Bohanan, venue marketing director of the outdoor series, which seated up to 108 guests at 24 tables set six feet apart. “The amount of work for the return on it landed squarely with Live Under the Arch shows, which have been hugely successful.”

The ability to draw from a large regional talent pool for the events proved “incredibly important,” Bohanan said.

“We’ve always had an eye to local originals,” he said. “Over the past decade we have been doing a lot and built some of those relationships. It has been invaluable during this time.”

With a pair of venues available, shows normally held in the intimate Loft are now moved to the larger Historic Theatre.

“The kind of performers that would come to our venue are on hold, hitting the pause button,” Sawtelle said, echoing Hayward’s comments. “So we’re trying to leverage what we have, but the artists that we can bring in for 250 seats is a very different level, much more akin to what we’ve been successful doing in the Loft.”

The Historic Theatre’s upcoming show calendar includes The Mammals on Oct. 9, Sons of Serendip on Oct. 17, Josh Turner the following Saturday, and a slate of Boston comics on Nov. 6.

Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord also runs a second, smaller venue, and the majority of shows will happen there. Similar to Portsmouth, they are leveraging regional talent, like young punk inspired Grenon on Oct. 17, the fun and funky Mica’s Groove Train on Nov. 14 and harmony-rich folk quartet River Sister in early December.

A few shows are set for the 1,300-seat Chubb Theatre. Johnny Cash tribute act Cash Unchained performed Sept. 18 in a shakedown cruise of sorts, according to Capitol Center Executive Director Nicki Clarke.

“We needed an opportunity to experiment,” she said by phone. “How does it work? Can we really have 300 people and do all the protocols that we need so people feel comfortable, so that we can do more of these?”

The days of big names returning look to be a way off.

“There are three things that have to move … before we really can get back to anything that’s truly more normal,” Clarke said. “We do have to have national touring acts that are out on the road. We need to have our capacity limitations lifted and we need an audience that’s ready to come out. Those three things are not really there at the moment. So we are going to continue to do small things down at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage for the next few months.”

Manchester’s Palace Theatre returned to live entertainment with a weekly residency from Juston McKinney, who also brought his Comedy at a Distance show to Portsmouth, Salisbury and Concord. He’s back at The Palace on Oct. 17.

Though none happened outdoors, many events were held at The Rex Theatre, renovated and reopened in 2019. A healthy slate is set for the near future at the city’s newest venue, including comic Kelly McFarland Oct. 9. Elvis and Billy Joel tribute nights are set for Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 respectively, and local Americana stalwarts Town Meeting perform Oct. 24. Matt Nakoa plays Oct. 29, and a Halloween acoustic Grateful Dead night from John Zevos is also scheduled.

Though the State of New Hampshire allows venues to operate at half capacity, most don’t plan to seat more than 25 to 30 percent. Thus, the short term is a money-losing proposition. But offering live entertainment is about more than moving to the music. The ripple effect is crucial.

“For every dollar that somebody spends at our venue, they’re spending $20 to $30 in town, whether that’s parking or restaurants or hotels or whatever. … Having an arts and cultural center in the heart of downtown that is thriving drives everybody’s business,” Bohanan said. “If we were forced to shut for even six months, it’s going to slow down everybody else’s ability to recover.”

On Monday, Oct. 5, Gov. Sununu announced the Live Venue Relief Program: $12 million provided by the state’s CARES Act Coronavirus Relief fund to benefit venues “hosting live theatrical presentations, musical entertainment, or sporting or racing events that are seated, ticketed, and open to the public,” according to a press release.

It’s a welcome gesture, Hayward said.

“We’re getting into winter now, so there’s no way we could possibly produce enough income to pay the bills,” he said, noting that this will provide a lifeline to venues that, unlike Tupelo, have been closed since March. “If they’re paying their mortgages right now, they’re generally taking loans to do so if they’re not paying rent. This really helps people catch up to their baseline.”

Outdoor events
Tupelo Drive-In
Saturday, Oct. 10 – Foreigners Journey ( 1 and 4 p.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 11 – Will Evans of Barefoot Truth
Saturday, Oct. 17–  Comedy Fundraiser with Kenny Rogerson and Francis Birch
Sunday, Oct. 25– Jorma Kaukonen (noon and 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Nov. 1 – The Upper Room’s 19th Annual Auction
Music Hall Live Under The Arch
Thursday, Oct. 8 – Great Bay Sailor
Saturday, Oct. 10 – Clements Brothers
Friday, Oct. 16 – Dwayne Haggins
Thursday, Oct. 22 – Kelly McFarland (comedy)
Thursday, Oct. 29 – Will Dailey
Swanzey Drive-In
Friday, Oct. 9 – Badfish
Thursday, Oct. 15 – Smith & Myers
Thursday, Oct. 22 – moe.
Friday, Oct. 23 – Dirty Heads
Indoor events
Capitol Center for the Arts
Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10 – Bob Marley (comedy), five shows total
Bank of New Hampshire Stage
Saturday, Oct. 17 – Grenon
Saturday, Oct. 24 – Rob Steen, Robbie Printz, Paul Landwehr
Saturday, Nov. 14 – Mica’s Groove Train
Saturday, Dec. 5 – River Sister
Rex Theatre
Friday, Oct. 9 – Kelly McFarland (Comedy)
Saturday, Oct. 10 – A Night of Elvis (Tribute)
Saturday, Oct. 17 – David Clark Songs in the Attic (Billy Joel Tribute)
Saturday, Oct. 24 – Town Meeting w/ George Barber
Thursday, Oct. 29 – Matt Nakoa
Saturday, Oct. 31 – Acoustic Grateful Dead w/ John Zevos & Friends
Palace Theatre
Saturday, Oct. 17 – Juston McKinney Comedy at a Distance (6 and 8:30 p.m.)
Friday, Oct. 23 – British Rock Experience (runs through Oct. 31)
The Music Hall
Friday, Oct. 9 – The Mammals
Saturday, Oct. 17 – Sons of Serendip
Saturday, Oct. 24 – Josh Turner
Friday, Nov. 6 – Boston Comedy
Saturday, Nov. 7 – Nellie McKay
Friday, Nov. 13 – Combo Sabroso Quartet
Saturday, Nov. 14 – Patty Larkin
Sunday, Nov. 15 – Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony Benefit Concert
Sunday, Dec. 27 – Juston McKinney
Tupelo Music Hall
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Dueling Pianos 
Friday, Dec. 4, and Saturday, Dec. 5 – Gary Hoey Christmas 25^th Anniversary Show

Featured photo: Dwayne Haggins. Courtesy photo.

Tom Petty tribute show at Rex Theatre stars locals

Just a week after closing out a tour marking the 40th anniversary of his band The Heartbreakers by playing “American Girl” to a sold-out Hollywood Bowl crowd, Tom Petty was dead, of an accidental prescription drug overdose. Time hasn’t healed the wound to rock ’n’ roll, particularly for musicians who found him an inspiration.

Tributes aplenty popped up in the wake of Petty’s death, including a jam organized by Granite State of Mind radio host and music maven Rob Azevedo. At the time, he looked back on a long string of losses in the world of music with a feeling that this one hurt the most.

“When Lemmy passed, it was like I couldn’t believe he wasn’t dead yet; with Bowie there were rumors of cancer,” he said. “But nothing prepared me for Petty.”

Three years later, he plans another tribute, on the anniversary of Petty’s death: Friday, Oct. 2. The upcoming show at Manchester’s newest venue, the Rex Theatre, will shine a spotlight on the city’s music scene.

“I hand-picked artists from the Queen City,” Azevedo said in a recent phone interview. “I chose them because when they’re out gigging, they always include a couple of Petty tunes, and they do Petty better than I’ve ever heard anybody do Petty.”

The lineup includes downtown fixture Jonny Friday, who’ll open the show with “Runnin’ Down A Dream,” and singer songwriter Becca Myari, who caught Azevedo’s attention with a majestic version of “Free Fallin’” one night at the Wild Rover a while back. She’ll reprise that one, along with the double-entendre-laden “Cabin Down Below” and “Angel Dream (No. 4),” a nugget from the She’s The One soundtrack.

Scotty Cloutier, who divides his time between playing out and running sound at Shaskeen Pub, is “a guy that sometimes does Petty better than Petty,” Azevedo said, adding, “I know that sounds crazy … he must play 25 of his songs, and I know he just loves him more than anybody that I’ve ever met.”

The Graniteers feature singer guitarist Nick Ferrero, who is, according to Azevedo, “a bulletproof rocker from Manchester with a little punk in him,” with Monica Grasso on bass and vocals. The two are a couple; fittingly, one of the songs they’ll tackle is “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” done originally by Stevie Nicks and Petty.

Who Knows What is well known as the house band at Manchester’s Ukrainian Club but is pretty much obscure everywhere else. That’s by choice.

“The thing about them is they don’t leave the damn place,” Azevedo said. “They are one of the best bands around, but they don’t play anyplace else unless I book them for a show.”

Concord will represent in the form of Lucas Gallo, a musician, promoter and civic booster from the Capitol City, who recently premiered his new solo album at an outdoor show there. Gallo plans a mashup of “Breakdown” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” a move that Azevedo calls “very Jamantics” — referencing Gallo’s longtime band.

Having the show at the newly modernized Amherst Street venue will be a real treat for the performers.

“A lot of these artists are bangers, you know what I mean?” Azevedo said. “They don’t normally get to play a state-of-the-art place like The Rex Theatre.”

He praised Rex Executive Director Chuck Stergiou for booking hometown shows.

“I’ve had to do a bit of selling on the local music scene … to grow it takes time. Chuck has been behind us every step of the way, and we need people like him on our side,” he said.

This probably won’t be the last time Azevedo rounds up local talent to honor Petty, for him a legend and a hero, whose music is timeless and always welcome. “Every time you hear ‘American Girl’ on the radio,” he said, “it’s a song that you never not turn up, whether it’s the dead of winter or the blazing sun of summer. … You crank it up the minute you hit it.”

Three Years Gone – A Tom Petty Tribute
When: Friday, Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester
Tickets: $19 at the door, reserve by calling 668-5588

Featured photo: Tom Petty. Courtesy photo.

Boston supergroup plays free Concord show

With not quite two years behind them as a band, Neighbor has become a force on the New England music scene. They played two doubleheaders at Tupelo Drive-In this summer; both sold out in hours. Everywhere they go, fans follow for a sound that blends jam band joie de vivre with technical brilliance and lyrical savvy.

What began as an informal Tuesday night meetup that gave keyboard player, singer and songwriter Richard James (Pink Talking Fish) and guitarist Lyle Brewer (Ryan Montbleau Band) a chance to play together grew into a word-of-mouth sensation — particularly when they moved the party from a local craft brewery to Thunder Road in Somerville, Mass., in early 2019. Dan Kelly joined on bass along with drummer Dean Johnston, and crowd sizes from their early gigs grew exponentially.

One reason for this fervid response is that Neighbor is prolific — astonishingly so, with over 50 original songs, including a James/Brewer rock opera called Silver. Also, every show is different; James opined in a recent interview that the band’s devotees, who self-identify as “Neighbors,” deserve nothing less.

This was especially true when Neighbor ruled Tuesdays at Thunder Road. Then Covid-19 shut everything down on St. Patrick’s Day. Sadly, the pandemic forced the club to close permanently in late August.

“It was something more than just a residency, or a band doing their thing,” James said. “We had these people every week who were depending on us to not let them down musically … we would push the limits so they could have a new experience every week.”

The idea for a residency came to James after he went to New Orleans to study with pianist Jon Cleary, one of his idols.

“He’s trying out his new original music and playing classic New Orleans tunes, doing his own spin on it, and he’s staying relevant doing these residencies,” James said.

He went to see Cleary at Tipitina’s and a couple of his other regular gigs.

“When I got home I said, ‘I gotta get a residency,’” he said.

Neighbor hasn’t made a studio album — surprising for a band sitting on a box set or two of material. Instead they found a path like Phish or the Grateful Dead, both clear influences.

“When more and more people started paying attention, tapers got more serious about videoing each show,” James said.

There are now hours and hours of live clips on YouTube, some shot with multiple cameras, and 25 live albums currently available.

James, a vintage equipment buff who plays a Hohner Clavinet at shows, likes to package up the disks.

“Digital is cool, but when you actually hold something it’s just that much more important,” he said, adding with a wry laugh, “even if it’s, you know, something dead — people just love getting it, popping it in, and knowing where it came from.”

Granite State success was only a bit unexpected.

“The Neighbors say they want to keep it small, just for themselves, because they’re enjoying it so much; but they really do care about the growth of the band,” James said. “There happened to be a whole bunch of people in New Hampshire who got in on it … but I was a little surprised that the shows sold out so quick.”

Fortunately an upcoming Concord appearance at the Capital Arts Fest is free. Originally booked for Bank of NH Stage, the show was moved outdoors, in front of the Capitol Center for the Arts, just down the street.

James had to engage in last-minute negotiations with the promoters when he learned the expected length of Neighbor’s festival set — one hour.

“I said, ‘That’s not OK; we need more time,’” he said, noting that the demand stunned the venue. “They said, ‘Honestly, you’re the first band that’s ever wanted to work longer.’ But people are going to be coming from Maine, Cape Cod and the South Shore … to come all that way for an hour? Seventy-five minutes is still a little short, but it just means we’re going to have to do something that much more special.”

James’ thought was a continuation of something he’d said earlier, while attempting to state the band’s mission.

“It’s to really get stars in people’s eyes, make them say, ‘Oh my God, this is interesting — this isn’t just a show, this is something more,’” he said. “Getting the people involved is just so important for us.

Capital Arts Fest
Spend the first weekend of fall outdoors, browsing fine arts and crafts in downtown Concord while listening to live music from bands like Neighbor. The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s third annual Capital Arts Fest will take place Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Compared to last year’s event, which featured more than 70 craftsmen, this year’s festival will be smaller in scale, but Miriam Carter, executive director of the League, said the two dozen juried artists who are participating are eager to get out and interact with the public and showcase their work.
“People get to experience crafts on the street in a really wonderful way — maybe a different way, but still a wonderful way,” Carter said.
The difference this year, of course, is that the League will follow all of the city’s Covid-19 safety protocols, including its mask ordinance and social distancing guidelines, Carter said, with the tents set up 10 feet apart.
But there will still be all kinds of art and fine crafts to shop for, including jewelry, porcelain pottery, prints, mosaics, wood furniture, decorative and wearable fiber crafts, glass sculptures and more.
Carter said League member Stephen Procter, a potter who makes oversized clay pots that are several feet high, will be doing demonstrations throughout both days.
“He builds them in sections, and it’s really a fascinating process to see a large pot come together,” Carter said.
The artists will be set up outside the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen headquarters at 49 S. Main St., across from the Capitol Center for the Arts, which is sponsoring the live music that’s scheduled throughout both days of the festival.
“We’re just trying to adapt and find the silver lining in anything we do,” Carter said.

Capital Arts Fest Live Music Lineup
All shows will take place in front of the Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord.

Saturday, Sept. 26
11 a.m. – Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki & Matt Jensen
1 p.m. – Don Campbell Band
3 p.m. – The Rebel Collective
7 p.m. – Neighbor

Sunday, Sept. 27
11 a.m. – Wellfleet
2 p.m. – Young Frontier

Featured photo: Neighbor. Courtesy photo.