Along with his work with Yes and a large catalog of solo albums, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Rick Wakeman has made music with everyone from David Bowie to Black Sabbath. He even played A&R man when he steered theatrical rockers The Tubes to A&M Records. At his upcoming show in Derry, Wakeman will perform and reminisce about his life, often reprising the standup comedy skills that made him a hit at Yes’s 2017 Hall of Fame induction. Wakeman spoke with the Hippo via Zoom from his home in England.
How did things go for you during the pandemic?
Well, it wasn’t good, but having said that, it wasn’t good for anybody…. I played the piano every day, but there were some days I thought to myself, how long is this going to go on for? I’m just playing the piano and I don’t know why…. The thing that brought everything home to me was … I lost 19 friends from Covid. That hit home very hard.
Will these shows be your first live audience experience since shutdown?
Yeah, they are [except for] a few weeks ago. When restrictions lifted here, I phoned my great friends at the Ronnie Scott club in London and said … I need to play in front of an audience, however small. … I didn’t plan anything to say; I walked on stage, went up to the microphone and without thinking I went, ‘Wow, there’s real people!’ [And] somebody shouted back, ‘Yeah, and there’s somebody on stage — it doesn’t get any better!’
Are you really grumpier this time around?
It’s grumpy but actually funny. … It won’t offend. There are a lot of things to be grumpy about [but] I’m not going to make a meal of the whole Covid thing. I want people to have fun. There will be a moment where I remember a few friends. It’s just going to be so great to walk out and play for my friends — pretty much everywhere I go in America I’ve got friends.
Tell me about working with Black Sabbath.
When they were putting Sabbath Bloody Sabbath together, we were in the same complex of studios. … Ozzy said we’ve got some synthesizer, mini-Moog lines we want, would you come and do it? I said I’d love to. So I went into the studio just after midnight. The entire band and engineers were comatose, they were completely out of it, there were quite a few bottles lying around. The taper was there, and was looking terrified. … He said, ‘I can play you the track; Ozzy said you’d know what to do,’ [and] I recorded it. Then Ozzy opened his eyes and looked at me. I can’t repeat the exact words he said, but he basically went, that’s perfect. He actually went, ‘That’s f-ing great!’
How are you choosing songs for this tour?
I’m at the stage right now where I’ve got a short list [of 20 songs, and] 10 will have to go. Having said that … sometimes I can throw everything out the window…. It’s happened on a few occasions. I’m certain there will be a few I haven’t played before. It’s a mixture of certain pieces that people in the nicest sense like to hear when I come along, a few they might not expect, and a few total surprises.
What’s the status of Anderson Wakeman Rabin?
I’d like to think something over the next few years will happen for sure, because none of us are getting any younger and we all love what we do … I mean, I love playing Yes music, it’s my life, so obviously if the offers come in and Jon and Trev are up for it, yeah, I’m sure there will be stuff.
How’d you discover The Tubes?
I first saw them in the ’70s. I think it was Halloween and we had a night off in San Francisco. I went out to this club where the Tubes were playing. … There was a lot of drinking and noise. Not a lot of people were taking notice [and] I thought it was a shame that at the time people weren’t really listening to them. Fee Waybill walked off and I thought, is he gone? He came back on completely naked and sang the next song — yeah, that got their attention. He went, now you’re listening. And I thought, I liked you before, I love you guys now. After, I asked, who are you signed to? They said nobody will touch us, they’re all frightened of us. I said, I’ll get you a deal, I promise you. I flew down to L.A. and saw Jerry Moss [and] he said yeah, we know all about The Tubes. Everybody’s a bit frightened of them. I said they are fantastic, so so good. He said, I’ll tell you what, Rick, we’ll sign them, but the deal is you produce them. … Problem was, I’m solidly on tour with Yes [so] someone else came in. Of course, they had a massive album. We remain friends.
Rick Wakeman – The Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour
When: Thursday, Oct. 14, 8 p.m. Where: Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry Tickets: $55 and $60 at tupelohall.com
Daniel Craig appears to be having some actual fun as James Bond in the long pandemic-delayed No Time To Die, allegedly his last time out as the character.
I’ll admit that at some point fairly early in this movie I stopped trying to follow the plot and decided to just enjoy the ride — the zippy European cars, the well-choreographed fights, the handsome Daniel Craig. And I think that’s fine; something about Craig’s performance here is looser and more energetic than, say, Spectre, this movie’s predecessor from 2015. The movie doesn’t need you to think very hard about who this guy is and how he’s connected to that guy from the previous movie to be in and enjoy the moment. Craig’s performance plays into this; he sells some of the jokes and dry humor of Bond better than in previous movies. He gets more fight scenes that seem to have some visual wit and show off his super agent abilities without making him seem like an unharmable robot. When Ana de Armas shows up as an agent on a mission with Bond, she feels just right, just this side of silly, and with a kind of buddy/mentor-mentee/fan chemistry with Bond.
Also, the plot here, like the plot of so many Bond movies, is kind of a jumble of: ridiculously fortified yet easy to breach compounds, shadowy people pulling the strings, not one but three villains, at least two shadowy international organizations whose evil scheme is overly complicated, strife within and between intelligence agencies, moments when Bond has to Go It Alone and a song by a current big deal pop star (Billie Eilish). All the standard Bond stuff. The movie has nice little callbacks to this-iteration-of-Bond characters past, like Vesper (Eva Green) and original M (Judi Dench). There are some fun surprises that aren’t super surprising, there are some fun shots of Bond in beach locales.
More specifically (but still very roughly): The movie opens with Bond and Madeleine Swan (Léa Seydoux), his love interest from Spectre (and yes I did have to look that up because vague familiarity is all that registered for me), on a sunny holiday in some sunny seaside European town. Actually, the movie opens with a flashback of a traumatic event from Madeleine’s childhood and then the sunny European vacation, all cars on cliffside roads and swanky hotels. But then Bond is nearly killed — first by a bomb and then by a bunch of hitmen, one of whom helpfully drives a motorcycle, allowing him to get kicked off his motorcycle and Bond to do some fun motorcycle stunts. Spectre is behind this, which he knows because they have literally left a card with their symbol on it, and Bond is certain that Madeleine is working for them and has helped to trap him. He decides to trust her just enough to get her safely on a train but not enough to ever see her again.
Five years later, Bond seems just fine with his new retirement life in what I think is Jamaica when American CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright, always fun) shows up to tempt him into One More Mission. Felix and the CIA but not British intelligence are looking for a scientist, Obruchev (David Dencik), who has developed a scary weapon and was kidnapped from/sold-out MI 6 (or maybe a little of both). They think Spectre has him in Cuba and they know that Bond is still hot to bring down Spectre, still in operation even though big boss Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) is in prison. Bond isn’t interested — or at least he isn’t that interested until a lady whom Wikipedia tells me is named Nomi (Lashana Lynch) seems to pick Bond up at a club but is really just there to tell him that she’s MI 6 and that he needs to stay out of this whole Cuba/Obruchev thing. Naturally, that’s when Bond decides to get involved.
(Without giving away too much about Nomi — like the reason why I didn’t remember her name — she adds a really fun element to the story and becomes a strong part of the adventure.)
It’s not important to know too much more going in. My favorite Bond Scooby gang of M (Ralph Fiennes), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q (Ben Whishaw) and Bill Tanner (Rory Kinnear) is back. We get the assistant to the regional manager villain in the form of Primo (Dali Benssalah), who occasionally tips over the line into goofy but it’s fine. In addition to Blofeld, we get another Big Bad in a character played by Rami Malek. There are some fun locations — aforementioned vacation Europe, London of course, Jamaica, Cuba, a forest in northern Europe, a no-holds-barred bad guy lair that combines an almost futuristic minimalism with mid-century Soviet stylings, on an island.
What else could you want from a Bond movie? This movie is two hours and 43 minutes long and I saw it in (totally unnecessary) 3D and I still had fun.
Maybe Craig was struck with some “leave it all out on the field” burst of excitement for this character, maybe this movie leaned in to all the best parts of Bond and wasn’t encumbered by trying to build some ongoing story, maybe that Bond documentary available via Apple (Being James Bond — it’s about 45 minutes long and worth a watch) actually helped me get excited about the franchise again. Whatever combination of movie magic and the pandemic-related drought of big event movies gave this movie its sparkle, the result is a long but highly watchable mix of action and nostalgia helmed by a thoroughly engaging leading man — and a solid final chapter to an overall strong run of Bond films. B+
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, brief strong language and some suggestive material, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga with a screenplay by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, No Time To Die is two hours and 43 minutes long and is distributed in theaters by MGM. Want more Craig as Bond? The four previous films — 2006’s Casino Royale, 2008’s Quantum of Solace, 2012’s Skyfall and 2015’s Spectre — are all available to rent or own. Spectre and Skyfall are also streaming on Hulu. Paramount + currently has Skyfall.
FILM
Venues
Bank of NH Stage in Concord 16 S. Main St., Concord 225-1111, banknhstage.com
Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org
The Strand 20 Third St., Dover 343-1899, thestranddover.com
Shows
• Poltergeist (PG, 1982) part of the Film Frenzy $5 Classics series at O’neil Cinemas with multiple daily screenings through Thursday, Oct. 14.
• House on Haunted Hill (1959) screening on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres.
• Night of the Creeps (R, 1986) at The Strand on Thursday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• Small Engine Repair(R, 2021) screening at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15.
• 21+ Trivia Night for Hocus Pocus at Chunky’s in Manchester on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m. Reserve a seat with the purchase of a $5 food voucher.
• Bergman Island (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres Friday, Oct. 15, and Saturday, Oct. 16, at 1, 4, & 7 p.m. and Sunday Oct. 17, at 4 and 7 p.m.
• Lamb (R, 2021) at Red River Theatre Friday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 17, at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.
• I’m Your Man (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres Friday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 17, at 4:30 p.m.
• Beetlejuice (PG, 1986) screening at The Strand on Friday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• Dead Alive (R, 1992) screening at The Strand in Dover on Friday, Oct. 15, 9 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• Falling For Figaro (NR, 2020) screening at The Music Hall on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15.
• Disney Zombies (TV-G, 2018) at The Strand on Saturday, Oct. 16, 3 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• Raphaell Revealed (NR, 2020) screening at Red River Theatres on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m.
• National Theatre Live Cyrano de Bergerac, a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets $15 ($12 for students).
• Frankenweenie (PG, 2012) at the Rex Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Motley Mutts Rescue. Tickets cost $12.
• The Shining (R, 1980) part of the Film Frenzy $5 Classics series at O’neil Cinemas with multiple screenings Monday, Oct. 18, through Thursday, Oct. 21.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG, 1993) at the Rex Theatre on Monday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m.
Tickets cost $12.
The Silence of the Lambs
Fathom Events will hold 30th anniversary screenings of 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs from director Jonathan Demme starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins on Sunday, Oct. 17, and Wednesday, Oct. 20. The film will screen at Cinemark Rockingham Park in Salem at 3 p.m. and Regal Fox Run in Newington at 3 and 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 and at both theaters on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. Get tickets via Fathom at fathomevents.com.
Normally held in late July, the Manchester Brewfest is a fall affair this year — the event returns on Sunday, Oct. 31, bringing together all kinds of local beers and food options at Arms Park.
It’s the seventh annual festival and the first one since the summer of 2019. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample more than 100 craft beer options, and other featured activities will include live music, face painting, and a petting zoo from Candia’s Charmingfare Farm.
“We have the perfect location for a brew festival,” Peter Telge of Stark Brewing Co. in Manchester, one of the festival’s organizers, said of Arms Park. “A lot of times if you go to brew festivals it can be hard to find a place that’s close to stay or to park, or everything’s spread out and you’ve got to walk all the way here or there. This is just a nice huge area that we can make a great festival out of … and it’s also next to the Merrimack River, which is beautiful.”
Telge has worked with several local charitable organizations over the years that have been beneficiaries of the Manchester Brewfest. This time around, he’s partnering with John Hayden of Value of Sport, a new nonprofit dedicated to giving Manchester students in fourth grade and up equal access and opportunity for success through programs in sports, art and music.
“In the past we’ve had around 30 breweries. This year we’re probably going to get 20 or so, maybe 25,” Telge said. “There are a lot of new people doing some really cool stuff with malt beverages and seltzers and things like that, so it will be a nice variety of different flavors.”
Most of the vendors hail from New Hampshire or a neighboring New England state. Martha’s Exchange & Brewery of Nashua, for instance, is expected to bring its Apple Brown Betty, a Belgian brown ale brewed and aged on toasted apple wood, in addition to a few other selections. Hidden Moon Brewing and Moonlight Meadery of Londonderry will pour both its Little Apples hard cider and its Razz What She Said raspberry session mead, while Willie’s Superbrew, a Charlestown, Mass.,-based purveyor of hard seltzers blended with real fruit, will be there with multiple offerings, like its cranberry and lime and pineapple and jalapeno flavors.
Several local restaurants will be there too, including 900 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, which will have meatball subs, Hayden said. Auburn Pitts, Firefly American Bistro & Bar of Manchester, and Hooksett’s Second Brook Bar & Grill are all expected to attend as well.
Live performances will include both the Gilford-based Eric Grant Band and the New Hampshire Police Association Pipes and Drums. The festival is also coinciding with the conclusion of Millennium Running’s annual Trick or Trot 3K Race.
7th annual Manchester Brewfest
When: Sunday, Oct. 31; general admittance is from 1 to 4 p.m., with VIP admittance beginning at noon Where: Arms Park, 10 Arms St., Manchester Cost: Tickets are $40 general admission, $50 VIP admission and $15 for designated drivers; ticket prices do not include food Visit: manchesterbrewfest.com Event is rain or shine.
For the second year, ArtWeek Nashua is going to be a mainly virtual event, but organizers are doing everything they can to foster the connection between artists and the public, with professionally filmed TV segments, live Facebook feeds and an in-person mural painting to kick it all off.
“Last year, in 2020, there were so many performers, musicians and actors and actresses, all types of performers who got off their game. A lot of people ended up learning a lot about how to use [virtual media] … and create content that would be engaging for people even if it’s not in person,” event coordinator Asia Scudder of City Arts Nashua said.
ArtWeek begins Saturday, Oct. 16, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 24, coinciding once again with KidsWeek Nashua.
KidsWeek Nashua
The scavenger hunt returns, with 50 mini art kits filled with painting, sewing or sculpture projects will be hidden at various public sculpture locations throughout the city. With a little help from Access Nashua Community Television and Nashua-based photographer Sid Ceaser, Woz Watts and Sid the puppet are going undercover as superheroes, hiding the art kits, five of which will have an exclusive “creativity stone” that will give its finder unlimited creative power. “The art kits are the size of like an Altoid box, but they’re really cute,” Scudder said. Hints will be revealed through City Arts Nashua social media, and maps of sculpture site locations will be available at The Picker Artists Studios, at 3 Pine St, Nashua.
Eric Escobar will help get things started, painting a graffiti-style mural on cellophane at 30 Temple St. beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and the public is encouraged to come down and watch him at work. It’s the only in-person event of the week; the rest will be on TV and online.
The video segments were filmed by Access Nashua Community Television, and Scudder said the ones she’d seen so far looked great. She watched one with Damien Rigden, a multimedia artist who writes children’s books and poetry.
“The interview process was just so interesting, to see him really come alive [as he talked about] the process of his creativity,” Scudder said.
She also saw a video of a mother-daughter duo who are from India and just moved to Nashua. Mom Sumeet does food photography and has photos of food from Nepal and India, as well as from Nashua restaurants, and her 8-year-old daughter, Gracelynn, wrote about the importance of food and culture to accompany the photos. Scudder said that during a normal ArtWeek, those photos would be on display in restaurants, but the video allows viewers to get to know the story behind the art, and the artists.
“My hope is that we really encourage people to support artists who have been isolated, alone, not sure about their careers, just show support for these creative individuals,” Scudder said.
Scudder also hopes that the public will interact with artists using social media, even if it’s simply liking a Facebook post.
“The most exciting thing for me is the interaction and hoping that we can inspire people to give a thumbs up to an artist or a shout out,” Scudder said. “It’s difficult having to do this virtually again … but it’s good in terms of keeping momentum going [for the artists].”
Engage in ArtWeek
Each day on Access Nashua Community Television (Comcast Channel 96), City Arts Nashua’s website (accessnashua.org/stream.php) and social media there will be profiles of artists and their works, and posts about each artist will be displayed on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, along with Twitter and LinkedIn.
In-person events
Artist Eric Escobar will hold a live artmaking performance to help kick off ArtWeek and create our ArtWeek installation piece at 30 Temple St. on Saturday, Oct. 16, starting at 10 a.m.
Take a self-guided public sculpture tour of the works of the Nashua International Sculpture Symposium. Maps are available at Picker Artists Studios at 3 Pine St. or using the free Distrx app, which will also be available at cityartsnashua.org.
View artwork on display in the windows of downtown Nashua business locations, with QR codes accompanying the pieces for viewers to see and learn more about the artists:
• Bar Harbor Bank will display the works of artists Janice Donnelly, Madeleine LaRose, Carol Lake, Nona Angelini and Joseph Bryant at 188 Main St., on the East Pearl Street side of the building
• DesignWares will show work by Brenda McDougald at their 206 Main St. location
• The Nashua Area Chamber of Commerce will be showing art from Gate City Charter School for the Arts students in their windows at their 60 Main St. location
ArtWeek artists and performers
• Eric Escobar, live artmaking performance
• Tim Foley, paintings and drawings
• Positive Street Art
• Damien Rigden, interdisciplinary artist
• Robert Lembree, fine art photographer
• Nancy Goodwin/UpbeatNH Youth Orchestra
• Carol Lake, live special events painter
• Ruth Boland, League of NH Craftsmen basketmaker
• Sumeet and Gracelynn Mehta/myllyynnis, food photography
• Teresa Moler, watercolor artist and puppeteer
• Madeleine LaRose, local landscapes in pastels and acrylics
• Bonnie Guercio, mixed-media collages
• Lisa Culpa, landscape photographer
• Karina Mitchell/Membit, interactive artist
• Nona Angelini, painting, mixed media figure drawing
• Nashua Community Music School
• Leslie Pasternack/Lemon Punch Theatre Lab
• Ricardo Cortez, dark abstract to soft whimsical photography
• Douglas Huntley, abstract mixed media artist
• Janice Donnelly, bright, colorful and happy landscapes
• Olivia Powell, imaginative writing
• Loretta Hubley, etching and painting
• Quint-Essential Winds, musicians performing works by American composers
• Brenda McDougald, landscape photography
• Bitter Pill, rhythm and bluegrass band from New Hampshire
Arcades, bowling alleys and game shops to level up your game night
High scores
Classic video gaming at New Hampshire’s arcades
by Matt Ingersoll
Portsmouth native Sean Greenlaw grew up playing retro video games, thanks in part to his father’s managing the former Dream Machine arcade at the Fox Run Mall. So when he learned that Manchester’s Electric Avenue Arcade was up for sale, he saw a unique opportunity.
“I was definitely here pretty regularly. This was a place that I loved to come to and remembered having an amazing community to participate with,” Greenlaw said. “I’ve wanted to start my own business, and this pandemic really taught me that there were opportunities out there for me and that I needed to take chances. … So I threw my hat into the ring to purchase the arcade.”
Last month Electric Avenue fully reopened under Greenlaw’s ownership after an extended absence. All of the arcade’s more than two dozen games are available to play once again, from timeless classics like Pac-Man and Galaga to Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and many others, plus multiple pinball machines and a few Skee-Ball lanes. Greenlaw is looking into adding a few more games on the floor too, including one he acquired that used to be at the Dream Machine.
Arcades were products of their time, before the age of the internet and smartphones, when gamers would gather around hunched over a machine and attempt to surpass the high score. It’s all part of that nostalgic factor Greenlaw hopes to carry on at Electric Avenue.
“You can play a game on your computer or your phone, and that’s a very solitary experience,” he said, “but when you come into an arcade you hear the classic sounds that you grew up with. You’re able to meet up and challenge other folks face to face, which is something that has kind of been lost. … So I really appreciate the feeling of the arcade bringing everyone together. That’s the vibe I’m going for here, is that you feel like you’re walking into your friend’s basement.”
Block Party Social in Hooksett. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.
Indeed, when Greenlaw reopened the doors, many of the arcade’s faithful regulars returned.
“There were people who hadn’t seen each other since the pandemic began who were able to meet up again, and for me that was the best part,” he said. “It’s a testament to [former owners] Chuck and Sara [Vorias], and that’s something that I want to continue.”
In the spirit of starting fresh, Greenlaw is resetting the high scores of each of the machines and is also working toward adding a token dispenser. The bar side of the arcade, meanwhile, will continue to feature a rotating selection of local brews and light food options.
At Block Party Social in Hooksett, formerly the Space Entertainment Center, there are dozens of new arcade games to play in its recently renovated space. Each game operates using preloaded funds on a game card, which you can also use to accumulate points and win prizes.
While there are several iconic games that are represented, many have their own modernized twist. If you love to play Pac-Man or Galaga, for example, you can experience them on a giant LED video billboard. Space Invaders Frenzy combines the classic gameplay of the original Space Invaders with ray gun-like controllers in place of traditional joysticks and buttons. There are also multiple interactive arcade experiences, such as Jurassic Park and Halo.
“The games all kind of have that physical experience to them. It makes for more of an immersive environment,” Block Party Social marketing director Ron Weinberg said. “In a certain sense it is a throwback to maybe when you used to go to the arcade at the beach and play Skee-Ball, but this is almost like a little more high-tech version of it.”
Weinberg said the new games were all part of a complete rebranding of the business that took place last year. Other attractions, like indoor ropes courses, zip lines and an axe-throwing lounge with multiple games to choose from using superimposed screens, have all been added.
In Concord, Wow Fried Chicken & Subs owner Maher Abbas recently turned the adjacent vacant building space on the corner of Main and Pleasant streets into Wow Chicken Arcade, which officially opened to the public on Oct. 1.
Wow Chicken Arcade in Concord. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.
Abbas said kids of all ages enjoying the few games he has inside in his restaurant made him realize that there wasn’t any central arcade in town for them to go to. Unlike at Electric Avenue, which currently utilizes special tokens to play the games that are sold in bagged quantities at the counter, machines at Wow Chicken Arcade are quarter-operated.
Games include many of the classics, as well as a few pinball machines, racing simulators, ice hockey tables and basketball shooting machines. Abbas is making the downstairs space available to rent as a function room for family-friendly private parties and gatherings and has plans to offer entertainment outings like open mic or karaoke nights in the near future.
Visit an arcade
From Pac-Man to Space Invaders and dozens of other classics in between, here’s a list of some spots in southern New Hampshire where you can get your retro video gaming on.
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight
Formerly the Space Entertainment Center, Block Party Social features a newly renovated arcade space with more than 100 types of video games to enjoy, in addition to an in-house restaurant, a revamped 5,000-square-foot laser tag arena, ropes courses, and an axe-throwing lounge with a variety of game formats.
Dave & Buster’s
1500 S. Willow St., Manchester, 506-3100, daveandbusters.com
Hours: Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Granite State’s first Dave & Buster’s location, which arrived in the Mall of New Hampshire plaza in August 2020, features a large arcade with chances to win prizes, plus a sports bar and virtual reality gaming.
Hours: Thursday, 6 to 11 p.m.; Friday, 6 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, noon to midnight, and Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. (may be subject to change)
Reopened last month under new ownership, Electric Avenue is back with all of the same arcade games as before, including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Paper Boy, Galaga, Q*Bert and more, plus a rotating offering of local brews and a light food menu.
Funspot
579 Endicott St. N., Laconia, 366-4377, funspotnh.com
Hours: Monday through Friday, noon to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Billing itself as the “largest arcade in the world,” Funspot features several hundred classic arcade games, as well as other activities like indoor mini-golf, bowling and cash Bingo.
FunWorld
200 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua, 888-8735, funworldnh.com
Hours: Friday, 3 to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 8 p.m. (hours are temporarily reduced due to the pandemic and may be subject to change)
This Nashua center features more than 250 video games for all ages, plus a three-story playground and three indoor amusement rides.
Hours: Monday through Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.; Friday, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Arcade games are just one of the attractions at Hilltop Fun Center, which also features mini-golf, laser tag, batting cages and more.
Mel’s Funway Park
454 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield, 424-2292, melsfunwaypark.com
Hours: Friday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, noon to midnight, and Sunday, noon to 7 p.m.
One of several attractions to enjoy at Mel’s Funway Park, the indoor arcade is expected to remain open through the end of Spooky World’s annual run this Halloween season, according to co-owner Mike Accomando.
Tokens Taproom
284 Central Ave., Dover, 343-2879, tokenstaproom.com
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday, 4 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday, 4 to 11 p.m.
Known as a “barcade,” a combination arcade and bar, Tokens Taproom has classic arcade games and pinball machines that have been collected over the years by owner Josh Hynes. It’s open to visitors ages 21 and up, but minors are allowed in on Saturdays, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with accompanying adults.
Wow Chicken Arcade
2 N. Main St., Concord, find them on Facebook @wowchickennn
Hours: Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, noon to midnight (may be subject to change)
New to the local arcade scene, Wow Chicken Arcade opened Oct. 1 on the corner of Main and Pleasant streets in downtown Concord. Games include pinball, ice hockey, simulated racers, Skee-Ball and more, while a function space is available to rent.
Right up your alley
Bowling still fun for all ages
By Meghan Siegler
The game of bowling hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. You lace up your well-worn rental shoes, grab a ball — a big one with finger holes if you’re playing 10-pin, a much smaller one with no holes if you’re playing candlepin — and send it down the lane, aiming for the pins at the end and hoping the ball stays out of the gutters. But not everything has stayed the same.
“What has come a long way is the technology,” said Kelly Cross, manager of Yankee Lanes in Manchester.
There are two basic kinds of bowling centers, Cross said: traditional league houses that are focused on league bowlers and tournaments, and the centers that are geared more toward family entertainment. She said Yankee Lanes falls somewhere in the middle, with league-based play during the weekdays and non-competitive players coming in on nights and weekends.
Photo courtesy of Kelly Cross of Yankee Lanes.
“After 9 it’s really geared more toward the casual bowlers,” Cross said. “We crank up the music and turn on the glow-in-the-dark lights.”
Cross has been working at Yankee for 20 years, so she’s watched the scene evolve in that time.
“The swing toward a more casual bowler has been the most dramatic change,” she said.
There are also two main kinds of bowling: candlepin and big-ball, the former of which is really only a thing in New England, Cross said.
“It’s a pretty niche market,” she said.
With candlepin, you’re using a smaller ball and aiming for skinnier “candlesticks,” so named because the pins are tapered and resemble candlesticks. The lane conditions are different too; there’s a protective coat of oil that goes on big-ball lanes that’s not used on candlepin lanes.
With its smaller balls, candlepin might seem like a better choice for kids and families, but most bowling centers that have 10-pin offer lighter-weight balls for kids. They also have ramps for really young kids, and bumpers help minimize the frustration of gutter balls.
“There are no benchwarmers in bowling,” Cross said. “Everyone can participate. … We have bowlers who are 2 or 3, all the way up to 90.”
Go bowling
Candlepin
Boutwell’s Bowling Center
152 N. State St., Concord, 224-0941, boutwellsbowl.com
Hours: Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Hours: Sunday noon to 9 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday noon to 10 p.m.
Hours: Closed Monday, open Tuesday through Saturday noon to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
Ten-pin
Merrimack Ten Pin
698 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 429-0989, merrimacktenpin.com
Hours: Sunday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Strikers East Bowling Center & Function Room
4 Essex Dr., Raymond, 895-9501, strikerseast.net
Hours: Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesday 5 to 9 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday 2 to 11 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Yankee Lanes
216 Maple St., Manchester, 625-9656, yankeelanesentertainment.com
Hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday noon to 11 p.m.
Really Retro
King Bowling Lanes in Manchester has been around since 1939, according to its website. When it first opened, there were “pinboys” who would set the pins because there were no automatic pinsetters — those weren’t added until 1954. In 1989 King Bowling upgraded to automatic scoring, which is now the norm at most bowling centers.
Well-played
Local game shops host tabletop games, old and new
by Angie Sykeny
Tabletop games are alive and well, from the ones you played as a kid to new ones being released all the time. Many local game and comic book stores double as venues where people can gather for open-play gaming and organized gaming events.
The fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D, has been a household name in the game world since the 1980s, but some local game shop staff said it’s starting to break into the mainstream.
“D&D has really come out of the basement and into the spotlight in the last few years, with shows like The Big Bang Theory,and shows that stream D&D games, like Critical Role, where you see Hollywood voice actors playing the game,” said Jay Ribak, owner of Relentless Dragon, a game store in Nashua. “I think the demographic [of players] is growing.”
Megan Kilar, who works at Collectibles Unlimited, a game store in Concord, said the pandemic was also responsible for a “Dungeons & Dragons renaissance.”
“There are a lot of board games that you can really only play in person, but D&D is one that you can play together online, so for many people, playing D&D was a way to connect with their friends during Covid,” she said.
Relentless Dragon hosts organized D&D games three nights a week that are open to anyone with any level of interest in the game.
“People are welcome to drop in and sit in on a session to observe, or to join,” Ribak said. “You don’t really need anything except a willingness to try things out. … We’ll help you get an introduction to the game.”
Tabletop gaming at Game Knight in Manchester. Courtesy photo.
Another game that has stood the test of time and continues to attract new players is Magic: The Gathering, a fantasy trading card game that came out in the early 1990s.
“Magic is great, because the rules haven’t changed,” Kilar said. “If you knew how to play Magic 10 or 15 years ago, you still know how to play Magic, and if you don’t, it’s easy enough to pick up.”
You can find weekly Magic games at both Collectibles Unlimited and Relentless Dragon as well as other local game shops.
If you like games involving strategy and games that allow you to be creative, Warhammer, a medieval-fantasy war game played with custom miniatures, has the best of both worlds, Kiler said. Around since the 1980s, Warhammer has maintained a following and is, according to Kiler, the most popular game at Collectibles Unlimited.
“There’s a lot to it,” she said. “You paint your miniatures on your own however you want to, and then you have to think about how you’re going to use your army and what each of your units is going to do.”
Your tabletop game options don’t end with the classics; Matt Summers, owner of Game Knight, a BYOB game shop and gaming lounge in Manchester, said there’s “a pretty decent market” for tabletop games, and that it’s growing all the time.
“A lot of people think board games have gone by the wayside, but they’ve actually been evolving,” Summers said. “There’s brand new games — all kinds of crazy games — coming out almost every month.”
Modern games have expanded into many different themes and genres beyond fantasy, Summers said, such as cyberpunk, outer space, crowd games and games based on anime series like Cowboy Bebop and My Hero Academia.
Every Saturday, Game Knight opens a game that’s new to the store and teaches people how to play it.
“We don’t want to be a niche-type store,” Summers said. “The sky’s the limit in [the game] world — if you can think of it, there’s probably a game for it — and we want to do it all so that anyone can come and game the way they want.”
If your post-pandemic social life could use a boost, Riback said, playing games at your local game store is a great way to get out of the house and engage with other people in a relaxed atmosphere.
“It’s really important, especially now, to be able to step away from our screens for a bit and get some face time with our fellow humans,” he said. “[The store] provides a place where people can do that, and everyone is welcome.”
Play tabletop games
Here are some local game shops and gaming lounges where you can play tabletop games.
• Awesome Cards, Collectibles, & Games (123 Nashua Road, Unit 14, Londonderry, 404-6996, awesomeccg.com)
• Boards and Brews Board Game Cafe (941 Elm St., Manchester, 232-5184, boardsandbrewsnh.com)
• Collectibles Unlimited (25 South St., Concord, 228-3712, collectiblesunlimited.biz)
Yu-Gi-Oh – Wednesday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, 3 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (draft) – Friday, 7 p.m.
Flesh & Blood TCG – Friday, 7 p.m.
Cardfight Vanguard – Saturday, 3 p.m.
Weekly events at Concord location:
Flesh & Blood TCG – Sunday, 1 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, noon
Magic: The Gathering (draft) – Friday, 7 p.m.
• Game Knight (North End Shops at Livingston Park, 545 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 232-4813, gameknightnh.wixsite.com)
Weekly events:
Dungeons & Dragons – Wednesdays, 6 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Draft) – Friday, 7 p.m.
Ultimate Day of Gaming (the shop introduces a new game)
• The Relentless Dragon Game Store (483 Amherst St., Nashua, 204-5275, relentlessdragon.com)
Weekly events:
Dungeons & Dragons – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering – Friday, 5 to 11 p.m.
• Merrymac Games and Comics (550 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 420-8161, merrymacgc.com)
Weekly events:
Magic: The Gathering (Draft) – Wednesday, 6 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Modern) – Friday, 6:30 to 10 p.m.
• Midgard Comics and Games (55 Crystal Ave., No. 21, Derry, 260-6180, midgardcomicsandgames.com)
Weekly events:
Digimon – Thursday, 6:30 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering – Friday, 6:30 to 10 p.m.
• Tactical Tabletop Gaming (940 Suncook Valley, Epsom, 736-0411, tacticaltabletopgaming.com)
Free RPG Day
Free RPG Day, an annual worldwide promotional event for role-playing tabletop games, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 16. Participating game, comic book and hobby retailers partner with participating game publishers to provide free content for RPGs, including booklets with exclusive adventures, campaigns, guides, character profiles and previews, as well as RPG accessories and swag, like special-edition dice. This year’s featured RPGs will include Twilight Imperium, Talisman Adventures, Fabula Ultima, Warhammer, Victoriana, Achtung! Cthulhu, Pathfinder, Zombicide, Blue Rose, Vast Grimm, Humblewood, Epic Encounter, Iron Kingdoms and Dungeons & Dragons. More may be announced. For more information and updates about Free RPG Day, visit freerpgday.com or find them on social media @freerpgday.
Here are the local retailers officially registered as Free RPG Day participants. Other retailers may be hosting unofficial celebrations with special activities and promotions of their own.
• Awesome Cards, Collectibles, & Games (123 Nashua Road, Unit 14, Londonderry, 404-6996, awesomeccg.com) • Game Knight (North End Shops at Livingston Park, 545 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 232-4813, gameknightnh.wixsite.com) • Jetpack Comics (37 N. Main St., Rochester, 330-9636, jetpackcomics.com) • Pop Culture Cards, Comics, Collectibles, and Gaming (66 Route 27, Raymond, 244-1850, popculturenh.com) • The Relentless Dragon Game Store (483 Amherst St., Nashua, 204-5275, relentlessdragon.com)
Featured photo: Electric Avenue Arcade in Manchester.Courtesy photo.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
As of Oct. 11 there were 3,941 active infections of Covid-19 statewide and 142 current hospitalizations. Two additional deaths were announced on Oct. 11, bringing the total to 1,499.
On Oct. 8, following the postponement of an Executive Council meeting the previous week regarding federal grants for vaccine funding, New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella issued a memo to Gov. Chris Sununu saying that the state is able to accept the money without being locked into any future federal mandates. Anti-vaccine protests had forced the postponement of the Sept. 29 meeting, according to a report from WMUR. “I appreciate that the Attorney General has been very clear in his determination that these contracts do not bind the New Hampshire state government to any sweeping federal mandates, ensuring our state’s sovereignty in how we manage the Covid pandemic,” Sununu said in an Oct. 8 statement.
HealthCost
Last week the New Hampshire Department of Insurance launched the state’s new HealthCost website (nhhealthcost.nh.gov), which helps people compare prices across health care facilities with additional medical procedures and new information on hospital quality measures. According to a press release, the site also includes information on health insurance and an interactive tool to compare hospitals’ quality of care, cleanliness and customer satisfaction.
Spirit at MHT
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has expanded its services. On Oct. 7 the airport celebrated the first flight of Spirit Airlines, which provided transportation between Manchester and several Florida locations. In the security area at Spirit’s gate, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, Spirit’s Vice President of Guest Experience & Brand Lania Rittenhouse, and Airport Director Ted Kitchens gave their remarks on the expansion. According to a press release, Spirit is the first new passenger airline that Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has welcomed in 17 years.
Juvenile justice
Last week Gov. Chris Sununu signed an order establishing the formation of the Juvenile Justice Reform Commission, an advisory group to update and replace the State Advisory Group for Juvenile Justice. According to a press release, the New Hampshire Juvenile Justice Reform Commission will “assist the state in aligning New Hampshire’s juvenile justice system with advances in scientific understanding of adolescent development and youth offenders.” The group’s primary role is to advise the state on its use of federal juvenile justice grants and supporting compliance with federal juvenile justice requirements. The original advisory group had been in place for more than 20 years, created by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, and the formation of this new group is an effort to bring in fresh perspectives and ideas, the release said. “I would like to thank all new members for agreeing to serve the state in this incredibly important mission, and I have full confidence they will meet the challenges and opportunities facing the state as we create a juvenile justice system designed to meet the needs of the individuals, families, and communities in a safe, data-driven, and evidence-based manner,” Sununu said in a statement.
Organic certification
The state has terminated the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire’s certification program for organic processor/handle and livestock operations, according to a press release from NOFA-NH, which noted that the decision could impact as many as 45 state-certified organic farms, processors and handlers as well as farms that were in the process of transitioning to and becoming certified organic. An “adequate transition plan” was not put in place, the release said, and the farms affected will have to contract with a new certifier in the coming year.
Career schools
Smaller career schools in New Hampshire will no longer need to be regulated or licensed by the New Hampshire Department of Education’s Office of Career School Licensing, or pay licensing and licensing renewal fees. According to a press release, career schools are defined as post-secondary institutions that provide training in trades and vocational skills that expand students’ employment opportunities. The Senate Bill 148, signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu in August, applies to private career schools with an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000 per year, of which there are 41 existing in the state. Newly established career schools meeting those criteria will not need to apply for a license from the state. “This change will make it easier for smaller career schools to operate and promote the creation of new vocational schools in New Hampshire with minimal risk to participating students,” Stephen Appleby, Director of Educator Support and Higher Education with NH-DOE, said in the release. Career schools may still opt to remain licensed or apply for licensure if they want to participate in federal programs that require it. Any schools affected by the law that grow to exceed an AGI of $100,000 in the future will at that point be required to go back and receive regulation and licensing by the state again.
Choose Love
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections has joined with the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement to provide its programming to incarcerated residents. According to a press release, the Corrections Choose Love Program will include daily activities that will reinforce and support social and emotional learning skills, to improve the residents’ relationships and interactions with their families and communities. Funding for the program was awarded to NHDOC’s Family Connections Center from the state Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Collaborations to Strengthen and Preserve Families. Choose Love has been incorporated into schools, state and local departments and various organizations across New Hampshire, the release said.
Last week Gov. Chris Sununu visited Jeremiah and Jamie Crosby’s home in Springfield to highlight the state’s investment in broadband upgrades, after allocating short-term CARES Act funds to broadband expansion. According to a press release, $13 million went to 16 projects that benefitted over 4,500 households, and the state is expected to receive an additional $122 million in one-time federal funds to provide broadband access to every household in the state.
To commemorate the founding of Daughters of the American Revolution, on Oct. 11, 1890, 10 members of the local Buntin-Rumford-Webster chapter gathered at the Old Fort Cemetery in East Concord on Oct. 8 to clean and reset gravestones. According to a press release, two of the stones that were cleaned belonged to American Revolutionary War patriot Moses Eastman and his wife, Elizabeth.
UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center will host volunteer trainings at its facility in Goffstown on Saturday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to noon and Tuesday, Oct. 26, from 1 to 4 p.m. According to a press release, volunteers must be at least 14 and be physically able to lead a horse at the walk and provide support as needed to mounted participants. Supplemental trainings are required for volunteers who want to handle or lead a horse, on Saturday, Oct. 16, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Email [email protected] or call 497-2343.
Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester officially opened its new Esports Arena with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 8. According to a press release, the arena is equipped with live broadcasting and streaming capabilities and 18 high-end gaming PCs, giving SNHU esports players a place to practice their gaming skills and compete against varsity opponents across the U.S. and Canada.
