Roger Kalia’s last performance as Music Director of Symphony NH will happen next May when he conducts a program with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Copland’s Symphony No. 3, which is often called the American Symphony. After that, he’ll leave to take a similar position with the Terre Haute Symphony, his second such role in Indiana.
Along the way, there’s a stellar season ahead, with many of the Maestro’s favorites. To begin, Symphony NH will offer a heavenly program on Oct. 27, with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Both are meditations on the hereafter, and each will feature a solo from soprano Carley DeFranco.
“It’s always a special event when you can do a Mahler symphony,” Kalia said by phone recently, adding that it is unique in that it will be performed by a smaller chamber orchestra. “Not the typical bombastic, big, super-romantic Mahler … this is more classical, more light, if you will, in character. So it works nicely for a chamber.”
They’ll use a special arrangement composed by Ian Farrington. “Everyone’s a soloist,” Kalia said. “It’s essentially one player on a part in the woodwinds and brass [and] a smaller string section than normally you would have in the original Mahler symphonies; I think it’s about 25 musicians or so … I’m excited to feature the orchestra in that way.”
The rest of the season is equally adventurous. On Nov. 9 a performance of Beethoven’s influential Third Symphony will be a learn-and-listen affair. The evening will begin with snippets from the piece, known as Eroica (“Heroic”), followed by an exploration of its importance as a symphonic masterpiece.
“I’ll dive into it and share insights into what made it so revolutionary and groundbreaking,” Kalia said. “we’re also going to play short pieces from other symphonies of Beethoven, some Mozart … works that inspired the Eroica. I’m very excited; we’ve never done that sort of thing before here in New Hampshire.”
Another unique concert happens next March at Nashua Community College: Serenade of the Winds, which will showcase Symphony NH’s woodwind and brass musicians for the first time.
“Typically, you always have a full orchestra, or you just have the strings,” Kalia explained. “This gives an opportunity to highlight the winds in really fantastic works — the Mozart Gran partita, the Dvorak serenade for winds. We’re also doing the Mendelssohn Overture for Winds, which is rarely performed, and we have a special encore surprise.”
One thing that will be absent this season is the Keefe Auditorium. While Kalia allowed that Symphony NH will miss the Nashua venue’s expansive stage, he’s happy there are other venues that can accommodate big orchestra works, like the Capitol Center’s Chubb Auditorium. He’s also happy to be in newer spaces like the Rex in Manchester, Concord’s BankNH Stage and Nashua Center for the Arts, where they open the season.
“We’re fortunate that this gives us the opportunity to play throughout the state,” he said. “I think that’s wonderful because we are Symphony New Hampshire. However, at the same time, we had a dedicated audience at the Keefe. That is a little bit challenging in the sense that we’re going to miss that audience.”
Finally, Maestro Kalia will bid farewell with a performance that includes one of his all-time favorite works, Rhapsody in Blue, with accompaniment from Chinese pianist Fei-Fei. “I’ve done it with her a few times, this piece,” he said. “She has such an energetic and musical interpretation. I think our audiences are going to love her.”
Kalia is keen to end “in epic fashion … it should be a nice way to close the season and my tenure as Music Director.” He hinted, however, that fans could see him again. “I don’t want to say this is goodbye … I do hope to return again in future seasons and work with the orchestra on a guest conducting basis.”
Symphony NH performs Mahler 4 – Visions of Heaven featuring soprano Carley DeFranco When: Sunday, Oct. 27, 4 p.m. Where: Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua Tickets: $32 and up at symphonynh.org
Nick Lavallee talks chicken tenders, action figures, music and joy
For someone who’s never held office and does not aspire to, Nick Lavallee knew what to do when he got up to speak at the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting in early December 2022. He was a man on a mission to foster pride in his home city via its signature dish, the chicken tender.
If the Island of Misfit Toys ever were to produce a food item, it would be the culinary masterpiece invented in the Puritan Backroom 50 years ago. Before Charlie Pappas decided to marinade, lightly bread and deep fry his first tenderloin, it was a castoff piece of the bird. Now, it’s the Backroom’s biggest seller.
The “tendie” is also a staple at restaurants throughout the city — and beyond. That’s why Lavallee implored the board to make it official. “Chicago is home to deep dish pizza; Detroit is known for its Mom’s Spaghetti. Manchester should be synonymous with the chicken tender,” he told them.
A little over seven months later, he stood on the pitcher’s mound at Delta Dental Stadium as the Fisher Cats were renamed the Chicken Tenders for one game. Beside him was a signed proclamation from Mayor Joyce Craig declaring Manchester the Chicken Tender Capital of the World.
Lavallee’s successful crusade was just one of his many efforts to build up his home city’s self-esteem, and boosterism has driven him for almost as long as he’s lived here. To hear him tell it, relentless positivity is a form of personal self-repair as well.
“I wanted to give Manchester a reason to believe in itself,” he said of what motivated him to speak that chilly December night, an act initially greeted with chuckles by city leaders. “I’ve learned to believe in myself along the way.”
It wouldn’t be his last trip to a municipal meeting.
In early October, Lavallee spoke in support of Eighty Eight Coffee Co., a Manchester business facing eminent domain and seeking a better deal from the city. “It’s more than a craft coffee shop,” he said, wearing a Stay Joyful ballcap. “It’s a community gathering space, one that is unfortunately rare to find in the largest city in New Hampshire.”
A few days before the meeting, the city had increased its offer to align with an independent appraisal done by Eighty Eight’s owners, but he hoped that his input would compel a closer look at the other costs of forcing the shop from its Queen City Avenue location.
The list of Lavallee’s successes in promoting his hometown continues to grow. A recent New York Times story that was teased on the front page and filled the cover of the Food Section was the result of Lavallee’s chicken championing.
Of course, the Paper of Record strove for fairness and balance in the story. “An icon of simple, straightforward, unpretentious American taste,” Pete Wells wrote of the tender, “it can also be an expression of dull, unadventurous food engineered for the lowest common denominator.” Whatever. Wells gave Nick Lavallee, man of the people, the final word on whether his home city deserves its self-declared title. “It’s a silly idea … but you ask yourself: Is it true? Yes. Is it important? Sure. Manchester has had an identity problem. Why not point out the things worth celebrating?”
Nick at The Puritan Restaurant. Photo by Michael Witthaus.
It’s fair to call him the Mayor of Tender Town, but Nick’s no politician. He’s a cheerleader, and beyond that, he’s walking the walk. Lavallee’s latest endeavor is a Wicked Joyful retail space located in Queen City Center, a mixed-use facility that’s under construction at 21 Canal St. It is due to open next May.
It’s been a long journey for the creative polymath, who has at various points of his life performed in punk rock bands, toured the country doing comedy, and promoted shows in downtown Manchester along with running his pop culture business — all while holding down a day job in community media.
Lavallee’s toughest road, though, was the one to happiness. Like a lot of artists, he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder, especially in his standup days. Maybe a better way to describe it is fierce ambition that more than a few mistook for something darker.
“The folks who own Vermont Comedy Club once told me, ‘When we met you, you appeared kind of mean’ — and I was in a good mood!” he recalled. “I feel like what was in my head was not what I could translate to people, whereas I’d like to think when people meet me now, it’s significantly different.”
It is, and most agree that the line of demarcation was Lavallee’s giving up alcohol in 2015.
Jenny Zigrino knew him when both were starting out in the comedy world in the late 2000s, when she recalls him being competitive and intense. “A Townie feel … it was Nick against the world,” she said by phone from New York City. “We were comedy friends … later, we became friend friends.”
The friendship, Zigrino continued, “really blossomed around like 2017, after he’d gotten sober and had a new-lease-on -life kind of vibe. I think he was just taking care of himself more. I think that being sober really was the key to him changing.”
Lavallee also lost a lot of weight, and he shifted his outlook from ruminating to radiating happy energy. On his socials, he urged followers to “stay joyful.” Much of his attention went to writing songs for Donaher, the pop punk band he formed with Tristan Omand, Lee Sevigny and Adam Wood in 2017.
It’s said that great art requires suffering, but Lavallee took a novel approach to coming up with material for his band’s first album, I Swear My Love Is True. Six months sober, he began a relationship one June knowing it would end in August, when the object of his affection moved across the country.
“It was a one-summer stand,” he said. “When I met her I was like, ‘Oh my God, I want to write pop songs for you all summer, and she said, ‘What about when I move?’ I said, ‘Then the songs will get better’ and she said, ‘Deal.’ And they did!”
There was, he continued, another reason for the exercise. “It was true heartbreak, but it was wild because as much pain as I was in, I was so happy to feel that hurt because I was sober,” he said. “It was a weird test, and it may not have been emotionally responsible. But, at the same time, I never turned to alcohol. I was thankful for the relationship because she enabled my continued sobriety.”
Nick Lavallee with Weatherman Al and his custom pop culture figurine. Courtesy photo.
In 2019, Nick began augmenting action figures picked up at tag sales and secondhand stores to reflect pop culture moments. He’d repaint a discarded GI Joe as Rivers Cuomo of Weezer or Eddie Murphy in The Golden Child, create humorous packaging, stick an ersatz price tag on the finished work of art, and post a photo of it to Instagram.
He called the venture Wicked Joyful, the name a triple entendre that found its way into his brain and wouldn’t leave. “It represents yin and yang, the salty and sweet of being a New England guy,” he said, “and, I think, my sense of humor. That’s me. I’m wicked joyful.”
The effort began as a way to build an online community.
“It was just going to be a means of sharing photos of vintage toys and developing a following, connecting with people.” Beyond that, he continued, “I was also at a crossroads with stand-up. I was sick of it.”
Along with co-producer Dave Carter, he’d built the Shaskeen Pub into a midweek hub for alt comedy. With national headliners like W. Kamau Bell, Dan Soder, Emma Willmen and Kyle Kinane appearing, they two did more than 400 shows over seven years. Lavallee, however, now saw a different path for his humor. (Lavallee and Carter handed off organizing duties when weekly shows returned mid-2021. Wednesday comedy nights are now run by Sam Mangano – see rubyroom.com for upcoming shows.)
“I loved building the community we had at Shaskeen, but I realized I could do essentially the same thing through this medium of custom action figures,” he said. “I have creative license. This is my thing. I can insert myself in these pieces.”
Early works included Chris D’Elia with an Eminem cultural reference, and John Cusack holding a boom box over his head in Say Anything. People really started to take notice when a piece depicting Bill Burr in his Star Wars spinoff Mandalorian role, with a New England twist, blew up online.
Accessorized with a Dunkin’ cup and a galactic weapon, with consequential Rs lined out and replaced by an H, i.e. “Stah Wahs: Mayfield The Shahp Shootah,” the piece was retweeted by the comic and covered by the Boston Globe. Similarly, John Stamos responded to an action figure of his Full House Uncle Jesse character.
“How was my 2019?” Lavallee wrote on then-Twitter. “John frickin’ Stamos retweeted me.”
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, it was a blessing for Lavallee, as it provided him with an excuse to pivot from comedy to his newly growing venture, which he called “a medium that I can communicate my most authentic self with that stand-up could never do for me.”
He was successful at telling jokes and creating hilarious multimedia content. With sobriety, his routine was kinder, gentler and more reflective of his hometown and upbringing. Crowds were warming to him in a new way, but the bits required more self-deprecation than he liked.
“I was getting really burnt out on Nick Lavallee’s name, face, body … my words,” he said, his voice trailing off. “Now I know why so many comedians deal with mental health issues and everything else, because I was dealing with a lot of them myself.”
“It does things to you,” Jenny Zigrino agreed. “You’re only as good as your last set … it can make you toxic. It’s also just a lonely job and Nick thrives on community.”
In January 2020 Lavallee sat on an MSNBC panel during primary season and told a national cable audience, in response to an Ari Melber question, that anyone visiting Manchester should try the chicken tenders. With a second wing added, his high-flying bird took flight.
Over time, he added apparel to the Wicked Joyful product line, beginning with a bright yellow Chicken Tender Capital of the World T-shirt featuring an anthropomorphic tendie perched in a sauce cup that’sa replica of one from the Puritan Backroom. Along with that were fun packs filled with pins and stickers, and more than a few Manchester inside jokes like a Cadillac Motel key fob.
There’s a Tender Town banner, logoed water bottles, holiday ornaments and a flood of action figures, all one of a kind, like the one marking Exeter as New England’s UFO Capital, a tribute to one of his favorite bands The Get Up Kids, and Chappell Roan in her Midwest Princess Lollapalooza suit.
His wares are available online and at street fairs; he did brisk business at this year’s Taco Tour. He’s also at events like the recent Granite State Comicon, where his booth was a few yards away from one run by Dave’s Hot Chicken, a new addition to Manchester.
Wicked Joyful pop-up shops Sunday, Oct. 27, 5 to 7 p.m., at Bookery, 844 Elm St., Manchester Saturday, Nov. 9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Garrison City Mini Con, City Hall, Dover Sunday, Dec. 8, noon to 3 p.m. at Merrymaking on West Merrimack, Manchester
Lavallee is amused that both Dave’s and fellow chicken restaurant Raising Cane’s are opening franchises in the city.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” he said. “Why all of a sudden did these two national chains decide to come to Manchester? I mean, the Chicken Tender Initiative got a lot of press.”
He wasn’t telling the whole story. Lavallee was invited to the Dave’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, where he noticed their signature graffiti decor included a nod to his initiative. Later, he chatted with the local franchise owner and learned he was also a fan of Goldenrod Restaurant, the city’s second pillar of tenders, and the Puritan.
“Chicken tenders are deliciously non-divisive and truly bring the people of Manchester together,” Lavallee wrote on Facebook.
Another person who noticed Lavallee’s enterprising civic activism was Travis York, the entrepreneur behind Queen City Center. Early on, he wanted Nick to be a part of it, both for his art and his skill at putting together events, something he still does for Shaskeen rock shows and other venues.
“I’ve admired how multifaceted he is but perhaps most importantly how joyful he seems pursuing and doing those types of things,” York said by phone from his office at GYK Antler, a creative agency located across the parking long from the new development. “I’ve always liked to surround myself with people like that and when Queen City Center as a development project came up … Nick was one of the first guys that came to mind to … be a thought partner to me and the team as we consider how to bring that vision to reality.”
Nick’s experience as a promoter will be valuable at Queen City.
“There’s a multitude of options for where we could host different types of events,” York said. “We have the desire to bring comedy, music and other types of entertainment that might be a bit different than what the city’s drawn in the past.”
In the early 2010s, York and his wife hosted concerts at their home in the North End, many by acts that went on to greater fame. He hopes to bring similar talent to the new venue. “The good thing about Manchester is there are places where people can play and do stuff,” he said. “The challenge is they all kind of serve multi-purposes and are not consistently bringing in talent…. That’s a gap in the market we think we can fill.”
One belief York shares with Lavallee is that the state, “and specifically southern New Hampshire [has] always had a bit of a poor self-esteem, at least in my era. Growing up, I went to West High School in the ’90s [and] like a lot of people I grew up with, I moved away … I didn’t imagine I would be back. I’m certainly glad that I am.”
These days, the narrative is shifting, and more young people are choosing Manchester. Leadership is needed for that to continue.
“People are moving to this area because they want to; they see something better than we believe we have,” York said. “If we can better align the potential of our city with the desires of those coming here, then everybody should win as a result of that.”
He’s happy to have Lavallee as an ally. “Nick has clearly found lanes of his creativity that are very authentic to him,” he said, recalling a conversation when the New York Times story came out. “I said, this is now etched in your obituary. If something, God forbid, happens to you, being behind the chicken tender capital-of-the-world thing is going to be in there.’ He couldn’t have been prouder, and I kind of love that … it’s a positive way of bringing his talents to the world, getting people to engage and be joyful.”
The self-described “compulsive creative” has a newfound ability to prioritize his packed life into something more well-rounded. If he’s behind a microphone, it’s probably a conference on community media, or another municipal meeting. The only time he’s on stage is with Donaher, and he keeps that in perspective.
When they play, it’s usually at a show he organized, and Donaher is down the bill. That’s so he can wrap up early and enjoy watching his friends play — he’s usually near the front of the stage, dancing like a fan. Another reason is it gives him an early bedtime if he needs one.
Music is more a pastime than a profession. “The band’s a bowling league. I’m comfortable saying that, and I think the guys would say the same. Tristan’s a dad, we’ve got jobs, we’ve got significant others. There are no illusions of grandeur there.”
Like everything else in Lavallee’s life, the main goal is to stay joyful.
“It’s nice to know that once a week or a few times a month, I have three friends I get to hang out with,” he said. “It’s four dudes who love playing music that are fighting having to be in a cover band, because that’s where a lot of people end up as they get older…. We’re still playing original music.”
Crucially, his head and heart are finally aligned with his hopeful love songs. “I wrote a lot of them years ago, but they’ve found new meaning,” he said. Joyfully, there’s a reason for this rediscovery.
Nick at Comic Con. Photo by Michael Witthaus.
Nearly a decade beyond the self-induced emotional shock treatment of his first sober summer, Nick is in a healthy relationship. Before his band roared into their third song on a recent Friday evening at the Shaskeen, he took a moment to acknowledge the woman he’s been with for the past three years.
Over an order of Puritan tenders the previous week, he’d shared that they met when she was working at a restaurant across the street from the Shaskeen. After setting up the weekly comedy show, he’d go there for dinner. He’d flirt and she’d defer, but he eventually got her number.
This began a two-year friendship that, coincidentally or not, bridged his time in and out of comedy. Then one night she strolled into the Shaskeen back room as his band was packing up. That’s the memory he recalled to introduce his song “Let Me Know” that Friday night.
“Three years ago, to the day, my best friend came to a Donaher show and asked, ‘Is it too late to say I’m in love with you?’ and I said, ‘definitely not.’ Then we made out, right over there.” He pointed to a spot near the merch table. “So I’d like to dedicate this song to Gina.”
In conversation, he’s giddy. “I’m the luckiest guy on the planet, I love her. It’s true I had to go through all that, but this relationship I have with Gina is super healthy and we’re evolving together … she’s helping me grow in so many ways.”
One thing that won’t change for Nick Lavallee is his commitment to his hometown, and to making sure that everyone’s a winner. To that end, he’ll never name a favorite tender and won’t endorse any effort that aims to crown a champion, making the case that a healthy argument helps everyone.
“If someone’s proclaimed the best in any official capacity, we lose a core part of our identity … the discussion is over,” he said, summoning the clam pie pizza capital of the world in Connecticut. “No one in New Haven is going to say Frank Pepe’s or Sally’s is definitively the best. You have to keep that conversation going.”
Finality, he concluded, contradicts “the spirit of everyone who’s ever lived here; when people come in, you want them trying everybody’s chicken tender. It’s an economic boost to tourism. As long as I’m carrying the torch of Tendertown, USA, I hope there’s never a competition.”
Donaher shows Friday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m., Auspicious Brew, Dover, with 5Ever and Lovewell; all ages Sunday, Nov. 10, 4 p.m., Taffetta Music Hall, Lowell, Mass., with Keep Flying, Don’t Panic, Eternal Boy; 18+ Tuesday, Dec. 31, 9 p.m., Penuches, Concord, Donaher New Years Eve Show, 21+
NH Secretary of State David Scanlan is “urging absentee voters who plan to return their ballots by mail” to send them in by Monday, Oct. 28, according to a press release earlier this week. Ballots must be received by a voter’s local city or town clerk, either returned in person or by mail, by 5 p.m. on Election Day to be counted, the release said. “Absentee ballots received after the deadline will not be counted,” the release said.
“Management decisions at the U.S. Postal Service have led to postal delays. To account for these delays and give the dedicated, hard-working postal employees enough time to deliver voters’ absentee ballots on time, absentee voters returning their ballots by mail should send them as soon as possible. Absentee voters who can return their ballots in person by the deadline prescribed above rather than by mail are encouraged to do so,” the release said. Find information about absentee ballots at sos.nh.gov/elections/absentee-ballots.
Seven to Save
The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance announced its 2024 Seven To Save earlier this month and the list includes the Concord Railroad Signal Tower and the local tradition of Old Home Days, according to nhpreservation.org. “Old Home Days was the brainchild of Governor Frank Rollins in 1899. Rollins had witnessed the hollowing out of rural towns in the state … Rollins thought that a celebration of place and people, instead of a funeral, would be a successful way to entice former residents back home to reminisce and ideally invest in their hometowns. …Today, fewer than 40 communities routinely host the event, and this special celebration often rests on the shoulders of a few dedicated volunteers… ,” according to the website.
About the Concord Railroad Signal Tower, the Alliance said the tower is the last of New Hampshire’s railroad and switch tower and it is located near the Gasholder building, according to a video about the event available via nhpreservation.org/seven-to-save. Other locations on this year’s list are Ham House in Jackson, New Ipswich Town Hall, Libby Museum in Wolfeboro, Jackson Town Hall and Ashuelot Manufacturing Co. Boarding House in Winchester, the website said.
Clean buses
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Rebate Program celebrated the funding of 110 new clean school buses in nine New Hampshire school districts with a visit on Oct. 16 by EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash to Running Brook Intermediate School in the Derry Cooperative SAU, which received $8.6 million in rebated funding for 25 clean buses and charging infrastructure, according to the EPA. Other districts part of the 2023 Clean School Bus Program rebate awards are Litchfield ($2.76 million for eight buses), Hudson ($3.2 million for 16 buses), Concord ($1.03 million for three buses), Nashua ($6.8 million for 22 buses), Lisbon ($345,000 for one bus), Moultonborough ($2.4 for seven buses), Hanover ($600,000 for three buses), Pembroke ($5 million for 25 buses), according to the EPA website. The purpose of the event was to “to highlight the multiple benefits of the Clean School Bus Program — lowering air pollution, protecting children’s health, and saving school districts money,” according to the EPA press release. The application period for the 2024 program is open through Jan. 9 at 4 p.m., according to epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/clean-school-bus-program-rebates.
Sy Montgomery
Author Sy Montgomery will appear locally in support of her new book What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird, which is slated for release on Nov. 5. She will be at Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com) on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss and sign her book. On Saturday, Nov. 9, she will be at Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough (12 Depot Square; toadbooks.com) at 11 a.m. and then head to Balin Books (375 Amherst, Route 101A, in Nashua; balinbooks.com) at 2 p.m. See symontgomery.com.
Scout history
The New England Memorabilia Show will run Friday, Oct. 25, from 2 to 11 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Camp Carpenter in Manchester, according to nhscouting.org/memorabilia-show. Admission costs $3 for adults and is free for youth. The event will feature more than 100 tables of scouting memorabilia as well as a pasta course on Friday night and breakfast and lunch on Saturday, according to the website and an email about the event.
New eats
Evolution Bistro & Bar is slated to open in November at 930 Elm St. in downtown Manchester, according to a press release. The restaurant will occupy the space that is currently open at BluAqua (Wednesdays through Saturdays opening at 4 p.m.), the release said. The restaurant is the second from Gourmet Grove Restaurant Group, which is led by restaurateur Scott Forrester and David Schleyer of Elm Grove Companies, which took over 1750 Taphouse in Bedford earlier this year, the release said. Evolution is described in the release as “modern American meets European technique” and will feature “a dynamic menu curated by executive chef Anthony Dispensa.” See evolutionnh.com.
The annual CHaD HERO runs and walks held on Oct. 20 in Hanover raised $825,000 for child and family support services at the Children’s Hospital Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and throughout the Dartmouth Health Children’s system, according to a press release.
Concord Community Music School will hold a celebration of its 40 years with a fundraising Gala on Thursday, Nov. 7, 5:30 to 8:30 at Pembroke Pines Country Club in Pembroke. The evening will feature food, music and more. Tickets cost $125; see ccmusicschool.org.
The Ladies Philoptochos Society of Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (111 Island Pond Road in Manchester; assumptionnh.org) will hold a Fall Bazaar on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Greek food (such as lamb shanks, gyro, roast chicken, meatballs, pastitsio, spinach peta, cheese peta) and pastries (including butter cookies) will be for sale; the bazaar will also feature basket raffles and vendors with Greek products, according to an email.
CR’s The Restaurant at 287 Exeter Road in Hampton is celebrating its 10th anniversary Sunday, Oct. 27, through Wednesday, Oct. 30, with special 2014 food and drink items (at 2014 prices), complimentary dessert, 2014 trivia and more, according to a press release. See crstherestaurant.com.
Temple Beth Abraham in Nashua will host the Greater Nashua CROP Hunger Walk 2024 on Sunday, Nov. 3, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. to support local food pantries as well as global food and water needs, according to an event email. See events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks/event/nashuanh to register as an individual or a team and for more information.
A local band that’s made many quick moves since forming last year is among four acts rocking the Shaskeen backroom in an upcoming show. Hell Beach is a uniquely configured quartet. Former Secret Spirit members Jordan Hill, KB Boutin — bass, guitar, drums and bass respectively — and keytar player Megan Simon play melodic, tightly constructed punk pop.
Jordan Hill, Hell Beach’s lyricist and lead vocalist, began writing songs for the project during the early days of lockdown. His old band was still a thing and would be until an oft-delayed farewell show in mid-2022. “It was just a project for fun, and over time the others got on board with it,” Hill said by phone recently. “Then somebody asked us to play a pretty fun show, and we couldn’t turn it down.”
That was just over a year ago. After a flurry of early gigs, they released the love-hate-love romp “Fits Okay” in May 2023. An eponymous six-song EP came a few months later, and early this year they headed to Nada Recordings in upstate New York to work on their debut album, Beachworld, which they finished at Meade’s home studio in Manchester.
The new LP is packed with hooky tracks. “Meltdown” is a headbanging joyride, while the churning “Poison Mind” is an invitation to sing along to its “I can feel my nerves about to break” chorus. “Another Bogey Breakfast” and “Gory Days” are two more tight, lively and danceable tracks. It’s hard to find a dud on the disc, frankly.
Hill points to a bevy of influences. “It’s definitely that early ’70s punk, certainly the Ramones,” he said. “I love The Clash and I’ve been a huge Green Day fan since I was young; that got me into pop rock. When it comes to more modern stuff, there are a lot of bands right now that we definitely pull some influences from like Wildlife and Bad Nerve.”
Simon’s keyboard contributions add some left field joy — as intended, according to Hill.
“I knew I wanted something weird from the beginning,” he said. “I didn’t want to just do the standard two guitars, one bass and a drummer. I wanted something interesting. I hadn’t thought about a keytar, just someone playing keys and synthesizer stuff. Megan ended up being a great fit for that. As it turned out, they are also extremely good at writing harmonies.”
Hell Beach will be the penultimate act at the Shaskeen, with Rebuilder headlining, while pop punk powerhouse Donaher, whose front man Nick Lavallee booked the show, and Cigarette Camp round out the bill. Hill’s band has shared the stage with a few of them, and he expects a happy reunion
“This is going to be an extremely fun show where most of the people all know each other,” he said. “I’ve known Rebuilder for a long time … my bands have been playing shows with them for years, and they have a Manchester connection because Daniel from Rebuilder is from Manchester. It’s going to be a lot of friends, it’ll probably be packed, a really fun time.”
It’s one more example of a healthy independent music environment, Hill said, mentioning the huge turnout they had for a release show in early August at Candia Road Brewing.
“It was a Sunday matinee, and I just didn’t know if anyone was going to go,” he said. “But it was one of those moments…. Manchester has a scene of people who really support music even if it doesn’t sound like the music that they make or they usually listen to. It’s extremely tight knit, everybody knows each other, and people come out and support everybody.”
Asked what’s next for his band, Hill answered, “I want to start working on the second record…. That’s really what it’s about for me. I just want to write a lot more songs and get them out there. Besides that, I would love to play some new places we haven’t played; we’d love to do some West Coast stuff, and there’s a lot of bands we’d love to play with.”
Rebuilder, Hell Beach, Donaher, Cigarette Camp When: Friday, Oct. 18, 9 p.m. Where: Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St., Manchester More: kineticcity.com
Featured photo: Hell Beach. Photo by Cat Confrancisco.
Traditional and fusion come together at Manchester restaurant
For Chris Caddy, owner of What The Pho!, a new noodle and tiki bar in Manchester, designing a menu is about striking balances — between sweet and sour, spicy and savory, fusion and authentic. It’s a lot to keep in mind. For instance, how many different flavors or textures should you include in a dish?
“I’m trying to get multiple layers of flavors,” Caddy said. “But when you get to more than three flavor profiles, everything gets muddied.” He used What the Pho!’s beef carpaccio as an example. Traditionally a carpaccio is an appetizer made of thinly sliced, often raw, meat or fish with a sauce. For a lot of restaurants a carpaccio’s simplicity can be a trap: Too much ornamentation or competing flavors will cover up the subtleties of the protein, but if it’s not complemented in some way, there’s a danger it will just sit there and slide into a single flavor profile that loses the eater’s attention after the first bite.
Caddy worked to keep each element on his carpaccio plate simple but to provide a bite or two of side dishes to give enough of a contrast to let the beef shine through. The beef is lightly seasoned.
“There’s a toasted sesame aioli and chili oil,” he said, “and then we finish it with Himalayan sea salt. In the center there’s a little salad of cucumber and sweet onions to offset it with something cool and tossed in our poke sauce. And then we’ve got some kettle chips on the side for crunch. You’ve got different mouthfeels, you’ve got different textures and different flavors.”
As a non-Asian chef, Caddy said perfecting a quintessentially Vietnamese dish like pho — a rich, spicy noodle soup, pronounced ‘fuh’ — involved a lot of trial and error.
“It was an intensive, every single day, multiple-hour learning curve,” he said, “just researching, researching, researching, buying different ingredients I was unfamiliar with, and just tons and tons of asking questions.” One of those questions was how authentic he wanted his pho to be.
“The thing is, we’re not a pho place,” Caddy said. “We’re an Asian fusion place. And pho, it’s in the name, and I want to draw people in with that. I’m addicted to pho myself. But what I wanted isn’t a perfectly traditional pho.” And the key to a great pho is in the broth. “Every time I’ve heard a Vietnamese person talk about pho, they go into how hard it is to get the broth right. Of course, if you’re from the Vietnamese culture, you’re carrying cultural expectations with you.” Because he wasn’t trying to be authentically Vietnamese, Caddy had a little more wiggle room in how he prepared his broth. “I roast the bones so we get a darker, richer flavor,” he said. “And all the usual suspects are there — the coriander, the ginger, the cinnamon, the cardamom, and all the charred onions and all that — but one of the things I wanted to do was give it more depth. Finally we reached the point where we said, ‘Let’s not do anything more with it.’ So we’re trying to stay in the ballpark, but I’m trying to elevate things slightly So it’s not, you know, it’s not the same exact [soup] as when you walk into like a little mom-and-pop Vietnamese place. It’s going to be a slightly different thing.”
For Caddy and his staff, the mission is to give the same level of attention to the food, their cocktails and the restaurant’s decor.
“When you can do that with the drinks,” Caddy said, “and with the food, the fun thing for me is when I watch people just enjoying everything we’ve created. It makes me really happy. That’s kind of the payoff for me.”
What The Pho! 836 Elm St., Manchester (next to Bookery and Cat Alley) 606-8769, whatthephorestaurant.com Open seven days a week: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m. Orders can be placed online for pickup.
Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20, is the weekend of Goffstown’s Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off & Regatta.
Tina Lawton is a volunteer of the organization and is currently the president of the board of directors. “It’s a two-day event. It’s been around for a long time. This will be the 23rd year,” Lawton said.
How did it get started? “We had some giant pumpkin growers and one of them had a great idea: ‘What if we turn it into a boat and race it down the river?’ And so that’s what they did. It was very popular so it’s kept on year after year,” Lawton said. This year’s theme is Pirates of the Piscataquag River. The length of the race when scaled to pumpkins is quite the journey for these nautical gourds.
“They go from where the dam starts to the bridge. They’re going up the river and there are a bit of escapades that happen where we have, you know, somebody coming out to challenge them, shoot them with water, try and get them off course. So it stretches the race out a little bit so it’s more entertaining for the people that are just all over the place trying to see this race,” Lawton said.
“This year we’ll have six boats, and that’s plenty because there’s not a lot of room. One time we had nine and it was very challenging,” Lawton said.
These pumpkin vessels are large, weighing in at “close to, if not over, 1,000 pounds,” she said, usually hailing from New Hampshire or Vermont.
“We have a tremendous amount of vendors throughout the village of Goffstown from Elm to Depot street and all the businesses are open and it’s a great time to highlight the charm of the village and to highlight the businesses and help people understand that it’s important to support the small-business owners for what they get to the community,” Lawton said.
Other competitions include a pumpkin cook-off, a dog costume contest and a pie eating contest, Lawton said.
“Then we have a pumpkin decorating contest this year,” she added. “There is a scavenger hunt that we have in the village, and that’s again to sort of get people to explore and discover some of the businesses.”
Apples do make a brief cameo. “We have ‘apple slingshots,’ which is very popular. So there’s these giant slingshots that we set up and there’s usually a very long line for usually kids and sometimes dads to slingshot apples into the river and try and hit targets.”
Especially for the kids there will also be bounce houses and some vendors will offer face painting, Lawton said.
Attendees will see a first this year. “One of my board members wants to do a parade, they want to parade the final pumpkin. So the pumpkins come down, the very early part of the first day, the giant pumpkins arrive, it’s sort of like a whole thing, they sort of arrive, unload, they weigh them, and that’s a contest in itself. Once that’s all over they take pumpkins all the way down to the other end of Main Street where they’re going to be placed to turn into pumpkin boats. People like to see the giant pumpkins moving up the street.”
What happens to all the pumpkin insides that are taken out? “That’s a big DPW sort of thing. They have a big truck. We have lots of trash cans and flat loaders. As soon as the pumpkin drops and it’s safe, the kids will run out and try and get some of the big seeds that are from that pumpkin that dropped. And then one thing is important, when they are carving the big pumpkins at the boat, those seeds from that particular pumpkin, they go back to the grower so that they can grow them next year.”
Schedule Saturday, Oct. 19 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Rummage Sale and Bake Sale St. Matthew’s (5 N. Mast St.) 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Goffstown Congregational Church Yard Sale (10 Main St.) 9 a.m. – giant pumpkins arrive at the Common 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Touch a Truck (Depot Street behind Citizens Bank) 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Friends Of GPL Library Book Sale at the Library (2 High St.) 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Apple Slingshots (Mill Street) 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – vendor booths, concessions, bounce house, GMSP Scavenger Hunt (start at 4 Main St.), live music at Rotary Park 10 a.m. – giant pumpkin carving begins 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Art Show Off at Town Hall (16 Main St.) 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Annual Quilt Challenge voting at Night Owl Quilting (4 Main St.) 11 a.m. – Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off at the Common 11 a.m. – Pet Costume Contest at Glen Lake Animal Hospital (15 Elm St.) 11:30 a.m. – Parading of the Pumpkin (starts at Elm & Main, ends at Main & Mill) 2:30 p.m. – Giant Pumpkin Boat Building on Mill Street; Pumpkin Cook-Off Contest (5 N. Mast St.)
Sunday, Oct. 20 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – pumpkin painting at Goffstown Ace Hardware 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – vendor booths, concessions, bounce house 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Art Show Off at Town Hall; Cars on Main (7 Main St.) 10:30 a.m. – Apple Slingshot on Mill Street (while supplies last); Pumpkin Decorating Contest judging (4 Main St.) Noon – Giant Pumpkin Drop (Depot Street across from the USPS) 1 p.m. – Pie Eating Contest on Mill Street 2 p.m. – Mini Pumpkin Race for the 50/50 Raffle on the River 3 p.m. – Finale: Giant Pumpkin Regatta at the River
