Category: Featured Content

Perfecting gluten-free bread

Dishon Bakery crafts artisanal bread loaves without the wheat

Evan Lang described his perfect, platonic ideal of a loaf of bread.

Made of flour, water, yeast and salt, it “would have a thick crust to give it a little bit of character,” he said, “baked pretty dark — caramelized in a way that you get flavor also from the crust. “The crumb should be relatively open. It should not fall apart; it should stay together, and it should not be gummy, meaning if you take the knife and you cut into it, we don’t want anything stuck on the blade.”

One of Lang’s missions in life is to make that bread, but without any gluten. At Dishon Bakery in Manchester, he is doing it.

Gluten is a stretchy protein found in wheat and a few other grains that helps give conventional bread its texture. As yeast ferments various nutrients in wheat flour, it gives off carbon dioxide gas, which is trapped by the stretchy gluten fibers in bread dough, allowing the dough to puff up — what bakers call “rise.” Unfortunately, some people — those with celiac disease, for instance — can’t digest gluten, and others choose not to eat it for nutritional reasons, so for bakers like Lang the trick is to find a way of duplicating gluten’s stretchiness without the actual gluten.

“If you go to the supermarket and you check out the gluten-free bread there, it’s not great,” Lang said. “It’s either small or crumbly. And if you’re looking at the ingredients, it’s more like cake; it’s full of sugar, it’s full of starches. We’re creating a product that’s a little more artisanal — kind of like real bread.” The secret, he said, is a slow, cold fermentation, and high hydration — meaning that his dough has more water in it than conventional wheat breads.

“Traditionally, bread and pizza have different hydration percentages,” he explained, “from 60 percent up to 100 percent for really, really Neapolitan-style pizza. “Our breads are all over 100 percent hydration.” This means that Dishon’s bread dough has more water than flour in it. By fermenting it slowly, at a low temperature, Lang gives it time to completely incorporate all that water.

Lang’s dough starts with brown rice, sorghum and millet flours — all gluten-free grains — and potato and tapioca starch, then builds the dough up to the point where it can be treated much like wheat dough.

“We bake on a stone like regular bread,” he said. “Traditionally gluten-free bread is kind of like a batter. It’s baked in a tin and ours are baked free-form on the stone.”

Dishon Bakery started as a cottage business in New Jersey in 2022.

“We were selling in farmers markets, and we very quickly outgrew that,” Lang remembered. “We moved to Philadelphia and we were baking in a commercial kitchen there and doing a lot of wholesale, continuing with farmers markets and shipping online. We were doing a pretty good online business. People would order online, we’d package it up and ship it out. We moved up here and we re-evaluated what we were doing.” The Langs decided to focus more on face-to-face interactions with their customers. “Since we did have enough demand for the product, it made no sense for us to sell more [wholesale]. So we’re going to try here to exclusively do retail, direct to consumer.”

Many gluten-free bakeries produce mostly sweet products — cookies, cakes, pastries and so on — but Dishon focuses almost exclusively on bread products. Lang keeps a freezer case with other gluten-free products for customers who are looking for something less bready.

“We have sweets that are New Hampshire-based,” Lang said. “We want to give them an outlet here. None of them are based in Manchester. So this brings their product to Manchester and also allows us to fill the case with products that we don’t do and we don’t specialize in.”

Dishon Bakery
915 Elm St., Manchester
Open Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Orders can be placed online at dishonbakery.com

A blooming festival

Sunflower Bloom Festival offers fields of gold

By Zachary Lewis
zlewis@hippopress.com

The Sunflower Bloom Festival runs from Saturday, Aug. 10, to Sunday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and to 7 p.m. on weekdays at Sunfox Farm in Concord.

“This is our second year in Concord but our sixth time doing the festival,” said Amber Pollock, owner of Sunfox Farm, who runs the farm with CEO and manager Greg Pollock. “It’s a whole-day outdoor visit-the-farm kind of experience.”

How does one get there? “We have free parking at NHTI and we have a free shuttle bus to the field. For handicap parking, it would be at 6 Loudon Road,” Pollock said.

Everyone is invited.

“It’s a family fun atmosphere. Everybody gets to come out. We have live music every day, food trucks, an artisan craft fair, 20 acres of sunflowers and plenty of opportunities to take all your pictures.”

There are ample prime photo and selfie spots. “We got an old truck to sit on, we’ve got an old tractor, there are paths through the field with some viewing decks.”

Time is of the essence.

“The flowers bloom for about 10 days so we got that short window. We try to make the most of it.”

How can participants make the most of the festival?

“Each weekend we have probably about 20 different craft vendors or artisan vendors. We’ve got music all day on the weekends. Food trucks all day.”

For a more low-key experience, some time during the week is best.

“It’s smaller-scale during the week and definitely more active on the weekends.”

Any day is a good day to walk amongst the sunflowers.

“One new thing that we have this year is this elevated bridge along the path in the flowers, so that’s something new that we’re excited for people to be able to experience and kind of gets them up over the flowers, which is pretty cool.”

This is a field of sunflowers, not a library, so there will be music.

“We have a really full music lineup this year. We work with the New Hampshire Music Collective and they’ve been amazing making sure that there’s live music all day, which is exciting.”

Amber’s most treasured experience at the festival are the flowers themselves.

“The flowers blooming every year is probably our favorite thing to see.”

So how does the seed turn into the sunflower?

“From the time that we put it in the ground it takes somewhere between 60 and 70 days until it flowers.Then, mid-October, another 30 to 40 days after that is when we would harvest them so that’s when they’re ready to take the seeds out of.”

Sunfox farm produces sunflower seed oil.

“We grow one type. We grow a black-seed high-oleic sunflower and we grow it to produce sunflower oil. We go through the whole process ourselves. We do all the growing, the harvesting, the processing and the bottling.”

These types of seeds contain properties that make them healthier for consumption.

“That’s kind of the point of the farm is to create food, and we have this cool byproduct where we can have people in the community come out and see it.”

“We press all of the seeds for oil. The seeds that we grow aren’t what you would eat or what you would see at a baseball game. Those are a different type of seed. The ones that we grow are specific for oil.” But the flowers look the same.

What drew Amber to sunflowers?

“Yellow is my favorite color, so there’s that, but also it’s just a really resilient crop and it makes a really delicious product if it’s local and unrefined. It’s a cool thing that we get to grow that creates something beautiful but also creates this healthy, local food option for people.”

These beautiful plants get quite tall.

“Once they’re blooming they’ll be somewhere between 6 and 8 feet tall. So they’re not like the mammoth, giant sunflowers that get to be 14 feet or anything like that, but they do tower over you. You can kind of get lost in them.”

Make it a day or even a week at the Sunflower Festival at Sunfox Farm.

“During the summer we think it’s really great to be able to find things outside. Our prices are pretty low so it’s a good activity for the entire family. There’s stuff you can do all day here and it’s 20 acres of flowers, so it’s something that a lot of people in New Hampshire haven’t seen before.”

Sunflower Bloom Festival 2024
Fields adjacent to 6 Loudon Road in Concord
Saturday, Aug. 10, to Sunday, Aug. 18
Weekends 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets $12, free for children 10 and younger
sunfoxfarm.org

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Season of laughs

Find your favorite comedians at a six-day festival and at venues around New Hampshire

Jimmy Dunn is having a great year. He plays Moose on the Paramount+ reboot of Frasier, and as a phone interview begins he’s standing outside a Hollywood soundstage, having just wrapped the second season. His last sitcom, The McCarthys, was canceled with four unaired episodes, so he’s in great spirits.

Dunn is mum about storylines, but he will say that fans of the show, which stars Kelsey Grammer, can expect a few head-spinning guest appearances when it returns Sept. 19. Additionally, there is one episode of the show that lingers in his mind as extra special.

“For a kid who started telling jokes in the back of Chinese restaurants, I couldn’t believe what I was doing,” he said. “What I did with Kelsey last week was just an absolute pinch-me moment, like this isn’t happening — is it really? It was so damn cool. There’s a lot to look forward to.”

His lucky streak on the West Coast continued with deciding to fly JetBlue before every other airline became immobilized by a massive computer bug. So Dunn will be home soon, and ready to kick off another Hampton Beach Comedy Festival.

The event began as an excuse for Dunn to invite a bunch of his comedian pals to his home in Hampton Beach for a few days of barbecuing steaks in his backyard, playing cards and surfing, after telling jokes at Ashworth-by-the-Sea, a hotel where he parked cars as a teen. It’s now held at McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel.

Fifteen years on, the event has grown to six nights, with the camaraderie, along with the work and play vibe, remaining.

“I love California in the winter; I’m not as crazy about it in the summer,” Dunn said with a laugh. “I just wrapped up the coolest job I’ve ever had, so that part was cool, but I can’t wait to get back home and get to the beach and see my friends.”

Dunn appears at every show, as does Dave Rattigan, who’s also the festival’s producer and promoter. “It’s not what I do well,” Dunn said of handing the reins to Rattigan. “I’m not very details-oriented, that’s how I ended up in stand-up comedy, you know what I mean? I’m not that guy.”

Rattigan’s also hilarious; he’s even taught stand-up. He’ll also perform every night.

“He’ll do a little short set, but it’ll be different jokes,” Dunn said. “I’ll be doing different stuff every night. Every show is different.”

Back in the early 2000s, Dunn took part in the Nantucket Comedy Festival.

“My buddy Kevin used to have the keys to a hotel down there,” he said. “We stayed there for five days with 20 other comedians, and it was summer camp. It was absolute insanity. And we had so much fun doing that. When I came home from that, I was like, why don’t I do this in Hampton?”

The best part for Dunn is just having his friends over for dinner. “Usually, we’re in the back of a comedy club eating chicken wings. If we’re on the same show together; but people like Tony and I, we rarely are because we’re both at that headliner level. So the thing that I love the most is there are a lot of people on there that I don’t see all year.”

If it’s not a backyard dinner, at least Dunn has an hour with them after the crowd leaves McGuirk’s. “So that’s the thing I love the most. If the weather works out and there’s some waves, taking them and their kids surfing is always something that’s really, really cool. Then we usually get on to Playland afterward and we’ll play a few games. And there might be some gambling involved in that. But yeah, that’s it. It really is.”

Hampton Beach Comedy Festival
When: Tuesday, Aug. 13, through Sunday, Aug. 18. Shows start at 8 p.m. each day, doors open at 6 p.m. Shows are weather permitting (see website for information about weather cancellations).
Where: McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant, 95 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, mcguirksoceanview.com
Tickets: $20 for each night, plus fees. Shows are 21+.
More info: hampton-beach-comedy-festival.weebly.com

Get more Jimmy Dunn
Jimmy has several local shows on the schedule, according to jimmydunn.com, where you can find all the dates for his Fall 2024 Hydrodynamic Tour.

Thursday, Aug. 29, at 6:30 p.m. for the Our Place Fundraiser at The Brook Casino in Seabrook. 18+ Tickets cost $35 in advance, $45 at the door.
Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Epping Community Theater in Epping, eppingtheater.org. 18+ Tickets cost $35.
Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m. at BNH Stage in Concord, ccanh.com. Tickets cost $31 in advance, $36 at the door.
Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m., Jimmy Dunn Comedy All Stars (with Andrew Della Volpe, Frank Santorelli, Jimmy Cash and Ken Rogerson) at the Nashua Center for the Arts, nashuacenterforthearts.com. Tickets cost $36.
Saturday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m., Jimmy Dunn Comedy All Stars (with Andrew Della Volpe, Frank Santorelli, Jimmy Cash and Ken Rogerson) at the Colonial Theatre in Laconia, coloniallaconia.com. Tickets cost $36.
Saturday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. at Rochester Opera House, rochesteroperahouse.com. Tickets start at $31.

Jimmy’s Friends

The Hampton Beach Comedy Festival happens at McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant in Hampton Beach with shows starting nightly at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, through Sunday, Aug. 18. Six comedians are on the schedule for each night. Every comic is there via a personal invitation from Dunn, and he goes back years with most of them. Others are new, met on the road at various shows. Here’s who’s coming to this year’s shindig. Can’t make it to the coast? We’ve included some other shows where you can find these regulars on the local scene and websites to check out their schedules.

Steve Bjork (Friday, Aug. 16)

He once turned down a role in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas because he didn’t want to leave New England. Inspired to become a comic by listening to Bill Cosby as a kid, Bjork always works clean, noting, “Unless he’s dating you, there’s nobody cleaner than Cosby.” Find more upcoming shows at stevebjork.com. Catch him Saturday, Aug. 17, at 8:30 p.m. at Murphy’s Taproom in Manchester and at Cara Irish Pub in Dover on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m.

Paul D’Angelo (Tuesday, Aug. 13)

Once an assistant district attorney and criminal-defense trial lawyer, D’Angelo is a comedy veteran with nearly four decades of stand-up under his belt. He has performed at venues such as the Friar’s Club and the Waldorf Astoria ballroom in New York City, as well as Harrah’s and Caesars Palace. Keep up with Paul at pdangelo.com.

Andrew Della Volpe (Friday, Aug. 16)

A Boston Comedy Festival finalist and a regular all over New England for the past six years, Volpe has appeared at Boston’s Comedy Attic as well as Manchester’s Shaskeen and Rex Theatre. From 2021 to 2023, he co-hosted a podcast, The Soft Boys, with HBCF favorite Will Noonan. Find future shows at andrewdellavolpe.com. He’s listed on the roster of performers at Jimmy Dunn Comedy All Stars Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. at the Nashua Center for the Arts.

Dan Donahue (Sunday, Aug. 18)

A rising star on the comedy scene who gives off a mountain man vibe with his long beard. He’s an electrician by day, and much of his humor comes from on-the-job experiences. He recently acted in his first film, the horror-comedy short Mars Hill Bait & Tackle, which will screen this weekend at the Manchester International Film Festival (see page 14 for details on the event; the film, which also features comedian Juston McKinney, screens during the New England shorts block on Friday, Aug. 9).

Mike Donovan (Tuesday, Aug. 13)

A mainstay in the Boston comedy world who’s also written several books, including one on U.S. history that began as a manuscript twice as long as the Bible. “He’s not a normal guy,” Steven Wright once said of Donovan. “His head is not a casual head. He’s got like 18 Harvards up there.”

James Dorsey (Sunday, Aug. 18)

With dozens of voices and a perpetually animated face, Dorsey shares family life experiences and more. He won the national Catch a New Rising Star competition a while back, but even better, he once followed Jim Gaffigan at a NYC club and held the audience! Find him on Instagram.

Ryan Ellington (Saturday, Aug. 17)

“He’s the new kid,” Dunn said. “He opened for me at the Off Cabot, and was really funny. I was like, ‘Hey, do you want to do this thing?’” His mother is white, his dad’s Black, and he’s pale with curly red hair, so he has lines like, “I don’t look biracial, I look like I have a very complicated order at Starbucks.” Follow him on Instagram.

Paul Gilligan (Tuesday, Aug. 13)

This perennial Boston headliner likes to riff on family life and his pale Irish heritage. “On summer vacations,” goes one joke, “I hide under the deck in a ski mask with 68 sunblock, wrapped in a towel.” Gilligan is a solid draw at clubs throughout New England. Find more shows at paulgilligancomedy.com.

Kathy Gilmour (Friday, Aug. 16)

Relatively new to the scene, the plus-sized Gilmour once said she conquered her weight problem with the magic words, “I now identify as skinny.” Working in tourism for nearly 30 years led her to comedy, and she’s been doing stand-up for a little over five years. Her Instagram lists a show Saturday, Aug. 17, at Murphy’s Taproom in Manchester.

Brian Glowacki (Thursday, Aug. 15)

He’s headlined Boston’s Wilbur and the Cape Cod Melody Tent. Glowacki has a secret weapon: a face that telegraphs mischief. When he pauses with a sly smirk during a joke setup, it’s like watching a Mento dropped into a bottle of Coke; audience laughter builds, then explodes. Find more upcoming shows at bglowcomedy.com.

Mike Hanley (Friday, Aug. 16)

He’s opened for Jay Mohr, Tom Arnold, David Koechner and Jessica Kirson. One of this young comic’s best bits is about being the father of an infant girl and accidentally brushing his teeth with Desitin, then calling for emergency medical assistance and becoming the funniest thing the help line encountered that evening. Find upcoming shows via standupmikehanley.com.

Jeff Koen (Thursday, Aug. 15)

He regularly supports Juston McKinney at his shows, and performs throughout New England. Koen’s self-deprecating humor lands well with audiences, and some may remember him from his role as Uncle Rick in the 2011 cult film Heavy Times. Follow him at facebook.com/jeff.koen.

​Kelly MacFarland (Sunday, Aug. 18)

She’s opened for Kathleen Madigan on several occasions and is part of the all-female Mother of a Comedy Show with Kerri Louise and Christine Hurley. MacFarland is one of Madigan’s favorite comics. “Everybody should go see her,” she said. “She’s just rock solid funny, the best.” Catch Kelly at the Lakeport Opera House in Laconia on Friday, Aug. 16, at 8 p.m.; opening for Kathleen Madigan on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom; Sunday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. at Luna Bistro in Salem, and Saturday, Nov. 30, at 8 p.m. at The Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth, according to kellymacfarland.com.

Jason Merrill (Thursday, Aug. 15)

A native of Lawrence, Mass., Merrill became a comedian late in life, at age 41. Meeting Dave Rattigan and getting on the bill at a few of his Scamps shows accelerated his rise, and now he’s a regional favorite who frequently jokes about his family life. See jasonmerrillcomedy.com and follow him on Facebook.

Dan Miller (Saturday, Aug. 17)

According to his bio, Boston native Miller was “born a comedian but made it official in 1992.” He’s shared stages with local and national headliners including Lenny Clarke, Dane Cook and Dave Attell. Dunn said catching up with Miller is one of his favorite things about the HBCF. Follow him on Instagram.

Karen Morgan (Wednesday, Aug. 14)

Former trial attorney who got her start as a finalist on Nickelodeon’s Search for the Funniest Mom in America. “Now she’s selling out theaters around the country, and there’s no way we would get her if she didn’t love my wife,” Dunn said. Her third album, Shiny Happy People Laughing, will be released soon. Follow her at karenmorgan.com.

Graig Murphy (Tuesday, Aug. 13)

Murphy is one of New England’s top comedians and has appeared at The Riviera in Las Vegas, the Improv in Fort Lauderdale, Comix at Foxwoods, along with a long list of New England comedy clubs.

Paul Nardizzi (Thursday, Aug. 15)

A winner of the Boston Comedy Festival, Nardizzi has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, NESN and Fox Sports’ Best Damn Sports Show Period. He offers observational humor about his family life, sports and more. Find him on Facebook.

Will Noonan (Sunday, Aug. 18)

Noonan, whose Live In Boston YouTube special dropped last year, made an impression on festival organizer Dunn at his initial HBCF appearance, and now he’s a regular. “The first time Will came up, he was wearing a suit,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh, I like this kid’s style already.’” Follow him on Facebook.

Carolyn Plummer (Thursday, Aug. 15)

She appeared at Denis Leary’s annual Comics Come Home benefit in 2022, along with the far-flung Burbank Comedy Festival on the West Coast. A New Hampshire native — she grew in Wolfeboro, a minister’s daughter — Plummer got into comedy after responding to an ad. See her Saturday, Oct. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at Averill House Vineyard in Brookline, according to carolynplummer.com.

Dustin Pueschel (Sunday, Aug. 18)

According to Dunn, Pueschel is “a 15-year-old kid that somehow got one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood to call me and say, ‘Hey, would you put this kid on your festival?’ I went, ‘Well, if he got you to call.’ I put him on last year and I loved it.” Follow him on Facebook.

Mark Riley (Friday, Aug. 16)

He was once a professional ice hockey referee (with a very short stint in the NHL) who also ran a Gymboree. He headlines in Boston as well as playing in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Atlantic City, and he’s a former first runner-up at the Boston Comedy Festival. Catch Mark next at a Seacoast Performance Academy benefit at The Brook Casino in Seabrook on Friday, Aug. 23, at 6 p.m., according to markrileycomedy.com.

Ken “The Viper” Rogerson (Saturday, Aug. 17)

A veteran of Rescue Me and When Standup Stood Out, the great documentary about Boston’s comedy heyday. “I legitimately find him one of the funniest people on the planet,” Dunn said of Rogerson. “I would put his Zookeeper bit up there in the top five or 10 comedy bits of all time.”See his standup reel at comedynorth.com/ken-rogerson. Ken is slated to join the Jimmy Dunn Comedy All Stars show at the Nashua Center for the Arts on Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m.

Frank Santorelli (Wednesday, Aug. 14)

Best-known for playing the recurring role of “Georgie the Bartender” in The Sopranos and acting in numerous movies, including No Reservations, Meet the Parents and Crooked Lines. He’s appeared at clubs like Catch a Rising Star, The Improv and Caroline’s on Broadway. Frank is slated to join the Jimmy Dunn Comedy All Stars show at the Nashua Center for the Arts on Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m.

Steve Scarfo (Saturday, Aug. 17)

Scarfo came up in the Boston club scene and once took part in a funny mashup of Survivor and Last Comic Standing that still gets YouTube hits. He started doing stand-up almost 30 years ago and was noticed by The Boston Globe on his first performance. Catch him at a comedy fundraiser on Friday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Franklin Opera House and on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. at Soho Asian Restaurant and Bar in Hudson, according to stevescarfo.com.

Harrison Stebbins (Wednesday, Aug. 14)

A gifted observational comic who’s shared the stage with the likes of Lewis Black, Jeff Ross, Mitch Hedberg and Bill Burr. The first name is an alter ego; the comic describes his act as “very high-energy, very aggressive … I don’t ask a lot of questions from the audience.” See harrisonstebbins.com and follow him on Facebook.

Mitch Stinson (Tuesday, Aug. 13)

Ex-Navy jet pilot with over 200 carrier landings during his career, he’s now a comedian. Stinson’s material frequently touches on the transition from military to civilian life. He appears at comedy clubs all over New England. Follow him on Facebook.

Jerry Thornton (Wednesday, Aug. 14)

Thornton is a founding member of Barstool Sports, and one of its original writers. “He was a stand-up comic before that,” Dunn said. “We used to talk about the Patriots and the Bruins, and we used to talk sports when we were doing open mics together.” Follow him on Instagram.

Tony V. (Wednesday, Aug. 14)

A Boston comedy legend and Dunn’s best friend. “Tony V and I will probably be walking through the gates of hell together at some point,” Dunn said. A national headliner who’s been on late-night television and shared stages with everyone from Steven Wright to Adam Sandler. Follow him on Instagram.

Chris Zito (Saturday, Aug. 17)

A well-known radio host in addition to being a 30-plus-year veteran of the New England comedy scene, his specialty is talking about his family life. Zito also hosts the podcast Dad Like It’s Your Job. Find him on Instagram.

Playing at a hot machine

Kathleen Madigan hits big

While Jimmy Dunn is stoked that his comedy festival is now a record six nights, he knows there’s a difference between what he’s doing and what happens at the nearby Casino Ballroom.

“The big, big names — Kathleen Madigan, David Spade — they’re going to sell out the Casino,” he said. “This is a little hundred and fifty seat outdoor venue; it’s more for the locals. And we have a great time with it.”

Comedy at the Casino this year has included two sold-out Pete Davidson shows, along with TikTok favorite Nurse Blake. Upcoming is Madigan, with her pal Lewis Black appearing in September. The Missouri comedian is riding a wave of late. Her Hunting Bigfoot special is a hit, skewering aging politicians kindly but gently and empathizing with millennials in service jobs.

Also, after years of resistance, she launched a podcast.

“There were way too many comics, that’s why I never did it,” she explained by phone from a tour stop in Nashville. “I’d go to Improv City in L.A. there’s 20 people at the bar going, ‘You want to do my podcast?’ No, I don’t! We’re all talking about the same thing. It’s just comedians interviewing comedians … let’s raise the bar here.”

She’s the only comic on Madigan’s Pubcast, with her assistant acting as a foil. On each show, she drinks a local craft beer and has a few snacks, then takes on current events, in between virtually stalking her hero, Queen Stevie Nicks. It’s fun, loose and full of Madigan’s trademark “Are you kidding me?” snarkiness.

She also digs into favorite topics, like the differences between today’s youth and her generation. During the interview, she talked about twentysomething Zoomers who’ll leave a job before even starting it. “I look at my parents, they took jobs that they were supposed to,” she said. “They seem to know themselves better than we did, and I think that’ll be good in the long run.”

It continues a brilliant bit from her last special that placed the weight of the world on Taco Bell workers who could quit at a moment’s notice. “Do you know how to make a chalupa, because I don’t,” she said, urging boomers not to trigger them with angry demands for out-of-stock mild sauce.

Her Aug. 24 appearance at Hampton Beach will be set up cabaret style, with a general admission section in front of the stage and some high top tables behind, with the majority standard seating, a format that was first tried last year.

“When I looked at the seat maps online, I thought, ‘This is going to be funky,’” she said, “but it works for comedy.”

Madigan is currently on the Potluck Party 2024 Tour. “If you’ve seen the Amazon special, there’ll be some of that, some new stuff and then some greatest hits,” she said. “It’s basically a big old potluck of whatever fits the night. Last week I was doing jokes about Biden being old, and we’ve kind of moved on from those. I mean, I guess they still work, he’s still the president, but I try not to write topical stuff, ever … it’s nearly impossible, unless you have a staff of writers every day.”

She’s grateful for comedy’s resurgence post-pandemic, with things like Bill Burr — “the funniest person right now to me, like the person I’d pay for” — selling out Fenway Park and others doing similarly outsized business.

“If you think about the ’80s and ’90s, there were maybe five comics that could do an arena and sell it out, and now there’s probably over 10,” she said. “It’s like we’ve become the rock stars in this weird turn of events 35 years into this. I’m like, ‘Oh, now we’re mainstream?’ We used to be a niche thing … like jazz.”

Now in her 50s, Madigan has no plans to slow down. “I kind of feel like the slot machine is finally paying off, you put all your money in … and then it starts hitting. I’m not leaving now; I’ll leave when the machine goes cold. So far, the machine’s super-hot, so I’m staying.”

Kathleen Madigan: The Potluck Party Tour
When: Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m.
Where: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton
Tickets: Starting at $33 via casinoballroom.com. Show is 18+. Doors open at 6 p.m.
More Kathleen: See kathleenmadigan.com for her podcast, tour information and more. Her 2013 special Madigan Again and her 2023 special Hunting Bigfoot are on Amazon Prime Video. Her 2016 special Bothering Jesus is available on Netflix, as is her episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld.

More comedy

Here are some of the ticketed shows on the upcoming comedy schedule. Check back with the Comedy This Week listings, which run every week in Hippo’s Nite section, for more shows.

• Palace Theatre 80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org
Juston McKinney, Saturday, Oct. 4, 8 & 9:30 p.m.
Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood, Sunday, Oct. 4, 5 & 7 p.m.
Roger Kabler’s Robin Williams Experience, Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.

• Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org
Dusty & Dott, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2 & 4 p.m. (family-friendly)
Robert Dubac’s Stand Up Jesus: Blessed Be the Punchlines, Friday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.

• Capitol Center for the Arts 44 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com
Nurse John, Saturday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m.
Jessica Kirson, Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.
Tracy Morgan, Saturday, Nov. 2, 8 p.m.
Nick Swardson, Thursday Nov. 14, 8 p.m.
Bob Marley, Saturday, Nov. 16, 8 p.m.

• BNH Stage 16 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com
Jimmy Dunn, Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m.

• Nashua Center for the Arts 201 Main St., Nashua, nashuacenterforthearts.com
Jim Florentine, Tom Cotter, Tammy Pescatelli, Friday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m.
Jimmy Dunn’s Comedy All-Stars, Friday Nov. 1, 8 p.m.

• Amato Center for the Arts 56 Mont Vernon St., Milford
Bob Marley, Thursday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. (see bmarley.com for tickets)

• Atkinson Country Club 85 Country Club Dr., Atkinson, atkinsonresort.com
Steve Sweeney, Friday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m.

• Chunky’s Cinema Pub 707 Huse Road, Manchester, chunkys.com
Alex Giampapa, Saturday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m.
Ben Pratt (comedy illusionist), Sunday, Aug. 18, 8 p.m. (adults only Aug. 24)
Brian Beaudoin, Saturday, Aug. 24, 8 p.m.

• Murphy’s Taproom 494 Elm St., Manchester, murphystaproom.com
Jay Chanoine, Saturday, Aug. 10, 8:30 p.m.
Steve Bjork, Saturday, Aug. 17, 8:30 p.m.
Jason Merrill, Saturday, Aug. 24, 8:30 p.m.
Dave Rattigan, Saturday, Aug. 31, 8:30 p.m.

• Soho Asian Restaurant 49 Lowell Road, Hudson, sohocuisinenh.com
Dave Andrews, Tanaa Scott, Jonah Simons, Thursday, Aug. 15, 8 p.m.

• Colonial Theatre 609 Main St., Laconia, coloniallaconia.com
Jimmy Dunn’s Comedy All-Stars, Saturday Nov. 2, 8 p.m.

• Lakeport Opera House 781 Union St., Laconia, lakeportopera.com
Kelly MacFarland, Tony V., Ann-Marie Keene, Friday, Aug. 16, 8 p.m.

• Casino Ballroom 169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, casinoballroom.com
Kathleen Madigan, Saturday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m.
Brad Williams, Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m.
Lewis Black, Friday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m.

• The Music Hall 23 Chestnut St. for the theater, 131 Congress St. for the Lounge in Portsmouth, themusichall.org
Joe Sib at the Lounge, Sunday, Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Chris Franjola at the Lounge, Friday, Aug. 16, 8:30 p.m.
Kevin Smith at the Theatre, Friday, Aug. 30, 8 p.m.
Carmen Lynch at the Lounge, Saturday, Sept. 7, 6 & 8:30 p.m.
Heather Shaw at the Lounge, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.
David Drake at the Lounge, Saturday, Sept. 21, 6 & 8:30 p.m.
Charlie Berens at the Theatre, Saturday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m.

• McCue’s Comedy Club 580 Portsmouth Traffic Circle, Portsmouth, mccuescomedyclub.com
EJ Murphy, Liam Hales, Cher Lynn, Mike Pincus, Saturday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m.
Casey McNeal, Saturday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m.
McCue’s Comedy Showcase, Saturday, Aug. 24, 8 p.m.
Kathe Farris, Saturday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m.
McCue’s Comedy Showcase, Saturday, Sept. 7, 8 p.m.
McCue’s Comedy Showcase, Saturday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m.

• Flying Monkey Movie House & Performance Center 39 S. Main St., Plymouth, flyingmonkeynh.com
Bob Marley, Friday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m.
Jim Florentine, Tom Cotter, Tammy Pescatelli, Saturday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m.
Jim Failla, Saturday, Nov. 23, 8 p.m.

Featured photo: Jimmy Dunn. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 24/08/08

Mosquito tips

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services sent out a press release reminding people that we are in the thick of mosquito season.

In New Hampshire, three viruses circulate among mosquitoes: Jamestown Canyon virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus and West Nile virus. So far this summer, one mosquito batch each from Londonderry and Keene have tested positive for Jamestown Canyon virus and one mosquito batch each from Manchester and Nashua have tested positive for West Nile virus, the release said. This year so far, there have been two adults from Belknap County hosptialized with Jamestown Canyon virus but no human infections of West Nile or Eastern Equine Encephalitis viruses, the release said.

“Mosquito-transmitted diseases can have long-term impacts on people’s health,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan in the release from the Department’s Divison of Public Health Services. “The risk for diseases like West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis will only increase as the summer progresses and we move into the fall, so everyone should take steps to prevent mosquito bites.”

All three viruses have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, muscle aches, headaches and fatigue, the release said. In rare cases, the diseases can infect the nervous system including the brain and spinal cord, the release said.

To prevent bites, the release recommends:

• Wearing protective clothing including long pants and long-sleeved shirts, and insect repellents.

• Taking precautions in mosquito habitats including forests, marshes and tall grasses.

• Eliminating standing water.

• Making sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens.

Call the division with mosquito-borne disease questions at 603-271-4496 and see dhhs.nh.gov for the map of mosquito-borne illness risk levels and detections in New Hampshire.

New historic places

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has announced in a press release that the State Historical Resources Council has added seven properties to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places. These include:

• First Baptist Church of Manchester, built in 1872 in the Italianate style, which played a role in the creation of several other Baptist churches in the city and offered spaces for non-Baptist congregations to meet and grow, according to the release.

• The First Unitarian Congregational Church, dedicated January 10, 1861, and the third Congregational meetinghouse in Wilton, the first to be built solely as a Congregational Church rather than as a meetinghouse for both church and town use. It combines elements of both Greek Revival and Gothic Revival architectural styles with a small addition added in 1924, according to the release.

• The James A. Bryant Memorial Library, built in Northwood in 1941 and named for its benefactor, a Union Army veteran. It was the town’s first permanent and free-standing library, although its library operations ended in 1989 and the building now houses the local historical society’s collections, according to the release.

• The Josiah and Sarah Brown Farm in Stratham, with a main house built in the Federal style in 1816 and what appears to be a seventeenth century two-story ell that may be one of the oldest existing buildings in town.

• Peterborough’s Kyes-Sage House, which was built in 1845 and is an example of Carpenter Gothic architecture, a variant of the Gothic Revival style of architecture that was popular in homes between the 1840s and the 1870s.

• The Acworth Village Store, a relatively unaltered example of a mid-nineteenth century commercial building built in 1865.

• The Aldworth Stone Gateway, erected in 1906-1907, a physical reminder of Harrisville’s history of summer estates built in the early 20th century and was the entryway to wealthy industrialists Arthur and Alice Childs’ home through much of the 1930s.

Learn about the nomination processes for the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places at nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov.

Food drive

According to a press release, Belletetes, a family-owned and -operated lumber and building supply company based in New Hampshire, started a month-long food drive at all 10 of its locations in support of the New Hampshire Food Bank.

Belletetes will supplement food donations with a monetary contribution to the New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, and will place donation bins at the front of each store, including at 80 Northeastern Blvd., Nashua; 129 Sheep Davis Road, Pembroke, and 89 Route 13, Brookline, according to the release. Visit nhfoodbank.org/get-involved/donate/most-needed-items or belletetes.com.

In other food news

2024 is “The Year of the Plum’’ according to the New Hampshire Fruit Growers Association. Last year a cold snap wiped out almost the entire crop across New Hampshire, but in a July 29 press release the Association announced that “plums are making a major comeback this year.” The press release went on to say that while plums are typically harvested in August, many growers have already begun harvesting. To see if there is an orchard with plums near you, check out the NHFGA website at nhfruitgrowers.org/find-an-orchard.

Save the date for the 46th annual Alton Bay Boat Show, returning to the Alton Town Docks on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 9 a.m. to noon and featuring a variety of vintage boats on display. Admission is free. See the nhbm.org/alton-bay-boat-show for details

Pianist Asiya Korepanova will perform with cellist Yoni Draiblate of the Florida Orchestra and vocalist Kimberly Oppelt for a “Classical Confection” lawn concert at Crow’s Feat Farm in Kensington (178 Drinkwater Road, 498-6262, crowsfeatfarm.org) on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 3 p.m. Tickets start at $10. A picnic lunch is offered at 1 p.m. for $30.

Head to Cinemark Rockingham Park in Salem (15 Mall Road, 890-7111) for a series of “Big in ’84” films including The Karate Kid on Monday, Aug. 12; The Terminator on Tuesday, Aug. 13, and Gremlins on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at 7:15 p.m. Tickets cost $5 plus fee at cinemark.com. The series continues through Aug. 18.

New Boston Calling

Live Free Fest offers music and more

Longtime music fan Dylan Williams is a DIY kind of guy, so when he became frustrated with traveling to Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont for concerts, he decided to launch his own festival.

“I always have to drive an hour and a half to go to any show I want,” he said by phone recently. “It’s really annoying.”

A New Boston native, he was also looking to draw attention to his favorite local music. Williams began last year in his backyard, with four bands performing. There were also games, including a pie eating contest, relay races and something called Beer Olympics. Sixty people, close friends or part of Williams’ extended social circle, came to the party.

The experience gave Williams the confidence to scale up to the local fairgrounds and stage the first annual Live Free Fest. It happens on Saturday, Aug. 3, with a dozen acts performing: Sotah, Just For Kicks, Somewhere In Between, Girlspit, Animatronic The Abolisher, Pointless Culture, The Forest Forgets, The Knightz, Lacquerhead, Cozy Throne, Mugshot Monday and Recession.

Williams is connected to his home state’s music scene through his work as a videographer, and he designed his festival to focus on the creative diversity that he feels is close to home and is sometimes overlooked. Thus, the acts on the bill range across the musical spectrum.

“I want to reflect New Hampshire’s sound the best I can, so everything about this is in-state, and we have something for everybody,” Williams said. “There’s alternative and indie, rappers, metal, punk and a cover band. It’s not a blues festival or a rap festival; it’s literally everything. I chose them because it reflects the state well, and I just think they’re good.”

One of the sets he’s looking forward to is The Forest Forgets, an edgy punk metal band that grew from the breakup of the Manchester group Afterimage. It’s fronted by that band’s former singer, Griffen Romprey. “They’re on the experimental side of things … progressive, longer form,” Williams said. “They only have demos right now, so I’m very excited to hear what they’re going to have at the festival. I think they’ve only played one show so far.”

Rapper Animatronic The Abolisher is another act that Williams expects the crowd will enjoy. He saw him open for The Knightz at a show he was filming in Manchester.

“I didn’t know him at all until he came up; I was shooting him anyway because I was already there,” he said. “And I was just really impressed. He’s got really good lyrics, he’s very quick with the flow and just a very humble guy.”

The Knightz are a favorite, and friends. “They’re a rap group that I’ve worked with probably for about two years now. And they’re just great guys. They flew me out to San Francisco one time; we did a video there. They have such good charisma, and they’re just really good guys.”

Finally, there’s Lacquerhead, “definitely the loudest and heaviest band we have,” Williams continued. “They have really good energy, and I would say if there’s anyone that I feel like is going to really maybe make it, I can see them making it in music in the coming years.”

With help from his partner Justin Kaminsky, Williams is going out on a limb to stage Live Free Fest — “It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done,” he said — but he has high hopes it will strike a chord and hopefully draw a crowd in the hundreds. After years spent experiencing and documenting area music, he feels it’s the next logical step.

“I don’t go to as many festivals as I’d like to, but I go to a bunch of shows, and a lot of them are in Boston,” he said. “So I [thought], let’s try something here. We don’t have anything like … a Lollapalooza or Boston Calling. Because Manchester doesn’t have a super big scene, we all know each other in a way. It just kind of worked that I was able to grab a lot of these people that I already kind of know. That was cool.”

For his New Boston Calling to be a success, Williams continued, “I would love it if for all the bands this was maybe their biggest show ever, and I want all the crowd to have a really good energy with them. Also, I want all the games to go really well. I want to walk around and feel like this is a big community … I just want everyone to have a good time, honestly.”

Live Free Fest
When: Saturday, Aug. 3, noon
Where: Hillsborough County Youth Center, 17 Hilldale Lane, New Boston
Tickets: $15 at eventbrite.com

Featured photo: Cozy Throne at Bank of NH Stage. The band is slated to play the Live Free Fest. Photo by Jaki Gerulskis.

Deadpool & Wolverine (R)

Wade Wilson rides again as the meta-quipping mercenary who longs to be something greater in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Wade (Ryan Reynolds) as we meet him has been rejected as a possible Avenger and is now selling cars and trying to suppress his superhero Deadpool self. In the process, he has pushed away Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), his now ex-girlfriend. Thus is Wade only semi-happily celebrating his birthday with all of his various friends when helmeted soldiers from the Time Variance Authority (a thing from the TV show Loki, but don’t worry, they explain it well enough here) show up at his door. Boss Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) tells Wade that the TVA wants him to relocate to a new timeline and become a big hero. He gets fully suited up as Deadpool and is ready to take his place next to Cap and Thor — if Paradox could just explain the TVA’s vacation policy so Wade can schedule a visit with his friends. But the death of Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in Logan has caused instability in Deadpool’s timeline and it’s starting to fray. Rather than just watch it slowly disintegrate over thousands of years as is TVA policy, Paradox wants to cut to the chase and use a “time ripper” to just end the timeline now, meaning everybody Deadpool knows and loves will be erased from existence.

Deadpool is not cool with this plan and steals Paradox’s travel-through-timelines-enabling iPad-thing and heads off to find a replacement Logan from another timeline. He finds variations such as one who is particularly short, one who is an old man, one who is played by Henry Cavill. Eventually he finds one sporting the iconic yellow suit that the movies have been avoiding since all the way back in 2000’s X-Men.

From this point, the movie jumps off into an odd direction, leading to some fun moments with some fun characters that you are better not knowing about if you possibly can keep yourself spoiler-free.

Early in Deadpool & Wolverine I had a very “hit in the face with a bucket of water” feeling of too much all at once — too much meta Fox Marvel and Disney MCU, too much Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman and their fake rivalry, too much ostentatious swearing and R-rated patter, just too much coming at me all at once. But also, the movie is having too much fun with everything it’s doing not to bring me around. I don’t think you need to entirely understand all the Earth-616 versus Earth-10005 timeline stuff (I had to look up some of those details later) to get the gist of how this movie is playing with all of the stories and tropes of these two Marvel collections. We’re not just seeing IP Easter Eggs but eventually a story about how to tell stories and what the characters in the stories want from their story arcs. We do also get a sort of antagonistic friendship between Deadpool and Wolverine which highlights just how much fun Reynolds and Jackman are having with these characters that they’ve inhabited for so long. B

Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout and gore and sexual references, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Shawn Levy and written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells and Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine is two hours and seven minutes long and distributed in theaters by Walt Disney Studios. Let’s talk credit scenes: Pretty quickly after the credits start to roll we get behind-the-scenes footage from multiple Fox Marvel movies. It’s surprisingly sweet. There is also a sort-of-in-character post-credits scene that is self-consciously foul-mouthed and rather “the aristocrats!” in its mixing of the wholesome and the profane (which is the point). Sweet, then naughty — how very Deadpool.

Featured photo: Deadpool & Wolverine.

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