Album Reviews 26/05/21

Simon Hanes, Gargantua (Pyroclastic Records)

If you’ve already read the Playlist piece this week, you know I am presently besieged by self-indulgent experimentalists, and this Brooklyn, N.Y.-based composer is not a departure from that; the inspiration for this concept-album-but-not-really-a-concept-album came from 16th-century novelist François Rabelais’ five-volume satirical pentalogy Gargantua and Pantagruel, about a father-and-son pair of literal giants (it gets scatological, for one thing). So, for this, Hanes assembled a large band comprising three drum sets, three electric basses, three trombones, three French horns and three soprano voices, but before you give up on me for the week, know that this is a hypnotizing earbud trip that’s worth taking if you have time for it. Rich sounds morph and combine and then morph into something else, mostly to aurally agreeable effect, but irreverence is indeed a main ingredient here, especially in “Gigantes,” in which comedic nyeah-nyeah vocalizings serve to reveal that the line between regal posturing and self-mockery is and always has been a blur. Lots of interesting twists and turns. A-

Crow and Gazelle, Truth Be Told (self-released)

Usually when I know I’m about to review an Americana record, I start anticipating a lot of dreamy incidental dobro and unabashed prettiness. That may seem dumb to people who’re familiar with the genre’s full range of sound, which can trend a little edgy when things like fiddles and banjos are added, but vocal stylings can also serve up sounds that are outside the (usually sleepy) norm. In the case of this harmonizing Texas couple — Red Dirt pioneer Mike McClure and multidisciplinary artiste Chrislyn Lawrence — the first thing any reviewer would do is scramble for comparative boy-girl pairings from years past, and when they don’t appear (because there aren’t any, really), it’s easy enough to focus on the duo’s messaging, a series of anecdotes from a loving couple trying to navigate the utterly unlivable current era. There’s an appealing honesty in their sound as well, mostly driven by Lawrence’s creaky but adamant voice, which is equal parts Patti Smith and Stevie Nicks. Well worth any folkie’s examination. A

PLAYLIST

A seriously abridged compendium of recent and future CD releases

• Yee-hah, nothing like a new pile of CDs hitting the virtual racks at Soundcloud and Pirate Bay, I always say, and there’s a big pile arriving this Friday, May 22, and now this message. Regular readers know that I’ve been promising to get down to Jewel Nightclub in Manchester to check out its goth music night, lovingly known as Resurrection, which takes place on the second Thursday of every month. And so, on May 9, I donned my ace reporter’s fedora with the PRESS card in its brim and headed down to Jewel to, you know, check out and investigate, etc. Full disclosure, I hadn’t been to a goth night in maybe eight or so years. Upon my arrival I was presented to Lilz, who goes by DJ Sawtooth, the resident DJ there. According to Lilz, they’ve been holding the Resurrection night at Jewel since 2020; before that it was held at the Breezeway Pub, a popular gay bar on Pearl Street (it’s still active), and before that it was held at the now-closed LGBTQ+ establishment Doogie’s on Manchester Street. And so Lilz and collaborator Jim (DJ Pet) have been essential to the local goth scene for quite a while now; we puzzled over the fact that there’s no actual “velvet rope” trance/techno club in the city, which, let’s admit it, sure is strange, but anyhow, the atmosphere at Resurrection is pretty neat, remindful of ManRay in Boston when the crowd really starts to thicken (there were at least 100 people dancing and making out and such in the main room by 9:30 p.m.). Like at ManRay, there are hot dancing girls dressed up like Rammstein groupies writhing in front of big video screens, and on this night the music trended toward industrial and darkwave, which I found, you know, pleasant. The hidden gem is the back room’s “Interference” sideshow, where your all-encompassing $10 cover charge also allows you in there to check out experimental music artists. I met Acton, Mass.-based performer A. Campbell Payne there; his set was heavily steeped in drone (he generally tries to soundscape with a much wider palette of “pattern, chance, time, and perception” in his tuneage, but that night he was heavily fixated on a French experimentalist whose name I didn’t write down because I couldn’t hear what he was saying). Whatever, it’s a fun night, you should go to the next one on June 13; feel free to adhere to the Jack Skellington-inspired dress code or of course your “DAVE MATTHEWS 2013 TOUR” T-shirt if you must (but please don’t), and that brings us to the new album from, coincidentally, Portland, Oregon, experimental duo Visible Cloaks, which started as a project focused on “rare groove new age music and ambient music from Japan.” The pair’s new album, Paradessence, includes the advance track “Disque,” which, between long silent breaks, consists of gentle, woozy, highly melodic experimentalism you’d imagine playing through the overheads at the Boston Aquarium.

• Greenville, North Carolina, is home to retro synthpop band Future Islands, whose new full-length From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth includes “The Ink Well,” which combines (of course) Depeche Mode-style angst with an early Cure drum sound.

• Geez, Bleachers’ new album Everyone For Ten Minutes makes it three DIY albums in a row today! “The Van” is lo-fi bliss if you like Jose Gonzalez and old Beach Boys.

• And finally we have Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien releasing a new LP titled Blue Morpho. The title track will appeal to fans of Sigur Ros, but then again it is very immersive and melodically charming, so maybe they won’t like it, I have no idea anymore.

Featured Photo: Simon Hanes, Gargantua and Crow and Gazelle, Truth Be Told

Double chocolate orange cranberry cookies

  • 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (80 g) dark rye flour
  • ½ cup (42 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted
  • 1 cup (213 g) brown sugar
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • 6 ounces (about 170 g) dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (71 g) dried cherries or dried sweetened cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line three or four baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients — the all-purpose flour, rye flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, beat the brown sugar and melted butter together. Add the orange zest and juice, then the eggs one at a time. Beat the mixture until fluffy — about two minutes.

Turn the mixer to its lowest setting, then spoon the flour mixture in, until it has all been incorporated. Stir the chocolate chips and dried fruit into the batter, then chill in your refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.

Scoop six golfball-sized balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to a plate or a storage container.

These are dark, fudgy cookies that are brightened by the zippiness of the orange and the flavor of the dried fruit. While not overly sweet, these are very rich. One to two of these cookies is perfect with an ice-cold glass of milk.

Featured photo: Double chocolate orange cranberry cookies. Photo by John Fladd.

Dessert walk

Try a sample of treats at the Springtime Sweet Stroll

“In a nutshell,” Emma Stetson, the owner of Wine on Main in Concord, said, “there are five stores, all in a row on North Main Street, and during regular business hours on Saturday, each of us will have a local baker with a different treat that they’ve chosen. We’re calling it a Sweet Springtime Stroll.”

Stetson regularly partners with small baking businesses for wine tasting events, she said, and felt inspired to take that idea a little further.

“I have longstanding connections with a couple of bakers,” she said. “One woman named Katie Pope [of Confections by Kate NH] I’ve worked with for many years on cookies. Another woman, Ashley [Savoy] from Savvy Sweets and Treats, we work together on cupcakes and macaroons. There are so many talented local bakers who want to collaborate with us, it’s been hard to find space for everybody, because I already have existing connections and people that I work with for our regular in-store events. So I thought that if we were able to do a bigger event with multiple bakers and multiple stores involved, it would be a great way to showcase people I wouldn’t otherwise have kind of the space in the regular schedule to work with. I wanted everybody to be able to have a platform, so I figured this was a way for all of the people who were coming asking to work with us to have a day where everyone could feature their products.”

The concept of Sweet Springtime Stroll is fairly straightforward, Stetson said.

“Everybody buys a ticket ahead of time. It’s $25 per person. They check in here at Wine on Main and get a passport and a wristband. In their own time, throughout the day, and in any order they want, they can visit each store and each baker and show their wristband and passport and redeem a different sweet treat in each store. It’s all included in the ticket price. If they don’t eat all the various sweet treats — which will include macarons, cookies, cupcakes, and peanut butter cups — they’ll be able to take them home with them, with no additional purchase required. The $25 gets them a treat in each store. And additionally each store that’s hosting a baker will have special coupons and promotions that day for people who are participating.” Stetson will offer a discount on wine purchases, for instance.

Carol’s Confections (carolsconfections.com) will be the guest-bakery-in-residence at Wine on Main on Saturday.

“She’s going to have some really decadent cookies for people to collect,” Stetson said. “I love her chocolate cookies with a bold red wine, like a cabernet sauvignon.”

Ashley Savoy of Savvy Sweets and Treats will serve cookies and French macarons.

“I’ll be actually stationed with two businesses,” Savoy said. “And so I’ll have sourdough chocolate chip cookies and macarons. I haven’t decided which macaron to make yet. This is great exposure for all of the businesses that are going to be involved. Sometimes it can be hard as a cottage baker to get the word out to people about what you do, without a brick and mortar location. This is a way to connect with the community, and give people a little taste of what’s local and what’s around.”

Sweet Springtime Stroll
When: Saturday, May 23, between 1 and 4 p.m.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in person at Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828) or through the Wine on Main website at wineonmainnh.com/event/sweet-springtime-stroll. All proceeds will go to the bakers.

Featured photo: Ashley Savoy from Savvy Sweets and Treats. Courtesy photo.

Taco party downtown

Manchester’s Taco Tour returns

Manchester’s annual Taco Tour will take place Thursday, May 28, from 4 to 8 p.m.

For one afternoon each year, the city closes downtown to traffic and invites the world to dive deeply into dozens of interpretations of tacos.

According to the event’s website, tacotourmanchester.com, “Taco Tour Manchester is the one day of the year where downtown Manchester restaurants and venues all serve delicious tacos! Elm Street will be shut down for locals and visitors alike to have a terrific time sampling all the tacos that they can possibly eat during the four hour long festival. Taco Tour Manchester is most importantly a chance to visit our wonderful downtown and discover something new from our amazing restaurants.”

Restaurants and civic organizations from around Manchester will present their versions of tacos to an estimated 20,000 taco enthusiasts for $3 per taco. According to its organizers, more than 100 area restaurants will participate in this year’s event.

One of those restaurants will be Slightly Crooked Pies (1209 Elm St., Manchester, 661-4575, slightlycrookedpies.com). Lauren Cline is the owner. She is excited about seeing Taco Tour “from the other side of the table.”

“My family and I have done it a number of years in a row, even in the rain,” Cline said, “and it is amazing to see the energy downtown with all of those people. I can’t wait to watch it from that perspective.”

Cline and her staff are preparing two taco-inspired pies for Taco Tour, she said.

“We’re doing our mini hand pies, which are basically the same as an empanada. And we are going to do a peach mango one dusted in Tajin [spice mix] and apple cinnamon churro. They look like a crimped taco,” Cline said.

Dakota Jones is a New Hampshire-based food influencer, who publishes content under the name Food With Heart [instagram.com/foodwith_heart]. She is a big fan of the Taco Tour. It is the way many people discover Manchester, she said.

“It is the world’s largest taco tour. … It combines local community and tourism, but with a kind of community feeling,” Jones said.

Jones’ advice for going to Taco Tour is to go with friends. “It’s great to go alone,” she said, “but it’s also great to go with more people. I like to have someone else with me, so we can get in different lines. … If you go with a group, you get to actually experience more because you can all share a taco.”

Restaurants will be competing for the title of Best Taco and Most Creative Taco, the website said. Last year’s winners were Thai Food Connection for Best Taco and Stashbox for Most Creative Taco, the website said.

There will be two contests for die-hard Taco Tour fans this year, the website said.

“For the first time ever, Taco Tour Manchester is opening the Grand Marshal selection to the community. One lucky attendee will be randomly selected to eat the inaugural taco and officially open Taco Tour Manchester 2026 in front of thousands of fellow taco lovers at the all-new Inaugural Ceremony at Veterans Park. One winner will be selected at random during the Taco Tour Manchester Inaugural Ceremony at Veterans Park on May 28, 2026. Entrants must be present at Veterans Park by 3:30 p.m. on May 28, 2026 to be eligible to win,” the website said.

Additionally, Taco Tour fans can register on the Taco Tour website to win “an ultimate Taco Tour Manchester 2026 experience”: “This year, Taco Tour Manchester is giving away two VIP experiences, with each winner receiving access for themselves and one guest to join the exclusive VIP Tour through Downtown Manchester … VIP guests will skip the lines, enjoy tacos included at participating Greater Manchester Chamber member restaurants, meet local restaurateurs, and sample beverages along the way — all while experiencing Taco Tour like never before.”

The evening will also feature music. There will be a stage on Hanover Street featuringDave Corson (4 to 5 p.m.), Alli Beaudry (5:20 to 6:20 p.m.) and Brother Seamus (6:45 to 7:45 p.m.), the website said. A band stage will be at the Brady Sullivan Plaza on Elm Street will feature Joe Deleault and Cody James (4:15 to 5:30 p.m.) and The Jonathan Sarty Band (6 to 7:30 p.m.), according to tacotourmanchester.com/concert.

Saint Philip Greek Food Festival
When: Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church, 500 W. Hollis St., Nashua, 889-4000, stphilipnashua.com.
More: There will be free parking, a shuttle bus, Greek dancing and live music. Visit nashuagreekfestival.com.

Featured photo: Taco Tour 2025. Photo by Vinny Marino. Courtesy Greater Manchester Chamber.

The Weekly Dish 26/5/21

• A new Aroma Joe’s: There is a new location of the coffee joint Aroma Joe’s at 700 Mast Road, Manchester, between Manchester and Goffstown. It is open from 5:15 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday. Contact Aroma Joe’s #222 at 628-5099 or aromajoes.com.

• Cigars and bourbon: The 7-20-4 Lounge ( in Twins Smoke Shop, 80 Perkins Road, Londonderry, 421-0242, facebook.com/7204Lounge) will host a “perfect pairing” Friday, May 22, at 6 p.m. Pair a $20 Rocky Patel Sixty Toro — a hand-rolled Nicaraguan cigar — with your choice of a single pour or Old-Fashioned made with Eagle Rare 10-year-old bourbon. Reservations are not required.

• The roof is open: Rooftop Social (20 S. Main St., Concord, 406-5666, artsalleyconcordnh.com/portfolio/rooftop-social), the third-floor bar at Arts Alley, will open for the season Friday, May 22. The bar’s website describes it as “Elevated but unpretentious — the perfect setting for crafted cocktails, shareable small plates and unforgettable moments under the city sky.”

• Dungeons and Drafts: To Share Brewing (720 Union St., Manchester, 836-6947, tosharebrewing.com) will host Dungeons and Drafts on Sunday, May 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. Bring your own Level 5 character or choose from one of theirs. Whether you’re brand new to D&D or a seasoned player, everyone is welcome at the table. Arrive by 1 p.m. sharp to secure your spot. Seating is limited based on the number of DMs available.

• Cocktail clarification workshop: CodeX B.A.R. (29 Main St., Nashua) will host Clarified Clover Club: The Art of Clarification on May 24 at 4 p.m. Discover the magic of milk washing, the classic technique for transforming cloudy cocktails into crystal-clear, silky-smooth drinks. Learn the full milk-washing process while enjoying a beautifully balanced Clarified Clover Club cocktail, made with gin, raspberry and citrus. The cost is $24.99.

• Knife skills: Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) will host a class for home cooks in knife skills Tuesday, May 26, from 3 to 5 p.m. Learn proper knife safety, grip and positioning to improve your skills at home. Guests will participate in the preparation of a tasting, while the Chef demonstrates techniques at the end of the class. The cost is $49.31 per person, through tuscanbrands.com/cooking-classes.

• Making gnocchi: Tuscan Market will also host a cooking class Wednesday, May 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. to teach home cooks to make fresh ricotta gnocchi and pair it with a vibrant Sicilian caponata. The cost is $64.74 per person, through tuscanbrands.com/cooking-classes.

Duckie race

Buy a six-quack and watch

On Saturday, May 23, the Downtown Nashua Association will launch what it hopes will become a yearly tradition, a Rubber Duck Regatta on the Nashua River. Participants will be able to purchase rubber ducks from Downtown Nashua. At 3 p.m. the ducks will be set loose in the river. The owners of the first three ducks to cross the finish line downriver will win prizes.

Alyssa O’Mara is the executive director of the Downtown Nashua Association. She said that while this will be the first year there has been a Regatta, rubber duck races have happened in Nashua for many years.

“We were gifted this event from Nashua Rotary West,” she said. “They had been doing this event for many years, but in the last couple of years they stopped doing it. When I took this position, our nonprofit community really stepped up and wanted to support us. [The Rotary Club] was one of the first organizations to do so and said if we wanted this event we could take it over. It’s a long-term community event that people love, and I absolutely jumped on it.”

Rubber Duck Regatta
When: Saturday, May 23, starting at 3 p.m.
Ducks can be purchased on the Downtown Nashua Association’s website at downtownnashua.org/rubber-duck-regatta. Ducks will also be available on site on the day of the event. Single ducks can be purchased for $5 each, six for $25, and 12 for $50. A “flock” of 25 ducks is $100.

So is this just a matter of dropping a few thousand rubber ducks in the river and watching them float downstream? Essentially, yes, O’Mara said.

“The ducks will be released near the area of the footbridge between Cotton Mill and Clocktower Apartments right on the edge of the river. Right now we’re still coordinating with a couple of people on the logistics of whether we’ll use a truck or a crane, but there will be 5,000 ducks launched from that area and they will race down to the bridge over Main Street to the finish line, where we will have catchers there to stop the ducks. The first three that go through will win prizes. First prize is $1,500, second prize is $750 and third prize is $500.”

The ducks will all be tagged with numbers, O’Mara said,

“When you purchase ducks, you will have numbers assigned to those ducks and that’s how we’ll do it. The winner doesn’t have to be there. If your duck is a winner, you win, whether you’re here or even in another state. This first year, we’ve started small with 5,000 ducks, but we’re hoping [this race] will grow and we can do up to 50,000 ducks at some point. Ducks are available for purchase through our website. People can purchase single ducks. They also can purchase a ‘six-quack,’ a ‘quacker’s dozen’ or a whole flock. We’re really pushing teams this year, so if [a group] has a nonprofit locally that they really want to support, they can create a team with that nonprofit name or their group’s name. In addition to our first-, second- and third-place prizes, the team that sells the most ducks will have $2,500 donated to the nonprofit of their choice, local to the Nashua area.”

Given that this is the Regatta’s first year, O’Mara said, sales have been strong. “Sales of ducks for Bridges: Domestic & Sexual Violence Support is definitely in the lead. We’re hoping people will jump on the bandwagon and make some more purchases. But no matter what, we knew that at a max we were probably going to be making the same amount as the nonprofit that we were donating to for this year. So if we can do anything, as long as we can get the prize money for the winners and for the nonprofit that has the highest team sales, we’ll be happy.”

Renaissance on the Riverwalk
Nashua will celebrate the newly renovated Renaissance Park on Water Street and Memorial Day weekend with a four-day event featuring music, kids’ events, food trucks, vendors and more, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.
When: Friday, May 22, with events from 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, May 23, from 2:30 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Monday, May 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Event highlights: On Friday, performances by El Grupo Chevere (5:30 p.m.) and 4R Souls (7:30 p.m.) and a Positive Street Art kids’ art activity. On Saturday, the regatta, Renaissance Park Mural dedication (3:30 p.m.); performances by BailOut (4:30 p.m.), Lisa Love (6 p.m.), 4Play: The Boston Tribute Band (7:30 p.m.) and a drone show and lighted kayak parade on the river (9 a.m.). On Sunday, Nashua Farmers Market (10 a.m.), music, a petting zoo (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and a Nashua Area Artists Association activity. On Monday, a performance by Gary Lopez (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), ballons from Dan’s Balloons (10 a.m to noon) and the Memorial Day Parade down Main Street (10:30 a.m.).
More info: See the mayor’s “Enjoy Nashua” Facebook page.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo

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