Page 7

The week that was

The Big Story – NBA Playoffs: Yes, the NFL draft captured a lot of attention, but since it’s four months before those 257 kids will strut their stuff it’s not the week’s big story — especially since its top feature was about an entitled, cocky kid (Shedeur Sanders) getting his comeuppance in full view of a national TV audience.

No, the big story is the NBA playoffs getting off in fine fashion. Especially with great games Sunday. Denver (down 1-3) and Memphis (swept) showed dumping their coaches three weeks before the playoffs didn’t pay off. The refs were once again in the middle of it by screwing Detroit out of a last-second win over New York. And emerging future stars like Paolo Banchero and Anthony Edwards continued their rise.

Sports 101: Last week Payton Pritchard became the fourth Celtic to win the Sixth Man of the Year award. Name their other three.

News Item – Pats Draft: In pretty much following the script to fill their needs it looks good. But time will tell, so check back in December. But here are two things I liked: Will Campbell was impressive during his interviews after getting picked; and while I didn’t see a lot of college ball last fall, I loved what I saw of second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson during Ohio State’s playoff run.

News Item – Celtics Update: They start the week up 3-1 vs. Orlando. (1) The Game 3 loss was the result of not being ready for physical play from Orlando that led to Jayson Tatum missing Game 2 and causing concern till the end of Game 4. (2) Tatum has been the man, especially in Game 4, where he scored 37 with 14 rebounds and even pushed someone back after a cheap bump for a double T. Boo-la-boo-la for that. (3) Someone please show Uncle Joe how a pick and roll to the basket will produce easy points against a team over playing the line to prevent against their 3-ball attack. (4) If the C’s took care of business in Boston on Tuesday, good night Orlando.

News Impatience is Back in Red Sox Nation:All I can think of when I hear impatient dopes like Tony Massarotti wanting to give up on the struggling Triston Casas three weeks into the season is Frank Costanza in the Seinfeld episode when George Steinbrenner thinks George Constanza got kidnapped. Upon meeting the Boss, instead of asking about his son, Frank shouts at the notoriously impatient Steinbrenner, “HOW COULD YOU TRADE JAY BUHNER,” who George dealt for journeyman DH Ken Phelps before Buehner went on to hit 310 homers for Seattle. As for Casas, he’s still not there yet but he hit two homers and a Wall Ball walk-off single to beat Seattle last week, so he’s getting there.

News Item – NFL Draft Notes: (1) Love that Travis Hunter will get a chance to play both ways.(2) But I wouldn’t have given as much as Jax did to move up to get him. (3) Which means my pre-draft plan to trade up for Jabar Carter wouldn’t have worked. (4) Mel Kiper Jr. seemed to take it personally as his top ranked QB kept falling like a rock until Sanders went in R5.

The Numbers:

4 & 14 –players from Ohio State taken in the first round and overall to give OSU the most players taken from any school in the NFL draft.

6 & 28 – homers and RBI for Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer in his first 21 games at AAA Worcester.

53 – most pitches thrown a single inning since 2022, by Toronto’s Kevin Gausman in the third inning of Sunday’s 11-3 loss to the Yanks.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Eugenio Suarez: While I doubt I could pick him out in a police line-up, Arizona D-Back slugger gets it for being the 19th guy in MLB history to hit four homers in a game.

Delusional Megalomania Moment of the Week: Hearing Steven A. Blowhard actually say if they don’t start getting it right, and he wasn’t kidding.

Random Thoughts: Pardon my cynicism, but, while it’s his right ’cause he earned it, I doubt Lawrence Taylor’s refusal of Sharp’s request to wear 56 was a gesture to help him make his own mark.

Sports 101 Answer: In addition to Pritchard, the other three Sixth Man of the Year winners are Kevin McHale (’84 and ’85), Bill Walton (’86) and Malcolm Brogdon (’23).

Final Thought – NBA Officiating: What good does it do after the fact to admit the refs missed an obvious Knicks foul on Pistons shooter Tim Hardaway Jr. as time expired that every fan in the building and millions watching on TV saw? The P’s still lost to give the Knicks a tainted 3-1 lead. Isn’t that what replay is supposed to prevent? So what were the people in the NBA replay center doing when it happened? And how could the only three people in the building who didn’t see such an obvious foul be the people paid to call the game? If they can’t make that call they should be fired

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

News & Notes 25/05/01

Bedford traffic

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is working on F.E. Everett Turnpike, in both directions, at the Bedford Tolls through June 15, according to a NHDOT press release. The work will take place between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. and require lane closures as construction crews work on the first phase of creating an all electronic toll area (boothless and cashless), the release said. Sign up for “free, real-time traffic related messages … from newengland511.org,” the release said.

Grant proposals

New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation is accepting proposals for 2025 Land and Water Conservation Fund State and Local Assistance Grants, “a program providing federal funds to assist with public outdoor recreation projects,” according to a press release. Submit an intent-to-apply form to New Hampshire State Parks by Friday, June 27, at 4 p.m.; eligible parties will receive an invitation to apply, the release said. Call 271-3556 or email [email protected],” the release said.

Mac & vets

Mr. Mac’s Macaroni and Cheese (497 Hooksett Road in Manchester, mr-macs.com) will donate $1 for every order of “Classic All-American” variety of mac & cheese (featuring a blend of cheddar and American cheeses) sold during May to help end veteran homelessness, according to a press release. The eatery is joining the City of Manchester, which has partnered with Harbor Care on efforts to address housing for veterans, the release said. Mr. Mac’s is slated to hold a kickoff for the effort on Thursday, May 1, at 10 a.m.

NH scholars

Six New Hampshire high school seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, according to a New Hampshire Department of Education press release. The semifinalists are Charles J. Anderson of Portsmouth, Portsmouth High School; Rahma A. Ibrahim of Brookline; Li Po Chun of United World College; Roxane Park of Bedford, Phillips Exeter Academy; Vedant Patil of Nashua, Nashua High School South; Meera Rajendran of Salem, Salem High School, and Avishant Gupta Ullal of Hollis, The Derryfield School, the release said. “The Commission on Presidential Scholars will select the finalists, and the U.S. Department of Education will announce the Scholars at a later date,” the release said. See ed.gov/psp.

Ona Judge

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, in partnership with the Greenland Historical Society, will unveil a historic marker honoring Ona Marie Judge Staines at the Greenland Parade Gazebo in Greenland on Saturday, May 3, at 11 a.m., according to a press release. Ona Judge was enslaved by George and Martha Washington and escaped in 1796, eventually settling in Greenland, the release said.

Celebrate coffee at the Northeast Coffee Festival Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, in Concord. A community market (admission is free) featuring vendors, demonstrations and live music will run 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday. Coffee education and a Latte Art Throwdown require passes. See northeastcoffeefestival.com.

Petals in the Pines in Canterbury will be open Saturday, May 3, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., for World Labyrinth Day when attendees can explore the venue’s two woodland labyrinths, according to a press release. A nature journaling activity will be held from 2 to 3 p.m.; register in advance at petalsinthepines.com/world-labyrinth-day for $10 per person. Admission to World Labyrinth Day will cost $7 per person or free with a 2025 Season Pass purchase on or before that day, the release said.

The Dover Public Library will present the virtual program “From Sewer to Superstars: The Untold Story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” with Dan Yezbick, professor of English and communications at Wildwood College in Missouri. The event is free; sign up at library.dover.nh.gov.

10 Easy Plants — 04/24/2025

on the cover

We can all garden, so says Henry Homeyer, who offers up his advice for 10 un-mess-up-able varieties of plants to grow.

Also on the cover Chefs have an opportunity to get chef-y with plants and other vegan eats during the Manchester Vegan Chef Challenge in May (page 16). The Manchester Community Theatre Players present The Bridges of Madison County (page 12). John Fladd investigates wines without alcohol (page 18).

Read the e-edition

News & Notes 25/04/24

250424 Featured Content News

Senate race update U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander told WMUR that she will not seek the U.S. Senate seat in 2026, ...

Draft winds blow tonight

250424 News Sports

The Big Story – NFL Draft: It comes your way on ESPN and The NFL Network starting Thursday at 8 ...

Quality of Life 25/04/24

250424 News Quality Of Life

Gold (golden brown) anniversary As reported in an April 18 online story by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), the chicken ...

This Week 25/04/24

250424 Featured Content News This Week

Friday, April 25 Nashua Theatre Guild presents the New Hampshire premiere ofIncident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a play ...

10 Easy Plants

250424 Cover Stories Featured Content

Veggies, flowers and trees for a low-effort gardening season Alright, if one more person tells me they’re not a gardener ...

Slow walk to romance

male and female actor on stage in front of photo backdrop showing covered bridge with trees behind, actors looking at camera as if about to take a photo

250424 Art & Theater Featured Content

The Bridges of Madison County musical in Manchester Even though it won Tonys for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, ...

The Art Roundup 25/04/24

250424 Art & Theater Visual Arts

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities • Childhood memories: Nashua Theatre Guild presents the New Hampshire premiere ...

Treasure Hunt 25/04/24

ceramic pitcher with elaborate top, painted with floral designs, and an eagle standing on as shield

250424 Family Fun Treasure Hunt

Hi, Donna, I’m attaching a couple of pics of a ceramic pitcher and wonder if you can tell me its ...

Kiddie Pool 25/04/24

250424 Family Fun Outdoors

Family fun for whenever Vacation day at the museum • The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in ...

The Weekly Dish 25/04/24

250424 Food

News from the local food scene • Opened: There’s a new coffee bar on the north end of Manchester’s Elm ...

Plant-based plates

focus on hand holding chip topped with vegetable stew and leafy greens, man blurry in the background

250424 Featured Content Food

Manchester will host a Vegan Chef Challenge Throughout May, restaurants across Manchester will compete to produce the best plant-based dishes ...

Celebrate Camembert Day

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250424 Food

Barrel & Baskit finds reasons for fun There are many reasons why businesses host fun events. For Beth Richards, the ...

A big glass of zero proof

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250424 Food

A look at alcohol-free wines According to Richard Jacob, one of the hottest trends in alcohol at the moment is ...

Updating Mary Pickford

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250424 Food

She doesn’t come up in conversation very much — not today, anyway; 100 years ago it was a different story ...

Album Reviews 25/04/24

Stella Cole, Stella Cole (Iron Lung Records) & The Crystal Teardrop, The Crystal Teardrop Is Forming (Popclaw/Rise Above Records)

250424 Albums Pop

Stella Cole, Stella Cole (Iron Lung Records) Don’t be fooled by the disposable-template look of the album cover. The world ...

Tilt, by Emma Pattee

250424 Books Pop

Tilt, by Emma Pattee (Marysue Rucci Books, 227 pages) If you’ve ever imagined yourself in the middle of a natural ...

Sinners (R)

250424 Film Reviews by Amy

Director Ryan Coogler crafts a very good supernatural thriller studded with a few top-shelf musical set pieces — including one ...

The Music Roundup 25/04/24

250424 Music This Week

• Abba dabba: Time travel back to the ’70s with Abba tribute act Mamma Mania! The New York City based-band ...

Feeling the song

250424 Featured Content Nightlife

David Wilcox performs in Manchester A lot of David Wilcox’s fans consider him a musical minister, his songs providing spiritual ...

Feeling the song

David Wilcox performs in Manchester

A lot of David Wilcox’s fans consider him a musical minister, his songs providing spiritual grounding as they rhyme and dance.

“If I feel hollow, that’s just proof there’s more for me to follow,” he offers simply in “That’s What the Lonely Is For,” a touchstone track from his mid-’90s gem, Big Horizon.

A fitting way to describe Wilcox’s approach to songwriting is “Language of the Heart,” also a song title from his major label debut, How Did You Find Me Here? In a recent phone interview, he likened his craft to bailing water from a boat. “Because the alternative is death,” he said. “It is purely self-preservation.”

Even if the world isn’t clamoring for another song, “What I need is to check in with my heart so that I stay current with my grieving and it doesn’t build up a backlog or break the dam,” he continued. “It’s a fun excuse; I pretend I’m being an artist, but really I’m just tending to my emotional buoyancy.”

In 2016, Wilcox began helping his fans process their emotions through his music via a bespoke song service. “I’ve kind of applied my songwriting talents to other people’s hearts and stories … that’s a fascinating thing for me,” he said. “I’ve done more than 70 of these custom songs now, and they’re all so specific and unique.”

The process begins with Wilcox spending an hour on the phone talking to a prospect, who is usually looking for a unique gift.

“To see if I can get to the heart of the song, I ask quirky questions, like, ‘What are some things on your shelf that have a story that would really take a while to tell?’ or, ‘What’s a thing you’d reach for if the house was on fire?’”

Testimonials to Wilcox’s Custom Built Songs fill the service’s web page.

“David has a keen ability to take a conversation and turn it into art,” said a customer named Bob, who surprised his wife on their 17th wedding anniversary with a Wilcox-penned ode to the rainforest. “He listened to our story and turned it into a beautiful song that we will enjoy for the rest of our lives.”

Writing in response to stories he’s heard is how, as a young introvert, Wilcox began his musical journey. “Someone would say something to me, and it would take me a day of sort of gathering my answer musically. Then I would come back, and I would sing them a song that showed I was listening. I did feel what you were saying.”

The spirituality in his music is the product of a wide open and still ongoing search for meaning, and words to express it.

“What I got growing up was a mystical sense that life is more interesting than it appears,” he said. “I was trying to find language for that because I was raised with no tradition at all. And that was a great way to come up, because I got my mystical sense first before I had any dogma or any stories.”

It’s not rooted in any specific dogma or belief system.

“I speak a lot of languages spiritually, and I am comfortable in a lot of settings. If people saw me coming out of some buildings, they’d say, ‘What the hell are you doing in there?’ I have prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem,” he said, adding, “The fact that three religions landed in the same city on the same rock, I don’t consider that an accident. I consider that divine comedy.”

Wilcox has made 18 studio albums, starting with the independently released The Nightshift Watchman in 1987. His latest is 2023’s My Good Friends. His creative process is a blend of self-therapy and mysticism. “I call it metabolizing old pain. You take it apart and find that it’s made of discomfort, but mostly it’s … yearning, which has a sacredness. [It] comes from an assumption that life should be better, that you’re basing on … nothing but just faith.”

David Wilcox
When: Friday, April 25, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Dana Center, Saint Anselm College, Manchester
Tickets: $45 at anselm.edu

Featured photo. David Wilcox. Photo by Lynne Harty.

The Music Roundup 25/04/24

• Abba dabba: Time travel back to the ’70s with Abba tribute act Mamma Mania! The New York City based-band goes for the look and feel of Sweden’s beloved export and encourages audience members to do the same and arrive in their favorite dancing finery. With over a decade of experience, they bring plenty of energy to “Dancing Queen,” “Take A Chance On Me” and others. Thursday, April 24, 7 p.m., LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 111, Derry, $40 at labellewinery.com.

• Fur out: Though they cover the hallowed hippies nightly, Bearly Dead is an atypical tribute act. Formed in the wake of the Dead’s 50th anniversary reunion shows, the Boston band tends to rock a lot harder than its namesake. “We don’t try to recreate,” guitarist and singer Nick Swift said last year. “We’d rather play like ourselves; we are a rock band which just happens to play Grateful Dead tunes.” Friday, April 25, 8 p.m., BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord, $24 at ccanh.com.

• Mass laughs: Enjoy standup comedy in a cinema setting with Chris Tabb, who’s been on BET, NESN and The Food Network, along with hosting a late-night talk show a while back and volunteering for the American Stroke Association. Tabb was once House MC at Foxboro’s Comedy Scene and cites Bernie Mac as a key influence; he’s a favorite in New England clubs. Saturday, April 26, 8 p.m., Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road, Manchester, $20 at chunkys.com.

• Other half: A bitter legal spat has dashed the prospect of John Oates performing again with Daryl Hall, but Oates has made some solid solo albums without his old mate. At an upcoming show, he’ll give area fans a chance to hear him play “beautiful and introspective country-folk songs,” according to one critic, “situated geographically and emotionally closer to Nashville than to Philadelphia.” Sunday, April 27, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $35 at tupelohall.com.

• Multi man: Funkmeister and Moon Boot Lover leader Peter Prince plays solo at music-friendly eatery. Over the years, the ever-changing singer/guitarist’s band has included members of Soulive, John Brown’s Body, Assembly of Dust and Percy Hill. The first host of the Jammy Awards, Prince and his band are favorites throughout New England. Wednesday, April 30, 6 p.m., Riverworks Restaurant and Tavern, 164 Main St., Newmarket. Visit peterprincemusic.com.

Sinners (R)

Director Ryan Coogler crafts a very good supernatural thriller studded with a few top-shelf musical set pieces — including one all-timer of a chill-inducing music-on-film moment — in Sinners.

After years away in the military (World War I, it’s implied) and in Chicago, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown in the Mississippi Delta during what Wikipedia says is 1932. I missed a date title card, if there was one, but the movie makes it clear that we’re in the pre-civil rights era when getting out — joining the Great Migration to the north or west — was the best chance of getting ahead for Black communities. But Smoke and Stack explain to their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) that the relative freedom of Chicago isn’t exactly as advertised so they have decided to return to the devil they know. They’ve come back with a stack of cash, a truck full of booze and a plan to open a juke joint, which will have its opening night the very same day they buy the old mill where it will be housed from some tobacco-spitting racist.

The day is spent gathering necessities for the big opening. Stack and Sammie buy catfish and a sign from general store operators Bo (Yao) and Grace Chow (Li Jun Li). They hire pianist Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) to perform along with guitarist Sammie, and Cornbread (Omar Miller) to serve as a bouncer. Smoke convinces Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), a sort-of ex who perhaps has otherworldly abilities, to cook for the evening. The night promises possibility — Sammie flirts with Pearline (Jayme Lawson), a woman who might sing at the joint — as well as potential dangers. The way Smoke and Stack are told there’s no Klan in the area makes it clear that the Ku Klux Klan is a present danger. The juke joint’s menu of Italian wine and Irish beer suggests the Chicago gangs that may be the booze’s provenance. And then there’s Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a woman with a biracial grandfather who appears to be white and had a youthful romance with Stack. She still (angrily) carries a torch even though Stack tries to convince her that they can not be a couple.

But Sammie can almost make all of that seem like distant worry. His playing of the blues goes beyond simply music well performed into the realm of spiritual experience, something that can connect the people in the present to the people and music of the past and future. He conjures an experience that not only gives the people listening a kind of momentary release from themselves but also attracts a man (Jack O’Connell) we first see running, smoldering as the sun sets, to a house on a dirt farm, begging to be let in.

The creature feature elements of this story are well done but what makes them something more than just standard-issue monster movie fare is the way they’re nestled in a setting that feels like a dark fairy tale even though it’s drawn from actual history. When a trio of white musicians comes to the door of the juke joint, they’re dangerous for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with the supernatural. What, then, does it mean for something to be a monster? The movie also spends a fair amount of time thinking about freedom — momentary freedom, a more lasting state of freedom. What does that mean? How is it achieved?

Anchoring these ideas to something human and real are the performances, which are solid across the board. Jordan of course is the standout. This movie isn’t, in the Fruitvale Station sense, a serious drama but, as Jordan did in Creed and Black Panther — two movies where the IP could do most of the work if you let it — he brings gravitas to less-than-grave subjects. He can convey pain, frustration, desire and anger with an economy of gestures and expressions. And he makes Smoke and Stack two different people who can work in concert without always being in agreement.

The real standout of Sinners is the music — how the movie uses it, how it puts it together. One musical scene in particular felt to me like the equivalent of a set-piece action scene in a different kind of movie. It’s Tom Cruise hanging from a plane or Keanu Reeves fighting in a traffic circle. It is the sort of thing that shocks the movie up to a different level and makes it easier to forgive any wobbly bits, not that this movie has many. It’s a kind of precision designed, choreographed sequence that serves as a showpiece and a bit of a demonstration of mission statement for what the movie wants to convey. A
In theaters.

The week that was

News & Notes 25/05/01

10 Easy Plants — 04/24/2025

Feeling the song

The Music Roundup 25/04/24

Sinners (R)

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