Album Reviews 22/08/11

Jackboy, Majorly Independent (1804 Records)

I do make a constant attempt to cover all musical genres in this space, and yeah, it’s made me a jack of all trades and master of — OK, not all that many, especially indie hip-hop records that sound like I’ve heard them before, a ton of times, and break no new ground. Like this one, which does, for its part, come with receipts: JackBoy — real name Pierre Delince — spent the first six years of his life in Haiti, then wound up in Florida, where he became part of Sniper Gang with Kodak Black, with whom he has (of course) beef nowadays. I won’t get into why I’m convinced this guy’s “fame” is largely generated by a bot swarm, nor will I bother rattling off a list of very similar-sounding artists, since you know the drill by now: smack talk and savings account fables delivered via “clipped cadences and pained operatics,” as one rap wiki observed (in a review snippet that could describe, well, nearly every rapper ever), while the beats explore basic trap, polite neo-crunk and whatnot, nothing too crazy. You see, folks, albums like this don’t want actual music reviews, they want sets of biographical drama bullets on the artist. My DMs and PMs are wide open if you disagree, but I can’t imagine anyone would. As is, sure, it’s tight and whatnot. And absolutely disposable. C+

Rusty Santos, High Reality (Lo Recordings)

This Los Angeles-based producer/musician has worked with tons of bands and artists, usually in the space occupied by purveyors of wetwork tuneage of pretty high quality: Chui Wann, Gang Gang Dance, Animal Collective (since you likely have no idea what those acts sound like, just think pretty layers, electronically tweaked/pinched vocal lines, things like that in general). By my count, High Reality is Santos’s sixth solo album, his forte a guitar/vocal thing with varying levels of roughness on the sample side. Opener “Dream In Stereo” is throwback Beck, for sure; it starts with a really woozy, wobbly sample that, it turns out, is a template for most of the songs that are aboard this thing. It’s kind of dated in that regard; in the press materials for this one he yammers about learning all kinds of stuff, which would be natural, given the collaborations in which he’s figured, but after many minutes of wobbling and slow-trilling and whatnot it feels like the work of a one-trick pony who should probably stick to remixing and things like that. B-

Playlist

• Aug. 12 is here, homies, here it comes, we may as well just call it September, fun-time’s over. But since the 12th is a Friday, there will at least be some new albums, if that’s any consolation (I know, I know), so let’s pull up the barnacle-covered lobster trap, toss the bewildered-looking starfish back in the water and see what albums wandered into my crafty little device for capturing albums before they can swim away and not have to face my mightily eloquent blah blah blah. We may as well start with movie soundtrack dude Danny Elfman, whose new album, Bigger Messier, consists of a bunch of remixes from his 2021 artist album, Big Mess. Right, so just to clear up one of the questions that always comes up about Danny Elfman: He is the uncle of actor Bodhi Elfman, who is married to actress Jenna Elfman, so they’re not siblings or whatever, he’s just — you know, whatever an uncle-in-law is called. Now, you also may not know that Elfman was in a really awful band called Oingo Boingo in the ’80s. They were like Devo but basically 200 percent less funny, but one interesting thing is that there’s been a lot of confusion around one particular actor who appeared in Oingo Bongo’s video for their really terrible single “Little Girls”: Tons of young people are clogging internet boards proclaiming that they’re convinced that the actor is indeed Peter Dinklage from Game Of Thrones. However, some smarty-pants on LinusTechTips.com set the entire internet straight in one post, so the question will never be posed again, ever, by anyone, because the internet is a perfect, self-maintained mechanism. To wit: “Peter Dinklage was 12 when that song was released, so it’s very unlikely that the person with a mustache who looks nothing like Peter Dinklage is him.” So there’s that; and remember, Elfman’s pretty dumb-looking; he played the parts of all the Oompa Loompas in the Willy Wonka movie that starred Johnny Depp, and, cutting to now, I wasn’t that impressed with anything I heard from the Big Mess album, like, it kind of wanted to be an edgy rock album but wasn’t interesting; however, the Squarepusher remix of “We Belong” turns the original tune, a morose, funereal droner, into a dubstep tour de force. It’s fine, but has nothing to do with the original. Let’s just leave that here.

• Yikes, look, folks, it’s Japanese stoner/psychedelic-metal masters Boris, with their new album Heavy Rocks 2022; this is probably awesome! The trio usually gets lumped in with Seattle’s plodding drone-meisters Sunn(((O))), mostly because they collaborated on a (rather unnecessary) record; you should ignore any such nonsense and go check them out if you’re into Jack White’s retro-hard-rock and that kind of thing. But wait, maybe I spoke too soon, because I haven’t even listened to the new advance tune “She Is Burning,” so for all I know they’re horrible now, let’s go check it out. OK, forget it, this is wicked cool, hyper-thrash hard-rock with dueling guitar riffs, why aren’t these guys 100 times bigger than they are now?

• Oh, how adorable, San Francisco borderline punk outfit OC’s have changed the spelling of their band name to Osees, just to make sure their fans won’t be able to find their new album, A Foul Form, on the internet (again). Isn’t that special? Too bad, because the title track is hardcore no-wave, thrashy, really bad-ass, love it.

• We’ll wrap it up with 1980s-famous synthpop duo Erasure, whose new LP, Day-Glo (Based On A True Story) is broken up into “chapters.” The tune “Chapter 2” is krautrock-ish roller-rink techno that immediately made me think of aughts-era Haujobb. I can deal with it.

If you’re in a local band, now’s a great time to let me know about your EP, your single, whatever’s on your mind. Let me know how you’re holding yourself together without being able to play shows or jam with your homies. Send a recipe for keema matar. Message me on Twitter (@esaeger) or Facebook (eric.saeger.9).

Summer bellinis

Another reason to buy prosecco

Legend has it that the bellini was invented by Giuseppi Cipriani, owner of Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy. Sometime between the mid-’30s and the mid-’40s he created this seasonal beverage made with puréed fresh Italian white peaches and prosecco, and as the legend states, he named the drink bellini as it reminded him of the peachy-pink color of a toga worn by a saint in a painting by Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini. The bellini has been selected by the International Bartenders Association (IBA) for use in the annual World Cocktail Competition (WCC) in bartending. There are variations to this blend, some of which call for the addition of mandarin orange juice, strawberry purée or pomegranate juice, but the peach purée reigns supreme when one thinks of the bellini.

Today it is easy enough to find several labels of prosecco, some relatively inexpensive and others a little pricier. The price points on most proseccos are generally accessible: from less than $10 per bottle to a little more than $25 per bottle. Several labels available in New Hampshire still come from Italy, but there is an increasing supply coming from California. As I am a firm believer that “life is too short to drink cheap wine,” I opt for the better quality, sometimes reflected in its price point.

Prosecco is made from a blend of grapes but the Italian varieties must contain at least 85 percent glera, with the rest being local and international varieties, including chardonnay, pinot blanco, pinot grigio and pinot noir. It is produced using the Charmat method: The base wine is produced, but instead of bottling, it is put into a sealed stainless steel tank, kept cool and under pressure to produce the effervescent bubbles. It is then filtered and bottled. This method of winemaking eliminates the second fermentation and riddling, the freezing and disgorging of the lees, and the addition of the dosage, or sweet wine — all the intensive work required of the Methode Traditionelle production of Champagne. With the Charmat method a small dosage of sweetened wine may be added, but this is added to the bulk wine before bottling. The bubbles of prosecco may be smaller, and the taste generally of more fruit than a sparkling wine produced by the Methode Traditionelle, but I like to think of this as a comparison of apples to oranges, a comparison a whole other column can be devoted to!

In making our bellinis, I selected the Santa Margherita Prosecco Di Valdobbiadene Superiore D.O.C.G. Brut, available at the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets, priced at $25.99, reduced to $19.99. This wine comes from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene region of Veneto, Italy. It is made from 100 percent glera grapes. The winemakers allow the wine to sit on its lees for three months after fermentation, producing a creaminess not found in other proseccos I have tasted. The color is pale straw, the bubbles full, and to the nose there is citrus, peaches, pears and a touch of almond. To the tongue it is crisp and clean, with a fair amount of apple and more citrus. This is a delightful prosecco to sip enjoy with a meal or pair with a peach purée, to create a magnificent bellini!

Now, about the peach purée. It is tough to find! You can find it online, and Shaw’s sells a cocktail mixer, Stirrings Simple Peach Bellini, available at $7.99. This is a mixer created from real ingredients without preservatives; however, it is made from orange juice concentrate and peach purée. It’s pretty good and provides one with an easy recipe for that bellini: one part of the mix to four parts of prosecco, poured into a chilled Champagne flute. Doesn’t get much easier than that! But I have found I can create my own peach purée, by cutting an organic peach preserve with a little of the prosecco to create a purée, adding a couple of drops of lemon juice to cut the sweetness, then following through with the 4-to-1 recipe, or proportions to suit one’s taste. If you have the time and interest, you can create your own peach puree. All you need is a food processor or blender, a little sugar, honey or maple syrup, and of course fresh peaches. The concoction can be frozen!

This is a great libation for a hot summer afternoon. Slightly sweet and light in alcohol (the prosecco is typically 11 percent), it is a wonderful drink to impress your guests with your superior tastes and talents, and your impressive knowledge of wines and the history of cocktails. Enjoy the summer heat on your deck and patio with a cool bellini!

Featured photo. Courtesy photo.

Nectarine and strawberry salad

The heat of summer may have you thinking about meals you can make without turning on the stove or the oven. A little something on the grill, a side salad, some bread — it’s a perfect formula for dinner on a hot August day. I find that when I think about salads, I often turn to a green, leafy base. Then, I remind myself to think differently and end up with a salad such as this.

This salad is incredibly easy to make, but (said with much emphasis) you do have to plan a little bit. Before starting the salad prep, you need to make your own simple syrup. If you make your simple syrup the day before you want to eat this salad, you’ll be in good shape. Prep and assemble the salad the next morning, which will take all of about 10 minutes. Then, at dinnertime that night, you have a wonderfully chilled and flavorful salad ready to be eaten.

There are only five ingredients in this recipe, which adds to its simplicity. Make sure you can find nicely ripe nectarines and strawberries. You don’t want overripe, as the time spent macerating will make them too mushy. For the mint, fresh really is best. Dried won’t add the flavor or texture you want. However, for the lime juice, bottled is just fine.

Ingredients in hand, you have a refreshing salad to cool you off!

Nectarine and strawberry salad
Serves 4

2 nectarines
12 strawberries
1½ Tablespoons minced, fresh mint, about 10 leaves
2 Tablespoons simple syrup*
2 Tablespoons lime juice

Chop nectarines and strawberries into bite-sized pieces, discarding pit and leaves.
Transfer to a medium-sized bowl.
Add minced mint and gently toss to combine.
Pour simple syrup and lime juice into a small bowl; stir well.
Add syrup mixture to fruit, and toss gently to combine.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to meld.

*Simple syrup recipe
1 cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
Combine in a small pot and bring to a boil.
Stir until sugar dissolves completely.
Chill.

Featured Photo: Nectarine and Strawberry Salad. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with Rick Carvalho

Rick Carvalho is the owner of OakCraft Pizza (2 Cellu Drive, Suite 111, Nashua, 521-8452, oakcraftpizza.com), a fast-casual eatery specializing in fresh wood-fired pizzas that opened in Nashua’s Amherst Street Village Center last September. A Hollis native, Carvalho said pizza-making started out as a passion project for him a few years ago. In the spring of 2019 he enrolled in an intensive course in Staten Island, New York, where he learned how to make and serve pizzas in a restaurant setting. OakCraft Pizza offers completely customizable options on an assembly line before your pie reaches the end. It’s then ready to be cooked in a wood-fired oven, which came overseas from Italy. There are multiple specialty pizza offerings, or you can choose to build your own — other menu items include cheesy garlic bread, salads, meatballs with red sauce, and hand-filled whoopie pies. Prior to opening OakCraft, Carvalho and his family formerly owned franchises for four Dunkin’ Donuts stores across Nashua.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Definitely a dough scraper, or a baker’s third hand, as people will call it. … It’s just such a great utility tool that makes my life so much easier.

What would you have for your last meal?

Probably a really nice steak, cooked medium, with mashed potatoes … and then I’d finish it off with creme brulee.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

My wife and I got married at LaBelle Winery in Amherst six years ago. We love going there for brunch.

What celebrity would you like to see eating in your restaurant?

I’d probably go with either Matthew McConaughey, because he seems like a cool guy, or Justin Bieber, because I want him to be my target audience as a business. … If Justin Bieber comes into your restaurant and he throws one Instagram post up there about it, I mean, you’re going to retire.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

The Vodka Pie. It has a house-made vodka sauce and fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, mushrooms and just a splash of peas … and then we finish it off with grated imported Parmesan and fresh basil. It’s an ode to a traditional Italian penne alla vodka … so it just kind of brings in a little bit of culture, and it’s something you can’t get anywhere else around here that I know of.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

Definitely vegan options … and then also just a higher-end experience. I think people are starting to finally get that around here, and I think it was a huge push in why we opened and with what we’re doing.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I used to cook a lot at home, actually. … The thing I’ve cooked the most at home would be chicken Parm with just like a simple pasta.

Homemade chicken Parm
From the kitchen of Rick Carvalho of OakCraft Pizza

3 large chicken breasts, halved
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup marinara sauce
1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, with the rack in the middle of the oven. Heat a pan to medium-high heat on the stove and coat with olive oil. Dip chicken breasts in egg, then coat in bread crumbs. Place chicken on the pan to brown each side. Remove chicken from the pan and place in an oven-safe baking dish. Layer chicken and marinara sauce throughout the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake the chicken at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place fresh mozzarella slices on the chicken. FInish cooking until the internal chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees. Enjoy over your choice of pasta.

Featured photo: Rick Carvalho of OakCraft Pizza Courtesy photo.

Brews at the ballpark

Gate City Brewfest returns after three-year hiatus

Unlike most local beer festivals, Gate City Brewfest is unique for welcoming visitors of all ages. That’s because the annual event, returning to Holman Stadium in Nashua for its eighth year on Saturday, Aug. 20, is about more than just pouring beer — attendees are treated to an afternoon filled with games, live music acts, local vendors, food trucks and more.

This is the first time since the pandemic struck that Gate City Brewfest has been able to operate in its traditional format, said Chelsea Dennis, marketing manager of Bellavance Beverage Co., which hosts the event in collaboration with the City of Nashua each year. After taking a year off in 2020, organizers morphed the event into a music festival for 2021. But while they were able to raise funds for the Nashua Police Athletic League, Dennis said it just wasn’t the same.

“We’re excited to bring the event back to a true brewfest form. It’s been three years since then,” Dennis said. “So much has changed in that time, and we just feel like we really have the best year yet on deck. It is going to be a little different, but we think it makes the most sense.”

Since the first event in 2013, the scale of Gate City Brewfest’s offerings has grown considerably — this year, there are expected to be more than 150 individual beers, ciders and seltzers from dozens of local and regional craft breweries to choose from, all in a wide variety of styles.

“They usually decide what they’ll bring like the week before, because it depends on what inventory they have, and if anything new or seasonal is coming out,” Dennis said. “So if they have fall beers, they will try to bring them if they are ready. … I think a safe estimate would be that they each bring three to four options, so all the different kinds of beers are covered.”

Dennis added that a special VIP ticket rate grants attendees access into the ballpark an hour earlier, when a series of exclusive limited beer releases will be served.

Ready-to-drink canned cocktails will also have a larger-than-before presence at this year’s event.

“If you don’t like beer, there are so many options for you,” Dennis said. “Obviously there’s hard cider, which we’ve had every year … but more than that, we have different wine options and vodka-based and tequila-based cocktails that will be there too.”

One of the most notable changes to this year’s Gate City Brewfest is the elimination of the chicken wing competition. While it had remained a big draw over the years, Dennis said the rising costs of product and a lack of staff among restaurant participants were the major factors in the event committee’s decision not to bring the competition back. Instead, the festival is planning to welcome additional food trucks — the Seacoast Pretzel Co., which offers freshly baked Bavarian-style soft pretzels, and The Puddle Jumper, a mobile food trailer brought to you by the owners of The Flight Center Beer Cafe in Nashua, are among this year’s vendors.

A full schedule of live local music acts is planned, courtesy of Evolvement Music. Brother Seamus will kick things off at 1 p.m., followed by Slack Tide at 2:10 p.m. and the Faith Ann Band at 3:30 p.m., Dennis said. A cornhole competition is also going to be open for spectators to watch, but to participate, players must win one of the qualifier rounds at an event leading up to the festival. Upcoming rounds are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. at The Flight Center Beer Cafe in Nashua; Saturday, Aug. 13, at 1 p.m., at Game Changer Sports Bar & Grill in Londonderry; and Sunday, Aug. 14, at 3 p.m., at Boston Billiard Club & Casino in Nashua.

The winner of the competition receives a pair of tickets to the Boston Red Sox game on Sept. 17, along with an overnight hotel stay at The Lenox in Boston and an all-expenses paid trip to Cisco Brewery’s pop-up beer garden in Boston’s Seaport District.

8th annual Gate City Brewfest
When: Saturday, Aug. 20, 1 to 5 p.m. (VIP admittance begins at noon)
Where: Holman Stadium, 67 Amherst St., Nashua
Cost: $35 in advance (through Aug. 18), $50 at the door, $15 for designated drivers and visitors under 21, and free for kids ages 12 and under. VIP tickets are $70 and include early access and an exclusive beer selection. A kickoff party is also scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., at The Thirsty Moose Taphouse (360 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack)
Visit: gatecitybrewfestnh.com
Event is rain or shine. No re-entry or pets allowed. Free shuttle buses will make several stops across Nashua from noon to 5:45 p.m., including at the Elm Street garage, the High Street garage, Main Street and Pearson Avenue, Holman Stadium, and the Main Street bridge after Franklin Street.

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Gate City Brewfest.

Barbecue takeover

Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival returns

Smoked meats and cold brews take center stage at the Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival, returning to Milford’s Hampshire Dome on Saturday, Aug. 13. With eats from more than a dozen local food trucks, the fifth annual event will feature one of the largest showings of food options in its history, along with a beer tent, live local music and artisan vendors.

“We sold out of barbecue last year, so we’re definitely adding more barbecue options,” festival organizer Jody Donohue said. “We’ll have lots of specialty foods this year, [from] different spices, seasonings and dips [to] hand-filled cannolis and fresh-squeezed lemonade on site.”

As during previous years, food trucks will be set up around the perimeter of the dome’s parking lot, with all kinds of offerings both local to New Hampshire and neighboring New England states. Prime Time Grilled Cheese, an attendee favorite since the festival’s inception for its specialty grilled cheeses, is back once again this year, as is Sweet Crunch Bakeshop & Catering Co., which will have its freshly baked cookies. Carla’s Coffee, a mobile trailer formerly known as Jayrard’s Java Cafe, is also carrying on its predecessor’s festival appearance with its Costa Rican coffees and espresso-based drinks, in addition to some smoothies and lemonades.

hands holding a mac and cheese sandwich
Photos courtesy of the Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival.

Newcomers to this year’s festival include The Big Bad Food Truck, which hails from the Seacoast and serves up an always changing menu of scratch-made barbecue comfort items, like beef brisket, pork shoulder, burgers, hand-cut fries and vegan alternatives like jackfruit. Grace’s Kitchen Pizza Truck — known for its specialty pizzas and smaller bites like hand-breaded chicken tenders and loaded Tater Tots — and Friends 4 OBA, which offers various Asian fusion street food options, are also joining the festival’s truck lineup for the first time. Piggy Sue’s Steakin’ Bacon, another new vendor, will be there with its signature “bacon steak” skewers, as well as poutine and fried ice cream.

A “libations tent” will feature a variety of signature craft cocktails, along with local beers from Frogg Brewing of Marlborough and Martha’s Exchange of Nashua, Donohue said. Dozens of vendors will be selling their wares both inside and outside the dome, including everything from handmade baskets, candles and jewelry to soaps, lotions and other personal care products.

Live music will be featured all day long, starting with Matt Bergeron from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by Brian Weeks from 1:45 to 4 p.m. and Peter Pappas from 4:15 p.m. through the end of the event. The “Kidz Zone” is also returning, with various activities available for the younger crowd, like free bounce houses, face-painting, bubbles and henna tattoos.

One activity brand new to this year’s festival, Donohue said, is a mobile ax throwing trailer — it’s brought to you by Axes on the Go, owned by Manchester’s RelAxe Throwing. There will also be indoor cornhole games available to play, and caricature artists are expected to attend.

“We try to incorporate fun for everybody and make it an event where you want to come and stay for a bit,” Donohue said.

Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival
When: Saturday, Aug. 13, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: The Hampshire Dome, 34 Emerson Road, Milford
Cost: General admission tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the gate (free for attendees ages 14 and under). Food and crafts are priced per item.
Visit: gne.ticketleap.com/greatnewenglandfoodtruckmilford to purchase advance tickets online
Free parking and an ATM are available on site. Seating will be provided, but attendees are welcome to bring their own chairs or blankets. No pets are allowed.

Featured photo: Photos courtesy of the Great New England BBQ & Food Truck Festival.

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