A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Berkshire region, including a seminal grunge-rock trio; an exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints; a rock star doing Xmas songs; a jazz couple playing “Silly Love Songs”; and a whole lot more.
Dinosaur Jr
PROTO-GRUNGE AVATARS DINOSAUR JR to PLAY at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Dinosaur Jr, the Amherst, Mass.-based rock trio that in the mid-1980s laid down the format that Pacific Northwest bands including Nirvana would popularize as “grunge-rock,” will drive one hour northwest from their home base to perform in the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA on Saturday, December 10, at 8pm. The group’s innovation was to combine the crunchy, distorted guitar sounds of Sonic Youth and hardcore-punk with catchy melodies by way of the Replacements, sung in a hyper-personal manner by founder and frontman J Mascis. Think Neil Young and Crazy Horse on steroids.
JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTS on VIEW at THE CLARK
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – More than a century of Japanese printing traditions, represented by seventy-three color woodblock prints, will be presented in the Clark Art Institute exhibition Japanese Impressions: Color Woodblock Prints from the Rodbell Family Collection, opening Saturday, December 10. On Sunday, December 11, at 3 pm, an opening lecture by exhibition curator Jay A. Clarke provides an introduction to the exhibition, followed by a conversation with the collector, Adele Rodbell, who has served as a docent at the Clark for nearly forty years.
The exhibition explores the complex and changing relationship among artists, woodblock cutters, and publishers from the ukiyo-e (scenes from the floating world) tradition of the mid-19th century, the shin-hanga (new print) movement of the 1920s and 1930s, and the s?saku-hanga (creative print) movement that began in the 1950s. Japanese Impressions is on view through April 2, 2017.
Melissa Etheridge (photo Myriam Santos)
MELISSA ETHERIDGE to SING XMAS HITS at the MAHAIWE
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Rock singer-songwriter and activist Melissa Etheridge brings her Holiday Trio to the Mahaiwe to perform fan favorites and Christmas classics, such as “Merry Christmas Baby,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “O Night Divine,” on Friday, December 9 at 8pm.
MULTIMEDIA ‘CLUB DIAMOND’ GETS WORK-in-PROGRESS SHOWING at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – “Club Diamond,” a multimedia theater piece, will have a work-in-progress showing in Club B-10 at MASS MoCA on Friday, December 9, at 8pm, as part of the annual Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at the venue. “Club Diamond,” created and written by Saori Tsukada and Nikki Appino, paints the story of a young woman traveling alone from Tokyo to New York City in search of fame, rendering a single narrative through silent film, illustration, and live animation, paired to Tim Fain’s delicate violin composition.
Drawing from Tsukada’s background in Japanese storytelling and Appino’s experience with American film, “Club Diamond” unfolds with a cross-cultural blend of mediums and storytelling techniques. In 1937 Tokyo, an American silent film about a Japanese immigrant is live-narrated by a celebrated Benshi whose existence is being threatened by the impending arrival of the talkies. Ten years later, he will survive under US occupation as a street performer, desperately attempting to finish this story. “Club Diamond” is a modern take on the immigration tale.
The hour-long piece, performed in English and Japanese, is scheduled to premiere at the Public Theatre in New York City in January, 2017.
John Pizzarelli (photo Timothy White)
PIZZARELLI and MOLASKEY to SING McCARTNEY at MAHAIWE
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – It may seem unnecessary to say that husband-and-wife jazz duo John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey will sing “Silly Love Songs” at the Mahaiwe on Sunday, December 11 at 7pm, since they always sing silly love songs, aka pop standards, but they literally will sing “Silly Love Songs” this time, in their “Midnight McCartney” program, based on the legendary jazz guitarist and singer Pizzarelli’s “Midnight McCartney” album, featuring jazz versions of numbers from Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles solo career. The album, and presumably the concert, includes languorous and swinging versions of tunes like “My Love,” “No More Lonely Nights,” “Coming Up,” “Let ‘Em In,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and the holiday smash, “Wonderful Christmastime.”
Joan Osborne
JOAN OSBORNE to BRING BLUESY POP-ROCK to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne brings her blues-inflected original pop-rock compositions to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, December 9, at 8pm. Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation — both a commanding, passionate performer and a frank, emotionally evocative songwriter. Osborne is widely known for her beloved hit song, “(What If God Was) One of Us,” as well as her live performances of “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” and “Heat Wave” in the Grammy Award-winning documentary “Standing in the Shadows of Motown.”
A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy Award nominee, the soulful vocalist and noted song interpreter is a highly sought-after collaborator and guest performer who has performed alongside many notable artists, including The Dead, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, the Holmes Brothers, and Patti Smith.
Counting such legendary artists as Etta James and Ray Charles as influences, Osborne is firmly rooted in R&B and soul, as evidenced by the soul covers she has recorded on her albums “How Sweet It Is” and “Breakfast in Bed,” in addition to “Bring It on Home,” which garnered a Best Blues Album nomination at the 2013 Grammy Awards.