The Pulse Magazine

MARCH 2019 IN THIS ISSUE: COVER STORY

ARTS + CULTURE

6 Worcester Goes Green

28 Red Hot Chili Pipers spice up Scottish music

ENTERTAINMENT

FOOD + DRINK

12 We and the Dawg take a bite out of the Worcester music scene 13 GameOn: Spider-Man is the superhero game we've been waiting for

30 Dining Review: Reunion Tap & Table: A restaurant for every season 31 Hot&Now

14 NowStreaming: Panic! At The Disco / Silvertung / Backstreet Boys

33 PulseBrew: Seven Saws Brewing embraces town history

15 The Central Scene

SPORTS + FITNESS

16 Club Listings

36 Wootown Volleyball: Setting players up for success

20 Pulse Shots 37 FindingBalance: Closed Doors

LIFESTYLE 24 7 kitchen staples to help you eat healthy on a budget

STYLE + BEAUTY 38 New Around the Woo: The Lash Lounge

26 The Luxe List: 5 digital diet solutions 27 This year, try an e-book

39 StyleSavvy: Transitioning your wardrobe

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Paul Giorgio, Publisher pgiorgio@pagioinc.com Sloane Perron, Editor sperron@pagioinc.com Vanessa Herbold, Art Director vherbold@pagioinc.com David Simone, Vice President, Sales dsimone@pagioinc.com

Kim Dunbar, Sports Editor Jennifer Russo, Lifestyle Editor Kimberly Dunbar, Jennifer Russo, Jason Savio, Bernie Whitmore, Michael Wood, Paul Giorgio, Audra Brackett, Merilee Kern, John Trobaugh, Jamie Burke, Rachel Shuster, Writers

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COVER S TO RY

WORCESTER GOES

GREEN (IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE) Spring is here! As the city of Worcester recovers from winter and prepares for its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, there are new and exciting events around every corner. From Spring activities and St. Patrick’s Day festivities to the city’s latest Marijauna policies and Environmental initiatives, Worcester is going green this month!

CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK’S DAY Jason Savio Worcester certainly has the luck of the Irish on its side. Come this St. Patrick’s Day, there will be plenty to do around town leading up to and on the holiday. So, get on your green and pour a pint. Here are a few of the happenings you can check out this year.

Hospitals for Children.“It will be a lot. It will be a nice parade,” she said.

If you are interested in being part of the committee, Murphy said that they are welcoming anyone to join.“Our committee is getting older and smaller,” Murphy said. “You don’t have to be Irish to join the parade committee."

WORCESTER COUNTY ST. PATRICK’S PARADE

DEREK WARFIELD & THE YOUNG WOLFE TONES

It wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day in Worcester without the Worcester County St. Patrick’s Parade. Even though the parade doesn’t actually happen on St. Patrick’s Day, it will surely set the tone for the month as a whole. The rain-or-shine parade will take place 12 p.m. on March 10th, beginning at the intersection of Mill Street and Park Avenue and ending at the intersection of Highland Street and Park Avenue.

There will be a treat in town for those who are looking for some live Irish music in a setting where they can have a pint. On March 14th, at 7 p.m., famed Irish musician and songwriter Derek Warfield will take to the stage with his band, the Young Wolfe Tones at the Worcester Hibernian Cultural Center located at Fiddler’s Green Pub.

Now in it’s 37th year, the annual event is still going strong thanks to the Worcester County St. Patrick’s Day Committee, a group of volunteers who oversee it and help put it together.

Mary Ellen Murphy, chairman of the committee, credits the committee’s dedication to the parade as the reason for its longevity. “(It’s) keeping the Irish heritage going from generation to generation,” she said. “The same people have been on the committee - one gentleman has been on it since it started. It’s a good cause to celebrate the Irish heritage and it’s a fun day,” Murphy added.

Derek Warfield has been performing and recording music since the 60s and has made connections in the Worcester area that are bringing him back here this year.

Brendan Keenan, a local musician who runs the Irish music website CelticWorcester.com, first met Warfield when Keenan's own Irish band, Fergus, opened for Warfield years ago. For the show at Fiddler’s Green Pub, Keenan will be onstage next to Warfield. “(It’s) music that really tells the history of Ireland and sometimes people call it Irish patriotic music,” Keenan said, describing Warfield’s songs. “Derek is also a historian of Irish history so he will be telling a lot of stories about that at the concert,” he added.

“It’s not just about the Irish anymore. It has become very diverse now,” she said.

Proceeds from the show, after expenses, will go to the St. John’s Church’s Food for the Poor program and the Worcester County St. Patrick’s Day Parade, according to CelticWorcester.com. Keenan will also be performing live Irish music with Mike Ladd at the Ballot Box on Parade Day.

What can you expect to see in the parade? Just about every corner of Worcester, with a good dash of Irish charm thrown in.“Stilt walkers, Irish wolf hounds—ginormous dogs that are like little ponies—Irish dancers, the Railers,” Murphy said, naming just a few from a list that also includes Shriners

“In the Irish music community, I think we’re lucky that that the bands in the area are friends with each other and we all work together,” said Keenan. “We do this all year, it’s not just St. Patrick’s Day. We kind of make the case that Irish music sounds good at any month, during any season,” he said.

Just because it may be an “Irish” themed parade, Murphy made it clear that it is a parade for everyone to enjoy.

“WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING” CHOIR CONCERT If you just want a change of pace after having a pint of Guinness and cheering on the Irish Wolf Hounds, there is the “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” choir concert at the Trinity Lutheran Church on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, at 4 p.m.

Sung by Diamonds in the Dust, a non-profit professional vocal ensemble based out of Worcester, “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” will feature performances of classical pieces and other, more familiar songs. The first piece is by Estonian composer, Arvo Part, called “The Deer’s Cry” and is a sixminute vocal work that is based on "the words that legend says St. Patrick penned or made up,” according to Mark Mummert, artistic director of the choir. The second piece is an 11-minute choral arrangement by a British composer, Tarik O’Regan, called “The Spring,” and tells the story of two angelic Irish characters and their encounter with St. Patrick.

“Both of the pieces are St. Patrick in origin, and the piece by O’Regan has traditional Gaelic words in it,” said Mummert.

“It is mostly English but there is a whole section in the middle that is old Irish language,” he said.

Those two pieces are the “highlights,” as Mummert described them.

“We’ll also do two more sets of beloved Irish melodies arranged for choir like ‘Oh, Danny Boy’ and ‘When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,’” he said.

Having started in 2016, this will be Diamonds in the Dust’s first St. Patrick’s Day concert, and one that Mummert hopes that everyone will come out to see.

“We’re going to particularly reach out to the Irish community here in Worcester, which is a very large segment of our population here, and hope that the Irish community comes out with everybody else,” he said.

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GOING GREEN IN WORCESTER

Ryan Cashman It’s difficult to imagine, with all the roadworks and the fact that the Canal District will soon be a village of heavy machinery and caution cones, that Worcester has undergone several initiatives, some spanning over 30 years, to become a greener city. Though the importance of metropolitan environmental impact cannot be overstated, much of the attention on green energy has been focused on larger cities like Boston, Los Angeles, and New York.

Upon its rising prominence as a leading city in Massachusetts, here are some initiatives that showcase Worcester as an environmentally conscious municipality.

City officials are presently in talks with both LimeBike and Gotcha Bike to bring dockless bike sharing programs back to Worcester. After Chinese bike sharing company, Ofo, pulled 400 bikes from Worcester amidst a U.S. downsize, the city began looking for a way to bring the popular service back. Statistical data showed there were over 25,000 rides, mostly within the downtown and college neighborhoods, during Ofo’s tenure. Whichever company the city ends up choosing, the numbers have indicated that bicycling around the city is a competitive alternative to driving or bus travel.

If you’ve walked on any of the city’s green paths or been somewhere that’s made you go: “Wow, I’m in Worcester?”, you owe that feeling to the Greater Worcester Land Trust (GWLT). For over 30 years, the GWLT has been dedicated to conserving Worcester’s open spaces under the auspices of utilizing the natural world as a way of enhancing city life. They recently received a grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs for $85,000, which the GWLT has matched, to purchase the Difley Forest Homestead in Paxton. Acquiring this 72-acre parcel is part of the Four Town Worcester Greenway project, which connects hiking trails in Worcester, Holden, Paxton, and Leicester. This conservation procurement, courtesy of the state grant, will provide what the GWLT calls the “missing piece” of Paxton’s East-West corridor, thereby connecting the town center with its recreational areas. Spencer is slated to be next on the GWLT’s list of trail incorporation.

More focused on community efforts is the Worcester Roots Project, an adult and youth collective which seeks to create opportunities for environmental, social, and economic justice. Every fall, they host an annual Co-Op Academy intensive which lasts 14 weeks.

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The goal is to teach comprehensive lessons on ethical entrepreneurship, hence providing trainees with the tools necessary to create sustainable businesses. Other projects include: the Healing Gardens Institute, promoting the growth of medicinal herbs; the Nuestro Huerto Farm, a community farm on Southgate Street, also providing CSA to residents and producing donations to Jeremiah’s Inn; and a Youth Program designed around business, social justice, and community organization.

Finally, at the city government level, is the Municipal Energy Savings Project, part of the US Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Solutions. Worcester Energy (WE), a municipal organization dedicated to improving efficiency and promoting renewable energy through municipal operations, details the plan on their website. Phase 1 was a modernization effort for some of Worcester’s historic buildings. The city contracted Honeywell for the project and the company has subsequently provided the city with municipal energy measurements and several system upgrades with no upfront cost to taxpayers. This has included the LED conversion of over 14,000 streetlights and a complete overhaul of City Hall’s HVAC system. There are also 41 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) buildings in the city including: UMass Memorial Medical Center, WPI’s recreation center, and the Kohl’s on the city limits.

Phase 4 of the Energy Savings Project showcased solar initiatives as a major priority. Data drawn as recently as 2015 revealed 390 private, educational, and commercial solar projects.

The city also recently completed construction of the 25-acre, 28,600 panel Greenwood Street Solar Farm, a former landfill. This is projected to save the Worcester $69 million in energy costs over a 30-year period. The city is now home to the largest municipal solar farm in all of New England.

Questions are now being floated as to whether the city’s newest construction (a certain ballpark) will be a LEED certified site and if any further construction for the proposed hotels, shops, and common areas will improve the city’s reputation for energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.

Worcester finds itself in a unique position. It is poised to become, once again, a great and thriving New England city. With that newfound spirit, there will be an added push to make sure the city is doing its part to preserve the lands it has at its disposal for the residents of tomorrow, while continuing to provide energy efficient solutions for the residents of today.

420 IN THE 508: DOC'S APPROVAL

Elliot Mercier Today, we are talking about the process of a doctor in Massachusetts prescribing medical marijuana to a patient in need of relief. There are no fancy statistics about the annual amounts of medicinal marijuana prescriptions or physician recommendations yet, but there will certainly be enough evidence by 2020, especially with how quickly weed sales are stacking up here in MA. Right here in the state that looks like an arm trying to flex, it is not currently required to have a prescription to purchase medicinal marijuana but a physician’s approval is still necessary in order to acquire a medical marijuana card. The conditions in which a doctor would recommend treatment via marijuana can be divided into two camps: uncomfortable and unbearable.

Uncomfortable conditions refer to minor mental conditions such as autism and ADHD that make it hard for the individual to focus. Doctor recommendations based on these cases can be rare due to a combination of factors such as the chemical required, Cannabidiol (CBD), being a little harder to find exclusively in common strains of weed, and learning disabilities such as these are still considered difficult to definitively treat. Just like with any mental condition, it’s easy to generalize but it’s truly challenging to find out how much something is personally hindering a unique human being.

Unbearable unsurprisingly refers to those who suffer from afflictions such as PTSD, cancer, hepatitis C and glaucoma: conditions that are proven to be painful no matter what. These prescriptions can even be given to those who suffer from chronic back pain or simply ache and wince all the time after an extensive range of surgeries.

Recommendations for medicinal marijuana by doctors are much easier due to the lack of doubt in misery and the chemical used to alleviate pain being much more common in the main strains of weed being sold on the general green marketplace.

This chemical is called Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and is used to create that high feeling that the drug is most commonly associated with, while CBD is a calming agent. There will be much more detail on these differing chemicals in an upcoming article, but the short version is that just like how acetaminophen and ibuprofen treat pain, individually they cure very specific ailments when used correctly.

So, to put some minds at ease, it’s not as easy to get the doc’s approval to smoke the green stuff as the sensationalists would have you believe. Since the majority of shops around the state are selling medicinal weed exclusively, it’s fair to assume that some eager folks with no debilitating condition might try to exaggerate how much their head hurts from vestigial headaches or how much their jaw hurts after the dentist pulled out a rotten tooth. This idea was a common joke that I was hearing almost seven years before legalization, but nowadays won’t yield any more laughs as we all become informed on this product that used to be considered as dangerous as cocaine.

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SPRINGTIME IN THE WOO

Jennifer Russo With spring right around the corner, and the last of the snow (hopefully) melting away, we are all coming out from our winter hibernation and wanting to get outside and do things. Whether you are an artist or art lover, musician or concert tailgater, sports enthusiast or gym rat, aspiring chef or foodie – Worcester has got you covered this season.

COMEDY: For a good laugh, Piff the Magic Dragon comes to the Hanover Theatre on March 8. This America’s Got Talent finalist is part magician and part comedian and definitely ready to make you laugh those winter blues away. At the WooHaha Comedy Club, March shows are on sale now for Tim Dillon and Anthony Devito as well as the Worcester Recovers show on March 21 featuring comedian Shane Gillis.

MUSIC: If music is more your thing, the DCU Center welcomes country star Luke Combs on March 2. The Hanover Theatre will have America on March 23 and Celtic Woman on April 7. For more classical tastes, Mechanic’s Hall is bringing in the Czech National Symphony and a bunch of free Brown Bag concerts at noon on Wednesdays. The Palladium will rock your world with All That Remains, Born of Osiris, Queensryche and more this month.

SPORTS AND FITNESS: For you sports fans, the Harlem Globetrotters will be dunking and flipping at the DCU Center on March 23. The DCU Center also has all of your Worcester Railers hockey games throughout the month. Don’t forget to register for the Guinness Celtic 5K at Celtic5k.com where you can create or join a team to run on March 10! Like beer with your yoga? Check out Greater Good Brewing Company on March 3 and join their yoga class – one beer included!

ART: The Worcester Art Museum has several beautiful exhibits happening this spring including Stained Glass by Tiffany & La Farge, Lee Mingwei’s Stone Journey, the Medieval Galleries and Travels with Hiroshige. At the Hanover Theatre, Elaine Smollin’s art is on display through March 16. Check out the 1st Hispanic Arts Gallery at the Worcester Popup at 20 Franklin St through March 8. Want to learn how to take the perfect photographic portrait, join the Seeing the Light Workshop with Eric Nichols on March 9 at the Worcester Center for Crafts!

FOOD AND DRINK: Ever wanted to brew your own beer, but didn’t know where to start?

Take a quick drive to Deja Brew in Shrewsbury with some friends and they will show you how. Rather just taste beer instead? Wormtown Brewery is hosting a Beers with the Brewers event on March 7. Aspiring chef? Learn how to make delicious pasta at Volturno Worcester on Shrewsbury St. either March 27 or April 24. Cooking not your thing, but you sure love to eat? It’s Worcester Restaurant Week until March 9 and over 30 restaurants have special pre-fixed menus – check it out at worcesterrestaurantweek.com

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ENT ERTA IN M E N T

WE AND THE DAWG

TAKE A BITE OUT OF THE WORCESTER MUSIC SCENE Jason Savio Gail and Dan Hunt know how to keep a good thing going.

The two have been married for 25 years and are also the bass player and guitarist - and founders - of the ever-evolving We and the Dawg, now in its fifth year. Performing a mix of funk and R & B covers, We and the Dawg currently finds itself as one of Worcester’s most reliable and entertaining bands.

There are eight members in the group, which features a horn section and the new addition of Johnny Blue Horn (who plays, you guessed it, a blue colored horn). Another recent addition is veteran Worcester singer Bruce Reed, who is the “Dawg” in the band’s name. But before there was a “Dawg,” there was a “Mrs. Jones.”

The group’s first incarnation featured Madeline Jones, a singer from Beaumont, Texas, who moved to the Worcester area during her husband’s residency to become an orthopedic surgeon, said the Hunts. “Maddy in her own right is a superstar,” said Dan. “She could sing the phone book and it would be great.”

Playing as We and Mrs. Jones, the group enjoyed success, but it was brief. Madeline and her husband would move back to Beaumont, Texas after about two and a half years, in 2016.

There was a brief moment of panic that followed Jones’ announcement that she was going to leave. Dan described “Googling ‘female singers Central Massachusetts’” and not finding what he was looking for.

The question of who would replace Jones didn’t last long.

Jim Heffernan, keyboardist in We and Mrs. Jones, knew the perfect man for the job, someone whom he had played with before: Bruce Reed. “(Heffernan) mentioned one day that ( Jones) was leaving the band and if I would consider coming down just to listen to them and see if I’d be interested,” said Reed. “That they had Jimmy was enough for me. He’s one of

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the best keyboard players I’ve ever played with and I figured if he’s in the band then it had to be good,” he added.

Both Hunts agree that the shift between Jones and Reed was seamless and there was no need for a break. Reed and Jones even shared the stage for Jones’ last batch of gigs with the band. “Bruce came right in and it was perfect,” said Gail. “It almost turned more into a band feeling (when Reed joined).

Maddy is an unbelievably professional singer, but it was more like her showcase and now it’s just a funk band.”

“Plus, coming from a female vocalist to a male vocalist, it’s kind of two different sounds,” added Dan. “I remember seeing Bruce back in the day and going ‘this guy is awesome.’To have him in a band with you is really fortunate.”

Reed has his own storied history with the Worcester music scene, having performed as a singer and bass player in the popular Tornado Alley in the 80s and as the singer in Big Dawg during the 90s Reed said that he retired from music starting in 1997 and had given it up. But after picking up a few gigs around town here and there, including at Greendale’s Pub’s Blues Jam, he “got the fire back.”

“This is my therapy,” Reed said. “When the world treats you like a dog treats a fire hydrant, the music just takes all that away.”

Despite having some nerves about getting onstage and heading another group - as well as finding his voice again - Reed said that he is having fun with his new band and is grateful for the easy transition.“It was great,” he said about his first experience performing with We and the Dawg alongside Jones. “I didn’t have all the focus on me which was good because I got to get used to it again. Doing it after all that time was very terrifying, but I knew that I could do it if I could get my voice back. I didn’t quite get it (back) but with age comes wisdom, so I can sing around things that I used to just power through.”

With Reed now leading on vocals, the “Dawg” is back in town and ready to take another bite out of the Worcester music scene. We and the Dawg have been at it for just over two years, and, with no end in sight, plan on a solid 2019.

“It’s too good to stop,” said Gail.

Gail and the rest of the band have gigs planned at Bull Mansion and the White Eagle, to name a few. They also have an upcoming show in June at the Worcester Marine Corps League.

The Hunts credit the professionalism and closeness between members of We and the Dawg for the group’s sustained success. Dan and Heffernan even went to high school together before playing in separate bands and again finding each other for We and the Dawg. Reed and We and the Dawg’s trumpet player, Roger Grover, played together in Tornado Alley.

“Life is funny like that, and not even to mention I play with my wife,” Dan said.

The Hunts are clearly the bedrock of We and the Dawg, and their relationship is one that was built on music from the start. Both attended Worcester State and had a class together, but both eventually dropped out. Gail would later see Dan performing with a band at Tammany Hall.

“He remembered and came over,” said Gail, recalling the concert where she saw Dan playing.

“I had a wireless guitar so I went over and I did a solo for her,” said Dan. It must have been a good solo.

“No bad note,” he joked.

For more information, visit facebook.com/weandthedawg

GAMEON:

Spider-Man is the superhero game we've been waiting for Jason Savio One of the most iconic comic book characters finally has his own game that lives up to his legendary stature.

Insomniac Games’ PlayStation 4 exclusive Spider-Man is without a doubt one of the greatest superhero games to ever grace a console, and it takes notes from other games before it to make it the best possible web-slinging experience imaginable.

Armed with a fresh new suit, Spider-Man offers an open world approach, allowing you to swing across New York City like the Web Crawler himself from roof top to roof top as you take on a grandiose storyline complimented by neatly thought-out side missions.

No longer a teenager, you play as a twenty-something Peter Parker who works as a research assistant for Dr. Otto Octavius (more on that in a moment). This more closely resembles the current state of an older Peter Parker in the newest issues of the comic books. Spider-Man knows that we are already well aware of the Web Crawler’s background and that we don’t need to be told it again, avoiding any drawn-out origin details.

Instead, Spider-Man introduces a whole new group of villains led by a secret mastermind who, as you might have guessed it, is right under Parker’s nose. But, as you might have incorrectly surmised, it’s not Doc Oc. He is not the supervillain we have come to know at the start of the game. There are hints of his transformation into a baddie, but it’s a slow burn, as is much of the storyline.

Spider-Man has the most colorful rogues’ gallery in all of comics, and Spider-Man patiently—and wisely—waits to introduce them in the best spots possible. It’s not bad-guy overload like many other superhero games, nor is it your dad’s SpiderMan story. Sure, Peter still has that Bad Parker Luck and can barely balance both his personal life and superhero life, but overall, this story has been revamped and given a tune-up from the classic.

Perhaps the biggest thing that stands out about Spider-Man is not its masterfully crafted storyline, but rather its exceptional gameplay. It’s no coincidence that gamers find the mechanics strangely similar. That’s because Spider-Man unabashedly takes a page (or three) straight from the book of the hugely popular Batman: Arkham games. The similarities between the two games is unmistakable, from the fluid fighting approach down to descrambling frequencies and perching atop a roof; all are basically the exact same as in the Batman: Arkham series. And that’s a good thing. Those Batman: Arkham games were popular for a reason. SpiderMan’s open-world approach and map setup, featuring numerous side missions and challenges, also brings to mind the presentation of the Batman: Arkham games, as well as the latest Grand Theft Auto releases and Red Dead Redemption.

There is a whole lot to do in Spider-Man. Whether it’s diving into the main story or the side missions, you’ll never get bored. Perhaps one of the most exciting things, however, is simply swinging through the concrete canyons of New York City. If you time it right, you can glide across the sun setting against the city skyline and, for a moment, get a sense of the wonder of being Spider-Man. Spider-Man will have your spidey-senses tingling in the best way possible.

Simply put, it is amazing.

For more information, visit playstation.com/en-us/games/marvels-spider-man-ps4

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BACKSTREET BOYS / DNA Mike Wood We may not be able to sustain ourselves on a steady diet of nostalgia alone, but fear not: the now-grown-

men of the Backstreet Boys got the memo. For

their tenth studio album, the Backstreet Boys have embraced a formula that tweaks their signature sound ever-so-slightly in hopes of retaining their dedicated boyband fanbase from more than 25 years ago, while

simultaneously luring in a whole new generation of

fans into their sugary pop embrace with modern

flourishes. DNA has plenty of the Backstreet Boys’ brand of harmony-heavy pop, but we are also privy

to some country, some funk, and some smooth R&B stylings. The variety of sounds speaks to their musical

growth through the decades, and while the Boys of

2019 may not have a hit like “I Want It That Way” on their hands here, DNA proves that staying power is in their genes.

The Backstreet Boys’ voices have stood up to the

PANIC! AT THE DISCO / PRAY FOR THE WICKED

SILVERTUNG / (BUT, AT WHAT COST??!)

Jennifer Russo

Jason Savio

Panic! emerged in 2004 out of Las Vegas as a somewhat 60s throwback, but with an emo twist kind of act. They met some success right away, hitting double platinum on their first album in 2005. Fast forward to today: with Brendon Urie as the only member of the original band, the latest album, Pray for the Wicked, which was released last year, has launched another slew of award nominations including an American Music Award (won), Teen Choice Award, Best Rock Video Award, Rock Sound Award (won), MTV Europe Music Award (won) and several nominations for iHeartRadio Music Awards.

Worried that the badass element of rock has disappeared into the ether? Fret no more, because Silvertung is bringing back the kick-in-the-pants you’ve been missing.

The album is a fun take on pop, with an obvious “not a care in the world” vibe that permeates each song. It plays homage to all Urie has seen and experienced in the world of fame and getting there. His vocal range is explored in its entirety all across this album, with some gravity defying runs that would make Mariah turn her head.

Heavy is an understatement, because some of the songs chug with an absolutely devastating blow. The opening “Dodging Bullets” is a perfect example, complete with a breakdown that falls over a cliff. Heavily distorted power chords and a pummeling rhythm section are on the menu, and Silvertung knows how to serve it up just right. The quartet has a knack for balancing the rough edges with surprisingly melodic rhythms and vocals.

“World Gone Mad” sounds like a march into war with power chords that drop like a bomb, but juxtaposed with a chorus that moves fluidly and isn’t stagnant or stuck in the mud like many other rock songs tend to get.

The best known single on the album so far is “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”, which has that freedom-soaked rebellion from all things organized feeling and is worthy of blaring in the car. Following closely in popularity since it’s been on the radio is “High Hopes”. I love this song and all its anthem-like glory. The song tracks his pursuit of stardom and all its highs and lows, the support he received as he kept on trekking towards his vision and the importance of being authentic.

On their new album, (But, at What Cost??!), the Maryland-based band gets back to their bread and butter of heavy and melodic rock following their allacoustic album Lighten Up.

“King of the Clouds” is one of the more interesting tracks on the album. It’s a journey through black holes and not knowing what is real or not. It’s almost a soundtrack to that extremely philosophical friend who has had one too many, and starts getting all Dr. Who on you. It’s a cool song.

There is a definite sense of paranoia in a lot of vocalist, Speed’s lyrics. He mentions the power of fear and its ability to control oneself on both the aforementioned “World Gone Mad” and “You’re Fine.” In the latter, he sings “I know your fear controls you,” but later follows it up with, “You’re so much stronger than you think” and, “You’re better than this!”

head-bopping pop just like they did more than two decades ago…if you’re up for it.

The last song on the album is the lone ballad, “Dying in LA”, and is a soulful story about searching for that fame in California, surrounded by the glitz and gold, but falling into the trap of industry lies. Despite the sadness in the lyrics, the song is so beautifully done.

Taking Speed’s motivational lyrics and combining them with the powerful eruption of guitar and drums, you have a balls-to-the-wall rock record that will certainly get you pumped up.

For more information, visit backstreetboys.com.

For more information, visit panicatthedisco.com.

For more information visit silvertung.com

test of time, and while they always could harmonize, here each member is also given his chance to shine in the musical spotlight. One of DNA’s highlights

has got to be “Breathe” — sung entirely acapella, it showcases their on point vocal abilities and is a

reminder that while BSB may not be for everybody, they can still land the hooks, harmonize and produce

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THE CENTRAL SCENE:

Events happening in Central Massachusetts: WORCESTER RESTAURANT WEEK Fill your appetite without emptying your wallet! The winter edition of Worcester

Restaurant Week begins Feb. 25 and runs through March 9. Worcester

Restaurant Week allows people to sample food from a wide variety of Worcester’s best restaurants without breaking the bank. Participating restaurants lower their prices and create a special menu, offering a three-course meal for only $25.19. Through March 9; participating restaurants around Worcester; $25.19; worcesterrestaurantweek.com.

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING Celebrate the culture and music of the Emerald Isle during this unqiue musical performance. Diamonds From The Dust, Worcester’s professional vocal ensemble, honors St. Patrick’s Day in a concert of choral works of and from

Ireland. 4 p.m. March 17; Trinity Lutheran Church, 73 Lancaster St., Worcester; $10 - $30, eventbrite.com.

FORGING WORKSHOP In this 3.5-hour class, students will learn the basic techniques of making a blade, using a railroad spike. Students will have the opportunity to make one knife of

their own, as well as gain the knowledge for modifying and making more in the future. 11:30 a.m. March 17; The WorcShop, 243 Stafford St., Worcester; $80 - $95, eventbrite.com.

THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL BALLET PERFORMS SWAN LAKE Music Worcester’s annual presentation of fully-staged, classical ballet returns to one of the best-known tales: Swan Lake. Performed by the Russian National

Ballet, this dance masterpiece will leave Worcester audiences spell-bound. 8 p.m. March 22; The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester; $41 - $59, thehanovertheatre.org.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS The Harlem Globetrotters are legendary worldwide, synonymous with one-of-a-

kind family entertainment and great basketball skills for the past 91 years. This

performance basketball team stops in Worcester to showcase its amazing skills on the court. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 23; DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester; harlemglobetrotters.com.

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CLUB LISTINGS

Mar 28: Scott Babineau Mar 29: Rita Tolman Mar 30: Midnight Sharp Boulder Cafe 880 Main St., Fitchburg 978-345-0008

435 Bar & Grill 435 Lancaster St., Leominster Mar 8: Fred Ellsworth Mar 9: Brian Chaffee Mar 15: Andy Fichtel Mar 16: Steve Ciccolin Mar 22: Mike Melendez Mar 23: Lizzy Marquis Mar 29: Rick Hamel Mar 30: The Brother Stereo Art’s Diner 541 W. Boylston St., Worc.

774-530-6120 Wednesday: Live Acoustic 6:30 p.m.

B-Man’s 140 Tavern 348 Redemption Rock Trail, Sterling 978-422-9763 140pub.com Sunday: Live Music Barber’s Crossing Road House 861 Main St., Leicester 508-892-7575 barberscrossingrestaurant.com Mar 8: Bret Talbert: Live & Acoustified!

Barbers Crossing (North) 175 Leominster Road, Sterling 978-422-8438 barberscrossingrestaurant.com Friday: Bill McCarthy Thursday: Open Mic Beatnik’s 433 Park Ave., Worc.

508-926-8877 beatniksbeyou.com Thursday: Center Stage Karaoke Wednesday: Wednesday Night Mayhem Mar 8: Kyle Fleming Mar 10: St Patrick›s Parade Day Party w/Jesse and His Ghosts, Lauren Baker, & Chris Vee Mar 15: Ten Gold Dollars & O’l Brown Shoe Mar 16: Terry B & the small dogs Mar 22: Heads of Steam Mar 23: Groovalottos Mar 29: Hero for Hire Mar 30: Rap Show with Pray 4 Me Records Billy’s Pub 81 Clinton St., Shrewsbury 508-425-3353 Friday and Saturday: Live Music Black Sheep Tavern 261 Leominster Road, Sterling 978-422-8484 Friday and Saturday: Live Music Mar 17: Annual St Patrick›s Day Bash with Chris Reddy Blueprint New American Bar & Grill 9 Village Square, Westminster 978-668-5580 Mar 7: Dan Cormier Mar 8: Whitney Doucette Mar 9: Jay Matarano Mar 14: Mike Melendez Mar 15: Lizzy Marquis Mar 16: Dave Harrington Mar 21: Chris Reddy Acoustic Loops from Hell Mar 22: Ken Macy Band Mar 23: Brian Dickens

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Breakaway Billiards 104 Sterling St., Clinton 978-365-6105 Mar 9: Wicked Daughter Mar 16: Synergy - St Patrick›s Party Bull Run Restaurant 215 Great Road, Shirley 978-425-4311, 877-536-7190 bullrunrestaurant.com Mar 8: Gary Hoey Mar 9: Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters Mar 14: The Outlaws Mar 15: Adam Ezra Mar 30: Invisible Sun - A Tribute to The Police Chuck’s Steak House and Margarita Grill 10 Prospect St., Auburn 508-832-2553 chucks.com Compass Tavern 90 Harding St., Worc.

508-304-6044 thecompasstavern.com Thurs., Fri., Sat.: DJs – 10 pm Mar 8: Chris Reddy Irish Acoustic Mar 10: St Patrick’s Post Parade Party w/ Mark Renburke Mar 15: Rick Hamel Mar 17: St Patrick’s Day Party Mar 22: FM Live Mar 29: David Garden Days End Tavern 287 Main St., Oxford 508-987-1006 daysendtavern.com Saturday: Club Den Dance Club Mar 8: Dezi Garcia Mar 9: Drunken Uncles Mar 9: DJ Cortes Mar 15: DJ Joey Lavish Rap Show in the Club Den Mar 15: Papa Joe Mar 16: DJ Soup Mar 22: Laughing in The Den Comedy Show Mar 22: Spaceout band rocks in Oxford!

Mar 23: DJ Justin Sane Mar 29: Sean Ryan Mar 30: Acoustic Karaoke with Rich Teter (Teeter Todders) Mar 30: DJ Chris JR Electric Haze 26 Millbury St, Worc.

508-799-0629 Fiddlers’ Green Pub & Restaurant 19 Temple St., Worc.

508-792-3700 fiddlersgreenworcester.com Funky Murphy’s Bar & Grill 305 Shrewsbury St., Worc.

508-753-2995 funkymurphys.com Sun., Mon., Wed., Thur.: Live Music Mar 10: Parade Day Party with Josh Briggs & Terry Brennan Mar 17: Terry Brennan (4-6pm) Mar 17: Brennan Brothers (6-11pm)

Gardner Ale House 74 Parker St., Gardner 978-669-0122 gardnerale.com Monday: Blue Mondays - Live Blues Thursday: Big Music Nights & Audio Wasabi Mar 3: Live Jazz Brunch Buffet Mar 8: Strumburg Mar 15: The Green Sisters Mar 16: Boothill Express Mar 22: Toddamy Mar 23: Fellowship of The King The GazBar Sports Grill 1045 Central St., Leominster thegazbar.com Mar 7: Red Bridge Duo Mar 8: James Bradley Mar 9: Jae Mannion Mar 14: Rick Hamel Mar 15: Two Timers Mar 16: Ashley & Ethan Mar 21: Joe Macey Mar 22: Chris Terp Mar 23: Mike Melendez Mar 28: Lizzy Marquis Mar 29: Dan Kirouac Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co. 55 Millbrook St., Worcester ggimperials.com.

Mar 7: Funky Duo “John & Tyler” Mar 8: Guiliano D’Orazio Mar 9: Ken Graff Mar 10: Dave Alves Mar 14: Dave Rivers Mar 15: Colt & The Coyotes Mar 16: Hit the Bus Mar 21: Gracie Day Mar 22: Jared Fiske Mar 23: Jay Graham Mar 24: Hip Swayers Mar 28: Chad Clements Mar 29: Ricky Booth Mar 30: Double Dose of Dave Greendale’s Pub 404 W. Boylston St., Worc.

508-853-1350 greendalespub.com Sunday: Sunday Blues Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday jam Mar 8: Riff Raff Mar 9: Boom Box Mar 10: Sunday Jam hosted by Mike G featuring Brett Brumby Mar 15: Inxpensive Winos Mar 16: Fellowship of The King Mar 17: Sunday Jam hosted by Mike G featuring Jim Perry Mar 23: Ayahua SCA Blues Project Mar 24: Sunday Jam hosted by Mike G featuring Tony Soul & Mike K Mar 29: Rattlesnake Shake Mar 30: Intersteller Mar 31: Sunday Jam hosted by Mike G featuring Brookfield Rhythm Halligan’s Sports Bar and More 889 Southbridge St., Auburn 508-832-6793 halliganssportsbarandmore.com Friday and Saturday: Live Music Happy Jack’s 785 North Main St., Leominster 978-466-3433 Mar 8: Carl Ayotte Mar 9: Ken Macy Mar 15: Jim Weeks Mar 16: Lost Artifacts Mar 22: Scott Babineau Mar 23: Sean Fullerton Mar 29: Steve Tolley Mar 30: Rick Hamel

Hotel Vernon 1 Millbury St., Worc.

Indian Ranch 200 Gore Road, Webster 508-943-3871 indianranch.com Legends Airport Road, Fitchburg 978-342-6500 Mar 8: Matt Soper Mar 13: Dave Harrington Mar 20: Dan Cormier Mar 22: Lizzy Marquis Loft 266 Bar & Lounge 266 Park Ave., Worc.

508-796-5177 loft266.com Thursday: DJ XKaliber Fri. and Sat.: DJ Joe T Mar 8: Jay Graham Mar 10: Jim Devlin Band –St Patrick’s Day Parade 11 am MB Lounge 40 Grafton St., Worc.

508-799-4521 mblounge.com Wednesday: Karaoke with Mikey Mic›s Mar 16: Fundraiser for Andy Rodriguez McNally’s Grille & Pub 88 Sargent Rd, Westminster 978-874-1444 Mar 16 & 17: Irish Music w/ Seamus and Eileen Medusa Brewing Company 111 Main St., Hudson 978-310-1933 medusabrewing.com Mar 7: Open Mic Night Mar 8: Rob Compa & Mike Macdonald Mar 15: Van Gordon Martin Mar 16: August First Mar 17: Jazz TBA Mar 21: Open Mic Night Mar 23: Adam Sickler Mar 29: Dave Ashman Jr Mar 30: The Combs Brothers Michael’s Cigar Bar 1 Exchange Place, Worc.

508-459-9035 michaelscigar.com Mar 6: Amanda Cote Mar 7: Chris Reddy Acoustic Loops from Hell Mar 8: Hit the Bus Mar 9: Mystic River Band Mar 10: Eric Fournier Mar 13: Mike Melendez Mar 14: Jim Devlin Mar 15: Spaceout Mar 16: Bitter Suite Mar 17: Hot Letter Mar 20: David Bazin Mar 21: Graham Mosely Mar 22: Blue Light Bandits Mar 23: The Brumbletones Mar 24: Mike Melendez Mar 27: Josh Briggs Mar 28: Eric Fournier Mar 29: Doctor Robert Mar 30: McKinley's Mood Continued on Page 19

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Continued from Page 16

The Mill 185 185 W. Boylston St., W. Boylston 774-261-8585 themill185.com Mar 7: Josh Briggs Mar 8: Belit Mar 9: Chris Reddy Irish Acoustic Mar 14: Night Train Mar 15: Jay Graham Mar 21: Steve Angellis Mar 22: Chad Clements Mar 23: Bill McCarthy Mar 28: Brother Rex Mar 29: Mychael David Mar 30: Ricky Duran

Padavano’s Place 358 Shrewsbury St., Worc.

774-823-3022 padavanosplace.com Mar 5: Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Party

Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner 148 Grove St., Worc.

508-753-9543 ralphsrockdiner.com

The Palladium 261 Main St., Worc.

508-797-9696 thepalladium.net Mar 7: Born of Osiris – The Simulation Tour Mar 15: Every Man For Himself - Boxing Mar 17: Blueface Mar 29: Twiztid Mar 31: Red Sun Rising: The Peel Tour

Mill City Pub 19 Airport Rd., Fitchburg 978-342-2134 Thursday: DJ Trivia Mar 8: Comedy Night Fundraiser Mar 9: M Curley & The Customs Mar 15: Jah Spirit Mar 16: Small Town Mar 22: Big Dave & The Captain Mar 29: Running With Scissors

Partner’s Pub 970 South St., Fitchburg 978-345-5051 partnerspub.com Sun., Wed., Fri.: Karaoke Mar 9: Second Chance Mar 16: St. Patrick’s Day Bash w/Sean Daley & The Hooligans Mar 17: Irish Karaoke Mar 23: Dazed Till Dawn Mar 30: Rock It

The Raven 258 Pleasant St., Worc.

508-304-8133 Wednesday: Open Mic Mar 15: Trigger The Fall, Bloodline, Feed The Beast, Wrought Iron Hex Mar 16: Sewa Side Squad Listening Party Mar 22: Marko & The Bruisers, The Lost Riots, Color Killer, The Prozacs, Eazy Killer Mar 23: Frnemy, Faced, A Kings Descendant, Machine Gun Mayhem Mar 24: theband Vú/PleaseDontSleep/ ShallowPools/RVRCT/The Burning Lights

The Monument Tap 13 Central St., Leominster 978-798-4653 monumenttap.com Mar 6: Wicked Pissah Comedy Show Mar 7: Dining for Hunger Mar 8: Small Town Mar 14: Chris Reddy Mar 16: The Stillwater String Band Mar 29: Honkytonk Hangover

Patsie Dugan’s 49 Millbury St., Worc.

508-755-4155 patsiedugans.com

The Muse 536 Main St., Worc.

508-756-6873 Nick’s Bar and Restaurant 124 Millbury St., Worc.

508-753-4030 Friday: Thank Friday It's Dr. Nat! Sunday: Listen! Weekly Poetry event Mar 8: Cara Brindisi Mar 9: Kristen Ford Mar 22: Gracie Day In the Cabaret Mar 23: WOOtenanny Presents: The Sort of Late Show with Shaun Connolly Mar 23: WOOtenanny Presents: The Sort of Late Show with Shaun Connolly Mar 23: GrandEvolution duo Mar 28: Dan Burke Mar 28: Karaoke w/ DJ Matt R Mar 29: WOOtenanny Presents: Polytheist Mar 29: WOOtenanny Presents: Polytheist a One Man Show by Brett Johnson Mar 29: Brooks Milgate Mar 30: The Duende Project Mar 30: The Midnight Mystery Cabaret, featuring The Furies!

The Nines Neighborhood Bar 136 Millbury St., Worc.

508-340-0318 Olde Post Office Pub 1 Ray St., N. Grafton 508-839-6106

The Pint 58 Shrewsbury St., Worc.

508-414-1314 Press Box 536 Lincoln St., Worc.

508-856-9255 Saturday: Karaoke Saturdays Mar 10: Chris Reddy Irish Acoustic Mar 15: Kryngle Daly Mar 17: Kryngle Daly Purgatory Beer Company 670 Linwood Ave, Whitinsville 508-596-2194 Sat. and Sun.: Food Trucks Mar 9: The McCrites Mar 15: Blue House Between Mar 16: Irish Step Dancers and Irish Band, Ladd/Loftus/MacLeod Quinn’s Irish Pub 715 W. Boylston St., Worc.

508-459-2025 quinnsirishpub.com Mar 6: Terry Brennan Mar 7: John Brazile Mar 8: Chad Clements Mar 9: Terry Brennan Mar 10: Graham Brown Mar 13: Josh Briggs Mar 14: Sam James Mar 15: Kevin Shields Mar 16: The Brennan Brothers Mar 20: Brett Brumby Mar 21: John Brazile Mar 22: Whitney Doucette Mar 23: Josh Briggs Mar 24: John Brazile Mar 27: Chris Reddy Mar 28: Sam James Mar 29: FM Live Mar 30: Kevin Shields Mar 31: Sarah Carcia

River Styx Brewing 166 Boulder Drive , Fitchburg riverstyxbrewing.com Thursday: Thursday Night Trivia Mar 8: Ryan Hood Mar 9: Tom Milligan Mar 15: Sean Daley - Irish Night Mar 16: Karaoke & Irish fare Mar 17: Irish Vinyl Day Mar 22: 77 Suspects Mar 23: Steve Volkman Mar 29: Kerr Griffin Mar 30: Paul Courchaine Rock Bar 81 Water St., Worcester 774-243-7000 Mar 15: Sick Season (Alice in Chains Tribute) Mar 23: Tongue Tied Mar 30: Clamdigger Rye & Thyme 14 Monument Square, Leominster 978-534-5900 ryeandthyme.com Mar 7: Finest Hour Mar 8: The Jazz Depot Mar 9: The Rogue Loons Mar 14: Scott Babineau Mar 15: Cast Irons with My So Called Music Mar 16: Krakow Mar 17: The Promise is Hope Mar 21: Dan Cormier Mar 22: Carlos Odria Quartet Mar 23: Doctor Robert Mar 24: Dave Harrington Mar 28: Jay Graham Mar 29: Ken Macy Band Mar 31: New Pond Fondle Singapore Restaurant 170 Whalon St., Fitchburg 978-345-0132 facebook.com/singaporerestaurantMA Mar 15 - Mar 16: Doctor Robert

South Side Grille & Margarita Factory 242 W. Broadway, Gardner 978-632-1057 southsidemargaritafactory.com Mar 8: Rick Hamel Mar 9: Phineas Gage Mar 15: Scott Babineau Mar 16: Electric Green Mar 22: Dave Andrews Mar 23: The Fabulous Dinosaurs Mar 29: Dave Harrington Mar 30: Whiskey Johnson The Tavern on Central 3 Central St., Ashburnham 978-827-1272 thetavernoncentral.com Mar 8: Midnight Sharp Mar 9: Scott Babineau Mar 15: Neon Alley Mar 16: JCDC Mar 23: Trebek Mar 29: Katie Louise Mar 30: Evan Foisey Valentino’s Press & Pour 154 Shrewsbury St., Worc.

774-530-6130 Victory Bar & Cigar 56 Shrewsbury St., Worc.

508-756-4747 victorycigarbar.com Vincent’s Bar 49 Suffolk St., Worc.

508-752-9439 Tuesday : Boogie Chillin’ Whiskey Hookah Lounge 316 Main St., Worc.

Whiskey on Water 97 Water St., Worc.

774-578-8829 whiskeyonwater.com Sun. and Wed.: Video Karaoke with DJ Soup Friday: DJ TecThreat Thur., Mar 7 - Mar 14: DJ Rivas Mar 8: Sam Nitsch Mar 9: The Flat Five Mar 9: DJ Ragoza Mar 15: The New System Mar 16: Cover Story Mar 16: DJ XKaliber Mar 21: DJ Cuz’n Kev Mar 22: Grayson TY Duo Mar 23: Tequila Bonfire Mar 23: DJ Screwloose Mar 29: On the Rocks Mar 30: The Royal Furs Mar 30: DJ Ragoza White Eagle Polish Club 112 Green St., Worc.

774-245-1991 Thursday: Musical Bingo Thur., Mar 7 - Mar 28: DJ Cookie Mar 9: We & The Dawg Mar 10: Parade Day with The Bubbleheads – 3 pm Mar 16: Flock of Assholes Sat., Mar 23 - Mar 30: Dj Cooki

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WHISKEY ON WATER – WORCESTER

BY JUSTIN PERRY

COMPASS TAVERN – WORCESTER

THE PINT – SHREWSBURY ROCK BAR – WORCESTER

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QUINN'S IRISH PUB – WORCESTER

THE MILL 185 – WEST BOYLSTON

THE BOARDROOM – WORCESTER

GAZBAR SPORTS GRILL – LEOMINSTER

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LI F ESTY LE

7 KITCHEN STAPLES TO HELP YOU EAT HEALTHY ON A BUDGET JJ Virgin

FROZEN BERRIES AND CHERRIES

Have you heard the old myth that it’s too expensive to eat healthy? It’s time to put this rumor to rest so you can get on with enjoying a healthy lifestyle while staying on a reasonable budget! First, let’s be honest: The real culprit for expensive food bills is usually dining out or buying food at the last minute.

We’ve all been there: a trip to the store for one or two necessities turns into one or two bags full of groceries, and those expensive packaged foods sneak in. Nothing kills a budget faster than lack of planning and impulse shopping!

These delicious fruits are low-sugar impact and a favorite staple for my daily protein shakes (which are the ultimate easy, inexpensive meal – more on this later!). Remember to buy organic whenever possible. Rich in fiber, omega-3s, and antioxidants, it’s no surprise berries and cherries are a yummy superfood that can keep you full between meals, not to mention reduce cellular aging. Yes, please!

Both of these seeds are little superfood powerhouses loaded with protein, healthy fats, and fiber that can help fight inflammation, boost brain function, and keep you full for hours. Add chia or flaxseed to smoothies, marinara sauce, or soup for an easy nutrition boost. And with just five minutes to prep the night before, you’re saving time and money with a sweet, hearty meal the next morning!

LEAFY GREENS AND ZUCCHINI

Last but most definitely not least, protein shakes have been one of the most important staples on my shopping list for over 30 years. This should be no surprise considering protein shakes are a healthy, cost-effective way to replace one or two meals a day. You can make a nourishing, complete meal for under $3.50, and that includes organic frozen fruit. This single kitchen staple can make all the difference in jumpstarting your metabolism for fast fat loss, while giving your body everything it needs to boost energy and fight cravings until it’s time for your next meal.

My cost-saving and proven solution is to plan ahead and stock up on healthy staples to have on hand at all times. Keeping your pantry and fridge stocked with smart, nutritious options not only makes eating healthy cost-effective, it also makes choosing the right foods practically automatic, reduces temptation, and saves tons of time – definite wins! The secret is to buy foods that are packed with amazing health benefits, super-satisfying, and ultra-versatile. Stock up your freezer when produce is in season and watch for good buys on your favorite staples.

Not sure where to start? I’ve got you covered! Here are seven essentials I always keep in my kitchen, so I never have to worry about breaking the bank while eating healthy:

COCONUT OIL AND COCONUT MILK

This pair of fantastic superfoods can help you boost weight loss, fight infection, and prevent heart disease. And they’re so versatile, you can blend them into your protein shakes, add fullfat coconut cream to thicken savory soups or stews, and even whip up a decadent coconut ice cream for a guilt-free, lowsugar impact dessert.

BONE BROTH

The bone broth hype is real: every sip is rich in amino acids and minerals that can promote weight loss, enhance metabolism, reduce your appetite, and strengthen your immune system!

Meanwhile, the collagen in bone broth helps keep your skin, hair, and joints youthful and strong. Bone broth adds an easy boost of flavor and nutrition when you use it to boil veggies, rice, or quinoa instead of using plain water. I always keep a few bags in the freezer for convenience.

Whether you’re vegan or Paleo, we can all agree that leafy greens should have a starring role in any healthy diet. Fortunately, organic greens are also very affordable, especially if you buy while they’re in season! A rich source of vitamins A, C, K, folate, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, you’ll want to stock up so you have enough greens for five servings a day (It’s easy when you sneak a half cup of frozen spinach into your smoothie and toss some chard and arugula in a generous salad at lunch). I also keep zucchini on hand for making yummy zoodles as a healthy pasta replacement – you can go all zoodle or mix them half and half with quinoa or lentil gluten-free pasta.

QUINOA, WILD RICE, AND CAULIFLOWER RICE

Any one of this trio of slow-low carb options is a great way to round out a meal, especially when you eat by the Sugar Impact Diet Plate. These three are my staples to create the perfect meal in minutes. Cauliflower rice (a.k.a. riced cauliflower) is extremely affordable and available in the freezer section of your local grocery store. You can also make it yourself in seconds by running a head of washed organic cauliflower through the grater setting on your food processor! I often mix my cauliflower rice half and half with wild rice – it’s actually a grass and fantastic for you. This grain-free option is high in fiber and vitamins, plus it’s very affordable and will last for months in your pantry. And of course, there’s quinoa. It used to be a rarity, but now this superfood has gone mainstream and is even more affordable as a result.

CHIA SEED AND FLAXSEED

PROTEIN SHAKES

Looking and feeling your best is priceless, but they’re both achievable even if you’re on a strict budget. Now you’re all set to make tasty, healthy meals while keeping your grocery bill and waistline lean!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHIA PROTEIN SHAKE Ingredients • 2 scoops Chocolate All-In-One Protein Shake mix (your choice Paleo or plant-based) • 1 cup frozen organic unsweetened dark cherries • 1-2 tbsp chia seeds • 1/2 cup unsweetened cultured coconut milk or full-fat plain Greek yogurt (both in the yogurt aisle) • 1/2 cup cold filtered water Directions 1. Blend the ingredients together until smooth. (If you’re using Paleo shake mix, ramp up the blender speed slowly to keep it creamy.)

2. Your shake can be thickened by adding ice cubes or thinned by adding more cold water. So good!

JJ Virgin, CNS, BCHN, EP-C, Celebrity Nutrition Expert, Fitness Hall of Famer, podcaster, and four-time NY Times best-selling author of titles including The Virgin Diet, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet, and the companion cookbooks. Her latest book is Warrior Mom: 7 Secrets to Bold, Brave Resilience. You can find JJ online at www.JJVirgin.com.

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THE LUXE LIST

5 DIGITAL DIET SOLUTIONS Merilee Kern With the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) having debuted multiple dietfocused consumer technologies, including devices that analyze the gases in people’s breath to uncover what diet improvements would be helpful for them, there is much ado about progressive digital solutions fostering slimdown success this New Year and beyond. With that in mind and amid March National Nutrition Month, here’s a roundup of five savvy tech solutions poised to help us shed those stubborn, unwanted pounds easier, more effectively and more sustainably for the long-term:

LUMEN AND FOODMARBLE

Showcased at this year’s CES show, both are pocket-sized devices that users blow into. They pair with smartphone apps that tell people things like how well they are digesting food or burning calories. The firm behind Lumen states that their device provides a way for people to monitor their metabolisms. The device also has the capability of determining if the user is burning carbs or fats. Meanwhile, FoodMarble measures hydrogen levels in an attempt to make deductions about a person’s digestive health. The thought is that the device can be to help people avoid foods that cause bloating, abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal symptoms.

ESCALI PRIMO DIGITAL SCALE

Assuredly due to the Escali Primo Digital Scale’s accuracy, speed and simplicity, it’s twice been rated as a best value product by a leading independent consumer magazine, and was also recently named the “best kitchen scale for most people” by other key media. This device is capable of measuring in increments of 1 gram or 0.05 ounces and has the capacity to measure up to 11 pounds of food at once. Two-button controls facilitate ease of use, and a protective shield on the control panel prevents accidental spills from compromising performance. Battery life is also prolonged with an auto shut-off feature. Amazon.com.

NAKED HOME BODY SCANNER

Leverage the power of infrared light to capture a 3D model of your body with the Home Body Scanner from Naked Labs. The scanner itself is built into an attractive smart mirror with sensors that measure important metrics and calculate measurements. An integrated app allows you to track your progress. The Home Body Scanner is designed to help you visualize your progress and body fat percentage as it happens, with a focus on weight loss, performance, and recomposition.

You’ll be able to literally watch your body as it changes each day. NakedLabs.com.

HEALTHYWAGE

This app actually PAYS you to lose weight! With the HealthyWage app, you determine how much weight you want to lose, how long you want to take to lose it, and how much you want to wager each month. If you successfully reach your goal by the end date of your challenge, you win your prize. The average HealthyWager prize is over $1,200! You can also join team challenges, jackpot challenges, and step challenges through the app. Participants have collectively lost over 1 million pounds and gained over $20,000,000 since the company’s inception, and over $13,000,000 in 2018, alone. HealthyWage.com.

TRAQ SMART SHOES

Here’s some killer wearable technology for fitness-minded folks. TRAQ, Alegria’s first smart shoe, is the world’s first comfort smart shoes with builtin pedometer plus a personalized app community. The designs are made for walking, working and leisure, simultaneously allowing you to accurately count every step thanks to the smart Q-Chip embedded right in the shoe! Easily connect the integrated pedometer in the shoes to the accompanying Alegria TRAQ smartphone app to view your daily and monthly step activity. You can do everything in your daily routine while stepping out in intelligent, blissful comfort. Anyone can track their steps, connect with their friends and compete on a leaderboard. Cheer on your friends and family to walk together through the app! Oh, and there’s no need to charge these smart shoes—ever—for the lifetime of the shoes. Traqshoes.com

As a branding pundit, wellness industry veteran, consumer health advocate and influential media voice, Merilee Kern spotlights noteworthy marketplace innovations, change makers, movers and shakers. Also a two-time fitness champion, her ground-breaking, award-winning “Kids Making Healthy Choices” Smartphone APP for children, parents/caregivers and educators is based on her award-winning, illustrated fictional children’s book, “Making Healthy Choices – A Story to Inspire Fit, Weight-Wise Kids.” Merilee may be reached online at LuxeListReviews.com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/LuxeListEditor and Facebook at facebook.com/TheLuxeList

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THIS YEAR,

TRY AN E-BOOK

Suzanne Karioki If your ideal date involves a bookstore or just curling up with your favorite book and a hot cup of something sweet, you might just be a book lover.

You love the smell of a new book, the stiff spine and clean, un-dogeared pages; your most cherished book is crinkly with bathwater, has a mysterious stain on the first page and its spine is so old that that the book slumps wherever you put it down.

So if you like these things about physical books, why would you ever switch to cold, unforgiving e-books?

Physical books aren’t going anywhere, even in the digital age where we think people aren’t reading past their Twitter feeds. We still love holding a real book and watching the pages flutter under our fingers. E-books aren’t a threat; rather, they’re a way for even more people to access the world’s most beloved stories. E-books mean that someone without a ride to the local library can still read a classic novel on their phone or Kindle. It means that you can take hundreds of books with you on vacation instead of trying to choose between one more novel and clean underwear.

You don’t have to take a knife to your library card either - apps like Libby (Android, iOS and Windows Phone) allow you to preview and check out your library’s catalog, whether you’re miles away or just lounging around the house. And if they don’t have what you’re looking for, you can send a request right through the app. Plus, you can say goodbye to late fees -- these apps will automatically return books on their due date. You can also add yourself to the waitlists of popular books and check them out the second they're available. Waiting for a book for a lifetime and a half? If you’re a student, you can get access to Boston Public Library’s massive collection of books, often with a much shorter waitlist (or no wait at all): just sign up for a BPL e-library card online.

Audiobooks are wonderful too. Next time you find yourself struggling to put down a good book, try an audio version while you’re doing chores, working out, driving or just drifting off to sleep. You can get those through your library or local bookstore too.

Whether you made a resolution to read more books this year or just looking for something to pass the time, pick up an e- or audiobook. There’s a whole world waiting for you out there.

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ART + C U LTU R E

THE RED HOT CHILLI PIPERS SPICE UP SCOTTISH MUSIC

Makayla Henriquez The Red Hot Chilli Pipers are coming to the Hanover Theater on March 17, to share their one-of-a-kind music: traditional Scottish music fused with rock.

One of the band’s founding members, Willie Armstrong, spoke about the band’s unique sound and how the group formed after sharing a passion for bagpipes. Armstrong, a bagpiper in the band, said that people who play bagpipes typically perform at many wedding gigs. While playing at weddings Armstrong realized, “You soon learn that people will switch off to your tunes after a while.” It turns out, traditional bagpipe music is not in high demand. Armstrong admits that most people who listen to traditional bagpipes regularly are “fellow enthusiasts”.

Stuart Cassells, another one of the band’s former founding members, came up with the idea of playing bagpipes to the tunes of familiar rock songs to get people to “prick their ears up.” That’s how the The Red Hot Chilli Pipers began to play traditional Scottish bagpipes fused with rock for a unique sound they call “Bagrock”.

Armstrong described an audience’s typical reaction after they have been exposed to Bagrock. He said it was, “Fun with a capital F. There are parts of the show that will be a wee roller coaster of emotion, a sense of tension and release…the quizzical looks of the audience transitioning to laughter as they realize that yes, the bagpipe band are playing “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, and things are pretty good in the world at that point.”

Since its formation in 2002, the Red Hot Chili Pipers have evolved from a group of three pipers and two drummers playing at small corporate events throughout Scotland to a group of about 40 members in rotation selling out world tours. Over the years, the band has been granted significant opportunities such as working on the soundtrack to How to Train Your Dragon 2 and winning the BBC talent show When Will I Be Famous? in 2007. They even won a Gold Disc for over 100,000 sales of their album Bagrock to the Masses and have a triple platinum album status for their album and DVD Blast Live.

Regarding their growing success, Armstrong said that, “as the venues get bigger, the crowds get bigger and we’re able to invest in more production. Having the best engineers

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for both sound and lights are a massive step forward. There’s a lot more of us now and the sound has gotten bigger and better.” He added, “We always made a point of going out to meet the audience after shows and getting honest feedback…I believe that’s made a big difference to our popularity.” One thing that has not changed is the band’s decision to stick to their uniforms of black Kilts and red sporrans: a choice that sets the band apart and adds to their “visual dimension”.

Armstrong spoke about how he envisions the band’s future.“I’d like it to be a bit like the Blue Man Group. A signature sound and uniform that will be recognized throughout the world.”

Armstrong’s biggest personal aspiration as a musician is to inspire more people to pick up the bagpipes. “I don’t think there’s enough of us,” he said. Armstrong added that the bagpipes are incredibly difficult to master. Kids start off learning by practicing on an instrument called a chanter then transition to a bagpipe. “That’s when there’s a massive drop out. You could be banging away on a set of bagpipes for months and still not have a tune. You need a lot of willpower and love of the instrument really.”

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers have been able to change the public’s view of the bagpipes.

Armstrong said, “I like when I hear people saying, ‘I never knew bagpipes could sound like that’ because it’s clear then that we’ve opened up the thinking process and broke down some preconceived ideas.”

Armstrong calls the pipes an “emotive instrument”. “If you play a haunting, slow air, it can induce tears, if you then play jigs and reels, it will make you clap your hands and stamp your feet. Add that with the stellar rock songs and instruments, and you’ve got a mini pipe band playing harmonies, counter harmonies and melodies with the snare drum cutting through it all, but with a massive rock band behind us,” he said.

Bagrock pays homage to Scottish culture while creating a whole new sound that is wowing audiences across the globe, even in Worcester.

For more information visit, thehanovertheatre.org.

NORTH COUNTY • DINING • ENTERTAINMENT • NIGHTLIFE • SHOPPING • NORTH COUNTY • DINING • SHOPPING

NORTH COUNTY • DINING • ENTERTAINMENT • NIGHTLIFE • SHOPPING • NORTH COUNTY • DINING • ENTERTAINMENT • NIGHTLIFE • SHOPPING

NORTH COUNTY • DINING • ENTERTAINMENT • NIGHTLIFE • SHOPPING • NORTH COUNTY • DINING • SHOPPING

FOOD + D R IN K

DINING REVIEW

REUNION TAP & TABLE: A RESTAURANT FOR EVERY SEASON REUNION TAP & TABLE 198 WORCESTER STREET, GRAFTON (774) 293-5501 REUNIONTAP.COM Bernie Whitmore Not so many years ago, Worcester was a town you had to abandon in order to find a dining experience built on quality, innovation and fun. Then the Shrewsbury Street dining district coalesced, and creative cuisine returned to town. It seemed a miracle.

The excitement still echoes and now many of us think, "Why leave town? We can get a good meal right here Worcester!"

There is some truth in that, but with each excursion to new restaurants in the surrounding towns, I’m finding that this attitude might be a trap. In recent months, it seems that whatever direction we point the car in, we’re finding worthy dining experiences throughout the suburbs.

The latest of these culinary treasures is Reunion Tap & Table in Grafton. They’ve transformed what I’d reckon to be a mundane strip mall space into an oasis of earth tones: dark wood table tops, deep-green glazed wall sections and

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matte-finished dishware. They’ve fused cozy with spacious and country with sophisticated.

Sara, our server, seemed as interested in us as we were with the menu and genially brought us up to date with Reunion’s brief history. The establishment bills itself as a tap room and their list of drafts is interestingly national in scope. I chose a West Coast IPA, Firestone Walker’s Union Jack, and enjoyed its deep bitter hops, a very ‘uncluttered’ flavor. Although, my preference remains with our New England IPA’s and their more complex citrus, herbal and piney tones.

Their appetizers feature three variations of Poutine and I was leaning toward “Breakfast”: bacon, fried egg and hollandaise sauce. But, in deference to my friend’s keto diet, we decided to share the Smoked Salmon. Typically, this dish would take the form of butter-thin slices.

However, at Reunion it was presented in a serving bowl: coarsely chopped, mildly smoked salmon was flavored with red onion jam (not too sweet) and a generous toss of capers. All this was topped with crunchy shards of thinlysliced pretzels. The flavors merged in that bowl formed the perfect appetizer: a touch smoky, a touch sweet, delicate salmon, and piquant capers. This dish was a delightful introduction to Reunion’s wide-ranging flavor palette.

From there, my companion moved to his entrée of equally keto-friendly Prime Sirloin, a ten-ounce club cut sliced across to reveal its crimson center – perfectly prepared!

A simple treatment with salt and cracked black pepper gave it honest beef flavor. The kitchen substituted mashed

potatoes with a medley of sautéed vegetables: cubed butternut squash, cauliflower florets, shredded leeks and wild mushrooms. The richness of the mushrooms merged with the free-flowing beef juices to form a robust flavor perfectly suited for cold winter evenings.

My entrée, a special that evening, was also designed for mid-winter comfort dining: Braised Oxtail with Gnocchi.

It arrived in an earthenware baking dish; dozens of tender gnocchi drenched in a parmesan cream sauce scattered with shitake mushrooms. Every element of this dish spelled richness! Realizing this, the chef draped emeraldgreen broccoli rabe over the entire affair for color contrast and a welcome punch of bitter flavor.

As I explored my dinner, each time I thought I’d forked a piece of oxtail, it revealed as yet another meaty shitake mushroom. Perplexed, I asked Sara about it. She explained that the oxtail, braised slowly for hours, had turned to flecks that were incorporated into the creamy-rich parmesan sauce.

How do you top that? With a refreshing Crème Brûlée, perhaps! Reunion’s version is classic all the way, served in a shallow fluted baking dish, its fragile crust of golden burnt sugar cracked open to a vanilla bean infused eggy custard.

Pure, honest flavors.

Throughout our meal. I was impressed with the menu’s sensitivity to season, and even more excited to anticipate a return in the springtime when the flavors and ingredients should, hopefully, blossom with tender freshness.

HOT&NOW:

What’s hot and what’s happening now in the restaurant scene Paul Giorgio Now is not the time to whine. Sail To Trail Wine Works signed a lease in January for a tasting room . They will be located in a 1,200-square-foot space in the Higgins Armory. The winery is on schedule to pour their first glass of vino in April.

It’s their legacy now. Big T’s food truck is taking over ther space once occupied

by Legacy, and before that Joey’s, on Worcester’s Mill Street. This is the first brick and motor location for Big T’s food truck, which serves great BBQ. Find Redemption. Redemption Rock Brewery opened its doors the last Saturday in January to large crowds eager to sample Shrewsbury Street’s second tap room.

Game on. Leicester’s Castle Restaurant will host its annual game dinner on March 3 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The multi-course dinner will be preceded by hors d’oeuvres and will include wine pairings. The cost for the dinner is $120 per person. Reservations are required and seating is limited.

The Patriots have nothing on them. Worcester’s acclaimed Armsby Abbey has been rated the best beer bar in the state for the ninth consecutive year. The ranking comes from ratebeer.com, a website and forum for craft beer enthusiasts. Ratebeer released its “Best Places for Beer by Subregion” list for 2018 on Wednesday.

Thinking out of the box. An old library branch at 15 Hamilton Street in Worcester is now home to a new bar and hookah lounge. Owner Charlie Yossef celebrated the grand opening of the Cedar Box Lounge at the end of January. Many folks may know Yossef as owner of Roadrunner Pizza, a pizza delivery service with three locations around Worcester. The first Roadrunner Pizza openned nearly 24 years ago.

Some have opened. Some have closed. The beginning of 2019 saw a host of local eateries turning off their ranges for many different reasons.Thai Island in Holden closed at the end of the year, as the owner pursued her successful modeling career.

Josephine’s is not happening. The proposed restaurant for the Hanover Theatre building fell through recently. They are still looking for an operator. Rumor has it that a couple of new places will open on Worcester’s Water Street. We hear that an Indian restaurant will be taking over the space once occupied by Kummerspek.

Also, in other Water Street news, we hear that a new Italian eatery will be going into the space once occupied by the Canal.

In other openings. Grill on the Hill has a new owner, Gino Raimondi, who plans to open the eatery at Worcester’s Green Hill Golf Club the last week of March.

It’s in the icebox. The IceBox Pub in Barre, a farm to table eatery, opened its doors in the middle of February.

New life for Holden landmark. Tim Quinn of Quinn’s in Worcester has purchased Holden’s iconic Blue Plate Diner and will be converting it into an up-to-date restaurant.

Extensive renovations are planned for what will become Quinn’s Blue Plate.

Hope it's not a mirage. It appears that the space once occupied by Le Mirage ,and later Dianna’s Kitchen will be reopening soon. No word yet on the concept.

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PULSEBREW: Seven Saws Brewing embraces town history Ryan Cashman In Massachusetts, we’re proud of our towns. We reflect that pride in the strength of our communities and the businesses within them, like breweries. The last few years have seen an explosion of independent brewing companies, many of whom are fully embracing the industrial heritage of the buildings which now house their barrels.

Seven Saws Brewing in Holden, however, is a little different. On their website, they quote a 1795 map which states: “There are in the Town of Holden … Seven Sawmills.” Each mill is credited with providing the lumber used to build Holden.

Seven Saws honors that history.

Their taproom, at 1148 Main St., is a long and skinny alleyway, the floor packed on each side with rough sawed wood tables and industrial wrought iron chairs.

The ceiling is stamped tin and the walls are littered with aged maps and black and white photos of the mills themselves. They take the saw theme even further: the wooden serving boards for a flight of four are carved into the shape of a hand saw.

On a blistering mid-winters day, Kearny (my beer buddy and soon-to-be fatherin-law) and I took a trip to the taproom to see what was what. Kearny, having previously scouted the place, as is his prerogative, knew exactly what he wanted upon entry. He was served quickly, found us a seat by the sun filled window at the front of the taproom, and sipped on a Down Under: a hazy New England IPA loaded with Australian hops.

To provide a broader scope, I ordered a saw of four: Mill Street New England IPA, Sequoia American IPA, Prescot English Maple Porter, and Fog Buster Espresso Stout.

I sipped on the Fog Buster first, which struck with an intense hit of coffee then smoothed into subtle notes of chocolate. I went for the Sequoia next, but Kearny stopped me, recommending I try the Prescot first.

“Why?” I asked.

“Palate cleanser,” he said.

It may strike you as odd for a heavily mapled porter to work as a palate cleanser, but, ever the eager student, I gave it a shot. The Prescot is like sipping on fine bourbon, only it’s a beer. And, it did exactly what Keary said it would do. Trying the Sequoia after the Prescot brought out all of its floral and fruity notes that would have otherwise remained hidden by the hops. The Mill Street too, which is very hazy and fruity, took on a smoother, creamier texture after cleansing with Prescot. The Fog Buster even showed a new side of itself, with the maple from the porter exaggerating the chocolate in the stout.

Beer tasting, oddly enough - because it wasn’t even considered cultured until 10 years ago - has become more akin to a wine tasting, with flavors hidden underneath each other in a maze of alcohol.

For being a small operation, Seven Saws has an incredibly diverse selection, showcasing a brewing talent that will hopefully build another pillar of pride for Holden.

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SPORTS + FITN E S S

Danny Jaillet • Photo by Susan Sun Have you ever wanted to take part in competitive volleyball but don’t know a league to join or where to start? Listen up: WooTown Volleyball may be for you.

Formed in the summer of 2013, it began as a small league.

The group has since evolved into a league with multiple competitions throughout the week with various matchups.

Despite being the hallmark of the pickup volleyball league, WooTown Volleyball is only part of what is available to players.

With WooTown Volleyball being an adult league, there are also options for the younger crowd. An indoor volleyball club for juniors called SLAM Volleyball is just one of the offerings. Ten girls’ teams and two boys’ teams make up SLAM Volleyball.

These teams each carry about 10-12 players.

If juniors want to take their talents to the beach, there is also a league called Northeast Beach Volleyball. Northeast Beach Volleyball gets over 200 players per summer in the club program and 40-plus teams sign up for the tournament that takes place at Hampton Beach. Northeast Beach Volleyball trains at several locations, including close by in Shrewsbury.

The rapid growth of WooTown Volleyball has undoubtedly contributed to its success. Headed by director John Kubilis, over 3,000 players have joined the league since its inception.

When the program first began, only 12 teams of doubles and six teams of fours joined the league. Now, they run programs most nights of the week in multiple locations.

During the winter, the leagues themselves often have at least six games per night. They hold men’s pickup games on

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Tuesdays, a coed fours league on Wednesdays, and a coed sixes league on Thursdays which all take place at St. John’s Gym in Clinton, Massachusetts. USA volleyball tournaments which are also offered on Saturdays and Sundays are held at various gyms and colleges across New England.

There is even more action to be had during the summer.

Outdoor leagues take place five nights a week at Ski Ward in Shrewsbury. At Ski Ward, three well-maintained sand courts add to the experience for the players and Kubilis thinks very highly of this venue. As far as the schedule goes, Monday and Tuesday are coed fours, Wednesday and Thursday are coed sixes. The action concludes on Friday with coed and same gender twos matches.

“At Ski Ward we are able to offer both a recreational level and a competitive level on each night,” Kubilis said.

In addition to this, WooTown Volleyball runs grass doubles tournaments in various parks throughout Central Massachusetts, especially Nathaniel Allen Recreation Area in Acton. With its headquarters located in Billerica, the league is just on the outskirts of Central Massachusetts. The league itself offers everything from pickup games, to tournament-style play, to skills clinics. Perhaps the biggest out of all the categories are the individual leagues the program offers. With many options to choose from, it is safe to say that WooTown Volleyball has successfully fulfilled the league’s intentions.

“WooTown Volleyball’s original purpose was to create a place for high-level, competitive volleyball athletes to compete in Central Mass,” Kubilis said. “We have filled that goal with many of our leagues containing former and current NCAA Division 1, 2 and 3 players as well as some

former and current pros!” he added.

If this sounds overwhelming to you, do not worry. Luckily, for inexperienced players, skills clinics are also offered. Held on Sunday nights at St. John’s Gym, the skills clinics take place over the course of three months. There are two different classes for the clinics: an Advanced Class and a Fundamentals Class.

WooTown Volleyball has something for everyone.

Does this sound like fun? Joining WooTown Volleyball and its leagues is rather simple. If players have already created a team, they can just go to the WooTown Volleyball website and sign up. The nine to ten week league sessions are offered indoors for Fall, Winter, and Spring. In the Summer, two sessions are offered. They take place in mid-May, mid-July, mid- August, and mid-September. If players want to play a pickup game, they take place on Tuesdays and can be joined by an individual signup.

Kubilis offered advice on how to become part of WooTown Volleyball. “If you are a beginner, you’ll want to just attend a skills clinic which will prepare you for league play,” Kubilis said.

“If you are experienced, then the best thing to do is join our Facebook group! This is the best way to find a team to join,” he said. Kubilis added,“If you already have a team, then just register! All of our programs use online signup where you can also see who else is signed up to play.”

From a small startup league to an undertaking that is everexpanding, WooTown Volleyball has come a long way - and it shows no signs of slowing down.

For more information visit, wootownvolleyball.com.

FINDING BALANCE: Closed Doors

Jennifer Russo Recently, I was in a conversation with a friend who was upset that a job opportunity had not come through. For weeks, she would mention this when I ran into her.

She was emotional, stressed and negative each time she spoke about it to me.

Finally, I asked her if allowing herself to hold onto the stress made any positive difference for her when it was something she had no control over and could not change.

This got me thinking about the many times when a door of opportunity has closed for me, especially in those times when it was something I really wanted. It certainly can be a stressful experience to be told “no” or when something doesn’t pan out the way we had hoped. That being said though, the more I consider it, the more I realize that those closed doors were an opportunity in themselves.

The more I look at my very up and down life, the more I see that sometimes doors closing are a great thing. If things hadn’t happened the way they did, opportunities to move on to even better things waiting in the wings may have been missed. I simply wouldn’t have been exposed to some amazing jobs, friendships and other opportunities for success and fulfillment.

We need to ask ourselves, why sometimes we can’t move on when something like this happens. If we persist on trying to open doors that have been closed to us, is it because we are stubborn and refuse to be told we can’t have what we think we want? And what does that stubbornness get us aside from stress we don’t need?

What we may find is that we are now expending good energy trying to force the door open and as a result we might possibly miss out on better chances the Universe has waiting for us.

Next time a door closes, put the battering ram down and know that you are being led to another great thing. There is a measure of trust there. There may be a very good reason why we are being guided in a different direction.

The pure light in me honors the pure light in you. Namaste.

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STYLE + BEAUTY

NEW AROUND THE WOO

THE LASH LOUNGE

champagne, snacks, etc. It’s a way to get people to see and visit all the businesses here.

Rachel Shuster Located in the Lakeway Commons at 193 Boston Turnpike in Shrewsbury, Lash Lounge is a salon offering expertise and services related to all things lashes.

General Manager, Lisa Callahan has been with Lash Lounge in Shrewsbury from the start. “John Donahue is the owner, and I started with him last February when we were getting ready to open,” she said. The salon officially opened in November 2018.

Callahan was good friends with Donahue’s sister and that’s where the connection originated. “She said I should work with John in this business, so we met.

He explained Lash Lounge’s philosophy, culture, the corporate goals, and it sounded fantastic,” she said.

Callahan did not always work in the beauty industry, having a great variety of other career experiences. “I am actually a licensed attorney, and even though I don’t practice, the skills still come in handy!” she said.

“I was also in healthcare at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical center in Boston as a practice assistant and mystery shopper!”

While this Lash Lounge location is in Shrewsbury, Lash Lounge is actually a franchise. “It started in Dallas, Texas in 2006 by Anna Phillips. She opened a salon to do lash extensions and it just caught on and

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Lash Lounge also has Teachers’ Night, Nurses’ Night, and a Physical Fitness Industry Night which brings various people together to enjoy the salon’s services!

exploded,” Callahan said.

Callahan also mentioned that Lash Lounge partners with the community organizations, specifically, “Dress for Success” in Worcester. “We have a clothing drive for them,” Callahan said. “One client a month gets some lashes before they go out on an interview."

Lash Lounge currently has 79 stores across the country.

“We were the first to open in MA, but we also have a location at Assembly Row in Somerville and are on target to open another soon,” Callahan said.

Beyond all the great things Lash Lounge does, one of the most notable is how personal and customizable they and their services are for their clients.

As for the salon’s services, the bulk is lash extensions although other services are available as well. “Most of our services take place right above your nose and below your forehead,” Callahan joked.

“We would love to explain the process to you,” Callahan said. “People can call, have a consultation, and learn about the services. It is completely driven by them. We don’t want anyone to walk out unhappy,” she added.

A set of classic lashes is $99, and a set of volume lashes is $139. A lash perm is $80, while a brow and lash tinting package is $50 or $30 each. Brow threading is $15.

According to Callahan, “There is a science to it – it’s not just lashes. We ask if they want silk or mink, what length, etc. It’s very customized for each person.

The biggest goal is to maintain health of their own eyelashes. There is a huge education piece and our stylists work with people to understand everything.”

Lash Lounge has even participated in a beauty crawl with other businesses in the shopping plaza. “People come to each business and get a promo which is good for just that night,” Callahan said. “We have

For more information, visit thelashlounge.com/ salons/shrewsbury or call (774) 462-5274.

STYLESAVVY: Transitioning your wardrobe

April Goddard If you can believe it, it’s March. One-fourth of the New Year has just about passed (doesn’t that just put things into perspective?) and the end of the snowy season is just around the corner (finally). This means we will not only be getting a change of general scenery, but also a change of weather and wardrobe. But don’t put away all of your great sweater-weather finds just yet. This month, and we are going to be talking about how you can incorporate your winter-wardrobe into your transitional spring attire. (Because as much as we would like to think that the weather will flip like a light switch and go from very cold to very warm, this is generally not the case.)

Recycling your sweaters and pairing them with more spring-like pieces is one of the first, and most basic, ways to incorporate your cold weather essentials into a transitional wardrobe. Pick a handful of neutral-colored sweaters (grays, whites, beige) and start pairing them with pieces that you would traditionally associate with springtime. My go-to outfit would be a neutral sweater with light-wash denim, because it lends a hand to a lighter and brighter color scheme while also allowing the wearer to remain warm and toasty on cooler days. On days that are a bit nicer, try pairing a sweater with a midi skirt for more formal vibes.

You can never really go wrong with long-sleeved tees and ultra light-weight turtle necks. One of my favorite ways to wear these is with leggings. I like to add denim in wherever I can, so a Sherpa-lined denim jacket in a lighter wash will say “casual spring” without screaming “I’m cute but I’m freezing”. There is a balance here. Pair with espadrilles or a cute pair of trainers and call it a day.

This is a very basic concept, but layering is key to transitioning your style. A really cute way to put the finishing touch on any outfit is by adding a cute jacket: denim, corduroy, Sherpa, etc. If your outfit looks like it’s missing something and it’s still a bit brisk out, try this. Try to keep the color palette light to keep with the spring theme. The other great thing about using the jacket-layering trick? Most stores will be transitioning out of this winter gear and into their spring/summer collections, and you will likely be able to find great deals on jackets and coats that will work for you for the rest of the season (as well as the next!).

There are lots of ways that you can incorporate some of your current winter wear into your early spring wardrobe. This will mean two major things: You will be able to get more wear out of your current wardrobe, and you will not have to break the bank buying all new attire for spring.

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