PAG E 2 8 :
At the Wormtown Brewery, you can always Be Hoppy
May 2015 COVER story 6
Worcester Music Awards rock Worcester
entertainment 12 Go underground and Do It
Yourself
You’ll love Pimentel’s Love by the Book
14 OnCD: Madonna / The Gentle
Storm / Guster
16 GameON: Monster growing
pains in Evolve
18 Club, Pub & Bar Listings
you can always Be Hoppy
29 PulseBREW: How to enjoy a
beer festival
30 Dining Review:
Urban presents dishes with flavor & flair
read pulse Online @
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Follow us on Twitter @WorcesterPulse Follow us on Instagram @PulseMag_Worc Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thepulsemagazine
32 Frankenstein Medical School
24 Book ‘Em Daniels: Local
dining & entertaining
ART & CULTURE
Lifestyle
offers a bit of Goth in the everyday
author strives to promote accountability through children’s books
25 EverydaySCIENCE: Was
27 How to care for your vinyl
31 Hot&Now
22 PulseShots
26 Gift ideas for every kind of mom
28 At the Wormtown Brewery,
13 PulseBOOKS:
IN THIS ISSUE
SPORTS & FITNESS
your favorite song chosen by a computer?
34 Can you score a homerun
with our Red Sox trivia?
PULSE Magazine is produced 12 times a year by Pagio Inc., 88 Winter St., Worcester, MA 01604. (508) 756-5006. Copyright 2012 All rights reserved. Pagio, Inc. does not hold itself responsible for statements made by any contributor. Statements or opinions expressed in Pulse reflect the views of the author(s) and not the official policy of the Pagio, Inc., unless so stated. Although all advertising material is expected to conform to ethical standards, acceptance does not imply endorsement by Pagio, Inc. unless so stated. Material printed in Pulse is covered by copyright. No copyright is claimed to any work of the U.S. government. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission. For information on permissions, reprints and other services, contact Pagio, Inc. Also by Pagio Inc.: Worcester Medicine, Vitality Magazine, Thepulsemag.com, Thevitalitymag.com, & TasteWorcester.com
Paul Giorgio, Publisher Donna Roberson, Editor Vanessa Herbold, Art Director Justin Perry, Photographer Chris Reddy, Kerry Cyganiewicz, Kevin Swenson, Account Executives
Kim Dunbar, Sports Editor Jennifer Russo, Lifestyle Editor Kimberly Dunbar, Jennifer Russo, Jason Savio, Bernie Whitmore, Michael Wood, Paul Giorgio, R.J. Linton, Kerry Cyganiewicz, Tricia Wise Writers
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 5
C O V E R ST O R Y
By Jennifer Russo The Worcester Music Awards logo shines on the floor of Jillian’s, welcoming nominees, performers, industry professionals and spectators for a night of music and recognition. There is the sound of air hockey tables pinging as people kill time during the sound check. A sense of true community permeates the air. In the Worcester area, the local music scene is more like a family gathering. Everyone knows everyone, for the most part, and arrivals are met with bro hugs, kisses on the cheek and fist bumps. Though it is a competition at its core, it is also a celebration of local talent and diversity. Harvard native Ashley Jordan’s performance kicked off the Worcester Music Awards on April 15, filling the room with her big voice and unique, soulful folk sound. Small in stature, but certainly not in status, Ashley was nominated for four awards this year, taking home the WMAs for Best Female Vocalist and Best Solo/ Acoustic Act and accepting both with a humble spirit. Many great companies were acknowledged and thanked for sponsoring the night (including Pulse magazine, Jillian’s, Immedia, Union Music, Vero Concepts, Xtreme Alchemy Radio and Budweiser) before Lori Diamond and Fred Abatelli took the stage to gift the audience with their warm and almost Zen-like presence and sound. They later took home the WMA for Best CD for their latest album, Lifted, and Abatelli earned the WMA for Best Male Vocalist. I was able to catch up with Fred after he won the award, and his reaction was amazement and gratitude.
r o W k c Ro
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r e t ce s
“There were a lot of wonderful male vocalists nominated, and any one of them could have gotten this; they are all really good. I am so thankful to my fans and those who voted. It’s just crazy,” Abatelli said. “Lori and I really believe in focusing on the positive and uplifting because it’s so rewarding at the end of the day. We can play for two hours, and it feels like five minutes. We just have so much fun.” Hostess Niki Luparelli graced the stage – looking fabulous, as always – blue and pink hair adorned with a flower and a pink martini in hand. The first award – Best Blues/R&B Act – went, for fifth time, to A Ton of Blues. The band took the stage, thanking the other nominees and the crowd and urging fans to keep the blues alive.
WMA veteran DJ Reckless took home the award for Best Club DJ. He kept his speech short and sweet, telling fans simply to “party honest.” Lisa Martin took the award for Best Country/ Americana Act, and Tester once again took the award home for Best Rock Act. Another big year for Tester, the band also took home WMAs for Best Live Act and Band with the Best Groupies. Having been a longtime Tester “groupie” myself, I can attest that we are pretty awesome. Catching up with Tester later that night, the bandmates shared that they are working on a new album, to be released sometime later this year. Cougar Bait, which was nominated for three awards and took home the WMA for Best Electronic Act and Best CD Cover Art, performed next. Having watched these guys since they first started, I can say they have really found their niche in the industry. They have grown exponentially, and their performance showed true confidence, even working some “Arabian Nights” into their repertoire. So … stop me if you’ve heard this one. A pilot walks into a bar. … OK, no joke, one really did this time. Joining Luparelli on stage to bestow the next round of awards was Charlie Cockpit. After Luparelli’s moving moment of silence for the loss of the Arby’s on Park Avenue, the WMA for the Music Station Most Supportive of Local Bands was awarded to WICN, which also celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. Also accepting the WMA for Best Radio DJ was the station’s Nick Noble, who was thrilled to win the award after being nominated for the last four years. Gov’t Surplus grabbed the WMA for Best Jam & Groove Act this year, and Dale LePage & The Manhattans took home the Best Jazz Act award. The Best Live Venue award went to The Raven. Owner Chris Bettencourt humbly accepted, telling me later on that the award is really “more for the supporters” than himself and that he thinks The Raven stands out because it’s “a true music venue with a big stage, great sound, great sightlines to the stage, great drink prices and sits alongside Worcester’s historic Congress Alley.”
“Blues is really a feeling. I listen to and have played a lot of different music, and there are so many genres out there now, why not listen to it all? All of it stems from those blues though!” – Mike Kelly, A Ton of Blues
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 7
The Best Up & Comers Award went to V, which recently had the opportunity to play the renowned Kiss Cruise. Best Pop/Punk Act went to The Excrementals, whose on-stage antics included thanking Charmin two-ply toilet paper and “all the moms who got knocked up to Blink 182.” American Dreamers took home the WMA for Best Pop Act. Each year, the Worcester Music Awards recognizes someone for a career full of significant contributions to the local music scene. Jim Perry won the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award this year. He thanked all of the musicians that he has played with and then sweetly dedicated the award to his mother, who would have been celebrating her 89th birthday. He performed with Hothouse next, giving a stellar performance. The Best Cover/Tribute Band Award went to Flock of Assholes. Whiskey Down won the award for Band You’d Most Like to See Reunite, and the band mentioned that there may be a show brewing, so stay tuned.
“It is such a privilege to accept the award, not only for myself, but for all the volunteer radio DJs and hosts that broadcast for public, independent and college stations around Worcester. We don’t do it for the money; we aren’t paid for it. We just do it for the love of the music.” – Nick Noble, WICN Radio
The WMA for Best Rap/Hip Hop Act went to the Slacker Kingz, who were all smiles as they thanked fans. The Best Hardcore/Metal Act went to Leaving Eden, and lead singer Eve also won the award for Sexiest Musician, and as such, she rocked her very mini skirt. There was a wonderful tribute to Paul Gervais from Kurlan Music, who passed away unexpectedly in 2013. Gervais was known as an unconditionally supportive mentor and a fixture in the local music scene. A scholarship fund was set up in his memory to support the talent of young musicians. Find out more at gervaisscholarship.com. To close out the night, Let It Bleed performed a set and got the crowd moving and taking numerous selfies with friends and their new WMAs. Photography courtesy of Justin Mayotte and RosKavPhoto. Tricia Wise contributed to this article.
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“Even more than winning a trophy and getting recognition for what we do is the networking and giving back the respect to the people who give it to us. It’s definitely cool to win, but it’s also about the camaraderie, collaborating and showing support to the music scene.” – Nikki Sinn, V
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 9
“If you like pretty women, I guess it works (in response to his defeat in the Sexiest Musician category). You know though, it’s all about that bass, and it being a full-figured male kind of year, I thought I would turn tides.” – Chucky, Tester
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 10
THE WINNERS: Best Blues/R&B Act A Ton of Blues Best CD Lifted – Lori Diamond Best Club DJ DJ Reckless Best Country/Americana Act Lisa Martin Best Cover/Tribute Band Flock of Assholes Best Female Vocalist Ashley Jordan Best Jam & Groove Act Gov’t Surplus Best Jazz Act Dale LePage & The Manhattans Best Live Act Tester Best Male Vocalist Fred Abatelli (Lori Diamond) Best Pop Act American Dreamers Best Punk/Pop Punk Act The Excrementals Best Rap/Hip-Hop Act Slacker Kingz Best Electronic Act Cougar Bait Best Rock Act Tester Best Solo/Acoustic Act Ashley Jordan Best Hardcore/Metal Act Leaving Eden Best Radio DJ Nick Noble – WICN Best Up and Comers Act V Sexiest Musician Eve (Leaving Eden) Band You’d Most Like to Reunite Whiskey Down Best Live Venue The Raven Music Station Most Supportive of Local Bands WICN 90.5 Band with Best Groupies Tester Best Cover Art Through the Other Side – Cougar Bait Lifetime Achievement Award Jim Perry MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 11
E NT E R TAINM E NT
Go Underground and Do It Yourself By Tricia Wise
The Do It Yourself ideology is deeply ingrained within Worcester’s underground punk scene. With a wide range of people from different backgrounds, Worcester’s punk rockers don’t just play music; they’re a community. For those that don’t know, DIY is the act by an individual, usually an amateur, of creating or producing his or her own ideas without professional training or assistance. Many punk musicians began forming bands and playing music without any prior knowledge of how to use their instruments. With their passion as a motivating force, these musicians “did it themselves,” created great music and put on their own shows. These shows are usually in basements or small Worcester venues, such as The Shop, The Firehouse and The Raven. According to Chris Humphrey, who organizes shows at his collective house in Worcester, “It’s an important mantra/ethos of punk. It’s all about empowering yourself to create the things you want and the community you would like while really taking ownership of it.” Jon Brien, whose main band is Jon the Archivist, said, “The cool thing about DIY: You can just do it. Anyone can try it.” The punk scene, community-building and the ideology of DIY are all inherently related. Caitlin Indermaur, who plays in Ghost Guest, said that to her, DIY in the Worcester punk scene is actually “DIT – Do It Together. The whole process is not just DIY; you collaborate with artists, their art, their passions … that’s what so cool about the DIY scene, it’s the collaboration.” Indermaur’s bandmate, Heru Black, believes DIY means “accessibility, being able to do the things that you want without having money or without completely understanding what you’re doing, really, and being able to learn as you go, helping others and piecing things together, so that everyone’s goals workout .” What sets the Worcester punk scene apart is its passionate musicians and sense of community. Black said, “The stereotypical punk scene is not as accepting or friendly,” but in Worcester, “the
12 THEPULSEMAG.COM | MAY 2015
environment is so accepting, it can kind of be overwhelming.”
Many musicians spend their time giving back to the Worcester community. Brien often participates in activities such as the Food Not Bombs event. “Saturday mornings people would get together … in the Starship [a punk house on Oliver Street in Worcester] kitchen and cook a bunch of vegan food and bring it to the Worcester Common, where we would set up a table and give free food to people. So we have food on one end, and at the other end of the table, we would have a ton of ’zines about anti-war and protesting.” Brien added, “[There is] something about the community here; it’s somewhat grounded more in the activism side of things. … There’s a lot more politics running through the soil of the Worcester community.” Indermaur and Clark University student, Alex Cowan, produced a short documentary about the Worcester punk scene last year – DIY Woo – which shows how the DIY ideology and the punk scene in Worcester go hand in hand. One of the interviewees said Worcester’s punk scene “builds a sense of community,” and “DIY is a good way to collect ideas, progressive ideas, new ideas.” Another interviewee said, “You can really thrive in the community. It’s a great place for creative minds of all walks of life.” Humphrey said he feels “constantly surrounded by creative people, and I think that’s enabled me to pursue whatever strange passions I’ve had. Doing things like feeding the homeless with my friends on the weekends, living in a radical collective situation and hitchhiking to places I’d never thought I would see before are all things I would have never done if I hadn’t been exposed to the punk community.” And all are welcome. Indermaur said, “Everyone’s got each other’s back; everyone’s so accepting, you don’t even have to be punk” to get involved. There are countless great bands playing all over the city, so whether it’s playing music, booking shows or just being a fan, you can get involved.
p u l se B O O K S: You’ll
Pimentel’s
L ove by the B ook By Kimberly Dunbar Dating sucks. Whether you prefer to scout out your next lover in a sticky, smelly bar or surf potential mates on the Internet under the guise of anonymity, things can get awkward. Really awkward. Especially if you don’t know the rules. If this sounds like you, run – don’t walk – and pick up Melissa Pimentel’s Love by the Book. In an attempt to understand what it takes to snag a man, Lauren Cunningham – a 28-year-old expat living in London – decides to dedicate the next year to For more information: researching the rules of the dating game. With a failed marriage in her Love by the Book is available on Amazon and rearview mirror and cursed when it other online booksellers. comes to dating, Lauren sets out to follow one dating guide a month to discover what it really takes to catch Mr. Right. Lauren follows such books as The Art of Dating, Find a Husband After 35, and The Rules of the Game – all books published to help single women find their match. What ensues is a collection of hilarious dating encounters – failures would be an understatement – to which most readers might be able to relate. You’ll laugh, maybe cry (from laughing so hard), and you’ll wince, remembering your own bad dating experiences. Some of the gems she meets include a billionaireturned-street-meat-vendor (his pickled shark wasn’t enough to make Lauren stay); a 41-year-old bike mechanic and pothead who lives in his friend’s attic; and a bookseller who hassles Lauren every time she buys another one of the useless dating guides. She tackles dating from all angles; she follows advice from the Victorian era, commits herself to celibacy, approaches relationships as business deals and even dabbles in the online dating game. But will she find love and happiness like the authors promise? You’ll have to read and find out. The best part of Pimentel’s Love by the Book is that it’s loosely based on reality. Pimentel started the same dating experiment as the fictional Lauren, intending to publish the results as a memoir. However, a few months into the adventure she ended up meeting her future husband. Unable to continue the experiment and unwilling to date random men while she pursued her relationship with her now-fiancé, Pimentel decided to turn her experiences into a work of fiction. This turn of events actually works out for the best, as Pimentel was able to take more creative liberties with Lauren’s dating and sex life, even incorporating the dating horror stories of her friends. However, this didn’t stop me from wondering which one of her targets ended up being The One. MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 13
OnCD:
MADONNA / the gentle storm / Guster
MADONNA | REBEL HEART
try too hard to be what she thought people wanted to hear.
By Michael Wood
With this, her 13th album, Madonna proves she’s back in the game on her own terms without trying to stumble after the current trends. This pop album is hers, and it’s a good one.
Whether we believe her songs were leaked by some nefarious naysayer or as a meticulous, preplanned act of self-promotion for Madonna’s plan to take over the world, the Material Girl of 2015 is still savvy and sharp when it comes to what we want to hear. Nineteen songs rich – with more hits than misses – Rebel Heart feels fresh, yet faithful to her classic songs from the better albums in her nearly fourdecades-long repertoire and is a return to a Madonna who feels authentic and true to herself. She’s not impersonating anyone – I hate to give credence to so many who have dismissed “Living For Love” as adult contemporary chart schlock – which is what she did on her last couple of albums:
THE GENTLE STORM | THE DIARY By Jennifer Russo When an album opens with sounds of a storm, Gregorian chanting and a layering of varied instruments, I am hooked immediately. There is just something about that gothic sound that just makes my ears perk up. Add a beautiful soprano voice, and hello … ready for full album listening. What makes this album completely unique is its two-albums-in-one style. The “gentle” disc is full of orchestral sounds (piano, violin, French horn, etc.), and the “storm” disc holds the same songs with a more rocked-out kick (electric guitar, heavy rhythm). I can’t imagine how much work went into recording each of the 11 songs twice, but what a gift for the listeners. The Gentle Storm takes two of Holland’s most famed
Crash Midnight | Lost In The City By Jason Savio “Welcome to Boston/We’re waiting in the streets,” sings Shaun Soho on the track “Welcome To Boston,” setting the fast-paced bravado and tone of Crash Midnight’s debut album, Lost In The City. As far as hometown anthems go, it hits a chord that enlivens the listener and lets it be known loud and clear what Lost In The City entails. Whatever swagger and attitude that may have arguably gone missing from the local and national music scenes in recent years, it’s about to make a resurgence, thanks to the rock of Crash Midnight. Taking all the right cues from similar bands that have come before it, the local act has put together a hard-hitting collection of rock songs that walk the
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The infectious promise of Rebel Heart’s first song and single, “Living For Love,” sets the tone for an album that lets Madonna’s ceaseless energy effortlessly get your body moving. And even if all the songs are not the high-energy, raise-the-roof, dance-anthem pop of “Living” or “Illuminati,” there are other, quieter entries, like “HeartBreakCity” and “Best Night,” that deserve a listen. Plus, if there’s anyone who has earned the badge to boldly title a song “B*tch I’m Madonna,” it’s her. Well played, M. Well played. For more information, visit Madonna.com. musicians, composer and multi-instrument musician Arjen Lucassen and vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen, and puts them together so they complement each other every step of the way and do not outshine one another. Each song is beautifully balanced. On the “gentle” album, “Endless Sea” is my clear favorite. The instrumental almost has an Arabian feel, with visions of a caravan crossing the desert. On the “storm” album, “The Moment” left me speechless, with music and vocals that are staggeringly beautiful. “New Horizons” is the track that I think would be the most mainstream, and I use that term loosely because there is nothing mainstream about this album at all. It is for the listener who truly appreciates music in all of its glory. With the use of more than 40 instruments across the album, it’s a true music-lover’s album. Brilliant is the word that encompasses my attitude towards this one. Learn more about The Gentle Storm at arjenlucassen.com / annekevangiersbergen.com. line of vintage and modern. The lyrics Soho sings cover all the themes you would want in your latenight escapades: drinking, promiscuous women and all of the other devils that dwell in the cracks of the city’s streets. Comparisons to Guns N’ Roses may sound absurd, given that group’s rare spark, but comparisons between the two groups are almost unavoidable. Like Guns N’ Roses, Crash Midnight embodies a sense of controlled chaos while staying surprisingly loose. “151” is an example of this classic hybrid DNA, as is the thump and swing of “Diamond Boulevard.” Lost In The City is an exciting and welcome debut, particularly for those into the kind of brash rock that was thought to be extinct. Crash Midnight looks to bring back that swagger, and Lost In The City is the perfect start. For more, visit crashmidnight.com.
monster growing pains in evolve By Jason Savio You know how you’ve always wanted to hunt giant monsters on an alien planet but just couldn’t quite find the time? Turtle Rock Studios, the creators of the fanfavorite zombie-shooter Left 4 Dead, have you covered, giving you the opportunity to do so from the comfort of your own home with Evolve. If Left 4 Dead had you hooked to your controller, then Evolve surely will keep you locked in. Evolve, like so many next-gen games, has an extreme crush on co-op play. It is similar to others (including Left 4 Dead) in that you play as a team – in this case, a team of four – that is tasked with working together to take down gnarly-looking monsters that would fit nicely in a Godzilla movie. The Hunters, as said team is called, are a group of war veterans and outcasts who each have their own character strengths, including a medic that will heal wounded teammates. It all makes sense and fits well into the gameplay, but it is all too familiar and predictable. How many times have we gone down this road before with other co-op games that involve big guns and big monsters?
other opponents who are working together may seem like an unfair fight, that’s where the theme of Evolve comes in to even the odds. The monsters in the game, such as one named Goliath, are all formidable and strong threats to begin with, but they don’t stop there. They can grow and “evolve” into even bigger and more dangerous versions of themselves when they kill and eat their victims. When playing as a monster, there’s a meter that keeps track of how many more snacks you need to devour before hitting your next plateau and evolving to your next stage of being. This is a very interesting dynamic, which gives the beast a hint of vulnerability with something to work towards.
However, there is also the option of playing as the giant monster that is wreaking havoc, which can be way more fun and adds a much-needed surprise. You can Game shelves are flooding with co-op shooters choose your character from an assortment of bug-eyed that depict bulked-up, gun-wielding heroes, and it and slimy-scaled monsters, and as one of these beasts, is becoming a much too crowded sub-genre. While you find yourself on a one-man team being attacked by Evolve certainly fits this description, it also manages to separate itself from the pack The Hunters. Being able to choose and offer an interesting twist that to play as either a Hunter or the will likely prove to make it one of monster creates real competition For more information: the more memorable efforts to be between the players in Evolve. Evolvegame.com/agegate While pitting one player against four released this year.
Club & Pub Listings
Entertainment at clubs, bars, pubs & other select venues
American Graffiti 113 Summer St., Lunenburg
Backstreets Pub 14 Mill St., Fitchburg
May 14: Amanda Cote May 16: Max Recoil May 21: Scott Babineau May 22: Girls on Girls May 23: Kevin Shields May 28: Cactus Tommy D May 29: Kelly Wheeler & Tribe May 30: Go Gadget Go
The Banner Bar & Grille 112 Green St., Worc.
Boulder Cafe 880 Main St., Fitchburg
Barber’s Crossing Road House 861 Main St., Leicester
Breakaway Billiards 104 Sterling St., Clinton
Compass Tavern 90 Harding St., Worc. Fridays, Saturdays: DJs May 5: Pete Towler May 7: Brian Richard May 12: Chris Brunelle May 14: Erica & Justin May 19: Roger Lavallee May 21: Ricky Duran May 26: Nick Christy May 28: Mike Brennan
Barbers Crossing (North) 175 Leominster Road, Sterling
Brew City 104 Shrewsbury St., Worc.
Cosmopolitan Club 96 Hamilton St., Worc.
Beatnik’s 433 Park Ave., Worc. Wednesdays: Ladies Night May 5: Cinco De Mayo May 7: King Moon Racer May 8: Never Sink May 9: Little Red & The Riders May 1:4 Fulah & Rebel Alliance May 15: Box of Rain May 16: Tea Dance Benefit for MS; Rawson Band May 19: Brush Lush Glassware Painting May 21: Cedar Roots May 22: Sasquatch & the Sick-ABillys May 23: Satch Casey Band May 26: Movie & Movie Trivia May 28: Midnight Lantern May 29: Government Surplus May 30: Wooing Dorothy & Some Kind of Awesome
Bull Run Restaurant 215 Great Road, Shirley
Dance Ranch & Saloon 70 James St., Worc.
Cafe Destare 320 Main St., Fitchburg
Days End Tavern 287 Main St., Oxford
Canal Restaurant & Bar 65 Water St., Worc. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays: DJ (21+)
Devens Grill 4 Ryans Way, Devens Celebrating our 10-Year Anniversary throughout May – see our ad on pg. 33 for full schedule.
B-Man’s 140 Tavern 348 Redemption Rock Trail, Sterling
Beemer’s Pub 114 River St., Fitchburg Billy’s Pub 81 Clinton St., Shrewsbury May 8: Dan Kirouac Birkbeck’s Waterfront Grille 242 Mill St., Worc. Black Sheep Tavern 261 Leominster Road, Sterling Blackstone Tap 81 Water St., Worc. Blue Plate Lounge 661 Main St., Holden May 9: Moonshine May 22: Ottomatic Slim Band May 23: The Dinosaurs Return Blueprint New American Bar & Grill 9 Village Square, Westminster May 7: Whitney Doucet May 8: Brett Casavant May 9: A Fine Connection
Center Bar & Grill 102 Green St., Worc. Centerfolds 2000 139 Southbridge St., N. Oxford Chooch’s Food & Spirits 31 E. Brookfield Road, N. Brookfield Fridays: Karaoke Chopstick’s Restaurant & Lounge 21 Commercial Road, Leominster Christopher’s Pub 7 Pleasant St., Leominster Cicero’s Cafe 17 Suffolk St., Worc. Classic’s Pub 285 Central St., Leominster May 8: Dazed Till Dawn May 9: The Chills May 15: Backseat Zero May 16: Laquerhead May 22: Never Enuff May 23: Bad Reputation May 29: H2 & The Groove May 30: Johnny Romance Band Club KasBar 234 Southwest Cutoff, Worc. May 30: Auntie Trainwreck The Columbia Tavern 28 Manning Ave., Leominster 978-751-8962 May 7: Heather Ralston & Joe Macey May 14: Dave Gordon
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May 21: Chris Brunelle May 28: Corey Bazillion
Dunnys Tavern 291 E. Main St., E. Brookfield May 23: Dan Kirouac Electric Haze 26 Millbury St, Worc. Sundays: Funky Jazz Jam Sundays Mondays: Open Mic/Open Decks Tuesdays: Hip Hop Tuesdays May 3: Funky Jazz Jam May 5: Gonsofus, Fossil Funk May 6: Art Gallery Opening, featuring Dangermuffin & Disc Jam Artist Collective May 7: Resin Ed May 8: Way Up South, Lovelights May 9: Unity May 10: Worcester Jazz Collective May 13: Electro Swing Fusion with Mizz Kitsune May 14: Bellas Bartok, Cowboy Matt Hopewell, Nick Davis May 15: Airspray May 16: Disc Jam Pre-Party, featuring Pink Talking Fish May 17: Funky Jazz Jam May 19: Block McCloud May 20: Lindy Vopnfjord, Hannah Cox May 21: The Cranks May 22: A Night of Classic Reggae May 23: Chromatropic, Dark City Agent May 26: Nemes, Miniature Philosopher, Edison May 27: Brocas Area May 28: Ivy Material Hip Hop Show May 30: Alchemystics, The Romano Project, Fulah
Fiddlers’ Green Pub & Restaurant 19 Temple St., Worc. Saturdays: A Murphs Comedy Joint May 8: P.E. James Firefly’s / Dante’s 350 E. Main St., Marlborough Flip Flops 680 Main St., Holden Flying Rhino Cafe 278 Shrewsbury St., Worc. Funky Murphy’s Bar & Grill 305 Shrewsbury St., Worc. Gardner Ale House 74 Parker St., Gardner Mondays: Blue Mondays Thursdays: Audio Wasabi Fridays, Saturdays: Live Music The GazBar Sports Grill 1045 Central St., Leominster May 30: Chris Reddy Acoustic Loops from Hell Gilrein’s 802 Main St., Worc. Greendale’s Pub 404 W. Boylston St., Worc. Sundays: Jim’s Sunday Blues Jam Tuesdays: Open Mic Night May 8: SOUP May 9: 9Teen May 15: John Morgan May 16: Desolate Highway May 22: Moonshine May 22: Moonshine May 29: Girls on Girls May 30: Silverbacks The Grey Hound Pub 139 Water St., Worc. Thursdays: Team Trivia New England Halligan’s Sports Bar and More 889 Southbridge St., Auburn Hotel Vernon - The Ship Room/ Kelley Square Yacht Club 1 Millbury St., Worc. Indian Ranch 200 Gore Road, Webster Ixtapa Cantina 308 Massachusetts Ave., Lunenburg JC Fenwick’s 37 Mechanic St., Leominster Jillian’s - Worcester 315 Grove St., Worc. May 8: New Bay Colony, Chris and Benny, Beat The Blizzard
Continued on Page 21
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 19
Continued from Page 18 May 9: Bobby Hogan & Sugarcreek May 15: Never in Vegas, Heather Ralston May 16: Squelch May 22: The Plagiarists May 23: UFC Fight May 29: Decades by Dezign May 30: H2 & The Groove
May 7: Night Train May 8: Jay Graham May 14: Ken Macy May 16: Jodee & Brian May 22: Chad Clements May 23: James Keyes May 29: Scott Babineau May 30: Bill McCarthy
JJ’s Sports Bar and Grill 380 Southwest Cutoff, Northborough May 8: Custard Pie May 9: Flock of A-Holes May 15: Whiskey Church May 16: No Alibi May 22: Heavy Horses May 29: The Great Escape May 30: Windfall Classic Rock
Mill Street Brews (@ The Artist Development Complex) 18 Mill St., Southbridge
The Lazy Dog 31 Main St., Marlborough
Nick’s Bar and Restaurant 124 Millbury St., Worc. Fridays: Thank Friday It’s Dr. Nat May 21: Grade A Fancy
Legends Airport Road, Fitchburg Leitrim’s Pub 265 Park Ave., Worc.
Moonstruck Café 19 Worcester Road, Charlton Moynihan’s Pub 897 Main St., Worc.
The Nines Neighborhood Bar 136 Millbury St., Worc.
Loft 266 Bar & Lounge 266 Park Ave., Worc.
Olde Post Office Pub 1 Ray St., N. Grafton May 16: Windfall Classic Rock
London Billiards / Club Oasis 70 James St., Worc.
On The Rocks Sports Bar & Grill 96 Lakefront Ave., Lunenburg
Lucky Dog Music Hall 89 Green St., Worc. Mondays: DeeJayDee Smilesz Wednesdays: Games at the bar
Oxford Tavern 314 Main St., Oxford
Mahoney’s Pub 413 Park Ave., Worc. Marty’s Pub 225 Cantebury St., Worc. MB Lounge 40 Grafton St., Worc. McNally’s Grille & Pub 88 Sargent Road, Westminster Michael’s Cigar Bar 1 Exchange Place, Worc. May 3: Blue Light Bandits May 7: Dave B and the Hotshots May 8: Jim Devlin Band May 9: Rugged Road Band May 14: Brett Brumby May 15: Andy Cummings & Swingabilly Lounge May 16: Russo Bros Jazz Quintet May 21: Chris Reddy Acoustic Loops from Hell May 22: Acoustic Nation May 23: Hit the Bus May 28: Jim Devlin Solo May 29: Real Cool Cats May 30: Heartland Radio Mickey Sheas 324 Electric Ave., Lunenburg May 9: Johnny Romance The Mill 185 185 W. Boylston St., W. Boylston
Padavano’s Place 358 Shrewsbury St., Worc. Wednesdays: Sean Ryan on Acoustic Thursdays: DJ Curtis Karaoke May 5: Ricky Duran May 6: Marc Turo May 8: Chad Clements May 9: The Drunken Uncles May 10: Jazz Trio featuring Mauro DePasquale May 13: Dan Hogan May 15: The South Street Band May 16: Three Little Birds, featuring Becky Stallings May 17: Brett Brumby May 20: Marc Turo May 22: Babe Pino Band May 23: Cara Brindisi May 24: Dale LePage Trio May 27: Dan Hogan May 29: Ken Macy May 30: Guy Bergeron Paisanos Pizza & Spirits 450 Lancaster St., Leominster 978-534-7117 The Palladium 261 Main St., Worc. Partner’s Pub 970 South St., Fitchburg Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays: Karaoke May 9: Sean Daley May 16: 1 Oughta 9 May 23: Town Meeting
May 30: Tyrus Patsie Dugan’s 49 Millbury St., Worc. Perfect Game Sports Grill and Lounge 64 Water St., Worc. Mondays: Ladies Night Tuesdays: Industry Night Wednesdays: Bike Night with Sheldon’s Harley Thursdays: College Night with DJ Xkaliber Fridays: DJ One-3 Saturdays: DJ Reckless
May 17: Brunch with Zack Slik May 21: Jay Graham May 22: Cailte Kelley May 23: Keith Mclinden Band May 24: Brunch with Jon Short May 28: Sean Fullerton May 29: Doctor Robert May 30: Caves on Mars Sakura Tokyo 640 Park Ave., Worc. May 8-9: Doctor Robert Scorz 58 Shrewsbury St., Worc. Sean Patrick’s Family Restaurant 494 Electric Ave., Lunenburg
Pho Dakao 593 Park Ave., Worc. Point Breeze On the Lake 114 Point Breeze Road, Webster Press Box 536 Lincoln St., Worc. Primetime Pub 5 Summer St., Lunenburg Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner 148 Grove St., Worc. Sundays: Sunday Night Cinemageddon Mondays: Dirty Gerund Poetry Show Tuesdays: C.U. Next Tuesday with DJ Poke Smot May 6: Crazy for ’80s Dance Party May 9: Deb’s Birthday Show with Jay Berndt and the Orphans, Thinner, The Evil Streaks May 23: The Sonic Voyage Fest The Raven 258 Pleasant St., Worc. 508-304-8133 facebook.com/people/RavenWorcester/100001022046717
South Side Grille & Margarita Factory 242 W. Broadway, Gardner Speakers Night Club 19 Weed St., Marlborough Thursdays: Acoustic Fridays: Karaoke and Dance Party Saturdays: Live Bands May 23: Brasilian Dance Band May 30: The Allens Spruce Street Tavern 68 Spruce St., Clinton Stagecoach Inn and Tavern 128 Main St., Groton Sunset Tiki Bar 79 Powers Road, Westford Tal’s Place 138 Lake St., Webster Three G’s Sports Bar 152 Millbury St., Worc. Fridays through May 15: The Ramm Jamm
Red Onion - Otter River Hotel 29 Main St., Baldwinville Rivalry’s Sports Bar 274 Shrewsbury St., Worc. May 3: The Progressions May 8: Three of a Kind May 9: Ton of Blues May 10: Clamdigger May 15: Mike Lynch Trio May 16: Take Two May 17: The Randy & Dave Show May 22: Chad Clements May 29: Drunken Uncles May 30: Norm Tonelli & Friends Rumors 371 Park Ave., Worc. Rye & Thyme 14 Monument Square, Leominster May 7: Jon Short May 8: Brian Chaffee & The Players May 9: Brian & Captain May 14: Dan Cormier May 15: Zack Slik May 16: The City Boys Band
Trumbull Bar & Grill 117 Main St., Spencer Union Tavern 65 Green St., Worc. Upper Deck Sports Bar & Grille 377 Stetson Road, Barre Victory Bar & Cigar 56 Shrewsbury St., Worc. Vincent’s Bar 49 Suffolk St., Worc. Tuesdays: Jon Bonner and Boogie Chillin’ May 4: Hip Swayers Deluxe Whistle Stop Bar & Grill 85 Main St., Oxford William’s Restaurant & Tavern 184 Pearson Blvd., Gardner Ye Olde Tavern 7 E. Main St., W. Brookfield
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 21
PULSESHOTS
By Justin Perry
THE UNION TAVERN Worcester
VICTORY BAR & CIGAR WORCESTER
MEZÉ GREEK TAPAS WORCESTER
22 THEPULSEMAG.COM | MAY 2015
FLYING RHINO CAFÉ WORCESTER
CLASSIC’S PUB LEOMINSTER
THE MILL 185 WEST BOYLSTON
GAZBAR SPORTS GRILL LEOMINSTER
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 23
L IF E STY L E
Book ’Em Daniels: Local author strives to promote accountability through children’s books By Kimberly Dunbar Mark Daniels is late, something he never likes to be. “I’m a stickler for punctuality,” says the 34-year-old entrepreneur as he takes a seat at Starbucks. Daniels is right at home: It’s where he spends most of his days working. Daniels is the mastermind behind ChristaTales, a company that writes and publishes children’s books about important topics such as saving money, picking a career, religion, fitness and the death of a loved one. “We want to start a dialogue and serve as a lightning rod for discussions,” Daniels says, adding that he believes his books are written as much for parents as they are for children. “Our books give parents a neutral platform to talk about these types of topics.” In 2013, Daniels, a licensed financial advisor, left his successful career at Merrill Lynch to focus on building his business. A few years earlier, Daniels launched the idea to build a website where people could upload and create their own books. However, halfway through and $15,000 into the project, the programmer couldn’t finish. “We decided to turn a negative into a positive,” he explains. “We dropped the website idea for the time and decided to write our own books.” Using the images and characters that were created for the website, Daniels wrote his first book, A Trip to the Zoo, which teaches children about the importance of financial responsibility. “This book tells the entertaining tale of two young boys and their day trip to the zoo. In this story, the African-American boy ends up spending the majority of his money on this given trip, while the Caucasian boy tends to be a bit more thrifty with his purchases,” Daniels says. “The intent is not to slander or paint a negative image of any particular race, but rather to begin a discussion on the topic and, most importantly, teach children of all races how to save for their futures from a young age.” Daniels – who grew up in Marlborough and has lived in Worcester since graduating from Nichols College in 2003 – figured that, considering his background, writing about finance made sense. “We live in a generation where people aren’t focused on saving,” he says. “If you encourage kids to start saving at a young age, it becomes habitual. That’s why we want to start working in the schools; we don’t think children are necessarily getting the message.” It was actually Daniels’s own child who inspired his first book. “I was spending a lot of time talking to people about planning for their futures,” he says. “In 2010, when my daughter was 3,
24 THEPULSEMAG.COM | MAY 2015
she told me to start doing what I was telling other people to do.” A year later, ChristaTales released its first book, which is being translated into Spanish and Mandarin in order to reach a more diverse audience. Daniels has since published three more books. His second, All the Me’s I Can Be, encourages children to find a career they love, and the third book focuses on religion. Daniels’s fourth book is another product of his daughter’s inspiration. “In 2012 and 2013, I lost my parents a year and three weeks apart,” he says. “My daughter had trouble dealing with that and why she didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. It’s a difficult subject.” Daniels is filled with ideas. He has 14 other topics on the docket and a new book coming out June 1 about healthy living. A Trip to the Playground will teach kids the importance of being active and that eating healthy food can be fun. Daniels is currently working on sponsoring writing contests with local college and high school students, and he’s moving forward with adding a platform to the website to allow people to create their own books, using the characters and background he’s already established. In the next year, Daniels hopes to publish three more books and increase the number sold (1,200 thus far). He’s also in the process of converting the company’s e-books into traditional hard-cover copies, a portion of which he plans to donate to deserving schools. In fact, that’s why Daniels was late – he was meeting with the publisher who’ll have ChristaTales books printed within the next six months. The hope is to further spread the messages of fiscal responsibility and physical fitness by having print copies in bookstores and libraries.
For more information: christatales.com
“The most important thing is that we want to start a dialogue,” he says. “These books, they’re a call to action to facilitate more accountability.”
EVERYDAY SCIENCE: Was your favorite song chosen by a computer? By R.J. Linton In my circle of friends, we describe great songs as “earworms.” That great hook worms its way through your cochlea, straight into your brain and tickles you. You begin to tap your foot, move your hips and – if no one is around – sing to yourself. You can’t seem to help it. When we watch any of the various music awards, we hear all the great hits of the year, and we hope our favorites are rewarded. In the same way we don’t know which song will be revealed when the presenter opens the envelope, we never know which new song we hear on the radio will be a Top 40 hit. Not knowing which song will make it has little effect on our livelihood. The music industry, on the other hand, depends on hiring the best artists. So the music industry pays artist and repertoire (A&R) consultants to predict which new songs will be hits. For A&Rs, predicting new hits is akin to being a successful stockbroker. You use all your experience and hope the masses reward you. However, machine-learning and the Internet may be able to improve the success rate of A&Rs. Machine-learning is a process where a scientist asks a computer to “learn” how to perform a task when the scientist doesn’t know how to program the computer to do the task. Imagine you wanted to teach a machine how to build a picnic table, but you never built one yourself. Where would you begin? In machine-learning, you would look to as many carpenters as you could find and ask them to tell you the kinds, sizes and shapes of the wood they started with, and then give you the size, shape and colors of the tables that they built with that wood. The information about the wood is the input, and the descriptions of the tables are the output. You would then ask the computer to take each of these inputs (sometimes, thousands of cases) and “guess” the process to produce the output from the input. The hard part is giving the computer a first “guess.” So what do picnic tables and music have in common? We don’t know the exact details of what makes songs (the input) into hits (the output), but we know the details of a good first guess. The details can be described by ideas like “dancability,” beats-per-minute, etc. A&R people around the world are turning to companies that write down these first guesses and allow musicians, songwriters and music industry employees to upload songs and ask the computer if the song is a hit. Artists such as Norah Jones and Maroon 5 have been predicted to be pop-chart successes by these types of algorithms. So as the music industry struggles to make a profit, expect more of your favorite artists to have been discovered by a computer that “learned” to be an A&R consultant. MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 25
Gift ideas for every kind of mom By Jennifer Russo Your mom (or the mom-like person you love). The woman who has done her darndest to teach you to use your manners, teach you wrong from right and have you grow up into a decent person. The woman who has been your scolder and a shoulder. The woman who drove you to your practices, helped you with your homework, took care of you when you were sick, cleaned up after you and spent the greater part of her life balancing her personal needs with yours, but always putting you first. Yes … that woman … and you haven’t even gotten her a Mother’s Day gift yet, have you? Mmmhmmm. (End guilt trip.) So with Mother’s Day (May 10, by the way) falling right around the same time as college finals, you may have been too busy to remember to pick up something. Flowers are always a nice gesture, but there are many other options that will make your mom smile and pat herself on the back for raising such a thoughtful child. After the long winter, this holiday is at the peak of spring, so think bright and happy and check out some of our ideas! Moms with a sweet tooth will love a beautiful package of cupcakes by BakedByMelissa.com. I am a huge advocate for this company and have used them a couple times now. The mini cupcakes are delicious and look as good as they taste. You can customize the flavors or get a pre-designed pack. The cupcakes come in flavors like Triple Chocolate, Red Velvet, Chocolate Chip Pancake and Cookie Dough. If your mom is more health-conscious, EdibleArrangements. com is always an awesome idea. They make beautiful fruit arrangements and have some same-day delivery options. Perfume isn’t a bad idea, but keep in mind that women are pretty darn picky about their scent choices. Some like florals, while others like musks. For a light, feminine choice, try Tory Burch’s signature fragrance or Chanel’s Chance ($60-$85 at sephora.com). Since mom usually doesn’t have a chance to be pampered, you might consider a gift card to a nearby spa, or if it’s hard for her to get away, maybe some bubble bath and the way cool Umbra Bamboo Bathtub Caddy ($50 at Bed & Bath), which holds a book, a glass of wine and a sponge. Speaking of wine, if your mom drinks the stuff, there are tons of options. A nice bottle of her favorite (think $30-40 for a nice bottle that doesn’t break the bank) is a great gesture. You could also get her an elegant Godinger Stemware & Decanter set ($60 at Macy’s). Most women love jewelry, but I caution you, some of things advertised around the holiday are just cheesy. If you are going that route, try something like the Alex & Ani Mom Bracelet ($28 at alexandani. com) or something simple. Better yet, if you have siblings, pool your dough and get her something with your birthstones in it. For fashion-forward moms, there are a lot of bright spring styles hitting the shelves. The Hawthorne Lane Ryan handbag comes in four colors ($198 at katespade.com). If you can’t spend that much, Kohl’s has a great selection of designer handbags on the cheap. A bright and floral spring scarf is a great option, too. Check out Marshalls or TJ Maxx; they have tons. Tickets to a show or sports event might be welcome to some moms. You know what kinds of things she likes, so take a minute to see what’s happening in the area. If she is local, the Hanover Theatre, Mechanic’s Hall and the DCU Center always have things going on. Or grab some tickets to a Red Sox game and have some kid/mom time over a Fenway Frank and a beer. Whatever you choose for mom, know that she will love it because it came from you, and if she doesn’t love it, she will still pretend to … like when you tried to make her breakfast or colored the wall with a masterpiece.
26 THEPULSEMAG.COM | MAY 2015
How to care for
your vinyl By Tricia Wise
More people are getting into record players now. However, not everyone is well-versed in the preservation of records and players. To those who are new to vinyl, maintaining your vinyl and player is essential for long-term quality.
Record care Keep records stored upright.
Do not stack your records in a pile; this makes it more likely your records will crack. They must be stored upright, like books on a shelf. Always keep them in their sleeves and jackets.
Avoid water damage.
Water on a record will cause permanent damage. Records should be stored in dry areas and away from windows to avoid sun exposure.
Don’t directly touch the record.
Bacteria and debris can get on a record, so touch only the outer edges when handling the record. You should clean records after use, just in case.
Keep records dust-free.
Dust particles can get into the grooves of records, which make records more crackly-sounding. Dust can also cause the vinyl to wear unevenly. You can use a dry brush to sweep away the particles.
Buy a brush.
You can use a brush or a microfiber pad to clear dust and bacteria from the records. Use the brush or pad with record-cleaning solution (you can even dilute it with distilled water). Let the record dry naturally in a vertical position. Don’t play the record when it still has the drying fluid on it.
R e c o r d p l ay e r c a r e Don’t take a record off the platter while it’s still spinning.
Removing the record while it’s still playing will scratch the platter, as well as the record itself. Wait until the platter comes to a complete stop before removing the record.
Use the correct cleanser.
As with records, the proper cleanser must be used when maintaining the record player. Distilled water with a cleansing solution is always the safest option. Cleansing solution can be found at your local record store or online.
Keep cover or top on turntable when not in use.
Dust easily builds up on turntables. To prevent this, it is vital to only have the record player open when you’re actually using it. Pay special attention to the stylus, otherwise known as the needle, which collects the most dust.
Replace your needle every few years. Needles become very worn and can give records a fuzzy sound, which can result in permanent damage to your vinyl. Needles last about 2,000 to 3,000 plays.
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 27
DINING & E NT E R TAINING
At the Wormtown Brewery, you can always Be Hoppy By Tricia Wise Wormtown Brewery has made the move to 72 Shrewsbury St. from the popular Worcester restaurant Peppercorn’s. Owners Tom Oliveri, David Fields and Ben Roesch ensure that every one of their craft beers will offer “a piece of Mass in every glass.” Recently, Pulse sat down with the owners of Wormtown to talk about the move and their plans for the future.
How did your business start?
Tom Oliveri: It started on kind of a whim. Seven years ago, we opened an ice cream shop at the restaurant Peppercorn’s. It was a very seasonal business: Between June, July and August, business was great; other than that, it wasn’t. We looked for something a little bit more year-round as opposed to seasonal. One thing led to another, and five years ago, we opened Wormtown Brewery.
Why did you move business to Shrewsbury Street?
Oliveri: Supply and demand. David Fields: We moved to Shrewsbury Street because of the visibility, the point of connection that this location provides, the huge market component to being on Shrewsbury Street.
What is the most popular beer?
Fields: The most popular beer is, by far, the Be Hoppy, which was not anticipated. We originally opened with Seven Hills Session Pale Ale as the flagship brand. But Be Hoppy is one of our original brews as well. Just because of our consumers, Be Hoppy became the most popular beer. But that’s not our most medaled beer at this point in time, which is the Pro Am Porter, which is seasonally available.
How would you define the style of the brewery?
Fields: Overall, we are a hop-forward, West Coast-style brewery. But interestingly, when we range – such as the Pro Am Porter or the Norm or beers that won all the medals down in the U.S. Beer Open – we do really well. We have five or six hoppy-style beers, but we balance it with three to four malty, sweeter styles.
As your business expands, will you decide to serve food? Oliveri: We serve microwave popcorn! Fields: No. Oliveri: Never say never! Fields: This is made to be a commercial brewery; everyone right now follows this retail space. We have to be this really cool stop to come and hang out. Our business plan is to be a commercial brewery, just like Sam Adams and Wachusett. There are 18 [restaurants] around here, all selling our beers, so we love the partnership we have with everybody in Worcester.
Why is the local business aspect important? Fields: We are always sure to mention, “A piece of Mass in every glass,” which is really kind of the stamp on our commitment to beer and the local movement. Every beer we have has some sort of local, Massachusetts-grown ingredient. In the Masshole, 100 percent of the ingredients come from Massachusetts. With local businesses, it’s personal; it’s a personal touch. Ben Roesch: It keeps famers in our community, keeps their family business. There are direct relationships. If anyone has a question or issue, I can answer it directly, which wouldn’t be possible if you go into the larger food conglomerate.
wormtown brewery 72 Shrewsbury St., Worcester | (774) 239-1555 | wormtownbrewery.coM 28 THEPULSEMAG.COM | MAY 2015
PulseBREW: how to enjoy a beer festival By Kerry Cyganiewicz Mary E. Sauvageau was a longtime employee of the Gardner School District. She started out as a crossing guard, became a substitute teacher and then attended college to become certified as a paraprofessional. She coached soccer, attended every basketball game and worked in the after-school program. On May 9, The Knights of Columbus, 110 S. Main St., Gardner, will host the Greater Gardner Homebrew Tasting and Competition. All proceeds will benefit the Mary E Sauvageau Memorial Scholarship Fund to help a Gardner student with college expenses. Live music will be provided by Firelake. There will be guest judges from many area breweries, including Wachusett Brewing and Lefty’s Brewing. Yours truly has also been asked to be a guest judge. Come on down and meet the brewers, say hello, and enjoy yourself. I was fortunate to be asked to pour beer at the Lefty’s Brewing Company booth at Brew Woo in April. It was a change for me to be on the other side of the taps. In that small amount of time, I learned a lot about how to enjoy a beer festival. Here are a few tips:
Ask the person pouring what he/she likes. The person pouring the beer has already sampled everything – to make sure the tap lines are functioning, of course. And prepare to be surprised. Everyone who asked me was presented with a 50/50 mixture of Chocolate Oatmeal Stout and Graham Cracker Porter that tasted amazingly similar to a S’more. If you didn’t ask, you didn’t know. Speaking of which, watch for a new beer from Lefty’s based on that concoction.
Stay hydrated. You will be drinking a large amount of small samples. They add up quickly. Make sure you have a bottle of water with you.
Rinse your tasting glass. Skip this step, and you’ll miss out. Not rinsing the glass mixes small amounts of your previous beer with your just-poured beer, and that is, as Martha Stewart says, “not a good thing.”
Finally, follow the crowds. If you see a large group of people around one booth, go there. There is a reason everyone is there. Maybe they are giving out free stuff like T-shirts or glasses. Perhaps the person pouring the beer is extremely attractive and dressed like its July in Miami. More likely than not, it is because what they are pouring is especially good. That was the case with the Not Your Father’s Root Beer booth. Do you like root beer? Would you be interested in an alcoholic root beer? If so, grab this newcomer to the Massachusetts beer scene. Don’t expect any review from me about hop profiles or biscuit malt presence because neither of them are here. It tasted like root beer and nothing else. I could not believe there was alcohol hidden in there and neither could the festival-goers waiting in line to use their last few tickets for another taste. MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 29
Urban presents dishes with The Urban Kitchen + Bar
225 Shrewsbury St., Worcester (508) 755-8331 theurbanworcester.com By Bernie Whitmore First, let’s take a moment to honor Coral Seafood for providing decades of happy dining experiences. Always on my short list of favorites, the yeasty, soft bread was a signature start, followed by our favorite entrees. For my troupe of friends, the end of the workweek was often celebrated with dinner at “The Coral.” These memories we owe to the hospitality of the Voyiatzis family. Georgia and her son, Jim, welcomed each of us as family. The days of Coral Seafood may have passed, but the same family is back with an entirely new concept. In the first months of operation, I’ve dined at The Urban Kitchen a few times, and at risk of raising expectations the owners might not yet be seeking, I’ve found the cuisine exciting. The bones of the building are immediately recognizable, but those huge overhead jellyfish lights have drifted away, and the library-style wine storage system behind the bar has been replaced with a proscenium arch framing a screen showing classic films. Enough backstory. It’s time to let the food speak for itself, and this evening’s event began with Grilled Octopus. This is one of my favorite “exotics,” and The Urban did it proud. Dramatically presented with one tentacle arcing over the others, each purple-tinged section was tender with mild seafood flavor accented by flecks of cilantro and citrusy cream sauce. Chorizo hash brown potatoes added a textural contrast and provided tasty bits of flavor. We accompanied that with a Charcuterie Board from Urban’s Share menu. I’m usually attracted to menu items such as this because the chef gets to display his or her virtuosity – or is, at least, challenged to produce something interesting. This one was fascinating. Theresa, our server, pointed out the features of our charcuterie board before we started sampling. I started with the thick dab of pork rillettes and spread some onto grilled rustic bread with whole-grain mustard. Rillettes has the texture of fine-grained pâté and a highly refined flavor – very unusual. Tall wedges of firm, golden beets, shimmering translucent with a mild sweet flavor, gave way to the main charcuterie event: thick slices of braised beef tongue. I’ve watched Anthony Bourdain long enough to seize this moment with gusto. Braised for hours with a hint of brown sugar glaze, it was the epitome of the beef experience: tasty and tender and pleasingly dense – very exciting. Pink curls of pickled onion provided sparks of contrasting
30 THEPULSEMAG.COM | MAY 2015
flavor & flair flavor. Perfumed with fennel and slightly sweet, they looked like delicate flower petals innocently drifted onto the board. After such an auspicious start, where might this dining experience be heading? With my Roasted Venison Loin, it bounded forward. Four generous filets were cooked medium-rare for ideal tenderness and flavor. To those who might cower in fear of ‘the gaminess,’ I recommend they get over it and give venison a try. At The Urban Kitchen, it was mild in flavor and plated up with exciting flavor combinations. Nestled among the venison, roasted hen-ofthe-woods mushrooms were thick and meaty and woodsy in flavor. Wonderful! Venison is often teamed with berries of some sort. In this case, it was a sautée of softened cranberries, each bursting with tart flavor. Then, there were the fresh-steamed artichokes; if you’ve prepared your own, you’ll recognize the hand-carved rustic nature and their mild nutty flavor. Continuing our tour through the wild kingdom, my friend chose Seared Duck Breast, served with wild mushrooms and sweet potatoes over date purée. Another generouslysized entree, these slices of breast meat had glistening, pink interiors and a thin layer of wonderfully rich-tasting sear on the outside. They came with a tumble of earthytasting wild mushrooms and were garnished with bright-green nasturtium leaves. The Urban offers four selections of side orders. This evening we chose the Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding. Unusual? Certainly, but the Garlic Spinach is another option I’ve enjoyed. Both were delicious. For beverage pairings, my friend chose a glass of merlot from Bedell, a vineyard in Long Island, and complimented its soft and rich dark-berry flavors. Continuing my shift toward craft brews, I chose Mayflower IPA. Its moderately sharpbitter flavor also featured hints of citrus; it posed no danger of overwhelming the food courses. For dessert, we ordered Zeppole, puffy balls of dough fried crusty brown on the outside with creamy centers. They were delicious dipped in maple crème anglaise – another example, I dare say, of peasant chic. In support of this exciting dining experience was a level of service that anticipated our needs, no matter how subtle. Perhaps I was distracted by the plates set before me, but in my experiences at Urban Kitchen, it seemed as if a waiter magically appeared with whatever I required, just as I looked up. I’ll credit manager Ian Nal with attention to every detail and an exceptional level of staff training and Chef Jacob Bowser with assurance that Urban Kitchen waiters are familiar with and enthusiastic about the creations they serve.
Hot& Now
By Paul Giorgio
I
Great cause to drink to. Julio’s Liquors has raised $5,000 for Shriners Hospitals
for Children with the help of the annual Go! Whisk(e)y Festival. The nearly weeklong event was celebrated from Feb. 27- March 1. The event had a total of two dinners, 14 whisky seminars and two tastings, the largest of which was the Gram Dram tasting, which saw 1,000 attendees. All contributions to the event were matched by Julio’s Liquors.
Shrewsbury gets sushi. Sawa, a Japanese sushi and steakhouse, recently
opened last month on Route 9 in Shrewsbury in the building which once was home to Newbury Comics. The owners have beautifully done over the space, which has a large bar area, a separate room for hibachi dining, a function space and an outdoor patio. For information, call 508-845-5000.
Speaking of Shrewsbury. Amici’s Trattoria, a great Italian restaurant in the center of town, is now open for breakfast. George Yantsides is the chef. He previously worked at Worcester’s Kenmore Diner for 20 years. Amici’s is open for breakfast from 6-11 a.m. Tuesday-Friday and 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on the weekends. breakfast in the woo. The Miss Worcester Diner on Southbridge Street has
topped BuzzFeed’s list of “21 American Diners You Should Eat At Before You Die.” The iconic Worcester lunch car serves a great Biscuits and Gravy, along with a host of other great morning meals. Also, the desserts are to die for. When in the Woo, try the Miss Woo.
Speaking about breakfast. The Rotary Club of Auburn will host a Flip for Scholars pancake breakfast from 8 a.m.-noon Sunday, May 17, at the Auburn High School cafeteria. The cost is $5 for adults and $1 for children 7 and younger. The money goes to college scholarships for Auburn High School seniors. For more information, contact Marcia Davis, president of the Rotary Club of Auburn, at 508-254-1214 or largotutor@verizon.net. New look. Mac’s Diner, a Shrewsbury Street landmark, is sporting a new look
these days. Chris McMahon, who is the third generation to run the eatery, has put in new windows and an awning, giving the venerable place a spring update.
Funky Town. Funky Murphy’s, a Shrewsbury Street watering hole and restaurant, will soon have a sibling. Funky Murphy’s will open a second location on Main Street in Marlborough. The site once housed the Lazy Dog. It will be the same formula that has proven successful in Worcester – a great bar scene, good food and good music. Look for a June opening.
Too much salt. The owners of the building that once housed the Salty Dog in
Immedia LLP • 1075 Millbury Street • Worc. MA 01607
w w w.immedia1.com E• sales@immedia1.com P• 508) 791-3366 F• 508) 754-1387
• Sound • Lighting • Video • Generators • Temporary Heating
Worcester’s Kelly Square are getting ready for some as-yet-unnamed new tenants. The building’s owners are redoing the storefronts and getting rid of the old signs and putting new ones up. We hear a Subway is taking part of the building, but what else is slated?
• Rentals
South of the border. Di Reyna has opened on Belmont Street in Worcester,
• Event Planning
opposite the UMass campus. This was in the space that was occupied by a Dangelo’s and then Johnny Fugata. We hear that the restaurant is serving a mixture of Mexican food and South American dishes.
Kyoto opens in Holden. The Kyoto Restaurant that is located in Lincoln Plaza on Worcester’s Lincoln Street recently opened a second location on Main Street in Holden.
• Staging • Temporary Air Conditioning * And More
MAY 2015 | THEPULSEMAG.COM 31
A R T & C U L T U R E
Frankenstein Medical School o f f e r s a b i t o f G ot h i n t h e e v e ry day
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By Tricia Wise For anyone who doesn’t want to wait until October to go Goth, check out the crafts and trinkets at Frankenstein Medical School. From coffin jewelry boxes to creepy magnets to chilling kids T-shirts, this small shop does not fall short of scary.
These creepy crafts, and many more, can be found on Etsy. com, at various local craft fairs such as Worcester’s StART on the Street or at local coffee shops, such as the Sturbridge Coffee House.
Jerry Stiles, a retired technology education teacher, started making these crafts in 2005 in his shop at Tantasqua Junior High School in Sturbridge. He noticed “a couple of Goth kids at school, and I didn’t really know what it was at the time. I went to Barnes & Noble and asked if they had anything on the Goth subcultures. They gave me a couple, and I read those, and from there, it just sort of grew.” Stiles said, “I thought it was interesting. Goth grew out of the punk rock music scene in England in the late ’70s and early ’80s. And the more I learned about it, I thought, ‘How did I miss this? Where was I?’” At Barnes & Noble, he found “The Goth Bible, by Nancy Kirkpatrick, and that was a book about the subculture – where it came from, what it is, and what it isn’t. Then, there was a great book by Jillian Venters called Gothic Charm School, and that was written for kids. And I recommended that to a lot of kids and a lot of parents. It was an excellent book. It should be in every school library because it explains what it is and what it isn’t; there are so many misconceptions.” Stiles also began to watch Goth movies. His favorite is “an old black-and-white film called The Addiction; it’s a vampire film.” Stiles’ rising interest in the Goth subculture and dedication to his students led him
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kids helped with ideas.”
to start an after-school activity for students to make Goth crafts and listen to music. “Being a tech teacher, I had a shop with all of the tools,” so conducting the program was easy and fun. Stiles bought all of the supplies, and the students made crafts, which were primarily leather bracelets and choker collars. For a while, Stiles was not sure what he wanted to do with these crafts. He recalled thinking, “I don’t really know where I’m going to go with this. I’m just making it up as I go along,” but mainly, “the
Stiles eventually moved this shop from his school to the basement of the Joshua Hyde Public Library in Sturbridge. Stiles said, “We ended up with kids from three different schools. We had Southbridge, Spencer and Sturbridge kids. Parents came to the meetings and got involved. It was great; I had a ball.” After some time, Stiles decided to sell these crafts at local craft fairs and coffee shops. Stiles said he was unsure if his trinkets would be popular, but he decided to “just take a chance.” For the past two years, Frankenstein Medical School has sold the crafts on Etsy. Since then, he has sent his work all over the country and even shipped a coffin jewelry box to a customer in London. However, he said, “It isn’t really a business; it’s a hobby. I mean, I’m retired and I just do it for fun.” His creations include Gothic Nantucket, which is a small glass bottle filled with white sand, mini seashells and a little skull. Another design is the Three Finger Hook, a hanging decoration with three hooks that mimic a woman’s fingers with black nails and dripping blood. “People think Goth is over, but it’s not over,” Stiles said.
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S P O R TS & FITN E SS
CAN YOU ScORE A HOMERUN WITH OUR RED SOX TRIVIA? By Jennifer Russo When I was a little girl and about to turn 7, I had long hair tied in ribbons and wore dresses a lot of the time. But my birthday wishes weren’t visions of Barbie dolls and My Little Ponies. Instead, all I wanted was to go to a baseball game, a wish that came true when I was taken to a game where the Red Sox played the Athletics. To date myself a bit, it was the year Ted Williams retired and the roster included well-known names like Jerry Remy, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice and Dwight Evans. That season, they weren’t No. 1, or even second, but in my opinion, it was a magical year and the year I fell in love with baseball. Since then, I have been a Red Sox trivia junkie. No “pink hat” here! I’ll go up against anyone who thinks they know his stuff. Think you can hang? Let’s see. No phone-lookup cheating, now.
1. What are the retired numbers hanging in Fenway Park, and who did they belong to? 2. Where did the Red Sox play baseball before Fenway Park was built in 1911? 3. What was the date of the first game played at Fenway Park? 4. If a ball bounces into the bullpen, what is the call? 5. What were the Red Sox called before they adopted their current team name? 6. How many Red Sox players have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and who was the last player inducted? 7. To date, who holds the Red Sox record for most career “at-bats” and most career games played? 8. What is currently the Red Sox record to beat for most hits in a game? 9. How many Major League records did the Red Sox break in 2003? 10. What do Babe Ruth, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Johnny Damon and Kevin Youkilis all have in common? 11. How many Red Sox players have hit two consecutive grand slams in one game? 12. Which Red Sox pitcher is famous for his “bloody sock”? 13. Who is the oldest surviving former Red Sox player? Bonus Question: Who is the youngest player ever to start in the post-season with the Red Sox?
(1) Ted Williams (9), Joe Cronin (4), Bobby Doerr (1), Carl Yastrzemski (8), Jackie Robinson (42), Carlton Fisk (27), Johnny Pesky (6) and Jim Rice (14). (2) The Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds. (3) April 20, 1912. (4) Ground Rule Double. (5) The Americans. (6) 34 players, Pedro Martinez most recently. (7) Carl Yastrzemski. (8) Six hits. The record is currently held by Jimmy Piersall, Pete Runnels, Jerry Remy and Nomar Garciaparra. (9) Ten. (10) They were all Red Sox players who went to the Yankees organization. (11) Four – Jim Tabor in 1939, Rudy York in 1946, Nomar Garciaparra in 1999 and Bill Mueller in 2003. (12) Curt Schilling. The sock sold for more than $92,000 at auction. (13) Bobby Doerr – 97 (April 7, 1918). (Bonus Question) In 2013, Xander Bogaerts became the youngest starter to play with the team in the post-season since Babe Ruth. Bogaerts was 21 years and 16 days old. Babe Ruth was almost 22.
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NOR TH COUNTY • DINING • ENTER TAINMENT • NIGHTLIFE • SHOPPING
C OU N TY • DINING • ENTER TAINMENT • NI GHTL IFE • SHOPPI NG
NOR TH COUNTY • DINING • ENTER TAINMENT • NIGHTLIFE • SHOPPING
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