5.29.11
This is an Archival Site
There is now a new Rogovoy Report home
5.18.11
Weekend Preview May 19-24
Bob Dylan tributes, Deborah Voigt, Tom Paxton, Bill Kirchen, John Kirk and Trish Miller
5.18.11
Celebrating Bob Dylan's 70th Birthday in Style
Paying tribute to the greatest rock songwriter ever
5.17.11
FILM REVIEW: In a Better World and Of Gods and Men
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.17.11
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5.12.11
Deborah Voigt Headlines Mahaiwe Gala
Opera star to sing arias, show tunes on Saturday, May 21
5.15.11
Famed Spiritual Teacher to Speak on Nonviolence
Mother Maya in free talk at Sruti Yoga in Great Barrington, Mass., on Friday May 20 at 7pm
5.12.11
Special Effects Wizard to Be Honored by Film Festival
Doug Trumbull to be Feted by BIFF
5.11.11
Weekend Preview May 12-16
Cultural Highlights of the Berkshire Weekend
6.4.09
Talk about a small world
Elaine and I grew up together, but only just recently met....
5.8.11
Berkshire Living to Cease Publication
A Farewell from Publisher Michael Zivyak
5.8.11
twiGs Branches Out
Lenox boutique launches new e-tail site
5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.8.11
[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.7.11
[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
5.7.11
[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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[REPORT] Downtown Pittsfield abuzz
6.10.06
It was a hot night in Pittsfield, Mass., last night -- hot not in the sense of the weather (we could only wish for a single hot night in this season of cool, damp days and even cooler, damper nights), but in the sense that there was a buzz around town, a smattering of nightlife, and the faint hint that the much-touted revival of Pittsfield's downtown can actually be perceived on the horizon.
The immediate and most obvious cause of the buzz was the pre-opening VIP party at SPICE, the new restaurant (and soon-to-be new gelato place, banquet hall, and "open-air market" offering prepared foods etc.) and lounge that officially opens Monday night. A multimillion dollar project courtesy of Joyce Bernstein and Larry Rosenthal of Link to Life, which has its offices upstairs in the building, SPICE promises to be the linchpin of the culinary scene of any downtown revival.
Appropriately enough, the restaurant is situated right across the side street from HOUSE OF INDIA, which recently celebrated its tenth year of struggling it out downtown without the sort of glitter and hype and tax abatements that more recent projects, including SPICE, Barrington Stage, the Colonial Theatre, the proposed multiplex cinema, and other private business endeavors are now enjoying.
In any case, the owners of SPICE clearly have their hearts in the right place, and are deserving of great credit for the gift they've given to Pittsfield through the renovation and 'upscaling' of the former Besse-Clarke building. They haven't stinted in any way, and the venue promises to be an attractive destination for those who find themselves in Pittsfield in the evening, before or after a show at one of the theaters or the movies or whatnot.
So hundreds of invited guests enjoyed a sampling of what SPICE has to offer, including frothy vodka drinks, fine wines and champagnes, and other alcoholic drinks (none of which I sampled, sorry to say -- I'm taking the summer off from drinking, but look out for me on Labor Day!); and what many vouchsafed were terrific entrees, including glazed chicken drumsticks, venison meatballs (neither of which I tried -- sorry, not kosher!), and delicious gourmet pizzas (SCORE! yes, I had several of those, including a fantastic pizza drenched in olive oil, garlic, and olives -- my three favorite food groups!).
There was also a unique dish that combined a cooked beet and goat cheese. Yum.
The toast of the Berkshires was present at the event, including representatives from many walks of life, including a substantial contingent from Southern Berkshire that made its way all the way up to Pittsfield, and even a few token representatives of northern Berkshire were spotted. Pittsfield itself was of course well represented at the event, as was the Berkshire arts community, Barrington Stage, and one very famous (and funny) composer of musical comedy for Broadway, who was very bullish on the Pittsfield revival. He's also a terrific guy, and the city, and the Berkshires, would be extremely fortunate to one day call him their own (could happen!).
But that wasn't all -- there was a crowd over at the Berkshire Artisans, too, where various artists and would-be artists displayed their craftiness through birdhouses they decorated to be auctioned off to benefit the Pittsfield Garden Tour. There was obviously a fair amount of spillover between the two events, but it's that sort of density of happenings that Pittsfield is going to need in order to rightfully claim for itself the title of capital of the Cultural Berkshires.
There were a few other signs of life downtown: several college-age hipsters, officially known as the B-HIP interns, who are being housed downtown this summer and who during the day go off to work with the region's various cultural institutions, were seen strolling along North street looking for action (wonder if they ever found it?), and there was a gathering of youth in front of a skateboard store in the center of town that seemed to be promising a concert later that night -- a makeshift nightclub? Will Pittsfield police allow that sort of thing? Won't the youth scare off the bourgeoisie?
Only kidding. Pittsfield should have such problems (instead of the very real ones it still has).
So for one night at least, memories of the swastika-monger on the loose, the unsolved shootings and stabbings and muggings and drug arrests receded, and Pittsfield seemed like a potentially really happening place.
So much so that I'm going back tonight to stop into the opening at the Storefront Artist Project on Fenn Street.
-- Seth Rogovoy, critic-at-large, Berkshire Living
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