DAN’S PAPERS
Page 20 January 10, 2014
danspapers.com
Fireside Sessions with Nancy Atlas at Bay Street Theatre
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ast End musician and perennial Dan’s Papers Best of the Best honoree Nancy Atlas has turned Sag Harbor into the winter’s hottest live-music venue by launching the inaugural Fireside Sessions, a new concert series in which Atlas and her band, The Nancy Atlas Project, take the stage at Bay Street Theatre almost every Friday night, joined by a new musical guest each time. The series kicked off with Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers taking over the drums on January 3, and the sold-out affair had the crowd on its feet and the roof ready to blow. As she prepares for her second Fireside Sessions gig, the January 10 show featuring guitarist Andy Aledort, the ever-on-the-move Atlas takes a break to talk about the series, her guests and her connection to Sag Harbor. What was the inspiration for Fireside Sessions? Beautiful music in a beautiful setting. The winter is a great time to reflect. I have so many talented friends; this is really a chance for us to sit down and make some amazing music without all the chaos of summer. It was also about giving back a bit. $15 is a price anyone can afford, so they get to see a killer band with a special guest in a fabulous theater and have a real night out without breaking the bank. I lived in Sag Harbor for years, so this is a nice way to reconnect.
How will these shows differ from, say, summertime Nancy Atlas events? It will focus on the guest more than my original music. It really is a mix of music they have written or particularly love and a few of my tunes. We are basically going to have fun and let go a bit. Now that you have the first Fireside Sessions show under your belt, can you reflect back a bit on the first night? Well...let me see. How does one reflect on one of their best shows ever without sounding like a pompous git? I will say this—as an artist, there is a very deep satisfaction when you have a vision and that vision becomes reality. Then, in very rare circumstances, the reality surpasses your vision. That is what happened last Friday night. After a blizzard. Chad Smith took the entire audience on a wild, ecstatic, hair-raising rock and roll voyage for almost two hours. We were just
Watch out!
Nancy Atlas in rare form!
along for the ride. He is, beyond a doubt, a total gift to have as a friend, and I adore him sharing his monster abilities with our band. What is it about Sag Harbor that speaks to you? I lived in Sag Harbor for about six years. As much as I love Montauk, I definitely still miss aspects of Sag, especially in the winter. I’m really looking forward to seeing some old friends and having a beer post-show at the Corner Bar with [bartender] Ed Schuster and [owner] Jimmy Smyth. In fact, I’m looking forward to this entire series. I think it will be magical. I feel it in my gut. One thing is for sure—I plan to bring it on. The stars have aligned; now all we need to do is plug in the amps. For tickets to upcoming Fireside Sessions shows, visit baystreet.org, and check out photos from the Chad Smith show at DansPapers.com.
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a location signal so you can find the lions. That’s how we were able to round them all up. And also, each one gives a different signal, like a fingerprint, which can identify which animal they came from. They came from Nero and Rebecca.” The mayor took questions. “Are you saying,” one reporter asked, “that each of these lions gnawed off the chip of the other lion?” “We can’t say that is a definite.” “Weren’t we told earlier that these were all male lions?” another reporter asked. “Yes. But apparently they were not all males, if one of them was named Rebecca.” “The airport is surrounded by an 8-foot-high deer fence,” another reporter said. “Would that mean the lions are still on the airport grounds?” “We hope to find out. Nobody thinks they can leap up eight feet. But they have claws and like any cats, they can climb. At the present time, we are searching the airport grounds, particularly the fences to see if anything is amiss.” “Who is doing the searching?” “In the absence of the airport staff— the airport is closed at the present time because the staff, cowards that they are, all fled when they heard
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Lions
How are you selecting your guest performers? I’m picking from a pool of individuals that I would basically go to see myself. I am a fan of each and every one of them and they are all top shelf. I also want the audience to see something new. Chad happened to be in town, Randi Fishenfeld is in from Florida and Andy Aldort wasn’t on the road with Dicky Betts. The series is meant to be!
Daniel Gonzalez
By ellen dioguardi
“Nobody thinks they can leap up eight feet. But they have claws and like any cats, they can climb. We are searching the airport grounds...” the news—the searching is being done by the National Guard carrying standard military rifles and grenades, and accompanied by lion-sniffing dogs. But please do not panic.” “Why not?” “There is only the most remote possible danger from these lions. They are full of deer meat for one thing. We don’t even know for sure that they are here. There are only two of them so the odds of any one person seeing them are low. And of course, if they are still here, they are probably on the airport grounds. And when we have them rounded up, which I expect will happen later today, we will re-open the airport and, just to reassure everybody, I will have a press conference in front of the main entrance to the airport tomorrow at noon.” “Are the lions just going to be rounded up? Not shot on sight?” “Absolutely not shot on sight. Here in America, an African lion is a rarity. It is on the endangered species list in North America. If you see one, you can be arrested if you kill it.” “How long would it take before Rebecca has cubs?” a reporter asked. “No more questions,” the mayor said.