2021 Year in Review – The Hippo – 12/30/21

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DEC 30, 2021 - JAN 5, 2022

Year in Re vi e w

A LOOK BACK AT ANOTHER WEIRD YEAR PLUS THOUGHTS AND HOPES FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

INSIDE: CHAMPAGNE ALTERNATIVES

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As Hippo rounds out its 21st year I want to express my gratitude.

In the past 21 years, Hippo hasn’t missed an issue — that’s 1,092 issues published.

This doesn’t just happen. It takes talented people, including our executive editor Amy Diaz, who is Hippo’s longest-serving employee and who contributed articles for free before we could afford to hire her. Over the past two decades she has guided Hippo in its focus on local events, food, music and art. She and her team take these subjects seriously and cover them with professionalism.

And it does take a team. Amy’s team includes long-time managing editor Meghan Siegler, food reporter Matt Ingersoll, arts reporter Angie Sykeny, copy editor Lisa Parsons, music reporter Michael Witthaus, Music This Week listing coordinator Michelle Belliveau and contributors John Fladd, Jennifer Graham, Chelsea Kearin, Michele Pesula Kuegler, Dave Long, Fred Matuzewski, Jeff Mucciarone and Eric Saeger. These are the folks who cover the stories and write the columns that make Hippo so interesting each week.

The production team, led by Tristan Collins and supported by Jennifer Gingras, takes those stories and shapes them into the Hippo we’re used to reading each week. Tristan and Jennifer also build many of the ads in each issue. A lot of time and creativity goes into graphically building each issue for readers.

After every page is finished and approved, digital files of those pages are sent to a commercial printer in New Hampshire, where they print 30,000 copies (this is more than any other publication in New Hampshire) and truck them to our warehouse in Manchester.

From there our distribution team, led by Doug Ladd, takes over. Over the course of three days, Doug distributes those 30,000 copies to hundreds of locations in and around Concord, Manchester, Salem and Nashua. Doug does this with the support of Dave Boggess and Stephen Valido. Rain, snow or heat, these guys are out there every week moving thousands of issues.

To pay for all this, which is free to readers but not free to make, our sales team — led by Charlene Nichols, Alyse Savage, Roxanne Macaig and Tammie Boucher — works with local businesses to place ads in each issue. It’s hard

work that takes a lot of creativity and perseverance. Without that we would not be able to publish. Hippo’s advertisers pay to reach you, our reader, to let you know about the events, goods and services they are offering. We are grateful for their support. And we are grateful for readers who continue to support us by reading and by becoming sustaining Hippo members. I feel strongly that Hippo has made New Hampshire a better place to live. At the same time, New Hampshire has made Hippo better.

I’ve thought a lot over the years about what makes a place a place and what makes community. In our society we can pick up and move someplace else.

What keeps us here? What is the give and take of a community? What responsibilities does the community have to us and what responsibilities do we have for the community?

Much has been made of blue states and red states, of conservatives and liberals, of those pro this and anti that. And it can seem that that defines us. That we’re nothing more than not-those-folks-overthere. Social media does a very good job of helping us find community but also isolates us from a broader community that we actually live in. As we all know, there aren’t actually blue or red states. People everywhere have all sorts of political views. Does that define them? Are they moms or dads? Are they volunteers?

At many points in human history (and in this country and state) we were first defined by our religion or our race or ethnicity. We’ve mostly gotten past that (mostly — clearly more work needs to be done when it comes to race). Do we want to move backward or sideways and be defined by who we may vote for in one election cycle?

I sure hope not. I’ve made a conscious decision to not use social media because I believe it’s harmful to its users and harmful to our community. It too easily pushes us into one group or another when we’re really more than that. It’s too easy to inflame passions with false information. It’s too easy to be part of blue America or red America.

We’re really part of a place, a community, where we share neighborhoods, roads, schools, churches, jobs and parks.

That is Hippo’s main goal — to continue to connect people in our community — to bring us together and to support each other. It’s a mission I’m proud to be here to support. And I thank you for continuing to support your community and us.

Inspired by…

The Public House, the social club, a favorite dive where folks come together, the American diner and British tavern and that thirst for community, Your new old haunt. The love of ground up opportunity where chefs make little league games, taking care of our good people; That incredible burger in Chicago, the bliss of drool worthy food, Playing shuffleboard with Daughter and cocktail creativity in New Orleans; Pearl Jam, Dylan, DMB and Aretha, and your choice on Sundays Tapping toes and draft lines! Hipster-driven brewer’s art, pushing the envelope, laughing out loud in a NYC speakeasy bathroom, Assembling boomers, X, Y and Z’ers—all the letters! Love not hate.

Simple pleasures, so over burritos, no pretension, help don’t yelp, By choosing Craft over commonplace.

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Staff Writers Angie Sykeny asykeny@hippopress.com, Ext. 130 Matt Ingersoll mingersoll@hippopress.com, Ext. 152 Contributors Michelle Belliveau, John Fladd, Jennifer Graham, Henry Homeyer, Michele Pesula Kuegler, Dave Long, Fred Matuszewski, Jeff Mucciarone, Eric W. Saeger, Michael Witthaus Listings Arts listings: arts@hippopress.com Inside/Outside listings: listings@hippopress.com Food & Drink listings: food@hippopress.com Music listings: music@hippopress.com

BUSINESS Publisher Jody Reese, Ext. 121 jreese@hippopress.com Associate Publisher Dan Szczesny Associate Publisher Jeff Rapsis, Ext. 123 jrapsis@hippopress.com Production Tristan Collins, Jennifer Gingras Circulation Manager Doug Ladd, Ext. 135 dladd@hippopress.com Advertising Manager Charlene Nichols, Ext. 126 cnichols@hippopress.com Account Executives Alyse Savage, 603-493-2026 asavage@hippopress.com Roxanne Macaig, Ext. 127 rmacaig@hippopress.com Tammie Boucher, support staff, Ext. 150 To place an ad call 625-1855, Ext. 126 For Classifieds dial Ext. 150 or e-mail classifieds@hippopress.com Unsolicited submissions will not be returned or acknowledged and will be destroyed.

Opinions expressed by columnists do not represent the views of the Hippo or its advertisers.

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HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 6

Year in Re vie w ON THE COVER 2021 YEAR IN REVIEW Some of the hopes we had for 2021 played out (vaccines!), and others (life going back to normal!), not so much. Find out what went down in arts (p. 18), food (p. 38), movies (p. 48) and nightlife (p. 56) in 2021, and take a sneak peek at what’s to come in 2022.

ALSO ON THE COVER, walk through a wonderland of lights at LaBelle, p. 26. Make some simple sweets, p. 42 & 44.

And ring in the new year with a cocktail (p. 44) or try a new brew (p. 46).

INSIDE THIS WEEK NEWS & NOTES 8 NEWS IN BRIEF 10 Q&A 12 SPORTS 14 QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX 16 THIS WEEK THE ARTS 18 YEAR IN REVIEW 20 ARTS ROUNDUP INSIDE/OUTSIDE 24 TREASURE HUNT There’s gold in your attic.

28 GARDENING GUY Henry Homeyer offers advice on your outdoors.

30 KIDDIE POOL Family fun events this weekend.

32 CAR TALK Automotive advice.

CAREERS 34 ON THE JOB What it’s like to be a...

FOOD 38 YEAR IN REVIEW Weekly Dish; Try This at Home; Drinks with John Fladd; Beer.

POP CULTURE 48 REVIEWS CDs, books, TV and more. Amy Diaz looks back at the year’s funnest movies and checks out franchise continuations The Matrix Resurrections and The King’s Man. NITE 56 BANDS, CLUBS, NIGHTLIFE Nite Roundup, concert & comedy listings and more.

60 MUSIC THIS WEEK Live music at your favorite bars and restaurants.

67 ROCK AND ROLL CROSSWORD A puzzle for the music-lover.

ODDS & ENDS 67 KEN KEN, WORD ROUNDUP 68 CROSSWORD, SUDOKU 69 SIGNS OF LIFE, 7 LITTLE WORDS 70 NEWS OF THE WEIRD

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NEWS & NOTES

Covid-19 news

During the state’s weekly public health update on Dec. 22, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that, while hospitalization rates due to Covid-19 have declined slightly in recent weeks, New Hampshire is still seeing just over 1,000 new infections per day on average. “We are watching very closely what’s happening with the omicron variant … but the vast majority of infections that we are seeing through New Hampshire continue to be with the delta variant,” Chan said. The following day, Dec. 23, the number of hospitalizations dipped below 400 for the first time in more than three weeks. As of Dec. 27 there were 8,026 active infections. Gov. Chris Sununu also announced during the Dec. 22 press conference the state Executive Council’s vote earlier that day to approve six additional fixed vaccination sites, in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Keene, Salem and Exeter.

Each site will administer booster doses on a walk-in basis, but if you prefer to make an appointment, you can sign up for the state’s second “booster blitz” event on Jan. 8. Registrations will open online on Jan. 3 at covid19.nh.gov/booster-blitz.

Find fixed vaccination sites as well as the location of the state’s mobile vaccination van (which has stops scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 30) at vaccines.nh.gov.

“Instead of downshifting costs, we downshifted cash, giving cities and towns extra flexibility — a win for our citizens.” Sen. Denise Ricciardi (Bedford) spearheaded the legislation, which was incorporated into the state budget package in June.

“I made it my goal this past session to protect local property taxpayers by making certain the state kept its promise to share more of the revenues that our M&R tax generates. … Today, our cities and towns will finally receive the amount they’ve been promised for so long,” Ricciardi said in the release. The budget also lowered businesses’ taxes and cut $100 million from the Statewide Property Tax, according to the release.

Jury trials on hold

Kathryn Routhier of Somersworth, a senior at the University of New Hampshire, received a $2,500 check to help with college expenses from the Orphans of Veterans. According to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Education, Routhier’s mother served in the Army during the war on terrorism and died from a service-related illness in 2018. Routhier is majoring in justice studies with a minor in forensic science.

For the second week in a CONCORD row, the state Division of Historical Resources has installed a new Historical Highway Marker, this one in Newfields. According to a press release, this marker commemorates members Hooksett of the Hilton family who first lived in Newfields nearly 400 years ago after estabGoffstown lishing a fishing settlement in what is now Dover Point.

MANCHESTER

The Nashua Public Library is challenging kids, teens and adults to work together toBedford read for 550,000 minutes in eight weeks during Mayor Jim Donchess’s Winter Reading Challenge. According to a press release, all ages can read anything of their choosing — with Derry challenges Merrimackgenres — from Jan. 3 through Amherst to read books of different Feb. 28 and keep track of the time they spend reading to help Nashua reach its goal. Sign up at nashualibrary.beanstack.org.

Londonderry

All jury trials in the New Hampshire Superior Court system are on hold through the end of January.

According to a report from WMUR, Milford Chief Justice Tina L. Nadeau said the increasing number of Covid cases prompted the decision. “[Jurors are] NASHUA all very good at following protocols, but we are noticing that some are becoming a little bit more nervous about serving,” Nadeau told WMUR. Hampshire Hospital Association, patients waiting for Medicaid eligi“We’ve had a couple of cases where Home Care, Hospice & Palliative bility to be finalized and behavioral a juror has had close contact with Care Alliance of New Hampshire issues, the release said. More than someone who tested positive so they and the New Hampshire Health 200 nursing home and home care need to stay home.” She said there is Care Association to figure out what agency referrals from hospitals were concern that might lead to mistrials. is preventing patients from get- made that day, and most could not Grand juries and 40 to 50 jury trials ting appropriate care in a timely be accommodated due to lack of across the state planned for January manner, and it found that many fac- staff, with shortages of Registered are now on hold, though courts will Rooms and meals tax tors impact their transition to other Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses The recently enacted state budget stay open for other services, accord- health care settings. Most of these and Licensed Nurse Assistants. The means New Hampshire munici- ing to the report. patients had been medically cleared state has implemented several shortpalities are receiving a 45-percent to leave the hospital but couldn’t term initiatives, like expediting increase in revenue from the Meals Health service concerns because they were waiting for licensing and guaranteeing Medicand Rentals Tax, according to a A one-day survey of a sample of placement in a nursing home; on the aid payments to open more nursing press release. In the new budget, hospitals, home care agencies and day of the survey the 102 patients home beds, according to the release, the local share of revenues from nursing homes conducted in the in 15 hospitals who were waiting and several of the report’s recomthe state’s tax on restaurants, hotels Granite State on Nov. 4 found at to leave had been in a hospital bed mendations seek the adoption of and car rentals increased to 30 per- least 200 individuals were unable anywhere from one to 276 days these short-term measures into longcent, compared to 22 percent in the to access the right level of care. after being medically cleared. Barri- term change, along with additional last budget. “Together with strong According to a press release, the ers include lack of available nursing investments in health care staffing growth in New Hampshire’s hospi- survey was conducted by the New homes beds or home caregivers, and Medicaid coverage. tality industry, this results in more than $100 million going directly to Covid-19 update As of Dec 20 As of Dec 27 local coffers to help keep local propTotal cases statewide 186,678 194,470 erty tax rates down,” the release said. The state Treasury was set to Total current infections statewide 8,504 8,026 transfer $100,143,752 to cities and Total deaths statewide 1,843 1,907 towns by the end of the day Dec. 27; that’s an increase of about $32 New cases 8,579 7,792 million from Fiscal Year 2021. “We (Dec. 14 to Dec. 20) (Dec. 21 to Dec. 27) cut the rooms and meals tax to its Current infections: Hillsborough County 2,492 2,408 lowest level in over a decade and Current infections: Merrimack County 1,032 790 yet we still sent even more money back to cities and towns,” Gov. Current infections: Rockingham County 1,756 1,728 Chris Sununu said in a statement.

Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 8

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NEWS & NOTES Q&A

Life on the lam

CHOOSE COMMUNITY

Manchester author chronicles his years as fugitive Jorge William Nayor of Manchester discusses his memoir, Dinosaur in the Park: Adventure Behind the Walls and Inside the Criminal Mind.

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What is Dinosaur in the Park about?

It’s about my life growing up and the things I went through, good times and bad times, good places and bad places. It covers my time in the military, the times when I used to build race cars, my problems with drug possession and drug dealing and my time spent behind bars. Then, it’s about how, later on in life, I came out to New England, where I [lived as] a fugitive for 20 years. … I turned my life around and got on the straight and narrow. … I turned myself in and served out the rest of my term … [which was] one year … then came back to New Hampshire and went into video production and had my own remote television production company.

What were the circumstances that led to you being a fugitive?

I was in prison for a parole violation, so when my time [served] for that was up, they Jorge William Nayor. Courtesy photo. were ready to release me, but they didn’t know that there was actually another warrant out for me. They let me out by mistake.

Why did you decide to write a memoir? … I was in California at that time. I contactThere are a lot of books and movies about ed some people I knew who knew a lady in life behind bars that are all about violence New England … I could stay with … so I and gangs and stabbings and prison breaks. took off to New England.

My story is unique, because it wasn’t like that for me. … I feel that I’m a good person Why did you turn yourself in? on the inside, and a lot of people get the idea When my mother was dying, it was her that people who are in prison are not [good dying wish that I turn myself in, so I did, people], so I wanted to show people that the gladly, for her. … Nobody was looking for atmosphere in prison isn’t always violent. … me, and there was no active warrant out for I didn’t have to keep one eye open and be me in New Hampshire, but it was the right looking over my shoulder all the time. The thing to do. … I only had one year left on my people [in prison] like me — the older people sentence, so I was hoping the judge would and people who are [incarcerated] for nonvijust say, ‘Time served,’ especially because olent crimes — were just regular guys. for the 20 years that I was gone, I didn’t get in any kind of trouble, not even a traffic tickWhat is the meaning behind the book’s et. However, the judge had other ideas, and I title? had to go back for a year.

I called it Dinosaur in the Park because I’m an old dinosaur — it’s my birthday today Why did you return to New Hampshire — I’m 74. … I would often ride my bicycle after your release? over to Livingston Park [in Manchester] and The woman I stayed with when I moved do some of my writing there, so Dinosaur in here … didn’t know about my shady past [at the Park just clicked. first]. We eventually became boyfriend and girlfriend. … When I had to go back [to prisWhat are you up to these days? on], she stuck with me the whole time. She I’m starting to write a second book that will stayed in contact with me every day. After take off from the middle of [Dinosaur in the I was released legitimately, I came back to Park]. It’s fiction … and shows an alternate New Hampshire for her, and we got married. path — what would happen if the main charac… She was an English teacher, so she helped ter, me, hadn’t come to New Hampshire, hadn’t me a lot with my writing. She passed away gotten on the right foot, and had kept on his in June of 2020, and I’m still grieving over trail of criminal activity? that.

— Angie Sykeny

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In a year of weird and wild sports stories here are the top ones as I see it.

Covid-19: It’s still here nearly two years after the then-president said, “it’ll just go away,” and now thanks to the omicron variant it’s surging to cause havoc for teams and games in all sports. As cases ebbed after vaccinations started, fans came back to capacity as if they were saying enough is enough, I want my life back!

Tiger Woods car accident: The “great” part of Tiger’s scary accident is it didn’t end the life of an athlete it seemed we knew, like Kobe Bryant, his daughter and the others in the helicopter. But this still shook up the golf world, even though it’s not the first time Tiger has made headlines behind the wheel. But, while the injuries were catastrophic, there he was on the course with son Charlie playing last week at the PNC Championship. While his time at the top has mostly been over since the first time he was knocked unconscious behind the wheel, it was a nice sight to see that he and his family will have more of these moments.

Tom Brady wins after leaving New England: Tom Brady winning another Super Bowl isn’t the biggest part of the story. It’s the way he’s pushing back at Father Time to play at 44. I knew he could still win in the right situation (which New England wasn’t in 2020) because of his giant brain.

But I didn’t see a second best in his career 40 TD passes coming, which he’ll likely repeat this year. And when you compare it to how TB’s great rival Peyton Manning was in his final year it seems even more remarkable.

Phil Mickelson oldest to win a major: This story overlaps with the last two as it offers a debate over which is the greater old geezer achievement, along with the irony of Phil hitting an all-time career height in the same year his rival saw his chances for a career revival ended. Not sure if winning the PGA at 50 years, 11 months and three days was the most satisfying of his six majors, but it did take him past 48-years-old-but-looked-68 Julius Boros for the record. A final reminder of how great a career PM has had.

Money lust in college football: The players are better and games still exciting. But the lust for money is bigger than ever. Texas and Oklahoma are hardly the first schools to do it, but they screwed their Big 12 partners by announcing they’ll soon join the geographically incorrect South-EAST Conference. All of which requires much more time away from class for their, ah, student-athletes. They’ll do it for the lucrative benefits of course, as college football careens toward being just one big football conference. It ended with

slimy ex-Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly walking out on a team and his players for a second time before a season-ending bowl game to get a jump on recruiting at LSU. Of course, be careful what you wish for, as he replaces Ed Orgeron less than two years after he won a national title for the Tigers.

Ditto for Les Miles before him.

Summer Olympics: I generally have little interest in the “hey, look at me” marketing fest now known as the Olympics. Though I’m in the minority. But with Covid infections rising in Japan as the games approached it seemed more irrelevant than usual. Especially when the biggest newsmaker was gymnast Simone Biles pulling out to deal with mental health issues. Which of course ignited a massive social media commentary in support and from the “are you kidding me” crowd.

Jon Gruden email scandal: You know it’s bad when you get fired because of an investigation you had nothing to do with. That was Jon Gruden’s world when his emails turned up in the investigation of the WFT. You could hear Arnold saying “hasta la vista, baby” to the career and last six years on his 10-year $100 million contract.

Urban warfare: To (somehow) outpace Gruden as our first winner of the Bobby Petrino Bonehead Coach of the Year award you’d have to do every on- and off-field stupid thing a coach could do, and amazingly Urban Meyer did it, all during a disastrous 13-game stint in Jacksonville.

Tampa Bay sports capital: Brady led the usually moribund Bucs to win a SB title, and the Lightning are two-time Stanley Cups champs. So if the D-Rays stat geeks hadn’t yanked unhittable Blake Snell with a 1-hit, 12-K shutout in progress in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series vs. L.A. because the analytics said to, TB would have had reigning champs in three sports all year.

Shohei Ohtani takes on The Babe: He was the first full-time pitcher and hitter since the Babe in 1919. The big difference was Shohei pitched and DH’d, while Babe had to throw from the outfield. But the numbers were eerily similar. Ohtani had more homers (46-29) and was 9-2 to Babe’s 9-5. Babe had more RBI (113-100), outhit him .322 to .257 and took the ERA battle 2.93 to 3.13. It made Ohtani Player of the Year.

Giannis Antetokounmpo game for the ages: I drooled over this enough when it happened. So I’ll just add that seeing the Big Fella go for 51 points and 17 rebounds while battling a significant knee injury was the best “climb on my back and I’ll take you home” effort of the year. That their final was against the Suns, who also entered the NBA in 1968, and it was the Bucks’ first title in 52 years made it cooler.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress. com.

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NEWS & NOTES

QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX Messy roads for Christmas

Hundreds of crashes and several major road closures on Christmas morning put a damper on some people’s holiday plans.

According to a report from WMUR, portions of Interstates 93 and 89 were closed, and there was a 15-car crash on the Everett Turnpike. Plow crews worked around the clock, mainly salting and sanding, but the air temperature, the road temperatures and the rain that was freezing on contact made it difficult to keep the roads clear until temperatures warmed up somewhat mid-day, according to the report.

Score: -1 Comment: Being involved in a car crash on Christmas Day is a bummer, but at least no major injuries were reported. Here’s hoping for safer travels on New Year’s Eve!

nutritious nibbles Stuffed mushrooms are a great way to camouflage a serving of veggies. Using premade spinach dip cuts down on time and ingredients, and incorporating the chopped mushroom stems back into the recipe means zero waste, making this an appetizer you can feel good about!

Spinach Dip Stuffed Mushrooms Serves: 6

The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, which was Millennium Running’s “Official Charity of 2021,” will receive $16,943 from the $126,760 in proceeds and fundraising that Millennium’s events raised this year, while the remaining funds will go to more than 50 other organizations, according to a press release. “Mental health has never been more important than over the past year and a half,” Millennium Running owner and founder John Mortimer said in the release. “We are so happy that our running community was able to support the mission of The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester.” Millennium raised more money for local charities this year than ever before.

Score: +1 Comment: Some of Millennium Running’s signature events had specific charitable partners; the CMC Manchester City Marathon, for example, raised $11,446 for Veterans Count while the BASC Santa Claus Shuffle raised $6,199 for the Safe Sports Network.

Local art students represent

Ingredients: 24 medium-sized mushrooms 2 Tbsp. canola oil 1 Tbsp. minced garlic 1 (12 oz.) container Cedar’s® Spinach Dip 1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped fine 1/3 cup Cabot® Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 1/4 tsp. McCormick® Coarse Ground Black Pepper 1/4 tsp. McCormick® Onion Powder

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Clean mushrooms with a paper towel to remove any debris. Avoid rinsing mushrooms as this will add moisture that may seep out during the cooking process, leaving your mushrooms soggy. Gently remove mushroom stems and set mushroom caps aside. Finely chop stems, discarding any tough ends.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Sauté until any moisture has disappeared, stirring frequently to avoid burning the garlic. Set aside to cool.

4. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in spinach dip, spinach, cheese, black pepper and onion powder. Mixture should be very thick.

5. Using a small spoon, fill the mushrooms with 1 to 2 tablespoons of spinach dip and place on a baking sheet. Top each cap with shredded mozzarella.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese has melted and browned on top.

Nutritional Information Amount per serving: Calories 180; Total Fat 14 g; Saturated Fat 3 g; Sodium 330 mg; Total Carbohydrate 9 g; Sugar 6 g; Added Sugar 0 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 6 g Thank you to our sponsors for partnering with Hannaford to offer free dietitian services. Visit hannaford.com/dietitians to learn more.

Students from the National Junior Art Honor Society at Rundlett Middle School in Concord were chosen to create ornaments for New Hampshire’s Christmas tree at the Presidents’ Park in Washington, D.C. According to a report from NHPR, it’s an annual tradition for decorated trees representing all U.S. states and territories to be placed in the space in front of the White House, and Rundlett’s students drew ornament-sized illustrations that answered the question “What makes your state beautiful?”

Score: +1 Comment: Some of the illustrations included a covered bridge with mountains in the background and a fall tree with colorful leaves, the report said. Way to represent New Hampshire!

Thousands of toys

The Front Door Agency’s annual Holiday Program provided toys, warm clothing and groceries for nearly 500 children in need, thanks to the support of hundreds of individuals and local businesses and organizations. According to a press release, thousands of gifts filled the ballroom of the Courtyard by Marriott in Nashua.

Score: +1 Comment: “It’s sad that so many kids need help this year, but I’m happy I can help even in a small way,” 12-year-old Jack Murphy, who volunteered to move donated gifts into the ballroom so they could be organized by family, said in the release.

QOL score at the end of 2020: 76 QOL score at the end of 2021: 88 Net change: +12 What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

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HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 14

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This Week Thursday, Dec. 30

Looking to get outside? Check out the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill (174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford; theeducationalfarm. org, 472-4724), which is open daily from dawn to dusk. Find trail information online. When the weather is cold enough, the farm’s rink will be open for ice skating. The cost is $5.

Or head to one of New Hampshire Audubon’s 39 sanctuaries for hiking (or snowshoeing or cross-country skiing,

Thursday, Dec. 30

The light shows continue through this weekend: The Gift of Lights at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Route 106 North, Loudon), runs daily through Sunday, Jan. 2. The 2½-mile drive-thru light show features a variety of scenes making up more than 500 different light displays along the track. It’s

weather permitting). Find trails for the sanctuaries, which are open from dawn to dusk and located throughout the state, at nhaudubon.org. open from 4:30 to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, depending on weather conditions.

The cost ranges from $30 to $35 per carload, and is $60 per limo or bus. See nhms.com.

LaBelle Lights also continues at LaBelle Winery’s Derry location (14 Route 111) now through Feb. 26. See page 26 for details.

BIG EVENTS DECEMBER 30 AND BEYOND Friday, Dec. 31

Rock in the new year with The Apathetics (playing the Boston Billiard Club in Nashua) or get in a last laugh at 2021 with Bob Marley (who has three shows tonight at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth) or head to the Derryfield in Manchester for the music of Chad LaMarsh and a Champagne toast at midnight. Find a rundown of the live music slated at area restaurants in this week’s Music This Week listing, which starts on page 60; find comedians in the Comedy This Week listing on page 58.

For a more detailed rundown of New Year’s Eve events, look for Michael Witthaus’ stories in the Dec. 23 issue about comedy (page 36) and music (page 38).

You can find the e-edition of the issue at hippopress.com.

Saturday, Jan. 1

Start 2022 off with some opera. The Metropolitan Opera’s live broadcast of Cinderella will

screen at Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St., Concord; ccanh. com) today at 12:55 p.m. Tickets cost $26 for adults, $22 for seniors and $15 for students (plus fees).

Sunday, Jan. 2

and $20 for kids (includes chicken and french fries). See nhscot. org and check out Meghan Siegler’s story about the plans, including Scottish country dancing and music by The Rebel Collective on page 10 of the Dec. 23 issue of the Hippo.

Keep the New Year’s celebration going with Hogmanay, an event by NHSCOT (presenters of New Hampshire’s annual Highland Games), today from 3 to 7 p.m. at Derryfield Country Club in Manchester. The evening features indoor and outdoor events; tickets are $42 for adults (buffet-style meal included)

Save the Date! Jan. 28, 2022

The end of January heats up at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; 668-5588, palacetheatre. org) with the presentation of The Full Monty, the Broadway musical based on the 1997 film of the same name. The show’s opening night is Jan. 28 and it runs through Sunday, Feb. 20, with shows Fridays through Sundays (as well as on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m.) Tickets cost $46 for adults.

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ARTS Arts alive! (really)

18

Theater and art groups rally in 2021

By Meghan Siegler and Angie Sykeny Well, it was better than 2020 — that’s the sentiment that many in the art community had about 2021, as they continued to try to evolve among the ebbs and flows of the pandemic.

“All arts organizations have faced tremendous challenges in bringing live performances and art experiences to the public,” Alan Chong, Director of the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, said. “We have all learned to adapt and be flexible.”

Here’s how some artistic groups fared in 2021, and a look at what they think 2022 might bring.

Art

For some organizations, 2021 meant bringing back some sorely missed in-person events. The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, for example, was able to hold its annual fair in Sunapee, with a few modifications that prioritized social distancing.

“We were really delighted that the fair was a total success and people felt comfortable coming,” said Miriam Carter, executive director of the League.

Carter said the artists did very well, with an increase in sales from $2.35 million in 2019 — the last time the fair was held in person — to $2.74 million in 2021.

“People came ready to buy,” Carter said. “It was incredibly heartening.”

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester has faced financial challenges from being closed for most of 2020 and much of 2021, according to Chong, but it was able to reopen in 2021 with a special exhibition called “The Body in Art,” which looked at images of nudes from different perspectives, like gender, culture and time period.

“The museum also acquired a second house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright just before the pandemic,” Chong said. “We were so happy to be able to open both houses to the public in 2021.”

The museum is now offering free admission for all on Thursday nights, with live music, tours and refreshments.

Joni Taube, owner of Art 3 gallery, also re-opened her studio to the public this year, changing her hours to 1 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with other times open by appointment. Taube, who does art design consulting for individuals and businesses, said that at the beginning of the pandemic she had to adapt how she showed the work in her gallery by hosting virtual show openings, and that has continued in 2021 because her space is too small for gatherings. She said she may have 70 to 80 artists showing at one time, with the majority of the works being paintings, along with some glass, ceramics and metal pieces. In working with so many artists, Taube has heard a range of reactions to the pandemic.

“Artists are doing more experimenting because they’re in their studios all the time now,” she said. “Some are frustrated because the galleries are closed. Many of them have way too much work in their studios that they’d like to find an outlet for. … Some are hunkered down and painting and happy. … I think that’s how a lot of them coped.”

Taube said she thinks it has been difficult financially for artists, which is one of the reasons she started posting work online.

“You try different things for them [like] social media [and putting] shows online so the artists feel like their work is getting exposure,” she said.

The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen was able to reopen its smaller galleries, and Carter said the artists who display their work there have been well-supported by the public.

“Shopping local has really started to stick,” Carter said. “There seems to be a mindset to support the local talent. … [I think] that’s a direct impact of Covid.”

Looking ahead, Carter said the League is already preparing for the 2022 fair and will be ready to adapt if needed.

“At headquarters we’re really excited to be returning to opening our exhibition gallery, [which has been] closed since [the start of the pandemic],” she said.

The gallery will open Jan. 20 with a threeday exhibition of Art & Bloom by the Concord Garden Club. It will then open for regular hours starting Jan. 25 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. A new exhibition called “Setting the Standard,” featuring new work from League jurors in all media areas, will be on display at that time.

At the Currier, Chong said they’re watching the omicron variant situation carefully and will make decisions based on keeping the community safe.

“We are continuing to push experiences [like] remote art classes and educational resources,” Chong said.

A new exhibition featuring the work of Arghavan Khosravi is scheduled to open in April, according to Chong, and the Currier will also be showing Warhol Screen Tests: “short film snippets made in the 1960s that prefigure our selfie culture,” he said.

Art 3 Gallery currently has a show that will be up for another few weeks called “Artful Escapes.”

Taube is hoping to have some in-person opening receptions next year but knows that as with this year, everything can change at any time.

“I don’t know what 2022 is going to bring,” she said. “I’m hoping that people start coming out more and looking again at art, thinking about spaces, decor and how they want to live and have an appreciation of what people go through in terms of forming a piece of artwork.”

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 18

Theater

Still reeling from a huge loss of income after the months-long shutdowns in 2020, New Hampshire performance companies and venues spent 2021 recuperating and trying to regain some stability.

Salvatore Prizio, who became the Executive Director of the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord last fall, said financial difficulty is the biggest challenge to come with his new position.

“One of the major issues CCA and all performing arts centers are facing now is getting back on their feet [financially],” he told the Hippo in November. “They have a lot of fiscal issues from being shut down for months.”

As restrictions on public gatherings were eased, many performance companies and venues saw an opportunity to increase revenue by expanding their programming options as much as possible, to accommodate people with all levels of Covid safety concerns.

“New Hampshire Theatre Project moved to a variety of alternative formats last year, including livestream and on-demand programming as well as in-person and outdoor performances,” said Genevieve Aichele, executive director of the Portsmouth-based company, which had lost 75 percent of its income in 2020, according to Aichele.

The Hatbox Theatre in Concord reopened with its first in-person mainstage production of the year in early summer. With masks required CONTINUED ON PG 22

Untitled by Arghavan Khosravi. Courtesy photo.

Artful Escapes at Art 3 Gallery. Courtesy photo.

Things to look forward to in 2022 Art • “Setting the Standard”: A new exhibition at League of New Hampshire Craftsmen headquarters in Concord that will feature new work from League jurors in all media areas will be open to guests Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. starting Jan. 25. Visit nhcrafts.org.

• Arghavan Khosravi exhibition: The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester will host an exhibition featuring the work of Arghavan Khosravi, “an immensely talented artist whose challenging images have a striking surrealist quality,” according to museum director Alan Chong. The opening date will be announced soon. Visit currier.org.

Theater • The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts presents a Young Performers’s Edition of The Wizard of Oz at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway, Derry), with showtimes on Friday, Jan. 28, and Saturday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for seniors age 65 and up and $10 for students age 17 and under. Call 669-7469 or visit majestictheatre.net.

• Glass Dove Productions presents Mary and Me at the Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord) from Jan. 28 through Feb. 13. The original play by Irene Kelleher, inspired by a true story, follows a pregnant 15-year-old girl and her search for understanding while growing up in 1986 Ireland. Tickets cost $22 for adults and $19 for seniors and students.

Visit hatboxnh.com or call 715-2315.

• The Riverbend Youth Company will perform

The Lion King Jr. at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts (56 Mont Vernon St., Milford), with showtimes on Friday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 5, at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 6, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale in early January. Visit amatocenter.org/ riverbend-youth-company.

• Cue Zero Theatre Co. presents Deadly, an original movement-based theater piece by Crystal Rose Welch, at Granite State Arts Academy (19 Keewaydin Drive, No. 4, Salem), with showtimes Friday, March 4, through Sunday, March 6. With a nine-person ensemble, Deadly uses movement to explore the modern-day seven deadly sins. Visit cztheatre.com • The Franklin Footlight Theatre presents a production of Little Women at the Franklin Opera House (316 Central St., Franklin) with showtimes on Thursday, March 10, through Saturday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m.

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1869 novel, the play follows the adventures of four sisters living with their mother in Massachusetts while their father is fighting in the Civil War. Tickets cost $16 for adults and $14 for students and seniors. Visit franklinoperahouse.org or call 934-1901.

• The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester) presents a mainstage production of Bye Bye Birdie from March 11 through April 3. The musical comedy, set in 1958 small-town America, centers around teen heartthrob Conrad Birdie, who has been drafted into the Army and announces that he will give one girl from his fan club a goodbye-kiss before reporting for duty. Tickets range from $25 to $46. Visit palacetheatre.org or call 668-5588.

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• Nashua arts venue gets an official name: The performing arts venue currently under construction in downtown Nashua formerly known as the Nashua Performing Arts Center has been renamed the Nashua Center for the Arts, Nashua Community Arts announced in a press release. The new name was chosen by a local anonymous donor who gave $1 million to the venue. “The center will be home to much more than theatrical and musical performances,” Nashua Community Arts board member Phillip Scontsas said in the release. “It will be hosting films, a variety of attractions like celebrity chefs and reality TV stars, recitals, and competitions … and art exhibitions in the gallery.”

• Last call for holiday art: There’s still time to check out these holiday art exhibits.

“Small Works — Big Impact,” the annual holiday exhibit at Creative Ventures Gallery (411 Nashua St., Milford), is going on now through Friday, Dec. 31, in person at the gallery and virtually on the gallery’s website (creativeventuresfineart. com/product-category/small-worksshow). The exhibit features non-juried small works of art in a variety of media and styles, created by area professional and nonprofessional artists, priced affordably for holiday gift buying. Visit creativeventuresfineart.com or call 672-2500.

The New Hampshire Art Association’s holiday exhibition, “Let it Snow,” is up at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) now through Sunday, Jan. 2. It includes works in a variety of media, as well as books and cards for sale. Gallery hours are Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.

• Theater auditions: Manchester-based Cue Zero Theatre Co. is looking for actors for two upcoming shows. Auditions for the March production of Deadly will be held on Sunday, Jan. 2, from 3 to 6 p.m., and Monday, Jan. 3, from 7 to 10 p.m., with callbacks on Wednesday, Jan. 5, in the evening. Deadly is a nine-person ensemble theater piece that uses movement in nine parts to explore the modern-day seven deadly sins. Auditions for the April production of Puffs! Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, a comedy about students at a magic school, will be held

Painting by Heather Morgan, featured in “The Dysfunction of Social Practice” exhibit at Kimball Jenkins Estate.

Courtesy photo.

Art by Emmett Donlon, featured in “The Dysfunction of Social Practice” exhibit at Kimball Jenkins Estate. Courtesy photo.

on Sunday, Jan. 16, and Monday, Jan. 17, from 7 to 10 p.m., with callbacks on Tuesday, Jan. 18, from 7 to 10 p.m. All auditions will take place in person at Granite State Arts Academy (19 Keewaydin Drive, No. 4, Salem). All performers must be at least 18 years old and must fill out an audition form online and sign up for a time slot in advance. Visit cztheatre. com or email cztheatre@gmail.com.

• Exhibits at the Mansion: The Kimball Jenkins Estate (266 N. Main St., Concord) has two exhibitions up now through Jan. 14. “Salon 2021,” on view in the Carolyn Jenkins Gallery in the Carriage House, features a curated collection of offbeat and experimental small works in a variety of media by regional artists with diverse studio practices and artistic approaches. “The Dysfunction of Social Practice,” on view in the Jill C. Wilson Gallery in the Kimball Jenkins Mansion, is a collaboration between Kimball Jenkins and Manchester art gallery Kelley Stelling Contemporary, featuring paintings, sculpture and performance works

by New Hampshire artists Zach Dewitt, Emmett Donlon, Rosemary Mack, Heather Morgan and Meghan Samson. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with evening and weekend visits available by request. Visit kelleystellingcontemporary.com and kimballjenkins.com, or call 225-3932.

— Angie Sykeny

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and seats distanced, the venue was able to operate at around 85 percent capacity. “[Having in-person shows] enables us to … get to a point where productions not only break even but might actually come out ahead a little for their next production,” theater owner and operator Andrew Pinard told the Hippo in June.

Manchester-based Cue Zero Theatre Company was one of a number of local companies and venues that utilized a hybrid format for its performances, allowing people to attend in person or watch from home via livestream.

“Being able to offer streaming alongside the in-person performances created new opportunities for us to reach both a wider audience as well as keep our local audiences feeling safe and comfortable,” Cue Zero artistic director Dan Pelletier said, adding that the company “had a successful 2021, all things considered.”

The New Hampshire theater community also took time in 2021 to celebrate the technology and experimental forms of performance that have kept them going through the pandemic.

“The pandemic has truly redefined the way theater artists make work,” said Matt Cahoon, artist director of Theatre Kapow in Manchester.

“We feel very fortunate to have found ways to innovate.”

Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative in Laconia, for example, teamed up with the Community Players of Concord in April to host a Zoom Play Festival, featuring a series of new short plays

by New Hampshire playwrights, written specifically for performance over the Zoom video chat platform; and the theme of New Hampshire Theatre Project’s annual Storytelling Festival, held in the spring virtually and in person in Portsmouth, was “What Are You Waiting For?” — a theme inspired, Aichele said, by the innovation of the arts community during the pandemic.

“It’s a new world; we can’t do art the way we used to,” Aichele told the Hippo in April, “so why not use Covid as an opportunity to reinvent ourselves? What are we waiting for? That’s really what these stories are about — not waiting to act or make a change.”

Heading into the new year, performance companies and venues are hopeful that they can continue to present shows in person, but are at

Coming to the Palace Theatre Stage in 2022!

Holmes and Watson at The Hatbox Theatre in Concord, June 2021, the theater’s first in-person mainstage show of the year. Courtesy photo.

the ready to go fully virtual again, should restrictions on public gatherings be reinstated.

“We are well aware that we may need to return to virtual performances at some point in the future, but truly feel prepared to make that transition if need be,” Cahoon said, adding that Theater Kapow is “also working hard to incorporate many of the lessons we have learned and the technology we have acquired into our in-person performances.”

Some companies and venues have had so much success with their virtual programming that they plan to offer it, in addition to their in-person programming, indefinitely, regardless of the Covid situation.

“Digital media … is going to be a long-term component of performing arts centers,” Prizio told the Hippo in November. “That’s going to be critical for us down the road. It’s a way we can reach a wider audience and allow people who might not have the opportunity to get to our physical space, like some of the folks living in senior centers, for example, to experience art from the comfort of their own home.”

Many theater directors are optimistic about the future of community theater, even in the face of uncertainty.

“2021 brought new challenges, but also new opportunities, and we are a stronger company because of it,” said Rob Dionne, artistic director of Majestic Theatre in Manchester. “We are looking forward to seeing our audiences grow again in 2022.”

“We know the challenges of Covid are not going away,” Pelletier added, “but we look forward to traversing them with our audiences into a new landscape where we can continue to create our brand of theater and art.”

NATURAL ELEMENTS

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HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 22

The New Hampshire Art Association has an exhibition, “Impressions: Nature,” featuring the work of Allenstown artist Daniela Edstrom, on view now through Feb. 17 at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (49 S. Main St., Concord).

Edstrom’s art explores the abstract qualities of light, form and color found in the New England landscape.

“Sunlight and its play of light and shadow is perceived as halos of vibrating strokes and bold minimalist shapes,” the artist said in a press release. “Elements such as leaves, trees – the organic aspects of the woodland environment – are seen in emphatic primary colors and highlighted by gestural marks of rich complementary hues.” Gallery hours at the Chamber are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. All works are for sale. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.

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ARTS Art Exhibits • “SMALL WORKS — BIG IMPACT” Creative Ventures Gallery presents its annual holiday exhibit in-person at the gallery (411 Nashua St., Milford) and virtually on the gallery’s website (creativeventuresfineart. com/product-category/smallworks-show). The exhibit features non-juried small works of art in a variety of media and styles, created by area professional and nonprofessional artists, priced affordably for holiday gift buying. Now through Dec. 31.

Visit creativeventuresfineart.com or call 672-2500.

• “LET IT SNOW” The New Hampshire Art Association presents its holiday exhibition. Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth). Now through Jan. 2. Features works in a variety of media, as well as books and cards for sale. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org.

• EMILY NOELLE LAMBERT Solo exhibition by New York City artist Emily Noelle Lambert.

Dana Center for the Humanities at Saint Anselm College (100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester). On view now through Jan. 9.

Masks required inside the gallery.

Visit anselm.edu/dana-center-humanities or call 641-7700.

• “THE DYSFUNCTION OF SOCIAL PRACTICE” Kelley Stelling Contemporary presents an exhibition featuring paintings, sculpture and performance works by five New Hampshire artists.

Kimball Jenkins Estate (266 N. Main St., Concord). Now through Jan. 14. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to

3 p.m., with evening and weekend visits available by request. Visit kelleystellingcontemporary.com.

• “SALON 2021” Exhibition features offbeat and experimental works in a variety of media by regional artists with diverse studio practices and artistic approaches. The Kimball Jenkins Estate (266 N. Main St., Concord, 225-3932, kimballjenkins. com). Now through Jan. 14. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with evening and weekend visits available by request.

• “BIG GIFTS IN SMALL PACKAGES” The Seacoast Artist Association’s annual holiday exhibit, featuring a variety of small works of art priced under $100 for gift buying.

Now through Jan. 7. 130 Water St., Exeter. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Visit seacoastartist.org or call 778-8856.

• “AS PRECIOUS AS GOLD: CARPETS FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD” Exhibit features 32 carpets dating from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester). On view now through Feb. 27, 2022.

Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online.

Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.

• “1,000 CRANES FOR NASHUA” Featuring more than 1,000 origami paper cranes created by hundreds of Nashua-area kids, adults and families since April.

On display now at The Atrium at St. Joseph Hospital, 172 Kinsley St., Nashua. Visit nashuasculpturesymposium.org.

• “NEW HAMPSHIRE NOW” A collaborative photography project presented by the New

Hampshire Historical Society and the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists, on display in eight exhibitions at museums and historical societies across the state. Nearly 50 photographers participated in the project, taking more than 5,000 photos of New Hampshire people, places, culture and events from 2018 to 2020 to create a 21st-century portrait of life in the Granite State.

Exhibition locations include Belknap Mill Society in Laconia; Colby-Sawyer College in New London; Portsmouth Historical Society; Historical Society of Cheshire County in Keene; the Manchester Historic Association; Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University; and the Tillotson Center in Colebrook; with the flagship exhibition at the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord.

Visit newhampshirenow.org and nhhistory.org.

Theater Shows • SCENE CHANGES Produced

by New World Theatre. The Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord).

Jan. 7 through Jan. 23. Showtimes are on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $22 for adults, $19 for students, seniors and members and $16 for senior members. Visit hatboxnh.com.

Classical • NEW YEAR’S EVE CHAMPAGNE POPS The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra presents its New Year’s Eve concert. The Music Hall Historic Theater (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth). Fri., Dec. 31, at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $38. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.

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Dear Donna, venir in general that he liked for I am sending you pictures of your mom. a bracelet that my mom has givThe bracelet together with the en to me. My dad gave her this coin would be in the $100 range, bracelet when he returned home because it appears to be in good from World War II. He said the condition and is silver. I wish I service men were given them to could add more to your story for bring back home to their wives. you. I think the fact he brought My mom, who is 96, has passed it on to me. it home to your mom and now it’s yours is a The bracelet is sterling silver. happy story!

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by Mexican Drug Cartels at the Open Southern Border.

Dear Nancy, The bracelet with an American coin of 1922 could have been married together with a sterling cuff at any point in time. The coin itself is silver as well so they make a nice combination. Sometimes there are other marks on the bracelet itself to indicate the maker of the cuff.

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Donna Welch has spent more than 30 years in the antiques and collectibles field, appraising and instructing, and recently closed the physical location of From Out Of The Woods Antique Center (fromoutofthewoodsantiques.com) but is still doing some buying and selling. She is a member of The New Hampshire Antiques Dealer Association. If you have questions about an antique or collectible send a clear photo and information to Donna at footwdw@aol.com, or call her at 391-6550 or 624-8668.

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INSIDE/OUTSIDE Lighting up the night

26

LaBelle Winery creates a winter light show

By Paula Constance news@hippopress.com

Decorative lights continue at LaBelle Winery’s Derry location with LaBelle Lights, an imaginative display on the winding pathways of the winery’s LaBelle Links golf course.

“The golf course lent itself to create this beautiful walking path,” said Michelle Thornton, Director of Marketing and Business Development for LaBelle Winery.

LaBelle Lights opened Nov. 18 and runs through Feb. 26. This self-paced, all-outdoor stroll through dazzling lights opens at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights..

“It’s an ideal place for families,” said Project Manager Danielle Sullivan.

“Young kids come and they just love it.”

The walk takes 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how fast or slow you decide to walk. Each month has a theme: in December, the focus was Christmas and the holidays.

“People are pretty joyful on the walk,” Thornton said. “And what I really think is

beautiful is that people walk at their own pace and they experience the lights differently, but everyone experiences it with joy.”

On the stroll, there are four bridges on the path, each with a different scene. There are also many attractions along the way, including a tunnel of lights, a snowflake field and a selfie station made of wine barrels called The LaBelle Barrel Tree that was hand-crafted by a LaBelle artisan.

In January the music and light displays will have a “fire and ice theme,” with fire and ice performers, bonfires and specially themed food at LaBelle Market and cocktails at Americus, the on-site restaurant, on Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15, according to the website. In February LaBelle Lights will have a Valentine theme.

“So even if you come in December to see the LaBelle Lights, there will be something new to see and experience in January and February,” Thornton said.

Special events, like the New Year’s Eve dinner and Big Band celebration on Dec. 31, also include a free stroll through LaBelle Lights.

LaBelle Lights. Courtesy photo.

The walking paths are kept clear for guests to walk and are also handicapped-accessible. Thornton reminds visitors that winter nights can get cold and to dress for the weather and wear appropriate footwear.

Tickets are transferable for another date. Tickets can be purchased at the door, but advanced ticket purchase is recommended.

LaBelle Lights When: through Feb. 26, open Thursdays through Saturdays, 4:30 to 9 p.m.

Where: LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 111 in Derry (labellewinery.com, 672-9898) Tickets: $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for ages 4 to16, free for ages 3 and under.

Parking is free. (Tickets can be purchased through the website and at the door.)

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BEEKEEPING 101

INSIDE/OUTSIDE THE GARDENING GUY

Mulching and composting Little snow means more work in the garden

Keeping Bees can be fun with the right information and could reward you with years of sweetness

that high, but smaller plants should be completely wrapped. listings@hippopress.com Another hazard for plants is heavy snow and ice that fall off Although we had a little roofs or are pushed up by snow snow on the ground for much plows. Last winter I made three of November and December, A-frame plywood protectors for snow has been scarce as we small shrubs to protect them. move toward the new year. If Each used four stakes and two this continues, does this have This tree peony had 10-inch-wide pieces of plywood. At the top of any consequences for our blossoms. Photo by Henry Homeyer. each stake I drilled a hole and gardens? Yes, it can. slid through both a piece of wire If we have bare ground and a very cold that connected the two stakes. This is a cheapwinter, roots will see colder temperatures skate’s way of avoiding the cost of hinges. than they might prefer. Like that pink fluffy And it works just fine! If the ground is not fiberglass in the walls of our homes, snow frozen, push the stakes into the soil, but if it is is a great insulator. Snow holds tiny pock- frozen, it should stand up fine anyway. ets of air, holding in warmth from the soil Later, after the holidays, recycle your and preventing icy north winds from steal- evergreen tree in the garden. After I take off ing warmth from the soil. decorations, I use my pruners to cut off all the Lacking snow, what can one do? Fall branches. This helps me find every last litleaves are great. If you have a leaf pile some- tle ornament, and then I have a nice stack of where, think about moving some to spread evergreen branches to use around or over tenaround your most tender plants, especial- der plants. The branches are good windbreaks ly things planted this year. Perennials and for small shrubs, and hold snow through winwoody plants are most vulnerable to the cold ter thaws as they sit over tender perennials. If their first winter. you use a fake tree, watch for discarded trees I have a tree peony that I planted this waiting curbside, and snag one (or more) for year, quite a pricey plant. Unlike the com- use in the garden. mon perennial peony, the stems of the plant Composting in winter is a chore that some are woody and do not die back to the ground gardeners don’t bother doing. But you should, each winter. And the blossoms are much as it is a waste to put your moldy broccoli in more dramatic, up to a foot across. the landfill. For many gardeners the compost I have done two things for it: I mulched pile is a considerable distance from the house, around the base with chopped leaves, and requiring warm coats, gloves — and perhaps I wrapped some burlap around it to pro- snowshoes. But there is an easy solution. tect the stem itself and the flower buds that Invest in an extra garbage can, a large are already in place for next summer. This one that will hold 30 gallons or more. Place will help to keep January’s cold winds from it inconspicuously but conveniently near affecting it. We have done the same for ten- the house. Ideally, you have a kitchen door der heirloom roses, with good success. Shrub behind the house, and can bring food scraps jackets made of synthetic breathable materi- to it without bundling up for the cold. al are also available instead of making your Your winter compost will freeze, and will own from burlap. not break down during the cold months. So I worry about voles chewing through the chop any big things to smaller pieces to allow burlap, nesting inside, and then eating the ten- it to pack down well. Then, come spring, you der bark of my young tree peony. I had some will have to shovel the material into a wheelBobex brand deer repellent and decided to barrow and bring it down to your regular spray the burlap. It is made with rotten eggs compost pile after it has thawed. and other nasty stuff and might deter voles.

Of course, commercial compost bins are My wife, Cindy, and I recently used burlap available to buy instead of the Mr. Thrifty to prevent hungry deer from eating the leaves 30-gallon plastic can. But since compost does and branches of a pair of large yews. First I not break down outside in winter, a plastic bin drove four 1-inch-diameter hardwood stakes may not hold all the material you produce. If into the ground around each 6-foot-tall shrub. you fill the first garbage can, an extra can is I stood on a step ladder and used a 3-pound a smaller investment than a bin made just for short-handled sledge hammer to drive the compost. And those rotating bins? I’ve rarestakes in about a foot. Then we draped the ly met anyone who keeps turning them every burlap over the top of the stakes and stapled week anyhow. the burlap to hold it in place on windy days.

So get creative and protect your plants We used a heavy-duty carpenter’s stapler, as however you can. And if you have a great a desk stapler would not work. We have done idea, write me so I can share it with others. this before, and the deer cannot get to one of their favorite winter meals. The wrapping we Visit Gardening-Guy.com. did was open to the top as deer can’t reach

By Henry Homeyer

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Get the family out of the house by sending them to a museum.

• The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 6696144) is closed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Otherwise, the museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $15, $13 for 65+, $10 for students and $5 for ages 13 to 17 (children under 13 get in free) and can be purchased on site (masks for all are required), according to the website. This Thursday, Dec. 30, Kevin Horan will perform from 5 to 8 p.m. as part of the museum’s weekly Art After Work programming (admission to the museum is free after 5 p.m.). On Sundays the Winter Garden Cafe offers a special brunch menu starting at 10 a.m. featuring mimosa flights, according to the website. Current exhibits include “As Precious As Gold: Carpets from the Islamic World,” “WPA in NH: Philip Guston and Musa McKim” and “Tomie dePaola at the Currier,” featuring the works of dePaola, writer and illustrator 270 children’s books.

• SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; see-sciencecenter. org, 669-0400) is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays (it will be closed New Year’s Day) and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Current displays and exhibits with hands-on examinations of science include BiologYou. Purchase reservations in advance via the website (masks are required for all visitors age 2 and up); admission costs $10 per person ages 3 and up.

• The Millyard Museum (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; 622-7531, manchesterhistoric.org/millyard-museum) is closed New Year’s Day but otherwise open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the Millyard Museum costs $8 for adults, $6 for 62+ and college students, $4 for children 12 to 18 and free for children under 12. In addition to the permanent exhibits about Manchester’s history, the museum currently features the “New Hampshire Now” photography exhibit.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; nhahs.org, 669-4820), featuring exhibits about the people and events of New Hampshire’s aviation history, will be closed for New Year’s Day but open Wednesday, Dec. 29, through Friday, Dec. 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.;

A young visitor explores the collection of working toys, part of the “Festival of Planes” holiday exhibit at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire. Courtesy photo.

Sunday, Jan. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m., and thereafter Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Exhibits include the annual “Festival of Holiday Toy Planes and Model Aircraft.” Admission costs $10, $5 for 65+ and children (6 to 12) and a family max of $30; children 5 and under get in free (masks are required), according to the website.

• The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) is closed New Year’s Day but will be open daily through Friday, Dec. 31, and Sunday, Jan. 2, and Monday, Jan. 3, with sessions from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The center recommends purchasing timed tickets in advance; admission costs $11.50 for adults, $10.50 for students and seniors and $8.50 for kids ages 3 to 12 (admission is free for children 2 and under; masks required for visitors over the age of 2). Planetarium show tickets are also available and cost $5 per person (free for children 2 and under); see the website for the schedule of planetarium shows.

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (2 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 7422002) requires pre-purchased admission (which costs $11 per person, $9 for 65+ and no charge for children under 1). The museum will be open Tuesday, Dec. 28, through Thursday, Dec. 30 (from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.) and Sunday, Jan. 2 (from 9 a.m. to noon). Masks are required for all guests over 24 months, the website said.

The museum will hold its annual family New Year’s Eve celebration on Friday, Dec. 31. Two time slots are available to reserve, from 9 a.m. to noon or from noon to 3:30 p.m. Museum staff will stage four “countdowns to midnight,” at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. during the morning session, and at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. during the afternoon session. Everyone will receive a noisemaker and will get to create their own sparkly party hat.

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32 INSIDE/OUTSIDE CAR TALK

When it comes to oil changes, miles count more than months Dear Car Talk: I have a 2001 Ford F-150 with 143,000 miles on it that is in excellent shape. When I purchased it, I also bought the “lifetime oil change plan” for $300.

By Ray Magliozzi Now that I’m retired, I only drive it around 3,000 miles a year. The oil change plan provides for quarterly oil changes.

Since I am only driving 3,000 miles in a year, is it OK to only change the oil once or twice a year, or does the oil degrade over time just from sitting there and not only from miles driven?

— John You’re the reason they jacked up the price of that lifetime oil change plan to $2,500, John.

By now, they might be putting Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil in your crankcase, hoping to kill off your F-150 and finally get rid of you.

Oil degrades from being used, John. Not from sitting around. As the oil circulates with the engine running, it gathers up contaminants and holds them in suspension.

Eventually, it gets dirty, and can’t absorb any more carbon, soot or water, and then it can’t lubricate as well. That’s when it needs to be changed.

Modern engine oils, even the cheap stuff they

probably give you with your free oil changes, can easily go 5,000 miles before needing to be changed. Probably longer. Synthetic oils, which are even better, can go twice that long.

If you really neglected your oil for tens of thousands of miles, the long chain molecules that do the lubricating would eventually break down.

But dirt is going to be an issue well before chemical breakdown is.

So the answer is, yes, you can get less frequent oil changes, John. You might try negotiating with the dealer. Say “Hey, look, you’re sick of seeing me every three months for my free oil and filter.

How about you give me full synthetic oil, and I’ll just come in once a year.”

They’ll pay more for the full synthetic, but they’ll save three filters, an hour and a half a year of labor and the annoyance of having to be reminded that they’re making three bucks each time they change your oil.

You’ll be fully protected and give them fewer opportunities to sabotage your engine. Even if they won’t splurge for the full synthetic oil, with only 3,000 annual miles, you can still cut back your oil changes to once or twice a year with no worries, John.

Dear Car Talk: My 2015 V6 Toyota Camry has a substance that the mechanics can only describe as “peanut butter” gumming up my heater core, coolant sys-

tem and now the engine.

I have included a picture. So far, no one knows what this stuff is or how it got there. Any idea what it might be or why it can’t be cleaned out after 17 times of draining and flushing the system? — Amy Wow. If you can figure out how to get the engine to make some grape jelly, you can start a lucrative lunch business, Amy. It does look kind of like peanut butter. But, unfortunately, it’s going to cost you many, many jars of Skippy to fix.

I think oil is getting into your coolant. There are separate passages inside your cylinder head for oil and coolant. And they’re kept separate by a complex seal called the head gasket.

If that head gasket breaks — which often happens if the car is badly overheated — oil and coolant can then mix together. They can go either way. Coolant can get into the oil, or oil can get into the coolant, which is what’s happening in your case.

And that’s why, despite flushing it out 17 times, it keeps making peanut butter, because new oil gets into your coolant every time you drive the car.

At minimum, you need a new head gasket.

You have two of them on this V6 engine, one for each bank of three cylinders. Replacing both of them is probably a $2,500 job.

But the news could be even worse. The head itself could be cracked — which also can happen during severe overheating. In that case, you’d need an engine rebuild or a replacement engine.

Which means you’d be subsisting on peanut butter for a while.

There’s a slight chance that it’s transmission fluid in your coolant, coming from the transmission cooler, which sits inside the radiator. That would be a lucky break. So check that. But I think it’s more likely to be a head gasket or head.

I wish the news was better, Amy. My suggestion would be to have your mechanic start by removing the cylinder head closest to the front of the car. That’s the easier one to work on.

If you’re lucky, he’ll see a clearly broken head gasket between an oil passage and a coolant passage. And if you want to save money, you can just ask him to replace that head gasket, close it up and hope for the best.

Normally, we’d replace both gaskets, figuring if one has failed, the other might, too. But if funds are really tight, you can take your chances on one of them.

If there are no visible head gasket breaches in either cylinder head, then you’ve got a decision to make, Amy. You can either spring for a used or remanufactured engine or craft a used car ad that includes the words “as is.” Best of luck to you.

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34 What do you wish other people knew about your job?

The importance of building a fantastic team. You have to get all the right people on the bus, the wrong What is your typical people off the bus, and all at-work uniform or attire? the right people in the right We have slate blue or batseats before you can figure tleship gray polos that say out where to drive it. I have ‘NH Tap’ across the upper those seats filled now, and I chest area.

Keith McDonald. Courtesy photo. can honestly say that I have no stress or anxiety, because How has your job everything is so streamlined, thanks to my team. changed over the course of the pandemic?

The pandemic was actually really good for What was the first job you ever had? us. More and more people from the cities outI worked at Athens Pizza in Jaffrey. side of New Hampshire, like Boston, were moving to New Hampshire, and many of What’s the best piece of work-related them were going from having public water to having a private well for the first time. They advice you’ve ever received?

Do nothing out of selfish ambition. I’ve had no idea what it meant to have clean water because they were used to just turning the fau- learned to actually put others before myself, cet on and having the city provide what was and the more I continue to do that, the more joy I have in building NH Tap. considered to be clean water.

— Angie Sykeny What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

Five favorites To not be in any rush, and to enjoy every step of the process. … I’m not in a rush to Favorite book: The 4-Hour Workweek grow anymore. I wake up every morning, Favorite movie: Fantastic Mr. Fox motivated, and focus on being diligent and Favorite music: Breakdance beats patient and persistent so that I can just enjoy Favorite food: Arepas Favorite thing about NH: Nothing beats a everything as it grows organically. and how to present and communicate things about water and design systems … and taught me a lot about the business side of things.

CAREERS

Keith McDonald Water filtration specialist

Keith McDonald is the owner and founder of NH Tap, a Milford-based company that builds custom water filtration systems for homes in New Hampshire.

Explain your job.

I schedule and run free water tests for people who [request them]. Then, when people decide they want to move forward with cleaning their water, I engineer and design a custom system for them and have it built. Then I send it over to our installation team to have it installed.

ing career, and I was actually very successful.

I got hired … to dance professionally everywhere from Disney to Universal Studios. At the same time, I got introduced to the water treatment industry. I learned so much, in Florida, about public water. … When I moved back home to New Hampshire, I saw a real need here. There were no companies really focusing on public water … so I saw an opportunity and started NH Tap.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve been in the water treatment industry since I was 22, and I’m 38 now. We started What kind of education or training did you NH Tap in 2017. need?

All the chemistry I needed to understand What led you to this career field and your and the engineering skills I needed in order to current job? design systems were self-taught; I read a lot of I’m from Jaffrey, originally. I moved to college publications. … I also had a fantastic Florida to pursue a professional breakdanc- mentor in Florida who [taught] me about water

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 34

New Hampshire summer.

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FOOD Tasting normalcy

A look back at the local food scene in 2021, plus trends and predictions for 2022

By Matt Ingersoll

mingersoll@hippopress.com

News from the local food scene

By Matt Ingersoll

food@hippopress.com

• New Year’s eats: Join the Copper Door Restaurant (15 Leavy Drive, Bedford, 4882677; 41 S. Broadway, Salem, 458-2033; copperdoor.com) for a special New Year’s Eve prix fixe dinner menu, which will be served on Friday, Dec. 31, from 4 to 8 p.m. at both locations, featuring meals of two, three or four courses. Options include sesame tuna risotto, crispy pork and beef meatballs, fish chowder, sausage and kale soup, shaved Brussels sprout and arugula, grilled filet oscar, braised short rib, soy honey-glazed salmon, seafood-stuffed haddock, truffled mushroom ravioli, duck confit risotto, sugar cookie cupcakes, German chocolate cake, and vanilla Funfetti cheesecake. The cost is $69 for a two-course meal, $79 for a three-course meal and $89 for a four-course meal. Reservations are highly recommended. The Copper Door’s regular menus will also be available from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at both locations, and live music will be featured from 6 to 9 p.m. For more ideas on how to spend New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day (there may still be time to plan depending on where you go), visit issuu.com/hippopress.com and click on the Dec. 16 issue to read the e-edition for free. Our New Year’s Eve listings begin on page 30.

• Eat organic: Now through Jan. 2, early bird registration rates are available for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire’s 20th annual Winter Conference, to be held virtually over the course of a week from Sunday, Feb. 6, through Saturday, Feb. 12. According to a press release, the conference will feature more than 20 workshops and panel discussions, addressing a wide range of topics for farmers, gardeners, eaters and educators, from growing practices to food preservation and more. The theme of this year’s conference is “Collaboration & Self-Reliance: Building a Stronger NH Food System.” Registration ranges from $35 to $65 ($50 to $80 after Jan. 2). Visit nofanh.org/winterconference.

• Wine and dine: Get your tickets now before they’re gone to a winter wonderland wine pairing dinner at Zorvino Vineyards (226 Main St., Sandown) on Saturday, Jan. 22. Tickets are $70 per person and include a cocktail hour at 6:30 p.m., followed by a four-course meal at 7:30 p.m. — servings will include winter vegetable and feta galette, pancetta and parsnip salad, Maine lobster croquette, cola braised short rib and lemon cranberry bliss featuring cranberry white chocolate shortcake and mascarpone-limoncello cream. Visit zorvino.com.

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Local restaurateurs continued to feel the lingering effects of the pandemic throughout what was a very up-and-down year for the hospitality industry in 2021.

“This year certainly wasn’t quite as bad as 2020, but I think it was challenging in somewhat different ways,” said Mike Somers, president of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association. “At the start of the year, consumer confidence was at an all-time low, and businesses were really struggling to keep their numbers up. … Over the course of the summer months, it was extremely busy. Then obviously it tapered off very quickly once we got past Columbus Day, or thereabouts. … Clearly, we’re going to be having these ups and downs as we go forward.”

New Hampshire-specific results from an operator survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association in mid-September showed that 44 percent of local business owners believe it will take at least another year before the industry normalizes. Profitability is down and food costs are up, with 93 percent of those surveyed saying they’re paying more than ever for product and 85 percent reporting their labor costs have increased. The lack of adequate staffing also remains a major problem — 91 percent of business owners reported being understaffed.

“Back in the spring, we really thought we’d be in a whole different place by now. That hasn’t come to pass,” Somers said. “It really remains to be seen what the next three, four, five months looks like, and I think we’re going to start to see business owners make some key decisions.”

With 2022 on our doorstep and amid concerns about the omicron Covid-19 variant, here’s a

look back on how the previous year unfolded and the current obstacles the industry is facing.

Highs and lows

New Hampshire began the year still under a statewide mask mandate for all indoor and outdoor public spaces, including restaurants. That emergency order would expire in mid-April following a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases, thanks to the rollout of vaccines throughout the early spring.

By early May, individual guidelines and restrictions at restaurants, in place since the start of the pandemic, transitioned into what Gov. Chris Sununu called “universal best practices,” consolidating guidelines for all business sectors across the Granite State. The state of emergency came to an end on June 11 as cases continued to drop.

“When you talk about 2021, I mean, there were just amazing highs and lows throughout the year,” said Tom Boucher, CEO of Great New Hampshire Restaurants, the Bedford-based group that includes each T-Bones, Cactus Jack’s and Copper Door location in the Granite State. “Most of our stores were up through the summer, over 2019 sales. … As soon as the fall hit, though, we did see revenues drop a little bit.

Not a lot, but it was noticeable.”

As was the case in 2020, rented tents were set up in the parking lot of each restaurant to accommodate more outdoor dining opportunities. For a brief period from about mid-July to mid-September each location was also closed on Mondays as a way to give its staff a break.

Takeout is still not available from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday or Saturday evenings, a move that has been in place since late March to allow each eatery to prioritize in-house dining. But Boucher said that there have been talks to end this tem-

A taste of events to come Here are a few foodie happenings to look forward to as we begin 2022. Be sure to visit the event’s website or contact the venue directly for the most up-to-date information.

• The Taste of Bedford is due to return on Tuesday, Jan. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bedford High School (47B Nashua Road), according to the event’s website. Bedford-area eateries will congregate for a night of food sampling, with proceeds benefiting the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter, one of the largest in the state. Tickets are $10 per person, or $30 per family of four and $40 per family of five. Visit tasteofbedford.org.

• LaBelle Lights at LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111) continues with a special Fire and Ice Weekend on Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15, featuring live performances like fire dancers and ice stilt walkers, in addition to bonfires, themed food and cocktail specials and more. Tickets are $15 to LaBelle Lights, which

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 38

is being held from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on select days now through Feb. 26. Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras celebrations are also planned before LaBelle Lights closes for the season. Visit labellewinery.com/lights to view the full calendar schedule.

• New Hampshire Wine Week is right around the corner, and tickets are available now to the 18th annual Easterseals Winter Wine Spectacular on Thursday, Jan. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St.). This will be the first in-person Winter Wine Spectacular since January 2020 — the pandemic forced its transition into a series of virtual tastings last year. Tickets are $65 for access to the grand tasting, or $135 for access to the Bellman Cellar VIP tasting room (limited availability), with proceeds benefiting Easterseals New Hampshire. For the most up-to-date details on New Hampshire Wine Week, which also includes bottle signings and wine tastings across the state, visit nhwineweek.com.

The Flight Center opened a second location in south Manchester in late June 2021. Courtesy photo.

porary suspension at T-Bones and Cactus Jack’s.

Firefly American Bistro & Bar has similarly continued to experience a greater interest in outdoor dining, according to manager Rachael Jones. In addition to putting up tents, the restaurant now keeps its outdoor patio open year-round with propane heaters in the winter months.

“We’ve had the patio maybe eight years or so, but it was always something that was strictly seasonal,” Jones said. “There just wasn’t a call for it once it got cold, but now people are happy to bundle up and have a cocktail outside. It’s just become something that we do.”

At KC’s Rib Shack, owner and co-founder Kevin Cornish made several operational changes, the most significant of them being that he’s now permanently closed for lunch on weekdays.

As of about a month ago, he’s also now open an hour later each evening.

“For 20 years I kind of considered whether or not lunch was worth it for us,” he said.

“We would do a good lunch, no question about that. But I think closing for lunch has helped us immensely in a lot of different areas as far as keeping the quality of our food up.”

Cornish introduced KC’s Boneyard late in the spring, a new private function and event room housed in the former Souper Melt building directly in front of the Rib Shack.

In mid-March, Tim Baines of Mint Bistro and Bob Scribner of The Wild Rover Pub joined forces to open Elm House of Pizza, a neighborhood pizzeria in the former Theo’s space on Elm Street. It was also a big year for LaBelle Winery, which introduced a new restaurant concept, a retail market, performances and event spaces and a nine-hole golf course across a 45-acre property in Derry. Each of those properties opened in phases over the course of the spring and summer.

The struggle to staff

As restaurants have continued to recover, finding and retaining qualified employees to meet the growing demand became a defining issue in 2021, and it will carry over into 2022 for many.

The Flight Center opened a second location in Manchester in late June and has only recently become able to operate for lunch during the week. Its sister restaurant, the 1750 Taphouse in Bedford, as well as The Flight Center’s down-

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town Nashua spot, have also been only open for limited hours, managing partner Seth Simonian said.

“As 2020 came to an end and then going into 2021, we saw a pretty significant decline in applicant flow, while business didn’t really change,” Simonian said. “You have people who expect you to be open for lunch and dinner, and to be open seven days a week … Downtown Nashua has been our hardest to staff by far.”

None of LaBelle Winery’s three properties in Amherst, Derry and Portsmouth is operating fulltime for similar reasons. Americus Restaurant, which opened in mid-May, currently offers dinner five nights a week and brunch and lunch on the weekends, but owner Amy LaBelle said the goal was to also have it be open during the week.

“Given the fact that there’s a golf course and many other daytime activities here on the property, it’s just staggering that we haven’t been able to get that accomplished. We just don’t have the staff,” LaBelle said. “The kitchen is definitely the hardest-hit, but even if I had a fully staffed kitchen I still couldn’t open full-time because I don’t have enough servers.”

Great New Hampshire Restaurants, Boucher said, remains slightly below its normal number of about 800 employees across the company’s 10 locations.

“Staffing has definitely improved for us, but I think the labor shortage is going to continue to be an issue in 2022,” he said. “It’s not exclusive to the restaurant industry either, that’s for sure.”

Beginning in 2022, in addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas, the company will be closing its restaurants on five additional holidays — President’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Columbus Day — and offering paid time off to its managers for those days.

“I think it’s going to be a really disruptive decision that we’re making to put us in a competitive place to attract employees and managers,” Boucher said. “It’s also a big win for our staff because they’ll be able to make plans to do something with their families or friends.”

Paying the price

Increasing food costs and ongoing supply chain issues have forced local restaurateurs to make critical choices about what to buy, problems they say aren’t likely to go away anytime soon.

“Inflation has really been the challenge,” Somers said. “It’s not about being able to get product. You could get it. It’s just whether or not you could afford to actually put it on the menu.”

LaBelle said she has especially felt these impacts since right around when Americus opened.

“When we are writing a menu now, we look at the prices first and we might say, OK, we can’t put this rib-eye on the menu right now. I’m not going to charge $70 for it,” she said. “So we’ve definitely tailored our menu to be able to reflect really good-quality food, but also things that we can get to people at a reasonable price without compromising our quality.”

Not being able to get the products right away, she added, only makes it more difficult.

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 40

“I used to be able to place a food order and get it the next day from our major food suppliers,” she said. “Now there’s a twice-a-week delivery schedule, because they don’t have people to deliver. So if I need something or if we run out of something, I can’t get that quick delivery that I used to be able to get. I have to wait until my designated delivery day. … So we’re not used to that, and it makes the chefs have to be super careful about what they’re ordering.”

At Firefly, Jones said she has already heard from purveyors warning that certain items may be hard to come by for anywhere from the next three to 12 months.

“You’re just so used to having everything at your fingertips,” she said, “but this year, it was just like all the rules go out the window. People have been very understanding, so that’s been great.”

Baines said he has experienced higher costs as well, particularly within the last six months or so.

“We did have to shrink the Mint [Bistro] menu a little bit and were reluctant to do so. Some of it is due to availability and some of it was just that the cost to put it on a plate just didn’t feel right to charge what we would have to to make it work,” he said. “I think you’ve seen that industry-wide.

You’ve seen hours shrink and you’ve seen menu selections shrink.”

A cautious optimism

Despite a looming uncertainty about the future, most of the local restaurateurs we spoke with say they’re optimistic overall heading into 2022 — just as long as there isn’t another shutdown.

“We’re seeing the dining public out and about, and almost every restaurant I see is filling seats,” Baines said. “However people are feeling about it, they’re going out again.”

Nearly a year after opening Elm House of Pizza, Baines and Scribner are introducing another new concept in the Queen City. City Hall Pub,

Americus Restaurant opened in mid-May 2021 in Derry.

Photo courtesy of LaBelle Winery.

he said, is due to open in the former Cheddar & Rye space on the corner of Hanover and Elm streets by the third week of January.

“We have The Wild Rover, Mint Bistro, Elm House of Pizza and then City Hall Pub all under Southern New Hampshire Hospitality Group,” he said. “We’re going to offer a loyalty program within those four, so you can generate points and use them throughout each of the locations.”

LaBelle Winery, meanwhile, is due to finish construction on a new sparkling wine production facility and tasting room in Derry by late May 2022. LaBelle said plans are already underway to also bring back the highly successful LaBelle Lights holiday celebration next winter.

“We thought we would have 20,000 visitors throughout the three months of LaBelle Lights, but as it turns out, we’ve already had that many in the first month,” she said.

Boucher also said he’s noticed customers are coming back, making him hopeful for the future.

“Restaurants are obviously in the business to serve food, but they’re much more than that.

They’re a gathering place,” he said. “It’s not just the food; it’s the warm hospitality that defines restaurants, and I think people really figured that out [by] staying at home through the pandemic. … I think restaurants will always thrive because eating at home just isn’t the same.”

A Year in the Kitchen: 2021 edition The Hippo’s In the Kitchen Q&A series continued throughout 2021, with a different New Hampshire restaurant chef, baker or homestead business owner profiled each week.

Regular readers know that we like to turn to the experts for their thoughts on the biggest food trends currently sweeping the Granite State, and as the industry continues to experience the effects of the pandemic, the answers we received seemed to be all over the map. Farm-to-table dining, comfort items and vegan menus, and the ways we get our food beyond visiting a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant — think ghost kitchens, food trucks or third-party delivery apps — were some of the most common threads.

“I think restaurateurs in New Hampshire have done such an amazing job pivoting their operations over the last year and a half, regardless of what their business model is,” Lisa Kingsbury of Lush Confections in Derry told the Hippo in July. “I think they are more open to different possibilities than they would have otherwise been.”

It’s always fun to see what people come up with as an answer to another question we ask,

“What celebrity would you like to see eating at your restaurant?” or “What celebrity would you like to have a meal with?” For the second consecutive year, the No. 1 answer was chef Gordon Ramsay of, among many other shows, Hell’s Kitchen. Actor and New Hampshire native Adam Sandler once again received a fair number of mentions — and, even though he’s no longer with us, the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain also continued to be a common answer.

“In culinary school, [Bourdain] was who we looked up to and somebody we aspired to be,” Jenn Martins of Brickoven Catering in Hudson told the Hippo in August.

We also like to give our interviewees the opportunity to give a shout out to their favorite local eateries. The answers to this question could not have been more diverse — almost everyone called a different restaurant their favorite.

But there were a few recurring names, including MT’s Local Kitchen & Wine Bar in Nashua, The Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, the East Derry Tavern, and several of the La Carreta Mexican Restaurant locations.

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etables and herbs into the dessert menu for their wedding. It was a lot of fun designing it with them.

What celebrity would you like to bake a cake for?

David Chang. I’ve been listening to What would you have for your last his podcast. I think he’s just so brutalmeal? ly honest that it would just be hilarious Some kind of homemade ravioli or to bake a cake and then eat it with him. heavy pasta dish, and a glass of red wine.

What is the biggest food trend in New What is your favorite local Hampshire right now? restaurant?

I feel like doughnuts are definitely big The Franklin in Portsmouth. They right now. There was kind of a wave, and have this awesome Brussels sprout side I think the wave is coming back around dish with fresh mint and honey that is again, which is cool to see. delicious. … I tried to recreate it at home but it wasn’t the same.

What is your favorite thing to make at home?

What is your personal favorite thing I love baking pies. I grew up baking that you’ve ever baked for a client? pies with my mom for every holiday. It’s When I was living on Nantucket, I had just such a very comforting, nostalgic one couple I worked with who were real- thing to bake. ly good friends with a farmer there, and so we [incorporated] a bunch of his veg— Matt Ingersoll Vanilla bean shortbread cookies From the kitchen of Josie Lemay of Wildflour Cakes 12 ounces butter 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 3½ cups flour ½ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla bean paste. Add in flour and salt and mix until it comes together. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper, using a cookie cutter of your choice.

Chill the dough for 15 minutes in the refrigerator if it’s too soft. Bake for 15 minutes.

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Continued from page 38 • Food truck fest to return: A new date has been set for the Great Bay Food Truck Festival — the second annual event will return for the first time since 2019 on Saturday, May 7, from noon to 5 p.m. at Stratham Hill Park (270 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham). The rain-or-shine

festival is being organized by the Stratham Parks and Recreation department in conjunction with the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce, and will feature dozens of food trucks and vendors, as well as lawn games, live music and more. Visit greatbayfoodtruckfestival.com.

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44 FOOD

TRY THIS AT HOME Chocolate peanut butter crunchies We are nearing the very end of the holiday season. After New Year’s Eve, there may be thoughts (and actions) of healthier eating to compensate for the seasonal indulgence.

However, before we tiptoe into the land of less sugar, fat, carbs, etc., I want to share one simple and delicious treat: chocolate peanut butter crunchies.

I don’t know if there is a recipe that is more aptly named. These crunchies are made of three ingredients, two of which are announced in its name. As simple as they are, they also provide a great amount of flavor, texture and balance. They are creamy yet crunchy, as well as sweet with a hint of saltiness.

When you look at the recipe, you might note that it only makes 12 crunchies, which may seem small when you compare it to a cookie recipe. However, these crunchies are

fairly dense. You won’t be eating three or four of them. Of course, you also could easily double this recipe, especially since chocolate chips usually are sold in two-cup packages.

There are two key notes for this recipe. First, on the ingredient front, you want to use regular creamy peanut butter, not the all-natural, need-to-stir-it variety. You could use crunchy peanut butter, but you may need an extra tablespoon or two to get the correct consistency. Second, these are messy treats.

Be sure to keep a napkin handy while enjoying them.

Whether you use this recipe now for a New Year’s gathering or store it in a file for some time in 2022, it is the perfect last-minute dessert recipe. From gathering the ingredients to popping one into your mouth, this recipe can be ready in 20 or so minutes.

Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007 the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.

Chocolate peanut butter crunchies Makes 12 1 cup milk chocolate chips ½ cup creamy peanut butter 2½ cups corn flakes Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper.

Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.

Heat in 30-second increments, stirring after

Chocolate peanut butter crunchies. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

each. (It should take 2 or 3 rounds to melt completely.)

Add corn flakes to chocolate mixture; stir well.

Using a serving spoon, scoop approximately 1/4-cup portions of the mixture onto the prepared tray.

Repeat until all mixture has been scooped into individual portions.

Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes or until firm.

Store in a sealed container.

FOOD

DRINKS WITH JOHN FLADD New Year’s Eve for grown-ups For a variety of complicated, therapy-inducing reasons, we spent Christmas in 1974 with my mother’s twin sister and her family in southern California. I was 10 years old and my cousins were all teenagers, so everything that they did filled me with wonder and awe.

Like, when my cousin’s boyfriend showed me how to use my new magenta gas-powered airplane — not a remote-controlled one, but one of the ones that was controlled by nylon strings connected to the fuselage. He got the engine started and I watched in wideeyed amazement as he got it airborne, circled it around us twice, then plowed it, nose first, into a parking lot. Clearly, the guy knew what he was doing, so I dutifully packed up all the pieces, brought them back home with me, and checked in on them dutifully every month or so for years.

Or when another cousin elbowed me firmly in the stomach and I found that I couldn’t breathe.

“It’s OK,” he said to me, “you’ve just got the wind knocked out of you.” His use of the passive voice terrified me, because it implied that this was something that just happened randomly – that you could be walking around, living your life, and suddenly discovering that you couldn’t breathe. My uncle confirmed that yes, I had indeed just had the wind knocked out of me, and that I’d be fine. After 25 minutes or so

(OK, it was probably more like 15 seconds) I discovered that I could take tiny breaths, then slightly bigger ones, and could finally look a little less like a blobfish in a Shaun Cassidy haircut, gasping on a pier.

But for me, the best memory of the holidays that year was New Year’s Eve. The adults all dressed up and went out to some unimaginably sophisticated grown-up party, leaving me in the care of the teenagers. My youngest cousin, who must have been around 16, watched old movies on TV with me all night; then, at midnight, we went outside and honked the car horn to ring in the new year. Afterward we came in and ate buttered noodles.

It was far and away the best New Year’s Eve of my life.

Grown-up New Year’s Eves have been less magical.

Take Champagne, for example. I realize that I have the taste buds of a rhinoceros, but cheap and moderately priced Champagne can best be summed up in a quote from Fozzie Bear in 1981’s The Great Muppet Caper: “You know, if you put enough sugar in this stuff, it tastes just like ginger ale!”

So, here’s the thing: I get it. New Year’s is largely an adult holiday, where adults gather with other adults and celebrate how adult they are, talking about adult things — dental plans

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 44

and conspiracy theories, mostly — and drink the most adulty drink they can think of, ChamThe Manhattan. Photo by John Fladd. pagne. But unless you are a supermodel or a guy with a yacht, most of us never really develop a taste for the stuff. different elements that you can taste.

Is there an alternative?

Grown-up/shmown-up; the best part is finYes. Yes, there is. ishing this drink and eating the cherry. Don’t let anyone try to tell you different.

The Manhattan

Ingredients 1½ ounces rye or bourbon. This week I’m using Bulleit Rye. (I’ve recently discovered that I like rye. Who knew?)

1½ ounces sweet vermouth — the red kind 10 drops cardamom bitters 10 drops orange bitters 1 cocktail cherry, the fanciest you can find.

I like Luxardo.

So, are there drinks out there that are more adult? Probably. At this moment, there’s almost certainly some guy working his way through a bottle of scotch, while the bar owner says, “Hey Mr. A-Bailey, why you so a-sad?

Go a-home to you wife, huh?” Or maybe that’s It’s a Wonderful Life; at this time of year it’s hard to tell the difference between melodrama and real life.

Anyway, there are probably other drinks as adult as a properly constructed Manhattan, but very few that are as enjoyable. It is sweet, but not too sweet — that’s what the bitters are there for — and boozy enough to let you know it means business. There is a mixture of flavors that will distract from any boring adult conversation you find yourself in.

Keep your chin up; we’ve got this.

Add all ingredients to ice in a mixing glass.

Stir gently. This is one of those martini-like situations, where you probably wouldn’t like the result if you shook it in a cocktail shaker. This will have a cleaner, more vibrant flavor if it isn’t aerated.

Pour into a rocks glass. Sip gently. A Manhattan is not a drink that lends itself to drinking quickly. You’ll want to — actually, who am I John Fladd is a veteran Hippo writer, a to say what you want? You will probably be happier with your Manhattan experience if you father, writer and cocktail enthusiast, living in drink it a little at a time, trying to identify the New Hampshire.

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vors of “bitter berry, currants and sweet caramel malt.” You start mulling this over, and how is this not an intriguing brew? (The brewery has a Raspberry IPA that fascinates me as well.)

When someone asks me what kind of beer I like, I usually say something along the lines of, “I drink everything but I primarily gravitate Cranberry Wit by to stouts and IPAs.” Great North Aleworks That’s more or less accu(Manchester) rate. I love stouts and IPAs The brewery says this and at the same time I’m hapslightly tart Belgian-style py with Pilsners and brown witbier is brewed with ales and sours and so on and Razzmatazz Raspberry Wheat Ale by orange, coriander and cranThrowback Brewery in North Hampso forth. berry. This sounds refreshing, ton. Courtesy photo.

Still, it’s easy for me to get exciting, not at all over-thestuck on stouts and IPAs — top and perfectly seasonally now more than ever — as there has never appropriate. been a greater variety and quantity of both styles available to us from craft brewers.

Spit Fire Joy Juice: Maple Smoked Plus, they taste really, really good.

Peach Sour Collaboration by 603 Brewery But one of my goals for the new year is to (Londonderry) and Able Ebenezer Brewfind more opportunities to step outside my ing Co. (Merrimack) comfort zone to explore not only a wider What a fascinating beer! This is just so variety of styles, but beers that are especial- interesting bringing together sweet maple ly unique. smokiness and the tang of peaches. I feel like There’s so much great beer easily acces- the smoke would add some balance and prosible and I don’t want to close myself off to vide some depth to what sounds like a very anything. I feel like we’re in this together.We sweet brew. This screams complex. might need to hold each other’s feet to the fire. Sure, we’re not going to like everything Bubblewrap by Loaded Question Brewwe try, and that’s OK, but you must be at ing (Portsmouth) least somewhat bored with trying yet anothThis Belgian “singel” is brewed with er variation on the IPA featuring the newest, “bitter orange peel,” Willamette hops and most exciting hop strain? Don’t worry, IPAs Belgian ale yeast. What I’m expecting is a aren’t going anywhere. light, refreshing Pilsner-like brew featuring Let’s keep an open mind and let’s dive in. some acidity and some fruitiness from the Here are five unique New Hampshire brews orange peel. I can’t wait to try this.

I’m looking to seek out in 2022.

Monadbock by Granite Roots Brewing Razzmatazz Raspberry Wheat Ale by (Troy) Throwback Brewery (North Hampton) OK, this isn’t a brew that I would classiThe description says “spicy and fruity,” fy as especially unique or innovative. Based and it features “aromas of raspberry sugar on the description, it sounds like this is about cookies,” and honestly, it scares me a little. as traditional as it gets. Beyond looking for But I like that it’s got a little zip with an ABV unique beers, I also want to revisit more traof 7.4 percent and that the brewer notes fla- ditional styles. The brewery says this amber bock “boasts rich malty caramel and fresh baked bread,” and honestly, how could that What’s in My Fridge not be good? Sometimes, we get so excitOn the Gogh by Breakaway Beerworks ed about all the experimenting brewers are (Manchester) Yes, I’m trying to step away doing these days, that we, or at least I, forget from IPAs, but before I do, I enjoyed this what made us enjoy beer in the first place. unfiltered, dry-hopped IPA that boasts big I’m thinking this brew might be a good, delitropical fruit flavor and a little spiciness. cious reminder.

This was quite nice and one I would recJeff Mucciarone is Vice President with ommend tracking down. Don’t let the spice Montagne Powers, where he provides comscare you; it’s not overpowering and instead helps balance out the bold citrus flavors. munications support to the New Hampshire Cheers! wine and spirits industry.

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POP CULTURE

Index CDs

pg48

• Reptaliens, Multiverse B • Engelbert Humperdinck, Regards D BOOKS

pg50

• These Precious Days A • Book Notes Includes listings for lectures, author events, book clubs, writers’ workshops and other literary events.

To let us know about your book or event, email asykeny@hippopress. com. To get author events, library events and more listed, send information to listings@hippopress.com.

FILM

pg54

• The Matrix Resurrections B• The King’s Man C

48

MUSIC, BOOKS, MOVIES AND MORE Reptaliens, Multiverse (self-released)

The first album from this Portland, Oregon-based husband-and-wife synthpop duo was 2017’s FM-2030, named after the famous transhumanist (a barmy, pseudoscientific discipline that focuses on artificial intelligence, longevity by becoming part-robot or whatnot, etc.). So by now, if you’re normal, you’ve got warning bells going off all over the place, as you’ve seen words like “transhumanism” and “Portland,” so you know there’s plenty of kooky nonsense going on here, and you should probably avoid it, and you’d be right, at least in my book. Anyway, that first LP was dreamy but not dream-pop, more like Au Revoir Simone-meets-Postal Service-style rubbish that didn’t make it onto an episode of Portlandia. Cut to now, when Covid has prevented Mr. and Mrs. from jamming with their wine-gulping band, so it’s just the two of them, with less synth in their synthpop, just guitars and boring drums, still sporting the New Order fetish they had before. These harmless, ’60s-radio-tinged little tunes aren’t really bad, but, as on their first two albums, the muse begins to tire of them, as does the listener, and by the time album-closer “Jump” rolls around, you’re like “Wow, that’s 40-odd minutes I’ll never get back.” Don’t get me wrong, a couple of tracks would fit well on your wombat-indie mixtape, be my guest. B — Eric W. Saeger Engelbert Humperdinck, Regards (OK Good Records)

I really don’t remember if we’ve gone over this former 1960s/1970s megastar before, but this five-song EP does present an excuse to remind everyone within eye-shot that this British India-born tenor was the Pepsi to Tom Jones’ Coke during the Nixon years. He was, um, I mean is, a crooner who never had the unhinged bombast (or the hips) of Jones, but he definitely was the second banana. A bonus here is that I also get to touch on a holiday tune, a super-long-overdue version of Elvis’s “Blue Christmas” in fact, not that there’s any time left for your grandmother to enjoy it unless she’s hip to the Downloadin’ Stuff scene. It’s all covers, of course; market-made spectacles like this guy probably wouldn’t know the first thing about writing a song, but it’s all good. “What a Wonderful World” is here in all its chintzy glory, and of course a tearjerker, “Smile” this time, packing a full orchestra to deliver its hilariously maudlin message. Nothing unexpected. (What else am I supposed to say? “It’s dumb”?). D — Eric W. Saeger

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 48

PLAYLIST A seriously abridged compendium of recent and future CD releases • Happy New Year, folks. My favorite “2022 is coming” internet meme so far right now is the one with a picture of two tidal waves, representing 2020 and 2021, and a Godzilla standing behind them that’s supposed to represent 2022. What sheer lunacy is left to happen in 2022? I suppose we’ll find out soon enough, but we have one final week of awful albums to cover for 2021, some of which are actually being released on New Year’s Eve, which is dumb, because who buys albums when they’re drunk? But whatever, who cares, some metal band called Oathean is releasing their new album, cheerfully titled The Endless Pain and Darkness, on Dec. 30, a Thursday! Or at least that’s what the Album Of The Year webzine is saying; some other sources are saying it was released on Nov, 30, which is even stupider, since it’s a Tuesday, but at this point I need rock ’n’ roll albums to write about, because otherwise I’m going to talk about politics or something, because it’s that time of year when no band in their right mind is releasing an album, except for Oathean, whoever they are. So anyway, let’s see what this Oathean band even is, shall we? Ha ha, they use that funny font in their band logo, the type all the “extreme-metal” bands use so that their fans don’t really know which album they’re buying, they just know that the devil is involved somehow, and what else should someone care about? I’ll bet you it sounds like Deafheaven, I’ll just bet you. Huh, look at that, they’re from Korea.

I thought they were from Finland or whatever, that’s weird. The whole album is up on YouTube right now. It starts out with some “symphonic metal” elements (in other words it sounds kind of snobby, like Evanescence but with no singing) and then, ah, there we are, they want to sound like Bathory/Deafheaven. That singing cracks me up so bad, like the guy sounds like a giant rat who’s demanding your cheese right this minute or he’ll — why, he’ll — he’ll screech like a giant rat at you, that’s what!

Beware the wrath of the King Of The Cheese Rats, fam, that’s my only warning!

• And that brings us to the music albums that are literally being released on New Year’s Eve, the day before New Year’s Day, which is easily the worst holiday of the year. Why, you ask? Come on, you know why. All the good holidays are gone, and you know you have to go back to work or school or your court-directed community service thingie in a day or two, and from there it’s the usual wintertime activities: trying to keep from getting frostbite on your feet or going completely insane from sun deprivation while reading tweets about the Kardashians vacationing in Maui, or however you usually torture yourself. Again, there’s nothing to talk about here other than metal bands, so come on, get out the barf bags and let’s try to find something from Vanda’s new Covenant of Death album! They’re from Sweden, and they look kind of normal, like regular Judas Priest stans. Nothing on YouTube at all, but their Facebook has a snippet from some tune that’s pretty basic thrash from 1989. Yours in metal, guys!

• We’ll wrap up this rotten year with something that isn’t metal, a compilation album called Stars Rock Kill, composed of cover tunes from indie bands on the Kill Rock Stars record label, including Chateau Chateau, Amber Sweeney and Lucy Lowis, whose cover of Elliot Smith’s “Say Yes” is folk-grungy manna for ironic, badly dressed 40-somethings. Fifty-two songs here, which is pretty generous, man! — Eric W. Saeger

49

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50 POP CULTURE BOOKS

These Precious Days,

by Ann Patchett (Harper, 320 pages) The Ann Patchett craze somehow eluded me, although I know people who wait breathlessly for her next book. She is not as famous as Stephen King nor as prolific as Jodi Picoult, having “just” eight novels and two children’s books to her name, but she enjoys those writers’ commercial success, and has developed an auxiliary fame as co-owner of a Nashville bookstore and as an advocate for independent booksellers.

As such, there’s been breathless anticipation all year for Patchett’s fourth book of nonfiction, These Precious Days, which is a pandemic book — not a book about a pandemic, but a book set in the pandemic. In fact, some of what occurs in the essays here pre-dates Covid-19 and has been published before, in The New Yorker and elsewhere.

That, it turns out, matters not one whit.

The essays are finely strung, like a strand of Mikimoto pearls, and are so well-crafted as to have sprung fully formed from Zeus’s head. Patchett identifies as a novelist but says she’s always writing essays to fill in the gaps, to remind her that she’s still a writer when she’s not consumed by a work of fiction. Amusingly, she says that when working on a novel, she’s stalked by the idea of death, thinking that she could die at any time and the undertaker would bury all her beloved characters with her. The pandemic made that worse. “What was the point of starting [a novel] if I wasn’t going to be around to finish? This didn’t necessarily mean I believed I was going to die of the coronavirus, any more than I believed I was going to drown in the Atlantic or be eaten by a bear, but all those scenarios were possible. The year 2020 didn’t seem like a great time to start a family, or a business, or a novel.” And so she spent the time working on essays, which Patchett says death didn’t seem all that interested in.

The collection starts with a remembrance published in The New Yorker on Patchett’s “three fathers,” her biological dad and two stepfathers. (“Marriage has always proved irresistible to my family. We try and fail and try again, somehow maintaining our belief in an institution that has made fools of us all.”)

The next essay, “The First Thanksgiving,” is a pithier reflection on Patchett’s experience as a freshman at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, when she couldn’t go home for the holiday and instead decided to cook a traditional dinner in her dorm for other stranded friends. Having never cooked a turkey or any other Thanksgiving dish before. “I made yeast rolls, for heaven’s sake! I cooked down fresh cranberries into sauce!”

Only having enough quarters to call her mother from the pay phone when she was finished (we’re talking about a woman who is now 60), she used recipes from The Joy of Cooking and writes that “even now, when someone claims they don’t know how to cook, I find myself snapping, ‘Do you know how to read?’”

Not to take away from Patchett’s talents, but part of the appeal of her essays is simply that she lives such an interesting life. Take, for example, the beginning of her essay, “Flight Plan,” in which she writes: “Three of us were in a 1947 de Havilland Beaver, floating in the middle of a crater lake in the southwest quadrant of Alaska.”

What?

It is a declarative statement, simply crafted, but dares the reader not to read on to learn more. It turns out that the essay is not about this particular excursion that Patchett took with her physician husband, Karl, but about his lifelong obsession with aviation (and by extension, every other amateur pilot), and her coming to grips with it, with reactions that range from bewilderment to fear.

We learn much from this essay about aviation culture, such as that a certain model of small plane is known as a doctor killer. (“Doctors have enough money to buy them,” Karl said, “but they aren’t good enough pilots to fly them.”) But we also go deep inside Patchett’s marriage, her terror about the possibility of Karl dying in a plane crash, her struggle to understand why dangerous pastimes were so important to him. “I understood he wasn’t interested in baking bread, that there would be no Scrabble or yoga in our future as a couple, but couldn’t there be a hobby in which death was not a likely outcome?”

But death is, of course, a likely outcome for us all, and despite Patchett’s insistence that death had no interest in essays, it enshrouds the titular essay, which is about her relationship with a woman named Sooki, who was the actor Tom Hanks’ personal assistant for nearly 20 years.

Patchett had come to know Hanks after writing a jacket blurb for his book of short stories, Uncommon Type, and came to know Sooki when Hanks later agreed to narrate the audio book of her novel The Dutch House. Through increasingly intimate emails, the women evolved from “affectionate strangers” to housemates while Sooki was in an experimental treatment for pancreatic cancer.

No spoilers here, but it is a deeply moving story about friendship, and utterly riveting. As is the collection in its entirety.

A — Jennifer Graham

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 50

Book notes, The A list

As the end of 2021 mercifully approaches, here’s a look back at the books that made our A list. Some won critical acclaim nationwide; others, not much more than here, but they’re worth your attention if you haven’t read them already.

Bewilderment, by Richard Powers (W.W. Norton, 278 pages), novel: A widowed dad struggles with raising his neurologically untypical son while pondering possible other worlds beyond our universe.

The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green (Dutton, 274 pages), nonfiction, essays: The author of The Fault in Our Stars gives 1- to 5-star reviews of everything from Canada geese to Diet Dr Pepper to the “wintry mix.”

Love Like That, by Emma Duffy-Comparone (Henry Holt and Co., 211 pages), short stories: Nine stories about love, both brittle and vibrant, all set in New England, two on the Granite State coast.

The Audacity of Sara Grayson, by Joani Elliott (Post Hill Press, 400 pages), novel: Part of the genre often dismissed as “chick lit,” this is a fun, original and New Englandish story of a daughter tasked with writing the ending to a best-selling series after the author, her mother, dies.

The Five Wounds, by Kirstin Valdez Quade (W.W. Norton, 416 pages), novel: A troubled Catholic family in New Mexico grapples with an unwed pregnancy, poverty and illness in this moving portrait of real life, the kind that doesn’t show up on Twitter.

The Blizzard Party, by Jack Livings (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 400 pages), novel: Engrossing fiction set during the very real blizzard of 1978.

Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf, 303 pages), novel: This Booker Prize-winning story of a young girl and her “artificial friend” asks us to think seriously about the costs of companion robots, both to us and to them.

Chasing Eden, A Book of Seekers by Howard Mansfield (Bauhan Publishing, 216 pages), nonfiction: An intelligent and contemplative book by a New Hampshire author about an unusual cast of Americans who bid the founders’ call to pursue happiness in their own unique ways.

— Jennifer Graham

Books Author events • JAMES ROLLINS Author presents The Starless Crown, in conversation with Terry Brooks.

Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Mon., Jan. 10, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. Registration required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• CHAD ORZEL Author presents A Brief History of Timekeeping. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord.

Thurs., Jan. 27, 7 p.m. Via Zoom.

Registration required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 2240562.

• ISABEL ALLENDE Author presents Violeta. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Sat., Jan. 29, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. Registration and tickets required, to include the purchase of the book. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• JOHN NICHOLS Author presents Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiters. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Tues., Feb. 1, 7 p.m.

Via Zoom. Registration required.

Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• GARY SAMPSON AND INEZ MCDERMOTT Photographer Sampson and art historian McDermott discuss New Hampshire Now: A Photographic Diary of Life in the Granite State.

Sat., Feb. 19, 9:45 to 11:45 a.m.

Peterborough Town Library, 2 Concord St., Peterborough. Visit monadnockwriters.org.

• TIMOTHY BOUDREAU Author presents on the craft of writing short stories. Sat., Jan. 15, 9:45 to 11:45 a.m. Peterborough Town Library, 2 Concord St., Peterborough. Visit monadnockwriters.org.

Poetry • CAROL WESTBURG AND SUE BURTON Virtual poetry reading hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Thurs., Jan. 20, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. Registration required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• DOWN CELLAR POETRY SALON Poetry event series presented by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Monthly. First

Sunday. Visit poetrysocietynh. wordpress.com.

Book Clubs • BOOKERY Online. Monthly.

Third Thursday, 6 p.m. Bookstore based in Manchester. Visit bookerymht.com/online-book-club or call 836-6600.

• GIBSON’S BOOKSTORE Online, via Zoom. Monthly. First Monday, 5:30 p.m. Bookstore based in Concord. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com/gibsons-bookclub-2020-2021 or call 224-0562.

• TO SHARE BREWING CO. 720 Union St., Manchester. Monthly. Second Thursday, 6 p.m. RSVP required. Visit tosharebrewing.com or call 8366947.

• GOFFSTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY 2 High St., Goffstown. Monthly. Third Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. Call 497-2102, email elizabethw@goffstownlibrary.com or visit goffstownlibrary.com • BELKNAP MILL Online.

Monthly. Last Wednesday, 6 p.m.

Based in Laconia. Email bookclub@belknapmill.org.

51

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Thank you for a wonderful 2021, we look forward to being part of your next year of reading.

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The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

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52 POP CULTURE

Movies of comfort and joy A look at the funner films of 2021

By Amy Diaz

adiaz@hippopress.com

The best movie of 2021 is Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Is it really? Who knows. But the urge to elevate the delightful over the seriously artistic is particularly strong this year. And I think backed up by experience: Several of the Serious Fil-uhm year-end movies (Being the Ricardos and Nightmare Alley or even legitimately good The Power of the Dog for example) have left me feeling sorta “shrug” while I fairly regularly rewatch the Barb and Star scene with Jamie Dornan powerballading to some seagulls because it’s never not joy-inducing.

I am as much of an awards-season completist as the next Oscar nerd, so while I haven’t seen The Card Counter, Spencer, The Green Knight, Respect, Licorice Pizza, Annette and The Lost Daughter they are definitely on my list to see soon (though I did say that last year about This Had Oscar Buzz candidate Ammonite and never got around to it). But I did see plenty to cheer about — from the high art to the “this movie will pair perfectly with popcorn, booze and a couch.” Here are some good, great and goofily entertaining movies I saw in 2021 — and where (as of late December at least) to find them.

(Many will also be available for rent or purchase.)

• Let’s call these the “2020” movies: Every year I spend a good part of the first quarter watching some of the better movies that technically (and for Oscar purposes) have the previous year as their release date. That phenomenon was even weirder this year since some movies that actually did get an early 2021 release were in the extended Oscar qualifying window.

I talked about a lot of these during Oscar season but these are worth searching for if you haven’t seen them yet. Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Prime) is a really swoony love story starring Tessa Thompson. Promising Young Woman (HBOMax) is a really angry grief story with a solid performance

by Carey Mulligan. One Night in Miami (Amazon Prime) is a fascinating bit of historical fiction directed by Regina King.

Judas and the Black Messiah (HBOMax) won Daniel Kaluuya his Oscar. Nomadland (Hulu) won director Chloé Zhao and lead actress Frances McDormand Oscars and is truly beautiful. Minari (Showtime) features a great Steven Yuen performance and a highly relatable family story. Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime) is a real showcase for actor Riz Ahmed. I won’t pretend that The Father (Starz) is a birthday par-

ty of a movie — it’s full of sadness and loss — but it also features one of Anthony Hopkins’ best performances.

• Good enough? Of course, most movies I saw this year are probably not Oscar-bound. Quite a few, however, fit the “decent entertainment from your sofa” bill. Thunder Force (Netflix) with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as sudden, middle-aged superheros was not as good as I wanted but it had its moments. Netflix’s zombie movie and its prequel, Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves, are good lazy-day-on-the-couch fun. I probably liked the second even more than the first. The Ice Road (Netflix) contains exactly what it says on the label: Liam Neeson driving a big truck on an ice road. Red Notice (Netflix) is a very dumb movie that does not live up to the promise of Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds but I still laughed many times.

Vacation Friends (Hulu) is another dumb but fun outing with good comedic reluctant-buddy chemistry between Jon Cena and Lil Rel Howery. I know that Camila Cabello’s Cinderella (Amazon Prime) wasn’t, you know, “good,” but it was fun and her life’s ambition was more plucky than just “marry a prince.” Also on Amazon Prime, The Tomorrow War is a totally fine Chris Pratt-led action movie.

The winner of the “I’m not gonna say good but it’s worth a watch” prize this year might be an actual Oscar contender, House of Gucci, which is still in theaters and which the internet says will be on Paramount+ at some point in January. Come for the tacky-glam 1980s everything, stay for the “givin’ her all she’s got, Captain” Lady Gaga performance.

• Supermen & wonder women: For me, Zack Snyder’s Justice League (HBOMax), the longer, slower director’s cut of the 2017 movie, is probably more accurately in the previous category — not great but worth a watch. I felt very “oh now I see what’s supposed to be happening” and while it’s still not fun, it’s sort of an interesting historical document.

Things were much better over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eternals (in theaters and headed to Disney+ on Jan. 12, according to Wikipedia) offered an interesting new group of characters — probably too many to allow us to really focus on the characters with the most potential (Kumail Nanjiani) but I’m willing to ride this branching-out-the-MCU ride. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Disney+) has a compelling lead in Simu Liu, an even better sup-

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 52

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

porting character in Awkwafina and an excellent villain (sorta) in Tony Leung.

Yes, I know Black Widow’s (Disney+) whole deal is setting up other Marvel stuff, but I still enjoyed this stand-alone about Scarlett Johansson’s character (and I’m always excited to see Florence Pugh, “Russian” accent and all). The Marvel standout was probably the recently released Spider-Man: No Way Home (in theaters), which gives a nice completion to the three-movie MCU-Spider-Man arc and gave me a new appreciation for the previous Spider-Man series.

My favorite action franchise outing this year, though, might be No Time To Die (rent or purchase), the send off for Daniel Craig’s iteration of James Bond. I feel like he had more fun than he has in a while and the movie had some fun with the character.

• Family movie night: There was a particularly good crop of kids movies, specifically kids animated movies, this year. Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney+) is a fun adventure tale featuring a talking dragon but also beautiful animation and a lovely score. The Mitchells Versus the Machines (Netflix) is a fun family-on-a-quest tale and it makes fun of Big Tech and it looks great. Lin-Manuel Miranda had songs in two animated movies this year: Encanto (Disney+) and Vivo (Netflix), where he also voices a kinkajou. Both were a delight. Beautiful and soulful, Luca (Disney+) centers on the friendship between two mer-boys who want to check out life on land in Italy.

After you watch it, check out the excellent short Ciao, Alberto (Disney+). And while you’re watching shorts on Disney+, check out Olaf Presents..., which features Josh Gad’s snowman doing his recaps on Disney movies and cracks my kids up every time. I know people have all sorts of opinions about James Corden but I really enjoyed this year’s live-action/CG mix Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (Netflix),

more even than the first movie.

• Christmas movies! I support this weird Christmas movie arms race happening across TV and streaming. Sure, there’s a lot of blah, but there’s also a lot of solid seasonal fare. This year, I enjoyed Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (Netflix), another all-ages friendly, sweet-hearted entry in the Shaun the Sheep Aardman Animation canon. A Boy Called Christmas (Netflix) is darker but does some good work looking at kids and grief. 8-Bit Christmas (HBOMax) stars Neil Patrick Harris offering us the A Christmas Story-riff I didn’t know I wanted about life way back in the 1980s.

Single All the Way (Netflix) is an absolute charmer of a Christmas rom-com.

• How do you do, fellow kids? These teen movies were not made for me but they delighted me all the same. The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Amazon Prime) used a Groundhog Day concept to examine a teen romance and teen grief. He’s All That (Netflix) was a fun riff on the 1990s teen makeover movie. Moxie (Netflix), with its zines and its riot grrrl music, seemed at least as aimed at X-ers like me as the teenager it portrayed. Netflix also offered some solid teen horror movies — There’s Someone Inside Your House and the trilogy Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666. Everybody’s Talking about Jamie (Amazon Prime) gives you a coming of age story (a teen developing his drag persona) and a joyfilled musical.

• “Above average” is not faint praise: With Monster Hunter (Starz), you get the very Resident-Evil-style Milla Jovovich punching monsters, like what else do you need? Dream Horse (Hulu) is the big-hearted a-town-pulls-together underdog story that feels like cozy socks in movie form. Worth (Netflix) is a bum-

53 POP CULTURE FILMS

mer about the aftermath of Sept. 11 but features a great performance by Michael Keaton. In my review, I described No Sudden Move as “ a very Soderberghian cool crisp cocktail of capering and doublecross with just a dash of dry humor.”

Nobody (rent or purchase) from the John Wick writer is basically John Wick as a suburban dad — and is fun in the same way. I liked Idris Elba’s performance in Concrete Cowboy (Netflix).

• The 2021 standouts: Comedy (or maybe dramedy?) Shiva Baby (HBO Max) is an entertainingly claustrophobic look at early adulthood. Plan B (Hulu) is another hilarious movie about teen-girl female friendship and the unnecessary difficulties of obtaining health care. Belfast (theaters and for rent or purchase) is Kenneth Branagh’s warm-hearted, semi-autobiographical look at life in Belfast in the late 1960s. That movie is in black and white and so is Passing (Amazon Prime), though it gives you race in America in the 1920s shades of gray along with a tense psychological, er, thriller? However you’d label it, it sticks with you. The Harder They Fall (Netflix) is a top-notch Western full of excellent performances (Regina King, Idris Elba, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz). If you like Wes Anderson and his little model train worlds, you’ll enjoy the short stories collected in The French Dispatch (available for rent). Madres (Amazon Prime) is a horror movie that packs a real (real world) gut punch. Pig (Hulu) is the excellent Nicolas Cage performance you didn’t know you were waiting for.

But my favorite of this group may be CODA (Apple TV+), featuring a truly great performance by Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of an otherwise deaf family. Her love of singing and her urge for independence have her parents (equally excellent Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur) afraid of losing her to a world they can’t access.

• Great docs: Val (Amazon Prime) is a fascinating memoir from Val Kilmer. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go

In the Heights

For It (Netflix) will remind you why the actress is so beloved. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (HBO Max) is a fun look at a revolutionary show. And speaking of revolution, Summer of Soul (...Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu) is part documentary and part concert film, and according to iTunes, an accompanying album is slated for Jan. 28.

• Speaking of song: We got more music-filled movies this year. As someone who does not live in New York, I support any opportunities to bring Broadway to my living room. Thusly, I was charmed with Come From Away (Apple TV+). Of course, I can’t help loving West Side Story (still in theaters) and I even like the slight tweaks. And, yes, as mentioned up top, from culottes to Andy Garcia as Tommy Bahama, I love Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar (Hulu) and all of its music (“Edgar’s Prayer” but also everything from the hotel lounge singer).

• Most joyful: But OK, at the end of the day, I guess I won’t give those midwestern besties the absolute top spot. I guess that one goes to In the Heights (HBO Max), another Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, this one adapted for the big screen (versus Hamilton’s filmed stage production). This movie was bright and beautiful and absolutely joyous.

2022?

Look, who knows what the movie schedule will look like in January, much less the rest of 2022. But for now, here are a few things on the calendar that I’m excited to see: • Scream (Jan. 14 in theaters) Yes, Scream, like the original, with Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell and David Arquette. I guess I am a sucker for some kinds of nostalgia.

• The Tragedy of Macbeth (Jan. 14 on Apple TV+) In theaters now (including Red River Theatres in Concord starting Friday, Dec. 31), this Joel Coen-directed version of Shakespeare’s play starring Denzel Washington will stream right into your home, for the

convenience of current and former lit majors.

• Cyrano (late January) This movie starring Peter Dinklage has appeared on some year-end lists but won’t really get a release until January.

• Downton Abbey: A New Era (March 18, Peacock 45 days later, according to Wikipedia) I don’t know how I feel about this but I will still watch with some polite excitement this latest chapter.

• The Batman (March 4) Robert Pattinson dons the cowl.

• Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (May 6) Our next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 53

54 POP CULTURE FILM REVIEWS BY AMY DIAZ

The Matrix Resurrections (R)

Keanu Reeves is once again Neo — or is he Thomas Anderson, sometimes delusional but wildly successful video game developer? — in The Matrix Resurrections, a nearly 20-years-in-the-making sequel to the late 1990s/early 2000s Matrix trilogy.

Was Neo the hero who fought for the freedom of humans stuck in a machine-run simulacrum called the Matrix (which placated people while sucking their energy to power the machines)? Or was Neo simply the main character in a trilogy of hugely popular video games called The Matrix, designed by Thomas Anderson? Mr. Anderson doesn’t seem entirely sure of either answer but he’s willing to believe option B — that he is a wealthy video game developer who has somewhat stabilized his mental health with the help of his analyst (Neil Patrick Harris) and some blue pills. But then his boss/business partner Smith (Jonathan Groff, really doing a great job of capturing the oily evil of Hugo Weaving) tells him that Warner Bros. wants to make a new entry in the Matrix franchise and Thomas will have to lead the team, no matter how much he finds the subject of the Matrix triggering. There a lot of fun here about the nature of sequels and the commodification of art into “content” and we get a perfect Christina Ricci cameo that feels like the working out of some frustration about studio notes on the part of Lana Wachowski (this movie’s director and co-writer and half of the Wachowskis sibling duo that wrote and directed the first three movies).

As Thomas gets deeper into the in-movie Matrix 4 project, he finds himself clearly questioning reality again, in particular his relationship to Tiffany (Carrie-Anne Moss), the married mother of two who does not answer to the name “Trinity” but does seem to feel some kind of connection to Thomas.

All the while, as Thomas takes his blue pills and checks his mirrors for liquidity, Bugs (Jessica Henwick), who is exactly what you’d picture if I said “scrappy hacker type,” and Sequoia (Toby Onwumere), the guy whose job it is to look at the code-covered computer screens and give ominous warnings, are trying to convince Thomas that the Matrix games aren’t just valuable IP but his actual memories. They are aided in this by an agent who hunted them but then, like, awakened as Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), but a

The Matrix Resurrections

younger and hotter version (no disrespect intended, Laurence Fishburne).

The story here has a real “big bag of things” feel that includes commentary about being forced to make a sequel, some genuine fondness (and maybe just a little too much reverence) for the original Matrix movies, some self-awareness about the lasting impacts of the Matrix movies and maybe even a little bit about how insufferable parts of Matrix fandom, and everything that’s happened with the term “red pill,” have become.

The movie offers a fair amount of exposition, about the world it’s set in now and story points from the original movies, so I don’t think you’ll be lost if you’ve never seen a Matrix movie before. But you will get a lot of story, a lot of “after this thing happened, here’s a bunch of explanation about these other events which leads to this,” that drags on this two-hour-and-30-minute movie.

I would also estimate that about half the action is fun — Keanu Reeves, particularly old Keanu, doing martial arts is both a skillful display of choreography and, like, a hoot — and half feels like the part where you’d go look for drink refills. I like the young new Matrix Babies just fine but I think I most enjoyed the parts of the movie that are focused on Reeves and Moss. I was reminded that even through all of the slick Matrix costumes and slo-mo fighting, the two actors have actual chemistry (maybe not super-hot romantic chemistry, but good screen-duo chemistry).

The Matrix Resurrections has a lot of interesting ideas — more than it’s able to really

Film Movie screenings, movie-themed happenings & virtual events

Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester 668-5588, palacetheatre.org

Venues Bank of NH Stage in Concord 16 S. Main St., Concord 225-1111, banknhstage.com

Wilton Town Hall Theatre 40 Main St., Wilton wiltontownhalltheatre.com, 654-3456

The Flying Monkey 39 Main St., Plymouth 536-2551, flyingmonkeynh.com

Shows • Nightmare Alley (R, 2021) will screen at Red River Theatres Thursday, Dec. 30, through Sunday, Jan. 2, at 12:30, 4 & 7:30 p.m.

• Licorice Pizza (R, 2021) will screen at Red River Theatres

Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 54

in Concord Thursday, Dec. 30, through Sunday, Jan. 2, at 12, 3:30 & 7 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 6, at 4 & 7:30 p.m.

• The Tragedy of MacBeth (R, 2021) will screen at Red River Theatres in Concord on Friday, Dec. 31, at 4 & 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 1, and Sunday, Jan. 2, at 1, 4 & 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 6, at 4 & 7:30 p.m.

• The Metropolitan Opera — Cinderella on Saturday, Jan. 1, at 12:55 p.m. at Bank of NH Stage in Concord. Tickets cost $26.

• Grandma’s Boy (1922), a silent film starring Harold Lloyd, on

examine. Nostalgia and the general quality of the storytelling here make it a fun enough watch. BRated R for violence and some language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com.

Directed by Lana Wachowski with a screenplay

by Lana Wachowski & David Mitchell & Aleksander Hemon, The Matrix Resurrections is two hours and 28 minutes long and distributed by Warner Bros. in theaters and on HBOMax.

The King’s Man (R)

The government-unaffiliated intelligence service known as the Kingsmen gets its World War I-set origin story in The King’s Man, a movie you’ve probably been watching trailers of for two and a half years.

At least two and a half years, maybe more — Wikipedia says the movie originally had a November 2019 release date before being moved into February 2020 and then later playing Covid-related hopscotch through the calendar. I know there have been at least two, maybe three, widely released versions of the trailer and I mention all of this because I don’t think that seeing this much advance footage of this movie did it any favors.

Duke Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) and his wife Lady Emily (Alexandra Maria Lara) are pacifists who work with the Red Cross.

Though dedicated to non-violence, Emily is killed while in South Africa, making Oxford promise her that he will keep their son Conrad (Harris Dickinson as an adult) out of war.

Sunday, Jan. 2, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Suggested donation of $10.

• Nanook of the North (1922), a silent documentary, on Sunday, Jan. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Suggested donation of $10.

• For Heaven’s Sake (1926), a silent film starring Harold Lloyd, on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. at the Flying Monkey. Suggested donation of $10.

• Dark Mountain (2021) on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. at the Flying Monkey. Tickets cost $12.

Years later, as Europe is on the precipice of World War I, Conrad is eager for any kind of action in life but Orlando is still trying to shelter him. What Conrad doesn’t know is that Orlando has started a sort of proto-Kingsmen that uses a network of domestic service workers to attempt to advance the cause of peace. It is in this spirit, and at the behest of Field Marshal Kitchner (Charles Dance), that Orlando and Conrad are in Sarajevo when Franz Ferdinand is shot. Despite all attempts at smoothing over the egos of the U.K.’s King George, Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm and Russia’s Tsar Nicholas (all Tom Hollander), Europe slides into war but Orlando and his team, including Polly (Gemma Arterton) and Shola (Djimon Hounsou), continue to work for peace. Conrad, meanwhile, remains eager to serve as a soldier — even after a trip to Russia and a visit with Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) give him a taste of the spy life.

The King’s Man is festooned with real-life people and events but this has the odd effect not of rooting it in history but of making it seem even more outside it. If you remember even a little history from high school, the movie doesn’t offer much in the way of tension. The movie creates the idea of a sprawling sinister force but other than name-check historical features, its goals are not even as exciting as the villains of the modern-day Kingsman movies.

The movie does have some fun action set pieces — a mission involving a mountain-top-located, goat-filled barn is fun logistically even if I didn’t care about the story related to it, a couple of stretches set in the trenches of the battlefield were surprisingly emotionally rich and had some good edge-ofyour-seat moments. But it also has some real draggy stretches — I have definitely seen the Rasputin parts in too many trailers and the whole deal with him goes on too long with ultimately little payoff.

This movie just overall has less zip than the first, silly-but-fun Kingsman movie. C Rated R for sequences of strong/bloody violence, language and some sexual material, according to the MPA on filmratings.com.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn with a screenplay

by Matthew Vaughn & Karl Gajdusek, The King’s Man is two hours and 11 minutes long and is distributed in theaters by Twentieth Century Studios.

• Blood and Sand (1922), on Sunday, Feb. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Suggested donation of $10.

• When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922), a silent film starring Marion Davies, on Sunday, Feb. 20, at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Suggested donation of $10.

• Girl Shy (1924), a silent film starring Harold Lloyd, on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Rex in Manchester, featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis. Admission costs $10.

• Smilin’ Through (1922) on Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre.

Suggested donation $10.

• Robin Hood (1922) on Sunday, March 27, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Suggested donation $10.

• Flesh and Blood and The Man from Beyond (1922) on Sunday, April 10, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Suggested donation $10.

• Othello (1922) on Sunday, April 24, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Suggested donation $10.

55

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NITE 2021 all done Local music news & events

Looking back, and forward

By Michael Witthaus

mwitthaus@hippopress.com

By Michael Witthaus

mwitthaus@hippopress.com

• Familiar tunes: Roll into the long weekend with Eddie Sands, a singer and guitarist with a lengthy list of cover songs, including “Leader of the Band” from Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor’s “Steamroller Blues” and Kenny Loggins’ ode to his brother, “Danny’s Song.” The venue is a dual market and eatery, serving lunch in the daytime while offering bar fare, burgers, entrees and adult beverages at night. Thursday, Dec. 30, 6:30 p.m., Michael’s Flatbread Bar and Grill, 8 Stiles Road, Salem.

• New crew: Among the many possibilities for New Year’s Eve entertainment, the Faith Ann Band is a great choice, with a forthcoming album, In Bloom, and new guitarist Mike Stockbridge bringing a solid jazz background to the group. Check out the latest psychedelic single from the disc on their website, but those with a clown phobia may want to skip the video, which has an unmistakable It vibe.

Friday, Dec. 31, 4 p.m., Area 23, 254 N. State St, Unit H (Smokestack Center), Concord, more at thefaithannband.com.

• Start it up: Is timing the best thing about this new year? Continue Friday night’s fun with The Far, a festive six-piece featuring a male and female lead vocal team.

Their setlist stays up to the minute; singer Neely Luna’s cover of Adele’s “Easy On Me” is excellent, as is a fun take of Tone & I’s “Dance Monkey.” They also deliver a few classics, such as Boston’s “Foreplay/ Long Time” and “Separate Ways” by Journey. Saturday, Jan. 1, 8 p.m., The Derryfield, 625 Mammoth Road, Manchester, more at thefarband.com.

• Battle on: A competition between young local bands, Pizzastock 5.5 is a benefit for the Jason R. Flood Memorial Fund, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention, access to mental health services and providing a safe space to gather for tweens, teens and young adults. This year’s acts are Rock Bottom, Second to Last Minute and Castle Island. Last year’s winner Cozy Throne will close out the show; Casey Daron of Afterimage hosts. Sunday, Jan. 2, 1 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, tickets $15 at tupelohall.com.

• Laugh in: Water cooler comics and raconteurs can try working in front of a crowd at Do You Think You’re Funny? The weekly comedy open mic is held at a unique venue specializing in vintage vinyl and microbrews.

The hour-long event is happening for the first time in 2022, so anyone with a New Year’s resolution to try something new and step outside their comfort zone has just the place to test their mettle. Wednesday, Jan. 5, 6:30 p.m., Defiant Records & Craft Beer, 609 Main St., Laconia, defiantnh.com.

In the parlance of performance, 2020 wasn’t a hard act to follow — anything would beat a year of livestreams and solo shows. So the year began hopefully, and it got better as vaccines became available and venues were able to ease capacity restrictions.

Area supergroup Marble Eyes, for example, was Zooming from the Press Room in January; by July they were playing to a packed Prescott Park in Portsmouth.

Tupelo Music Hall returned in the spring with more drive-in shows but was able to head back indoors at summer’s end. Manchester’s Palace and Rex Theatres reopened in June, while the Capitol Center and Bank of NH Stage in Concord waited the summer out, running local-flavored shows in nearby Fletcher-Murphy Park.

On the Seacoast, Portsmouth’s Music Hall split the difference, offering outdoor shows and socially distanced events at its indoor Historic Theatre. The Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach endured several close-tothe-wire cancellations before it returned to a semblance of normal in mid-July.

Creatively, 2021 was a great year. Several area performers released albums, including Liz Bills & The Change. The band’s self-titled record was rewarded with multiple NEMA nominations, including a win for Pop Act of the Year at the awards show in October.

Andrew North & The Rangers made a highlight reel of an album, Phosphorescent Snack. Among the best tracks were the Phish-adjacent “Aditi,” the buoyant, upbeat “Dig Deep” and “Epiphone” — the latter a guitar-free romp, even if it shared its name with a famous six-string.

April Cushman’s debut album, The Long

Chelsea Paolini. Courtesy photo.

Haul, dropped in July. The title song perfectly captures the struggle for success in the music business, particularly for women. Cushman sings about the “10-year turnaround” she faces as “just another girl among a thousand crowns … in a working man’s town,” the latter a reference to Nashville, where the disc was finished.

After a March 2020 release show was cratered by Covid-19, Married Iguana waited a year to make its hometown debut in Manchester, and their debut EP includes one of the best songs to come out this year. “Go With The Flow” chugs along like a rolling party bus, punctuated by scorching guitar licks from band leader and principal songwriter Brett Higgins.

All three bands have plans to start 2022 with a bang. Cushman will perform with her band on Jan. 13 at Bank of NH Stage in Concord, a venue Andrew North & The Rangers will also appear at, on Feb. 10. Married Iguana will headline a local showcase with The Humans Being and Earthmark on Jan. 22 at Shaskeen Pub in Manchester.

Comedy provided relief to a pandemic-weary region, first with socially distanced shows at places like Chunky’s Cinema Pub,

2022 shows to get excited about Rex Theatre Tupelo Music Hall Morgan James, Jan. 15 (rescheduled from Corey Rodrigues, Kyle Crawford, and Alex December) Giampapa, Jan. 14 (Comedy) Max Weinberg’s Jukebox, March 24 Martin Barre, Aqualung 50th Anniversary Tour, Feb. 11 Palace Theatre Seth Meyers, Feb. 9 The Music Hall Celtic Angels, March 5 Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive) and Vilray, Jan. 29 Capitol Center for the Arts Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, Feb. Juston McKinney, March 26 (recording a 27 comedy special) Heart By Heart, April 2 (featuring original SNHU Arena band members) JoJo Siwa, Feb. 22 KoRn & Chevelle, March 19 Bank of NH Stage Enter the Haggis, Feb. 3 Bank of NH Pavilion Andrew North & The Rangers, Feb. 10 Ringo Starr & Avett Brothers, June 4 Jack Johnson, June 21

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 56

with multiple locations, as well as Newmarket’s Stone Church and Kathleen’s Cottage in Bristol. Maine funny man Bob Marley played an April Fool’s Day show at Saint Anselm College’s Dana Center, while Juston McKinney did several small-capacity socially distanced sets at area venues.

By summer Wednesday night comedy had returned to Shaskeen Pub, accompanied by word that the weekly event would be taken over by Ruby Room Comedy. Longtime promoters Nick Lavallee and Dave Carter announced plans for a handoff with an eight-weekend run of shows. Standup popped up in some new spots, like Backyard Brewery and Yankee Lanes in Manchester, Concord’s Area 23, and Saddle Up Saloon in Kingston.

Sadly, 2021 ended with a series of losses to the music community. Billy Conway, drummer for Morphine and Treat Her Right, and former Concord resident, died on Dec. 19, the same day that David Surette, who for decades was a fixture on the area scene and Concord Community Music School faculty member, also died.

Granite State native Bill Staines lost his battle to prostate cancer on Dec. 5, and singer, songwriter, activist and provocateur Chelsea Paolini died at age 32, also on Dec. 5. She was a firebrand, whether lighting up the fretboard of her Gibson SG or dressing down perceived ignorance wherever she found it.

Finally, the death of drummer and bandleader Chucky Tester shocked the rock community. A memorial dubbed Rock In Peace happens Jan. 16 at A-Brews in Dracut, Mass. On the bill are Manchester prog rockers Mindset X, Prospect Hill, blindspot and A Simple Complex. For the latter band, it’s an early comeback, their first live performance in over two years.

“We saw the grief in the music community,” A Simple Complex frontman Mark Ingoldsby said recently, “so we decided to break our silence and come off hiatus early to organize a tribute benefit show in honor of Chucky.”

Wired Up.

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W E S E L L PA R T S !

Chunky’s 707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com The Flying Monkey 39 Main St., Plymouth 536-2551, flyingmonkeynh. com Fulchino Vineyard 187 Pine Hill Road, Hollis 438-5984, fulchinovineyard. com

Thank you for your support through 2021!

We’re here for (and because of) YOU!

Hatbox Theatre Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord 715-2315, hatboxnh.com

Live Music 6-9pm New Thurs., Dec. 30th - Jennifer Mitchell New Year’s Eve - Paul Lussier Sat., Jan. 1st - Acoustic Moxie Year! Sun., Jan. 2nd - Acoustic Sessions

Headliners Comedy Club DoubleTree By Hilton, 700 Elm St., Manchester headlinerscomedyclub.com

with Bob Pratte - 3:30-6:30 pm

Kathleen Irish Pub 90 Lake St., Bristol 744-6336, kathleensirishpub. com

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Venues Capitol Center for the Arts 44 S. Main St., Concord 225-1111, ccanh.com

Millyard Brewery 125 E. Otterson St., Nashua 722-0104, millyardbrewery. com The Music Hall 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth 436-2400, themusichall.org Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester 668-5588, palacetheatre.org Strange Brew 88 Market St., Manchester 666-4292 Tupelo Music Hall 10 A St., Derry, 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com Yankee Lanes 216 Maple St., Manchester 625-9656 yankeelanesentertainment.com

Weekly comedy nights • Thursday Yankee Lanes, 8 p.m.

• Thursday Strange Brew, 9 p.m.

Events • Bob Marley Flying Monkey, Friday, Dec. 31, 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m., & 8 p.m.

• Joe Yannetty, Joey Carrol, Mark Scalia Chunky’s Manchester, Friday, Dec. 31, 7 & 10 p.m.

• James Dorsey, Matt Barry, Greg Boggis Chunky’s Nashua, Friday, Dec. 31, 7 & 10 p.m.

• Headliners Comedy: Robbie Printz, Rob Steen, Tim McKeever, Tom Spohn Headliners, Friday, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.

• Juston McKinney Rex Theatres, Friday, Dec. 31, and Saturday, Jan. 1, 8 p.m.

• Cottage Comedy Kathleen Irish Pub, Jan. 1, 7 p.m.

• Joe Yannetty Rex, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m.

• Lenny Clarke Tupelo, Saturday, Jan. 8, 8 p.m.

• Jody Sloane Chunky’s Manchester, Saturday, January 8, 2022, 8:30 p.m.

• Steve Bjork Chunky’s Nashua, Saturday, Jan. 8, 8:30 p.m.

• Queen City Improv Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m.

• Christine Hurley Rex, Friday, Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m.

• Corey Rodrigues, Kyle Crawford, & Alex Gianpapa Tupelo, Friday, Jan. 14, 8 p.m.

• Paul Nardizzi, Paul Gilligan & Dave Russo Fulchino Vineyard, Saturday, Jan. 15, 6:30 p.m.

• Paula Poundstone Cap Center, Saturday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m.

• Jody Sloane Chunky’s Nashua, Saturday, Jan. 15, 8 p.m.

• Steve Bjork Chunky’s Manchester, Saturday, Jan. 15, 8:30 p.m.

• Drew Lynch: Concussed The Music Hall, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m.

• Comedy Out of the Box Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m.

Bob Marley. Courtesy photo.

• Kenny Rogerson Chunky’s Manchester, Friday, January 21 and Saturday, January 22, 2022, 8:30 p.m.

• Carolyn Plummer Millyard Nashua, Saturday, January 22, 7 p.m.

• Bill Simas Chunky’s Manchester, Saturday, January 29, 2022, 8 p.m.

• Queen City Improv Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m.

• Drew Dunn & Jim Ialetta Tupelo, Friday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m.

• Mike McDonald’s 21st Annual Comedy Extravaganza The Music Hall, Friday, Feb. 18, 7:30 p.m.

• Charlie Berens The Music Hall, Thursday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m.

• Comedy Out of the Box Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m.

• Queen City Improv Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.

• Comedy Out of the Box Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, March 17, 7:30 p.m.

• Queen City Improv Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, April 7, 7:30 p.m.

• Kevin Nealon The Music Hall, Saturday, April 16, 8 p.m.

• Comedy Out of the Box Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.

• Whose Live Anyway? Cap Center, Sunday, April 24, 7:30 p.m.

• Queen City Improv Hatbox Theatre, Thursday, May 12, 7:30 p.m.

• Kevin James Cap Center, Friday, May 13, 7:30 p.m.

• Queen City Improv Hatbox, Thursday, June 2, 7:30 p.m.

JOE YANNETTY

Comedian Joe Yannetty will play the Friday, Jan. 6, Comedy at the Rex. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; 668-5588, palacetheatre.org).

Tickets cost $25.

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HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 58

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Exeter Sawbelly Brewing 156 Epping Road 583-5080

Alton Bay Dockside Restaurant 6 East Side Drive 855-2222 Amherst LaBelle Winery 345 Route 101 672-9898 Auburn Auburn Pitts 167 Rockingham Road 622-6564 Bedford Copper Door 15 Leavy Dr. 488-2677 Boscawen Alan’s of Boscawen 133 N. Main St. 753-6631

Concord Craft Brew- Tandy’s Pub & Grille ing 1 Eagle Sq. 117 Storrs St. 856-7614 856-7625 Derry Brookline Courtyard by Marriott Fody’s Tavern The Alamo Texas Bar- Concord 187 Rockingham Road, becue & Tequila Bar 70 Constitution Ave. 404-6946 99 Route 13 721-5000 Hermanos Cocina LaBelle Winery Mexicana 14 Route 111 Chichester 11 Hills Ave. 672-9898 Flannel Tavern 224-5669 345 Suncook Valley Dover Road Lithermans 603 Bar and Lounge 406-1196 126 Hall St., Unit B 368 Central Ave. 742-9283 Concord Penuche’s Ale House Area 23 16 Bicentennial Sq. Epping State Street 228-9833 Telly’s Restaurant & 881-9060 Pizzeria Shara Vineyards 235 Calef Hwy. Cheers 82 Currier Road 679-8225 17 Depot St. 228-0180 Bow Chen Yang Li 520 S. Bow St. 228-8508

Thursday, Dec. 30 Bedford Copper Door: Jordan Quinn, 7 p.m.

Hampton CR’s: Don Severance, 6 p.m.

The Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.

Wally’s: Chris Toler, 8 p.m.

Whym: music bingo, 6 p.m.

Currier: Kevin Horan, 5 p.m.

Fratello’s: Joanie Cicatelli, 5:30 p.m.

KC’s: Jessica Olson, 6 p.m.

Hudson Lynn’s 102: karaoke w/ George Bisson, 8 p.m.

Merrimack Homestead: Clint 5:30 p.m.

Tomahawk: Chad 6:30 p.m.

Derry Fody’s: music bingo, 8 p.m.

Kingston Saddle Up Saloon: karaoke with DJ Jason, 7 p.m.

Milford Stonecutters Pub: Blues Therapy, 8 p.m.

Epping Telly’s: Justin Jordan, 7 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Exeter Sawbelly: Max Sullivan, 5 p.m.

Londonderry Stumble Inn: Rob & Jody, 7 p.m.

Nashua Fody’s: DJ Rich Karaoke, 9:30 p.m.

Fratello’s: Austin McCarthy, 5:30 p.m.

Brookline Alamo: Jeff Mrozek, 4:30 p.m.

Concord Hermanos: Brian Booth, 6:30 p.m.

Goffstown Village Trestle: Jennifer Mitchell, 6 p.m.

Manchester Angel City: open mic, 8 p.m.

Lapointe, LaMarsh,

Newmarket Stone Church: Bearly Dead, 9 p.m.

BIG NEW YEAR’S EVE FUN

Music, comedy and more fill the schedule for Friday, Dec. 31. Make your plans for where to ring in the new year with the help of the Dec. 23 issue of the Hippo. On page 36, Michael Witthaus looks at some of the comedy shows planned for New Year’s Eve. On page 38, he runs down the list of live music, DJs and other parties planned at area restaurants and other venues.

Celebrate 2021 Scottish style with Hogmanay, an event by NHSCOT (the group that presents New Hampshire’s annual Highland Games), scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 2, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Derryfield Country Club in Manchester. Find Meghan Siegler’s story about the event on page 12 of the Dec. 23 issue.

Looking for some dinner? Check out Matt Ingersoll’s list of places doing special menus (on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day) in the Dec. 16 issue on page 30.

Find e-editions of back issues at hippopress.com.

Hogmanay Bonfire at the Derryfield Country Club. Courtesy photo.

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 60

Gilford Patrick’s 18 Weirs Road 293-0841 Goffstown Village Trestle 25 Main St. 497-8230 Hampton Ashworth by the Sea 295 Ocean Blvd.

926-6762 Bogie’s 32 Depot Sq. 601-2319 CR’s The Restaurant 287 Exeter Road 929-7972 The Goat 20 L St. 601-6928

L Street Tavern 603 17 L St. 967-4777

Luk’s Bar & Grill 142 Lowell Road 889-9900

Stumble Inn 20 Rockingham Road 432-3210

Shane’s BBQ 61 High St. 601-7091

Lynn’s 102 Tavern 76 Derry Road 943-7832

Wally’s Pub 144 Ashworth Ave. 926-6954

Nan King Restaurant 222 Central St. 882-1911

Manchester Angel City Music Hall 179 Elm St. 931-3654

Whym Craft Pub & Kingston Saddle Up Saloon Brewery 92 Route 125 853 Lafayette Road 369-6962 601-2801 Henniker Pats Peak Sled Pub 24 Flanders Road 888-728-7732 Hudson Backstreet Bar Grill 76 Derry Road 578-1811 The Bar 2B Burnham Road

Laconia Fratello’s 799 Union Ave. 528-2022 and

Tower Hill Tavern 264 Lakeside Ave. 366-9100

Dover 603 Bar & Lounge: DJ Deja and Pete Vitello, 9 p.m.

Seabrook Red’s: Pete Massa, 7 p.m.

Exeter Sawbelly: Christopher Voss, 5 p.m.

Auburn Auburn Pitts: Stuck in Time, 7 p.m.

Bedford Copper Door: Jordan Quinn, 6 p.m.

Boscawen Alan’s: Stray Dog, 8 p.m.

Bow Chen Yang Li: DJ Kenny, 8 p.m.

Brookline Alamo: Brian Weeks, 4:30 p.m.

Chichester Flannel Tavern: Dave Graham, 6 p.m.

Concord Area 23: Faith Ann Band, 7 p.m.

Penuche’s: Felix Holt, 9 p.m.

Derry Fody’s: Pop Rox, 9 p.m.

LaBelle: The Freese Brothers Big Band, 6:30 p.m.

Belmont 718 Grove St. 625-8540 Breezeway Pub 14 Pearl St. 621-9111 Bonfire 950 Elm St. 663-7678 Cercle National Club 550 Rockland Ave. 623-8243

Londonderry Coach Stop Restaurant & Tavern Crown Tavern 176 Mammoth Road 99 Hanover St. 437-2022 218-3132

Salem Copper Door: Pete Peterson, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 31 Amherst LaBelle: Freese Brothers Big Band, 9 p.m.

Backyard Brewery 1211 S. Mammoth Road 623-3545

Goffstown Village Trestle: Paul Lussier, 5 p.m.

Hampton Ashworth by the Sea: live band, DJ, 6:30 p.m.

CR’s: Rico Barr Trio, 6 p.m.

The Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.

L Street Tavern: Craig LaGrassa, 8 p.m.

Wally’s: Down 5th, 9 p.m.

Henniker Pats Peak: The McMurphys, 6 p.m.

Hillsborough Hillsborough Moose Lodge: Cellar Dwellers, Superbug and Probably Cause, 6 p.m.

Hudson Backstreet Bar & Grill: DJ Bobby Lane, 8 p.m.

Lynn’s 102: Sindicate, 8 p.m.

Nan King: Patty Shock’s Energizer Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Kingston Saddle Up Saloon: Bite the Bullet, 8 p.m.

Music, live and in person These listings for live music are compiled from press releases, restaurants’ websites and social media and artists’ websites and social media. Call the venue to check on special rules and reservation instructions. Get your gigs listed by sending information to music@hippopress.com.

Laconia The Big House: Back in the Day, 8 p.m.

Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

High Octane: EXP Band, 8 p.m.

Tower Hill Tavern: DJ Kadence with karaoke, 8 p.m.

Londonderry Coach Shop: Pete Peterson, 6 p.m.

Stumble Inn: Swipe Right, 9 p.m.

Manchester Angel City: Everybody Wants Some (Van Halen tribute), The Hellion (Judas Priest tribute) and Calienta Pistolas, 7 p.m.

Belmont: DJ Hustle Boy, 7 p.m.

Bonfire: Martin & Kelly, 9 p.m.

Breezeway: Drag Roulette, 8 p.m.

Cercle Club: Plan B, 6 p.m.

Derryfield: Chad LaMarsh Band, 9 p.m.

Farm Bar & Grille: DJ Sammy Smoove and DJ Real Ace, 8 p.m.

The Foundry: Tyler Levs, 6 p.m.

Fratello’s: Clint Lapointe & Phil Jakes, 6 p.m.

The Goat: Those Guys, 8 p.m.

Murphy’s: Dancing Madly Backwards, 9:30 p.m.

Shaskeen: DJ Myth, 8 p.m.

South Side Tavern: Cox Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Strange Brew: One Big Soul, 8:30 p.m.

Sweeney Post: The Lexi James Band, 8 p.m.

XO Bistro: Acoustic Moxie, 6:30 p.m.

Merrimack Homestead: Ralph Allen, 6 p.m.

Milford Pasta Loft: Fatha Groove, 9 p.m.

Stonecutters Pub: DJ Dave O with karaoke, 9 p.m.

!

YOU ROCK

Thank you for your patronage and support throughout 2021 and making a challenging year one of success, strength and hope.

Let’s make 2022 the brightest and happiest year of all!

s! er rt ua dq ea H YL N VI r’s te es ch an M r Discove

1711 South Willow St. Manchester 603-644-0199 • musicconnection.us

Open 7 Days

135959

Over 5,000 New Vinyl Records!

And over 50,000 USED titles!

AND CDs, Cassettes, and Movies too!

NITE MUSIC THIS WEEK Currier Museum of Art Great North Aleworks 150 Ash St. 1050 Holt Ave. 669-6144 858-5789

Stark Brewing Co. 500 Commercial St. 625-4444

Stonecutters Pub 63 Union Sq. 213-5979

Peddler’s Daughter 48 Main St. 821-7535

Derryfield Country Henry J. Sweeney Post Club 251 Maple St. 625 Mammoth Road 623-9145 623-2880 Jewel Music Venue Firefly 61 Canal St. 21 Concord St. 819-9336 935-9740 KC’s Rib Shack The Foundry 837 Second St. 50 Commercial St. 627-RIBS 836-1925 McIntyre Ski Area Fratello’s 50 Chalet Ct. 155 Dow St. 622-6159 624-2022 Murphy’s Taproom Getaway Lounge 494 Elm St. 157 Franklin St. 644-3535 627-0661 South Side Tavern The Goat 1279 S. Willow St. 50 Old Granite St. 935-9947

Strange Brew 88 Market St. 666-4292

Moultonborough Buckey’s 240 Governor Wentworth Hwy. 476-5485

New Boston Molly’s Tavern & Restaurant 35 Mont Vernon Road 487-1362

Nashua Boston Billiards 55 Northeastern Blvd.

943-5630

Newmarket Stone Church 5 Granite St. 659-7700

Moultonborough Buckey’s: Red Hat Band, 9 p.m.

Nashua Boston Billiard Club: The Apathetics, 9 p.m.

Fody’s: Joe Wedge, 10 p.m.

Fratello’s: Justin Jordan, 6 p.m.

Peddler’s Daughter: live DJ, 5 p.m.

Stella Blu: Austin McCarthy, 8 p.m.

New Boston Molly’s: Joe Birch, 7 p.m.

New Market Stone Church: John Medeski, 9 p.m.

Northfield Boonedoxz Pub: karaoke night, 7 p.m.

Plaistow Crow’s Nest: DJ Golo, 9 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Sean Coleman, 9:30 p.m.

Gibb’s Garage Bar: Elijah Clark, 7 p.m.

Grill 28: Dave Gerard of Truffle, 6 p.m.

XO Bistro 827 Elm St. 560-7998 Merrimack Homestead 641 Daniel Hwy. 429-2022

Webster Fody’s Tavern 9 Clinton St. 577-9015

Northfield Boonedoxz Pub 95 Park St. Tomahawk Tavern Fratello’s Italian Grille 717-8267 454 Daniel Webster 194 Main St. Hwy. Plaistow 889-2022 365-4960 The Crow’s Nest 181 Plaistow Road Liquid Therapy Milford 14 Court St. 402-9391 The Pasta Loft Portsmouth 241 Union Sq. The Gas Light Millyard Brewery 672-2270 64 Market St. 25 E. Otterson St. 430-9122 722-0104

The Goat: Chris Toler, 9 p.m.

Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues: Eddie Palmieri & La Perfecta Big Band, 7 p.m.

Statey: Max Sullivan, 8 p.m.

Thirsty Moose: Mattson, 9 p.m.

Rochester Elks Lodge: Vill Vendasi, 9 p.m.

Governors Inn: Dueling Pianos Bash, 7:30 p.m.

The Goat 142 Congress St. 590-4628

The Statey Bar & Grill 238 Deer St. 431-4357 Thirsty Moose house 21 Congress St. 427-8645

Concord Area 23: Blues Brothers, 8 p.m.

Nashua Fratello’s: Dave Zangri, 6 p.m.

Epping Telly’s: Brian Johnson, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Lewis Goodwin, 9:30 p.m.

The Goat: Mike Forgette, 9 p.m.

Hampton The Goat: live music, 9 p.m.

Seabrook Chop Shop: Band, Inc., and Leaving Eden, 7 p.m.

Red’s: Undercover, 7 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Kingston Saddle Up Saloon: Ryan Palma, 8 p.m.

Stratham Tailgate Tavern: Alan Roux, 7 p.m.

Londonderry Coach Shop: Clint Lapointe, 6 p.m.

Stumble Inn: Zach Newbound Duo, 8 p.m.

Windham Castleton: Joey Dion, 7 p.m.

Common Man: Karen Grenier, 6 p.m.

Manchester Derryfield: The Far, 8 p.m.

Fratello’s: Joanie Cicatelli, 6 p.m.

LENNY CLARKE

Comedian Lenny Clarke will perform at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry; 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com) on Saturday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $35.

Porter’s Pub 19 Hanson St. 330-1964

Press Room 77 Daniel St. 431-5186

Merrimack Homestead: Chris Powers, 6 p.m.

Goffstown Village Trestle: Acoustic Moxie, 6 p.m.

Red’s Kitchen + Tavern 530 Lafayette Road 760-0030

Rochester Governor’s Inn 78 Wakefield St. 332-0107

Grill 28 Pease Golf Course, 200 Salem Grafton Road Copper Door 766-6466 41 S. Broadway Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues 458-2033 Club Jocelyn’s Lounge 135 Congress St. 355 South Broadway 603-5299 870-0045

Saturday, Jan. 1 Brookline Alamo: Justin Jordan, 5 p.m.

Salem Copper Door: Jodee Frawlee, 6 p.m.

Jocelyn’s: Brian Walker, 8 p.m.

Tuscan Village: The Deviant, 8 p.m.

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 62

Gibb’s Garage Bar 3612 Lafayette Road

Sunday, Jan. 2 Alton Bay Dockside: Chris O’Neill, 4 p.m.

Bedford Copper Door: Phil Jakes, 11 a.m.

Brookline Alamo: live music, 4:30 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Tap-

Tuscan Kitchen 67 Main St. 952-4875 Seabrook Castaways 209 Ocean Blvd.

760-7500 Chop Shop Pub 920 Lafayette Road 760-7706

Portsmouth The Goat: Rob Pagnano, 9 p.m.

Salem Copper Door: Jodee Frawlee, 11 a.m.

Seabrook Red’s: live music, 8 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 3 Hudson The Bar: karaoke with Phil Gilford Patrick’s Pub: open mic w/ Paul Luff, 6 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Londonderry Stumble Inn: Lisa Guyer, 7 p.m.

Manchester The Goat: Mike Forgette, 10 a.m.

Strange Brew: jam, 7 p.m.

Manchester Fratello’s: Phil Jacques, 5:30 p.m.

The Goat: live band karaoke, 8 p.m.

Northfield Boonedoxz Pub: open mic, 4 p.m.

Merrimack Homestead: Chris Cavanaugh, 5:30 p.m.

BEATLEJUICE

Somersworth The SpeakEasy Bar 2 Main St. Stripe Nine Brewing Co. 8 Somersworth Road 841-7175 Stratham Tailgate Tavern 28 Portsmouth Ave. 580-2294 Windham Castleton 92 Indian Rock Road 800-688-5644 Common Man 88 Range Road 898-0088

Nashua Fody’s: karaoke night, 9:30 p.m.

Fratello’s: Ryan Williamson, 5:30 p.m.

Portsmouth The Goat: Alex Anthony, 9 p.m.

Press Room: open mic, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 4 Concord Tandy’s: open mic night, 8 p.m.

Hampton Shane’s: music bingo, 7 p.m.

Kingston Saddle Up Saloon: line dancing, 7 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Manchester Fratello’s: Jeff Mrozek, 5:30 p.m.

The Goat: Rob Pagnano, 9 p.m.

KC’s Rib Shack: Paul & Nate open mic, 7 p.m.

Strange Brew: David Rousseau, 7 p.m.

Beatles tribute band Beatlejuice will play the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry; 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com) on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $30.

135886

NITE MUSIC THIS WEEK Merrimack Homestead: Jae Mannion, 5:30 p.m.

Nashua Fratello’s: Josh Foster, 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 5 Brookline Alamo: live music, 4:30 p.m.

Concord Area 23: open mic, 6 p.m.

Tandy’s: karaoke, 8 p.m.

Hampton Bogie’s: open mic, 7 p.m.

Wally’s: Chris Toler, 7 p.m.

Hudson Lynn’s 102: Chris & Paul Belley, 7 p.m.

Kingston Saddle Up Saloon: Musical Bingo Nation, 7 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Merrimack Homestead: Doug Thompson, 5:30 p.m.

Milford Stonecutters Pub: open mic, 8 p.m.

Nashua Fratello’s: 5:30 p.m.

Chris

Cavanaugh,

Newmarket Stone Church: The Quahogs w/ Faith Ann, 7 p.m.

Rochester Porter’s: karaoke night, 6:30 p.m.

Somersworth Speakeasy: open mic night, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 6 Bedford Copper Door: Chad LaMarsh, 7 p.m.

Manchester Fratello’s: Austin McCarthy, 5:30 p.m.

The Goat: country line dancing, 7 p.m.

Stark Brewing: Cox Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Strange Brew: Howard & Mike’s Acoustic Jam, 8 p.m.

Brookline Alamo: live music, 4:30 p.m.

Trivia Events • Grey’s Anatomy Trivia at Chunky’s (707 Huse Road, Manchester; chunkys.com) on Thursday, Jan. 6, at 7:30 p.m.

Reserve a spot with a $5 per person food voucher (teams can have up to 6 players).

• Willy Wonka Trivia at Chunky’s (707 Huse Road, Manchester; chunkys.com) on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. Reserve a spot with a $5 per person food voucher (teams can have up to 6 players).

• Golden Girls Trivia at Chunky’s (707 Huse Road, Manchester; chunkys.com) on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m.

Reserve a spot with a $5 per person food voucher (teams can have up to 6 players).

• Ten Things I Hate About You Trivia at Chunky’s (707 Huse Road, Manchester; chunkys.com) on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Reserve a spot with a $5 per person food voucher (teams can have up to 6 players).

• Battle of the Breweries Trivia Great North Aleworks, Thursday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. Free

Concord Hermanos: live music, 6:30 p.m.

Derry Fody’s: music bingo, 8 p.m.

Weekly • Thursday Game Time trivia at Mitchell BBQ (50 N. Main St., Rochester, 332-2537, mitchellhillbbq.com) at 6 p.m.

• Thursday trivia at Smuttlabs (47 Washington St., Dover, 3431782, smuttynose.com) at 6 p.m.

• Thursday trivia at Great North Aleworks (1050 Holt Ave., Manchester, 858-5789, greatnorthaleworks.com) from 7 to 8 p.m.

Epping Telly’s: Pete Peterson, 7 p.m.

Exeter Sawbelly: Chad Verbeck, 5 p.m.

Goffstown Village Trestle: Jeff Mrozek, 6 p.m.

Hampton CR’s: Steve Sibulkin, 6 p.m.

Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.

Wally’s: Chris Toler, 6 p.m.

Whym: music bingo, 6 p.m.

Hudson Lynn’s 102: karaoke w/ George Bisson, 8 p.m.

Kingston Saddle Up Saloon: karaoke with DJ Jason, 7 p.m.

Milford Stonecutters Pub: Blues Therapy, 8 p.m.

Nashua Fody’s: DJ Rich Karaoke, 9:30 p.m.

Fratello’s: Justin Jordan, 5:30 p.m.

Salem Copper Door: Dave Zangri, 7 p.m.

Seabrook Red’s: live music, 7 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 7 Brookline Alamo: live music, 4:30 p.m.

Londonderry Stumble Inn: Charlie Chronopoulos, 7 p.m.

Concord Area 23: Lucas Gallo, 8 p.m.

Manchester Currier: Alli Beaudry, 5 p.m.

Fratello’s: Ted Solovicos, 5:30 p.m.

KC’s: Jodee Frawlee, 6 p.m.

Strange Brew: Becca Myari, 8 p.m.

• Thursday Game Time trivia at Hart’s Turkey Farm (223 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith, 279-6212, hartsturkeyfarm. com) from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

• Thursday trivia Yankee Lanes (216 Maple St., Manchester, 625-9656, yankeelanesentertainment.com) at 7 p.m.

• Thursday Kings trivia at Game Changer Sports Bar (4 Orchard View Dr., Londonderry; 216-1396, gamechangersportsbar.com) from 8 to 10 p.m.

• Friday Team Trivia at Cheers (17 Depot St., Concord, 2280180, cheersnh.com) from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the lounge.

• Friday trivia at Gibb’s Garage Bar (3612 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, gibbsgaragebar. com) from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

DANCE NEW ENGLAND

Warm up your winter night with Dance New England on Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com).

This show will feature DaBomz Xclusive spinning music spanning the decades, according to the stage’s website. Doors open at 7 p.m., the show starts at 8 p.m. General admission tickets cost $15 plus fees.

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 64

Merrimack Homestead: Chris Lester, 5:30 p.m.

Tomahawk: Joanie Cicatelli, 6:30 p.m.

Hampton CR’s: Bob Tirelli, 6 p.m.

The Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.

Shane’s Texas Pit: Brian Walker, 8 p.m.

Wally’s: 7 Day Weekend, 9 p.m.

Whym: Sean Coleman, 6:30 p.m.

Henniker Pats Peak: Justin Cohn, 6 p.m.

Kingston Saddle Up Saloon: Bite the Bullet, 8 p.m.

Laconia Fratello’s: live piano, 5:30 p.m.

Tower Hill Tavern: DJ Kadence with karaoke, 8 p.m.

Londonderry Coach Shop: Chris Powers, 6 p.m.

Stumble Inn: Jordan and Clint, 8 p.m.

Goffstown Village Trestle: Rose Kula, 6 p.m.

Manchester Bonfire: Isaiah Bennett, 9 p.m.

Derryfield: Almost Famous, 9 p.m.

The Foundry: live music, 6 p.m.

Fratello’s: Dave Zangri, 6 p.m.

Murphy’s: Chris Fraga, 9:30 p.m.

South Side Tavern: Cox Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Strange Brew: Ken Clark Organ Trio, 9 p.m.

• Mondays trivia at Crow’s Nest (181 Plaistow Road, Plaistow, 8176670, crowsnestnh.com) at 8 p.m.

• Monday Trivia at the Tavern at Red’s (530 Lafayette Road, Seabrook, 760-0030, redskitchenandtavern.com), signup at 8:30 p.m., from 9 to 11 p.m. Hosted by DJ Zati.

• Tuesday trivia at Reed’s North (2 E. Main St. in Warner, 456-2143, reedsnorth.com) from 6 to 8 p.m.

• Tuesday trivia at Area 23 (254 N. State St., Concord, 881-9060, thearea23.com) at 7 p.m.

• Tuesday trivia at Lynn’s 102 Tavern (76 Derry Road, Hudson, 9437832, lynns102.com), at 7 p.m.

• Tuesday Geeks Who Drink trivia at Peddler’s Daughter (48 Main St., Nashua, 821-7535, thepeddlersdaughter.com), from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.

• Wednesday trivia at Community Oven (845 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 601-6311, thecommunityoven. com) at 6 p.m.

• Wednesday trivia at Smuttynose (105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton, 436-4026, smuttynose.com) at 6 p.m.

• Wednesday trivia at The Bar (2b Burnham Road, Hudson, 9435250) at 7 p.m.

• Wednesday trivia at Main Street Grill and Bar (32 Main St., Pittsfield; 435-0005, mainstreetgrillandbar. com) at 6:30 p.m.

• Wednesday trivia at Popovers (11 Brickyard Square, Epping, 7344724, popoversonthesquare.com) from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

• Wednesday Kings Trivia at KC’s Rib Shack (837 Second St., Manchester; 627-7427, ribshack.net), sponsored by Mi Campo, in Manchester 7 to 9 p.m..

Derry Fody’s: Joe Macdonald, 7 p.m.

Epping Telly’s: Mica Peterson, 8 p.m.

Merrimack Homestead: Austin McCarthy, 6 p.m.

Milford Pasta Loft: Horizon, 9 p.m.

Stonecutters Pub: DJ Dave O with karaoke, 9 p.m.

Nashua Fratello’s: Doug Thompson, 6 p.m.

New Market Stone Church: Jamie Saft Trio, 8 p.m.

Northfield Boonedoxz Pub: karaoke night, 7 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Pete Peterson, 9:30 p.m.

Goat: Chris Toler, 9 p.m.

Thirsty Moose: Dave Alves, 9 p.m.

Salem Copper Door: Dave Zangri, 6 p.m.

Seabrook Chop Shop: White Noiz, 8 p.m.

Red’s: live music, 7 p.m.

Stratham Tailgate Tavern: The DUO, 7 p.m.

Grey’s Anatomy. Courtesy photo.

• Wednesday trivia at Millyard Brewery (125 E. Otterson St., Nashua; 722-0104, millyardbrewery.com) at 7 p.m.

• Wednesday Game Time trivia at The Thirsty Moose (21 Congress St., Portsmouth; 427-8645, thirstymoosetaphouse.com) at 7 p.m.

• Wednesday World Tavern Trivia at Fody’s Tavern (9 Clinton St. in Nashua; fodystavern.com, 577-9015) at 8 p.m.

PAULA POUNDSTONE

Comedian Paula Poundstone returns to the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $19 to $39 (plus fees).

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The energy, tones, sounds, musicianship and chemistry in this band has to be seen and heard to be believed.

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HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 65

NITE MUSIC THIS WEEK Concerts Venues Bank of NH Stage in Concord 16 S. Main St., Concord 225-1111, banknhstage.com Outdoor venue: Fletcher-Murphy Park (28 Fayette St. in Concord) Capitol Center for the Arts 44 S. Main St., Concord 225-1111, ccanh.com Outdoor venue: Fletcher-Murphy Park (28 Fayette St. in Concord) Dana Center Saint Anselm College 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester anselm.edu The Flying Monkey 39 Main St., Plymouth 536-2551, flyingmonkeynh.com Franklin Opera House 316 Central St., Franklin 934-1901, franklinoperahouse.org Granite State Music Hall 546 Main St., Laconia granitestatemusichall.com Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom 169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach 929-4100, casinoballroom.com Jewel Music Venue 61 Canal St., Manchester 819-9336, jewelmusicvenue.com The Music Hall 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth 436-2400, themusichall.org Palace Theatre 80 Hanover St., Manchester 668-5588, palacetheatre.org Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester 668-5588, palacetheatre.org Stone Church 5 Granite St., Newmarket 659-7700, stonechurchrocks.com Tupelo Music Hall 10 A St., Derry 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com The Word Barn 66 Newfields Road, Exeter 244-0202, thewordbarn.com

Shows • Recycled Percussion Wednesday, Dec. 29, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 31, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 1, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • Bearly Dead Thursdays Thursday, Dec. 30, 9 p.m., Stone Church • Adam Ezra Group Friday, Dec. 31, 5:30 & 9 p.m., Tupelo • Club d’Elf Friday, Dec. 31, 9 p.m., Stone Church • New Year’s Eve Champagne Pops with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra Friday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m., Music Hall • Dueling Pianos Friday, Dec. 31, 10 p.m., Chunky’s Manchester • Purging Sin/King’s Petition Thursday, January 6, Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Brooks Young Band Friday, Jan. 7, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Jamie Saft Trio Friday, Jan. 7, 8 p.m., Stone Church • Fortune Friday, Jan. 7, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Livin’ on a Bad Name (Bon Jovi tribute), Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre • Recycled Percussion Saturday, Jan. 8, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • Get the Led Out Saturday, Jan. 8, 8 p.m., Cap Center • 1964: The Tribute (Beatles Tribute) Sunday, Jan. 9, 7 p.m., Palace Theatre • Walter Trout Sunday, January 9, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Ronan Tynan (Irish Tenor) Friday, Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • EJ Oulette and Crazy Maggie/ Carol Coronis Friday, Jan. 14, 8 p.m., Stone Church • Blood, Sweat & Tears Saturday, Jan. 15, 2 & 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • Recycled Percussion Saturday, Jan. 15, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m., Music Hall • Dueling Pianos Saturday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m., Franklin Opera House • Morgan James Saturday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre • Beau Sasser Trio/Slack Tide Saturday, Jan. 15, 9 p.m., Stone Church • Beatlejuice Saturday, Jan. 15, 8 p.m., Tupelo

• Dave Gererd and Tim Theriault Thursday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m., Stone Church • An Evening with Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals Friday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m, Palace Theatre • Red Hot Chili Pipers Friday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • The Dave Matthews Tribute Band Friday, Jan. 21, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Amulus/The Chops Saturday, Jan. 21, 9 p.m., Stone Church • Who’s Bad (tribute to Michael Jackson) Saturday, Jan. 22, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • Beechwood & Boomsoss Saturday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • The Gilmour Project Saturday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m., Tupelo • The Skunk Sessions Saturday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m., Stone Church • Citizen Cope Tuesday, Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall • Bearly Dead Thursday, Jan. 27, 9 p.m., Stone Church • Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives Friday, Jan. 28, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Keb’Mo’ Friday, Jan. 28, 8 p.m., Music Hall • The Bulkheads/Adrienne Mack-Davis/Villains Row Saturday, Jan. 29, 8 p.m., Stone Church • Rachel & Vilray Saturday, Jan. 29, 8 p.m., The Historic Theatre/ Music Hall • Blitzkid The Reunion Kickoff Tour Wednesday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m., Jewel • Foreigners Journey (tribute to Foreigner and Journey) Thursday, Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • Enter the Haggis Thursday, February 4, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Phil Vassar Friday, Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Cowboy Junkies Friday, February 4, 8 p.m., The Historic Theatre/ Music Hall • Tusk (Fleetwood Mac Tribute) Friday, Feb. 4, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Cash Unchained — The Ultimate Johnny Cash Tribute Saturday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m., Cap Center • Mike Giradis’ Big Swingin’ Thing Saturday, Feb. 5, Flying Monkey • Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre — Aqualung 50th Anniversary Tour Saturday, Feb. 5, 8 p.m., Tupelo

SOUNDS OF DAVE MATTHEWS The Dave Matthews Tribute Band will play the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry; 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com) on Friday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $30.

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 66

• Mike Dawes and Yasmin Williams Saturday, Feb. 5, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Pink Talking Fish (Pink Floyd/ Talking Heads/Phish tribute band) Saturday, Feb. 5, 8 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 6, 1 p.m., The Historic Theatre/Music Hall • Moondance: The Ultimate Van Morrison Tribute Concert Thursday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m., The Rex Theatre • The Highwayman Live — A Musical Tribute (tribute to the band featuring Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings) Thursday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m, Palace Theatre • Croce plays Croce Thursday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Andrew North and the Rangers Thursday, Feb. 10, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Taylor O’Donnell Friday, Feb. 11, 6 and 8 p.m., The Historic Venue/Music Hall • Bruce in the USA (Bruce Springsteen tribute band) Friday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., Dana Center • Livingston Taylor Friday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Kat Wright Saturday, Feb. 12, 6 and 8 p.m., Historic Venue/Music Hall • Ali Beaudry’s Song Fest Saturday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre • Big Blues Winter Warmer: Roomful of Blues & Joe Louis Walker Saturday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison Tuesday, February 15, Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Eaglemania (World’s Greatest Eagles Tribute Band) Friday, Feb. 18, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Dark Desert Eagles (The Ultimate Eagles Tribute Band) Saturday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m., Granite State Music Hall • Jazzical Saturday, Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m., Franklin Opera House • Rose Tattoo with Stevie Ramone Band, Sunday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., Jewel • Sara Evans Sunday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., Tupelo • Natalie MacMaster and Donal Leahy Tuesday, Feb. 22, 4 p.m., Dana Center • Alan Doyle with Chris Trapper Thursday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Rick Springfield “Stripped Down” Thursday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Natalie MacMaster Friday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Soggy Po’ Boys Friday, Feb 25, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Big Band of Brothers (jazz tribute to the Allman Brothers) Friday, Feb 25, 8 p.m., The Historic Theatre/Music Hall • Lotus Lan Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Damn the Torpedoes (tribute to Tom Petty) Friday, February 25, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre

• Almost Queen (tribute to the band Queen) Saturday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Another Tequila Sunrise (tribute to the Eagles), Saturday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m., Music Hall • Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy Sunday, Feb. 27, 4 p.m., Music Hall • David Wax Museum Sunday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m., Word Barn • Aoife O’Donovan/Yasmin Williams Tuesday, March 1 7:30 p.m., Music Hall • Tower of Power Thursday, March 3, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Michael Ray Friday March 4, 6 p.m., Granite State Music Hall • Talisk Friday, March 4, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • The Tallest Man on Earth Friday, March 4, 8 p.m., Music Hall • Talisk Friday, March 4, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Laurie Berkner Solo! “The Greatest Hits” Show Saturday, March 5, 11 a.m, Tupelo • Celtic Angels Ireland Saturday, March 5, 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • Neon Wave and Lovesexy Saturday, March 5, 8 p.m., • The Brit Pack Sunday, March 6, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre • Arrival from Sweden (The Music of ABBA) Tuesday, March 8, and Wednesday, March 9, 8 p.m., Tupelo • The Psychedelic Furs Wednesday, March 9, 7:30 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Big Mountain and Mighty Mystic Thursday, March 10, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • The Outlaws Friday, March 11, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Jake Clemons Saturday, March 12, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre • Stephen Marley Saturday, March 12, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Ye Vagabonds and Kalos Saturday, March 12, 7:30 p.m., Dana Center • Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra Sunday, March 13, 3 p.m., Music Hall • Teddy Thompson and Jenni Muldaur Sunday, March 13, 7 p.m., Music Hall • Memphis Jookin’ ft Lil’ Buck Tuesday, March 15, 7 p.m., Cap Center • Wishbone Ash Thursday, March 17, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Edwin McCain Saturday, March 19, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Ms. Vee and a Badass Band Saturday, March 19, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Postmodern Jukebox — The Grand Reopening Tour Wednesday, March 23, 8 p.m., Cap Center • Max Weinberg’s Jukebox Thursday, March 24, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre • Orleans Thursday, March 24, 7:30 p.m., Dana Center • Kesha Friday, March 25, 8 p.m., Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

Recycled Percussion. Courtesy photo.

• The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell Friday, March 25, 8 p.m., Tupelo • The Four Phantoms Friday, March 25, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • String Fling Saturday, March 26, 7:30 p.m., Franklin Opera House • Top of the World — A Carpenter Tribute Sunday, March 27, 7 p.m., Tupelo • Tommy Castro & the Painkillers Sunday, March 27, 7 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • One Night with Queen (Queen tribute) Wednesday, March 30, 8 p.m., Granite State Music Hall • Celtic Women Celebration Thursday, March 31, 7:30 p.m., Cap Center • River Sister Friday, April 1, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage in Concord • Al Stewart Friday, April 1, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Heart by Heart (featuring original Heart members Steve Fossen & Michael Derosier) Saturday, April 2, 8 p.m., Cap Center • Joe Nichols Saturday, April 2, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Cole Swindell/Travis Denning/ Ashley Cook Sunday, April 3, 8 p.m., Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom • Straight No Chaser Wednesday, April 6, 8 p.m., Music Hall • Bela Fleck & The Flecktones Thursday, April 7, 7:30 p.m., Cap Center • Colin Hay Friday, April 8, 8 p.m., Cap Center • Tony Emmauel with special guest Yasmin Williams Saturday, April 9, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Adam Ezra Group Saturday, April 9, 8 p.m., Bank of NH Stage • The Queen’s Cartoonists (Gile Concert Series) Sunday, April 10, 7 p.m., Cap Center • The Bacon Brothers Thursday, April 15, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • Gary Puckett & the Union Gap Friday, April 15, 7:30 p.m., Palace Theatre • Peter Noone & Herman’s Hermits Friday, April 15 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey • The Sixties Show Saturday, April 16, 8 p.m., Tupelo • Melissa Etheridge Thursday, April 21, 8 p.m., Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom • New Hampshire Fiddle Ensemble Saturday, April 23, 7 p.m., Franklin Opera House • Glenn Miller Orchestra Saturday, April 23 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey

36. Tour accountant’s facts and figures 37. ‘From The Choirgirl Hotel’ Tori 38. Mothersbaugh of Devo 40. Brian May ‘The Gov’__’ 71. Bob Seger “Is there something __ I 41. Repeated word in ‘Slide’ band should know? Something hidden down name below” 42. Streets throw ‘Sharp’ ones at the board in the bar Down 46. Rick Derringer ‘Rock And Roll 1. Singer Filth of Cradle Of Filth Hoochie __’ 2. Rise Against ‘Help __ __ The Way’ 47. Added a member or did this (2,2) 48. What fan does into venue come 3. Classic guitar phrase or this showtime 4. IRS factor Willie Nelson hates?

50. Bette Midler “I want __ __ and a 5. Michael Jackson guitarist Jennifer 6. DC band that felt fidgety?

7. What Jim Carroll’s friends did 8. Eminem acted in this ‘00 hit video of his 9. South African ‘Holy Weather’ band __ Twilight 10. Dense Live said ‘Call Me __ __’ (1,4) 11. What swing music did?

12. Pointer Sisters ‘__ __ Shy’ (3,2) 15. Maroon 5 “I’m __ __ payphone trying to call home” (2,1) 21. Red Hot __ Peppers 22. Queen ‘__ Your Mother Down’ 25. OK Go ‘This Too Shall __’ 26. “I’ll believe it, when __ __ it for Across 64. 70s Freda myself” (1,3) 1. Southern Culture On The Skids took 65. Vandals pitched ‘An __ For A 27. Bruce Springsteen “Walk __, or a minibike to their ‘__ Track Date’ Movie’ baby don’t walk at all” 5. Show chums or these 66. Reba McEntire was in car sales 29. Scandal “I __ __ warrior, victory is 9. The “Man In Black” Johnny w/’Have I Got A __ For You’ mine” (2,3) 13. X Japan is from this continent 67. James Brown performed even as he 30. “Say what?” shout to friend at loud 14. ‘Giving You The Best That I Got’ got this show Baker 68. Spill Canvas connected them 31. Lyrical lines 16. ‘96 Rod Stewart album ‘__ __ Fall 69. Soldier Of Love (Lay Down Your 33. ‘Confession’ band __ Nino In Love Tonight’ (2,2) __) 35. Pearl Jam song off ‘Riot Act’ for a 17. ‘Punk In Drublic’ band 70. Leo and Nugent curve?

18. Police “Expecting me to __ you well, no matter what you say” 19. ABBA ‘Voulez-__’ 20. ‘09 Evile album (8,7) 23. ‘12 Van Halen single ‘__ The Woman’ 24. Bob Dylan ‘Most Likely You Go Your Way (And __ __ Mine)’ (3,2) 25. ‘The Reeling’ Passion __ 28. Train went to a Cali lake for ‘Christmas __ __’ (2,5) 32. Harry Nilsson ‘Blanket For __ __’ (1,4) 34. What dirt turned into at festival Last Week’s Answers: 35. Live guitarist Kowalczyk 39. Live ‘Throwing Copper’ smash (7,3,5) 43. Cold David Bowie sang ‘__ Me A Coat’ ● Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 44. ELP “__, what a lucky man he (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) was” without repeating.

45. David Pirnier was one in Singles ● The numbers within the heavily film 46. Nickelback leader Chad 49. ‘95 Hole EP ‘__ For It’ 50. The Cars ‘Touch __ __’ (3,2) 54. If passed out at a fest these colony members may have at you 56. ‘90 Phil Collins concert album (7,4,4) 63. U2 “And it’s been all __ you, it’s a beautiful day”

THE ANGEL OPENS HER EYES

souvenir” (1,4) 51. Heart smash that almost wasn’t?

52. Cheap Trick ‘__ Police’ 53. Repeated word on Crüe album title 55. Legato guitar technique 57. ‘Feel Alive’ band 58. Good Riddance song that melts ice?

59. Famous concert park in London 60. Generation X singer Billy 61. Masterful rockers, for short 62. What Eagles take their ‘Peaceful’ feeling with © 2020 Todd Santos

2-22-21 1-3-22

outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

● Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

KenKen® is a registered trademark of KenKen Puzzle LLC. ©2021 ©2022 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication. www.kenken.com

MUSIC CROSSWORDS BY TODD SANTOS

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 67

JONESIN’ CROSSWORDS BY MATT JONES

“Something Strange” — it’s their calling Across 1 “The Lord of the Rings” army members 5 Hosp. employee 8 “First Blood” figure 13 Spring’s opposite, in tides 14 “I’m onto your scheme, forwards and backwards!”

15 “The Miracle Worker” subject 16 Vesuvius’s Sicilian counterpart 17 Mix-and-match 19 City where the Demon Deacons play home games 21 Wine bouquet

22 “SNL” cast member who plays Dionne Warwick 26 Strong longing 27 Okra unit 29 Grammy winner Erykah 30 Prepare eggs, in a way 32 Title words preceding “Cooking,” “Painting,” and “Missing Out” 33 Prokofiev orchestral work often played at children’s concerts 38 Angelic instruments 39 Slander counterpart 40 Fabric or liquid finisher?

41 Acronym for a drone-like robotic unit used for underwater research 42 Far from outgoing 45 Reason for optimism 50 Lauder of cosmetics fame 52 Movie (with a 2021 sequel) that features the characters in the circles 54 Burpee item that may yield a bunch 57 Can’t pay up 58 Perfect examples 59 Bollywood actress Aishwarya ___ 60 Get higher 61 “The Silence of the Lambs” director Jonathan 62 Causes of some EMT calls 63 Piano layout

4 Hiccup, for example 5 Totally unhinged 6 Did with minimal effort, so to speak 7 Disclaimer for some seasoning blends 8 Get more InStyle, e.g.

9 Game scheduled for December 29, 2021 (Ducks vs. Sooners) 10 Orioles’ org.

11 Actress Powley of “The King of Staten Island” 12 ___-Ida (Tater Tots maker) 15 Potter’s appliance 18 Chinese dumpling, or a 2018 Pixar short named for one 20 Becomes narrower 23 “Banana Boat Song” shout Down 24 Object of devotion 1 Like many downtown streets, 25 Hand-warming tube directionally 28 Plant gametes 2 Leave some work?

30 Restore from brainwashing 3 “1812 Overture” sound effect 31 The “bad” cholesterol, for short

R&R answer from pg 47 of 12/23

32 Valet in P.G. Wodehouse novels 33 “___ Lap” (1983 racehorse film set in Australia) 34 “I’m hungry enough to ___ horse!”

35 Hall of Fame QB Aikman 36 Edge that sits on a car wheel 37 “And Just Like That ...” network 42 Cartoon kid who says “What the deuce?”

43 Doctrinal rejection 44 Affirmative votes 46 Violin aperture shaped like a curvy letter 47 Red-___ (cinnamon candies) 48 CIA forerunner during WWII 49 Prefix with dactyl 51 Long-legged bird 53 Big name in gluten-free bread 54 El ___ (Spanish national hero) 55 Suffix with lime 56 “Orange Crush” band © 2021 Matt Jones

Jonesin’ answer from pg 48 of 12/23

NITE SUDOKU Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. See last week's puzzle answers on pg 69.

Puzzle A

HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 68

Puzzle B

Puzzle C

SIGNS OF LIFE

Last Week’s Answers:

Sudoku Answers from pg48 of 12/23 Puzzle A

Puzzle B

Puzzle C

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All quotes are from Swimming to Antarcti- what to do next when my folks suggested that ca, by Lynne Cox, born Jan. 2, 1957.

I take a complete break and visit old friends in New Hampshire. It was a great idea….

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) Coach Great idea!

Muritt scowled at my teammates clinging to Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22) I liked to work the swimming pool wall. Usually this was all hard … but I detested having to start an exerhe had to do to motivate them, and they’d con- cise all over again because someone else was tinue swimming. But this day was different. slacking off or fooling around. Brooks and … Even though it was a mid-July morning Laddie McQuade were notorious for that. in Manchester, New Hampshire, it felt like it They were always trying to see how much they would snow. Choose a physical activity to suit could get away with before they got caught. the season.

For them, it was a big game. Work in your Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18) He knew work place and play in your play place. that the difference in speed between the Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22) Everyone in swimmers in lane eight and mine was like high school knew me simply as ‘the swimmer.’ the distance between the moon and Neptune, This bothered me because I felt there was so an enormous difference; but Coach Gam- much more to me than just being a swimmer. bril was the master of inspiring dreams. The So much more. moon and Neptune are nothing compared to Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21) For me, I think the whole galaxy. it was that I needed another goal, something Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20) I lifted my to focus my energy. You can have more than head to find the tiny light on the dory and one but don’t overdo it. tried to maintain a constant distance from it, Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21) It didn’t hoping that I could establish a pace this way. matter to New Zealanders that I wasn’t from That should work. their country. It only mattered that I was tryAries (March 21 – April 19) I loved swim- ing to swim their strait. They had cheered me ming and I loved swimming at my own pace, on for hours…. Swim! alone in my own lane, with no one kicking water in my face, and no one behind tapping my toes, telling me I had to swim faster. You can’t avoid distractions but you can try to minimize them.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Somehow my parents knew from the start that to become your best, you needed to train with the best. Start with the best you can get.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20) I wanted to continue improving, but I wasn’t sure what it took to become faster.

Trial and error.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22) After I’d been training with Coach Gambril for two years, he noticed … something that I wasn’t aware of: I was stronger at the end of the workout than I was at the beginning. Hmm. Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22) I was still trying to figure out

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HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 69

NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION News of the Weird extends greetings for a peaceful holiday season and a happy new year full of many notably weird moments. While you’re welcoming 2022, enjoy some of our favorite items from 2021.

Awwwwww

Russell Jones of London couldn’t figure out why his dog, Billy, was favoring one of his front paws while walking. He took the pet to the veterinarian to have X-rays, United Press International reported, but the vet found nothing wrong. Jones, however, had recently broken his own ankle and was wearing a cast and limping. At the $400 vet visit, the doctor suggested that Billy was simply imitating his owner.

Man’s best friend, indeed.

Weird science

Angie Yen, 27, of Brisbane, Australia, had her tonsils removed on April 19, a simple surgery that went smoothly, News.com reported. But on April 28, as she got ready for work, she started singing in the shower and noticed something unusual about her voice. “I was singing in a different sound and also talking words in a funny accent,” Yen said. She called a friend, who agreed that her accent suddenly sounded Irish and told her about FAS, foreign accent syndrome. Yen went to the hospital, but doctors told her to go home and see if the new accent would disappear in a few days. Nearly two weeks later, the brogue remains, and Yen is scheduled for an MRI and a visit with a neurologist. “I’m very lucky to have very supportive friends and family,” she said.

“If they find something hopefully there is a cure or treatment for it.”

The aristocrats

Rapper Lil Uzi Vert, whose real name is Symere Woods, revealed on Instagram in early February that he has had a $24 million 10-carat pink diamond implanted in his forehead, reported Rolling Stone.

According to Simon Babaev, spokesman for the New York-based jeweler Eliantte & Co. that implanted the stone, Uzi fell in love with the marquise-shaped diamond when he saw it in 2017 and has been making payments on it as he determined what he wanted to do with it. “We didn’t think he was serious about it,” said Babaev, but as it became clear that he was, “we engineered a specific mounting that clips and locks in place. There’s a whole mechanism involved.”

Weird history

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HIPPO | DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANUARY 5, 2022 | PAGE 70

In an auction in Chesapeake City, Maryland, that closed on Feb. 8, a white wooden toilet seat pilfered from Adolf Hitler’s retreat in the Bavarian Alps sold for about $18,750, The Sun reported.

Ragnvald C. Borch, a U.S. soldier who spoke German and French, was one of the first to arrive at the Berghof at the end of World War II. His senior officers told him to “get what you want” from the damaged property, so Borch grabbed a toilet seat and shipped it home to New Jersey, where he displayed it in his basement.

Bill Panagopulos of Alexander Auctions said, “This was as close to a ‘throne’ as the dictator would ever get.” Borch’s son put the “trophy” up for auction; the buyer was not identified.

Awesome!

In 1961, when she was 10 years old, Gwen Goldman sent a letter to New York Yankees general manager Roy Hamey, offering her services as a bat girl. Hamey responded, “In a game dominated by men a young lady such as yourself would feel out of place in a dugout.” Goldman kept the letter from Hamey on her bulletin board for the next 60 years, and her daughter recently forwarded it to current general manager Brian Cashman. On June 28, United Press International reported, Goldman was invited to Yankee Stadium to fulfill her dream. Her visit included a tour of the clubhouse, meet-and-greet with players and coaches, and photos with umpires — plus she got to throw out the first pitch wearing a full pinstripe Yankees uniform. “Sixty years thinking about this and here it is,” Goldman said.

Say what?

The Guardian reported on July 19 about a phenomenon among American preschoolers called the Peppa Effect. The hypothesis is that children who watched a lot of “Peppa Pig” during the pandemic lockdown have developed British accents and started using British terms like “mummy” (mommy), “give it a go” (try it) and “satnav” (GPS). Wall Street Journal reporter Preetika Rana tweeted that her niece “had an American accent before the pandemic. Now she has a posh English accent.” One responder agreed: “And for Christmas I had to put out a freaking mince pie for Father Christmas, or, as we call him here in the States, Santa Claus.”

Can’t possibly be true

Cooler weather is on the way, and Arby’s has an extra-special way for fans to warm up. The sandwich chain will begin selling “premium” sweatshirts, sweatpants and other items that have been smoked to smell like a smokehouse, MLive reported.

Arby’s collaborated with a Texas smokehouse to create the clothing, which will go on sale on Oct. 4. (Or you could just huddle around the backyard barbecue grill in your old sweats for free.

Visit newsoftheweird.com.

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