10X10 On North, the Berkshires’ first ever winter contemporary arts festival in Downtown Pittsfield from February 16-26, 2012, will feature new art, dance, music, theatre, and more.

The festival is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by Barrington Stage Company, with partners the Beacon Cinema, Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF), Downtown Pittsfield Inc., Lichtenstein Center for the Arts and the City of Pittsfield, Mission Bar + Tapas and Y Bar, New Stage Performing Arts Center, Pittsfield Bra & Girl and Shawn’s Barber Shop, among others. 10X10 On North is sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union and Berkshire Gas.

Barrington Stage will present ten 10-minute plays, the Beacon Cinema and BIFF will present ten new short films shot on cell phones, the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts will host an art show called Ten Spot featuring ten emerging Berkshire artists, Mission Bar + Tapas will host ten songwriters, Y Bar will play host to ten poets, and New Stage will host ten comedy and variety acts. Look for ten tangos at Pittsfield Bra & Girl and ten comic-strip artists at Shawn’s Barber Shop, plus many more activities and events to be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for Barrington Stage Company’s 10-minute play festival will go on sale at the BSC Box Office on January 2, 2012 by calling 413-236-8888 or online at barringtonstageco.org. Visitwww.discoverpittsfield.com/10×10 or find 10×10 On North on Facebook for more information about tickets and the schedule of events.

More programs and partners are welcome to join. For additional 10×10 On North programming ideas or inquiries, please contact Megan Whilden, Director of Cultural Development at the City of Pittsfield at 413-499-9348 or mwhilden@pittsfieldch.com.

in stark contrast to the previous show, there were almost too many people at this one! and once agayne, the chameolyonses’ sound guy had a difficult tyme mic-ing my guitar, good thing we played a killer set! when i get a crowded pub to howl along, i know i’ve had a positive impact.

it was a strange nyght indeed.  after near two hours of milling about, drinking drambuie and waiting for people to arrive, Gimlet Slip took the stage.  at that point people began to filter in, and i to think; “this may be more than a practice show to an empty room after all?”  so Gimlet Slip played, and it was pretty wicked. agus an-sin Psycho set up and began to rock. i tend to forget just how short punk songs are. agus an-sin, somewhere during the Psycho set, it seem’d that half of the already small crowd had somehow vanished and the applause from my gloved hands fell flat in the empty.

a side-note on Psycho.  it seem’s we know eachother and have played together before? which is quite exciting, and small snippets of that tyme float around in the back of my head.  their drummer recognized me, and we spoke of the changes both his band and myne underwent since last we saw eachother.  so that was a nice re-meeting, and a friendly fun experience. ’twas good to reconnect. i did apologize for forgetting.  i’ve got to have a flyer or setlist somewhere from our previous show? i’d really like to know when that was?

so Psycho wrapped up and Forever Autumn took the stage.  by this tyme it was midnyght… a long nyght it was, and still had yet to be.  the set went well, and the sounds seem’d to fill the space very well.  the few shadowy figures below the lights gave their approval.  after the show, i felt a bit disappointed. was this the release i had been looking forward too? i love to perform, and i did have a great tyme. when i project that kind of energy, i am always exhausted, and drained the next day.  my disappointment? perhaps it was the lack of people? a sparsely attended show. or maybe it was the lapse of tyme in waiting to perform?  even still i feel the sadness that lingers comes from the recent death of my Ciocia Irene, who’s funerabis has been just two days before.  in my performance; the somber melancholy rose to the surface.  things like death linger, even after they have been interred.

i would however classify the entire show as a success.  a performance is always good. a show is a show. some members from Gimlet Slip and Psycho stayed, which was really nice considering the tyme and drives they had in store.  the sound was good and i got to play my balalaika! albeit sparsely attended, i did make a few new fans,  and a woman named kim recognized me as someone famous, but couldn’t think of who and asked if i was on TV? da. and above all… the MEAD HORN!! i could sense some were reviled by drinking the Sacred Mead from a horn, for some crowds i must scale down my ritual.

i need to remember; the masses, i am not playing for.  it is the select few, the chosen few who sway in dark corners, who sit in silence on the cold floor, for those who are enchanted, who follow my song; i am your shaman and a speaker to your dreams.

HAIL WOODLAND SORCERY!!

go raibh maith agat sara clement for your photos

sin é