BerkshireLinks

Dave Read

MASS MoCA presents the film Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea

John Waters narrates this strange and wondrous history of a place once called the California Riviera and now known as one of America’s worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant lake coughing up dead fish and birds by the thousands.

Part environmental exposé and part portrait of the hardy eccentrics who have carved out lives for themselves around the Salton Sea’s edge, the film is “a hilarious and kindly ode to a fallen paradise.”

MASS MoCA schedule and ticket info:

  • Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea
  • Thursday March 27, 7:30PM
  • $7
  • MASS MoCA
  • 1040 MASS MoCA Way
  • North Adams, MA 01247
  • 413-622-2111
  • info@massmoca.com
  • www.massmoca.com

MASS MoCA presents In Conversation with Devorah Sperber

Devorah Sperber reveals the secrets of her artistic process, which involves recreating classics images by Leonardo da Vinci, Van Eyck and more using thousands of spools of colored thread arranged in seemingly abstract patterns that suddenly pull into focus when viewed through lenses.

MASS MoCA schedule and ticket info:

  • In Conversation with Devorah Sperber
  • Wednesday April 2 5PM
  • Free, but reservations requested.
  • MASS MoCA
  • 1040 MASS MoCA Way
  • North Adams, MA 01247
  • 413-622-2111
  • info@massmoca.com
  • www.massmoca.com

MASS MoCA presents Stephen Malkmus and The Jick

MASS MoCA presents the driving force behind seminal ‘90s underground indie band Pavement, Stephen Malkmus, who blows into town with The Jicks, with whom he’s churned out a clutch of brilliant albums in the new millennium. They’re touring in support of their just-released latest, Real Emotional Trash — expect to have your pants rocked off thoroughly. Special bonus: John Vanderslice opens the show!

MASS MoCA schedule and ticket info:

MASS MoCA presents films Left Behind in Louisiana and South of Ten

MASS MoCA presents two films by local filmmakers, in conjunction with the Williamstown Jazz Festival, that offer fascinating — and very different — looks at recovery and resilience in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Holly Hardman’s work-in-progress Left Behind in Louisiana offers an intimate portrait of evangelical Christian families and churches along the Gulf Coast whose fervent belief in End Times prophecy guides them through the arduous and extraordinary rebuilding process.

Williams College professor Liza Johnson’s experimental documentary South of Ten juxtaposes ten surreal sequences of average people taking small steps to rebuild their lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Both filmmakers will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening. Hardman continues to follow the families and churches in her film.

MASS MoCA schedule and ticket info:

  • Left Behind in Louisiana; South of Ten
  • Thursday April 10 7:30PM
  • $7
  • MASS MoCA
  • 1040 MASS MoCA Way
  • North Adams, MA 01247
  • 413-622-2111
  • info@massmoca.com
  • www.massmoca.com

MASS MoCA presents Zydeco Dance Party with C.J Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band

MASS MoCA presents C.J Chenier, one of the Louisiana bayou’s favorite sons. He brings The Red Hot Louisiana Band in for a foot stomping dance party of epic proportions. Chenier, whom Billboard called “the heir to the zydeco throne,” is widely regarded as one of the genre’s best singers and live performers: as the Boston Globe said, he “attacks the accordion with the tension and drive of James Brown…creating contemporary, turbo-charged dance music.”

Dance instruction arranged by Jacob’s Pillow. Presented as part of the Williamstown Jazz Festival.

MASS MoCA schedule and ticket info:

MASS MoCA presents Kenny Wollesen and The Himalayas

Kenny Wollesen will perform at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA on Saturday April 26 at 4PM. Wollesen is a percussionist, bandleader, and all around wild man who wears many hats: besides being one of the most sought after jazz drummers in the world, he also fronts a frenetic, semi-spontaneous marching band that turns up at parades and other events in New York City, gathering members as it goes and leaving hilarity in its wake.

Wollesen wraps up a weeklong residency with a performance that combines his core group with local musicians in an ecstatic communal jamboree. Check www.massmoca.com for a schedule of Kenny Wollesen’s vacation week community events.

MASS MoCA schedule and ticket info:

  • Kenny Wollensen and The Himalayas
  • Saturday April 26 4PM
  • $20; $15 students; $10 kids;members 10% discount
  • MASS MoCA
  • 1040 MASS MoCA Way
  • North Adams, MA 01247
  • 413-622-2111
  • info@massmoca.com
  • www.massmoca.com