The 3rd Annual Strange Ones’ Ball – New Year’s Eve Spectacle ft. Bella’s Bartok and And the Kids
Gateway City Arts, Holyoke, MA
December 31, 2018
The third outing of the Strange Ones’ Ball comes to Holyoke, MA for a spooky evening featuring two Western Mass legends: circus punk outfit Bella’s Bartok and dream rockers And the Kids.
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From the YouTube channel of LBSpinnerZ:
Ever wanted two Halloweens in one year? Well, make plans to get to Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, MA on New Year’s Eve for a spooky monster bash featuring two beautifully freakish Western Mass bands. Bella’s Bartok and And the Kids will perform at The 3rd Annual Strange Ones’ Ball on December 31st. Tickets are $22.50 in advance, $27.50 at the door and can be purchased at this link. RSVP to the Facebook event here.
Gateway City Arts, the concert venue/bistro/event space on Race Street in Holyoke, hosts the Strange Ones’ Ball this year. The previous two were held at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield in 2017 (with a Muppets theme, featuring Arc Iris and Mammal Dap as support) and Pearl Street Nightclub in Northampton in 2016 (with a circus theme, featuring the Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Damn Tall Buildings, and the Snaz as support). This year, in support of the release of Bella’s Bartok new album Is Me That Monster?, the show’s aesthetic will be decidedly on the scarier side. Break out your fake blood, fangs, and fur- you’re gonna need ’em. But since it IS Bella’s Bartok, don’t forget your glitter, too!
Bella’s Bartok has had a successful second half of 2018, running the gamut from Harry’s Hill up in Maine over to Theatre Bizarre in Detroit, MI. If you’ve never seen Bella’s Bartok, they are a live performance unlike any other- “Think Siouxsie Sioux covering Frank Zappa playing trombone in Tom Waits’ basement during the French Revolution,” according to their Facebook biography. I could say more, but why spoil it? Go see for yourself!
And the Kids has also had a banner year, performing with other notable avant-garde artists such as Rubblebucket, the Suitcase Junket, Shakey Graves, Lucy Dacus, and Caroline Rose. Their sound gleefully defies convention but this reporter here pegs them largely as dream pop rockers. Think anthemic choruses, syrupy sweet vocals thanks to frontwoman Hannah Mohan, and even some glockenspiel as added aural delight.
The home of this year’s Strange Ones’ Ball is also making a name for itself. Gateway City Arts, nestled next to the canal on Race Street, has hosted everything from a monthly drag queen bingo night to Rubblebucket’s 2nd annual Dream Picnic festival, with plenty of live music in between. The large dance floor in the event space will be a fine place to ring in 2019 for all the Strange Ones in Western Mass and beyond. So what are you waiting for?! Grab those tickets and start planning your costume! Who says Halloween should be only one day a year?
The 3rd Annual Strange Ones’ Ball – NYE Spectacle tickets are $22.50 in advance, $27.50 at the door and can be purchased at this link. RSVP to the Facebook event here.
Check out the Live Music News and Review.com Facebook page for updates and announcements.
To submit an article or review, or to just say hello hit us at [email protected]
