Rogovoy Report 6/15/18

The cultural highlights in our region this weekend include psychedelic chamber pop, classic rock, theater, dance, and a whole lot more.

Indie-rock group Grizzly Bear brings its prog-rock-meets-chamber-pop sounds to MASS MoCA in North Adams on Sat at 8pm. The Brooklyn-based outfit combines New Wave hooks and New York guitars with Radiohead-like electronics and Beach Boys-inspired harmonies. Be sure to arrive on time to catch the magical, entrancing sounds of synth-pop artist Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, who warms up the crowd for Grizzly Bear.

Roger Daltrey, legendary frontman of the Who, will perform the band’s groundbreaking rock opera “Tommy,” backed by the Boston Pops, at Tanglewood on tonight at 8pm. Daltrey’s band includes guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend, the brother of “Tommy” composer Pete Townshend. Also at Tanglewood this weekend: David Crosby and Mary Chapin Carpenter with Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen on Sat at 7pm; and Stephen Stills & Judy Collins on Sunday at 2:30. Crosby and Stills, like two wooden ships passing in the night.

The award-winning comic drama “Church & State” by Emmy Award-nominated playwright Jason Odell Williams opens the 90th anniversary season at Berkshire Theatre Group, with a staging directed by Charlotte Cohn, at the Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, Mass. The play, “a fast-paced and witty look at the life of a politician, whose belief system gets shaken to the core  three days before his bid for re-election,” features Judy Jerome, Keira Naughton, Graham Rowat, and Andy Talen. There’s a preview tonight; Opening night is Sat night, and the play runs through Sat, Jun 30.

Janis Claxton Dance, from Scotland, makes its U.S. debut with POP-UP Duets (fragments of love), a series of five-minute contemporary dance duets, at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., on Sun, Jun 17, starting at 2pm. The performances, all free and open to the public, will be held in various locations throughout the Clark’s campus. POP-UP Duets is based around the theme of love. The site-specific duets are created by choreographer Janis Claxton with music composed by Pippa Murphy.

Dallas-based sextet Funky Knuckles brings its R&B-based jazz fusion to Club Helsinki Hudson tonight at 9pm. Funky Knuckles plays a groove-based, horn-heavy instrumental fusion. Each player is a virtuoso on his own, but together they play an adventurous, interlocking jam-based music that should appeal equally to fans of Phish, Frank Zappa, Pat Metheny, Spyro Gyra, Victor Wooten, Herbie Hancock, Snarky Puppy, and Medeski Martin & Wood. Plus they’re funky.

Rounding out the weekend highlights, legendary folk balladeer Bill Staines is at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sat June 16, at 8; Daniel’s Art Party: Performing Arts Festival kicks off at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington and runs through July 1; and Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend in Lee features guitarist Frank Vignola and the Jeff Holmes Big Band in the town of Lee, Mass., over the course of the weekend.

I’m Seth Rogovoy, and that’s the Rogovoy Report for this weekend.