Rogovoy Report for May 2, 2014

This week’s cultural highlights in the Berkshires includes one of the most dynamic singer-songwriters of all time; an up-and-coming EDM duo; a monumental sculptural installation, and a concert of Renaissance choral music.

I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on Ani DiFranco. I had heard her on a poorly recorded cassette tape, and had somewhat written her off as an angry punk-folk singer-songwriter. Then I was at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, N.Y., one year, and DiFranco took the stage in an afternoon slot, performing only with a drummer. I couldn’t take my eyes or my ears off of DiFranco the entire time. In one fell swoop, any preconceptions I had about her were wiped away. She was a dynamic entertainer, who balanced the intensity and righteousness of her songs with a laid-back, almost self-effacing and humorous persona. She was also a spectacular guitarist with a style utterly and totally her own. I remember one of my fellow critics said he hadn’t seen anyone play guitar like that since Pete Townshend. In any case, DiFranco won me over that day, and I have seen her many times since at all kinds of festivals and venues, including a stunning performance at the Newport Folk Festival just a few years later, but also at the Palace Theatre in Albany, where she closed her concert with a funky version of Rick James’s “Superfreak.” In my nearly 40 years of concertgoing, a few artists stand head and shoulders of above all others in terms of balancing intelligence, spirit, soul and entertainment. I’m thinking of people like Bruce Springsteen and David Byrne. I put Ani DiFranco right up there with those two. It will be an incredible treat for those in attendance on Saturday night to see her in the intimate confines of the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, where she will be performing with her trio.

A monumental and monumentally suggestive, bubble-gum pink, outdoor sculptural ensemble by Franz West called Les Pommes d'Adam  - loosely translated as Adam’s apples -- goes on display at MASS MoCA on Saturday. The phallic installation marks the work’s first presentation in the United States and its second-ever showing.

Also in North Adams this weekend is the second annual Rock the Block street festival, a block party on Sunday that will include performances by MCLA student clubs and local bands. There will be flash mobs, carnival activities, zumba, poetry lessons, musical chairs, local restaurants, community organizations, and much more. Headlining the festival, which runs from 2 to 8pm on Sunday, is Barely Alive, an up-and-coming, Berkshire-bred dubstep duo, whose music has already been likened to that of Skrillex and Daft Punk, and which is already catching on globally, having been showcased in an online festival in Brazil and attracting attention all over Great Britain. On the heels of the release of their internationally acclaimed EP "Lost in the Internet," Barely Alive is expected to take the stage at Rock the Block at 6pm on Sunday, really marking the first major live performance by a significant EDM act anywhere in the Berkshires. For those who don’t know, EDM stands for electronic dance music, and it’s the biggest thing today in popular music. Here’s a great opportunity for local audiences to get a taste of the sound that is sweeping the nation and the world.

The Cantilena Chamber Choir, in concert with Cambridge Concentus, will present the rarely heard Missa Christi Resurgentis by Heinrich Biber at Trinity Church in Lenox on Sunday, at 3pm. Also on the program is the Glory of Venice, music for multiple choirs and instrumental groups by Giovanni Gabrieli, and music by Gesualdo.