Date: Fri 21-May-1999

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Aug 13, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNON

Quick Words:

Mighty-Purple-Femmes-Raitt

Full Text:

ON THE ROAD/SHANNON HICKS

The Newtown techno musician PLUTONIA has a show at Laszlo's Arts Cafe this

weekend. Plutonia is the headliner for Saturday, May 22, with Taproot also

performing a set.

The touring schedule for MIGHTY PURPLE seems to have expanded quite a bit

since the band released its first major label debut earlier this year. The

band will return to its home state -- not to mention its home city -- this

weekend with a show at THE ELI WHITNEY BARN in New Haven on Saturday, May 22.

The show starts at 8 pm, is open to all ages, and the band plans to play "two

long sets." In addition to the full electric MP show, there will be a few

additional artists showcasing their work Saturday night. For details, contact

the Barn at 624-9250.

After that, the next Connecticut show for Mighty Purple looks to be Saturday,

June 19, at The Arts Barn In Madison (288-6400). Doors for that show will open

at 7.

Nothing other than a few sketchy comments so far, but the band looks like it's

ready for an interesting summer. MP will return to Martha's Vineyard for one

show in July, and then a show in August at CARLY SIMON's club, The Hot Tin

Roof. Also in July, the group will present its 4th Annual MP Party in July (a

fitting name...). This annual bash will this year be a dual celebration of the

June marriage of the band's drummer, Dave Keith, to his fiancee Nicole. The MP

Party -- which has already been dubbed The Dave Got Married Party -- will

offer sets by ten bands. Details to follow...

After seeing BONNIE RAITT and BRUCE HORNSBY both perform at the Yale Tennis

Center a few years ago, in my mind the two musicians have become linked. That

was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. This summer, we will have to deal

with seeing the musicians separately. Hornsby will be at Ives Concert Park in

Danbury in late August, which I told you about last week; and now tickets are

on sale for Raitt, who will be at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford on July

A number of shows are going on sale this weekend at the Oakdale, including

SEAL, for a June 26 date; and a couple of dates that have also been previously

mentioned in this column: THE BEACH BOYS, July 18; JETHRO TULL, August 29; and

THE B.B. KING BLUES FEST, September 15, which will also include sets by Kenny

Wayne Sheperd, Tower of Power and Indigenous.

JOAN JONES will be opening the Seal date, by the way. Jones is touring with

the international singing star for the first leg of Seal's current tour, and

will then join The Lilith Fair for a few dates. Apparently, Lilith co-founder

SARAH McLACHLAN remembered enjoying Jones' performances on the Village Stage

during some of last summer's Fair that she invited Jones to return for another

handful of dates this year. The Lilith dates do not include the August 4

Connecticut stop, however; Jones will be performing (so far) on the August 22,

24 and 25 dates in Toronto, Milwaukee and Minneapolis, respectively.

Speaking of the 1999 Lilith Fair, tickets will be made available this weekend

for the August 4 return of THE LILITH FAIR. This year's stop by the

female-oriented music festival will feature SARAH McLACHLAN (of course...),

LISA LOEB, THE PRETENDERS and MYA on the main stage.

Also going on sale Saturday morning will be tickets for a July 20 concert by

THE STEVE MILLER BAND, with GEORGE THOROGOOD opening.

Next weekend's 2nd Annual WPLR Memorial Day Picnic will run on Saturday (May

29) from noon to 8 pm at Yale Field in New Haven (just follow Route 34 out of

Sandy Hook, through Seymour, Derby and Orange, and you can't miss it).

Performances this year will be by BLUE OYSTER CULT, NRBQ, INDIGENOUS, HUBINGER

STREET, ECLECTIC NOBODY'S and GROOVE FICTION SEX CEREMONY. Tickets are $5 in

advance and can be rserved through the New Haven Ravens box office (782-1666

or 800/RAVENS-1 -- yeah, I hate those translate-the-letters phone numbers,

too). The picnic will also feature interactive entertainment like the Team

Challenge Obstacle Course, a giant slide, Rock Wall and a Voodoo Tent.

THE VIOLENT FEMMES are coming back! The seemingly ageless trio (in voice,

anyway) will be back at Toad's Place on Friday, June 4. FIREHOUSE returns

Tuesday, June 8, SUSAN TEDESCHI will be in New Haven on June 18, SPRING HEELED

JACK USA returns on June 24, and TOO SKINNEE J'S also returns, on July 9. The

Firehouse, Spring Heeled Jack and Too Skinnee J's shows are for fans of all

ages.

Also in July, FISH returns to Connecticut after a long absence. The former

MARILLION lead singer, Derek Dick will be at the club for an all-ages show on

July 12, and LUCIANO will be playing, also for all ages, on July 27.

Until next week, I'll be seeing you... on the road, when "Melrose Place" will

have become a happy little glimmer of the past.

Questions and comments concerning "On The Road" (or anything music related)

should be sent to Shannon Hicks, c/o Bee Publishing Co., 5 Church Hill Road,

Newtown 06470, or shannon @thebee.com. Include a phone number for

confirmation, please . If you don't have a stamp or a piece of paper or a

writing utensil that works, give me a call! Phone number at the office is

426-3141. Shows listed on the calendar at club locations are for ages 21 and

over unless specified.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

MAY 21 -- Maggie Atwell at Laszlo's Arts Cafe, Monroe; The Nerds at Tuxedo

Junction, Danbury; Moppin Sauce at Classic Rock Brew Pub, Danbury; Darik & The

Funbags at Toad's Place, New Haven, DOA 2000, Prezens and Epic opening; Popa

Chubby at Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling, NY;

May 22 -- Plutonia and Taproot at Laszlo's Arts Cafe; The Zoo at Tuxedo

Junction; Mighty Purple at The Eli Whitney Barn, New Haven; The Mollys at

Towne Crier Cafe;

May 23 -- Sans Cherubs at Towne Crier Cafe, Peter Spink opening;

May 24 -- Fountains of Wayne at Toad's Place (all ages), Owsley and Logan 3

opening;

May 27 -- Side Project at Laszlo's Arts Cafe;

May 28 -- Future Tense at Tuxedo Junction; Santana at the Oakdale Theatre,

Wallingford, Ozomatli opening; John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band at Toad's

Place, St Tone and The Mercury Seed opening; Frank McGoldrich at Laszlo's Arts

Cafe;

May 29 -- WPLR Picnic at Yale Field, New Haven (Edgar Winter Band, NRBQ,

Hubinger Street, Blue Oyster Cult, Indigenous, Hubinger Street, Eclectic

Nobody's & Groove Fiction Sex Ceremony); F.A.C.E. Benefit Concert at Laszlo's

Arts Cafe (performances by My Dad's Truck, Gail Rombin Simon, Kent Aldrich,

Water Bacon and The Bonaccorso-Lewis-Shanley Trio); Big Toe at Tuxedo

Junction;

May 31 -- radio 104 Fest at The Meadows (Live, Silverchair, Fuel, Crash Test

Dummies, Spin Doctors, Local H, Orgy, Sponge, Reel Big Fish, Dovetail Joint,

Fountains of Wayne, Joy Drop, Zebrahead, Tenstar, My Friend Steve, Babe The

Blue Ox, Train, et al).

JUNE 2 -- Flotsam and Jetsam at The Webster Theatre, Hartford;

June 4 -- Free Style at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; The Violent Femmes at Toad's

Place, New Haven;

June 5 -- Harvey and the Wallbangers at Tuxedo Junction; Moppin Sauce at Fat

Daddy's, Watertown; The John Whelan Band at Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling, NY,

Matthew Phelps opening;

June 6 -- Leftover Salmon at Toad's Place (all ages), Blueground Undergrass

opening; The McKrells at Towne Crier Cafe;

June 8 -- Firehouse at Toad's Place (all ages);

June 11 -- Channeling Jim at Tuxedo Junction; Shakedown at Toad's Place (all

ages), Carnival Dogs and Smoke the Prophet opening;

June 12 -- Big Orange Cone at Tuxedo Junction; Moppin Sauce at TK's, New

Haven;

June 13 -- Volunteer Jam at The Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford (Charlie

Daniels Band, The Marshall Tucker Band and Molly Hatchet);

June 18 -- Susan Tedeschi at Toad's Place;

June 18-20 -- 4th Annual Gathering of the Vibes at Seaside Memorial Park,

Bridgeport (with Gov't Mule, John Scofield, Deep Banana Blackout, Strangefold,

Percy Hill, et al);

June 19 -- Men at Work at Mohegan Sun Casino (Wolf Den), Uncasville; Ozzfest

'99 at The Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford (Black Sabbath, Rob Zombie,

Deftones, Slayer, Primus, et al); Mighty Purple at Arts Barn, Madison;

June 22 -- Beenie Man at Toad's Place (all ages);

June 24 -- Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan & Shemekia Copeland at the Oakdale,

Wallingford; Spring Heeled Jack USA at Toad's Place (all ages);

June 25 -- Hootie & the Blowfish at Mohegan Sun Casino (Wolf Den); Simple Jim

at Toad's Place, What Up! and 13 O'Clock opening;

June 26 -- J. Geils Band at The Meadows; Seal at the Oakdale Theatre, Joan

Jones opening;

June 27 -- The Allman Brothers Band at The Meadows; Susan McKeown & The

Chanting House at Towne Crier Cafe, Kila opening;

June 29 -- Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers at The Meadows, Lucinda Williams

opening.

COA Welcomes New Alternate, Discusses Senior Alliance

BOE Recognizes 2026 Profiles In Professionalism Honorees

C.H. Booth Library Hosted Another Successful Volunteer Fair

Fire Reports | April 28-May 4, 2026

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 21-May-1999

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