“Is it too early for a rock show?” Glen Fant, guitarist of Recent History, asked the crowd assembled at The Iron Horse Music Hall on the morning of Sunday, Nov. 10.
Locals of all ages made their way to The Iron Horse on that brisk Sunday morning for the return of live music brunch to the Pioneer Valley. The event featured Northampton-based alternative dance-rock band Recent History, headed by Fant and Ryan Guillen, who performed songs from the soundtrack to the 1992 movie “Singles.”
The venue, which reopened this past May after closing at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, was arranged to accommodate seating, allowing attendees to sit back, relax, chat and dine while enjoying acoustic covers of songs by the Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana and Pearl Jam, among others. The brunch menu featured quiche, potato hash and cabbage salad — which I was especially excited about — along with a selection of tea and coffee. Guests were also encouraged to enjoy classic brunch cocktails such as mimosas and bloody marys from the bar along with their meals.
After performing a sold-out show at The Press Room in Portsmouth, N.H. in February, Recent History was excited to bring this show to their hometown of Northampton. Despite the initial challenge of finding a venue suitable for both dining and live entertainment, Fant said that they knew they had found their venue when he learned that The Iron Horse was starting a brunch service.
The crowd that morning was a small, but enthusiastic mix of all ages. “We’ve gotten an amazing response from fans who come to these shows dressed in ripped jeans and flannel shirts. It’s like grunge cosplay!” he said. Indeed, there were many flannels to be seen among audience members as they sipped on mimosas and nodded along to a mix of softer and more upbeat acoustics.
The set began with Paul Westerberg’s “Dyslexic Heart,” a recognizable favorite from the “Singles” soundtrack. At the end of the song, Fant and Guillen’s excitement was already palpable. Fant shared his hope that the event would be “the first of many Sunday brunches” in their home of Northampton.
My personal favorite song of the morning was Recent History’s particularly cheerful rendition of “Today” by the Smashing Pumpkins. The lyrics “Today is the greatest / Day I’ve ever known / Can’t live for tomorrow / Tomorrow’s much too long” captured the mood of the morning quite nicely and effectively banished my Sunday scaries for the time I was seated comfortably in a cozy back corner of The Iron Horse.
I learned from Fant that the Smashing Pumpkins themselves performed at The Iron Horse in July of 1991, which speaks to the rich history of both the venue itself and of the larger Pioneer Valley music scene. Both Fant and Guillen expressed their excitement to be playing on the same stage as the beloved alternative rock band once did. Following in the footsteps of the Smashing Pumpkins, Recent History now stands alongside a collective of both local and even widely recognized artists who are working towards building — and rebuilding — community through the arts, starting in Northampton.
The atmosphere of that morning — occupying a pleasant in-between of laid-back and lively — reminded me that this aim of community-building through music encompasses more than just late-night head-banging concerts (which, of course, are equally essential). The Iron Horse’s live music brunch was a family-friendly event and appealed to music-lovers of all ages and backgrounds, offering both first-time visitors (like myself) and regulars the opportunity to become more acquainted with the Northampton music and food scenes in a relaxed, but upbeat environment.
After playing one last tribute to the Pumpkins with “Drown,” Fant announced that we would be “leaving the country for a moment” and launched into a performance of “High and Dry” by Radiohead to close out the show. By the time audience members began putting their coats back on, the mood of the room seemed just as cheerful, but certainly more awake than it had been just two hours prior. Clearly, it is never too early for a rock show in Northampton.
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