Iron Horse turns 20
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb 12, 1999) -- Twenty years ago this month, Jordi Herold opened a small café on a side street in Northampton -- at the time, as the Hancock native recalls, a sleepy, depressed mill town, its empty storefronts lending it an aura more in common with today's North Adams than with the vibrant Northampton that was recently voted the number-one small arts town in America.

Herold's original intention was to create a "lifestyle alternative" -- a European-style hangout open 17 hours a day with food, wine, chessboards, international newspapers and, perhaps a few nights a week, live music.

The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. Instead of realizing his post-bohemian vision of caffeine and conversation, Herold wound up running one of the nation's most famous, important and influential music listening rooms in the country.

Later this month, the Iron Horse will celebrate its 20th birthday with a star-studded concert at the newly-renovated Calvin Theatre which, along with the Pearl Street Nightclub, is now one of three venues which make up the Iron Horse Entertainment Group. On Feb. 24, Irish singer Maura O'Connell, folk-pop duo Tuck and Patti, a capella group The Bobs, folk-rockers The Nields, neo-bluegrass outfit Salamander Crossing and folk-blues revivalist Dave Van Ronk, all veterans of the Iron Horse, will share the stage at the Calvin in a salute to the Horse's musical and cultural legacy.

In addition, the Bobs (Feb. 23), O'Connell (Feb. 25), Salamander Crossing (Feb. 26) and The Nields (Feb. 27) will each perform individually during that week at the Iron Horse itself, making for a week-long celebration of the café's two-decade reign as the cornerstone of the Pioneer Valley's music scene.

While Herold is no longer the owner -- the Iron Horse was purchased by T-shirt magnate Eric Suher five years ago -- he remains the talent booker for the Horse, Pearl Street and the Calvin. As such, the Mt. Greylock Regional High alumnus is still the brains, heart and soul of the organization, the man whose single vision is responsible for the approximately 15,000 performances that have taken place at the Iron Horse over the last 20 years.

For Herold, the secret of the Iron Horse's success is "something that happens on a repeated basis," he said. "The moment the performer locks in with the audience and the room starts to levitate, that's the essence, what keeps me involved."

Music clubs frequently wax and wane, come and go with time, falling victim to fads, trends and economic downturns. The Iron Horse has been battered by all of these, but somehow it continues to live, and even to thrive, at a time when on any given night there are more opportunities than ever to hear live music at various locations in and around Northampton.

"One of the things that gives us a leg up is that it's a listening room," said Herold. "It's not about the commerce and the food trade and whatever else. It's about the music first."

Herold also notes that the most successful listening rooms around the country, including the Village Vanguard and the Bottom Line in New York City and Caffé Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., have all been guided by a singular vision.

"The ones that are run by committee never develop that magic," he said. "It's the ones that are reflective of one person's esthetic and one person's love of the room and one person's relationship with the musicians and audience that succeed. A continuity of personal vision and relationship to the artist, audience and community really does make a difference and gives the place a heartbeat."

It ain't bragging if it's true, to quote singer-songwriter Dan Bern, who has performed frequently at the Iron Horse. And it is a lesson that shouldn't be lost on anyone in the business of presenting concerts. A unique, curatorial vision makes all the difference in the world.

In the Berkshires

One has often lamented the lack of an Iron Horse-style music club here in the Berkshires. Few venues offer a regular menu of touring bands or even local bands playing original music. As Tor Krautter, leader of the locally-based, groove-oriented Rev. Tor Band, recently told me, "Playing original music in the Berkshires is not easy. I think the interest is there, but there are just not enough venues that support original local music. A few clubs like La Cocina [in Pittsfield]and The Old Egremont Club [in South Egremont] have gone out of their way to bring in original acts and have been quite successful with it. This is proof that it can be done."

Incidentally, you can catch the Rev. Tor Band -- fresh from a tour of Florida, where they had the chance to jam with Chuck Berry pianist Johnnie Johnson, the self-proclaimed "father of rock and roll" -- this weekend at the Old Egg tonight and at La Cocina tomorrow night.

Up in North County, there are stirrings of an original nightlife scene. In recent weeks, I've caught sets by Boston-based psychobilly trio Speed Devils at Mezze in Williamstown, which also features local groups and jazz acts, and the Eric Underwood Band, a Dave Matthews-style folk-rock quartet, at the Manic Stage in North Adams, which has recently branched out into concerts in addition to theatrical productions.

If there is one element uniting these nascent music venues, it is the poor job they do in getting the word out. In both cases I was alerted to the shows accidentally or second-hand; in neither case did the venue itself contact the press. Perhaps they are trying to maintain low profiles, and indeed they were able to attract good crowds without advance press coverage. More power to them.

These things go in cycles, and there are always promising developments on the local scene. But we have a long way to go if we are ever to acquire that Holy Grail of Berkshire nightlife: an Iron Horse of the Berkshires. One would have hoped that the National Music Center, especially with its renovated small theater, might have been a contender, but at this point they show no such inclinations. The one wild-card in the mix is Arlo Guthrie's place in downtown Pittsfield, where the folksinger plans to open a listening room and concert club next year.

Until then, see you in Noho.

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[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Feb. 12, 1999. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1999. All rights reserved.]