Musical Halloween enjoyable involves CitySpace in Doctor Gasp

Doctor Gasp, AKA Dan Blakeslee, will carry out at CitySpace’s Blue Room at Old Town Hall on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Photo credit score: Courtesy of Doctor Gasp / Dan Blakeslee

EASTHAMPTON — Ghastly grooves and dream-fueled theatrics await inside CitySpace as on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m., the Blue Room at Old Town Hall might be remodeled to host Doctor Gasp and his ghoulishly pleasant evening of spooky melodies and theatrical trickery.

Doctor Gasp is New England people stalwart Dan Blakeslee, whose annual Halloween alter ego returns for an additional October efficiency. Each yr, Doctor Gasp emerges from the crypt together with his trusted acoustic guitar and a macabre musical mission to thrill audiences of all ages with songs that drip with vampire chunk and a playful sense of fright.

A favourite throughout the Northeast, Doctor Gasp gives up a cauldron of creepy characters and classic horror, drawing inspiration from legends like Bobby “Boris” Pickett, John Zacherle, Alfred Hitchcock, and the ghostly pipes of Paul Frees.

“The Halloween season is always a fun time to bring people together. I feel like this area especially, Western Mass. and New England, the fall energy is really felt everywhere. It’s so beautiful visually, so why shouldn’t it be beautiful musically as well,” stated CitySpace Arts Programming and Venue Manager Zoë Fieldman. “Any excuse to collect individuals in any type of celebration is admittedly thrilling and that is simply one other instance of that.

Fieldman stated attendees can anticipate toe-tapping terror and laughter lurking in each refrain as that is Halloween enjoyable with a people twist. Fieldman found the skills of Doctor Gasp as a pupil at Mount Holyoke College when Blakeslee was invited to do a present on the faculty.

“He said yes, and I think he thought he was agreeing to a formal show, and it was actually just like 10 college students in a common room watching,” stated Fieldman with amusing. “But he gave it his absolute all. He was performing like he was in front of a crowd of 100 with his own little PA system, and props and costume, and it was just an amazing time.”

Fieldman added, college students have been capable of safe Doctor Gasp for a return present the next yr and this time the present was sponsored by the faculty and offered him with a extra correct venue setting.

“He performed amazing then too, so, I’ve kind of had him in the back burner of my brain since then just because it was so fun to see someone do something original. I feel like it’s very hard to find original Halloween things. I feel like a lot of stuff out there is reproduced, or it’s the same movies or music, but there’s not really a genre of Halloween themed things still coming out. So, it’s also just really refreshing seeing someone do something original in this category,” added Fieldman.

Gasp additionally hand carves his album covers, posters and sells his work and merchandise on his web site. For extra info on Doctor Gasp and his work, go to doctorgasp.com.

Tender Spot will open the present, a bunch that weaves mythology, magic and punk rock, together with Witchpunk the Musical. Narrated by Morpheus, God of goals, Witchpunk the Musical is a two-act journey by way of the world of shapeshifting and lucid dreaming.

“Tender Spot is a previous Pay It Forward recipient from last year’s Pay It Forward cohort,” stated Fieldman. “They make similarly original, witchy, spooky, spiritual music and theater, kind of really blurring the lines between music, theater, performance, art, costume, storytelling … that’s who is going to be kicking off the show.”

The Pay It Forward program offers complimentary venue entry to CitySpace’s Blue Room, providing performers of every kind a venue to incubate, create, current and carry out. The short-term residencies embrace monetary help and venue entry for public performances and occasions, in addition to additional one-on-one teaching and peer-to-peer studying to assist deepen practices and construct new expertise and relationships.

Tickets can be found at cityspaceeasthampton.org/all-events/#/occasions. Fieldman added common admission tickets are provided on a sliding scale of $10, $15 or $20, to encourage people to buy the ticket that the majority aligns with their monetary scenario.

Fieldman stated having a performer like Doctor Gasp come to CitySpace continues their mission of unity and creating an area that folks within the space and past really feel welcomed to.

“I think this show is an example of a lot of the unique programming that we do, and a lot of the very diverse programming that we do. Something that we’ve been talking about as we develop more of our programming since opening the Blue Room in 2022, is what does a CitySpace show mean? Because we operate both as a rental facility and doing our own programming,” stated Fieldman. “The niche is really just making a space that is welcoming and that is emergent. Whether that means you come to see an artist that you love, or you come to see an artist that you’ve never heard of that sounds cool and now is your favorite artist. And creating that space also for artists to connect with new community and new audiences as well, so that’s a good question I think, what does a CitySpace show really mean? And I think its that it’s really just a place for art and community to meet each other and creating an openness for that to look many, many different ways.”
Fieldman added she hopes for an awesome turnout for an evening of spooky enjoyable with Doctor Gasp.

“I think sometimes Halloween events can feel a little high commitment like do you have to have a costume, do you have to feel prepared to be in the Halloween spirit? I think that this is a celebration of all things fall, spooky, fun and joyful, and it is Halloween themed in a broader sense, but it’s also just a fun music performance that will get audiences to laugh, dance and sip some good beer, and mostly just have a good time while watching people who are performing because they love to do it.”