MoCA Flavored

Those looking for an art gallery experience in the Berkshires this summer have no further to look than the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). Visitors should be prepared for a full audio-visual experience. Of particular note at MASS MoCA this summer is the Solid Sound Festival with alternative rock band Wilco. Tune in June 24-26 for the concert event, which is an "intimate three-day celebration of music, comedy, art and community." Comedian John Hodgman is set to perform. Also worth a visit are attractions including the "Bang on a Can" Summer Music Festival. It's a contemporary music extravaganza from July 13 — 30. Two live music / silent film events are scheduled at MoCA his summer: "Chaplin" with a live score by Marc Ribot on July 9 and "The Complete Metropolis" on Aug. 6. Ribot, called "One of the most individual of guitarists and a master of introverted ironies" by The Village Voice, turns his attention to one of Chaplin's greatest films. Ribot's haunting solo guitar score makes this classic contemporary, taking its story of a single father struggling to raise his son during The Great Depression. For the Aug. 6 presentation of "The Complete Metropolis," Alloy Orchestra returns to perform its original live score to the newly restored version of Fritz Lang's magnum opus, which includes 25 minutes of additional footage from this classic film. This version of "Metropolis," just four minutes shorter than the lost original 153-minute cut that premiered in Berlin in 1927, was discovered in 2008 in a library in Buenos Aires. The New York Times calls this film "A masterpiece of visionary silent cinema. One of the strangest, most fascinating films ever made." Summer events wrap up at Mass MOCA with a Sept. 4 dance party. For art gallery events running throughout the summer, visit the group's web site www.massmoca.org. PRIME