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A few quickies for you: Tomorrow (Monday, April 27th) there are already a few great shows happening, but we just added another one for you. Beginning at 6pm at Slainte, HillyTown presents La Societe Expeditionnaire artist Lewis & Clarke, with Dylan Metrano (Tiger Saw / Tiny Fires) opening. Some details for the Wilco show at the Maine State Pier in July: Details on the show, including presales (April 29), can be found here. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band have been announced as openers. Learn more about their tour together at Pitchfork. Update: Just heard from Dup Crosson of Saint Solitude with the bad news that his tour started off with a good show but a bad end to the night: his car window was smashed and many personal items were stolen, including clothes, cd’s, and all of the merch that he had with him to sell on the road. Please visit his site and help out in any way you can. Saint Solitude is scheduled to play at Slainte here in Portland on Tuesday, April 28.
Tonight marks the debut of the “newly expanded” Rattlesnakes at Geno’s (with the best NJ-bred basement groove garage punks, Screaming Females, and the band I happen to play in, Marie Stella). I have a feeling the new top secret member could be just what they needed to push them over that line from great to amazing. Watch out. No listastic roundup this week, just a few things: The Phoenix tells us why they live here and they want to hear your stories too. The poster for this year’s Common Ground Fair (9/25-27) has been unveiled. Nice apples!
Record Store Day seemed to be a pretty big success all around. The only instore performances I caught were Lady Lamb The Beekeeper and Brenda at Newbury Comics, but plenty of people were out to see the bands and shop for records. Unfortunately I missed out on some of the limited edition 7″ records but the people who lined up at 8am to get them definitely deserve it. Feel free to share any great finds or performances you caught in the comments!
First, some exciting news on events happening in Portland this summer. Then, well, everything else!
I have to say, I love putting on shows at Slainte Wine Bar. It’s a pretty unassuming little room, but you can do great things there. Audiences love that shows are free, the food is good (and it was half-price on this occasion!), and the atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable for the performers. While there may not be a top-of-the-line sound system with monitors, the room is small enough that the sound can be managed pretty easily with a little effort. In the end, it’s very much worth it, to have a great show in such an intimate space. This was definitely the case on our show this Wednesday, which featured two of my own personal favorite local bands: White Light and South China (whose two members have now joined White Light as well, on most occasions). As if that wasn’t enough, the incredible Brooklyn-based experimental folk/jazz duo of Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone brought an onslaught of great sounds from their guitar, viola, and voices. They’ll be down at BUOY in Kittery tonight, and I highly recommend checking them out if you missed this show. Check out all the photos from this show in the gallery here.
Last week, Ray LaMontagne returned to his home state of Maine to play two sold out shows at Merrill Auditorium in Portland. Fun fact: apparently he lives in a house in Lewiston that was previously occupied by Norman Mailer. Interesting. Read on for a full review of the first of the two shows – Friday, April 10, by Dylan Martin. All photos in this post by Stephanie Elizabeth Photography. More after the jump. Read on… We had a great time tonight, both at the Phoenix awards show and at our own party at Slainte. The big news of the day, however, is that They Might Be Giants are scheduled to appear at the Port City Music Hall on Friday, June 12! This is great news! More (including photos from tonight) in the morning. I also have a show review and photos from the Ray LaMontagne show this weekend at Merrill Auditorium to post soon.
Also tonight, just down the street at the Port City Music Hall, the Phoenix will be announcing the winners of their “Best Of 2008″ poll, along with providing free food and some great musical performances. That starts early (7pm) so you could even stop there before out party!
Friday was my first time attending a show at The Station, to see Dinosaur Jr. with Awesome Color. |
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![Cougars Kill Cobras [cd release show]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2950897873_ff60242d99.jpg)
