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Lady Lamb performing at Port City last month, openers Cuddle Magic will take the stage at SPACE next week. PHOTO: HillyTown/Andrew Foster
It’s true — I’m not Dylan Martin, your usual HillyTown weekly Friday rounder-uper. Dylan is currently working on a more involved story for HillyTown that will be up next week (or so he says; odds are higher that he’s currently playing a pretty intense game of Settlers of Catan with his cats or, whatever this is). So for one week only, I will wear the Friday Roundup Crown of Snark and see what Portland has been up to on both the local and national stages.
A lot of things can be said about the effect of the Internet on music an it’s reach to potential audiences. Almost thirty years ago Paul Simon brought traditional Afropop music out of the incense heavy world of import clothing shops and thrust Graceland onto the main stage and record stores across the world — eventually landing him a Grammy Award for album of the year in 1987 (of course, this is glossing over the controversy surrounding Graceland; which include but are not limited tocultural appropriation and making sure musician’s contributing to the album got their rightful credit — also, Chevy Chase).
Okay, in all honesty sometimes we miss some pretty great local releases when they come out and just get to (hopefully) cover the subsequent touring following a release. Well, this is sort of like that — but sadly, not enough of the later.
I’m talking about High Spirits here — and specifically their most recent Bandcamp release, The High Spirits Family Band’s Summer Singles, which was recorded several years ago (but released early last month) before the High Spirits we know today existed.
High Spirits latest Bandcamp release The High Spirits Family Band’s Summer Singles
First of all, apologies for the lack of updates over here the ol’ HillyTown home — between the flu, SXSW, and multiple full-time jobs, things have been a bit busy at HQ. But no worries: we don’t want Hilly to fade into a Portland myth like The Taxis or Marie Stella.
Let’s start with one degree of separation from HillyTown favorite (and Cydni Lauper fan) Lady Lamb.
Kate Beever (right) and Poopin’ Louie in Kitty Critic’s last video of its first season.
Apologies, y’all. I took the day off last week because of an unplanned vacation to BEING SICK IN MY BED, so we have some catching up to do in the Hilly Town Cinematic Universe.
Kitty Critic, Maine’s most adorable video series about local music, aired its season one finale this week with a performance by Kate Beever at the Homeless Animal Rescue Team in Cumberland, and it literally stars a cat named Poopin’ Louie. The video helpfully notes that Poopin’ Louie is known for pooping unexpectedly, just as he crawls onto Kate’s keyboard and lingers there for the rest of her song.
One of the most significant music developments in the past couple weeks was the State Theatre’s first two outdoor concert announcements for its new venue at Thompson’s Point in Portland. Ingrid Michaelsonplays the first show June 28 with Jukebox the Ghost as the opener. Then. THEN. Primus plays the second show with Dinosaur Jr. on July 27. That sounds like a fairly decent and fairly HillyTown kind of lineup to me.
But wait! Thompson’s Point isn’t the only place we’ll get outdoor concerts in Portland this year. As the noted in the Portland Press Herald last week, Bangor-based promoter Waterfront Concerts has its own slate of more than 12 shows lined up for the Maine State Pier, including performances by Weezer, the Barenaked Ladies and The Beach Boys. Combined with the State Theatre’s four to six shows planned for Thompson’s Point, Portland will be home to an unprecedented number of outdoor concerts this year.
The other significant development: Belfast has a music festival again! After the Free Range Music Festivalfizzled out last year, the All Roads Music Festival has stepped in its place with an all-day, multi-venue festival planned for May 16. Lady Lamb headlines. She’ll be supported by a number of familiar faces, including Lisa/Liza, Tall Horse, Spose and Coke Weed.
Random observation: Maine Magazine has not written a music profile since August 2013.
For you heavy music lovin’ types, Post Mortem has a hella sweet photo recap of a SPACE Gallery show headlined by Sewer Goddess and supported by Mugwort, Say John Earl and Nycterent, the latter of which was called “a tough act to follow.” Here’s a teaser:
As the blinding light subsided, Morse emerged from his electronics wearing padded work gloves. He crouched by the mirror, shrieked into his microphone, then abruptly and repeatedly pounded both fists into the mirror — snuffing out the four flames in an instant of brute violence.
Speaking of Mugwort, the Portland Phoenix has a review of the doom metal band’s two-song, 20-minute album right here. The city’s last standing alt-weekly also takes a look atHaru Bangs and 1UP, a “a series of performances spotlighting the best of the best in local electronic producers” that was started by local hip-hop artists Brzowski and God.Damn.Chan.
Now for an important announcement: Brown Bird, a band that has long been a favorite of the Portland music scene, has set up a pre-order for its latest album, the first to come out after the wonderful David Lamb died a year ago this Sunday.
Tricky Britches at Arootsakoostic – photo by No Idea Productions
Arootsakoostik, the ninth annual outdoor music festival in New Sweden, ME, is growing in the natural way (see our coverage of previous years here). What began as a project of passion for Aroostook County native Travis Cyr, has blossomed to include two new events: the Eurekakoostik pre-festival showcase July 10th, and the A-Roots Ramble April 3rd and 4th; both will be held at the Eureka Hall in Stockholm, ME.
Each year, Arootsakoostik pulls musicians from around the state to perform at the band shell at Thomas Park in New Sweden. “In the 9 years since Gardenstock [the original name for the fest] we have grown slowly and organically. We’ve experimented with multiple stages, we’ve featured music in the woods, all the while maintaining an incredibly talented roster of artists and pure intentions every year,” Cyr told me in a recent interview. Now, the festival is spreading its roots out to include the Eurekakoostik showcase the day before in nearby Stockholm. The showcase will feature 4-5 bands playing 60 minute sets at the indoor Eureka Hall, which also features a great food and beer selection. “The idea of a two day festival has always been around us, but is just taxing on our small team. By teaming up with Eureka, we can essentially fill the weekend up with music,” said Cyr, who has been booking shows for the Eureka Hall for the last few years, “For those who wish to explore the County and get up here a bit early for the fest, it gives them another incentive.”
For Cyr, the location is the key to the whole project. “It’s beautiful up here, spacious, relaxed. I believe the remoteness of it is a big part of the charm. For many playing the event, and more and more those spectating, coming to AROOTS was their first time this far north in Maine,” Cyr said, referring to the nearly five and a half hour drive from Portland, “It’s not like there are a lot of venues for all these bands to play in Aroostook County, which was a huge factor why I began doing what I do up here in the first place. I am certain people feel community and a part of something when at AROOTS.” The community feel has become apparent even in the formatting of the shows, particularly in the A-Roots Ramble, which models itself off of Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble and the Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder Revue. For those unfamiliar, the Ramble style will feature two days of collaboration between musicians including Dark Hollow Bottling Co., Dominic & the Lucid, Tricky Britches, Jacob Augustine, Putnam Smith and the man himself, Travis Cyr. “The idea again is just a celebration of music between a mutual set of friends/musicians. Our intentions are for these shows to be real loose, format wise; everyone playing their songs, for and with each other,” Cyr told me, “I will sit in with DHBC, Tricky Britches will back me for some songs, maybe I will play mandolin with Jacob Augustine, maybe Jacob Augustine will play with the Lucid. The idea is to encourage collaboration, and have fun.”
Cyr may be a bit removed from most Maine musicians, but his intentions and goals are true. “I do not feel much recognition or acknowledgement by the Portland music scene. I like to think of this all as a Maine scene. We are all living, writing, working, performing, creating in the state of Maine.” With all the festivals Portland is offering this summer, perhaps it is that which sets him apart that is his greatest strength. “Certainly being so far removed from “society” up here, I’m not a very familiar face/name in the big city. That’s OK, I love all this space up here, and I’ve never been much on trends.”
When the July heat has set upon us, you’ll be grateful for an excuse to get out of the “big city” and out into the County, ahem, country. It’s a weekend of roots, folk, Americana and rock way out, just east of the boonies. Anybody wanna carpool?
A-Roots Ramble at Eureka Hall, Stockholm, ME April 3rd and 4th 2015
Eurekakoostik at Eureka Hall, Stockholm, ME July 10th, 2015
Arootsakoostik at the Thomas Park bandshell, New Sweden, ME July 11th, 2015
