Hilly Town: The Portland Maine Music Blog » photos

Thurston Moore Sold Out SPACE [1.30.12]

Hilly Town — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:21:19 +0000

I mean, of course he did, right? He’s Thurston Moore. That’s how that should work. All reports indicate an amazing show, openers MMOSS included. I have no doubts. Huck Photography was on hand to deliver these beautiful shots of the show for you.

HillyTown Presented (in Brooklyn) Again [1.31.12]

Hilly Town — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:36:30 +0000

Two masks, two duos, a dance contest, and flowers? Yup, sounds like a HillyTown Presents show. At least on Tuesday night at Union Hall in Brooklyn, NY it was. A Severe Joy came down from Maine to play a show along with locals Genghis Hans and Mitten, and Poingly kept things fun with jams at the DJ booth, including an impromptu performance of one of his own songs/dance contest. The grand prize was an iron. And that’s just how we do it.

Check out photos from the whole show after the jump!

o’death and Brown Bird Sold Out SPACE [1.27.12]

Hilly Town — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:58:00 +0000

On Friday night, o’death returned to SPACE Gallery for a sold out show with Brown Bird and if and it. Brown Bird will be back in the area on February 18 with a show at The Oak + The Ax in Biddeford (which is run by Greg from o’death) before heading down to Texas for SXSW in March and on to the West coast. Read on for photos from Friday night!

Photos by Huck Photography.

HillyTown Presented in Brooklyn [1.12.12]

Hilly Town — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:21:59 +0000

Last night, HillyTown Presents landed in Brooklyn, New York. Portland’s Butcher Boy and their Boston-based tourmates The Cowboy Band joined Brooklyn locals The Goddamn Rattlesnake for an exciting night of music at Union Hall in Park Slope. We have two more shows coming up at the venue: 1/31 with A Severe Joy and 2/22 with Great Western Plain and more in the works at various venues in NY. Read on for photos from Thursday’s show below.

Photos by Bryan Bruchman.

Lady Lamb and The Milkman’s Union Played Brooklyn [12.15.11]

bryan — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:38:44 +0000

Noticing a theme here? On Wednesday, December 15, Lady Lamb and The Milkman’s Union (who have been recording together in Brooklyn) kicked off a brief tour at Union Hall in Park Slope along with their local pals Cuddle Magic. All just a couple days before Brenda hit the borough to play a diy show. The show at Union Hall actually wasn’t our doing at all, despite the fact that there are THREE HillyTown Presents shows coming up at that venue, bringing Maine acts to Brooklyn: Jan. 12 w/ Butcher Boy, Jan. 31 w/ A Severe Joy, and Feb. 22 w/ Great Western Plain. Spread the word and look for more down the road! For now, read on for photos from Aly and the boys.

Photos by Bryan Bruchman.

The Devil Makes Three Sold Out Port City [12.10.11]

Hilly Town — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:51:58 +0000

The weekend of December 9th was a busy one in Portland. Here’s the first of a couple posts from that: The Devil Makes Three with opening act (and Portland favorite) Brown Bird at Port City Music Hall on Saturday, December 10. This show was sold out and from what we saw – a nonstop party for about 600 people. If this show was any indication of their growing popularity (sure, we know the headliner had quite a bit to do with it, but still…), you’ll want to pick up advance tickets for the Brown Bird show with o’death at SPACE on January 27 now.

Read on for photos, a video clip, and review by Huck Photography.

The Devil Came Up To Portland

Stomped. Check.
Smashed. Yup.
Slashed and Crashed. Indeed
Bashed and Busted and Burned – (and sold out the joint). Oh, hell yes.

If you were to have suspended your ability to hear, stood with your back to the stage and looked out into the crowd at Port City Music Hall this past Saturday night you probably would have guessed that behind you up there something or someone must be be raging loudly and wildly. Cranking it out at top volume. Whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Prompting them to shake and rattle the gates. Forcing security to toss at least one overzealous fan out the back door. (Don’t blame the Devil.)

But turn around and what you find are two dudes and a girl on acoustic instruments. This is The Devil Makes Three.

Self-described as aspiring to do for American music what the Pogues did for Irish music – a pretty awesome goal – Pete Bernhard (guitar, banjo, vocals) Lucia Turino (upright bass, vocals) and Cooper McBean (guitar, banjo, vocals) brought their unique brand of “garage folk” to Portland last weekend, set up shop atop the risers at PCMH and… to put it bluntly… kicked ass.

Along with supporting act, Brown Bird – comprised of David Lamb (guitar, banjo, percussion, vocals) and MorganEve Swain (fiddle, cello, upright bass, vocals) – this night of music proved that less can not only be more but that it can also be loud-rocking-foot-stomping-right-on-good.

For a taste of the band in action check out their new live album “Stomp and Smash – Live at the Mystic Theater.”

Barr Brothers Played One Longfellow [12.3.11]

Hilly Town — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:57:16 +0000

On Saturday night, Montreal’s Barr Brothers stopped in at One Longfellow Square in Portland for their first show in town. Read on for HillyTown photographer Louis’ take on the night and a full gallery from the band’s set.

Sonic. Acoustic. Electric. Distorted. Simple. Quiet. Inventive. And amazingly refreshing.

The Barr Brothers delivered when they took they stage at One Longfellow Square this past Saturday night with their unique blend of blues, Americana, indie folk and and experimental music. Although the exact workings of Brad Barr’s string bow technique on his guitar still remain a bit of a mystery one thing was clear – these guys know what they’re doing.

A stage set-up featuring a towering classical harp, a vintage pump organ, a sweet black Guild electric running through a few fuzz, delay and overdrive pedals, and an array of percussive weapons of mass musical creation might seem a bit odd to some but for the Barr Brothers this is the place where they have found their sweet spot.

It’s a place somewhere near those old blue delta crossroads of Mr. Johnson but just a little further on up the road a bit near a quiet turnoff where the the echos of the Appalachians meet the reflectiveness of that old Laurel Canyon sound.

A place where, despite welcome musical tangents, improvisation and experimentation, the core of the songs and the driving melodies are never lost.

On Saturday night that place was One Longfellow Square.

From the quiet harmonies of “Beggar in the Morning”, to the the rocking infectious groove of “Give the Devil Back His Heart” and the hints of bluegrass in “Darkness Has Arms”, the Barr Brothers rolled through songs from their self-titled debut album with grace and ease.

Singer / guitarist Brad Barr is just at home fingerpicking his acoustic as he is hammering down on his electric. Backed by bandmate and brother, Andrew Barr (drums, vocals), Sarah Page (harp, guitar, percussion, vocals) and Andres Vial (keyboards, bass, percussion, vocals), Barr led the band through a solid set before returning for an encore featuring members of opening act Jocie Adams’ (The Low Anthem) band on clarinet, fiddle and trumpet – instruments that seemed a fine fit and easy addition to The Barr Brothers already diverse musical landscape.

Photos by Huck Photography.

Coast City Comicon Made Nerds Rave [11.11.11]

Hilly Town — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:57:19 +0000

Last weekend, Coast City Comics launched the first Coast City Comicon. Things kicked off with an epic “Nerd Rave” party at SPACE Gallery, featuring sets from Waranimal and Heloise & the Savoir Faire, as well as a pretty intense costume contest. Read on for a photo gallery from the kickoff party and some more of the Comicon.
Photos by David Zwickerhill and Bryan Bruchman.

Bar Harbor’s Coke Weed Played Brooklyn [11.8.11]

bryan — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:11:04 +0000

As promised, we made it out to Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY to catch the last night of a short run of dates shared by Coke Weed (from Bar Harbor), Trummors (new project from a former member of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists), and A>G>E (a project from members of the French Kicks and the Walkmen). All three acts were great and “groove” was definitely a common thread, but we were particularly taken with Coke Weed’s headlining set, full of crafty guitar showmanship, VU-inspired drones, and a fresh take on that world between pop and psych rock. Read on for photos from the night.
Photos by Bryan Bruchman.

Jacob Augustine Released Three Albums [11.4.11]

Hilly Town — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:00:44 +0000

We were already well-aware of the power of Jacob Augustine‘s songwriting and voice, as you can see here, but what does it take to properly celebrate the unveiling of three albums at once? Apparently, an epic show full of talented guest musicians and a whole lot of support. That’s just what Jacob got this past Friday at Port City Music Hall. As our friend Dylan V. made abundantly clear, there were a whole lot of positive vibes going around with the exemplary display of the powers of Portland’s supportive local music scene. Billy Libby (who we just caught at the Portland CMJ showcase) and This Way opened for Jacob Augustine, as he was joined by a backing band including members of Dominic and the Lucid (note: they’ve gone back to the original name, no longer just The Lucid), the Milkman’s Union, and others. Do yourself a favorite and go get Frontier, Goldyhymns (this was the one recorded at Mayo Street Arts, which we got to stop by and check out and make the “Hallelujah Banks” video), and The Original Love (all available for “name-your-own-price”) and enjoy the music while you check out the photos below from the show. All photos by Andrew Foster.