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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. Read on…
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. Read on…
We’ve heard a lot of different reports on how Monday’s Dinosaur Jr. show at Port City Music Hall went. The most common response was “It was sooooo loud!” or “My ears are still ringing!” One fan even swears that he wore earplugs for the first time in his life, despite decades of hearing loss enabling at rock shows. Well, I suppose that could all be expected, J. Mascis is in fact known for his penchant for volume. We also heard that the pre-Dino Jr. set interview by Henry Rollins was a little awkward, but interesting (check out this interview with him over at Dispatch), and that openers MV & EE (modified by the addition of HERBCRAFT mastermind Matt Lajoie) did a great job with possibly their most accessible set in recent memory. What’d you think about it? Erika Johnson was there, check out the photos below! Read on…
After catching most of Neon Trees at the State, I ran down to Port City Music Hall for a show that’s been a long time coming to Portland: from Alaska (by way of the other Portland), Portugal. The Man are one of those bands that have a way of capturing fans’ attention in a way that’s hard to explain. Not everybody is familiar with them, but most of those who are could be called superfans – they’re in the front row and singing along to every word, and at this show it was clear that a good number of them can be found here in Portland, Maine. Unfortunately I missed the first band – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (though I heard from reliable sources that they were fantastic) but I did catch Telekinesis, who I was somewhat familiar with and really excited to see. It’s always impressive when a drummer can serve as a strong lead singer as well. Read on for a full photo gallery of these two acts. Read on…
The same night as the Dawes/Brett Dennen show just down the road, two eponymous local acts took the stage for Port City Music Hall‘s weekly TWO show. Both 60′s psych/britpop-inspired rocked Jeff Beam (his band dropped the Ice Storm… part) and Foldsian piano man Will Gattis have have featured albums here on HillyTown in the past, and Beam even played the winter Picnic event that we curated (that reminds me, look out for the summer Picnic music lineup to be announced before long, and get those vendor applications in!). Both acts performed strongly, but Gattis deserves extra credit for playing through an illness (food poisoning, potentially) that made him leave the stage multiple times, returning each time to get right back into the next song. Read on for photos from the show! Read on…
Deer Tick are one of those bands I associate with late nights, mixing whiskey with beer (this is not necessarily a recommendation), and wild afterparties, so it seemed a bit unnatural to show up at 6pm for a show they were headlining at Port City Music Hall. Openers (and fellow Providence band) Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons opened the show and kept the considerable audience satisfied while we all waited for Deer Tick to arrive. They finally did and put on a strong show, much tighter than the hot sloppy mess witnessed back when they hit SPACE with Those Darlins last year. Admittedly, I was hoping we might be treated to a bit of the Deervana spectacle that Deer Tick have been pulling off recently, but a more-sober-than-usual show of solid original songs did just fine. Read on for photos!
I don’t normally post about tickets going on sale, but this is such an interesting show that I want to make sure that people take their chance to get tickets while they are available. As of this morning, you can purchase tickets to see Dinosaur Jr. at Port City Music Hall on Monday, June 20. Sure, that’s pretty cool, but to really make it amazing, before their set, the band will be interviewed onstage by the one and only Henry Rollins. Expect to hear a bit about the early SST days/80′s diy/underground scene (think Our Band Could Be Your Life, come to life onstage in front of you) and much more – the conversation is totally open, so there’s no telling what we’ll get to hear. Get your tickets here and check out the videos for “Over It” (from 2009′s Farm) and the classic “Feel The Pain” (actually, I consider it to be the best song ever written and am happy to argue that point with anybody, over any other song).
No strangers to touring together, rockabilly legend The Reverend Horton Heat and hillbilly blues gang Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (a trio, but pretty damn big nonetheless) tore through Portland with a stop at Port City Music Hall. With all due respect to the headliners, Peyton and company definitely stole the show, kicking over cymbals, blowing minds with double-duty bass/lead finger-pickin’, and passionate washboard playing (not to mention setting it on fire)! Read on for a full gallery including both bands. Read on… Last night at Port City Music Hall, YouTube came to life in the form of the Digitour.
Headlined by the likes of Dave Days, Destorm, Ricky Ficarelli, and Kimmi Smiles, the show also included a spot by the duo Karmin (pictured above – Nick is from Old Town, ME). Read on for a full photo gallery thanks to David Zwickerhill. Read on… |
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