Hilly Town: The Portland Maine Music Blog » photos

Jane’s Addiction Packed The State [3.3.12]

Hilly Town — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:41:50 +0000

Alt-rock legends Jane’s Addiction played a sold out show (with openers Black Box Revelation) at the State Theatre in Portland on Saturday night. Read on for a full photo gallery from photographer Conall O’Brien below.

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.

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.

Astronautalis + Lady Lamb Sold Out SPACE [9.24.11]

Hilly Town — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:18:19 +0000

Sounds like this was a pretty great show, as expected. Photos from David Zwickerhill below. Look for more coverage on both Astronautalis (and his Portland-based bandmembers) and Lady Lamb The Beekeeper in the coming weeks, as they have shows in NY that we’ll plan to be at as well!

Cut Copy Played The State [9.14.11]

bryan — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:24:56 +0000

Last night was one of the more fun shows I’ve shot in Portland. From the fun disco funk dance party of openers Midnight Magic, to the blissed-out synth-and-sample-heavy chillwave of Washed Out, to the face-melting dance jams (with a refreshingly hefty amount of noise guitar work) of Cut/Copy, this was an incredible show at the State Theatre. Read on for the massive photo gallery featuring all three bands.

Photos by Bryan Bruchman.

HenryFest Photo Recap [9.11.11]

Hilly Town — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:35:42 +0000

On Sunday we took a short drive outside Portland to North Yarmouth, where 317 Main Street Community Center was holding their 7th annual HenryFest at Skyline Farm. The festival included a lineup of folk and bluegrass bands, plus food from Otto Pizza, Mr. Sippy BBQ, Maple’s Organic, and pies and cakes donated by volunteers. We arrived in the afternoon and enjoyed performances by Heather Masse, The Quartet (featuring Joe Walsh), and a closing set by Joy Kills Sorrow (who will be at One Longfellow Square on Thursday, October 6, and we highly recommend checking out). Read on for a photo gallery from the festival!
Photos by Bryan Bruchman.

Splendora CÃ¶lt Played Their First Gig + Show Announcement! [8.16.11]

bryan — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:37:03 +0000

In the time since the demise of local chaos-fueled folk rockers Dead End Armory, Wesley Hartley and the Traveling Trees saw Wesley’s Texas roots coming to the forefront in a more subdued setting. Now that project has dropped a member and turned up the volume as Splendora CÃ¶lt, a trio that rides the line between country, folk, and a bit of garage rock, fitting in nicely with the current indie landscape in Maine alongside bands like Great Western Plain and if and it. This week the band played their debut show at Biddeford’s The Oak + The Ax. They have a slew of Maine shows coming up, including a show that I’m very excited to announce – Sunday, September 18 at SPACE Gallery, HillyTown Presents o’death with Butcher Boy and Splendora CÃ¶lt! This will be the last HillyTown show for a while, and o’death (frontman Greg Jamie also happens to run The Oak + The Ax and has played HillyTown shows previously with his other band, Blood Warrior as well as a solo set at CMJ ’10) at SPACE is something I’ve been wanting to see happen since I first set foot in the venue a few years back. Tickets available now.

Read on for photos from Splendora CÃ¶lt’s first show, which also included a lovely set by Billy Libby and Adam Faucett (who I neglected to get photos of, due to distraction by veggie sausage sliders, but he was excellent – hailing from Little Rock, where “bad things happen to good people”).

Photos by Bryan Bruchman.

Arootsakoostic Field Report

Hilly Town — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:54:25 +0000

Our friends in the band When Particles Collide (they played a recent HillyTown Presents show in Biddeford) checked out the Arootsakoostic Music Festival this weekend and were kind enough to share their thoughts and images from the experience with us on the site. Check it out below: words by Sasha Alcott and photos by Chris Viner.

We arrived just before 2pm at Thomas Park in New Sweden, Maine to a lovely rolling green hill with kids playing games and running around the field while the sounds of a well amplified acoustic guitar emanated from the Field stage.

Variety was the name of the game for this festival. Variety in the style of musical groups, in the food, and among audience members. Singer-songwriters, overdriven bass and guitar rockers, traditional Americana acoustic acts clustered around one condenser mic, electrified anthemic rock â€˜n roll troubadours, experimental ambient sound-scape builders, and combinations thereof came together to keep the rain at bay and everyone happy and entertained. Tabouli salad with organic yogurt dressing, grilled red hot dogs and burgers or locally grown potatoes baked to perfection with bacon crumbles, chives and cheese were all available. Whether dancing, nodding their heads or stomping their feet, the audience of both young and old locals, southern Maine hipsters and crunchy families of Maine homesteaders all came together to celebrate. Aside from the music, the food and the beautiful location, it was obvious that the one thing that was the true glue of this festival, bringing everyone together and making the vibe so awesome was event organizer Travis Cyr.

Although we missed Mr. Cyr and his Strings of Calamity as well as several others due to the three hour drive from Bangor, we did get to enjoy many memorable sets. We arrived at the Thomas stage, a wonderful outdoor amphitheater decorated with hanging stars, a multi-paneled painted backdrop and freshly cut wild flowers as Line of Force were finishing their groovy set. They were followed by The Milkmanâ€™s Union. It was a pleasure to hear their carefully crafted, lyrically dense songs fill the park with a full and luscious sound. Amanda Gervasi and Jeff Beam reminded us that in the hands of a good songwriter, sometimes an acoustic guitar and a vocal melody are all you need to pull an audience in. I donâ€™t know whoâ€™s idea it was to put Herbcraft along one of the many paths in the park, but we were lulled into the wooded area by their unique experimental sounds. The most bad-ass set, without question goes to Belfastâ€™s Class Machine who rocked the Field Stage. Most bitter-sweet set goes to Wes Hartley and the Traveling Trees (video here), who played their final set together. I have seen them once before, but in such a wide open space, we were able to more fully take in the subtle choices of hear-felt vocals and driving rhythm. Saturday was my first chance to see The Lucid. Aside from the obvious strengths of this band; a harmony singing drummer, big anthem lyrics, and smooth guitar work, it was great to see creative and enthusiastic bass playing. Speaking of rock, who does punk-rock â€œOy! Oy!â€ nestled into jam-like yet angular rock songs like Theodore Treehouse? Its hard not get pulled into their performance when it is so obvious that all four guys are having the time of their lives. We got a taste of the fiddle work of Tricky Britches when their fiddle player played a few songs with banjo and guitar player Putnam Smith. Good Stuff. Tricky Britches then thumped and twanged their way through an energetic set getting the audience whooping and hollering and on their feet. Spirit Family Reunion, while definitely getting the award for most creative hair-styling, also brought a wonderfully high level of professionalism and enthusiasm to the stage. With stand-up bass, percussion, guitar, banjo and washboard and group vocals they had us all singing along by their final song. To close out the day, with the sun making its gradual decent and lovely low angle light highlighting the beautiful scenery, we were introduced to the Toughcats. As they were about to go on, a friend of mine leaned over and sayed, â€œJust watch the drummer.â€ As if I would be able to do anything else for the next forty minutes?! Oh wait, maybe I did sing along to “Betty Davis Eyes” and “Shout it Out Loud.” Who knew three guys with a banjo, a dobro, a drum kit and a suitcase would be so talented and entertaining.

I will definitely be back next year, and will not make the mistake of missing the first couple of hours! Kudos Travis! And thank you. Check out the photos below!

You have a few chances to catch When Particles Collide this summer in Maine (and we certainly recommend that you do!):

Wednesday July 20th, Chummies, Ellsworth, ME
Friday July 22nd with Temperature of the Sun Rupanuniâ€™s, Bar Harbor, ME
Saturday July 30th, Ipanemaâ€™s Bar and Grill, Bangor, ME
Saturday August 6th, Bayside Bowl, Portland ME
Friday September 30th, Bangor Rocks Portland, Slainte Wine Bar, Portland, ME

Jolie Holland and Sallie Ford Were Here [7.7.11]

Hilly Town — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 16:00:50 +0000

With SPACE Gallery becoming a regular tour destination for Jolie Holland, on Thursday she brought her tour in support of the just-released album Pint of Blood through Portland. In a move that it seems we’re seeing more and more, members of the excellent opening band, Portland, OR-based Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside, are backing Holland for dates on this tour. Read on for photos by Erika Johnson.

Dinosaur Jr. Was Here (with Henry Rollins) [6.20.11]

Hilly Town — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:37:12 +0000

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!