Category Archives: Uncategorized

Saturday, May 11, 2013

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

I had an awesome Saturday with great friends that included a tasting and tour at Oxbow Brewery in Newcastle, oysters on the half shell, and a trip to Damariscotta’s fish ladder. I was excited for this show, and my friends and college classmates Harriet and Atlee and Harriet’s brother Tielman decided to join me. I beat them to One Longfellow Square and was genuinely perplexed by the seating arrangements. There were about 40 people trying to crowd in the back and a gaping hole in the middle of the room where a dance floor area had been left open in lieu of seating. It confused everyone, because we go to OLS to listen and generally not to dance. People started building their own rows of seating, so I actually ended up quite close to the stage. I’d recommend against that half-seated/half-dance floor arrangement in the future. In such a small space, it has to be all or nothing.

The Gang at Oxbow Brewery. Thanks to Sophie Nelson for the photo!

Boston folk duo Tall Heights (Tim Harrington and Paul Wright) took the stage and clearly had a lot of fans in the sold out crowd. I appreciated their lush harmonies and sweet tenor voices. I am a sucker for the cello, so loved hearing it paired with guitar. “Running of the Bulls” and “I Don’t Know, I Don’t Know” stuck out to me. Their new album, Man of Stone, is out now. They ran a Pledge Music campaign to raise funds for their album production and thanked the supporters of that campaign profusely. They even asked a woman in the front row to take pictures of the show on a disposable camera for one of their campaign’s supporters (it was one of the campaign donation incentives). I’m glad I made it out early to catch Tall Heights’ set. I can see why they have a loud cheering section.

Paul Wright of Tall Heights

Tim Harrington of Tall Heights

Tall Heights

I’d heard “San Antone” by Portland’s The Ghost of Paul Revere on 98.9 WCLZ’s Music from 207 show. I didn’t know it was their song at the time, but I’d pulled into my driveway while it was playing, and I liked the song so much that I sat in my car with the engine off until it ended. I was immediately sold. GPR is a five piece of old friends who play an array of instruments that include acoustic guitar and bass, banjo, horn, mandolin, and harmonica. Matt Young on harmonica (and mandolin) impresses, but really wowed the crowd with his killer dance moves. You can’t teach that. GPR calls their genre “holler folk,” which is an apt description for what I saw during their set. Check out this BDN feature on The Ghost of Paul Revere that will give you plenty of background. The Ghost of Paul Revere stole the show. I was so impressed with them. Their harmonies, stomping percussion, and vocal power were stellar. Their songs progressed from mellow to powerhouse. They were funny (especially bassist Sean McCarthy, who I have a total crush on), interacted comfortably with the crowd, and were clearly having a great time. I felt like I was part of the show while they were onstage. I so look forward to seeing them again soon. Check out this review of their album North on The Equal Ground and check out their live show.

Max Davis of The Ghost of Paul Revere

Max Davis and Matt Baker of The Ghost of Paul Revere

Griffin Sherry and Sean McCarthy of The Ghost of Paul Revere

Matt Young and Griffin Sherry of The Ghost of Paul Revere

It’s blurry, but I love this one!

Matt Young has MOVES!

Portland’s Tricky Britches took the stage and thanked us for coming out to their sold out CD release for their new album, Good Company. I’d seen Tricky Britches play with Darlingside last fall, and theirs was one of my favorite shows of 2012. Check out my post from that show. Longtime friends and band mates, the guys of Tricky Britches are very comfortable with each other and are cohesive and well rehearsed. They alternated between original songs, mountain songs, and covers. I liked “Leave My Troubles Behind,” their cover of Vince Gill’s “One More Last Chance,” and “By My Side.” Their friend Rich joined them on banjo for “Fish in the Sea.” Seth and Jed joked about their “wardrobe malfunction”—they’d both worn western shirts with flowers embroidered on them. They thanked their Kickstarter campaign supporters for their help getting the new album out. I liked Bear’s sweet “Sugarcane,” including the lines, “She’s my fire on a cold, cold night/She’s my summer shade.” They wrapped their set with a couple of Appalachian dance tunes that included some super rhythmic stomping. The crowd was amped and clapped heartily in unison for an encore. The guys obliged with “Cumberland Fair,” a song about running into your ex lover at the fairground. Tricky Britches has a loyal local following and you should definitely check out their high-energy live show.

Jed Bresette and Seth Doyle of Tricky Britches

Tyler Lienhardt of Tricky Britches

Seth Doyle and Ryan “Bear” Wilkinson of Tricky Britches

What a great night of local-ish music!

xo,

bree

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

State Theatre, Portland, Maine

A bunch of us went out to dinner and then to see Josh Ritter to celebrate our dear friend Max Garcia Conover‘s birthday. Josh is really the reason Max started making music, and he will have  a recap of our night for you soon! I’ll say that Josh is a pleasure to see live–he exudes joy and clearly enjoys every second he’s onstage. I ended up front row center for the show and it was great to have so many concert buddies for the night!

xo,

bree

The Felice Brothers

The incomparable Josh Ritter

Always smiling

Josh encouraging us to find a partner to slow dance with. We obliged.

From Josh Ritter’s Facebook page

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Johnson Hall, Gardiner, Maine

Johnson Hall is a sweet little arts venue right in downtown Gardiner, Maine. It’s a mere half mile from my house. I’ve gone to a couple of their outdoor summer lunchtime shows over the years I’ve lived in town, but overall, I’ve never been particularly drawn to the lineup. Johnson Hall has made a real effort over the last year to make needed improvements, and with the announcement of their new Executive Artistic Director, Mike Miclon, I’m confident they’re moving in the right direction. I had a chance to talk to Mike on his first day on the job, and I was so happy to hear that many of his ideas were compatible with my own. I’d be thrilled to drive to Brunswick, Portland, and Boston significantly less for concerts, and I think a lineup I’m happy with is on the horizon. It was pretty amazing to leave my house at 7:25 PM and still be on time and in the front row of a venue for a show five minutes later. I could really get used to that!

Johnson Hall, Gardiner, Maine

I grabbed my front row center seat just in time for Ed DesJardins, Jenna Campbell, and Luke Cartwright. Jenna and Luke had traveled down from Bangor to open the show with Ed, and they sounded quite cohesive as a trio given their geographical distance. They played a few of Jenna’s songs, a few of Ed’s, a couple more of Jenna’s, another of Ed’s, and then Luke played a couple of his own with Jenna’s help. Jenna’s voice was silky smooth and her songs were deeply personal and autobiographical. One of the lines from her songs that stuck out to me was “memories of the past are like ghosts that never leave.” Ed’s big brother Steve played guitar with the group during Ed’s songs, which included “Help Yourself” and “Old Time Picture Show” off of his album, Innerspace. Ed said “Old Time Picture Show” came to him on a September afternoon at camp after all of the people he’d grown up with there had gone home for the season. Luke had a great voice and sang harmony throughout the set. When he took the lead, his songs were reminiscent of Dashboard Confessional—personal, building, and powerful.

Jenna Campbell

Ed DesJardins

Luke Cartwright

Steve DesJardins

L.A. singer-songwriter Shane Alexander grew up in western Pennsylvania. His mother lived in Hallowell, and he and Ed met and became good friends years ago. I’d missed his show at Johnson Hall last summer, so was very glad to catch him this time. His gentle acoustic finger picked songs in interesting tunings are the foundation for his sound, and his soulful, honest lyrics are captivating. Shane told us stories of his time at Ed’s house this visit—learning how to put a lobster to sleep before cooking it, eating steamers, shooting a potato gun—you know, the normal things we Mainers do on a regular basis. I felt a little like I was in Shane’s living room as he told us stories and drew us in with his haunting and delicate songs.

Shane Alexander

Shane told us that he comes to Gardiner to play a lot because “I love you.” I started to believe him as he told us tales of his many visits to Maine. The first time he came to Maine to visit, he said, he ended up wasted and on stage at The Wharf in Hallowell within moments of his arrival. He also opened a show for Jewel in Portland, but told us his impromptu gig at The Wharf had been sexier. Shane was touring for his fifth album, Ladera, which came out in April. He’d made a stop at the Guild guitar factory in Connecticut on his way to Maine to play for them and had spent part of the day there meeting literally every employee and seeing how each guitar is made.

Shane played “One So Young” and told us it was about how terrifying it is to become an adult. I liked “The Sky Below,” which showed off Shane’s lovely tone. He played a beautiful cover of Tim Krekel’s “Angel’s Share,” and told us how he’d gotten to know Tim in Maine before he passed away. “Front Porch Serenade” took on a special meaning for Shane when he and his laboring wife showed up at the hospital and she pressed play (a rarity) and they listened to the whole song before going inside. It was surely an appropriate choice—“First time I saw you smile/I could see you walking down the isle/With flowers in your hair and your mama standin’ there/Someday you’ll be my wife/Be the one to share my life/Gonna have us a child/We’ll be happy all the while.” Shane had Ed join him on lap steel for “Front Porch Serenade” and then on piano for “Moore Hotel.”

Ed and Shane

Ed on lap steel

Shane introduced “Feels Like the End” by talking about how we have to push back against the darkness in the world. During his trip north, he’d been in a traffic jam in New York City and when he stopped for gas afterwards, realized he was in Newtown, Connecticut. It was surreal. He said he felt fortunate to play music for people as his contribution towards bringing a little light to the darkness.

“I Will Die Alone” will show up on an upcoming album. Shane and singer-songwriter pal, Jessie Payo, wrote it together at his house. I saw Jessie open for Eric Hutchison back in October. Shane asked if anyone in the audience had a request, and people were certainly fans who had particular songs in mind. A gentleman next to me asked to hear “Stargazer” and Shane told us it was based on the surfer film, Blue Crush. I’ll go ahead and admit that I own that movie and that my best friend Margaret and I think it’s really layered.

Shane told us a little about growing up in a small town in western Pennsylvania, and said he knew it was time to leave after high school. He goes back to play there regularly, and his nostalgic “Skyway Drive-In” seems to be a favorite of his hometown crowd. Shane said it’s his favorite of his songs, and it’s certainly my favorite of the Shane Alexander songs I’ve heard. Shane kindly gave me a copy of Ladera after his show and I’ve listened to “Skyway Drive-In” easily dozens of times. It’s lyrically heavy—“Ache in my chest when I saw you in your dress/We had small town in our bloodstreams/Wild horses in our hearts/It hurts like hell when first love falls apart.” Definitely have a listen.

Shane played “Coffee Kiss” for another audience member. He wrote it on the balcony of his hotel room on a family trip to Maui and it had been a long time since he’d played it. He thanked us sincerely for coming to the show and left the stage. He gave a shout out to Lucky Clark for the interview he wrote up for the Kennebec Journal. Shane came right out to his merch table to meet and greet fans. I decided to say hello and he gave me a copy of Ladera for the road. It’s a great listen from start to finish. “Skyway Drive-In” is by far my favorite song, but I also really like “Raincloud of Knowable Things.” Thanks, Shane, for coming to tiny Gardiner, Maine! Thanks to Ed DesJardins for bringing him to town to play for us!

xo,

bree

Friday, April 26, 2013

The Strand Theatre, Rockland, Maine

My teacher friend and neighbor Andrea asked me to join her for Kris Allen’s show at The Strand. I knew that he’d been on American Idol and had covered a couple songs that I like—“Falling Slowly” and “Heartless.” Google just informed me that Kris Allen won American Idol that season. He was up against Adam Lambert in the end. I’ve heard of him, too. I hadn’t seen Andrea in ages, so I agreed to join her for a little Girls Night. We left Gardiner pretty early in the afternoon for Rockland and had a delicious dinner at Sunfire Mexican Grill. We made it to The Strand right as doors opened, and there was already quite a line to get inside. We snagged a spot near the front and did some people watching. The crowd was an interesting range of ages, and wasn’t the predominantly teenage girl crowd I’d expected.

The Strand Theatre

There was no opening act, so Kris Allen and his drummer, pianist, and guitarist took the stage right at 7:30. I didn’t know Kris’ music, but I’d searched him on YouTube earlier in the day and found out “Live Like We’re Dying” was his song. I’d heard it last summer. That’s when I realized that he was less a soulful singer songwriter type and more a teeny bopper.

Kris has a lovely voice. He tried to engage the audience all night. He said they’d been in town a lot of the day and enjoyed it a lot. They’d even walked the long way out to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and he joked it was a lot farther away then he’d expected. Here’s proof he made it:

From Kris Allen’s Facebook page

Kris was accompanied by a guitarist, pianist, and cajon box drummer on stage. I liked the cajon because it’s percussive without being overpowering. He did a cover of George Michael’s “Faith” that he mashed up with “We are Young” and “Some Nights” by fun. He sang George Jones’ “She Thinks I Still Care” as a tribute to the great musician who’d died earlier Friday.

Kris Allen

I liked “Leave You Alone.” I think it had more depth lyrically than his other songs. Kris played ukele on a couple of songs. He played “Unique” for the people who end up with the person you were supposed to be with. Kris sampled “No Woman, No Cry” in one of his songs—hearing a “everything’s gonna be alright” refrain on a Friday night is always welcome. He introduced all of his band mates and they each took a long solo. I appreciated that he highlighted them. They played Kris’ hit (are there more hits, and I just don’t know them?) “Live Like We’re Dying” before leaving the stage.

The guys came back out for a few more songs. The second was another mash up of songs he’d covered on Idol—“Falling Slowly” (I was wearing my Glen Hansard t-shirt—he’s the guy who wrote that song that you may not have heard of!), “Heartless,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Someone at our show recorded it. Kris can really sing. His songs were simple (as in, mentions of rainbows and such) and lacked substance. Maybe he’ll outgrow his Idol past and write some songs with a bit more soul in the future. Or, maybe that kind of music sells well and it’s just where he wants to be. I don’t judge.

Thanks for a fun Girls Night, Andrea! A drive, dinner, and show are always a great way to start the weekend! Also, there was an ADORABLE little girl in the front who was beside herself with joy. It was sweet to watch!

xo,

bree

I met Bob two years ago at an Iron & Wine show at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine. He was concerting alone (my specialty), and my then pregnant friend Kristin and I went together.  I said something to him about his velvet jacket. He told me it was corduroy, actually, and I complimented him on the fine wale. We’ve been music buddies ever since. We chatted in between the acts that night, and he invited me to take his extra ticket to see Adele with The Civil Wars a few weeks later. Of course I went, and the rest is history. Happy anniversary, Bob! You are an amazing music buddy! I always look forward to his texts about upcoming shows, albums, and late night music appearances. And these messages come at odd hours because he works with dead people. Totally normal, right!?
xo,

bree

Happy Anniversary, Bob!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Mayo Street Arts, Portland, Maine

It’s too late to pretend that I’m impartial when it comes to Max Garcia Conover. He’s a great friend in real life and ardent supporter of this bloggity blog. Max hasn’t been playing guitar, singing, or writing songs for all that long, but he’s already built a fan base of people who appreciate his finger picked, intricate songs. Max is easily one of the most humble people I know and has absolutely no ego as far as his musical talent. I love that he’s earning well-deserved success and is still the same guy I’ve known for years. I don’t expect that will ever change.

Max’s new (and first) full-length album, Burrow, is lovely. I think it’s best appreciated by listening the whole way through. There’s great flow from start to finish. I love the instrumental opening that “Teem” offers, and “Evergreen Cemetery,” (which Max assured us is not about the duck that followed him on a long walk through it one day), “Burrow,” and “The Wedding Line” stick out as other favorites. I love hearing Sophie Nelson’s sweet voice on “New Beast,” too. Max told us that the whole album’s basically about the importance of inspiration.

Burrow by Max Garcia Conover

Check out Sam Pfeifle’s review of Burrow in The Portland Phoenix, a write up in his hometown paper, a shout out in The Deli National, and listen to Max’s interview on Greetings from Area Code 207 (starting around minute 17). Here’s my post about Max’s first EP release show, another about his show with Morris and the East Coast, and a last one about his show with JAW GEMS.

I was really excited for Max’s CD release show at Mayo Street Arts. It’s a great venue for a MGC show because it’s so tiny and intimate. Every seat was filled and people also stood along the back wall when Max took the stage. Satronen Sound recorded the show, and Max wasn’t amplified. You could hear a pin drop. It was so quiet that I didn’t want to take too many pictures with my awesome new DSLR camera (thanks, Dad!) because the shutter was louder than the sound of the people in the room. I think that’s a pretty good sign that we were captivated.

Max Garcia Conover

I’ll include a picture of Max’s set list for the evening. People who were at the show will perhaps (okay, surely) be surprised to find out that Max’s banter topics were pre-planned and written down on his set list. Max’s banter is hilarious, because it clearly makes him uncomfortable to talk about himself and his songs and his stories meander a bit. He gave whatbreesees.com a couple of nice shout outs at the show, which I appreciated.

Max’s setlist

I liked Max’s new song, “So Be Hardened,” a lot. Max plays with the talented and percussive Samuel James from time to time, and “So Be Hardened” was Max’s attempt at writing a waltz (per James’ suggestion). After the intermission, Max opened with one of my favorites, “As Much a Rising Sun as a Setting One” and had us sing along with him. He taught us our part for his cover of “Wonderful Life” by The Felice Brothers and said we’d do it later so we’d have time to let the words percolate. He joked that we should sing it joyfully and also heartbrokenly. He taught it to us with hand motions, too. Max is a teacher by trade, and it showed.

Max teaching us “Wonderful Life” with hand gestures

Max gave a shout out to his awesome mom who was at the show and had ironed his shirt for him. He said he was going to play her a song because she likes it, but that there’s another song she really likes that he wasn’t going to play. Soon after that he told us it was time to talk about the rest of our night. He said it’s always hard for him to play a show and have all of that adrenaline left over because everyone goes home afterwards and leaves him all alone. So we were instructed that we’d all walk out together and straight over to The Big Easy to see him open for The Pete Kilpatrick Band. A lot of us actually went.

Max stepped off stage and walked to the small clearing in the back of the room to close the night with “Wonderful Life” with our help. It was great to sing together. We demanded an encore and Max took the stage to play “The Wide” for us. That song is amazing. Max’s hand percussion and tempo changes make it really outstanding. We gave him a standing ovation and he basically made time to hug a few people as he rushed out of the building to get to The Big Easy because he was already running late for his slot.

Max leading us in “Wonderful Life” from the back of the room

Thank you for coming!

I stayed to help clean up and then made it over to The Big Easy just as Max started his set. A lot of people from the Mayo Street show had gathered to enjoy another Max mini-set. Even though it’s also a bar, I think people were polite and listened pretty attentively. Max told a story about how he’d opened for Jim Avett (The Avett Brothers’ dad) at a festival in New York and covered “Murder In the City” for us.

Max at The Big Easy

I was impressed by Portland’s Doubting Gravity. They were filling in for another band at the last minute and were great live. Their lead singer, Andi Fawcett, can sing all day long. She has a Melissa Etheridge/Janis Joplin voice with a lot of control and power. We all liked her and their rockin’ music—a stark contrast from Max, but also great.

Doubting Gravity

The Pete Kilpatrick Band took the stage last. They’re a Portland favorite and the room started to fill up just as soon as they started their set. Here’s my post about the last Pete Kilpatrick Band show I saw. Pete told us about their recent show with John Popper of Blues Traveler and how they pranked their drummer on April Fools Day by listing his number on Craigslist and saying he was selling a house on 10 acres in West Falmouth for $100,000. His phone rang off the hook all day. PKB is always fun to see live. They know how to have a good time and their success is steadily growing.

Pete Kilpatrick Band

What a great night!

xo,

bree

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Empire Dine and Dance, Portland, Maine

I saw Milo Greene open for The Civil Wars in November of 2011 and was very, very impressed. They have no lead singer, but a drummer (Curtis Marrero) and four other musicians (Robbie Arnett, Graham Fink, Andrew Heringer, and Marlana Sheetz) who all sing beautifully and pass instruments constantly back and forth. Their harmonies were spot on, and I loved their songs. I bought their three song EP for five dollars and listened to it on repeat for much of my three hour drive home to Maine. I got to see them again in Boston about a year later at Brighton Music Hall. I got to the venue super early and was literally the only person in line until Maddie joined me. Hi, Maddie! We’re still in touch almost six months later. She’s a Milo Greene mega fan. She went to a summer camp in California where Andrew Heringer was a staff member. He came outside for an interview while we were waiting and she said hello to him. It precipitated a twenty-minute conversation in which I learned how down to Earth and kind he is.

My Gardiner lady friends Andrea and Kate and I spent the day in Portland supporting the local economy and had a leisurely dinner at Local Sprouts and then a pre-show margarita at Taco Escobarr. We were sure to get to Empire Dine and Dance early to get a good spot for the show. We made our way upstairs and I spotted Andrew coming our way to get to the merch table. I decided to say hi and told him we’d met back in Boston. He said, “yeah, your friend was at our gig last night in Boston.” Good memory!  He stopped and talked to us for twenty or so minutes. I’d seen on Facebook that they were looking for Vermont skiing suggestions and my friend Kate is a Vermonster, so they chatted at length about all the things the band could do on their day off. At some point, Kate even had Andrew’s iPhone in her hands using Google maps to show him some points of interest. It was hilarious. Anyhow, thanks, Andrew, for taking the time to be nice to your fans. It’s appreciated.

We wrapped our conversation because Brookyln’s Savoir Adore took the stage. They were dressed in all white and were mesmerizing. Andrea, Kate, and I took to them immediately. There was even synchronized dancing. What? Yes. It was awesome. I particularly liked “Loveliest Creature” and another song (sorry, I didn’t catch the title) about “teardrops in your eyes.” They had a lot of stage presence and personality and I liked their harmonies. I’d see them again in a heartbeat. Check out Savoir Adore’s full set from Brooklyn Bowl.

Savoir Adore

Synchronized dancing!

Savoir Adore and Milo Greene both took the stage to switch gear between sets. Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” was playing over the PA and we all noticed that members of both bands were singing along and doing a little dancing. It was adorable. Andrea, Kate, and I solidified our spot front row center and waited a few more minutes for Milo Greene to start. Here’s their set list from the night:

• “Take A Step”
• “Cutty Love”
• “Silent Way”
• “Wooden Antlers”
• “Don’t You Give Up On Me”
• Wilco’s “Shot In the Arm”
• “Son My Son,” which is my favorite song on MG’s debut self-titled album. I love the line “just remember the weight of your world’s only resting on me.”
• “Staging Point,” which is the only one of MG’s original songs they played that is not yet recorded.
• “Polaroid”
• “Perfectly Aligned”
• Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago”—a very well done cover!
• “Autumn Tree,” which is the first song MG wrote together as kind of a songwriter’s group, which really spurred them to start a band.

ENCORE

• “What’s the Matter,” which is Marlana’s favorite song on the album.
• “1957,” which is in rotation on 98.9 WCLZ.

Setlist

There’s no denying Milo Greene’s talent. Their songs are lovely and layered. They can all sing (well, I don’t know if Curtis the drummer can) beautifully, and they function onstage as a cohesive and comfortable unit. Their harmonies are breathtaking. I am ready for even more Milo Greene music. Their shows tend to be relatively short because even though they play a couple of covers and everything from Milo Greene, that’s only about an hour of music. They don’t banter a ton, either, so it does leave audience members wishing for more time with them. Is there new music on the way, Milo Greene? With their relatively quick rise to stardom and near constant touring, I am not sure they’ve had the time to write much new stuff.

Andrew and Marlana

Graham

Curtis is back there on drums

Andrew and Robbie

Check out their short film, Moddison, which was released in October and is a series of music videos for every song on their debut self-titled album. I’ve read in Milo Greene interviews online that they are all passionate about film scoring and sometimes call their music cinematic pop. Their music would surely play well as a soundtrack.

Love this shot of Marlana

Some magical things happened before, during, and after the show. En route, we passed by a gentleman who told me “I have a video of me killing people.” That was quite a moment. Before the show, we got to chat with Andrew and he was lovely. During the show, the woman next to me was beside herself with joy. She’d first heard Milo Greene while on the treadmill at the gym and was really moved by the music. It was hilarious. After the show, Empire turned on Madonna’s greatest hits and a bunch of guys hit the dance floor in rare form. It was a thing of beauty.

Thanks for the kind words, Graham! Oh–there I am in the front row!

Milo Greene—come back to Maine someday? I learned from Marlana’s video blog that Empire Dine and Dance has a subpar green room, but I promise there are better ones in Portland! Thanks for a great night!

xo,

bree