whatbreesees

July 28, 2012

Parked in a field somewhere in Newport, Rhode Island

*What a fantastic day at Newport Folk Festival! Traffic was crazy, so I missed Apache Relay and only caught two songs from Spirit Family Reunion. I took in a bit of Deer Tick, and then I found second row seats at First Aid Kit and they were AMAZING! I met Rebecca, whose partner, we quickly figured out, is Chris from Boston Through My Eyes—A Boston Music Blog. She and I bonded and were able to move to the front row for Blind Pilot (such fun) and stayed put for City & Colour who played solo and made my heart melt. I would have liked to meet up with some friends for My Morning Jacket, but it was starting to thunder, so I took off for my car. It started to drizzle and now it’s POURING. I’ve made it to my car, but traffic is INSANE, so no one is moving anytime soon. I’m so jazzed from the music, I thought I’d use this time to write!*

Blogging from the driver’s seat. I wasn’t moving. Promise.

I don’t often do this, but I really want to encourage people to go see Portland, Oregon’s Run on Sentence Wednesday, August 1 at The Oak + The Ax in Biddeford. Tickets are a mere $8. I saw 35 concerts in 2010 and ROS was easily in the top three of the shows I saw. I liked ROS so much, in fact, that I went to see them again the following night at a different venue. I think Dustin’s songwriting is beautiful and layered—truly interesting and unique.

Dustin’s Kickstarter video

I supported Dustin’s Kickstarter.com drive to make some money to keep playing out and record some, too, by joining his “CSM”—“Community Supported Music” efforts. I get a song every month from him in my email inbox. You never know what you’ll get, and I love the variety. Anyhow, I’ll be there with bells on. ROS is only here once or twice a year, so you should really, really come out. I mean it!

Check out a video from in.session recorded at SXSW of my favorite ROS song, “I Am the Blood.”

xo,

bree

Thursday, May 17, 2012

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

*You might remember me as the girl who used to write a live music blog. I am so behind that instead of just doing one post at a time (the smart thing to do), I just let them pile up and got overwhelmed at the idea of writing anything. Sorry about that. Here’s post one of seven that I’ve meant to write over the last couple of months. It’s just in time, too, because I’m about to head to the Newport Folk Festival in a few hours. Next week, I’ll see Run on Sentence, Yeasayer, Mumford & Sons, Dawes, and Ben Sollee. So if I don’t start writing now, it is only going to get worse!*

I saw Jeffrey Foucault and Mark Erelli at One Longfellow Square in December of 2011. They shared the stage the whole time and went back and forth singing each other’s songs. What I remember about the night was that I wanted to see Jeffrey solo. He has something special for sure.

I’d had a busy day that day—shopping for gifts for my senior class officers, an impromptu dinner at Scarlet Begonias in Brunswick with great friends, and I even ran into one of my former students who is off to law school in California in the fall. I got to One Longfellow about half a song late, but just in time to find one of my colleagues, Grace, and her sister, Nina, sitting in the front row.

Brookyln’s Andy Friedman opened the night and reminded me so much of Johnny Cash. He wore a button up shirt, vest, boots, and had slicked hair. He strummed slowly and played a lot of songs off his album Laserbeams and Dreams. Jeffrey came out and played a couple of songs with Andy. Andy put out an intense vibe that was offset by his jokes in between songs. I especially liked his last song, “Going Home.” 

Jeffrey Foucault and Andy Friedman

Jeffrey Foucault is originally from Wisconsin and now calls Western Massachusetts home. His bio on his website shows he’s had a really interesting and unique life. Those experiences have certainly given him a lot of fodder for his songs. JF is a singer-songwriter—folky, a little country, delightful. Do not miss the chance to see him live. Also, the man could be a model. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s modeled professionally at some point. Not that it matters, but it means I will always want to sit that much closer to the stage at his shows. He also dresses to impress—in vintage boots, a suit jacket, and cowboy hat.

I like everything that comes out of Jeffrey’s mouth—he is a poet and his music is evocative. I especially liked “Tea and Tobacco,” after which JF invited singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty to the stage. He said he’d taken her to sushi for dinner, so she really had no choice but to sing for us. Caitlin was in Portland from Vermont working on a new record and her voice is beautiful. Being introduced to her was a real treat that night. Check out her song “Thorn.” Here’s a newer video of “Thorn” that’s really lovely, too. She sang a couple of songs with JF, including the haunting “Heart to the Husk,” that includes the heavy lyrics “Please burn my letters/Let them writhe/The love and the lack/Let the blue meet the black/Let my words become fire.” Caitlin’s voice added just the right touch. Fun fact: Andy Friedman, Jeffrey Foucault, and Caitlin Canty all have a song called “Idaho.” JF’s “Idaho” is on his newest album, Horse Latitudes, which is fantastic.

Jeffrey Foucault and Caitlin Canty

Jeffrey is a family man and talked about his 4-year-old daughter a couple of times. He said that one of his “favorite things” about having a super verbal kid is that she remembers everything he says and repeats it at the worst possible time. He also said they’d been singing together over breakfast in the morning. Super cute. JF is married to the uber talented singer-songwriter Kris Delmhorst. She is not to be missed.

Cold Satellite, JF’s seventh album (the one before Horse Latitudes), was written in collaboration with poet Lisa Olstein. He took fragments of her writing and unpublished pieces, and added words and music. He played a song that he said was about a guy who gets eaten by a bear. JF asked if anyone had any requests, and someone asked for “Cross of Flowers.” Here’s a video (it’s cut off at the end, but very funny) of JF and his wife Kris Delmhorst singing “Cross of Flowers.”

Jeffrey Foucault

JF closed the intimate night (there couldn’t have been more than 25 people in the audience) with “Everybody’s Famous” that he played for his buddy Steve who’d driven him the show, helped him set up, and had even helped him plant potatoes that morning, and closed with “Train to Jackson.” Even though we were a small crowd, we were appreciative, and JF obliged us with a beautiful unplugged encore—“Northbound 35”—with the help of Caitlin Canty.

I got to talk to Caitlin for a bit after the show and she was a delight. And Colin from anna & the diggs was running sound at OLS that night. There’s so many talented musicians in Portland—I guess you never know who you’ll run into. How lucky are we to have that going for us?!

xo,

bree

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

*Long time, no see!? I know! I think I needed a break, because I haven’t posted in a month. In that time, my baby sister graduated from high school, my seniors at Mt. Ararat graduated, I went whitewater rafting, saw Max Garcia Conover with JAW GEMS, saw Laura Marling, visited college friends in Boston, saw two sets of fireworks, had many lunch and dinner dates with old friends, enjoyed a few beach days, read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series, attended a Tweetup, babysat my favorite boxer, and prepared for my first summer job since I graduated from college teaching at Upward Bound at Bowdoin College. I’m teaching a “Community Engagement” class and a course in world religions, too. Wednesday was my first day, actually. Perhaps my least favorite thing that happened is that I accidentally (and apparently irreparably) deleted 12GB of photos and videos from my camera’s memory card—everything since early December 2011. I hadn’t uploaded any graduation pictures, June’s Max Garcia Conover/JAW GEMS show, or Laura Marling pictures yet, so those are gone. I’m pretty bummed. If you know someone who is a tech miracle worker, please shoot me an email, as I’d be thrilled to have some of those memories back.*

So, back to the music. I am trying to see fewer shows this year, and I only saw two in June. Let me catch you up on May first, though—

It often happens that I see a lot of shows all at once and then have a week or ten days with no shows to see at all. The Kathleen Edwards show was the last of three shows in four consecutive days. My dear friend and frequent concert buddy Michelle got me a ticket for this show as an early birthday present. We carpooled from Brunswick with Chris and Kay and had a delicious dinner at Taco Escobarr and were positioned in the front row center at Port City Music Hall when Hannah took the stage.

I started to wonder if Bon Iver (Justin Vernon) might show up during Kathleen’s set and sing a song or two with her. I think people know that they are an item and he co-produced her most recent album with her. I was simultaneously hoping he’d show and also terrified and overwhelmed with the thought of seeing him from five feet away and potentially passing out. Spoiler alert: Bon Iver did not take the stage, and I still haven’t been able to see him live. I got an email while writing this post, though, that Bon Iver will be playing the Bank of America Pavillion in September. My seat’s in the fourth row. Crisis averted.

Hannah and Ted

Hannah Georgas took the stage and I was immediately struck by her Bjork-y voice. Her sound was surely electronic: she and her band mate, Ted Gowans, both played electric guitars, keys, and used a drum kit and effects pedal. They’d had a couple of days off in Portland before the show and said it reminded them of Vancouver, their hometown. Hannah outed Ted about going to see The Lucky One at the movie theatre earlier in the day. He said he only had a two-hour window, so it was his only option. He may even have called seeing this film an “accident.” I figure any movie with a shirtless Zac Efron is probably worth watching—at least with a fast forward option. Let me go ahead and put that in my Netflix queue, actually, and Magic Mike, too. I also very much enjoyed Hot Tub Time Machine, which I saw with Michelle last week. Perhaps now you’re relieved I’m writing a music and not a movie blog.

I couldn’t understand the lyrics of the first few songs Hannah and Ted played—I think the mix was off a bit. I liked the third song they played—it was more of a ballad. Maybe it was called “Buried”? I liked them more with every song, but their electronic sound is really not my thing. I think this song, “Bang Bang You’re Dead” gives a good sense of their style. Hannah told us this show marked the end of a four-month tour with fellow Canadian Kathleen Edwards. They seemed to have a great relationship with the Kathleen Edwards team, and were sad the run was almost over. Ted played a really cool accordion-like instrument on “Shine,” and Jim Bryson from Kathleen’s band joined them on ukulele for “The Deep End.” I looked at some of Hannah’s videos on YouTube and they are much more stripped down than her live performance. I preferred these versions (no surprise, there!) of songs like “The Beat Stuff” and “The Deep End.” Here’s an interview with Hannah, too.

Kathleen Edwards

I hadn’t seen Kathleen Edwards in almost a decade. I saw her with Beth Orton, As Fast As, and Crash Test Dummies at the State Theatre in 2003. She took the stage and played three songs before talking to the crowd. Kathleen commands the stage and plays with intensity. She told us she’d seen a bottle of it at Whole Foods while shopping earlier, so decided to play “Pink Champagne,” a song she rarely plays out. They’d certainly had time to explore Portland, and Kathleen said she’d wanted to take the band out somewhere nice for Jim’s birthday, and decided on Flatbread because Fore St. was too expensive. They enjoyed a soak at Soakology first, too, which I imagine was adorable band bonding time.

Rocking out

Kathleen and her band rocked out and then did a few ballads. They were able to go back and forth seamlessly—it felt coherent and even. I especially loved “12 Bellevue.” She played a beautiful rendition of “Mercury,” definitely one of my favorite KE songs with just Jim accompanying her. Here’s a video of KE and Bon Iver performing “Mercury” together. I loved “House Full of Empty Rooms,” and appreciated that KE told us what it was about for her.  She talked about how she’d thought it was a major life accomplishment when she bought a home, but realized it’s “just a place where you try to make beautiful things happen.” I loved “Going to Hell” and “Soft Place to Land” too. This “Soft Place to Land” video shows you the full band we saw that night, including Hannah on backing vocals.

Charlie was a very special audience member trying to steal KE’s thunder. He called out lyrics from “Back to Me” to KE over and over again. I’m not sure he knew the title of the song, actually. She finally called out to him to come to the stage and told him the name of the song and said, “I know the words. I wrote it.” Then she had to kick Charlie off the stage while she played the song. I’m not sure what Charlie’s deal was, but he was so outrageous that it was nearly entertaining (it was obviously mostly annoying). Since KE spoke to him directly and called him to the stage, he was quite emboldened, and he snuck up onstage and tried to take Hannah’s mic from her during “Change the Sheets.” The sound engineer eventually had to cross the front of the stage to get Charlie off stage because there wasn’t a Port City Music Employee in sight to do it. “Change the Sheets” has quickly become one of my all-time favorite songs and I was kind of furious that Charlie interfered with it. KE wasn’t all that amused, either—she somewhat sarcastically gave Charlie a thumbs up for his impromptu performance and then told him to “get the F%$* off the stage.” I would decidedly not mess with Kathleen Edwards. Just saying.

Charlie and KE

I heard “Change the Sheets” yesterday on my way to beautiful Reid State Park in Georgetown (did I type some of this post while sitting ON the beach?), and think it’s so easy to relate to the song. “My love is a stockpile of broken wills/Like Santa Fe, margaritas and sleeping pills/I want to lie in the cracks of this lonely road/I can fill in the blanks every time you don’t phone/Here is the truth, I swear it used to be fun/Go ahead run, run, run, run/Change this feeling under my feet/Change the sheets and then change me.” It’s really a stunning song.

I quit violin in third grade. Big mistake. KE rocks.

KE and her rocking band came back for an encore and played “Six O’Clock News.” She said she doesn’t play it much these days and flubbed the lyrics a bit. She joked about how much she loved Whole Foods and said the band was going to do picklebacks (whiskey shots followed by pickle juice) for Howard’s birthday at midnight. Next, they covered Big Star’s “September Gurls.” KE saw a couple near the front and recognized them from a few nights back at her gig in Boston. She asked them what they wanted to hear. I thought that was a really classy move. They asked for “The Cheapest Key” and she readily obliged. She closed the night with Iris DeMent’s “Our Town.” Her voice and sincerity commanded our attention and you could have heard a pin drop at Port City. Even Charlie was not to be heard.

KE and the band thanked us for being good to them and took their leave. Thinking back to the show (wow—two months ago), I was totally caught off guard by how sassy and rocking KE and her band were. I love acoustic music (I know you know this already) and I prefer her earlier stuff, but I appreciate her evolution as a musician. Her newest album, Voyageur, is great. She has confidence and really puts on a show. Definitely catch her live.

xo,

bree

Well this is exciting! Max Garcia Conover and JAW GEMS are having a show next Wednesday, June 6, at One Longfellow Square in Portland. I’m a humongous MGC fan (which you all know), so he asked me to officially sponsor the event. You should really come! Max is decidedly folk and JAW GEMS is pretty experimental with pop and jazz influences. It will be a really cool, very diverse night of music. There’s a Bowdoin thread, too–I’m Bowdoin 2001, Max is Bowdoin 2009, and Hassan Muhammad from JAW GEMS is Bowdoin 2010. Colby kids are welcome, though–I promise. Tickets are affordable at $8 in advance. You can get them here, and I also have about eight more $8 tickets  currently in my possession (so let me know if you want one of mine!). Tickets will be $10 at the door. If you need more incentive, both groups were nominated for awards from The Portland Phoenix–MGC for Best New Act and JAW GEMS for Best Jazz Group. Don’t miss it! I’ll see you there next week!
xo,

bree

Monday, April 30, 2012

Slates, Hallowell, Maine

*Sorry for the delay on recapping this show that I saw two weeks ago. I was already pretty behind on blogging at that point because I went to Eastern Europe with 13 amazing seniors from Mt. Ararat during April vacation and came home to jet lag and then my birthday (which I was able to eke ten solid days of celebration out of). I threw a prom for 300 seniors two nights ago because I’m the senior class advisor this year, and I thought I’d catch up on blogging to wind down from my busy (and hugely successful) prom weekend.*

I’m basically always up for going to a show alone, especially at small venues. I generally like chatting with people sitting near me at places like One Longfellow Square or Frontier. I’ve seen lots of Maine Music posts on Facebook in the last few months about anna & the diggs. I liked the songs they’d posted, and I loved Anna’s voice. When I saw that they were doing a Monday night show at Slates in Hallowell (a mere five miles from my house), I was in.

Their Facebook page gives a little background about anna & the diggs—“comprised of members from the alt-country/americana troupe known as Gypsy Tailwind, is a Portland-based super group that is a perfect blend of deeply expressive and soulful rock, rhythm & blues. . . The band consists of Maxwell Cantlin (guitar/vocals), Colin Winsor (bass guitar), Chris Dow (drums), Benjamin Trout (mandolin) and Anna Lombard (lead vocals/guitar).”

I saw Gypsy Tailwind open for Guster a couple of years ago, but Anna had left the group by then and Amanda Gervasi was the lead vocalist. I think there’s probably a bit of a back story here, and not only because Dispatch magazine recently gave anna & the diggs a pretty negative album review. I suspect there’s a bit of a music “scene” in Portland with its own drama, and I don’t care to get involved. I’m not interested in judging music based on personality or history. What I heard two Monday nights ago was nothing short of impressive.

I grabbed a seat at Slates around 8pm. There was a modest crowd for a Monday night show. Anna & the diggs’ sound is very much R&B/soul. There was a lot of head bobbing in the room as the small, but appreciative audience listened intently. I was completely caught off guard by how powerful Anna’s voice is. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised because I’d heard a few of their tracks, but her breathy, clear voice is truly phenomenal. I see a show a week and have seen Adele, Brandi Carlile, and Joy Williams of The Civil Wars in the last year, and Anna’s voice is right up there with those powerhouses. I am not at all surprised that she’s nominated for Portland’s Best Female Vocalist in the Portland Phoenix’s “Best of 2012.” I will be surprised, though, if she doesn’t win.

anna & the diggs (minus Ben on mandolin)

I thought the songs were simple, but catchy. The power in the songs is definitely in Anna’s voice for me. Since they’re in the process of releasing their first EP, “River Girl,” I think they did a good job introducing us to their songs. They opened with “How Will I Know” and “I’m Waiting For You.” They “grooved it up” for us with “Here We Are” which transitioned right into “I Will Be Here.” They did a brand new song that they recorded at Slates, “We Were So Much Younger Then,” that Anna said was about being with someone for a long time and remembering when the love was new. It has the lyric “You know I’d give anything if we could meet back there.” It came off as bittersweet, but Anna assured us it was meant to be a “feel good song.”

Anna profusely complimented the band, and they sounded great. It’s clear they’ve been together a long time. They read each other well and had great interplay. They revamped one of Anna’s songs, “Nothing Of Us Left,” from her solo album. It seemed like a conversation between her and the guys. I got a great vibe from them, and they laughed a lot and seemed to really enjoy playing with each other. When they finished the song, Anna chuckled and let us know that they’d learned it in the parking lot before the show.

anna & the diggs

Anna said she loves Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi, and she and the guys did a great cover of Tedeschi Trucks Band’s “Midnight in Harlem.” I loved “All For You”—it was a decidedly pretty song (and more folky than jazzy, so more my thing) and Max’s voice sounded great during a refrain of “all for you.” It had a great line—“Your heart is my shield/Don’t leave me now.”

They joked that our show was a “T-Shirt Release Party” because they’d picked up new t-shirts just before the show. Their EP, “River Girl,” is out now (or very soon) at Bull Moose, and they are having an EP release show Saturday, June 2 at The Big Easy. They played “Lord Save the Day,” and I took note during that song how great they sounded that night. Seeing this group in a listening room is the way to go if, like me, you’re interested in lyrics. I could hear every word, and I loved getting to really appreciate anna & the diggs’ music for the first time in such an intimate setting.

Anna said she’d streamed Bonnie Raitt’s newest album, Slipstream, on NPR Music and wrote another brand new song—a Bonnie Raitt-inspired song that I loved called something like “Put It All On The Line.” They followed with a cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” They did “To Feel Alive” and rocked out on “Taste,” which reminded me (quite happily) of Grace Potter. Anna said she’d initially thought it was weird that no one was ignoring them because they’re used to playing at loud bars. We were also a particularly attentive crowd (and I’m always happy to be part of one). They wrapped up with “River Girl,” and I loved Max’s great guitar part. You can check out anna & the diggs’ songs “Are You Okay?,” “To Feel Alive,” and “River Girl” on their website.

The appreciative crowd and I asked for an encore, and anna & the diggs obliged with an awesome, funky version of “Mercedes Benz.” The rowdy front table across the room from me even helped out the band with a spoon introduction. It was a fabulous night of great music, incredible vocals, camaraderie, and I even got home at 10pm on a school night for a change. If you’re able to see anna & the diggs live, do. They put on a great show.

xo,

bree

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Frontier, Brunswick, Maine

*I wanted to be sure to get this post up today in honor of Max’s 25th birthday! Max, you’re one of the greatest guys I know. Happy Birthday!*

I think you all know by now that I’m one of Max Garcia Conover’s biggest fans. I’ve sort of written the book on Max and how awesome he is, so I’ll try to keep my comments about him brief. I even stayed home from the second annual Belfast Free Range Music Festival so I could catch Max’s show in Brunswick at Frontier—but it was also because I really wanted to see Morris and the East Coast live. I first learned about Morris and the East Coast through Max’s “Sunday Sessions.” He records a new song every weekend and fans can download it for free for the week. A couple of months ago, Max released “Hundred Mile House” by Chris Morris on “Sunday Sessions.” I love the song. I am drawn to Chris’ voice and his catchy and intelligent lyrics. Max and Chris met through a mutual friend, and Max recently went to Providence (the home base for Morris and the East Coast) for a show. The show at Frontier was Morris and the East Coast’s chance to come to Maine in return.

Max let me know that they were planning to do a bunch of mini-concerts throughout Brunswick to advertise for the show at Frontier later that night. He asked if I wanted to join them and do some singing. I loved the idea and was totally in. I met everyone at Wild Oats. Morris and the East Coast (MEC) has quite an entourage, and everyone I met was lovely. The band is Chris Morris on vocals and guitar (he’s a sixth grade English teacher in real life), James Rutter on guitar, Ryan Crowley on bass (who didn’t have an upright bass to play acoustically on the mini tour, but carried the sandwich board beautifully), and Dave Davignon on drums and vocals. We toured Brunswick, stopping next at Gulf of Maine Books, Big Top, Gelato Fiasco, and Bowdoin College. People were receptive and I saw people tapping their feet and even singing along. We amassed quite a crowd at Gelato Fiasco, and lots of little kiddos were excited for some live music with their gelato. The famous Ivies Weekend concert was happening at Bowdoin at the same time, so campus was eerily deserted. We recorded a song next to the Bowdoin Polar Bear, though, just to prove we were there.

Morris and the East Coast at Wild Oats

Morris and the East Coast at Gulf of Maine Books

Max Garcia Conover at Gulf of Maine Books

A little acoustic MEC to go with your sandwiches

Lots of little kiddos enjoyed the show at Gelato Fiasco

Everyone loves Gelato Fiasco. Photo by Sophie Nelson.

Wandering the streets of Brunswick. Photo by Sophie Nelson.

Hardworking musicians. Photo by Sophie Nelson.

Prepping for the Polar Bear Sessions. Cameo by Ryan!

A MGC preview for Frontier’s dinner-goers

We made our way to Frontier for a delicious dinner and sound check. The guys decided to do one more mini show for early diners at Frontier. They sounded great, and had a full house for their show at 8. MEC, much like Max, has a devoted fan base, and there was an enthusiastic crowd that came up from Rhode Island and Boston to support the guys, sing along, and dance rowdily. I’d heard the guys playing acoustically all day, so I was a little surprised that their sound got a lot more rockin’ when they were all plugged it. It was great to hear Ryan on bass, too. He adds great depth to the music. I liked every one of their songs, and they also did a beautiful cover of “Harvest Moon.” I think MEC was a little caught off guard with how quiet we were overall. The loyal Max following is used to really listening to his lyrics, and we extended the courtesy to MEC. Chris said they’ve gotten used to playing in bars, so having a show in a listening room was really different for them. MEC played almost a dozen songs, and I was sad because I could only take seven of them home with me on their fantastic album, Wolf City. I’ve listened to this album dozens of times since their show, and I like it more every time. A number of people remarked (since I sold merch) how funny it was that their album has white birches on it. If you know Max’s music, you’ll get why it’s perfect, actually.

Morris and the East Coast

I was going to tell you my favorite songs on Wolf City, but I’d be listing essentially all of them. I do particularly like “Four-Hundred Ninety-Five,” “Summer Sweat Blues,” and “Fortune and Fate.” MEC wrapped up their set with two great songs—“Telephone,” which they’d played all day and is super catchy, and ended with a really powerful song, “Fortune and Fate.” I love the lyrics—“I know that there’s a difference between my fortune and my fate. . . I don’t you owe you nothing/I don’t owe nothing to anyone. . . And I’ll still be able to sing/And I’ll still be able to sing/And I’ll still be able to sing/And I’ll still be able to sing/And I want to bite the bullet/But I hate the way it tastes/And I may not got no money, honey/But the money don’t got none of me.” There’s a swelling instrumental section and a final, almost desperate, but also powerful refrain of “But you would take my name/And give it up for money on the stage.” The crowd got involved and sung that part along with the band. I think it was the perfect way to end their set. I know they brought fans with them, but they earned a bunch more at the show. I hope they’ll be back in Maine again soon.

Here is my sincerest attempt to speak briefly of Max. I told him I’d essentially write a set list. Let’s see. Max took the stage and played two songs unplugged from the floor. He opened with one of my favorites, “In City Light,” and then did “The Marshes.” He played “The Wide,” which has quickly become one of my favorites because the guitar part is so interesting and fabulous. Max pulled out an electric guitar and played “Hide,” “Evergreen Cemetery,” and “Burn.” I was surprised to see Max on an electric, and he confessed it was the third time he’d ever played it. He said that group of songs was about the process of making art and he mentioned that one of his role models who’d inspired him to write songs had put out some really bad albums lately, but also that art roots us in the world we live in. He asked Chris from MEC to come up to adjust the amp because he didn’t know how. It was precious.

Max Garcia Conover playing for a packed house at Frontier

Max playing an electric guitar?

Max, Chris, and Dave

Max played “Thatch House” and “For Blackwater Woods,” and then joked about how he’d plugged “The Creek Woman Poet” into software that analyzes songs to determine their market value, and that one had zero market potential. Sammie Francis joined him for “As Much a Rising Sun as a Setting One,” and literally tap-danced while waiting for Max to get his guitar in tune. Our friend Chris Bartlett also took the mic at some point to deliver a knock-knock joke while Max tuned. We’re those kinds of helpful friends, I guess? Max covered Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” which he’d played a lot that day during the traveling tour. He asked Chris and Dave from MEC to join him onstage to sing it, too. He closed his set with “Spiral Through the Wheat,” which I love because of its brashness on the “I won’t ever be done!” parts of the song. We asked for an encore, and Max obliged with “Barn,” which slowed us down and probably gave Frontier the only chance they were going to get to start to get rid of such an enthusiastic audience. We hung out for a while after the show, MEC fans and MGC fans intermingled. I think they’re a great pairing, and I know we’re all excited to see them share the stage again.

xo,

bree

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine

*I’m still behind on blogging about shows. This show happened right before I took 13 amazing seniors from Mt. Ararat High School to Berlin, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest during April vacation. I came back and was jet lagged for about a week. Then I celebrated my birthday week and was too busy to write. I read that Christian Wargo (from Poor Moon and Fleet Foxes) and I have the same birthday. I hope it was great, Christian!*

Some shows are just magical, and this was definitely one of them. I am not a spontaneous person—a creature of habit and advance planner by nature, I am actually really surprised I ended up at this show at all. I was perusing my Facebook news feed on a Monday afternoon and saw a brilliant post by SPACE Gallery. It reminded us how Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket, Bon Iver, Of Montreal, and Josh Ritter (just to name a few amazing acts) played at SPACE before moving on to play much bigger venues. They suggested that upcoming shows (such as Lost In The Trees) would be our “last chance to see these bands up close and intimate before they move on to bigger venues.” I already liked Lost In The Trees, so decided to take SPACE’s advice and go to the show.

Wise words from SPACE

I love Fleet Foxes, and was excited to learn that Seattle’s Poor Moon (the show opener) is a side project of two of its members. Sophie, Max, and I met for a quick slice at Otto’s and Sophie and I meandered over to SPACE with plenty of time to mingle and grab a drink before Poor Moon took the stage. I met a guy at the bar who I complimented on his fabulous Mad Bomber-esque hat. It turns out that he is the bass player for Poor Moon. We got to chat with Jonas for quite a while, actually, and he was super sweet. He spent most of the Lost In The Trees set with us, too, and when we left for the night, it felt like we’d spent the evening amongst friends.

Poor Moon was great. Their music is ethereal—the pace, their harmonies, the sound mix—it was all spot on. I enjoyed the sound effects, mandolin, industrial-sized shaker, xylophone, tambourine, and keys that gave them such a full sound. It was their first time in Maine, and they were friendly with the audience and thanked us for coming early to listen. I think my favorite song of the night was “Come Home,” which you can listen to in this video recorded at SXSW. The first two songs in the video are “Phantom Light” and “Clouds Below.”

Seattle’s Poor Moon

Poor Moon is quite a talented ensemble. Christian Wargo (Fleet Foxes’ bassist), Casey Wescott (Fleet Foxes’ keys/mandolin player), and brothers Ian and Peter Murray (The Christmas Cards) are joined by Jonas Haskins on bass, Jason Merculief on percussion, and audio wizard Jared Hankins. If you’re interested in a little background about how they came together, check out this interview with Christian. Their first EP, Illusion, is out now and you can listen to it here. If you can see them play out, do.

I’m a sucker for music with a string section (I will forever love Metallica’s S&M album), so Lost In The Trees already had a leg up on finding a spot in my heart. They played violin, cello, drums, guitar, keys, bass, tambourine, accordion, French horn, tuba, glockenspiel, and even some instruments I couldn’t identify. Their sound is rich and haunting (especially with Emma’s harmonies), and the lyrics are heavy. Their music was compelling and beautiful.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Lost In The Trees (LIIT) is led by Ari Picker, and he’s joined by Drew Anagnost, Leah Gibson, Mark Daumen, Emma Nadeau, Jenavieve Varga, and Yan Westerlund. Their first album, All Alone in an Empty House, was picked up and has been featured prominently on NPR Music. NPR appropriately dubbed LIIT “orchestral folk.” Check out their 2010 Tiny Desk Concert to get a taste of that album. NPR is a big fan of LIIT, and they even filmed Lost In The Trees’ show the night after we saw them at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. It is essentially the same show we saw, and you should really, really check it out.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Lost In The Trees

Anti-Records has a bio of Lost In The Trees on their website, and calls A Church That Fits Our Needs “a work of vaulting ambition, a cathedral built on loss and transformation. In the summer of 2009 Ari Picker – writer, composer, and architect of the band – lost his mother, an artist in her own right, when she took her own life. Picker was in the midst of releasing his band’s debut album, All Alone in an Empty House, a collection of folk-inflected songs that surprised with its orchestral arrangements, to an acclaim usually reserved for seasoned veterans.” I think I’m glad I learned about the tragic backdrop of this album after the show. I definitely felt that the music was heavy, but I didn’t know it was so autobiographical. I wonder how it must feel for Ari to get up and perform these songs each night. I hope it’s healing for him. Check out this interview with Ari about his mom and how A Church That Fits Our Needs creates space to process his loss. The first song on the album is “Red.” It contains the beautiful lyrics “A beautiful garden blooms/My dearest one/Your love carried me through today/I’ll give you the moon/Dearest one/Your love carried me through today.”

LIIT had never played in Maine before, and they bantered a little with us and made us feel welcome and appreciated. Ari said they’d played the night before in Burlington and that they were going to play a slow song and asked us not to “let Burlington out-dance” us. He lamented that they “should have brought a disco ball,” and like clockwork, SPACE’s disco ball started spinning and was lit up while they played a beautiful slow song. We were all mesmerized by the song and the lights. It was a lovely moment. They rocked out during their last song, but hopped off stage and came to the center of the room to play one more—“All Alone in an Empty House”—for us acoustically. Here’s a video of that song from my favorite west coast radio station, KEXP. It was an intimate, special ending to a beautiful night of storytelling and music. Lost In The Trees, please, please come back to Maine soon.

xo,

bree

I’m a big fan of voting. My parents started taking me into polling booths with them when I was an infant. I’ve never not voted in an election–even in off-year elections. I remember voting absentee from my hut in northern Namibia when I studied abroad there in 1999–and it was just for Bangor City Council. I even had the opportunity to be an international election observer in Namibia’s 1999 presidential elections–the second-ever free elections there post-apartheid.

19 year-old me

So, we have the chance to vote for our favorite Portland-area music thanks to The Portland Phoenix. I think you should vote for whoever you like, but I do have some favorites! You can vote once a day until May 18th. Vote here: http://contests.thephoenix.com/bmp/portland/2012/vote/new-act

My dear friend Max Garcia Conover is up for Best New Act! Good luck, Max! Check out all things Max related here. I’ve been voting once a day for him.

It’s natural to have favorites

xo,

bree

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Frontier, Brunswick, Maine

I’m always up for a Pete Kilpatrick Band show. Pete’s a local Midcoast Mainer—a guy you see out and about in town. You’d never know that he’s kind of famous—playing with his band at the Sundance Film Festival (among many others), having music featured on TV shows, and touring with major acts all over the country. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that PKB was invited to perform at President Obama’s recent visit to Maine. No big deal.

I took my dear friend and regular concert buddy Michelle to the show as a belated birthday treat. We settled into seats in the front row (it’s where I like to be whenever possible) and were introduced to former-Pete Kilpatrick Band member and show opener, Hutch Heelan. I liked Hutch immediately—he has a strong, clear voice and writes simple, straightforward songs. Hutch had showmanship—he bantered with the audience about his caffeine levels, and told us that being asked to open for PKB (which he was a longtime member of) “made his heart sing.” I thought Hutch’s music was interesting—the chords he played had an optimistic tone, even though some of the song lyrics were about making difficult choices and dealing with the consequences.

Hutch Heelan

He introduced his song “The Apology” by apologizing for heavy it is. A lady in the audience shouted out, “you’re apologizing for the apology?” It was cute. He switched to a fabulous old guitar that he joked (?) he’d pulled out of a dumpster on the ride to Topsham for the show to play “My Own Skin.” “My Own Skin” is one of my favorite songs on Hutch’s CD, Mercury Rising—along with two more pretty stripped-down songs on the album (I love acoustic music most, after all) “What Will Be” and “Bright Like Fires.”

I thought it was really smart that Hutch gave away free copies of his CD and stickers. It’s a smart way to build a fan base. I chatted with him after his set and he’s super approachable and friendly. If you want to know more about Hutch and his CD Mercury Rising, check out Hutch’s interview with Charlie Gaylord on Greetings from Area Code 207.

The Pete Kilpatrick Band gathered after a quick break, ready to introduce us to their newest album, (of their six albums in eight years as a group) Heavy Fire. I think Pete has great stage presence—he always looks genuinely happy to be on stage, and he introduces every song by giving the title (at the very least) and then ending each song with a vaguely Elvis-like “thank you very much.” The band had released its newest CD in Portland the weekend before, and Pete started the show by saying as much and then lightheartedly telling us that their opening song “is not a song from that album.” They opened with “The World In a Fishtank,” and went right into one of my favorites—“Who Do We Think We Are.”

Pete Kilpatrick Band (minus Tyler)

I was happy to see that the majority of the guys in the band were wearing flannel. I try to promise Michelle there will be cute musicians wearing flannel whenever possible to entice her to join me for shows. Everyone sounded solid—Pete on guitar and vocals, Ed Dickhaut on drums, Tyler Stanley on keys (who makes the BEST faces when he plays), Pete Morse on guitar, and Matt Cosby on bass. The band has a good rapport—they tour A LOT together and seem at ease around one another. They played in New York City the night before and went on a “band field trip” to the Natural History Museum where they immediately got separated and of course didn’t have cell reception to fix the problem. These are the little stories that make a band fun to see and make it worth paying some money to hear their music played live.

PKB (minus Matt)--I was too close to catch them all at once

They played back-to-back songs from their new album—“Martha” and “Burning Star.” Pete said that Heavy Fire is a concept album about a guy from Brunswick, Maine who goes off to fight in the Civil War. I was happy to hear that background—I love a little context and I love that Pete and the band are so literate and that their music is influenced by literature and history.

Pete asked if the sound was okay, and told us a story about how they were playing at the Sundance Film Festival when Paul Simon walked by—they can only hope they sounded good. I can’t imagine how exciting that moment must have been. I don’t suppose you can just holler out to legends and see if they want to sit in for a song? Knowing me, I would ask.

They covered “Harvest Moon” (I actually just heard another band cover that two nights ago, too) and invited everyone to come up to the front and dance during “Working On Your Heart.” They finagled a great Beverly Hills Cop intro to that song, which was a hilarious beginning to an old PKB song I really like.

Matt on bass joked he couldn’t see Tyler through Pete and kept waving at him. Pete joked they could just text each other if the separation was too much. Tyler’s keys sounded great and were featured in “Two Armies,” which was definitely one of my favorite songs of the night.

They played one of my very favorite old PKB songs, “Yesterday Love,” that includes a mash up with “Lovesong” by The Cure. Two more songs from their great new album (check out a review from the Portland Press Herald here) followed—“American Dream,” which Pete said was inspired by a red glass heart sun catcher in his kitchen that drives their dog crazy, and “Drifting in Color,” which Pete said they’d never played in front of an audience before, and to throw stuff if it sounded like a bad Duran Duran song.

The guys opened for Barenaked Ladies the week before (are you sensing how busy they are??) and were bombarded on stage with thousands of marshmallows—surely a good sign from a BNL crowd. I’m always happy to hear upbeat “Coming Home,” which won a national fan-based-voting contest. Pete forgot the lyrics and a guy in the front helped him out. He also squeezed parts of “Up On Cripple Creek,” “Love In An Elevator,” and “Ramlin Man” into the song—it’s amazing what you can do with three and four-chord songs.

Pete wrapped up the night by jokingly letting us know they’d play two more songs and then do a three-hour Led Zeppelin set (don’t be disappointed when I tell you that they didn’t actually get the led out). They played “Heavy Fire”—about dealing with stuff you don’t want to and being better for it and finished the night with “Trespasser.” Pete told us that “Trespasser” was based on Maine author Paul Doiron’s book by the same name. He asked if any of us had read it. Nope. He told us there would be an assignment on the book due at their next show. I may not have my homework done by then, Pete, but I’ll definitely see you next time!

xo,

bree

Friday, April 6, 2012

Mad Dog Pub, Gardiner, Maine

**I’m back from a long hiatus! I had SUCH a great time in Eastern Europe with 13 wonderful seniors from Mt. Ararat. We went to Berlin, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest–and had a total blast. I’m back, and have been trying to catch up on sleep and blogging. More to come soon. Just in time for lots more upcoming shows!**

Maybe this is true for people who are not teachers, too, but I struggle with Fridays. I think I could fall asleep for the night even before Dr. Phil comes on. I made it home Friday after school and think I promptly fell asleep. I woke up just in time for a Designing Women marathon on the Preview Channel (you can judge me, but that show is awesome). I perused my Facebook news feed and saw that Anna Pillsbury was playing .25 miles away from my house at my favorite Gardiner pub, Mad Dog.

My friend Leonard (who also designed my What Bree Sees logo—thanks, Leonard!) had emailed me about seeing Anna at Lion’s Pride in Brunswick, and I’d missed her show at Slates in Hallowell. I decided to brush my teeth and head down even though I’d missed the first set. I got to Mad Dog during Anna’s break and got to chat with her—she is super nice and very tall. Turns out, her mom Susan is a regular at Mad Dog’s open mic night that I’ve gone to a number of times on Tuesday nights. Anna has moved home to Maine to pursue music full time, and I wanted to give her a little shout out.

Anna’s music isn’t for everyone because she sings simple, quirky songs about love and loss, but she is very sweet and creative and you should check her out. She is working on writing original material (using the many instruments she plays–including ukelele), but filled in her set with covers of KT Tunstall, Indigo Girls, and Jason Mraz (to name a few). I checked out her YouTube channel, and she has posted hilarious videos of both her own songs and covers of popular songs by Coldplay, Karmin, Train, and other well-known artists. Two of her YouTube videos have gotten over 20,000 hits! Impressive!

I was thoroughly entertained by her song “The Rose,” which is about the show The Bachelor (a former guilty pleasure of mine). It goes, “I saw you standing outside the limo door
/And I knew what my life was for/
I’ve seen your face someplace
/You’re the man of my dreams

/You gave me a hug
/Said you were excited to meet me
/I fell in love and knew that you were my destiny.”

Anna Pillsbury

I thought seeing Anna was entertaining. She bantered a lot with the small, but attentive crowd. She is very funny and shared a lot of stories about the inspirations for her songs. Some of her songs are kind of racy, but in a comical way. I particularly liked her introduction to one of her songs–she told us she’d written it about trying to date someone who said he was polyamorous. It didn’t go well in the end.

It seems like Anna’s best-known original song is “Kiss Me On A Chair,” certainly inspired by her 6’1” stature. It goes, “And I don’t care how awkward it’ll be
/That I’m 6’1″ and you’re maybe 5’3″

/You can kiss me on a chair
/You can kiss me in the stairwell
/I can get down on my knees
/You can kiss me from a tree.” Check Anna out on Facebook. I like that her music is creative, autobiographical, and diverse. She definitely puts on an entertaining and eccentric show.

xo,

bree