Tag Archives: One Longfellow Square

April 10, 2016 · 9:45 PM

Ellis Paul and Friends with Betty Soo

Friday, January 1, 2016

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

When I went to this show—my 45^th Ellis Paul show—I knew my two-year-long relationship was essentially over (I respect that this is minor in the scheme of the universe), and I was feeling all the feelings. I also hadn’t really shared this information yet, so I was trying to hold it all together. I’m someone who doesn’t have a lot of interest in major holidays, but I’ve always loved the clean slate that comes with a new year, and I really wanted to make this night—the first of 2016—as happy as I could muster. I am so grateful for dear friends and the comfort of music. If ever there was someone I’d want to see perform while tending a broken heart, it’s Ellis Paul. His songs are vignettes—stories from many people’s lives—full of love and loss and change. Seeing an Ellis show, for me, is like being home wherever I am, despite whatever is going on. This was a well-timed night for this very uplifting show. I left feeling much better than I did when I arrived. That’s pretty high praise.

I had a lovely dinner at Empire with my friend Megan and her parents. She’d gifted them dinner and their first-ever Ellis Paul show for Christmas, and I got to tag along with them for the night. Colin, my steadfast concert friend, joined us and we filled in the middle of the second and third rows at One Longfellow Square. It was already pretty full when we got there fifteen minutes after the doors opened, so we were lucky to get such good seats at cozy OLS.

Austin, Texas’ Betty Soo opened the show. She was personable and seemed glad to be with us. She told us some of the gross band names she’d seen written on the walls downstairs in the green room (I’ll spare you). I particularly liked the song she wrote for her husband (who is her roadie and merch guy, too), “Whisper My Name.” Betty is a celebrated songwriter and was even named Kerrville New Folk Winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival.

Betty Soo

I was so glad to see Don Conoscenti and Radoslav Lorkovic take the stage with Ellis Paul. From that moment forward, I soaked in the familiar songs, the friendly banter, and the opportunities to sing along (when invited). It was the best I’d heard Ellis sound in a while. Laurie MacAllister from Red Molly joined the gang for about 1/3 of the songs, including a heart wrenching cover of “To Make You Feel My Love” and a cover of Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” which Massachusetts-based folk singer-songwriter Lori McKenna co-wrote and won a Best Country Song Grammy Award for. Colin kept track of the night’s set list, which is helpful now that I’m finally emerging from hibernation and writing this four months later. I was grateful to hear some of my favorite “older” Ellis songs like “3,000 Miles” and “Martyr’s Lounge,” peppered with great covers by the whole gang (Don sounded awesome on “What a Fool Believes”), and Ellis reading his book The Night the Lights Went Out on Christmas. This show gave me exactly the escape I needed and helped me feel at least a little glad to see 2016, after all.

xo,

bree

Don Conoscenti and Ellis Paul

Ellis and Radoslav Lorkovic

Rad

The Nights the Lights Went Out on Christmas

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January 4, 2016 · 10:27 AM

Jeffrey Foucault with Caitlin Canty

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

I first caught Jeffrey Foucault sharing songs with Mark Erelli at One Longfellow Square back in December of 2011 and I was smitten. There’s something incredibly unassuming about him, so when he opened his mouth and these captivating, heartfelt, honest lyrics poured beautifully out of him, I was caught a little off guard. He is fantastic live—a true storyteller. He came back to OLS in May of 2012, and I grabbed a front row spot to soak in the show. At some point in the night he introduced his friend and fellow musician, Vermont’s Caitlin Canty. She was in Portland working on a new record, and he’d taken her out for dinner before the show. He said she owed him a song, and “invited” her to the stage to sing with him. She is the real deal, and I was really impressed with her gritty, yet airy voice. What I didn’t know at the time was that I’d witnessed (and documented) their first performance together. Now, a few years later, they’ve toured extensively together. I feel lucky to have witnessed them at the very beginning of their musical relationship. I also had the pleasure of chatting with Caitlin after that show back in 2012, and she has become a friend-in-music who I look forward to seeing whenever she’s in town.

My steadfast concert buddy Colin and I grabbed front row spots at One Longfellow Square to enjoy the show up close (obviously). We met Nicole, who was solo and sitting next to us in the front row. She was lovely—it’s always great to meet great folks at shows. Nicole lives in Madrid and runs a travel company, but was staying in Portland for a month and had picked this show to check out. I made her a list of musicians I thought she should know about, and as if on cue, my dear friend and talented Portland-based musician, Max Garcia Conover, sat down with us to enjoy the show. He was obviously on the list I’d made for Nicole.

Caitlin Canty took the stage, and was joined by Jeffrey Foucault, Billy Conway, and Jeremy Moses Curtis for the whole of her seven-song set. Their energy as a band is fantastic—these folks are definitely friends and their chemistry is apparent. I especially enjoyed “Southern Man,” “Get Up,” and Caitlin’s stunning cover of Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend.” Caitlin’s second full-length album, Reckless Skyline (produced by Jeffrey Foucault), is getting some of the attention it deserves, especially by NPR, who introduced “Get Up” as one of the “Songs We Love” early in 2015.

From left to right: Jeffrey Foucault, Caitlin Canty, and Billy Conway

From left to right: Jeffrey Foucault, Caitlin Canty, Billy Conway, and Jeremy Moses Curtis

Jeffrey Foucault and the band (now including Caitlin) took the stage (again) after a quick break to play Jeffrey’s songs. They were also joined at some point by guitarist Mark Spencer. They played a bunch of tunes from Jeffrey’s October 2015 release, Salt As Wolves, which was apparently recorded in just three days in rural Minnesota. I especially enjoyed “Slow Talker” and “Heart to the Husk” in the beginning of their set. Jeffrey and Caitlin unplugged and stepped to the edge of the stage to play her song “Leaping Out” and a cover of “Drown in My Own Tears” together. They both had big smiles on their faces while they played and the positive energy was contagious.

Jeffrey and Caitlin unplugged

The band wrapped up their set with the melancholy, lovely “Paradise” and then brought it up with “Left This Town.” We roared with applause and the band treated us to an encore—one of my (new) favorite Jeffrey Foucault songs, “Hurricane Lamp.” I listened to Jeffrey’s interview with David Greene on NPR’s Morning Edition, and he talked about thinking about a friend having a hard time fighting cancer when he wrote the song.

You should definitely see Jeffrey Foucault and Caitlin Canty live if they come to town. Check out their Daytrotter session if you need a little extra urging. Thanks so much for a great night!

xo,

bree

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April 8, 2015 · 3:09 PM

Damien Rice with My bubba

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Orpheum Theatre, Boston

I’m tempted to write just this:

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

I SAW DAMIEN RICE FROM THE FIFTH ROW LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!

But you know me, and I’m long winded. I’ll try to keep it brief though, but only to spare you the sadness you might feel since you weren’t there, or that I feel because it’s over now.

I’d never been to the Orpheum before. If you don’t look too closely, it’s quite pretty.

My awesome concert friend Bob (who is always looking out for me concert-wise) and I got tickets over the weekend for last night’s sold out Damien Rice show at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston. When he and I met almost four years ago, he asked me what my best concert experience to date was, and I told him without hesitating what I’ve told anyone who has ever asked me that question—it was Damien Rice with The Frames (featuring the insanely gifted Glen Hansard) at State Theatre in Portland back in April of 2004. Damien was touring to support his beautiful 2002 album O, and I was in the front row for the show with no barricade leaning right up against the stage. Lisa Hannigan joined him that night along with a cellist and an additional instrumentalist or two. It was inspired. I was speechless after the show.

I haven’t seen Damien Rice live in eleven years, but last night’s live show more than met my lofty expectations and fully reminded me of the magic of that night all those many years ago. Damien is an unassuming character on stage. He chatted with us genuinely (none of that “HEY BOSTON!!” crap) about some of the songs and life in general. His voice is crystal clear and powerful. He holds notes forever and can evoke emotion without even singing a single word. I think he oohed and aahed for the last many minutes of the last song of the night, “Cold Water,” but the cries meant something anyhow. The hair on the back of my neck was at a standstill for the bulk of the night. If anything, I’d occasionally get distracted by how uncomfortable I was in the ancient seat (albeit a fifth row one, so not a complaint) at the dilapidated Orpheum and would shift and get back to focusing on the show.

My bubba. Courtesy of Chris Van Slyke of bostonthroughmyeyes.com

This gives a good sense of how far from the stage our seats were. So close!

Damien Rice. Courtesy of Chris Van Slyke of bostonthroughmyeyes.com

Courtesy of Chris Van Slyke of bostonthroughmyeyes.com

I’m enjoying Damien’s newest album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, and it seemed that last night’s crowd was full of fans who alsoknew his entire catalogue by heart. I just considered telling you about the standout songs, but the list would basically be a set list of the whole show. I was so impressed with how much passion and just sheer noise one man could produce up there. What a night. My friend Chris at bostonthroughmyeyes.com wrote a bit about the show which includes the set list and lovely photos he took, as well. I knew I’d likely send you his way for a full report and so pretty much turned off the music journalist in my head and just got caught up being a lucky member of last night’s incredibly fortunate audience.

Damien Rice—you have got “it” and “it” to spare. Thank you for the gift of your music and for a truly beautiful show last night. This is essentially my version of speechless.

xo,

bree

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January 28, 2015 · 8:32 PM

Hey Rosetta!

Saturday, January 24, 2015

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

I was very excited for this night of back-to-back shows! I was sad when I first saw that Newfoundland’s elusive Hey Rosetta! was coming back to Portland on the 24^th, because I already had plans to see UK’s London Grammar that night. Imagine my delight when I found out that Hey Rosetta! was playing early because One Longfellow Square was hosting a second show there later that night. I could go to both! Serendipity!

I’d seen Hey Rosetta! just a few months earlier for the first time ever opening for Stars at Port City Music Hall. I’ve been a fan for years, and they sounded as good live as I’d hoped. I drove to Portland in a bit of a snowstorm and snagged what I thought was a miraculous parking spot between the two venues and hurried to get a good seat at One Longfellow. I learned when I got to OLS that my great parking spot was probably available because a parking ban was going into effect in a few hours and I’d have to move before the London Grammar show. My concert friend Colin surprised me by coming to the show based on my recommendation on a rare Saturday night off for him. He told me later that it was the best money he’d spent so far in 2015.

Hey Rosetta! took the stage filled to the brim with people,equipment, instruments, and cords. They are seven mostly multi-instrumentalists, and only six of them fit on the actual stage amongst all three keyboards, six guitars, two bass guitars, a cello, French horn, trumpet, fiddle, a drum kit, glockenspiel, and all variety of other percussive tools. They opened with “Soft Offering (For The Oft Suffering)” and completely won over the audience in short time with their powerful, layered sound. It’s also the opening track off their newest album, Second Sight, which just released in the US this week and you can stream here. Hey Rosetta’s last album, Seeds, came out in 2011, so this album is much anticipated.

Hey Rosetta!

Tim Baker’s lead vocals are strong and clear. He can really sing, and he knows just where to project and with how much power to make the point. I could listen to him for hours and not tire of it. If there’s any one thing I wish Hey Rosetta! would do differently, it would be to interact more with the audience. Tim chatted a tiny bit to thank us for coming to the show, but I’d love to hear more about the band and about their songs sometime directly from them (Google searching is only so satisfying).

Since they really did have to get off stage with time to clear off their insane amount of gear so another band could set up for a show, Hey Rosetta! didn’t have time to dally. They invited us to get up and dance together to “Red Heart,” and it was then that I noticed how many great folks were in the crowd. People were really friendly, so I suspect a lot of them were Canadian. They really didn’t have time to leave the stage and wait for us to clap and come back for an encore, so Tim just introduced their last song “Bandages” as being about the long Newfoundland winter and being ready for spring. After Juno and the amount of snow shoveling I’ve done the last two days, I’m ready for spring now, too! Come back anytime, Hey Rosetta! You guys are such a pleasure to see live!

xo,

bree

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January 27, 2015 · 1:10 AM

Mipso with Dan Mills

Friday, January 16, 2015

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

This show was one of those rare gems—it was such a treat to see both of these bands live!

I’d seen Dan Mills play at Bowdoin College in the fall of 2009—my dear friend Megan worked in student activities then and organized a “Shameless Plugs” concert (I found a video) of musicians with ties to Bowdoin. Dan is outgoing Bowdoin College President Barry Mills’ nephew. I joined Megan for the show and was impressed. I’d stayed on his mailing list all of these years, and was excited when he let us know he’d finally be back in Maine for this show at One Longfellow Square.

The One Longfellow Square board member who welcomed us introduced Dan Mills as Dan Hill. Dan smiled and came to the stage, played a sweet song and then said “it’s totally no big deal, but I figured I should tell you early on that I’m actually Dan Mills.” He handled it graciously and showed no ego—a big plus. Newly engaged Dan played a song about asking a girl’s father for her hand. It was a funny juxtaposition with the chatty girl sitting behind me who was texting with boys she was meeting on Tinder during the show (we moved during intermission). Dan appreciated the overall very attentive audience and said it was like playing in his living room. He told us they usually tour as a five-piece band, but it was just Dan, Adam Podd on upright bass, and Mark Goodell on guitar. I particularly liked “The Good Son” and singing along to “Lonely When You’re Gone.” I think Dan’s voice has a James Taylor thing going on. He’s great.

Adam Podd, Dan Mills, and Mark Goodell

I’d never heard of North Carolina’s Mipso, and am SO very glad that I happened to be front and center to see them live. I’ve haven’t been seeing many new-to-me bands lately, and so this fresh, charming, talented group was such a pleasant surprise. From left to right across the stage, Mipso is Jacob Sharp on mandolin, Wood Robinson on upright bass, Joseph Terrell on lead vocal and guitar, and Libby Rodenbough on fiddle. Their website aptly says “the renegade traditionalists of Mipso are doing their part to take three-part harmony and Appalachian influences into new territory.” I liked them immediately. Their songs are meaningful and it was so refreshing to be able to hear every single lyric sung by Joseph with his crystal clear, bright voice. The harmonies and vocals added by Jacob, Wood, and Libby throughout the night made rounded out their lovely, airy sound. I’m going to go on a little bit more because I do that when I’m excited about a band, but if you need to stop reading now just know that this band is one of the best I’ve seen in a while.

Mipso is Jacob Sharp, Wood Robinson, Joseph Terrell, and Libby Rodenbough

Mipso told us it was their first time in Maine and they’ve played 160 (!) shows in the last year, including touring Japan (check out this documentary)! The band met at UNC Chapel Hill and Jacob, Wood, and Joseph toured for a year after graduating together while Libby finished her senior year. They joked they’d never had someone open the show for them that was such a show stealer (a nice compliment for Dan Mills and his band). Everyone was genuine and engaging on stage and I found myself completely drawn in. Jacob showed off his flashy “Bluegrass” belt buckle and said (joked?) he’d bought it for a friend for Christmas, but that for some reason they weren’t in touch anymore. When they introduced “Red Eye to Raleigh,” Libby chimed in to tell us “Raleigh is in North Carolina—just for context.”

Joseph told us about growing up playing guitar with his grandmother and sang “When I’m Gone” for her. I found this blog post with an entire article about the inspiration for just this one song. I love context! Joseph won first place in the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest in 2014 for “Angelina Jane Is Long Gone.” No wonder he won, right? The band told us how much they’d enjoyed their time in Portland—being hosted by The Ghost of Paul Revere, meeting talented violin and guitar makers, enjoying local beer and ramen, and having dinner with Joe Walsh (one of Jacob’s idols). It sounded like a great visit to Portland, and the show was packed with people who obviously knew Mipso personally (friends from North Carolina going to medical school in Maine) and a handful of fans who even knew all of the words to their songs. I’m not sure why I’m so late to the Mipso phenomenon, but I’m on board now.

Mipso unplugged

I loved Libby’s rich lead vocals on “Down in the Water,” and the guys harmonized particularly beautifully on that tune. They tried out a couple of new songs (and a new verb—“guinea pigging”) on us, including one they’d never played anywhere before that I really liked called “50 Bucks.” Another of my favorites of the night was “This Lonely Town” which included the very pretty lyric “When the seasons change/I hope I never stay the same.” I started to be sad about halfway through Mipso’s set when I realized that they’d eventually have to stop playing, and when Mipso said goodnight, I was bummed. Luckily, they played a last song completely unplugged—a New Grass Revival cover—as a lovely sendoff. Mipso–hurry back to Maine! Friends–check this band out!

xo,

bree

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January 23, 2015 · 2:01 PM

Max Garcia Conover with Ben Cosgrove

Sunday, January 4, 2014

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

We’re so happy that Max, Sophie, and Arlo the poodle are home from their cross-country fall tour! Our friends Ken, Tasha, and Sammie organized a surprise welcome home party for Max and Sophie before his show later that evening at One Longfellow Square. Ken asked us if we’d be willing to play a song or read something either written by Max or Sophie or inspired by them. It was wonderful to get to catch up with the gang and welcome Max and Sophie back in such a creative way. I was so impressed with friends who learned and reimagined Max’s complex songs and Ellery producer Ben Cosgrove blew us away with an impromptu performance (read: he forgot to prepare and it was still insanely good) of “Evelyn O.” on piano

A welcome home serenade!

Bartlett and Ben learned a Max song. No easy feat!

Ben Cosgrove. You are too good.

Party organizer Ken Templeton played a Max song, too!

Max played us a song while Sophie lovingly looked on

We ventured over to One Longfellow early to grab spots for the show. Ben Cosgrove is a musical prodigy. His piano pieces are layered and interesting. As someone who really loves lyrics (which he doesn’t write), Ben keeps me engaged by talking about the inspiration for each of his songs. He’s regularly inspired by place, he said, and some of the songs he played were “Montreal Song,” “Palo Alto”, and “Abilene”—which is about a cross-Kansas drive and the disorienting feeling of not understanding your place in the expanse. We saw Ben on the second night of his national tour, and he’s ended up in the Pacific Northwest where he’s doing a musical residency for a couple of months. Someone booed when he said he’d be gone a while, and he smiled and said “it’s okay, Mom.” It was a cute moment made better by the fact that Ben’s mom really was in the audience.

The insanely talented Ben Cosgrove

Max Garcia Conover took the stage after an intermission and told us that playing a show with Ben Cosgrove is the best and also the most harrowing thing possible. Max told us a few stories about his national tour, including a night where he played a “world music night” in Venice Beach (the Garcia in his name must have done it) so he played a song about his Puerto Rican grandfather for good measure. The centerpiece of the tour was the 1986 Toyota Motorhome that Max and Sophie bought for $2,500 to travel America in. It finally gave out in a Wal-Mart parking lot on Thanksgiving and they had to cancel parts of the tour. Max and Sophie decided they really wanted stuffing, so they waiting in the Black Friday line at Wal-Mart to get Stove Top stuffing. Max said it was a low point of the tour. Sophie wrote about this particular adventure on her blog. They eventually made it home to upstate NY where Max learned Bob Dylan’s “I Was Young When I Left Home.”

Max Garcia Conover

Sammie Francis-Taylor performed her own interpretation of Max’s “I Won’t Mess You Up” on piano at the welcome home party and Max said it was awesome and the first time he’d ever heard someone play one of his songs. He invited Ben Cosgrove to the stage and they played the rest of the night together. He played “Home,” which is about where he grew up in Ellery, New York. My favorite song on Ellery is “Wildfires Outside Laramie, Wyoming” and Max was nervous about playing the song there on tour. He told us a story about the day he played Laramie (where they liked the song, by the way) and how he had the strange experience of observing a college kid having an existential crisis starting with perusing women’s purses in a used clothing store and ending in the bar where Max played his gig later that night drunk on gin and tonics with chili cheese fries all over his face.

Ben and Max

Max introduced “The Start of Fables” with an actually quite funny fable he wrote (finally) about bears and the bear baiting referendum question during Maine’s last election. I won’t ruin it for you since maybe he’ll tell it again. We sang along happily during the audience participation part, too. Max wrapped his set with an unplugged tune on the floor and then asked Ben to play a last song. I liked “Nashua River,” but also wanted to hear one more from Max. We stomped for an encore and Max took the stage to play a final song. Ben joined him and Max said he’d play a Strand of Oaks song called “Leave Ruin” and joked that he wouldn’t even tell Ben what key the song was in and even though Ben didn’t even know the song he’d still play it better than him.

Unplugged from the floor

Max told us how grateful he was to be home and to play for us. He told us it can be exhausting to play for new people every night and it felt so good to be back home with the people he loves. He said, “you need your people.” We’re your people, Max. Welcome home!

xo,

bree

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January 23, 2015 · 8:22 AM

Join me for back-to-back shows Saturday night!

I’m PUMPED for tomorrow night! I’m going to two shows I know are going to be amazing in the same night! Friends will be at both shows, too. Are you coming to either? Both?

I’m catching Newfoundland and Labrador’s Hey Rosetta! at One Longfellow Square in Portland at 6:30. Doors are at 6. I just saw them for the first time in November opening for Stars. They are as good live as I’d hoped they’d be. Check out their Audiotree session by clicking below:

Hey Rosetta! on Audiotree

I am kind of beside myself that I get to see Britain’s London Grammar for the first time Saturday night at 9 at The State Theatre. Doors are at 8. I’ve been obsessed with them since their KEXP session (click below) at the end of 2013. I’m so looking forward to seeing them in person. Until The Ribbon Breaks opens the show. If you can’t join me, I’ll let you know how the shows were sometime next week!

London Grammar on KEXP

xo,

bree

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January 15, 2015 · 10:55 AM

Ellis Paul with Radoslav Lorkovic and Chris Trapper

Saturday, December 27, 2014

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

I was so happy to end my concert year with a girls’ night out in Portland and my 43^rd Ellis Paul show! Megan, Sarah, and I had a delicious dinner at Mi Sen on Congress Street (the custard with coconut sticky rice is DELIGHTFUL) and hurried back over to One Longfellow Square to grab good seats and see if anyone had canceled since the show was sold out and Megan accidentally didn’t have a ticket. She eventually did make it in, and my concert friend Colin joined us as well. The show was so crowded that OLS removed half of the stage to accommodate a couple extra rows of seating.

I hadn’t seen Chris Trapper since 2011 when he opened for Colin Hay at The Strand in Rockland. I was a big fan of his band The Push Stars when I was in college, and I was excited when I learned he was opening the show. I was happy to hear “Keg on My Coffin,” which included a pretty solid audience participation part to start the show. Chris told us that his song “This Time” was nominated for a Grammy as part of the August Rush soundtrack and he also got to hang out with Jonathan Rhys Meyers who sang it in the film (which impresses all of his female friends). He also admitted to writing the theme song for a much-hated show called Sox Appeal in which a guy was set up on three two-inning blind dates at Fenway Park during a Red Sox game. I’ll admit to watching a few episodes. Chris also told us about his album of original Christmas songs including “Black and Blue Christmas.” He said he’d been a professional songwriter for about 14 years and that Ellis Paul had been a great mentor throughout that time. He talked about having written so many songs about falling in love, but that staying in love is the much harder part, so he wrote a song about working to stay in love called “Love You Still.”

Chris Trapper

Ellis Paul and pianist extraordinaire Radoslav Lorkovic took the stage after intermission. Their show at One Longfellow Square very near the end of the year has become a tradition I’m grateful for since I went to Club Passim for their New Year’s Eve show every year for eight years before my friends in the area moved away and couldn’t join me there anymore for NYE. I’m so happy they bring the warm up show for the New Year’s show to me in Portland every year!

Ellis and Radoslav opened the show with three of Ellis’ best-known songs—“The World Ain’t Slowin’ Down,” “3,000 Miles,” and “Maria’s Beautiful Mess.” Ellis asked us to sing with him on all three. Rad hilariously accompanied Ellis on piano while he read his poem “The Night the Lights Went Out on Christmas.” Ellis told us that people have started to show him their rose tattoos because of his song “Rose Tattoo.” He joked that the song is just a love song and not a call to action. Oops! Kidding.

Radoslav Lorkovic and Ellis Paul

“The Night the Lights Went Out on Christmas”

Ellis has talked at length at the last few of his shows I’ve attended about the loss of music you can hold in your hand. He laments the loss of the chance to admire album artwork and read the liner notes while listening to an album for the first time. In the age of digital music, we’ve lost that part of our musical heritage. This epiphany happened for him after driving a rental car that didn’t even have a CD player. When he arrived home, he immediately went out and bought his daughters a record player to give them the musical experience he grew up with. His newest album, Chasing Beauty, is now available on vinyl.

Ellis designed the album art for Chasing Beauty

Vinyl!

Megan and I were in stiches at one point during the show because Ellis’ family was scattered throughout the crowd and heckled him during the show. He joked that “they have Tourette’s and talk all the time.” He remembered the amazing Pete Seeger who died in January of 2014 and played “If I Had a Hammer” in his honor. Ellis turned 50 yesterday and hosted a house concert on concert window to celebrate. Happy 50^th, Ellis! He told us (with help) that “I Feel Fine” was on the top of the chart the week he was born in 1965.

I was happy to hear “Mary, Mary” live—it’s got to be my favorite Christmas song. Ellis made a beautiful video using sand art for “Mary, Mary” that you should really check out. He’s an artist in many senses of the word. Ellis and Rad unplugged and joined us in the crowd and wrapped their set with “Love is a Curious Thing.” We stomped for an encore and Chris Trapper joined Rad and Ellis on stage to play “Waiting on a Break,” which Ellis said is inspired by the “godfather of Boston music,” Dennis Brennan.

Unplugged in the crowd

Rad, Ellis, and Chris sing one more for us

I’m always so happy to start or end (or both) my concert year with you, Ellis! Cheers to health, happiness, and good music for all in 2015!

xo,

bree

The set list. Thanks, Colin!

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Tagged as August Rush, Chasing Beauty, Chris Trapper, Dennis Brennan, Ellis Paul, New Year's Eve, One Longfellow Square, Portland Maine, Radoslav Lorkovic, Sox Appeal

October 14, 2014 · 11:44 AM

Darlingside and Jacob Augustine

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Empire, Portland, Maine

This was only my third Darlingside show? That doesn’t seem possible, because they hold a pretty big spot in my musical heart. I first saw them in September of 2012 at One Longfellow Square only because they invited me and I was completely flabbergasted. I declared it one of my top five shows of 2012—which means something since I saw 45 shows that year. They came to play OLS again last fall with the lovely and talented Caitlin Canty, who is a regular collaborator of theirs, and the effervescent Rusty Belle. I’ve mostly adjusted to teacher hours and the show didn’t start until after 9:30PM, so I was excited for the show, but afraid I’d fall asleep in the car on the drive home. I texted my concert buddy Colin, who promised me he’d meet me at the show, so I mustered up the energy for a late night and an hour and a half of driving to see them. Totally worth it. I love seeing shows with Colin because he appreciates music like I do, but also because he keeps track of set lists (which means I don’t have to). It’s kind of like seeing shows just for fun again!

Darlingside’s set list–courtesy of Colin

Darlingside took the stage about 9:45PM. As I glanced around the room, I saw most of The Ghost of Paul Revere, some guys from Tricky Britches, and Eric, who manages The Ballroom Thieves in the crowd. I feel like that turnout tells you this show was worth going to, eh?

Darlingside is a “string rock quartet.” Don, Dave, Auyon, and Harris went to Williams together, and their harmonies are flawless. As they played “God of Loss” and “My Love” to warm up, you could have heard a pin drop. In a bar. Late on a Saturday night. They’re impressive and they draw you in to listen. “My Love” is one of my favorites—a bit of self reflection about the effort one makes in a relationship—“My half-assed best was all I had for your love/my maybe-tomorrows for your heart-to-hearts/my punch-drunk house calls for your candles and wine/my brother, my banjo, my never-done-wrong/all you wanted was me by your side/I tend to get what I want/and do as I please/but you taught me I can’t always get away with everything I thought I could/and for that I thank you, my love.” Their cover of Smashing Pumpkin’s “1979” was energizing and a hit with the crowd.

From left to right, Darlingside is Don Mitchell,
David Senft, Auyon Mukharji, and Harris Paseltiner

Dave promised to try very hard not to hit Auyon with his instruments.

Darlingside’s harmonies on “The Woods” were particularly standout. I was glad to hear “The Catbird Seat.” It’s pretty, but sad—“By you I swore/By the light or the way you wore it/Now instead I swear I’m over it.” “Blow the House Down” was a crowd favorite. They ended their set with “Good Man,” and the crowd cheered loudly enough for an encore. I was really happy to hear “Sweet and Low” live. I also would have liked to hear “Terrible Things,” but alas. Check out the video, though. It’s excellent.

Darlingside will join The Ghost of Paul Revere and The Ballroom Thieves (two more of my favorite bands) for Hollerfest 2 at The Strand Theatre in Rockland on Saturday, November 22. They’ll be joined by the Maine Youth Rock Orchestra. I will definitely be there!

Mike, of my former students who is all grown up now, works downstairs at Empire and joined us for a bit. Mike was impressed with Jacob Augustine’s beard, and I told him to get ready to be surprised by Jacob’s sweet falsetto voice. He was. I’d just seen Jacob a few weeks either at Ghostland Music Festival, but he hasn’t played out much and it was a treat to get to see him again so soon. I’d never seen Jacob Augustine with a full band, and the fullness of sound amplified the message of his songs beautifully. Jacob’s band for the night included Asher Platts on upright/bass, Peter McLaughlin on percussion, and my friend McKay Belk rocking the steel guitar. “Halfway to Harlem” was a favorite. They played the long versions of each song, and since I could see their set list from my front row spot, I knew I wouldn’t make it to the end of the night and sadly excused myself for the haul home. I listened to this version of “Peace Comes” in the car en route, though. Sad to miss the rest, Jacob, but so glad to see you twice in short time!

xo,

bree

Jacob Augustine

Jacob with McKay Belk on steel guitar

Jacob with Peter McLaughlin on percussion

Asher Platts on upright bass

What’s that called, Peter?

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Tagged as Asher Platts, Auyon Mukharji, Caitlin Canty, Darlingside, David Senft, Don Mitchell, Empire, Harris Paseltiner, Hollerfest, Jacob Augustine, Maine, McKay Belk, One Longfellow Square, Peter McLaughlin, Portland, Rusty Belle, Strand Theatre, The Ballroom Thieves, The Ghost of Paul Revere, Tricky Britches

July 30, 2014 · 5:19 PM

Max Garcia Conover

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

This was one of those perfect summer days. I had a glorious day at camp on Highland Lake with my dear friend Eric who I only see a couple of times a year because he’s the principal of a charter elementary school in Newark, New Jersey and doesn’t make it home to Maine nearly enough. He’s one of those great friends that you can pick right up where you left off with, which is a true gift. He packed up to head off to the airport and I made my way over to LFK to meet friends for drinks and dinner before Max’s show. I was thrilled to run into former student and truly talented singer-songwriter Genevieve Beaudoin as she walked by with Kate on their way to see Ryan Adams (who I heard was fantastic). Our crew eventually made our way over to One Longfellow Square to see our dear friend Max Garcia Conover as part of OLS’s Live and Local series.

A perfect day at Highland Lake!

We’d already taken baby Mira to her first concert (Josh Ritter at L.L. Bean), but this was her first time seeing Uncle Max live (she’d heard him in utero). That sweet baby has already seen two concerts in her first eight weeks on earth! Check out the sweet picture of her and Ellie. Mira was engrossed during Max’s set. Excellent taste, Mira!

Ellie and Mira

Max Garcia Conover

Max is increasingly more comfortable interacting with the crowd when he’s on stage. He told us that he’s been busking a lot this summer and he wears a hat pulled down over his brow and plays long instrumental pieces while people mostly walk right by. Recently, he felt someone stop to listen, so he changed up the song to make the piece more interesting. When he finished the song, he looked up and the person he thought he was playing for was actually a post. He thanked us for being an actual human audience.

Max is heading out in September with his wife Sophie and their dog Arlo in their tiny RV on a cross-country tour to support his upcoming album, Ellery. He told us that the songs he played for us that night was an effort to sort of put them to bed in anticipation of the new album. He played “The Wedding Line” (one of my favorites from Burrow) for his sister Kiah. I’d never heard Max play “Teem” (the opening song on Burrow) live. It’s a lovely instrumental piece that requires special tuning and is quite complicated to play. Max introduced the song by saying that his fabulous producer for Ellery, Ben Cosgrove, is so insanely talented that when he came to play a song-swapping show with Max, he played “Teem” from memory (after just listening to it on the car ride up from Boston)—and Max said Ben played it way better, too. Max is humble, which is something to love about him, but he plays a mean guitar. His fingerpicking is genuinely impressive.

Max unplugged

Max will have his Ellery CD release show at Mayo Street Arts on Friday, September 12 before heading out on tour. Max unplugged and came down into the crowd to wrap his set with “As Much a Rising Sun as a Setting One,” which is one of my favorites so I hope he’s not really planning to retire it. We sang along and it was a great end to a lovely evening. Max’s set wrapped about 10PM, so most of us pooped out before Clara Junken and Builder of the House. I like that OLS is doing these local shows every Tuesday this summer. You should definitely check them out! And the shows are only $5! Win!

Tag Archives: One Longfellow Square

Ellis Paul and Friends with Betty Soo

Jeffrey Foucault with Caitlin Canty

Damien Rice with My bubba

Hey Rosetta!

Mipso with Dan Mills

Max Garcia Conover with Ben Cosgrove

Join me for back-to-back shows Saturday night!

Ellis Paul with Radoslav Lorkovic and Chris Trapper

Darlingside and Jacob Augustine

Max Garcia Conover

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