An excited and slightly damp crowd came out to see a rock show in Gorham’s Brooks Student Center last week. Organized by sophomore Jeff Beam, the show featured his own band and local acts The Leftovers and Dominic and the Lucid.
The first band to take the stage was Dominic and the Lucid. The band’s singer, Dominic Lavoie, won the title of Best Male Vocalist in the Portland Phoenix’s Best Music Poll in 2007, and is up for the title again this year.
Along with drummer Chuck Gagne and bassist Nate Cyr, the band was also named one of 10 Maine bands to watch by the Portland Press Herald.
In the past the band has shared the stage with Blind Melon and The Rustic Overtones. Their 2006 full-length album, Waging the Wage, made the top ten list for all music sold at Bull Moose locations.
With a hefty set of credentials, it’s nice to see a band like this play a free show here at USM.
During their set, they played songs from Waging the Wage, which was available to buy during the show.
Profits made from the sales were even going to a good cause: the band informed the crowd that their van had finally seen its tragic demise.
Having Dominic and the Lucid open the show was a good choice: their psychedelic and soulful songs set the mood for the rest of the night.
Their music is a successful marriage of modern and classic rock influences, from Led Zeppelin to Thom Yorke. As a Jeff Buckley fan, I especially enjoyed Lavoie’s falsetto.
Lavoie says that their second record should be out in May, “and of course we’ll do a CD release!” Until then, they’re playing shows all over Southern Maine, New Hampshire and Boston.
Show organizer Jeff Beam and his band played next.
He jokingly referred to them as Jeff Beam and the Daylight Savings and reminded the crowd to change their clocks.
His influences include The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Spencer Albee, Foo Fighters, early Eric Clapton, Queens of the Stone Age, and Ben Folds.
An Elliott Smith influence is evident in “Annabelle,” a song very obviously inspired by Smith.
During his set, Beam and his band played songs from Mind the Gap, as well as an upbeat and entertaining cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.”
The set ended with the song “Nameless Wonder,” originally performed by Specter, his former project, and had the crowd chanting “one more song” until Beam told them there wouldn’t be enough time for the Leftovers if he did.
A great energy filled the room. The show obviously brought out all the bands’ loyal fans and friends who frequently and jokingly requested covers by Slayer and Wu-Tang Clan.
Beam said that his future plans include “concentrating on teaching new songs to my marvelous band and just beefing up our live set.”
There is also talk of a few shows coming up in Boston, including some with Specter.
Last to perform were the Leftovers, another Portland act.
Fans moved all the chairs out of the way to make room for moshing and dancing. The band played a string of great catchy songs from their latest record, “On the Move.”
A legion of young fans danced until they sweat and even took over the microphone at one point. The guys all had a blast on stage and so did everyone on the floor.
The band, which recently toured Europe, has plans to tour the U.S. in May and play at the Insubordination Festival in June alongside other pop-punk acts including the Crumbs and the Queers.
They also hope to record a new album this summer. There have also been “talks of taking the next semester off and going to Europe again,” says Matt Anderson, guitarist for the band.
The weather caught wind of the Leftover’s final song, and the rain stopped just in time for students to head back to their dorms and cars, though they’re hoping more shows like this will find their way back to the Brooks Student Center.