The newest coffeehouse in Portland is Acoustic Coffee, and their mic is open all the time. Proprietors Mark Lembo and Margaret Lyons opened their doors at 32 Danforth Street the first week of September. Besides offering a wide range of food and beverages, they also offer a voice in the community for anyone who seeks one, through their “open stage all the time” ethos.
Category: Arts & Culture
Audience lets Toots down at Colby show
The veteran Jamaican band Toots and the Maytals, credited with coining the term “reggae,” played the final show of their six-month “The World is Turning” tour at Colby College on Saturday, October 4. They opened for hip-hop group The Roots, a band with far less experience and acclaim.
Gov’t Mule brays at the State
Gov’t Mule and Chris Robinson played to a loaded audience October 12 at the State Theater in Portland. The show was a routine triumph for the former and a partial disappointment for the latter.
Robinson, formerly of the Black Crowes, opened the show with his band New Earth Mud, a four-piece that plays basic rock with an appealing loose swing.
Assembly of Dust play knockout show
It is a pleasant surprise when a band can totally, unexpectedly blow you away, especially when you have never heard of them before. I walked into the State Theater expecting a run of the mill Phish-esque jam band, but got so much more.
Three years ago Reid Genauer received an almost career-ending slap in the face when Mammoth Records signed the band he fronted, Strangefolk, and then dropped them right before their breakthrough album was set to be released.
Ghosts, witches, murder, and more in SPA’s “Macbeth.”
Treachery, murder and magical mayhem abound in Student Performing Artists’ production of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” opening on Thursday, October 23, just in time for Halloween. From witches and vengeful ghosts to murder plots and live swordplay, “Macbeth” seems like a perfect show for the Halloween season.
New book filters out the flakes
“The Flake Filter”
By Toby Unwin
2003, Element Limited Corp.
156 pp.
$19.95
Time is money. To succeed in life, we need to use every second we have to maximize profit.
Unfortunately, the world is swarming with unreliable people — flakes — who obstruct our moneymaking potential.
Bagel shop seems like heaven
Mr. Bagel
601 Forest Avenue, Portland
775-0718
You can’t miss Mr. Bagel! Even if you’re flying down Forest Ave., your eyes will certainly be drawn to the giant plywood bagel guy on their building. A little forewarning, he’s serving up one seriously large-and-in-charge bagel, which he seems pretty happy about; what can I say, pal? The smile on his face is infectious; saddle up partner.
WMPG Record Sale to be held on Oct. 11
WMPG will have their eighth annual CD and record sale at USM’s Sullivan Gym on October 11. Admission is one dollar and thousands of CD’s, DVD’s, books and music memorabilia will be available at greatly reduced prices.
Theater department to present Pulitzer Prize winning play
USM professor and veteran director Minor Rootes has selected a study of women and their relationships for this season’s opening performance at the Russell Hall Theatre in Gorham. “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,” written by Paul Zindel, opens this Friday night at 7:30 and runs through October 12.
The Dry Dock flops
The Dry Dock Restaurant & Tavern
84 Commercial Street
Portland
774-3550
To my adoring fans:
I regret to inform you about the terrible meal I was served on Wednesday night. You see, I took a little trip down to the wharf to grab up some eats, but my indecision was killing me and I couldn’t choose between The Dry Dock and J’s Oyster.
Acclaimed string quartet to perform work of USM composer this Friday
A nationally acclaimed string quartet will perform the work of USM resident composer J. Mark Scearce this Friday, in the season opener of the School of Music’s Faculty Concert Series. The Fry Street Quartet will begin their performance at 8 p.m. in Corthell Concert Hall.
Ani show relocated
Ani Difranco is no longer scheduled to play at the Field House in Gorham on Nov. 11, but the reason why is not clear.
Last Thursday the Gorham Events Board (GEB) announced to the senate that Difranco would no longer be playing at USM and would instead be playing at the Portland Exposition Building on the same night.
Ska is back
It was a night of good old East Coast ska inside the graffiti-ridden brick walls of The Edge in the Maine state capital. Five bands rocked the stage, ranging from punk to old-school, second-wave ska.
First on the tab was The Jimmies, an all-girl punk band from Bangor, featuring the infamous Laura Zukowski (a.
Student composers to present “Works in Progress” next Tuesday
If you ever wondered how a composer puts together and completes a piece of music, or if you’re just curious about what our student composers at USM have been up to, the School of Music’s “Works in Progress” performances next Tuesday night should be intriguing.
Funkier than the Husky locker room
One of the greatest institutions of modern music is the jam band. These performers get up on stage and improvise for full sets, fueled by the mood and by the audience.
Unfortunately, this is the reason that most studio recordings by jam bands don’t live up to the real thing.
Soffrito: Just So-So
Soffrito Creative Italian
29 Wharf Street
Portland
Phone: 253-8001
Hello again food lovers of the USM community! I hope your summers were filled with lobster roll binges and beer guzzling debauchery. I hope you all really showed the sun who’s boss. And although I am sad to see beach weather migrate for yet another Maine winter, I’m glad to be back for my inaugural review of the fall semester.
WMPG celebrates 30th birthday atop Observatory
USM’s radio station, WMPG, promoted its 30th birthday party Wednesday morning with a live broadcast from the top of 86-foot Portland Observatory on Munjoy Hill.
Starting at about 9:15 a.m. Sara Cox and Nate Schrock of the band The Coming Grass gave a stark and spirited performance of four songs.
Ska is back
It was a night of good old East Coast ska inside the graffiti-ridden brick walls of The Edge in the Maine state capital. Five bands rocked the stage, ranging from punk to old-school, second-wave ska.
First on the tab was The Jimmies, an all-girl punk band from Bangor, featuring the infamous Laura Zukowski (a.
Strang Maine’ shop offers fascinating variety
If you’ve walked down Portland’s Congress Street at night this summer, you may have noticed a mysterious new store at 576A, just past Springer’s Jewelers.
Though there is no sign on the storefront to attract people’s attention, the door is kept invitingly open until late into the night.
Student composers to present “Works in Progress” next Tuesday
If you ever wondered how a composer puts together and completes a piece of music, or if you’re just curious about what our student composers at USM have been up to, the School of Music’s “Works in Progress” performances next Tuesday night should be intriguing.
DiFranco to play Gorham
Ani DiFranco will perform solo at the USM Field House in Gorham on November 11, Gorham Events Board announced last Wednesday. According to GEB chair Kelly Locke, it will be the biggest concert USM has ever held.
It will also be the most expensive concert ever held in Gorham, Locke said.
Funkier than the Husky locker room
One of the greatest institutions of modern music is the jam band. These performers get up on stage and improvise for full sets, fueled by the mood and by the audience.
Unfortunately, this is the reason that most studio recordings by jam bands don’t live up to the real thing.
New trail through Gorham
This fall, USM students have a new opportunity for outdoor recreation in Gorham. The Mountain Division Trail, connecting Gorham with Sebago Lake, is open for walking, bicycling, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. Snowmobilers and cross-country skiers, however, are advised to wait until there is snow on the ground.
Man & rodent interact
A Really Super Book About Squirrels is a sincere tale of a man’s unrequited love for a squirrel. Not a children’s book, but rather a simple-minded book for adults, it’s an odd piece of commerce. It’s tough to figure out which target demographic Andrews McMeel had in mind when they published this over the summer.