Category: Arts & Culture

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Spring Fling features three days of events for students to enjoy right before finals. On Friday night, Loki, Parabellum, The Monolith, Po-Town Underground and Aries 12 created an all-encompassing compendium of rock and funk, performing sets until almost 2 a.m. “We like the funk,” declared Greg Rothwell, bassist for the jazz trio The Monolith.

Knowing what Nicholson is capable of, watching “Anger Management” becomes frustrating. Here he plays a great character with seemingly sinister motives (at least during most of the movie) and the filmmakers fail to recognize the potential they are throwing into the garbage. After starting off well, the film limps to an unsatisfactory conclusion thanks to the timidity of the script.

I’m talking about a little place called O’Naturals. Yeah, O’Naturals, they just opened up a new store in Portland. And in all honesty, there isn’t anything little about the joint. From the high ceilings to their marketing plan, there are big things happening down on Exchange Street these days.

Musicians Chris “Roadie” Rodahoffer (guitars), Kyle Lawrence (bass), and Wes Medeiros (drums), met during their time at Boston’s Berklee School of Music. This three-piece band mixes in loosely-based jams, country and bluegrass flavors, and simplistic vocal parts very much akin to the likes of the Grateful Dead and Phish.

Opening Day at Hadlock Field didn’t rattle me, crocuses jumping up didn’t shake me, and even the recent appearance of skirts didn’t phase my winter blues. It didn’t really feel like spring until Tuesday. Which made me want to go spring camping. Which made me want to eat Jordan’s “Red Snapper” hot dogs. Which made me go to Vivian’s in Portland. Oooh, baby!

Dancin’ dancin’ dancin’. They’re all dancin’ machines, but it’s no Saturday Night Fever. It’s Dance USM!, the only annual dance show on campus. Maria Tzianabos, lecturer in theater, is directing a crew of choreographers and performers in this year’s culturally diverse program that aims to create meaning out of movement.

Director Joel Schumacher has had a very uneven career that includes more crap than caviar, but perhaps now he has produced his best work to date with the tense “Phone Booth.”

“These Are The Vistas” is the title of the major label debut release from post modern jazz trio The Bad Plus. Having one small label release under its belt, this highly touted jazz group landed a deal with Columbia Records after being heard at New York City’s Village Vanguard.