Eternal Otter Records: Eternal Otter Records Release Party Recap

Thank you to everyone who made it out to the Eternal Otter Records Release Party. Everybody who didn't- you missed quite a show.

Things got started when the Panda Bandits took the staged and opened the evening with their theme song, "When the Panda Bandits Come To Town". They were promptly followed by Jesse Pilgrim & The Bonfire, who careened through a number of their best songs, including "Ernest Shackleton's Antartic Adventure" which will be appearing on vinyl in just a few months from Eternal Otter Records. They were also joined on vocals by Aly Spaltro (Lady Lamb the Beekeeper) for a couple of tunes.

The always entertaining Over A Cardboard Sea followed to sing a selection of their classic vaudeville hits. Their set concluded with one of the best performances of one of the greatest songs ever written- "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?"

After three rawkus acts in a row, Dana Gross took the stage solo and picked and strummed his way through a meditative trilogy of songs, before ending with the charming "Hummingbird" played on banjo. The Panda Bandits then joined him onstage to sing Samuel James' "Path of Ashes" -- with special guest vocalist, Moses Atwood, for whom the song was written.

Moses proceeded to wow the crowd with a performance of a song he had written only the night before. He was joined by Elliot Heeshan on drums and Don Dumont on dobro (both of Dead Man's Clothes) with Dana filling out on bass. They had all learned the song just a few minutes before the start of the show, though you never would have guessed it.

Then it was time for the second-half of the show when things got truly weird and spectacular. The Panda Bandits took the stage for the final time, joined by Dead Man's Clothes and Blaque Boose to perform a messy but suitably creepy version of Cerberus Shoals' "Baby Gall".

Blaque Boose then performed a short skik featuring the multiple deaths of Rasputin before seemlessly taking the stage to deliver a single masterful suite of dark folk. It was clear that the audience was spellbound by this unknown band from Southern Maine.

Finally, TJ Metcalfe and Aly Spaltro separately took the stage to sing their solo songs from the vinyl- Metal Mouth and Sunday Shoes, respectively. Then they joined forces for a Lady Lamb the Beekeeper reunion, which in my mind is already a contender for best musical moment of 2010. A great night to see old friends and hear new music!

The "Death, Rebirth & Transformation" vinyl single series is currently available for mail order online. It will be released to Time-Lag Records this coming Friday.

Check out photos from the release show below (courtesy of Bryan Bruchman).