The Portland Phoenix is hosting its annual poll of the Best of Portland!
Please nominate the Building of Song/Tower of Song as Best Public Event (City Life category). You can vote once per day.
If you need further convincing, please come by Congress Square this First Friday of February to hear live music by Dominic Lavoie and Dana Gross! If you are feeling particularly adventurous, make your way to the 5th floor of the Congress Street Building to check out the musicians up-close.
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!
Tonight is the night! SPACE Gallery will be hosting the Eternal Otter Records Vinyl Release Party. We will be celebrating the release of the "Death, Rebirth & Transformation" vinyl single series, featuring unreleased recordings by Cerberus Shoal, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and Blaque Boose. There will be performances by Aly Spaltro and TJ Metcalfe (past and present members of Lady Lamb), Blaque Boose, D. Gross, Over A Cardboard Sea, and Jesse Pilgrim & the Bonfire. Your $10 ticket will also get you a free copy of one of the vinyls. The Lady Lamb 7" will not be released until march, but you can pick up a free download code & album voucher in the meantime.
I feel really honored to have had the opportunity to release the music I love onto vinyl. I also have a lot of people to thank for making this series possible. First and foremost, the bands and musicians who agreed to entrust their music to this project. I'd also like to thank Matt Lajoe of the l'animaux tryst label for teaching me everything I needed to know about vinyl production. Kris Johnsen also deserves praise for all the assistance he has given me with various art and design needs (he is also the artist behind the Lady Lamb 7" cover). SPACE Gallery, particularly Ian Paige, has been wonderfully supportive in making this event happen. Dale Rand Printing and the Fun Box Monster Emporium are just some of the great local businesses I worked with to help realize this project. I'd also like to thank Bryan Bruchman, Matt Dodge, Chris Gray, Johnny Fountain, Roy Ghim, David Cimato, Robin Ivy, Dead Man's Clothes, Patrick + Lori Dennis, my friends, my parents, Arcadia Designworks, and many more. And, of course, my one true love- Alicia.
I look forward to seeing many of these wonderful people at tonight's show. Also, check out this article about Eternal Otter Records in today's edition of the Portland Daily Sun.
Tune into WCYY this morning at 8 am to catch Lady Lamb the Beekeeper (Ms. Aly Spaltro) performing live on "Alternative Mornings". I'll also be there to talk about the Eternal Otter Records Vinyl Release show this Friday at SPACE Gallery.
Will Ethridge (that's me) will be appearing on WMPG's Liberation by Sound today from 3:15 to 5 pm today to talk about the upcoming Eternal Otter Records Vinyl Release Party. He'll play songs by the featured performers (Panda Bandits, Jesse Pilgrim & the Bonfire, Over A Cardboard Sea, D. Gross, Blaque Boose, and Aly Spaltro/TJ Metcalfe), and spin records from the new "Death, Rebirth, and Transformation" series.
Aly Spaltro (Lady Lamb the Beekeeper) will be performing at the Eternal Otter Records Vinyl Release Show this Friday, January 29th at SPACE Gallery. She'll also be playing live on WCYY 94.3 at 8 am to promote the show. Tune in!
As you all should know by now the Eternal Otter Records Vinyl Release Party is going down Friday, January 29th, at SPACE Gallery. I'm excited about this event for all sorts of reasons, but I'm particularly thrilled to introduce Portland to the strange world of Blaque Boose. The band will be performing live at the show and their vinyl single (Winter/Past Lives Owen) will also be available (and you can take it home for FREE with your $10 ticket).
Blauq Boose hails from thee bogs of thee North Country. They stand for freedom in thee raw edges of society.
