• HOT TICKETS

Long-lived metal band to play Asylum

QUEENSRYCHE HAS been rocking now for 30 years, carrying labels like “progressive metal” and “power metal.” The band rocks hard, whatever critics want to call their music, we know that. They’ll be at Asylum in Portland on Friday.

WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Asylum, 121 Center St., Portland

HOW MUCH: $30 in advance; $33 day of the show

INFO: Portlandasylum.com

USM company stages darkly funny ‘Cripple’

THE UNIVERSITY of Southern Maine Department of Theatre presents the dark comedy “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” complete with foul language, anti-religious sentiment and generally bad behavior throughout. It is one of Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s best-known and most-loved plays.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday; and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22-23 and 5 p.m. Nov. 24.

WHERE: Russell Hall, USM, Gorham

HOW MUCH: $15; $11, seniors. USM employees and alumni; $8 students; all seats $5 on Wednesday

INFO: 780-5151; usm.maine.edu/theatre

Appreciating underused species

ATLANTIC POLLOCK, REDFISH and other underused fish species will be the focus of the next dinner promoting the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Out of the Blue program.

WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Five Fifty-Five, 555 Congress St., Portland

HOW MUCH: $60 per person, or $90 with wine pairings

INFO: 761-0555.

Ida on the loose in Ogunquit

WHO IS IDA? Well, on one hand, she’s a funny lady who lives in fictional Mahoosuc Mills, Maine, and tells funny stories about her life there. On the other hand, she’s a character played by performer Susan Poulin. Either way, she helps you get in touch with your “innah Mainah.”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: S. Judson Dunaway Center, 23 School St., Ogunquit

HOW MUCH: $15 in advance; $18 on the day of the show

INFO: Ogunquitperformingarts.org

• CHEAP THRILLS

Middle Eastern music flows from Okbari

EVER HEAR the sounds of an oud? Or what about a riqq? Well, you can if you venture to Biddeford Sunday to hear a free show by the Okbari Middle Eastern Ensemble.

WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: McArthur Public Library, 270 Main St., Biddeford

HOW MUCH: Free

INFO: Mcarthurpubliclibrary.org

Players breathe new life into an old tale

ACORN PRODUCTIONS presents a new work by the company’s Fairy Tale Players, a group of experienced students from the company’s Acorn Acting Academy. The first Fairy Tale Players show of the season is a humorous take on an old classic, “The Three Piggs” by Michael Levine.

WHEN: 11 a.m Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; and 11 a.m. Nov. 23 and 2 p.m. Nov. 24.

WHERE: Acorn Studio Theater, 90 Bridge St., Dana Warp Mill, Westbrook

HOW MUCH: $6 adults, $4 ages 12 and younger

INFO: 854-0065; acorn-productions.org

Fruit of the vine at Browne Trading

BROWNE TRADING MARKET has one of the best wine collections in the city. Stop by the market’s regular weekly wine tasting and see what’s new.

WHEN: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Browne Trading Market, 260 Commercial St., Portland

HOW MUCH: Free

INFO: 775-7560 or wine@brownetrading.com

Odds are, he’ll have stories to share

ODDS BODKIN! It’s time for stories about Thanksgiving already. You can hear some told by internationally acclaimed storyteller Odds Bodkin when he comes to Cape Elizabeth on Saturday.

WHEN: 3 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Road, Cape Elizabeth

HOW MUCH: Free

INFO: Thomasmemoriallibrary.org

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