I, for one, am not going to let the fact that we’re getting a little bit of the “come here, go away” treatment from Mother Nature ruin the week. After all, she sure did come through last Saturday when all the cars had their windows rolled down and I got to show off my post-St. Maarten blue nail-polish pedicure.
What’s even more compelling is that it doesn’t really feel like we’re coming out of winter hibernation, because this past winter was so uneventful (in a good way). Am I hexing us and bringing on a massive snowstorm like we had two years on April 13? Maybe, but until then, enjoy ice-free sidewalks as you make your way to One Longfellow Square, North Star, Blue and Bubba’s for a Canadian cool cat, a first-class Boston singer-songwriter, three out-of-towner folkies and Portland’s attempted homage to Lady Gaga.
Additional Photos
As far as cool cats go, Dave Rave ranks extremely high. Here are six good reasons:
1. His career began in the ’70s and his style has moved seamlessly through pop, rock, punk and jazz.
2. He fronted the punk-pop band Teenage Head.
3. He was recently inducted into the Canadian Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
4. His song “Baby It’s True” from “Anthology Vol. 1: The Hot Tunes,” makes me wanna don a poodle skirt and some Doc Martens and hop on a surfboard.
5. His song “At the End of the Day” from “Anthology Vol. 2: The Cool Tunes,” makes me wanna stay up way past my bedtime in the shadowy corner of a jazz club when last call doesn’t mean the music stops flowing.
6. He’s good friends with Kate Schrock and produced her 2003 record, “Indiana,” and, yes, she’ll also be performing on Saturday night.
And not that you really need one, but here’s one more reason this show is such a safe bet: Rave and Schrock will be accompanied by a guy with percussion worth discussion who has a sound that gets around – none other than Todd the Rocket. I adore the word “behoove,” and can say with conviction that it would behoove you to get tickets in advance for this one.
Dave Rave with Kate Schrock and Todd the Rocket. 8 p.m. Saturday. One Longfellow Square, Portland. $12 in advance; $15 day of show. www.onelongfellowsquare.com; 761-1757.
Blue presents Out of Towners Night with three performers “from away.” Patrick Coman is a Tulsa, Okla., native who spent a bunch of time in Berlin before touching down in his current locale of Boston (www.myspace.com/patrickcoman). Jacqueline Bartlett (www.myspace.com/jacquelinebartlett) is a Rhode Island folkie who plays acoustic guitar and mountain dulcimer. John Schmitt comes from Brooklyn, N.Y., (www.myspace.com/johnschmitt) and hopes to pull together enough funds to record his first album later this year.
Tonight’s a unique opportunity to see three East Coast talents with the intimacy a small space like Blue affords. Enjoy.
Out of Towners Night with Patrick Coman, Jacqueline Bartlett and John Schmitt. 8 p.m. today. Blue, 650A Congress St., Portland. All ages. Suggested donation: $5 to $7.
Few things scare me more than a Lady Gaga lookalike contest, and yet few things sound as hilarious. I can’t help but wonder if anyone will attempt the yellow crime-scene tape outfit that I recently saw her sporting in the “Telephone” video.
This is not your mama’s dance party. Aural gratification will come by way of the turntable offerings of DJ Jay-C, as fierce moves are thrown down from the Bad Romance Dancers (Ophelia Heiny from the Dirty Dishes and pinup girl Ludella Hahn). I shudder to think of what could end up on YouTube, though I also hope some of it does.
It’s all happening Saturday night at Bubba’s, where you can dance, watch others bustin’ moves and unleash your inner Gaga (or at least bear witness to others unleashing theirs). BTW, there’s a cash prize for the best Gaga. Life imitates art? Art imitates life? We all imitate Gaga? Huh?
Bad Romance: Lady Gaga Look-Alike Contest with DJ Jay-C. 9 p.m. Saturday. Bubba’s Sulky Lounge, 92 Portland St., Portland. Ages 21 and older. $4 at the door.
Boston singer-songwriter Meg Hutchinson has held my attention for the past several years, first by way of her records, “The Crossing” and “Come Up Full,” and now with her latest one, “The Living Side.” It’s home to 11 songs that reflect Hutchinson’s way of capturing, and artfully upending, the nature of complex emotions through sublime, descriptive narratives. “I can barely hear you over these machines, turn them all off and tell me about your dreams,” pleads Hutchinson in the song “Hard to Change.” “Yea Tho We Walk” paints a Midwestern, Bible-clutching scene that takes you from the rainy exterior courtyard of a prison to the interior chamber of a love-torn heart with lyrics, “No matter how it tears, it always tries to mend.”
Meg Hutchinson CD release show with Sarah Blacker. 8 p.m. Saturday. North Star Music Cafe, 225 Congress St., Portland. $10. www.meghutchinson.com or www.myspace.com/meghutchinson.
Aimsel Ponti is a Portland freelance writer. Contact her at:
aimselponti@yahoo.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.