THURSDAY, Nov. 10
A Jewelry Party With Live Music | Portland’s Metal Collective, a group of metalsmiths, blacksmiths and goldsmiths will combine two art forms that aren’t usually paired together: jewelry and music. Gawk at their fine wares and discover one that resonates with you. Organizers say that guests won’t have a hard time finding the perfect holiday gift for friends or family members both male and female. Each quirky pendant, ring or earring was inspired by a specific musical theme, adding an interesting amount of depth to these accessories. Speaking of music, the experimental electro-folk project Mousa and the local salsa-core group El Malo will be there to set the mood during this unique showcase.
| FREE | 6:00 pm | Blue, 650 Congress St., Portland | http://portcityblue.com/ |
Ghosts of Jupiter with Formula 5 | The Boston quintet, the Ghosts of Jupiter are ready to unleash their 2nd independently produced full-length album, The Great Bright Horses. Promoters say that it “draws upon the experimental flute-prog of Traffic and King Crimson, the exploratory elements of Meddle-era Pink Floyd, and the modern psychedelia of Tame Impala, Midlake and Dungen.” Over 100 backers on Kickstarter made this album a reality, so it’s your duty as an underground music consumer to see what this progressive, space rock collection is all about. A super tight, American jam, funk-fusion band called Formula 5 will get the party started.
| $10 | 8:00 pm | Portland House of Music and Events, 25 Temple St., Portland | https://www.portlandhouseofmusic.com |
FRIDAY, Nov. 11
| $48-68 | 7:00 pm | Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland | https://tickets.porttix.com/public/show.asp |
Get Face To Face With Yourself | The progressive blues-rock band Highly Suspect has a subconscious mission to make you feel uncomfortable, but in the best way possible. They break down walls with their music and force listeners to come up with ways to deal with all the shitty aspects of their life. These gritty, grimy, underrated musicians might stare past your soul, but you won’t feel alienated. There’s a deeper message to harvest from their strange tunes. Get acquainted with this trio, because they may just be the new face of intellectual-modern rock. Their latest album, Mister Asylum, has been described as inebriating and full of “chemically-soaked nights, hazier mornings, broken relationships and cathartic realizations.” Also firing off some emotional fireworks will be Slothrust, a protean gem in the indie music landscape. This show is basically musical therapy.
| $18 | 8:00 pm | Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St., Portland | http://www.portcitymusichall.com |
Five Garage Rock Heroes | Boston’s garage rockers, Idiot Genes, are returning to Portland for a showcase of their latest album, Oof Bonk, a fast-paced blend of gritty rock and roots punk. Their songs are structured simply but that doesn’t mean they’ll fail to get you fired up. But wait, there’s more! Four other loud-n-proud performers will make sure your ears bleed and leave the concert sweaty, swearing and satisfied. Also on the bill are Portland’s sloppy sludge weirdos Cadaverette, the local riff warriors An Anderson, the grungy dance punks of Hopeless Losers, and the strange, wonderful and Bjork-like sounds of the Asthmatic.
| $8 | 8:00 pm | SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland | http://www.space538.org |
SATURDAY, Nov. 12
The Wild and Scenic Film Festival | Get in touch with nature, by staring at a big screen during the Friends of Casco Bay’s 9th annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival. This collection of inspiring short films will transport viewers all over the world, where they’ll meet extraordinary people and see stunning examples of our natural world. That is, if you can get in. The show’s technically sold out, but organizers write that if you show up at the door, you still may be able to buy tickets, depending on the space inside. Worth a shot?
| $32 | 3:00 pm | Abromson Center, USM’s Portland Campus | http://www.cascobay.org/events/film-festival/ |
Good Vibes Abound | Absorb and breathe in the beastly rhythms the guys from Sublime With Rome have to offer, when they send them flying through the air during a performance of their latest album, Sirens. As you might have guessed, these reggae-rock-dub masters are the next evolution of Sublime- they’ve added singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez to their roster. Their songs vary from mellow, slow burning chill beats, to intensified, dance-focused reggae grooves, but one thing’s for sure: they definitely evoke some feel good vibes. Try not to smile when they’re on stage, I dare you. Opening the show will be the Skints, a band that describes their sound as “music from Jamaica in a London style.” I probably don’t have even have to tell you to spark a joint before this show do I?
| $40 | 8:00 pm | State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland | http://www.statetheatreportland.com |
Feel Right At Home | Reviewers of Carbon Leaf’s live show say that their vibe/style/sound feels more like a family get-together, instead of a label sponsored tour. Regardless of the atmosphere, this quintet out of Virginia will envelop you in gorgeously textured sounds, jumping from lyrical themes of life, love, hope and heartbreak. Carbon Leaf performs a blend of folk, Celtic, bluegrass, Americana, rock and pop to create what they call, “electrified porch music.” These introspective rockers have 2 decades of experience under their belt and are well-equipped to send you soaring high above the clouds strapped underneath their rockets of sound. Joining them is a band described as “one of the most groundbreaking music experiences you may have in a lifetime,” The Accidentals. Gotta love hyperbole.
| $20 | 8:00 pm | Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St., Portland | http://www.portcitymusichall.com |
An Evening of Northeastern Rock | Back in the day, Scissorfight was making waves in New England’s heavy rock scene, with a lot of screaming, droning, relentless drumming, havoc-wreaking riffs and all around eardrum rupturing. Then the band went dark, disappearing for six years or so. Today, they’re back with a vengeance, a new line up, a retooled version of the band, and a fresh, yet still murderous attitude. Check out their new single “Tits Up,” on Youtube. It pretty much tells you everything you need to know about this raucous band of troublemakers. They’ll be sticking it to the man alongside Portland’s sludge rock legends Eldemur Krimm and the heavy riffing stoner rockers of Pigboat. If you need a place to get totally f*cked up and not care about tomorrow, you should probably do it here.
| $8 | 8:30 pm | Empire, 575 Congress St., Portland | http://portlandempire.com/ |
Catch the Soul Clap | New York’s best DJ, Jonathan Toubin, will conjure up his own special kind of dance revolution set against the smooth and classy sounds of 1960s soul. Party in style with this vintage-loving, culture soaking and memory making soul and funk aficionado. Joining this vinyl fetishist are the local deep cosmic jam artists, Teal Child and Precious Style. Let the good times roll while you catch something funky.
| $7 | 9:00 pm | SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland | http://www.space538.org |
SUNDAY, Nov. 13
A Plethora of Metalcore | The self-dubbed “voice of the generation,” Asking Alexandria, recently parted ways with their founder and lead vocalist Danny Worsnop. This has divided fans of this emo-ish, British metalcore band, who say they’re burgeoning into a bigger, bolder future. Some love the change. Others hate it. Thankfully it won’t be a deal-breaker for someone like you, because there are a lot more bands to love in this heavy lineup: the creative cultists Born of Osiris, the melodic hardcore band I See Stars, the hellish yet captivating After the Burial, the ground-shaking Upon a Burning Body and the indie heavyweight Bad Omens. Don’t you dare bring ear plugs.
| $28 | 6:00 pm | State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland | http://www.statetheatreportland.com |
Thick Juicy Rhythms | The roots-reggae dub band Stick Figure are a brotherhood of hard-working musicians, that want to help you tap into the cosmic consciousness of the universe through sound. Step into their world and surround yourself with “cavernous grooves, sparkling electronic orchestration and thick rhythms.” The choice is yours, won’t you take it easy? The Movement will also be there, performing their chart-topping reggae album, Golden. Closing out the night will be Boston’s beloved reggae-rock funksters, Spiritual Rez. This concert aims to be goddamn delightful.
| $18 | 8:00 pm | Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St., Portland | http://www.portcitymusichall.com |
MONDAY, Nov. 14
How About A Low-Key Night | There’s quite literally, nothing interesting scheduled -as far as planned events go- on this night in Portland. That means it’s time for you to captain your own ship. Instead of having dinner at Amigo’s for the 100th time, or slamming down drinks at Rosie’s before sneaking a smoke on the street while stink-eyeing rich people, mix up your evening a little bit. Grab a pizza at Slab. Shoot some pinball and arcade games at Arcadia. Rent a movie from the old VideoPort collection that lives on at the Portland Public Library. Take a free tour of the beautiful Press Hotel. Swing by Strange Maine; it’s been a while right? Check out what’s new at art galleries like SPACE, the PhoPa Gallery and the Portland Museum of Art. Or, if you really want people to know how cool and learned you are, go read a book at LFK. I mean, I’m not telling you how to live your life or anything, but just because there’s “nothing going on,” doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on.
| FREE | ANYTIME | EVERYWHERE, Portland | Up To You |
TUESDAY, Nov. 15
Enter the Void | Time (and a life-reaffirming van crash) has allowed the band Balance & Composure to shed their angsty punk rock roots, and mature into something more thoughtful, soothing and harmonic. All emos have to grow up eventually. With their latest album, Light We Made, the band experiments with new tools and weaves dreamy synth chords, melodic guitar riffs, emotive lyrics and atmospheric drum beats for a slightly hallucinatory experience. “This album is the culmination of the last 3 years and how musically the band wanted to be more creative than ever before. We took time off to experience life, pushing ourselves to try things that we previously hadn’t, which in return inspired us to record something that would stand out. This LP is a sonic progression for us, and we’re excited to share it with everyone.” Joining these comfort zone emigrants is the honest and cinematic-sounding band Foxing and the electrified indie-pop supergroup, Mercury Girls. Expect a moody, yet epic and ethereal night out.
| $18 | 8:00 pm | Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St., Portland | http://www.portcitymusichall.com |
The Righteous Babe Herself | The singer, songwriter and activist Ani DiFranco, well known as the “little folk singer,” has exploded far past her acoustic roots. Her melodies and sonic reflections of life in New Orleans run the gamut of different genres. She stirs up jazz, soul and electronica to help her tell big stories in bite sized morsels. Becoming a parent has also yielded profound effects on her music. "It's such a humbling, and grueling, thing to raise children," DiFranco said. "And that makes playing music more precious and makes me more grateful. It's a real balancing act, but it also has a balancing effect." Joining her is Chastity Brown, distilling “Southern blues and plaintive North Country prairie influences into expansive, alluring folk songs."
| $45 | 8:00 pm | State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland | http://www.statetheatreportland.com |
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 16
Jargon Free Science Cafe | You won’t need a degree in the Sciences to understand or be fascinated by this lecture at the Gulf of Maine Research Center. Anybody’s invited to attend and join the conversation during the GMRI’s 2nd Science Cafe of the year, where the research associate Adam Baukus will lead the discussion about using acoustic transducers to track the presence of ocean creatures. You’ll be amazed how much scientists can discern about life in those murky depths just by using sound waves! Life’s short, focus on science Morty.
| FREE | 5:30 pm | GMRI, 350 Commercial St., Portland | http://www.gmri.org/events/ |
Cross the Great Divide | There are so many bands coming out of Nashville nowadays, it can be hard to tell who you should be paying attention to. Let me make it a little easier for you. With rapturous harmonies and precision instrumentation with the mandolin, guitar and bass, the Humming House will evoke the pleasant tension and rousing energy of a melting pot music culture. This quintet embodies the sonic flavor and swagger of 21st century Nashville: honest, superb musicianship and authentic roots. This indie-country-alt-pop group is one of those country bands, that even non-country fans can get down to. The Humming House plays roots music anyone can party to. These infectiously happy harmonizers are joined onstage by the goosebump-inducing, Vermont-bred folk duo, the DuPont Brothers.
| $15 | 8:00 pm | One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland | https://onelongfellowsquare.com |
THURSDAY, Nov. 17
Time Machine Concert | Ask anybody that’s old enough, and has been to a Dark Star show before, and they’ll tell you: “it’s like stepping back in time.” As long as these hard-touring musicians are around, the spirit and energy of the Grateful Dead will never die. You know by now. The Dark Star Orchestra is one of the nation’s biggest and most successful Grateful Dead tribute bands, with 15 years of experience and an army of Dead-head fans. "For us, it's a chance to recreate some of the magic that was created for us over the years," rhythm guitarist and said vocalist Rob Eaton. "We offer a sort of a historical perspective at what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978 or whenever. Even for Deadheads who can say they've been to a hundred shows in the 90s, we offer something they never got to see live." Relive the magic you ancient stoners.
| $30 | 8:00 pm | State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland | http://www.statetheatreportland.com |
And...the Bass Filled Afterparty | For those that still want to party after Dark Star pays tribute the Grateful Dead’s greatest hits, take the short walk down to Empire for the afterparty. However, be prepared, the vibe’s going to be totally different as you enter drippy, trippy, futuristic bass music territory. Electronic music producer 2nutz will have you dancing to laser sounds and strange frequencies. Then kLL sMTH will unleash his prismatic audio avalanche that will whip through all your preconceived notions of dance music. And just as the night enters darker territories, the atmospheric glitch-hop artist, Atomic Reactor will tickle your brain with his polyrhythmic percussion sounds. You can thank Taproot Productions for unearthing these sonic artifacts and continuously providing Portland with its glitchy, booming wonders.
| $15 | 7:00 pm to 1:00 am | Empire, 575 Congress St., Portland | http://portlandempire.com/ |