Portland207

80s time.  Again.  If you didn’t make it to Bubba’s last eve, head to The Big Easy tonight to rock it with The Awesome.  Portland’s coveted cover band takes the stage 10pm.  Prepare to Wang Chung.

Democratic US Senate candidate Tom Allen is hosting a meet and greet and drink at the Shipyard Brewery this evening.  Free pizza (Portland Pie usually caters these things) and free Shipyard.  A $25 donation is suggested.  Word is that Tom loves talking policy over a frosty Export.  The event is from 5pm to 7pm today (3/27) at the Shipyard Brewery.  86 Newbury Street in Portland.  RSVP to rsvp@tomallen.org.

Recounting a pilgrimage to The Little Lad’s Basket.  Manager Mike greeted me with a handshake and a tour of the recently re-opened space.  This consisted of pointing out the new buffet positioning and gesturing to their recently unveiled sandwich menu.  A quick glance at the board was all that was afforded to me, as my host had already selected my meal.  The first hand burger.  This is no typo.  Their vegan menu is awash in choices that are slightly tweaked to do away with any traces of meat and dairy.  Items such as pizza and grilled cheese on the sandwich board out front do not indicate the restaurant's vegan intentions to those passing by.  What also is not inherently clear from the exterior is the fact that The Basket is a vessel of the Seventh-Day Adventist church.  I had heard rumors of a Christian outpost on Congress Street promoting the vegan lifestyle, but assumed it was a Portland myth, like the supposed bowling alley in the basement of some apartment building on the peninsula.  The rumor turned out to be true.  Contemporary Christian rock provided ambiance and there was plenty of pious literature displayed prominently next to the cash register.  Back to the hand burger.  It consisted of a veggie patty, some sort of soy cheese, the usual veggies, a generous serving of mustard and a whole wheat bun.  The bun was fantastic.  As for what lay between the 2 halves, I was a bit under whelmed.  While my host Mike did provide me with a money back guarantee, I still felt the FHB was worth the $4 or so I shelled out.   It is worth noting that the Basket is more known as a very decent vegan bakery, rather than a true first class eatery.  They had plenty of bread, cookies, granola and other packaged offerings for guests to take with.  Then there is the famed hippie crack popcorn.  No denying that this stuff has some mystical properties bordering on the divine.  I would say that everyone should experience one trip to the Basket.  One is probably all you need.  Unless of course you enjoy your lunch served with a side of God.  In that case, The Basket is for you.  Besides the 482 Congress Street location, they also have a café in Manhattan and a bakery in Corinth, Maine.  The website is impressively robust.

St. Paddy’s is nearly here and the anticipation s palpable.  This town holds its Irish haunts in high regards.  Each is rolling out the green carpet in its own way.  Bull Feeny’s takes the award for the first pint slung of the day.  Kegs and Eggs kick off at 6:00am at Feeny’s.  Corn beef and cabbage will replace the eggs starting at noon.  Ri Ra and Brian Boru open their doors shortly after at 8:00am.  All will be serving traditional Irish fare and will have live music throughout the day and night to celebrate the great snake herder, Saint Patrick.  Even the non-Irish establishments are getting involved.  $3 Deweys is pouring Harp and Smithwicks for $2.75 and the mysterious White Heart is holding some sort of shrouded Irish celebration.  If you wish to escape the fiddles and Irish crooning, The Big Easy is holding its standard Monday night open mic hip-hop night.  Good luck out there.

Oxford Collapse will be in Portland, Maine this Tuesday (3/11).  They are playing Space.  These guys are the Vampire Weekend of 2 years ago.  From the mean streets of Brooklyn instead of the ivy clad walls of Columbia.  The trio’s sound is straightforward but unique, even in the crowded indie landscape.  Their last album, Remember the Night Parties was well received.  Even Pitchfork liked it.  Their pace is sometimes hard to settle into, but their songs are catchy and addictive.  Somewhere between punk and pop.  The show starts at 9:00pm and is only 8 bucks.  Go.

This Friday, several of Portland’s Irish watering holes are banning together in bout of true Celtic solidarity to support Portland’s bid to be crowned sister city to Bushmills, Ireland.  A well timed drunken parade, as St. Paddy’s Day is a mere 10 days out.  It starts at Bull Feeny’s from 5:30-7:00pm, moves on to Gritty’s from 7:00-8:30, RiRa from 8:30-10:00 and ends at Brian Boru from 10:00-11:30.  A bagpiper will lead the band of jubilant drinkers from bar to bar.  As noted in an earlier post, Portland is up against Beantown and Louisville in this Bushmills Irish Whiskey competition.  Vote for Portland here.

An evening with Ryanhood at the North Star Café (225 Congress Street in the East End).  Friday the 29th at 8:00PM.  This duo currently hails from AZ, but cut their musical teeth in the Boston underground.  Former subway buskers on their way to indie greatness.  Since forming in 2003, Ryan Green and Cameron Hood have been staples of the college touring circuit but their fan base is much broader.  Their quick fingered acoustic sound and witty crowd banter lends itself nicely to the musical tastes of New Englanders.  Their songs are nimble, harmonic and buoyant.  You can’t help by smile after crowd favorites like Back Into Blue and Welcome You Into My Head.  The intimate North Star Café is a perfect venue for Ryan and Hood, who relish interaction with their audiences.  Part coffee shop, part restaurant, part bar, part venue; it is one of the best places for live music in Portland.  Enjoy.

Good music makes a guest appearance in Portland.  Black Mountain is playing tonight at Space.  These long-haired hippies from the country to our North are out promoting their latest album In the Future.  They are one of the better groups to come through Portland in a while and are playing one of the best venues in town.  The always over-zealous folks at Rolling Stone gave their latest offering 3.5 stars out of 5.  For a more rounded review, go to Pitchfork Media.  Their sound can best be described as what would happen if you dropped 3 Zeppelin albums, a Sabbath tape and a few spoonfuls of MMJ into a blender and hit puree for 30 seconds.  What the critics have dubbed, “psychedelic stoner rock.”  Right.  Go to their website to watch a video of their appearance on Conan O’Brien last week to draw your own conclusions.  More info on start time etc. in the To Do section.

For some unbenounced reason, the city of Bushmills, Ireland has settled on Portland, Maine as one of the 3 finalists for its sister city search.  This handshake from across the pond comes in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of Bushmills Irish Whiskey.  The other cities on the short list are Boston and Louisville, Kentucky.  Boston’s Irish fled long ago and Louisville has a taste for bourbon instead of whiskey.  Whiskey with a PBR back is commonplace around this town of 65k, so it only seems fitting that Portland rise to the top in this shameless promotional contest.  The site can be found here, and you can vote as mush as you like, American Idol style.   

V-day at the Empire proved to be a prime choice.  MENSK, an enigmatic non-profit with a stated mission to “inspire and support personal, local, and regional action for the development of creative and sustainable communities” hosted their Something Like Love fundraiser last eve.  A mini music festival with a line-up of local performers, local art and a raffle/auction of local products (I ended up with a tea set.  Seriously).  Craving the full Empire experience, our group chose to dine on site prior to attending the Valentines Day music love-fest.  As you might decipher from the name, The Empire Dine and Dance is one part restaurant (downstairs) and one part venue (upstairs).  The two halves are separated only by well worn floor boards from an era past.  The exposed beams and floor above adds to the dining ambiance, but proved to be a sieve for loud music.  While waiting for cocktails at our table, we were treated to a few muffled Weezer covers and some unrecognizable original ballads.  Being diners with ulterior motives, the music from above only helped to add to the atmosphere.  Speaking of which, that is something that the restaurant could use a bit more of.  With the exception of the nooks for couches and over-stuffed leather chairs, the space is rather lacking.  Bad art adorned the walls, leaving us to turn to our table top for visual stimulus.  It turns out the tables are pretty sweet.  Perhaps as this relatively young restaurant/venue grows into itself the décor will improve.  The food needs few improvements.  The brie and mango quesadilla was simple, but tasty.  The slider-style mini-burger received rave reviews and the veggie lasagna was over-sized but damn delicious.  The wine list is weak, especially when they are out of 2 of your top choices.  The bar manager was quick to swing by the table and apologize, offering us an upgrade for the same price as our original selection.  Before moving thing upstairs, I must interject a rant about the WC.  Portland, in general, is lacking in good bathroom facilities at bars and restaurants.  My favorite so far is the metal-plated restroom at Gritty’s.  The Empire was seriously lacking, especially for a place that has only been open for a few months.  The shattered urinal looks like someone’s head was put through it.  The hands-free paper towel dispenser is broken and the overly secure fire door is so heavy that it slams closed with alarming force every time someone enters or leaves.  Brief frustration gave way to blissful happiness upon heading upstairs.  The venue is perfect for such an event.  Just the right size to seem comfortably crowded.  A short wait at the bar left us with enormous cocktails in hand to help facilitate the music appreciation process.  Portland has an obsession with pint-sized cocktails.  There must be an area-wide shortage of rocks glasses.  All the bands were great, and I say that will all honesty.  One had a Carrot Top look-alike for their front man, which proved to be slightly distracting from the music.  As Fast As proved to be one of the crowd favorites with 2 sets.  A melodramatic twosome with a guitar and standup bass proved their musical prowess, but had the wrong level of energy for the crowd.  A diminished Rustic Overtones followed suit.  The best of the night came from a group that was not originally listed on the billing of performers.  Soul Movement.  Two female lead singers worked seamlessly together as they were true to their name and provided several soulful songs.  Both the dining experience and the event were a smashing success.  Nice work Frank.