Notes from a Genius

"Night of the Living Deb" starring: Maria Thayer, Ray Wise, Chris Marquette, Michael Cassady, Syd Wilder directed by: Kyle Rankin This review is a few weeks later. This is a Maine-based, Maine-made film that began as a Kickstarter campaign. I remember them filming in Portland last summer and after viewing it at the premier in Portland, at SPACE Gallery, I only wish I had taken the opportunity to at least been an extra in the film (since there was a call-out for them). This is just one of those fun, romantic-comedies with a spin, it includes zombies. It's main characters are played by veteran actors, yet rather unknowns in the business, but the way they interact with each other and play out the script is just fantastic. The girl that plays Deb, the title character, is Maria Thayer and she could potentially be seen as just another Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but there's just something else completely endearing about her, every time she is on screen and reciting the...

I went to a couple of shows over the past two weeks. The first one, Meg Myers at Port City Music Hall, in Portland, blew me away. I discovered her solely because the show was advertised as only being $12, so I said, what the hell. I checked out a couple of her videos on www.youtube.com and really liked her sound- which was even better live, in concert. This small girl has an incredible and powerful voice that can command a room, for sure. This was an amazing, surprise show- those are the kinds of shows I really end up thoroughly enjoying. The setlist for her Portland show has not been posted, but the next night's seems very similar. Curbstomp   Adelaide   Motel   A Bolt From the Blue   Go   Say Nothing   Desire   Make a Shadow   Feather   Sorry   Heart Heart Head   Encore: The Morning After   This week I went to see a band I've liked for about 15 years, sin...

Past Due:  Last weekend, I went to see the progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me at Port City Music Hall, here in Portland. I saw them a few years ago, when they had an opening slot for Circa Survive. As an opener, they only had about 30-40 minutes to showcase their musical catalogue and talents. As a headliner, though, they were able to stretch their songs and play an amazing setlist, which included old favorites and new songs from their forthcoming album (due out in July). These guys are absolutely incredible and they played off and with each other as a great cohesive musical unit. Sure, they only played 8 songs, over the span of a solid hour and a half, but that's because their songs stretch between 10-25 minutes long, with several shifts and signature changes that make you think the song is over. An interesting fact to the story of this metal band, which I discovered on my own through research: the band's name came from a Counting Crows song titled "Ghost T...

A couple Saturday nights ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Matt and Kim in concert (for the first time- and it certainly won't be the last time). Let me tell you, what an incredible show. They packed so much energy into their set, from their interaction with the crowd, to the dance songs they play, just everything. It was awesome! Kim is a great drummer, and dancer, as she took every opportunity to shake her booty. The fact that they are so happy making music together was invigorating, add to that the fact that they are an (extremely) happy couple and it makes the experience of seeing them live even better. This was the opening night of their tour and I was stoked that they chose Portland, ME. They certainly did not disappoint. Overexposed   Tonight   Cameras   Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare   Yea Yeah   Hoodie On   Let's Go   Not That Bad   Hey Now   Remix to Ignition (cover)   N...