The Empire

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A little bit country

Wax Tablet
The line-up for the Portland showcase at the CMJ Festival will be: SPOSE , BILLY LIBBY , THE MALLETT BROTHERS BAND , SUNSET HEARTS , THE MILKMAN'S UNION , THE TOUGHCATS , and KURT BAKER .
By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | September 21, 2011

Review: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Exhilarating action
The latest action epic from Hong Kong new wave director Tsui Hark ( Once Upon a Time in China ) is a fact-based historical drama set in 689 AD, a period when "all hell was about to break loose," according to the dense narration that opens the film.
By BRETT MICHEL | September 20, 2011

Say Hi to I Love Music

A burning Tiger
That photo with the high heels is so good you almost don't need to know anything else about Hi Tiger before taking the plunge with their music.
By SAM PFEIFLE | August 09, 2011

Erica Brown is more than a pretty girl with a fiddle

Bluegrass connections
Just hitting the backside of her mid-twenties and already coming up on two decades into her career as a fiddle/violin player and singer here in Maine and beyond, Erica Brown is one of the youngest true veterans on the circuit you're likely to find.
By SAM PFEIFLE | July 06, 2011

Pinsky win by Losing Touch

Get up, kids
Pinsky don't seem to be in any kind of hurry. Roughly three years following their first EP, the intriguing Two for the Road (with a two-song release mixed in last year), the four-piece are ready with a debut full-length on Sinking Ship Records.
By SAM PFEIFLE | June 29, 2011

Bass Box | Mother Box

Local vocals
The debut full-length from Bass Box is worth a listen if only for its originality. I can't remember an album that explores as much of the contemporary musical canon — rock, pop, folk, jazz, R&B, gypsy, tango — all without use of the drums.
By SAM PFEIFLE | January 20, 2011

Power pop, radio rock, and more

Sibilance
NOW IS NOW frontman MITCH ALDEN has plans for a solo release. The party's scheduled for January 21 at RiRa. Expect some seriously upbeat power pop.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | December 15, 2010

Queensrÿche | Empire: 20th Anniversary Edition

Capitol (2010)
Queensrÿche were always a bit too smart for the late-'80s hair-metal genre in which they were pigeonholed.
By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 16, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

Huak + Metal Feathers at Bayside Bowl, September 24

Music seen
The DJ at Bayside Bowl can't stop playing the Pixies' Bossanova. Not that anyone's complaining.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | September 29, 2010

Another fine mess: 20 years of the Boneheads

(And Steve Jones)
It can be easy to put the Boneheads in the same category with Rick Charette.
By SAM PFEIFLE | September 01, 2010

Madgirl's Mad House, Goodnight Process says goodnight, and more

Sibilance
Remember how MADGIRL was selling local discs through her MAD HOUSE store on Commercial Street? Well, she has 45 local artists in the store right now, and is willing to add more, but is no longer paying for the discs up front — just selling the discs and passing the money back along, without taking a commission.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | August 26, 2010