PORTLAND

Soldier's joy

Aaron Lee Marshall's intriguing Now Maybe
For a deconstructionist, the new album from Aaron Lee Marshall presents any number of philosophical difficulties.

By SAM PFEIFLE | December 02, 2009

Busy options

Sampling Kon Asian's broad spectrum
For a place that is largely about performative hibachi dining and Asian kitsch, Kon is very into the Buddha.

By BRIAN DUFF | December 02, 2009

Hot for teacher

MECA faculty re-imagine the natural world and play with nostalgia
MECA faculty re-imagine the natural world and play with nostalgia

By ANNIE LARMON | December 02, 2009

A man in a bunker outlines our forthcoming Collapse
In Collapse , the latest documentary by Chris Smith ( American Movie , The Yes Men ), the director condenses a two-day, March 2009 interview with a little-known investigator named Michael Ruppert into a bleak harbinger of the world's seemingly inevitable ruin.

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | December 02, 2009

Winged migration

Brown Bird and South China fracture and cohere
Since their start in the middle of the decade, Brown Bird have been one of the region's go-to chamber-folk outfits, with a couple of dark and stormy albums earning them a following in various nooks of New England. The release of their latest album, The Devil Dancing , feels like both an ending and a new beginning.

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | December 02, 2009

Treble Treble release party

Music Seen
Treble Treble release party at SPACE Gallery, November 27

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | December 02, 2009

Like Woe? Like, Whoa

Sibilance
The dirt on Brzowski, Moshe, Mezcalitos, and more

By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | December 02, 2009

So you think you can dance?

Soul Clap at SPACE
One of the few things that heats up a winter's night more than a dance party? A dance competition . Yes, you heard right.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | December 02, 2009

Idiot wind

Airship of fools
Last spring, after the state Legislature rejected a bill that could have resulted in a wind farm being constructed on two undeveloped mountains in Redington Township, a lot of people in western Maine, figuring the controversial project was finally dead, expressed their joy by doing the chicken dance in the streets.

By AL DIAMON | December 02, 2009

Don’t let your meat loaf

Balls, Pucks & Monster Trucks
If the meat loaves were going to be entered in the contest, they had to be on the judges’ table by 6:30.

By RICK WORMWOOD | December 02, 2009

Questioning the Legality of Straight Marriage

One for the Annuls Dept.
When it comes to supporting gay rights, two straight Boston University grads are putting their marriage where their mouths are.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | December 04, 2009

Top Uses for the Local Daily

Hoopleville
The lifecycle of Ye Olde Fishwrap

By DAVID KISH | December 02, 2009

Review: Left 4 Dead 2

Zombie nation: Valve at the top of its craft
When Valve announced a full-priced sequel to Left 4 Dead only one year after the original, 40,000 frustrated gamers joined an on-line boycott. The boycotters had a point, but they'll miss out if they stand on principle.

By MITCH KRPATA | December 01, 2009

Review: Up In the Air

Flight pattern: Reitman takes a familiar turn
No director pulls off the bait-and-switch as craftily as Jason Reitman. He gets you thinking that you're watching a hip, caustic comedy subverting the status quo, but by the end, he's vindicated all the platitudes he seemed to scorn.

By PETER KEOUGH | December 02, 2009

Julianna Barwick | Florine

Emusic (2009)
When someone describes an album as “hmmm, I dunno, sort of like Enya if she were from Brooklyn” — that person is not setting you up for success with said album.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | December 02, 2009

Rihanna | Rated R

Def Jam (2009)
Look, it’s not as if there were a song where she says, “Chris Brown, you chicken-shit motherfucker, your ass is gonna pay.”

By MIKAEL WOOD | December 02, 2009

Review: For the Love of Movies

Why do some people get to watch movies for a living?
Like Trekkies and other documentaries that examine what makes particular nerd legions tick, For the Love of Movies beams viewers to a planet that outsiders only think they know about.

By CHRIS FARAONE | December 09, 2009

Camera crazy

Local filmmakers show off their talents in our fourth Short-Film Festival
With a large number of new entrants, and several returning filmmakers, the fourth annual Portland Phoenix Maine Short Film Festival was a rousing success.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 25, 2009

It takes a village

... and a compilation album/photobook to raise a self-sustaining indie scene
Treble Treble , a new 15-page photobook and 10-artist compilation album curated by local musician and budding photographer Joshua Loring, is the first concerted effort to market Portland's indie music scene.

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | November 24, 2009

Photos: Gross Thanksgiving food to avoid

Avoid these fattening and just plain gross Thanksgiving foods
Thanksgiving is a time for gorging on food and hanging out with family, but really it's mostly about the food. There are some dishes that take it too far, however, and we are here to help you steer clear of those.

By LISA SPINELLI | November 25, 2009