The Bollard Bulletin: November 29, 2024
Three-Day Weekender Edition: How to Entertain Unhip Holiday Visitors
HIGHLIGHT
Here at The Bollard Bulletin we’ve got every entertainment situation covered, including the dreaded Keeping Your Unhip Family Happily Distracted dilemma. It’s a long holiday weekend, and mom and dad may have experienced Beatlemania firsthand, but they don’t care to relive it, so Spencer Albee’s annual tribute shows at the State Theatre are off the gravy-stained table. Ditto the big Model Airplane funk family reunion at Aura on Saturday (you’re still self-conscious about dancing in front of your parents). So where do you take your less cultured kin after dark?
RiRa, naturally. The big Irish pub on Portland’s waterfront (72 Commercial St.) has cover bands on Friday and Saturday nights whose entire raison d’être is to be palatable to a diverse crowd of casual music listeners. Alter Ego plays sing-along classic rock covers there this Friday night, and Two Minutes Out provides likable college-rock and punk numbers (not too angry), plus some grungy blues-rock originals this Saturday. (Oh, and there’s plenty of beer and booze to erase those nagging resentments.) More info at rira.com/portland.
Music
FRIDAY
Andy’s Old Port Pub
Continental Shakedown
7 p.m., no cover (all ages)
The Apohadion Theater
Biz Turkey, Gum Parker, Jon and Tim (from Phantom Buffalo) (indie rock)
8 p.m., $10-$15 (all ages)
Bubba’s Sulky Lounge
DJ (dance music)
9 p.m., low cover (21+)
Cocktail Mary
“Filthy Friday” Queer Dance Party (DJs)
9 p.m., $5 (21+)
Henry’s Old Port Pub
Jonah Bruce (rock and pop covers)
6:30 p.m., no cover (all ages)
Hi-Fidelity
St. Clementine (modern folk)
8 p.m., no cover (all ages)
Lenny’s Pub
Mad Honey Band
6:30 p.m., $5 (all ages)
One Longfellow Square
Rock This Town Orchestra (Christmas rockabilly)
8 p.m., $30-$40
Portland House of Music
Zach Nugent’s Dead Set (Grateful Dead covers)
9 p.m., $20-$25 (21+)
RiRa
Alter Ego (classic rock covers)
10 p.m., no cover (21+)
State Theatre
Spencer and the Walrus present Beatles Night
8 p.m., $26-$31
Throttle Car Club
Two for Jackson (country)
6:30 p.m., free (all ages)
SATURDAY
Andy’s Old Port Pub
Blue Steel Express, The ProfTones (blues)
7 p.m., no cover (all ages)
The Apohadion Theater
DJs Dai De Mai, Maddog and UFO Marcus (alien disco)
8:30 p.m., $5-$15 (21+)
Aura
Model Airplane (funk)
8 p.m., $25-$30 (18+)
Cadenza
Southside Blues (Chicago style)
7 p.m., $23-$28 (all ages)
Chocolate Church Arts Center
Freddy Larrosa, Jane Clukey (singer-songwriters)
7:30 p.m., $20 (all ages)
Gritty McDuff’s
The Grumps (rock)
9:30 p.m., no cover (21+)
Henry’s Old Port Pub
Jonah Bruce (rock and pop covers)
6:30 p.m., no cover (all ages)
Hi-Fidelity
Whitney Walker, The Copper Stills (psychedelic gutter blues and more)
8 p.m., no cover (all ages)
The Hill Arts
Dave Rovics (socially conscious folk)
7 p.m., $15-$19
Jonathan’s Ogunquit
Anthony Geraci (jazz, blues)
7:30 p.m., $23
Johnson Hall
“A Motown Christmas” with Pat Colwell and the Soul Sensations
7:30 p.m., $25
Lenny’s Pub
A Band Beyond Description (Grateful Dead covers)
6:30 p.m., $15 (all ages)
One Longfellow Square
Windbourne’s “Music of Midwinter” (classical, folk)
8 p.m., $25-$35
The Porthole
Don Campbell (country)
3 p.m., no cover (all ages)
Portland House of Music
Rigometrics (rock)
8:30 p.m., $15 (21+)
RiRa
Two Minutes Out (alt-rock, punk, grunge blues)
10 p.m., no cover (21+)
SPACE
Zootz Reunion (DJs)
8 p.m., SOLD OUT
State Theatre
Spencer and the Walrus present Beatles Night
8 p.m., $26-$31
Stone Mountain Arts Center
The Martin Sexton Abbey Road Show
8 p.m., $50
The Thirsty Pig
Dakota Smart (2 p.m.), Hambone (funk, 7 p.m.)
no cover (all ages)
SUNDAY
Camp Pennant
Zion Train (reggae)
2 p.m., free (all ages)
The Dance Hall
“Messiah Sing” (community chorus performance of Handel’s Messiah)
4 p.m., $20-$25
First Parish Congregational Church (12 Beach St., Saco)
Inner Voices Choir perform “The Power of She”
2 p.m., $12 suggested donation
Flask Lounge
“Sundaze” (bass DJs)
9 p.m., $5 (21+)
Lenny’s Pub
“Biggie Brunch” (hip hop DJ)
10 a.m., no cover (all ages)
One Longfellow Square
Mr. Sun (Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite)
6:30 p.m., $15 (all ages)
Portland House of Music
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (country blues)
8 p.m., $20 (21+)
State Theatre
Spencer and the Walrus present Beatles Night
8 p.m., $26-$31
The Thirsty Pig
Skip the One Man Band
4 p.m., no cover (all ages)
Three Dollar Deweys
After Dark
10 a.m., no cover
club guide
Performing Arts
FRIDAY
Portland Stage Co.’s production of the winter fairy tale The Snow Queen at Portland Stage (25 Forest Ave.) at 7 p.m. Tix: $15-$40. 774-0465. portlandstage.org.
Black Friday Comedy Showcase featuring Caleb Theodore Sherman, Ben Chadwick and Sarah Mather at Empire Comedy Club (575 Congress St., Portland) at 7 p.m. Tix: $10 (21+). empirecomedyme.com.
Dark & Dirty 4, a showcase of edgy comedy hosted by Stephen Barton, at Empire Comedy Club (575 Congress St., Portland) at 9 p.m. Tix: $10 (21+). empirecomedyme.com.
SATURDAY
“Mental Health for the Holidays,” a burlesque, drag and variety show to benefit Samaritans for Suicide Prevention, at Après (148 Anderson St., Portland) at 6 p.m. Donation (all ages). 613-8231. apresmaine.com.
Westbrook funnyman Bryan Vokey performs at Empire Comedy Club (575 Congress St., Portland) at 7 p.m. Tix: $25 (21+). empirecomedyme.com.
Portland Stage Co.’s production of the winter fairy tale The Snow Queen at Portland Stage (25 Forest Ave.) at 7 p.m. Tix: $15-$45. 774-0465. portlandstage.org.
The Sirens Dance Club presents “Hex Appeal,” a saucy showcase of works in various styles, at Empire Comedy Club (575 Congress St., Portland) at 9:30 p.m. Tix: $25-$35 (21+). empirecomedyme.com.
SUNDAY
Portland Stage Co.’s production of the winter fairy tale The Snow Queen at Portland Stage (25 Forest Ave.) at noon. Tix: pay-what-you-can. 774-0465. portlandstage.org.
Maine State Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker at Merrill Auditorium (20 Myrtle St., Portland) at 2 p.m. Tix: $28-83. 842-0800. porttix.com.
Comedy Open Mic hosted by Dave Jacquet at RiRa (72 Commercial St., Portland) at 7 p.m. Free (all ages). 761-4446. rira.com/portland.
Happenings
FRIDAY
Screening of Andrea Arnold’s coming-of-age film, Bird, about a pre-teen girl who meets an influential stranger, at the Portland Museum of Art (7 Congress Square) at 2 p.m. Tix: $6. 775-6148. portlandmuseum.org.
Screening of Nora Fingscheidt’s drama The Outrun, about a woman who returns to the Orkney Islands from London to heal, at the Portland Museum of Art (7 Congress Square) at 6 p.m. Tix: $10. 775-6148. portlandmuseum.org.
SATURDAY
The 8th annual Celebration Market craft, tree and art sale at Celebration Barn Tree Farm & Wellness Center (125 Bowie Hill Rd., Durham) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. 653-3319. celebrationtreefarm.com.
Screening of Andrea Arnold’s coming-of-age film, Bird, about a pre-teen girl who meets an influential stranger, at the Portland Museum of Art (7 Congress Square) at noon. Tix: $10. 775-6148. portlandmuseum.org.
Screening of the 1989 Frederick Wiseman documentary Central Park at the Portland Museum of Art (7 Congress Square) at 3 p.m. Tix: $10. 775-6148. portlandmuseum.org.
SUNDAY
Screening of Andrea Arnold’s coming-of-age film, Bird, about a pre-teen girl who meets an influential stranger, at the Portland Museum of Art (7 Congress Square) at noon. Tix: $6. 775-6148. portlandmuseum.org.
Screening of Nora Fingscheidt’s drama The Outrun, about a woman who returns to the Orkney Islands from London to heal, at the Portland Museum of Art (7 Congress Square) at 3 p.m. Tix: $10. 775-6148. portlandmuseum.org.
Symposium, a lightly moderated philosophical discussion, at Hi-Fidelity Brewing (200 Anderson St., Portland) at 4 p.m. Free (all ages). hifidelitybeer.com.
“Red Reminds Me…,” a program of seven videos about living with HIV today, at SPACE (538 Congress St., Portland) at 7 p.m. Free (RSVP requested). 828-5600. space538.org.
Thanks for the cover photo!