9.01.2006 | Fri

First Friday Art Walk:
The Arts Formally Known as Prints

5-8p, free, all ages

In conjunction with The Maine Print Project, SPACE presents "The Arts Formally Known as Prints," a group show of work that uses the idea of printmaking as a starting point. Artists include G. Bank, Kyle Bravo, Karen Gelardi, Adriane Herman, Colleen Kinsella, Brian Reeves, Chad Verrill and David Wolfe.

9.06.2006 | Wed

Doc. Film:
Workingman's Death

7:30p, $6 / $5 members, all ages

In the 21st Century, where has heavy, manual labor gone? In the Ukraine, a group of men spend long days crawling through cramped shafts of illegal coal mines. Sulfur gatherers in Indonesia brave the smoky heat of an active volcano and the treacherous trip back down. Blood, fire and stench are routine for workers at a crowded open-air slaughterhouse in Nigeria. Pakistani men use little more than their bare hands to dismantle an abandoned oil tanker for scrap metal. Steelworkers in China fear they could be a dying breed.... A beautiful, often brutal documentary that reveals the grace, pride and shame of hard, manual work.

9.08.2006 | Fri

SWELL

7-10p, free, all ages

SPACE Gallery and MENSK team up to bring you their latest public space intervention: SWELL. Using inflated forms, audio/visual installations, music, dance and performance, SWELL follows in the footsteps of last year's Reclaiming Space event to bring artistic energy into the street.

With a delicious buffet by Morpheus Eats ($8/person)

9.09.2006 | Sat

The Lunchbox Series with Scott Magoon

11a, $3/person, geared toward ages 4-9

It's a fish eat fish world. And Ugly Fish is taking his tank world for all
it's worth. Massachusetts illustrator Scott Magoon, has created the best overbite ever known to books, comics or otherwise to illustrate the new children's picture book, Ugly Fish. Join Scott as he creates ugly things before your very eyes on his computer tablet. Kids will get a lesson in ugly art history and then get their hands dirty creating their own 3-D ugly fish.

9.13.2006 | Wed

Sol.illaquists of Sound

9p, $8 advance / $10 day of show, 18+

It would be an understatement to call the Sol·iLLaquists of Sound a mere Hip-Hop Band. Their message and ambitious fusion of varied stylistic genres continue to reinvent the perceptions and experience of music as a whole. The group consists of four dynamic individuals: Swamburger, Alexandrah, Tonya Combs, and DiViNCi. As they are each talented, focused and motivated enough to hold their own, they prove to be an undeniably ruthless force when working together. Backed by a powerful message of self-awareness, the Sol·iLLaquists combine rapid-fire lyricism, jazz-tinged vocals, insightful poetry, and innovative live electronic performance.

9.14.2006 | Thurs

Mason Jennings with Jennifer Connor and Emilia Dahlin

9p, $15, 18+

"I am interested in the experience of life, not it's meaning," Mason Jennings says. This purposeful embrace informs Mason's music, and the songs on his new album, “Boneclouds” (Glacial Pace/Epic), are richly worded reflections that address the hidden struggles and neglected dreams that have come to infuse most of modern-day life. Mason's songs provide unique insights that offer hope, honesty and, above all, faith - an undeniable faith in life. Opening the night is singer / songwriter Jennifer Connor, who has collaborated with members of Sparklehorse, Yo La Tengo, and Spoon.

Wielding a voice that defies the size of her body and strong storytelling sensibilities, Emilia Dahlin has carved out her name as a unique songstress. She weaves mesmerizing tales (complete with Greek myths, robotic messiahs, epic floods, and tax evaders) with raw, rootsy folk and dynamic jazz vocals. Her well-crafted songs sound as if they've been left outside where time and weather have worn cracks for the wind to whip through. Her sky-rocketing energy is delivered with honesty. She's a “self-made original” and the quintessential indie musician, wearing the hat of artist, manager, and booking agent at once.

9.15.2006 | Fri

Dimensions in Jazz presents:
Frank Carlberg

9p, $10adv/ $15 dos, all ages

Tickets available at Starbird Music, SPACE, Wild Rufus and Books, Etc.

Finnish-born pianist and composer Frank Carlberg has developed a musical vision that blends aspects of Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus with contemporary classical and avant-garde influences. He has won numerous awards, performed all over the world with the likes of Steve Lacy, George Garzone, Ron McClure, the Either/Orchestra, and Christine Correa, and taught at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, and Oulunkyla Jazz Conservatory. His quartet includes Chris Cheek on sax, John Hebert on bass and Mike Sarin on drums.

9.16.2006 | Sat

The Weird Weeds and Freddy Bear with Chriss Sutherland

9p, $7, 18+

Since their inception, Austin's The Weird Weeds have been carving out a musical space for themselves that is unlike anything else around them. Their new record (and second full-length) "Weird Feelings" further explores the nature of their individuality, showcasing a much more refined and fully-realized sound than on their previous releases. Their music is full of paradox and contradiction – fervid yet experimental, atonal yet melodic, earnest yet humorous. Freddy Bear: A wonderful member of Portland's outer/inner edge, this musician/artist/circus arts performer will offer up his brand of slightly wacky alternately tuned electric composition. Chriss Sutherland is a founding member of Portland's Cerberus Shoal and a member of Threads. Chriss is making his debut solo performance with guitar and voice. Making full use of his "refreshing" and "daring" personality, Chriss attempts to bring two common instruments back to life, and with very little sarcasm and a lot of sincerity he will try to live his dream.

9.17.2006 | Sun

Poor Valley Salvation Society and Willard Grant Conspiracy with Kevin Midgley

8p, $6, 18+

Willard Grant Conspiracy is the musical collective that surrounds songwriter Robert Fisher. The band has a loose configuration that allows its members to be involved as they are available, in order to support all of their musical and life interests. But make no mistake--this is ensemble playing and a real band no matter how many participants are present. Currently based in the California desert where Robert lives, musicians from all over make up a flexible lineup which, combined with a dedication to improvisational playing ensures that every show is truly unique. Crudely angelical with a demonic delivery, The Poor Valley Salvation Society is two nice Jewish boys, a former Virgin Mary, and two fallen choir girls hell-bent on a mission to make old-time country and gospel rowdy and fun.

9.21.2006 | Thurs

Artist Talk: Adrianne Herman

http://www.adrianeherman.com

7p, free

Slop Artist Adriane Herman presents "[Print] Power to the People," a discussion about artists who utilize print media and contextual sensitivity to deliver work to a broad audience. Her collaborative curatorial work with Slop Art dovetails with independent efforts to encourage consumption of fine art and challenge vestigial fine art hierarchies. Herman is interim director of Maine College of Arts MFA Program. Her recent work examines physical and psychological baggage—that which we consume consciously and unwittingly, and spend time working to jettison. Herman curated Long Overdue: Book Renewal,a MECA / Portland Public Library collaboration that yielded 186 borrowable artworks made of discarded books from the library. Bring an altered book checked out from the  Portland Public Library and receive a free piece of Slop Brand Art.

9.22.2006 | Fri

Asbury Shorts of New York presents:
“An Evening of the World’s Best Short Films”

7:30p, $8, all ages

Over the past 20 years ASNY has screened elite, internationally-honored shorts in venues such as The DGA Theatre in Manhattan, Visions Cinema in Washington, D.C., Royal Festival Hall in London and the Leminske Theater in Berlin to name just a few. The mission of ASNY is to provide the general public a rare opportunity to  see short film award-winners in a live, theatrical setting. The event is produced not as a film festival, but a fun entertaining night out. There are no seminars, awards or question & answers with the filmmakers. Tonight's screening is an eclectic compilation of live action comedy, drama and outstanding animated short films, selected from  shows covering the past 10 years. Highlights include two-time festival award winner “The Quality of Mercy,” from director Stephen Marro which stars Emmy & Tony Award winner Mary Louise Parker. In addition, there will be all-time Asbury favorites: “The Bloody Olive” and Oscar nominee “Fait d’Hiver,” both from Belgium. Also, Sundance Finalists “Lunch,” and “Zen & the Art of Landscaping.“  All the films are 17 minutes or less in length. 

9.27.2006 | Wed

Elf Power

9p, $8, 18+

Athens-based Elf Power emerged as part of the second wave of bands linked to the Elephant 6 Recording Company collective, a coterie of like-minded, lo-fi indie groups—including the Apples (In Stereo), Neutral Milk Hotel, and the Olivia Tremor Control—who shared musicians, ideas, and sensibilities. Formed by singers/multi-instrumentalists Andrew Rieger and Laura Carter, Elf Power debuted in 1995 and has since released 8 records, most recently with "Back to the Web" which came out earlier this year.

9.28.2006 | Thurs

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players with Baby Gramps

9p, $8 advance / $10 day of, 18+

From Filter Magazine:
When you’re in a band as unique as the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, it’s okay to be a little confident. “We’re an indie-vaudeville-conceptual-art-rock-slideshow band,” says singer/ songwriter Jason Trachtenberg. “We’ve got the market cornered. There’s no band that can hold a candle to us. In that department.” He’s got a point there — the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players are a domestic trio (dad Jason, mom Tina Piña, 12-year-old daughter Rachel), who play quirky indie pop songs in the key of unironic good, clean fun (think They Might Be Giants meets the Partridge Family) with one major catch: All the songs’ carefully rhyming lyrics come from the vintage slide collections they’ve found at estate or garage sales that accompany their performances. What’s more, from their retro fashion sense to their disavowal of modern conveniences, the Trachtenburg Family, themselves, are a charming relic — a vintage throwback to simpler, more self-sufficient, family-oriented times — just like their music.

9.29.2006 | Fri

And The Banned Played On ...

7:30p, $5 suggested, all ages

Five Maine writers help SPACE Gallery, the Maine Civil Liberties Union and the Maine Library Association observe Banned Books Week. More than a book a day faces expulsion from free and open public access in U.S. schools and libraries every year. Tonight Sara Corbett, Alex Irvine, Richard Russo, and Betsy Sholl read passages from their favorite banned books.

9.30.2006 | Sat

Kris Clark presents For the Love of House

9:30p, $6 / $5 with email, 21+

Feel the Love! The latest Kris Clark dance party features Jason Keith and Kid Ray.