The problem with coming off a long holiday weekend is that the following weekend always feels like it comes up short. You end up feeling cheated almost that you have to go to work the following Monday.
Then again the advantage of the three-day weekend is that you end up getting to the following weekend sooner. Thank the gods for four day workweeks.

Quick question for you, my cherished readers, before we get into the weekend mix. So I volunteered to be a "celebrity" judge at the super-sized 80s night contest at Bubba’s tonight. (I’m guessing they could not get the tinfoil guy or the guy who dances for change before they asked me to be a celebrity guest)
Along with The Awesome’s Jennywren Sanders and Ron Raymond, host of Stuck in the 80s at WMPG, we’ll be judging costumes, 80s knowledge and other general hijinks for cash prizes.
My question is – what’s the proper 80s attire for an event like this? Do I go with the Alex P. Keaton, the Duckie look, the Lane Meyer or maybe something more Ricardo Tubbs?

FRIDAY:

• A Special Occasion: Oh that Bobby, he so sexy I could drink his bathwater! R&B singer Bobby Valentino is touring to promote his latest release, "Special Occasion" and playing at the Asylum tonight. The show starts at 8 p.m., tickets are $11 and available at Bull Moose and at the door. Opening for Valentino are Ms. Kentigian (formerly K-Soul) and the Dream Mosaic band. Valentino’s self-titled debut album dropped in 2005 and since then he has been touring and guesting on other songs, including Ludacris’ "Pimpin’ All Over The World." For those of you with CD collections that go back more than a few years, you may also remember Valentino from his time with the soul group Mista.

• Not just another space: If you haven’t already got the word, Space Gallery got some love in Paste magazine this month, listed as one the 40 best music venues in America. Is this a big deal? Well if you’ve been to the mixed arts venue, you’ll know what the writers at Paste are getting at. They’ve got pretty good company too, including the Allen Room at Lincoln Center in New York and the World Café in Philadelphia. Since it’s First Friday you can head over to Space tonight for an art opening tonight featuring the work of Bradley Wester and Elizabeth Duffy.

• ALL AGES ALERT: It’s been a few weeks since the dust settled in the Reindeer Rock-Off and The Project emerged victorious among the state’s best high school bands. If you missed the competition head over to The Station tonight for a showcase of the top bands, including The Project, Capital, Public Place, Better Then and Poor John. If you want a little taste, head over to the Rock-Off page for samples from the bands as well as the other contestants. Doors are open at 7 p.m., tickets are $8.

• Roots Crew: If there’s one thing Portland has taught me, it’s that a good flyer can go a long way. I’m not gonna lie, what intrigued me abou the Rebel Roots show over at Geno’s tonight and Saturday was the awesome flyer. Of course there’s also a pretty heavy line-up of bands crossing up styles like punk, blues, rockabilly and a lot more. Let us consider this roster: Samuel James, Donny and the Diamondbacks, Meantone, Hot Rod Fury, Murder Weapon and a half-dozen more acts. There’s also bound to be trouble because the Vacationland Vixens will be on hand for the purpose of leg wrestling. It’s a packed bill today and tomorrow, and it’s a $9 ticket. Did I mention they are advertising free beer*(*while supplies last.). Doors at 6 p.m.

SATURDAY

• Worlds Fair: You remember the Portland Public Market right? Oh yeah…the place with the locally produced food, small shops and great spots to run in and grab lunch. As most of you know it kinda died when the property was bought last summer along with the rest of the buildings formerly owned by the Libra Foundation. Today it lives again as the Bayside Neighborhood Association is hosting an international festival and flea market beginning at 1 p.m. You can expect food, crafts, live music and other performances. May be your last chance to see the market as is because on June 12 Portland voters will decide whether to spend money to move the library down the street into the market.

• Kite-it-up: GOTHS WALK AMONG US! Today is apparently the second annual Goth Fly A Kite at Fort Williams park in Cape Elizabeth starting at noon. First it was the zombies on the Hill, now this? What is going on in our world, where is the reason? Where is the sanity? Where do I sign up? But much like zombies, goth’s are people too, and they enjoy and afternoon outing as much as the next guy...it just so happens they also like to wear dark clothing and enjoy music that makes old people cry and grab their chest. The fun continues in the evening with an afterparty at the Asylum starting at 9 p.m.

• Gardening at 140 BPM: So I don’t know much about tonight’s show at the White Heart, but they promise dance music, so that gets me interested. Neon Garden is the headliner, and after checking out the video on their MySpace page, I have to say I am interested. Dance music and I get along just fine, but the cats in this video seem to like it a lot. Personally my favorite part is when a car comes rolling down the street – reminds me of my childhood, dancing on the mean streets of south Minneapolis. (Minor warning, there are some "lite" swears towards the end, but they are born out of happiness.)