It's a big day here on the NXT Desk. Not only are the hours counting down to what should be an undeniably smooth Yacht Rock party tonight, but I'm heading out on vacation.
This is a real vacation from the NXT Desk, no cross country trips to learn about multimedia, no high school reunions, no conferences.
I'll be completely off the grid at Fort Bacon, the Ellis compound in the Adirondacks before taking the helicopter to tinker in the lab of the DangerVilla on Fang Island.
But fear not, the NXT Desk will not go dark. I've got a week's worth of substitute teachers lined up starting on Monday that I think you guys are gonna like. Be kind to them.
FRIDAY
Yacht Rock II. The White Heart. 8 p.m. What can I say that I have not already said. I'll see you there with duck shoes on.
Brooklyn-based funk/soul/jazz/dance machine Chin Chin rolls into town tonight to play...the Asylum? I thought Brooklyn bands favored SPACE? Who knew. ANYWAY, this band looks to be a sure bet for dancing. If you don't believe me, just check out a few of their tracks on their MySpace page. Also, not a bad ticket at $10! Show starts at 9 p.m.
Portland's world traveling blues man Samuel James plays a show on home turf at the always intimate and small crowd friendly North Star Cafe. James plays along with a familiar face, Wrong Reasons, who bring some Providence-brand country blues to the night. Show starts at 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
PIRATES! What does it say that, in the same weekend as Yacht Rock, just up the coast in Rockland you can find Pirates. Yes, eye patch-wearing, doubloon stealing, rum guzzling pirates. OK, maybe not that tough, but Down East Pirate Days promises family fun, so the pirates may not be that bold. But still, treasure hunts, pub crawls, and a pirate's ball sound like good times, right? Fun starts at 10 a.m. today and continues at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children.
Another weekend, another new album release party. Let's give it up for some seriously productive local musicians. Nice! Dominic and the Lucid are throwing the party to celebrate their second CD, "Season of the Sun," at Empire Dine and Dance tonight. The guest list includes Why Hello, Dead End Armory and Anna's Ghost. Stop by to hear it first and get a chance to take the album home. Show starts at 9 p.m. and it's a $7 ticket.
Some of Portland's finest DJs and MCs are coming together at SPACE Gallery tonight for Jam for Justice, a benefit to raise money and consciousness about the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. Tonight's concert not only features local music but also a raffle of gifts from local businesses and art from area artists. On the music side there are performances from the likes of Sontiago and Dilly Dilly with Alias at the wheel. Things get started at 6 p.m. and it's $6 to get in.
That's it for me for more than a week. But before I go, I could not resist sending things off with an ultra smooth video for the weekend. I defy you to not be moved (to laughter or, well, laughter mostly) by this old cut. A classic. Hope to see you all at the White Heart tonight.
Justin is a former newspaper intern and has the scar tissue to prove
it. Justin has been a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald/Maine
Sunday Telegram since 2003, and in 2004 began writing a weekly column in the
Monday Magazine.
If he had to pick a label, the column would fall under "youth culture,"
covering everything from high school dance etiquette, dealing with college
debt, the resurgence of Roller Derby and Portland's one-of-a-kind music
scene. This of course has not stopped him from answering letters to Santa
Claus or writing about his experience riding shotgun in a drift car.
Justin is an export from the Midwest. He is a graduate of the University of
Missouri and is originally from Minnesota. He enjoys bacon, cheap beer,
redheads, Burt Reynolds jokes and wondering what the soundtrack to his life
would sound like.
When he grows up he wants to be an international art thief. Or Captain
America.
Until then he'll be bringing you dispatches about "the young people" and
what they do.
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