PORTLAND

We're killing the oceans
Is it too late to save the seas that sustain us? - BY MIKE MILIARD

No sleep ’til Brooklyn

Maine ties to Slumberland Records’ 20th anniversary weekend
There’s a lot to love about Slumberland Records, the DC-born, Oakland-based label that celebrated its 20th anniversary last weekend with sold-out shows in Washington, DC, and Brooklyn.

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | November 18, 2009

Ski and Snowboard Guide 2010

Gear, where and when to ski, and more
Get ready for another great year on the slopes with the Phoenix 's guide to powder

By PHOENIX STAFF | November 19, 2009

Epic Albanian foodstory

A mother never made it to America, but her chicken pie did.
Portland resident Bill Dilios taught me how to make his favorite dish from Albania, kotopita.

By LINDSAY STERLING | November 18, 2009

Objecting to marriage control

Letters to the Portland editor, November 20, 2009
“The Emperor is wearing no clothes” on both sides of the marriage war.

By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | November 18, 2009

Arc printing

David Driskell’s PMA retrospective
For more than 50 years David Driskell, in his art and his distinguished academic career, has been a creative force in the intersection of modernist art and the African diaspora.

By KEN GREENLEAF | November 18, 2009

Taxing Catholics

Should the Church lose its exemption?
Should the Roman Catholic Church, and the various subsidiary groups and organizations that exist under its umbrella and operate at its direction, be entitled to state- and federal-tax exemptions?

By EDITORIAL | November 18, 2009

Road to riches

The Pike gouges
The Maine Turnpike Authority wants to pay between $34 million and $56 million to build a new toll plaza in York. Don't let that huge price tag fool you.

By AL DIAMON | November 18, 2009

Brown Bird in Williamsburg

Road Trip
Along with other Mainers in Brooklyn this weekend playing at the Slumberland Records 20th anniversary celebration, Maine/Rhode Island chamber-folk standouts Brown Bird were also in the borough, playing the narrow Williamsburg bar Spike Hill Sunday night.

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | November 18, 2009

Taking gay rights to Obama

All Politics Is Local
You might have seen Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll, seniors at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, around town in the days leading up to November 3.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 18, 2009

Basking in life

Two humans and two lizards, in Albee's Seascape
Nancy and Charlie (Kate Braun and Peter Josephson) have made it to the other side: Their kids are raised, released into the world, and producing their own offspring.

By MEGAN GRUMBLING | November 18, 2009

Music Seen: Brother Ali

Brother Ali, live at Asylum, November 10, 2009
Even if you've seen Brother Ali before, you have not seen the show that he played last week.

By SONYA TOMLINSON | November 18, 2009

The death of 'Do This,' and more

Sibilance
Photographer/songwriter/BOXY member JOSHUA LORING and SPACE GALLERY were awarded a grant by the MAINE ARTS COMMISSION to document the underground rock scene.

By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | November 18, 2009

We have Liftoff (again)

Back, Brightside , and they've got it nailed
If there is a constant that runs through Walt Craven's vocal and lyrical work from 6gig through Lost on Liftoff, it is his role as the impassioned voice of the underdog.

By SAM PFEIFLE | November 18, 2009

Review: Precious

Purple's prose makes for wrenching melodrama
If you thought Celie in Alice Walker's The Color Purple had a tough time of it, wait till you get a load of Precious.

By PETER KEOUGH | November 18, 2009

Review: The Blind Side

Despite what you may think, it's not a Sandra Bullock movie
It’s tough for any self-respecting critic to refrain from joyously tackling a Sandra Bullock movie — so it’s a good thing The Blind Side isn’t one.

By CHRIS FARAONE | November 17, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures | Them Crooked Vultures

DGC/Interscope (2009)
One day, maybe in a decade or three, somebody will dig this LP out of the future virtual version of a record crate in a Salvation Army and be blown away by the deep grooves this supergroup generate

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 18, 2009

Swollen Members | Armed to the Teeth

Battle Axe (2009)
I’m not completely sure why the mere mention of Swollen Members rubs so many underground rap snobs the wrong way.

By CHRIS FARAONE | November 18, 2009

Heather Woods Broderick | From the Ground

Preservation (2009)
Let not the minimalist packaging of Heather Woods Broderick’s From the Ground mislead you into assuming it’s some sort of heady ambient work that you’ll get around to next time you’re cleaning — as happened to me.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | November 17, 2009

Annie | Don't Stop

Smalltown Supersound (2009)
Things have gotten pretty crowded in the electro-pop demi-monde since Annie released her indie-hit debut, Anniemal , back in 2004.

By MIKAEL WOOD | November 17, 2009