Music seen at Geno's, November 8
By DAN CLARK | November 12, 2008
If any Portland band can claim their own cult of personality, it's Covered In Bees. Easily one of the best live acts in Maine, if not all of New England, they never fail to draw a large, energetic crowd of diehard fans. Coming out of the hiatus they've been on since August, CIB (plus Hand Me Downs and the Pubcrawlers) celebrated the release of two much-anticipated projects: Andy Davis's Maine-lensed zombie film 2, for which they wrote and performed the music; and 24 Hour Album, for which the band challenged themselves to write and record an entire album in 24 hours.
Covered in Bees have always functioned with a simple mission: play loud, have fun, and always give the fans something new. The average CIB live show is anything but, as these death-punk overachievers always exceed expectations. The band's excitement and enthusiasm for playing live can whip any crowd into a hurricane of pure joy in nanoseconds. At the eye of this storm is Bees front man Boo Leavitt, a tattooed bundle of megawatt charisma and energy, galvanizing the crowd with tales of heartbreak, haunted houses, Spiderladies, and Swampmen. Providing the sonic settings for these stories are axe-grinder Doug Porter (Confusatron), bassist Ed Porter (Pigboat), and Tristan Gallagher (Man-Witch) on drums. The music hits you like a triple espresso, only without the acid reflux. Galloping rhythms, searing solos, and the ever-dynamic Boo combine to flood the system with endorphins and adrenaline, making you pogo uncontrollably with a smile on your face so wide your cheeks hurt the next morning.
Unfortunately, now CIB will slide back into temporary "Bee-tirement" until next summer. The silver lining to this gray cloud is the release of 24 Hour Album (on the Saco-based Entertainment Experiment label), 32 tracks combining 19 tracks they wrote and recorded in 24 hours earlier this year with the out-of-print Black Grimace EP and three live tracks from their infamous two-night stand at Geno's back in August. If the excitement surrounding Friday's show and this album are any indication, Covered in Bees' triumphant return can't come soon enough.
On the Web:
Covered in Bees: www.myspace.com/coveredinbees
Related:
Music Seen: Man-Witch CD-release at Geno's, Ogre's last hurrah, Dustin Beyette's latest, Rock'n'Roll birthday party!, More 
- Music Seen: Man-Witch CD-release at Geno's
Anyone who doesn't like Man-Witch either didn't watch enough Saturday-morning TV as a kid, or is an incurable sourpuss.
- Ogre's last hurrah, Dustin Beyette's latest
OGRE 's ROSS MARKONISH checked in this week with some bad news: The band have decided that their 10th anniversary show, September 12 at Geno's, will be their last in Portland.
- Rock'n'Roll birthday party!
While you're out celebrating MARK BELANGER 's birthday August 21 — at Geno's, of course — make sure to catch the set by WHITCOMB , who are shaping up to be the next supergroup of sorts.
- New England Music News: March 6, 2009
Sorry we didn't have time to give you the heads-up before the show, but the BALTIC SEA debuted a new five-man lineup Sunday night at the Big Easy.
- Music Seen: Rosetta and Cryptic Overcast
Local stalwarts Cryptic Overcast have carved out a niche for themselves as an almost-instrumental band with a sound as informed by heavy metal as it is by psychedelic and progressive rock.
- Last call
One of the big topics of social conversation in Portland last week was the anonymous Portland Point blog's ruthless, somewhat self-negating takedown of the Honey Clouds' May 23 CD-release show.
- Music Seen: Lost Cause Desperados
Lost Cause Desperados have kept a low profile over the last few months, with gigs few and far between. None of that downtime has gone to waste, however, as Portland's kings of warp-speed garage-punk have been hard at work on their upcoming album, Desert of Broken Glass.
- Ship, ahoy!
Pigboat are not nu metal, or speed metal, or death metal, or glam metal, or any of the other metals, really.
- Portland Music News: April 10, 2009
We have a tentative street date for cheek-metal purveyors PIGBOAT 's new album, Float: April 21, with a release show later that week, April 25, at Geno's
- Colony collapse disorder
If you get a chance, check out the trailer for the movie 2 on YouTube.
- One day at a time
Covered in Bees have never taken themselves too seriously, have a ton of talent and experience, play a style of music that's not known for its complexity, and are therefore well suited to taking a whack at this 24-hour album concept.
- Less
Topics:
New England Music News
, Boo Leavitt, Dan Clark, Doug Porter, More
, Boo Leavitt, Dan Clark, Doug Porter, Ed Porter, Tristan Gallagher, covered in bees, covered in bees, Geno's, Geno's, Andy Davis, Less
