• 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. If not for some already-booked Euro gigs, it would be the last, period. They are done. Markonish writes, "This decision to dissolve the band was not an easy one to come by, but we feel it is the right call. At this point, there is too much going on in each of our lives to sustain Ogre at the level of quality that our fans expect and deserve. And, before people decide to jump to conclusions (as is often the case when these things happen), we want to make clear that this decision was entirely mutual, all three of us agreeing that this was the right time to bring things to an appropriate conclusion." Now they're planning a "last waltz," for the last gig, with guest appearances, obscure covers and songs, and all sorts of fun prog-metally things. There are also still deluxe vinyl reissues of the band's three albums in the works, slated for release by Germany's IRON KODEX RECORDS in the fall. Good-bye proto-men. We'll miss you.
• Local producer/solo artist DUSTIN BEYETTE has a new release ready, his eighth since 2003: Change. It will be available August 25 online, and in physical copy at the Portland 7-11 every Friday night starting August 28. Look for a release party to be announced shortly.
Related:
Last call, Music Seen: Rosetta and Cryptic Overcast, Music Seen: Lost Cause Desperados, More 
- 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: 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Covered in Bees
If any Portland band can claim their own cult of personality, it's Covered In Bees.
- 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.
- 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.
- A mighty wind
This past Earth Day, President Barack Obama, speaking at an Iowa wind-turbine factory, delivered a gusty peroration. "The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources will be the nation that leads the 21st-century global economy," he said. "America can be that nation. America must be that nation."
- Photos: Stetson Wind in Maine
Photos of Stetson Wind in Washington County, Maine
- The Mighty Wind
The Rhode Island recession, among the worst in the country, has become something of a national curiosity: how could such a little state be in such big trouble?
- Review: Shorts
Along with Grindhouse partner Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez is the reigning auteur of pulp cinema — but he also has a weakness for gonzo, FX-laden kiddie entertainment, like his Spy Kids trilogy.
- Less
Topics:
New England Music News
, Ross Markonish, Geno's, Geno's, More
, Ross Markonish, Geno's, Geno's, Sibilance, Ogre, Ogre, Less
