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CHRISTOPHER GRAY

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Tweak-folk: Nico Muhly, All is Well

Reimagined folk songs by Sam Amidon
Released this summer, Nico Muhly's Mothertongue (Bedroom Community) — the latest album by the ambitious contemporary classical music composer, a protégé of Philip Glass — offers listeners a bombastic example of the ongoing collaboration between the composer and Vermont-based folk singer Sam Amidon.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | December 03, 2008

Shape note singing: Loud at Heart

A centuries-old singing tradition inspires twentysomething hipsters to praise the Lord
Shape note singing requires that you forget most of what you know about reading music. It's different, but much simpler.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | November 26, 2008

Crucial moments of history in Forever War

A decade in the war on terror
Through journalistic instincts, hunches, and sheer luck, Dexter Filkins has, for the past ten years, managed to frequently be in the wrong place at the right time.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | November 05, 2008

Knee Deep in murder

Michael Chandler on his documentary, Knee Deep
Michael Chandler’s documentary, Knee Deep is less a whodunit than a who-wouldn’t-have-done-it.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | October 29, 2008

Dylan Metrano & Paper Birds + Castanets

Music seen at Meg Perry Center, October 26, 2008
A well-attended show at the Meg Perry Center Sunday featured the debut of a new local supergroup of sorts, Dylan Metrano & Paper Birds.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | October 29, 2008

Hipster University

College rock hits the campus circuit
On-campus concerts — for us graduates or college abstainers — offer a lot to complain about, but it’s worth taking a chance on a college gig or two this year.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | October 16, 2008

Live: Andrew Bird in Portland

Music seen at the Music Hall, October 8, 2008
For his nearly-sold-out show in Portsmouth’s Music Hall, Bird compensated for the absence of bandmates by doing, well, everything himself.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | October 16, 2008

Time of Rivers returns

Round two of the (mostly) solo guitar, (mostly) unplugged destination festival
The surprising success of the Time of Rivers Festival can be credited both to shrewd marketing and Portland’s increasingly robust presence in a niche music scene.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | October 09, 2008

Movies on the Midcoast

From simulated battlegrounds to Bristol Bay at the Camden International Film Festival
Yet again, this year’s festival tackles an admirable hodgepodge of subjects — online gaming junkies, Harry Potter fanatics, and even Cockney gangsters in London’s East End.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | September 24, 2008

I see a darkness

A battle-scarred wonder from Micah Blue Smaldone
Micah Blue Smaldone’s live performances suggested his recorded work was about to enter a realm more detached from the blues and folk archetypes he’s studied.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | September 17, 2008

Why? so serious?

Social norms and musical tropes are shunned on the excellent Alopecia
The lines between avant-garde hip-hop, pop, and indie rock continue to blur with defiance on Alopecia, the third album by the Anticon trio Why?.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | September 10, 2008

Beautiful Losers

Shallow, reverent
Aaron Rose’s Beautiful Losers offers little more than a chance to see nice people talk about their nice-looking art.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | September 03, 2008

Don’t look back

Alias returns to Portland for his latest Anticon release
Brendon Whitney — alias Alias — returned to Portland last year. He nestled in for a brutal Maine winter and recorded Resurgam, his first solo album in five years.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | August 27, 2008

Oh, you like Melville?

Five books to land your first college mate
We cannot stress this enough. As much as no one cares about your laptop or iPhone, everyone sneaks a peek at what their peers and classmates are reading.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | August 27, 2008

Rural libertarians

Disorganized crime, rendered elegantly, in Arkansas
For something so full of personal quirks and whimsical detail, John Brandon's first novel, Arkansas, is a sober, even dignified, read.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 30, 2008

Welcome to Shangri-La

Maine's newest music fest begins Friday in Blue Hill
The first annual Shangri-La Festival, which will be held at the Fairgrounds in Blue Hill boasts an impressive lineup that spans generations and genres.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 30, 2008

Metal Feathers + Phantom Buffalo

Music seen at SPACE Gallery, July 19
The Year in Cult Maze Spin-Offs has taken yet another auspicious turn.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 23, 2008

New wave

Breakthrough EPs by two emergent Portland bands
For two of Portland’s noisiest and most exciting bands of the moment, Cougars kill Cobras and the RattleSnakes, chaos is a virtue and tonality is a worthless pursuit.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 16, 2008

Brenda

Music seen at Empire Dine and Dance, July 5, 2008
Along with Phantom Buffalo, Brenda are one of the only indie acts in Portland with genuine crossover appeal, “good times" music in the non-pejorative sense.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 09, 2008

Beat Generation

Ed Lin’s second novel is an authentic portrait of Chinatown in 1976
Set in New York City’s Chinatown during America’s bicentennial and the pessimistic aftermath of the Vietnam War, Ed Lin’s second novel, This is a Bust, is ripe with political, institutional, and racial turmoil.

By: CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 09, 2008

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BLOG POSTS BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY

Reading 2666

Empire Carnival of Arts: It's on.

Music from Music Seen: Cerf-Volantes

Whitney Art Works

Black Mountain + Bon Iver

(South) Portland Hits Pitchfork

Credit Where Credit's Due

Great minds...

Into Great Silents

Best Albums of 2007 - Total, final, whatever.