This Week's Haul, Oct. 30: Spooky vibes for all
And: Help your neighbors eat next month
Good morning from eastern Maine, where this week, I encourage you to check out my upcoming workshop with the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance! It’s coming up next week, on Thursday, Nov. 6, and you can attend via Zoom or in person in Portland at the MWPA HQ at Mechanics Hall. It’s all about how to get the most out of an interview, and set yourself up for success when talking to people for whatever writing project you’re working on - a piece of journalism or creative nonfiction, a memoir piece, a family history or research project, and so on. If you sign up, let me know you’re coming!
I may not approve of some of the behavior councilor Joe Leonard has exhibited during various Bangor City Council meetings, but hear me when I say that telling a N-zi to fuck off forever and ever is always appropriate behavior and any decent person should do the same.
Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday! I have already voted NO on Question 1, because it is a thinly-veiled attempt to make it harder for people to vote in Maine, and YES on Question 2, because I believe it will help make Maine safer from gun violence.
RIP to Karmo Sanders, the Marden’s Lady. She was a real nice lady and a staple of Maine’s theater scene.
I love a story about someone plying their very specific trade - in this case, clockmaking and repairs - for decades, working away in a small town. This Bar Harbor Story piece about Bar Harbor horologist Alexander Phillips is a delight.
This is a remarkably adept reading from the AV Club of how Stephen King’s Bachman books - his most misanthropic and difficult takes on the darkness at the center of American society - are having their moment, with adaptations of both “The Long Walk” and “The Running Man” in theaters this year.
This beautiful essay in the Boston Globe puts to word much of how I feel about combing through archives and ancient photo albums and collections of old things - something I do quite a lot of. Handling these things is a visceral experience for me. It’s truly transportive.
We are all likely aware of the fact that, unless Congress and/or the President do something decent for once in the next 48 hours, on Nov. 1 millions of Americans - and more than 170,000 Mainers - will not receive their SNAP benefits. This cruel, unnecessary and predictably moronic situation will result in families going hungry over the next month. Here in Maine, the best and easiest way you can help is to connect with the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which works with more than 500 food pantries across the state to get food to hungry people. You can donate actual food, of course, but the most effective course of action is to donate money. Large food banks like Good Shepherd can negotiate cheap prices from suppliers, which means more food distributed more efficiently and equitably. Help your neighbors. Our current government sure isn’t going to.
The very first casino in Bangor history opened 20 years ago this week, at the site of the former Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street (now home to Seasons Restaurant). Voters in Maine approved legalized gambling in 2003, and two years later, Penn Gaming opened Hollywood Slots - just slot machines, no table games. Those would come later, after the full Hollywood facility opened down the street in 2007. 20 years ago, gambling was still controversial across Maine, despite people voting to allow it. Today, gambling isn’t just commonplace - sports betting is inescapable, and is completely enmeshed in the world of professional sports. Has it improved anybody’s lives? Has it made Bangor a better place to live? Is it just something fun that people can do with their money? I don’t know the answer to any of those questions.
Music & Dance
Oct. 31: Halloween party feat. Takoda Dionne, 6 p.m., Fogtown Brewing, Ellsworth
Oct. 31: Halloween rock show feat. Dusty Buckets, Dog Mouth Doe, Widows Club, Horse Funeral, Anthony Bederian and more, 7 p.m., 69 Burnt Hill Road, Bass Harbor
Oct. 31: Halloween House Music Party, 7 p.m. to close, Marshall Wharf Brewing Company, Belfast
Oct. 31: The Burial Curse, Thousand Mile Fall, Earthwyrm, 7 p.m. Hey Sailor, Searsport
Oct. 31: Halloween dance party feat. DJ Jephirsun Danger, 8 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town
Oct. 31: Gonzoween, electronic music night and costume party, 8:30 p.m., Barliman’s, Bangor
Nov. 1: Alumni Jazz Band, 7 p.m., Next Generation Theatre, Brewer
Nov. 1: In the Kingdom of Nightmares, When The Dead Won’t Die, Thy Enemy and The Burial Curse, 7:30 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town
Nov. 2: The Westerlies, brass ensemble, 3 p.m., Minsky Recital Hall, University of Maine, Orono
Theatre & Comedy
Oct. 16-Nov. 2: Penobscot Theatre presents “The Turn of the Screw,” Wednesdays-Sunday at the Bangor Opera House, Bangor
Arts, Books, Film & Culture
Oct. 30: Author talk with Jennifer Pictou, author of “Haunted Bar Harbor,” 6 p.m. Fogler Library, University of Maine, Orono
Oct. 31: Screening of “Clue,” 7 p.m., Stonington Opera House, Stonington
Oct. 31: Screening of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 7 p.m., Grand Theatre, Ellsworth
Oct. 31: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with live shadowcast, 10 p.m., Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft
Oct. 31: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with live shadowcast, 10 p.m., Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor
Nov. 2: Ocean-Themed Cyanotype Workshop with Rose Edwards, 12-2 p.m., Shaw Institute, 55 Main St. Blue Hill
Nov. 5: Screening of Donna Loring’s short film, “Mary and Molly,” 4:30 p.m., Fogler Library, University of Maine, Orono
Nov. 5: Hoppily Ever After Romance Book Club reads Lucy Lehane’s “Thirsty,” 7:30 p.m., Bookspace, Columbia Street, Bangor
Fairs, Festivals, Markets, Outdoors & Misc.
Oct. 31: Belfast Maskers Alice in Terrorland haunted house, 5-9 p.m., Basil Burwell Community Theatre, Belfast
Oct. 31: Bridge Street Halloween Block Party, 5-8 p.m., 20 Bridge St., Bucksport
Through Nov. 1: Maineiac Manor Haunted House, weekends through Halloween, with limited no-scare days, Bangor Mall, Bangor; visit maineiacmanor.com to buy tickets.
Nov. 1: Dia de los Muertos Community Celebration, 12-3 p.m., Bangor Public Library
Nov. 1: Golden Girls Thanksgiving Drag Dinner, 7 p.m., Bangor Grande Hotel, Bangor
Nov. 1-2: 20th annual Rock & Gem Show, daily at the Brewer Auditorium, Brewer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Halloween, that is. I know I am in a minority - a substantial one, but a minority nonetheless - of Halloween Adults. As I’ve said before, I love planning costumes and getting dressed up, I love decorating, I love setting the atmosphere, I love all of it. My favorite part, however, might actually be the music, which I start enjoying in September and vibe out to well into November.
No, I’m not talking about having “The Monster Mash” and “Thriller” on repeat. That would get annoying almost immediately, and that is a reductive reading of my culture! I’m talking about music that sets a spooky vibe - that feels mysterious and cool, or maybe a little bit goofy, or even overtly scary at times. Picture autumn leaves, cold moonlight, desolate streets and cryptic shadows, monsters and weirdos, the veils between the worlds being thin. It likely has lyrics about vampires, ghosts, supernatural creatures or phenomena and the such, but that’s not completely necessary. Vibes, people! I have many favorites that have appeared on many playlists over the years, but here are a few of my top picks for getting into that ‘ween mood. You can see a more comprehensive list here.
Squirrel Nut Zippers - “Hell”
Not only is this song a delightful 1990s throwback that is itself a delightful throwback to the 1930s, it straddles the line between spooky and goofy perfectly. Plus: it’s a great karaoke song.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - “The Curse of Milhaven”
This was actually the first Bad Seeds song I ever heard, courtesy of Fritz Hunter in my dorm room during the first semester of my freshman year of college. It has always felt like fall and Halloween to me. Plus: creepy carnival organ and a crazed Australian murderer.
Siouxsie and the Banshees - “Spellbound”
There are too many goth classics to choose from, and I nearly gave this slot over to Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim, but this one just hits too many of the necessary elements. Plus: Siouxsie Sioux is cool as hell and you can dance like this to it.
The Toadies - “Possum Kingdom”
It’s a song about vampires! Or is it about an evil lake spirit? Maybe just a weirdo? I don’t know, but it’s an alt-rock one hit wonder jam and even if you don’t like that sort of thing the lyrics set the vibe. Plus: some person in their 40s at your party will be stoked.
Type O Negative - “Black No. 1”
In my most humble of opinions, tied with “Thriller” as the greatest Halloween song of all time. RIP Peter Steele.
Bonus:
Eartha Kitt - “I Want To Be Evil”
I just love her and I love this song. So fun.
"Black No. 1" is the No. 1 (lol?) song that I associate with the season of spooky delights.