An open letter to Pres. Obama

by Will Gottlieb

Coastal Journal staff

Dear Pres. Obama:

I understand you held a beer summit outside the Oval Office this past week, in an effort to bring peace to the Great Conflict in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and to further the cause of race relations in general. I think your goals were laudable, but I also happen to think your efforts would have been better served had somebody brought something worth drinking to the table.

My sources tell me that the choices were Blue Moon (for Cambridge Police Officer Sgt. James Crowley), Sam Adams Lite (for Harvard Professor Henry Lewis Gates), and that you yourself had [gack!] Bud Lite. I respect the humanity of the people who brew and consume those products — just as I respect the humanity of people who prefer talk radio to sex. It takes all kinds, God knows. Live and let live, I say. 

The fun merchants have landed

by Will Gottlieb

Coastal Journal staff

Jug bands are by definition instrumental ensembles built around the sound of someone blowing across the neck of a jug. On Half Moon Jug Band's new “Get the Show on the Road” CD, the jug sound itself is implied rather than included or featured, or perhaps a jug or two (or six or twelve) of Pemaquid Ale were emptied in the process of making this thing — we don't know. Perhaps no one associated with HMJB has ever even seen an alcoholic beverage, but in any event, they do not appear to be hobbled by sobriety.

Basically, what we've got here is Fun with a capital “F,” a party album that is true to the region and the times, that reminds me a lot of Brave Combo: a multi-instrumental rock ’n roll casserole topped with mandolins, slide guitars and a dash of folkie musicality. (Not “Cum By Ya,” exactly, but sufficiently acoustic and rootsy to justify the appellation.)

The HMJB lineup includes Troy R. Bennett (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and various other instruments & objects); Mike Petruk (vocals, drums, congas); and Stephen Brewer (vocals, bass, sax, kazoo); Glen Bolduc on vocals, trumpet and mandolin, and Carter Ruff on vocals and slide guitar.

These guys are tight; these guys are noisy; these guys are entertaining. “Get the Show on the Road” is big, hairy, punchy fun, and you're going to love it.

A few of the tunes on this CD represent topical explorations of Things Musical, particularly “Get the Show on the Road” (a high-energy rave ala Brave Combo), and “Jug Band Music” (self explanatory, declarative, definitive). Then there's “Kill Your Television,” which is sort of a public service soundbyte that includes some thoughtful and very catchy lyrics (“The boob tube must die, die-d-d-die, d-d-die-d-die-d-die”). It's even got a ballad, Troy R. Bennett's own “The Fryeburg Fair,” a romantic rocker with just enough multi-instrumental eccentricity to make it on this album.

The other theme on this CD is, ah, romance…as in, boy meets girl (“Eventually,” “The Fryeburg Fair”), boy loses girl (“Firecracker”), boy gets girl but then realizes she's got a fish's butt (“The Mermaid”), and so on. It's even got a few traditional tunes on it, including an over-the-top jug band/polka version of “This Land is Your Land” (listed on the liner notes as having been written “by Woody friggin' Guthrie!”).

In short, this is The Stuff. HMJB CDs are sold at most local music outlets, including Bull Moose Music in Brunswick. For more information, visit www.halfmoonjugband.com, or www.myspace.com/halfmoonjugband.

review by Jeb Murphy

Coastal Journal contributor

Another full house, another engaging hit, another great time is the best way to describe the third installment of the Maine State Music Theaters A Light Crazy Dirty Drowsy Summer series. Their production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, running from July 15 to August 1, is a rowdy, raunchy and ridiculous good time. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels isn't your conventional musical at all, and that may just be the thing that makes it such grown up fun. This one isn't for the kids, but it's a surefire good time for adults out there looking for something a little more fun than a typical romantic comedy at the local movie theater.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tells the story of con artist Lawrence Jameson, a suave man living on the French Riviera, swindling willing women out of their fortunes for his own benefit. Working with the local chief of police, Andre Thibault, Jamson has made himself quite comfortable until a small time criminal named Freddy Benson decides to nose in on Jameson's turf. Realizing their talents could benefit one another, the two men decide to work together and what follows is a series of mishaps and misadventures that are truly laugh out loud funny.