The Weekender, Dec. 8-10: Beauties, beasts, lions, witches, wardrobes, queens and more

GoldenOak/Photo courtesy GoldenOak

Apparently in the Bangor region we may actually get our first little bit of snow this weekend. Get ready for people to forget how to drive! You probably won’t need to bust out the shovels, though. We might get three or four inches overnight Saturday, and it’ll probably melt by midday Sunday. Whomp-whomp.

On Friday night in Bangor, improv comedy troupe The Focus Group performs at the Bangor Arts Exchange, rockers Stone Free are at Paddy Murphy’s, it’s vinyl night with Queen City Sound System at Nocturnem Drafthaus, songwriter Tim Lewis is at the Sea Dog, and up in Orono, acclaimed Maine indie rock band GoldenOak plays at Minsky Hall on the UMaine campus. On Saturday, jam band Bandwich is at Paddy’s, bluesman Dave Mello is at Nocturnem, and the highly entertaining duo Him & Her is at the Sea Dog. 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening, songwriter Charlie Butera plays at the Bangor Arts Exchange, followed by a songwriter’s circle.

In Portland this weekend, on Friday night there’s the highly anticipated super sold-out concert from Bon Iver at the State Theatre. That night there’s also a stand up comedy benefit for local comedian Rachel Flehinger, who suffered a serious medical issue last month and needs help. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at Mayo Street Arts. Elsewhere, get your cover band on with Talking Heads tribute band Stop Making Sense at Port City Music Hall, or Whitney Houston tribute night at Portland House of Music. For more local music, enjoy the White Buffalo and Max Garcia Conover at Aura, Miss Fairchild and Gina Alibrio at Empire, songwriter Jenni Lynn at One Longfellow Square, or metal bands Stillborn Condition, Crypitus, Imipolex and Angelslayer at Geno’s. On Saturday in Portland, Tokyo Police Club, Armies and Fort Gorgeous play Bissell Brothers Brewing’s four-year anniversary party at Aura, while there’s at Portland House of Music there’s a benefit for Hurricane Irma victims in the Virgin Islands, featuring Travis James Humphrey, Juke Joint Devils, and the Bob Charest Band. Elsewhere, roots ensemble Driftwood is at One Longfellow Square, punk bands Jimmy Jacked, Limbs Bin, Knife Worship and Quiet Warning are at Geno’s, and the Ballroom Thieves, These Wild Plains and Harmaleighs are at Port City.

In Rockland, on Friday night indie rock band Wildflower plays at Sammy’s Deluxe, songwriters Chris Hight and Annette Rundall perform at Rock City Coffee, and just down the road in Thomaston, there’s a holiday dance party at the Slipway with DJ Milkweed. On Sunday, folk trio Meteora is at Rock City Coffee, and roots band Steamboat Gypsy plays at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts.

Photo of PTC’s “Beauty and the Beast” copyright Magnus Stark

There’s lots of holiday theater opening this weekend, including two shows that aren’t specifically holiday-themed but do happen to be fun for the whole family. Penobscot Theatre Company’s lavish production of the musical “Beauty and the Beast” opens its month-long run at the Bangor Opera House this weekend, while its the first of two weekends of Midcoast Actor’s Studio holiday show, “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” at the Crosby Center in Belfast. For more explicitly Christmas-y stuff, in Orono, the one-weekend run of Some Theatre Company’s hilarious production of holiday spoof “Every Christmas Story Ever Told” runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Keith Anderson Community Center. In Portland, the “It’s a Wonderful Life” radio play stage show runs all weekend at Portland Stage.

In cinemas, the wildly acclaimed comedy-drama “Lady Bird” is now in most theaters, including Bangor Mall Cinemas and Railroad Square Cinemas in Waterville. Railroad Square also screens “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO,” the Frances McDormand vehicle that also starts this weekend at the Colonial Theatre in Belfast. And if you feel like staying at home, and are a fan of gorgeous, magnificently acted British period dramas, season two of “The Crown” premieres on Netflix Friday night. Not gonna lie: Watching that is how I plan to spend my Friday night. Saturday, different story, but Friday? PJs and Her Majesty.

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.