The Weekender, Jan. 12-14: You think this is a game? It is, actually

SnowCon 2016

This weekend in Bangor there’s SnowCon, the yearly tabletop gaming convention that kicks off Friday with nerd trivia and a costume party from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Mason’s Brewing Company in Brewer, followed on Saturday and Sunday by the actual gaming convention at the Cross Insurance Center. Onsite registration at the Cross Center starts at 8 a.m. both days. Gaming starts at 9 p.m. and goes until midnight Saturday, 9 p.m. Sunday. Elsewhere, the Indigo Jazz Trio is at Nocturnem Drafthaus, there’s a DJ dance party at Paddy Murphy’s, and in Winterport, and The 2 Guys play at the Bacon Tree. On Saturday, The Brad Hutchinson Project is at Paddy’s, Dave Mello is at Nocturnem, and local rockers Wait, They Called Me Legion and Earthwyrm are at the Bangor Arts Exchange.

Photo by Caleb Charland

Also in Bangor, the winter exhibits at the University of Maine Museum of Art on Harlow Street open this week. The four shows include two from native Mainers, “Shadows of Earth” from experimental photographer Caleb Charland of Brewer, and “Entangled Pairs” from multimedia artist Andrea Sulzer of Brunswick. The other exhibitions include “The Elastic Cache” from painter Craig Taylor, and “Nowhere in Particular” form painter Poogy Bjerklie. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and admission, as always, is free.

In Portland, Friday night brings a diverse array of musical performances to the city, including Bella’s Bartok and West End Blend at Portland House of Music, Early Mornings, Johnny Clay Shanks and Snughouse at Empire, guitarist Johnny A at One Longfellow Square, Johnny Cremains, the Asthmatic, Brzkowski and Fenimore are at Geno’s Rock Club, local roots music with Sorcha Cribben-Merrill, the Library Band and El Malo at Blue, and Color Hex, Sterling Black, Greasy Grass and Backyard Posse at the Space Gallery. On Saturday, there’s a screening of “The Big Lebowski” with accompanying Dude-centric (white Russians, bathrobes, etc) shenanigans at Port City Music Hall. On the more rootsy side of things, there’s Town Meeting and These Wild Plains at Portland House of Music, Lena Rich and Plywood Cowboy at One Longfellow Square, and Big World, the Titus Abbott Collective and the Jared Steer Trio at Blue. On the harder side, there’s local punk rock from Tiger Bomb, Greg Allen’s Fringe Religion and Pop Gun at Bayside Bowl, and local metal from Toxic Cross, When the Dead Won’t Die and False Ambitions at Geno’s. And if you just want to dance, there’s the Soul Clap Dance Off at Space Gallery.

Finally, what’s new on TV this weekend? On Netflix, David Letterman’s new six-part interview series “My Guest Needs No Introduction,” premieres on Friday, as does the new comedy “The Polka King,” starring Jack Black and Jenny Slate. On Amazon, the new sci-fi anthology series “Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams” premieres, and on HBO on Sunday, the second seasons of both “Crashing” and “Divorce” premiere.

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.