Monday night shows are always a bit of an experiment here in Portland, especially once winter comes around and turns our usual unpredictable weather into slightly more predictably (bad) weather. But sometimes it works out just fine – and this was one of those nights. A.A. Bondy (pictured above from the green room) showed up at SPACE for their first ever show in Maine – with tour opener Willy Mason (who has performed at SPACE before with M Ward) – not knowing what to expect of our little city, and ended up having a great time. Boston’s Vikesh Kapoor started the show off strong and did a great job of commanding the seated audience’s attention. In the middle of the touring bands was Wesley Hartley, showcasing his excellent new country band, The Traveling Trees. Those who are more familiar with Wes as the leader of the genre-bending catastrophic indie folk group (I know that’s pushing it, but it just sounds so right for them) Dead End Armory seemed to be especially impressed with the turn towards his Texan roots. Read on for Dennis Stein’s photos from the show…
Vikesh Kapoor
Wesley Hartley And The Traveling Trees
Willy Mason
A. A. Bondy
Photographer Jon Donnell was also there, primarily to play drums with The Traveling Trees, but of course he also got some great photos of the other acts.