While vacationing in Maine last week I attended a Tuesday night Clash of the Titans show that a Portland man about town named and musician Spencer Albee and DJ Mark Curdo promote every Tuesday night at a club called Empire Dine and Dance. Each week, two sets of local musicians cover about a half dozen songs by artists who are paired against each other for either their once-contemporary “rivalry” or influence. The artists play one song at a time, exiting the stage after each song. The show I attended with my friend, former bandmate, and occasional Townsman Dave Ragsdale and his two excellent nephews, Max and Roy, pitted Sam Cooke against Otis Redding. As I learned, the format makes for a long night out, but in the comfortable confines of the Empire, surrounded by a packed house of enthusiastic, unassuming Portland rock fans, it also makes for a refreshingly F-U-N night on the town unlike what I’m used to experiencing in my increasingly rare nights out at Philly clubs.
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