Saturday Nights, Alright? [2012]

The hootenannies continue on Saturday Nights all through the summer, with everything from Big Bands to String Quartets; Stand-up Comedy to Silent Movies—with a contra-dance thrown in for good measure!  So come on down, pour yourself a glass of wine (BYO), kick off your shoes, and trip the light fantastic, right here at the DAC. As always, our price is a civilized $10 suggested donation.


SATURDAY, JUNE 23
MAINE, WHEN TOURISTS AREN’T AROUND
With John McDonald
7:30pm, $10 Suggested

The DAC welcomes back humorist John McDonald for an evening of stories about life the Pine Tree State when the tourists have gone home–or when they’re just not paying attention.  You wouldn’t believe what goes on, but as John says, if you hear if from a Maine storyteller—it MUST be true!

Bestselling author, storyteller, and radio personality John McDonald comes from a long line of Downeast ship captains and storytellers. You can hear John on his weekly show, The John McDonald Show, every Saturday from 6am-10am on WGAN.


SATURDAY, JUNE 30
A WALK THROUGH THE VIENNA WOODS
With The DaPonte String Quartet
7:30pm, $10 Suggested

What do the Denmark Arts Center and Carnegie Hall have in common?  Come witness the answer: the DaPonte String Quartet is Maine’s resident chamber-music ensemble for 20 years strong.  Originally hailing from Philly, the DSQ has been wowing Maine audiences with intimate, exquisite classical music from Bowdoinham to Bar Harbor, and all points in between. Tonight, they make a rare journey inland for a program includes Mozart String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat major K. 458 “The Hunt,” Anton Webern’s “Langsamer Satz,” and Beethoven Op. 95 “Serioso.” Come down for this very special concert by the DSQ right here in Denmark—an even which the New York Times appropriately notes is “like watching the Celtics play in the local gym.”

The DaPonte String Quartet is composed of Dino Liva and Lydia Forbes on Violin; Kristen Monke on Viola, and Myles Jordan on Cello.  As a quartet, the DSQ has played together as a quartet for more than 20 years, most of them in Maine.  The DSQ has also played at venues outside of Maine, including concerts in France, Scotland, Canada, and the aforementioned Carnegie Hall.


SATURDAY, JULY 14
BASTILLE DAY!  A POT-LUCK AND CONTRADANCE
With Puckerbrush and caller Eric Rollnick
6:30pm, $10 Suggested + A dish to share

La Jour de Gloire est Arrivé!! Come join us we celebrate French Independence, North-Woods style!  Contra dancing, also called New England Folk Dancing, is a partnered folk dance (like Square Dancing) where all you need to know is how to listen. Partners form two lines, and the caller will walk you through the dance before the band strikes up, and then guide you through the movements.  But don’t be fooled: the fun is almost as intense as the workout!  So bring a pot of Cassoulet and your favorite dancing shoes—just be sure to leave your cullottes at home!!

Puckerbrush are Gale Johnsen from Porter, Maine, on Fiddle; Peter Kimball of Ossipee, NY on Guitar, and Candace Maher on cello, accordion, flute, whistle, and bodhran.  They’ve been together as a band for about two years, having a grand time playing Celtic, traditional, and contra dance music in all sorts of venues.


SATURDAY, AUGUST 4
IN THE SWING
With the Bellamy Jazz Band
$7:30pm, $10 Suggested

It may not be Preservation Hall, but tonight the DAC does it’s best to channel the spirit of the Big Easy, with a little bit of Chicago, thrown in for good measure.  Reviving the timeless Big Band sound of the 1920s, the Bellamy Jazz Band is a gumbo of cornets, trumpets, saxophones, banjos, drums and keyboards playing jazz, swing, and dance hall favorites. The DAC is thrilled to be able to host these 8 suited, seasoned Maine men for an evening that is guaranteed to have you up and dancing.  We’ve even invited special guest Woody Allen–maybe he’ll show?

For almost 13 years, the Bellamy Jazz Band has been entertaining Maine audiences with the Big Band jazz sounds of the early 1920s and ”30s.  Led by singer David DeBree, and managed by Saxophonist Peter Lord, the Bellamy Jazz Band is truly a Living Maine Treasure.


SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2012
SUNRISE
With a live score composed and performed by Brent Arnold
7:30pm, $10 Suggested

Often cited as the greatest silent film ever made, F.W. Murnau’s 1927 film Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans is the culmination of one of the greatest careers in film history.  Murnau’s masterpiece renders a story of fable-like simplicity, about a man, his wife, and his lover with unparalleled visual imagination and technical ingenuity. From the justly famous tracking shot for which Murnau built a film set over 1 mile long, to the incredible depictions of city life, Sunrise stands as a sacrament of the cinema.  We are thrilled to be able to present it tonight with the WORLD PREMIERE of a brand-new score by cellist Brent Arnold.

Brent Arnold is a cellist and composer with a wildly unorthodox approach, using amplification, guitar-like fingerpicking, electronics, and techniques from Arabic, Eastern, and African music. He has worked with DJ/Rupture, Modest Mouse, Wayne Horvitz, Eyvind Kang, Sleater-Kinney, Death in Vegas, and Filastine.  He composed the cello music for Louis C.K.’s show Louie and numerous films and shorts, including the Denmark Arts Center’s own feature production, VacationLand, which will open the Maine International Film Festival in July, 2012