In 2010, I went to see Peter Wolf perform on an intimate set in Portland, Maine’s Port City Music Hall. At the time, I had delved deep into Wolf’s catalog after hearing J. Geils Band’s. Party album, and the leader delivered, playing a wild set full of hits like “Homework” and “Love Stinks”. During “Must of Got Lost,” Wolf fell to his knees and delivered the classic spoken word introduction. After the show, my friend Jamie and I ended up in Wolf’s dressing room, listening to the scruffy legend keep up the court with fans, drink on hand, answer questions about his songs and his times with Muddy Waters, Joe Tex and Merle Haggard. .
It was my first of many unforgettable experiences at Port City Music Hall, a room with a capacity for 550 people and perfect sound located in the heart of the Old Port, a few steps from the coast, where you could see legends like Wolf and local heroes like Surroundings Rustic and Kenyan Hall. When the space opened in 2009, it felt like a stimulating addition to a scene where most places crumbled shadows from their old selves, and helped Portland become one of America’s best music scenes. The venue announced this week that it will be closed permanently due to COVID-19, and issued a statement: “Port City Music Hall unfortunately cannot survive this crisis without revenue, and with no end in sight.”
The news resulted in an avalanche of artists like the Mountain Goats, who thanked the club “for giving touring musicians a place to play,” and Against Me!, Who played in their latest show before the closing in Port City. “We had no idea it would be the last show for the place,” Laura Jane Grace tweeted. “This is breaking my heart.”
The place also had no idea what was to come this year. “The business was so successful and we did very well,” says Lauren Wayne, general manager of the company that owns Port City and the largest state theater on the street. “It’s weird going through this after being so successful. We went from generating millions of dollars to absolutely no dollars. It is the most surreal experience I have had to live. “
Wayne took over Port City in 2013, making it a key part of Portland’s growing music scene. She saw the space as a “springboard” for artists heading to larger rooms. Maggie Rogers portrayed Port City in 2017; Less than two years later, she played the State Theater. A year after that, she sold two nights at the huge Thompson’s Point beachfront venue. Father John Misty followed the same path a few years earlier. “Port City was so special because you had this room to offer so that artists could heal their craft and develop their skills, in front of fans who feel so lucky not to have to go to Boston to see a show,” says Wayne. She cites a show by the Arizona band Calexico as a highlight: “They’re one of my favorite bands, and seeing them in a room that I booked and ran was really special.”
Dave Gutter of Rustic Overtones, who played at various shows in Port City, echoes that sentiment. “It was about capturing a perfect moment, because the sound, the lights and the people, everything was so perfect there,” he says. “It was also an unforgiving room, because you could hear everything.” Gutter always loved playing on the same stage as big names like Unknown Mortal Orchestra and OK Go. “It’s great flip-flop, where you go and idolize someone on stage, and then next week it’s you playing there.” I think of the microphone. You look the same, even if it’s for that moment … and it makes you stretch a little more [onstage]. Those medium-sized venues are conducive to local bands and national touring bands raising the scene, and we’re going to miss that in Portland, not having that kind of space. ”
After the venue closed in March, Wayne fired his staff part-time. In the following months, he applied for PPP loans, “but, as probably in any other business, we have already exhausted it,” he says. “What are you going to do? You are a concert hall. You specialize in mass gatherings, and that does not happen for an unforeseen period of time. There is no ‘pivot’ to generate income when your entire business model is based on bringing people to a room and watch a show. “
This week, we’re posting an interview with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, who wonders what live music will be like when the shows return. He saw a future where almost all artists could be on the road at once, but fans won’t be able to pay for tickets. “The bands you love will not have made money in a year or more,” he said. “It will be in an environment where each band is back. So you think, ‘Well, which concert will I go to this week? Every fucking gang comes around town, and I haven’t had a job in six months, and I don’t have any money! You almost wish someone like Jeff Bezos would come out of the woodwork and say, ‘Hi, I’m a huge music fan. Here’s a trillion dollars to revitalize the concert industry. ‘”
Portland artists could use that kind of relief. Gutter recently walked around Portland with a team of cameramen, stopping at various clubs that helped him survive in rustic tones for 25 years. “It’s not just about real estate,” says Gutter. “These buildings have a soul, and our happiest moments occurred in these places.” He hoped that the video, shot for the Maine Music Alliance, would bring people with money to participate. “We were going to use it as a promotion for the clubs, but before we could get the video out, the clubs are closing,” Gutter says.
While Wayne says there is no chance to reopen Port City, she has higher hopes for the other venues she reserves, including the State Theater and Thompson Point. This morning, he heard from Maine representative Chellie Pingree, who made a story on Instagram supporting the Save Our Stages Act. She also heard from Senator Susan Collins’ office, saying they are also pushing for the law. “I can only fight for what I know we need, whether it’s some form of aid to the industry, or whether our industry will be included in some kind of broader package,” says Wayne. “I don’t know. We just need it, because it’s going to get dark very quickly.”
