New Years with The Boys of Maine
Ringing in 2020 with Ghost of Paul Revere and Rustic Overtones
Words: Sean Moore / Photos: Kenneth Coles
They say you should spend the last night of the year how you want to spend the following year. I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than enjoying live music. I was amongst a sold out crowd of over 1,900 people who chose to spend New Year’s Eve at the State Theatre watching Bell Systems, Rustic Overtones and Ghost of Paul Revere perform. The night was a party as the crowd danced and sang along from 8 o’clock until nearly 1 a.m. You needed a certain level of stamina and had to pace yourself if you wanted to make it through the night.
Spencer Albee certainly showed his stamina, pulling duty on the organ/keyboard for all three acts, including his new musical venture which was a great way to start the evening with eccentric and danceable pop music. Featuring Genevieve Beaudoin’s heavenly voice, the band’s short set was a perfect appetizer and showcase of what Bell Systems has in store for us in the near future.
When Rustic Overtones took the stage, the band stood in front of a simple black backdrop that read “The Ghost of Dave Noyes,” honoring the memory of their founding member who passed away unexpectedly in March while humorously playing off the headliners name. The band has chosen to continue on, having just put out an excellent self-titled album which they’d been working on with Noyes before his passing, and their live shows have carried an atmosphere of deep esteem and celebration for his footprint on the band. Taking over the trombone duties has been another local musician, Jamie Colpoys, who more than fits in with these Rustic Overtones fellas and can add her own flair to the established songs in the catalog. Their New Year’s Eve set included a few new tunes and of course all the old favorites including my all-time favorite “Iron Boots.” The funky alternative rock songs had the crowd moving, especially during “Gas on Skin” and “Check.”
One of the strongest points of the band has always been the guttural (pun intended) growl that Dave Gutter can deliver with strength and ease, his voice sounding exactly the same, after all these years. The crowd seemed to love those moments, just as much as Dave seemed to. The crowning achievement to their set, though, for me, came in the form of the extensive horn section solo during the song “Crash Landing.” This was a moment that the entire band and crowd could indeed feel the ghost of Dave Noyes not just in the venue, but on that famed stage.
When Ghost of Paul Revere took the stage, it was about 10 o’clock and everyone knew they would play at least until the countdown to midnight, helping the excited crowd ring in 2020. The “boys of Maine” came out in shiny gold and black jackets that bassist Sean McCarthy confessed they “bought on Amazon”. They began with “After Many Miles,” during which each member traded verses, while boot-stomping and clapping to keep the rhythm. The band has been touring relentlessly since their 2017 album Monarch and have garnered a lot of attention nationally. This past year, their “Ballad of the 20th Maine” was chosen as the state song, so of course, they played it and the entire crowd sang along.
I was happy to hear a couple of my favorite songs, “San Antone,” “Wild Child,” and “Ghostland,” which seemingly were everyone else’s favorite songs as well. Perhaps it’s the fast pace of the tunes or just how raucous the band gets that reminds us of Mumford & Sons in their prime. The party vibe did not let up even for the last few seconds of 2019, as the band blasted through the song “Hey Girl” with Griffin telling the band to play through it without stopping for that awkward countdown to midnight. Instead, Griffin just welcomed us to “the year 2020. Happy new year, everyone!”. The song ended with a cascade of giant white balloons escaping from the rafters overhead.
The party was not over yet. The band played the famous Isley Brothers song “Shout” as well as Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Both of these covers were new to their set and added quite a bit of excitement at the end of the night. The band came back for an encore that included The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.”
At close to 1 a.m., the celebration of the new year ended at the State Theatre, and even though the city had just experienced a significant snowstorm and declared a parking ban for the early hours of New Year’s, the State Theatre remained packed with a crowd absolutely delighted to start the new year exactly how they ended the last one, having a great time partying with fantastic local music.
