Mainely Moose, Music and Fried Chicken

In our many trips to Maine, we have discovered the use of the word Mainely in many business names, for example: Mainely New Hampshire (a store that sells locally made items), Mainely Auto, Mainely Crafts, etc. This was the inspiration for the title of the post.

When we left for Portland, ME, for the White Stripes show, I found myself watching the sides of the highway for wildlife. Typically, when we are in a rural area and Jon is driving, I help watch for deer. Sunday I was watching for moose. In Kentucky when I was reporting, the police always recommended hitting the deer rather than trying to avoid it because many people would lose control, go into the woods, go into the oncoming lanes, etc., causing a worse accident. Here we saw a bumper sticker that said, "Brake for moose, it could save your life." There is also the sticker, "Break for Moose or die. It's really up to you." A little different philosophy due to the size difference. On the drive, we did see a deer and a fox, but no moose. Though I would one day love to see a moose just hanging out, the last thing I wanted to see was a giant moose in the middle of the road at midnight on a deserted Maine state road.

In Kennebunk, on the other hand, we saw chicken, fried chicken. My friends, it was a Popeye's. We did not anticipate seeing this New Orleans-based chicken franchise so far north.
This ended up being our preshow meal.

The show was great. We sat stage left, opting out of standing on the floor, which was already full about 100' back from the stage. The opening act was Dan Sartain, a rockabilly act from Alabama. I like the song "Gun vs. Knife," and one about spring break 1998--I'm sure what it's called.

Portland kicked off the American leg of the White Stripes' tour. They opened with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Grounds." We were happy to hear Jack's haunting cover of "Jolene" third in the set. They played a lot of songs from the new album, and the title track, "Icky Thump," was rockin'.

One of the best effects of the show was the big red screen behind the band that alternately showed the silhouettes of Jack and Meg two stories high. They blended the shadows during, "I'm Slowly Turning into You." Check the pics below. Awesome. I kind of wish we had bought tickets to see them in Boston the next night too.