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V O L . X X X I I N O. X I X 74 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine C O N T E N T S In a few weeks, I'd be flying back to Minnesota for Christmas, my first Christmas without my dad, who had died six months earlier. As the band launched into a rocking rendition of "Portland Town," my thoughts drifted from the stage to everything awaiting me that Christmas season, to Portland, and to what the city had come to mean to me after 23 years. Tears came unexpectedly, beginning in sadness but slowly giving way to gratitude and an overwhelming sense of joy and belonging. For a few minutes, standing in that crowd, everything felt exactly as it should. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 7 6 » at's what I love about live music. Every once in a while, the right song finds you at exactly the right moment. e band, the crowd, the venue and whatever you're carrying in your own life come together for a few magical minutes. You can't plan for it, and you can't recreate it. It just happens. Standing there in the State eatre, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. When the lights came up, I walked out into the cold December night as a Mallett Brothers Band fan. ABOVE: A week later, at the Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield, the dynamic between the band and me feels more relaxed. I am more comfortable around them, and they seem more at ease with me and my camera. Brian sets up his drums before the band's show at the center. Loading and unloading equipment can be tedious. But after doing it for so long, the routine has become almost automatic. "It's almost like second nature. It can be kind of a zen moment, too, because you're just focused on moving your gear and setting it up. And it's also a good time for the band to be joking, he said" "even though I'm the one being picked on." LEFT: On the second night of their acoustic tour, the band gathers in the green room at the Stone Mountain Arts Center to work through a song they usually play with electric guitars, figuring out how to preserve its essence acoustically. It's the only time I see frustration surface among the members, and it quickly dissipates. The moment reflects one reason Brian believes the band has endured. Serious conflicts are rare, and disagreements seldom linger. "It's just rare for us to butt heads about much," he said. When they do, the members tend to move on and eventually joke about it.