Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100Portland after dark 54 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine Joshua Frances It’s possible that the striking physical similarities between Ford and “the Purple One,” on top of performances with Prince’s own keyboard player, Dr. Fink, have boost- ed Ford’s confidence along the way. But this isn’t just a hobby–this is his livelihood. The art of imitation doesn’t come without its concerns, however. “I’ve asked myself, do I want to have a career as another per- son? When I perform, I don’t perform as myself at all, and I’ve wondered if I’m go- ing to lose myself.” Because just rendering a song doesn’t lift a crowd. It takes something more, and Ford has it. “Then again, I get to go on stage, I see people having the time of their life, and it fills me with happiness. I could play ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ for the rest of my life and be happy. But I’ll never, ever play ‘Wagon Wheel.’” Annual events like Purple Brainz, Beatles Night at State Theater, Trib- ute to Stevie Wonder with Kenya Hall & Friends, and the regularly scheduled Trib- ute 2 shows at Empire have become driv- ing highlights of the city’s event calendar. Lucas Salisbury, Empire’s events manag- er, says the hype is all down to familiarity. “People like to sing along.” The Comeback F ollowing a long absence, The Clash of the Titans, a live series in which musicians compete while channel- ing their favorite bands, returned to Em- pire on February 15. “The community re- ally missed it,” says Lucas. “A lot of local bands developed out of the Clash shows. They bring musicians together and ignite original projects.” Through June this year, music-lovers can hear some of their favor- ite Portland musicians, along with new per- formers, for just $6. “It was common to hear The Clash was cliqu- ey,” says Salisbury. “So go- ing forward, we’re going to reach new talent and revi- talize it.” Spencer Albee, creator of The Clash and Beatles Night, knows the reason be- hind The Clash’s success. “Top-notch musicians” have a blast playing on a night “they’d otherwise be at Rus- ki’s or on tour.” According to Albee, The Clash is unlike other cover nights “that use karaoke tracks” and “schedule their cover bands on the weekend when original bands are trying to draw a crowd.” This season, among the new faces, look for appearances from your favorite former-Em- pire musicians. Reneé Coolbrith will take to the stage as Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine in April, and Colleen Clark will perform as Fiona Apple in May and as Miley Cyrus in June. Phit for a Tribute While Clash of the Titans embraces ev- erything from hip-hop to pop, there are some bands that just seem to speak to New England. Pardon Me, Doug formed in 2012 after Benjamin St. Clair, Kevin Roper, Chris Chasse, and Cameron Gray found themselves intrigued by the music of the Ver- mont jam band Phish. “Ev- ery city has a [Grateful] Dead cover band,” says St. Clair. (And Portland is no exception–The Maine Dead Project plays regular shows in the city). So St. Clair and Roper decided to test their talents with the “I’d never looked out into a crowd before to see one person crying while another was laughing and dancing.” Not Phish