All the Raps by John and John: TMBG Portland Maine Concert 9/9/22

All the raps by John and John: Found Footage TMBG concert, Portland Maine 9/2/22

Ever wonder what a live TMBG concert is like? John and John are constantly fun and funny, but also sweet and obviously care very much about each other and the audience. We happened upon some “found-footage” from the show in Portland Maine this month: my son accidentally left his cell phone on in his pocket! In Act 1, the boys told the audience to get out our phones, turn around, and record a selfie of us with the band playing Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love backwards. This would later be reversed to hear the song “forwards”. Jojo accidentally left his phone on after the song and it continued dutifully recording for the next 3 hours: from his pocket! This “found footage” was a chance to document the fun, playful rap the boys do during the whole show: see what you think, but they seem to be enjoying themselves tremendously!

This gives a look maybe, at how they really are in their world.

0:40 JF we might have to do this part of the show twice

JL Yes. Including the raps, and the photography work… (instructions on how to record STILLOOB backwards)

1:15 JF  how do you say Judas backwards?“

JL That’s a Bob Dylan reference 

JF ;that was for you John

JL; and I’m just passing it along

JF so here we go: let the confusion begin.

1:47:16 STILLOOB (sapphire Bullets of pure love backwards)

3:22 JF that was perfect perfect

3:33 man it’s so loud in here

6:59 JF so here’s another song from our flood album it’s based on the parker brothers game. we are 33 years deep and there’s been no litigation so I think we’re safe.

JL we’ll be getting a letter next week

JF little did they know Parker Brothers corporate offices were located in Portland Oregon. In Portland, Maine… 

AUDIENCE Booooooooo!

JF check this out: I totally don’t live here. You could’ve said that just as easily as me. I hope I’m below you(?). We’re just a bunch of human beings the way God made them up here. You want to take this outside? You go outside we’lll stay in here.

JL it would be a whole new vibe for us to boo the audience. I don’t think other bands do that kind of thing. I’m thinking out of the box here.

JF not since limp bizkit. That did not work out well. There used to be an amazing YouTube video of guy and Limp Bizkit challenging a stadium of people to a fight. It’s been scrubbed. I actually did a deep dive the last time I thought about it has definitely been scrubbed from YouTube. It was amazing. Like I could invent just TikTok 2 and have it be just that one video of the guy saying you want a piece of this? What’s going to happen? they were opening for Metallica it was not going well.

JL I think scrappy Doo was the lead singer.

JF in the middle of him going for vogueness(?), the house sound guy just walks across the stage just very casually just (Flansburgh grabs microphone) cause I think he owned that Mike and he didn’t want to lose it. I’m OK back to the music well this song is called Hot Cha

9:35 hot CHA

11:30 pointlessly violent fantasy song that will go unnamed

11:38 JL I’m sorry I got off on the wrong foot here it’s gonna be great. its gonna be perfection

JF it’s cause we care.

JL I saw those guys; they were not robots. I was disappointed.

12:15 same violent decapitation song started all over again

15:29 Lucky ball and chain

18:19 JF lucky BALL and chain

JL LUCKY ball and chain. Lucky ball AND chain… now how much would you pay?

JF I Guess it’s obvious we don’t care if you take photographs. There’s a lot of places where people ask us if it’s ok if they take photographs: it’s 2022. They’re taking photographs of their lunch. Take all the photographs you want. Take and pick your favorites show your friends. So we’ve got a couple more songs and we’re going to take a 20 minute break during which time lines will form where lines form then they will disperse as the noise begins again. So um, the second set, it’s all genesis and yes. (Band plays a little roundabout)

19:25 road movie to Berlin

22:15 horn instrumental intro then Istanbul not Constantinople jam

29:27 END OF FIRST SET

Intermission sounds from Jojo‘s pocket

SECOND SET

49:10 Video: part of STILLOOB video from act 1 backwards, technical difficulties (You can see my video of the actual backwards recording on YouTube “TMBG teaches the audience to clap backwards Portland Maine 9/2/22“ https://youtu.be/grc4-m34S8U )

50:33 JF so our lighting guy Saul told us there’s a technical problem with the video there so they only got half of the song. I think it’s because our performance was not up to snuff. He’s just protecting all of us. So we’ll just try again.

JL He just turned off the cameras, he was like “Na Na no good.” Anyway back to flood. Remember that album flood? We were so young…

JF we were just taking doses of the brand new theatrical breakthrough drug Pandor

JL you didn’t understand that? We’ll put out a thing on social media to explain all the jokes

JF I came down with a case of Demeticulitis 

JL you guys are with us…you understand us

The first time we played in Japan we were taught saying our usual raps and everyone was like yeah! And then john said something that was really specific like “all right everyone put your hand in the air and scream love“ And then we realized they were just smiling you know. They liked us. Meanwhile they didn’t know what we were saying.

JF I could tell that the only audience, we toured Germany a lot, and Germans understand puns

JL in English. They understood us in a deep way. In a disturbingly intimate way.

JF you can’t blame them for being smart but um here’s a song from the flood album

52:48 letterbox

54:17 JF… brief Introduction to the band on acoustic guitar is Mr. Dan Miller he’s(?) on the bass kevin (?) and a man needs no spotlight because he’s lit from within our drummer Mr. Marty Beller. All right speaking of the flood album, here’s another song from the flood album. It’s called we want a rock

54:55 we want a rock

58:07 moonbeam Rays

1:01:09 JF got to do some product placement

JL pay some bills. We got a pay some bills

JF ladies and gentlemen last year we had the privilege of putting out our thousandth Album. It’s like it’s in this shape, we know albums come in a lot of different shapes some of them working some of them just in your imagination this one is actually profoundly physical. It’s called book. It’s a book of photographs and lyrics the lyrics have been lovingly set by by hand typed into a Selectric typewriter from 1973 by the graphic designer Paul Sair he’s a friend of mine and he’s crazy. You’re just seeing the typed ones here. It’s a very cool thing we’re very proud of it and that last song is off of this project. And there are approximately 1100 of them left. There’s 30 of them at the T-shirt stand right now waiting to be purchased by one person racing out the door right now. With (?) ambitions of starting a pop up store in downtown Portland, because pop-up stores are where it’s at. let’s get that Gofundme going for a pop-up store in Portland. (Flansburgh is giving away a copy of book to a woman from the audience)

JL will be doing more songs from this new album later in the set after everybody’s gone

JF so I’m John I know this was supposed to be a set of like boom boom boom Showbusiness. All right I’m ready when you are

1:03:31 Women and men

1:05:20 dead

1:08:29 Cyclops rock (interesting mixup at 1:10:45…) 

1:11:10 JF I feel like my brain exploded at the end of that song. It’s like I was screaming on top of a scream

JL I feel like your mouth was open and there was a little flans inside that was screaming

JF I’ve been hiding that for so long. Now it can be said:There’s a tiny screaming Flansburg inside of Flansburg

JL so that was the original lyrics to Georgia girl

“(Sings) there’s a tiny Flansburg screaming inside”

JF I understand a little bit of tea. And by tea I mean Microdosing LSD. Is Microdosing a euphemism for dosing?

JL I think you’ll have to ask the tiny Flansburg 

JF I’m  not doing any of that. I don’t know anyone who does that. I mean I know people who drink too much, but I don’t know anyone who Microdoses . Do you know anyone?

JL a friend of mine did it and he was disappointed that he wasn’t tripping. and I said to him but isn’t at the point that you’re not supposed to trip?

JF I don’t know. I took that CBD thing and that was just for a minute. And I was like oh they take the part of pot that doesn’t work

JL if Tommy Chong says it’s bullshit… It’s time to question whether

JF he’s got a very loose… he’s not there to judge most of the time. Tommy Chong said that?

JL he’s against CBC? CBD? There’s A children’s book called CDB. No one has heard of either of these things. One person has heard of this

JF this song is a long distance dedication to that one person. Here we go here’s another song

1:13:45 minimum wage

Audience (on cue) “Yeeeeahhh!”

JF here’s another song off the album book. It’s the opening track is called synopsis for late comers

1:14:45 synopsis for late comers

JF here’s a song with a fresh horn chart from (? Daniel?) on trombone. This is from an album called album raises new and troubling questions which is a collection of songs that were not all recorded together, but altogether raise some new and troubling questions. And it’s called authenticity trip

1:17:50 authenticity trip

JF (inaudible)

JL they’ve had it with us

Audience member: Flansy, we’re glad you’re feeling better!

JF Yeah I’m super good. It’s a it’s great to be able to perform. It’s great to be able to sit up. 

JL everyone’s asking how you’re feeling. For a guy who broke most of his ribs he’s concealing his agony pretty well

Audience member: he looks great!

JF You know it’s a complicated thing when you’re a, yeah. It’s fucked up. I’m trying to think of something lighthearted to say about it

JL it’s time to go dark. Things just weren’t the same after the accident.

JF let’s get back to bitching about apartment living. This song is called we live in a dump

1:21:35 we live in a dump

1:23:23 JL I just want to say flans I’m very glad you that you survived and that you are getting well. It scared the shit out of me personally, and it’s a big big relief

JF back! Flans is BACK! I don’t want to scold everyone who thinks driving drunk is cool: it ain’t. I got hit by a drunk driver and although I would love to talk about it at length it is unfortunately in the courts now so I’m just going to shut the fuck up. But a, just you know don’t don’t do that kind of stuff, it’s a mistake, big miscalculation and a, and a, Wear a seatbelt

JL so here’s a song about that it’s called someone keeps moving my chair

1:24:21 someone keeps moving my chair

JF right here we’re into the homestretch

we want to thank you all for coming out we know you have the choice of They might Be Giants-like bands, And we’re glad you have chosen us this evening. We’re at the State Theatre and we’re still trying to figure out if we’ve played here before. This song is called birdhouse in your soul

FINALE

1:27:15 birdhouse in your soul

1:30:44 particle man/Sun Ra - Rocket Number Nine Take Off For The Planet Venus

1:33:49 Dr. worm

JF thank you so much

1:36:37 Audience clap clap clap clap scream scream scream scream etc

ENCORE #1

1:38:21 JF Ladies and gentlemen there are no words, there are only photographs that can describe how we feel right now. Thank you so much for coming out to the show. I’m just trying to make sure my phone doesn’t start making sounds through my amplifier. A few more songs to play right now. This next song features Mr. Marty Beller, who appreciates applause for himself more than anyone I know. He’s wearing earbuds he can barely hear you. People in the balcony, Mr Marty Beller on the drums.  This is a very special song we had ghost written for Marty. It was written by ghosts

JL actual ghosts

JF the song is called Marty Beller mask

1:39:22 encores number one

Marty Beller mask

JF Mr Marty Beller on the drums. True story.  ladies and gentlemen we have just one more song prepared for you right now. Any songs we do after that have not been prepared we sincerely want to thank you all for coming out to the show. We want to thank our crew; many of them are brand new.I’m not going to say their names because I won’t get to the end. We’re glad they’re here and they really are helping us out.We want to thank all the local people for doing such a good job today this place is beautiful. We hope you get right back. tell your friends you saw this new band. All right this song is called fingertips

1:42:15 fingertips

1:47:59 audience clap clap clap clap scream scream scream scream etc.

ENCORE #2

1:50:02 We have to get to North Adams? Massachusetts… (crowd moans) there is a mutual animosity? in audibleJF friendly town: “Alright everybody, we’ll see you later…BOO!!!” inaudible. We’re from Massachusetts but you know, we’re from Eastern Massachusetts

JL and we’ve spent a lot of time in Maine, I don’t know if that counts

JF I spent all my summers in Maine

JL Is that good or bad I don’t know 

JF I don’t think it counts I don’t think being a tourist in Maine counts as… even though we have a working familiarity with a lot of things about this place, it doesn’t count. Folks we want to thank you individually, so will you bring up the lights for one second while we thank eleven hundred people (Flans pointing and talking to individual people in the crowd) specifically. That lady with the smile right there, I’m pointing right AT you. Hi. Wave back. Thank you for coming to the show (inaudible) everyone in the band is thanking you right now. Are there any lights available for the balcony? Because I cannot see hardly anyone in the balcony. thank you so much for not standing so close to the edge as to terrify the band. Thank you all for coming. We have one more song Marty Beller on the drums(? On the bass, ? on lead guitarin John Linell on the accordion, you in the audience (? on the saxophone,? On the trombone, Mark Loveman Pender on the trumpet)

JL That’s Johnny Flansburgh

JF that’s me.. And I hope I was clear when I was mumbling, I was not driving the car that hit me. I just wanted to make that clear. It’s one of those things when you’re in an accident involving a drunk driver people are like “you were driving drunk?“

JL no, you were driving the car that hit you?

JF right. Somebody’s tweeting that out right now. All right here we go this song is called Mr. me 

1:52:40 Mr. me

1:54:40 audience Clap clap clap clap scream scream scream scream

Set List:

Intro (they might be Giants, (recorded intro)

1) The Mesopotamians

2) Twisting (Flood)

3) Your Racist Friend (Flood)

4) When will you die

5) Theme from Flood

6) Whistling in the Dark (Flood)

7) The Darlings of Lumberland

8) 2082

9) Stilloob (Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love backward…) (doolF)

10) Man it’s so loud in here

11) Hot Cha (Flood)

12) Some violent endulgement fantasy song

13) Road Movie to Berlin (Flood)

14) Istanbul not Constantinople (Flood)

Intermission

15) Hearing aid (recorded song) (Flood) Like "They Might Be Giants (Alt. Version)," this is a new recording used as an intro on the 2022 Flood tour, to open the second set.

(Stilloob 1st verse played backwards, technical difficulties)

16) Letterbox (Flood)

17) we want a rock (Flood)

18) moonbeam rays 

19) women and men (Flood)

20) dead (Flood)

21) Cyclops Rock (Trick Dickie Nixon lyrics)

22) Minimum Wage (audience wins with perfectly on time Heeyah!) (Flood)

23) Synopsis for latecomers

24) authenticity trip

25) we live in a dump

26) someone keeps moving my chair (Flood)

27) Birdhouse in your soul (Flood)

28) Particle Man (Flood) Rocket Number nine takes off for the planet Venus, venus: Sun Ra

(big Band Version)

29) Dr Worm

(1st goodnights)

1st Encore

30) Marty Beller Mask

31) Fingertips

(2nd goodnights)

2nd Encore

32) Mr. Me (Big Band Version)

3rd Goodnights (claiming to need to get to The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, MA, as a reason to have to leave…)

Christmas in Bangor: a video tribute to those who died in the Dec 5 2021 fire

 Christmas in Bangor (A Tribute to Dylan Smith, Andy Lee Allen, and Timmy Tuttle, Jr.)

references and sources for the horribly sad tragedy of Dec 5, 2021

They lived by the river (light: “A good man is hard to find…)

Under I-395

The bridge was their shelter, their home and their safe place

Firewood, needles, MacDonald’s and propane

To get through the day… but the day’s getting colder

And everything that you remembered of Christmas

Doesn’t include a no trespassing order

“You don’t need an address, But you can’t stay here,” (spoken in rhythm)

Good luck and holiday cheer, 

signed Bangor”

(refrain humming Hmmmmmm, nmmmmm)

So you found an old building, one with nobody in there

Finally somewhere that is dry for the winter

And now you burned up to the sky

Your flame made a tear in its eye, because…

Ref.  (choir) (punk version A.T.S.)

It’s Christmas in Bangor

Let’s all go to Bangor

From Silver Ridge Township

Skowhegan and Howland

It’s Christmas in Bangor, when you’re

Homeless in Bangor, better

Buckle up, 

it’s gonna be a long, cold night

(Punk Instrumental refrain)

Wash the lead out of your eyes

It’s going down to 10 tonight

Your cheap tent is whistling “Wipe off your eyes,

Santa Claus ain’t coming tonight…”

January thaw, February ice

Cold mud in March, and then stop at the clinic

Then back to the rivers and back to the hill

Dragging your shopping cart from the goodwill

But the Winter is already on its way back again

I used to dream it would snow, (1,2,3,4!) but now it’s… (Punk Refrain)

Ref. 2 (Punk Boys)

It’s Christmas in Bangor

Let’s all go to Bangor

From Bucksport to Lincoln

From Bradley to Bingham

It’s Christmas in Bangor when you’re

Homeless in Bangor, better

Buckle up, 

it’s gonna be a long, cold night!

From Bucksport to Lincoln

From Bradley to Bingham

From Dexter to Dover

From Hudson to Houlton

From Hermon to Hampden

From Old Town to Etna

From Moscow to Milo

Fort Kent to Presque Isle 

From Belfast to Searsport

From Newburgh to Frankfort

From East Millinocket

From Eastbrook to Eastport

From Greenbush to Guilford

From Brooks to Machias

From Searsmont to Surry

To Mt Desert Island

From Easton and Caribou

Jackman and Jackson

From Otis and Athens

From Deer Isle and Edmunds

From Clifton and Corinth

From Blue Hill and Belfast

From Hartley and Milford

From Waltham and Amherst

From Bradley and Northport

From Lee and from Medway…

For Dylan Smith (Howland and Lincoln), 31; Andy Lee Allen, 56; (Bangor and Silver Ridge Township)

 and 

Tim Tuttle, Jr, 28 (Skowhegan)

At Thanksgiving, Bangor City Council decided "to issue trespass orders to people who do not leave a homeless encampment under a highway bridge by Dec. 1. (US News, AP 11/26/21)

On Dec 5th, 3 of those homeless people who were moved out from the bridge encampment died in a fire in an abandoned building exactly 1 mile away; the fire at 196 Union St  took the lives of 31 year old Dylan Smith (of Howland and Bangor), 56 year old Andy Lee Allen (of Silver Ridge Township), and 28 year old Timmy Norman Tuttle Jr (of Skowhegan and Bangor).

We made this song as a tribute to Dylan, Andy, and Timmy, and to all the others who do not have a home, and struggle to get by day by day...

we know songs aren't much help, but we felt this need to talk about it and try to say something...

It was recorded, engineered and produced by Jojo; charlie and molly made GarageBand tracks, and sang as well: and featuring the inimitable voice of Perry Boudreau on the spoken lyrics

The news footage is from WABI and WLBZ; most photos are from the Bangor Daily News.

We made the song out of constantly changing images and sounds and tones, the way life must seem surreal and unreliable to the homeless; a jumble of uncertainty, danger, drug addiction and mental illness.

3 homeless men identified as victims of Union Street fire

by Lia Russell

December 5, 2021Updated December 6, 2021

Three homeless men were identified as   those who died in a fire early Sunday morning on Union Street in Bangor.

Andrew Allen, 56; Dylan Smith, 31;  and Tim Tuttle, 28, died in the fire, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Smith grew up in Howland, and had been homeless since 2013, according to his aunt, Diane Gasch.

 

Dylan Smith in an undated photograph. He was one of three people who died in a house fire on Union Street in Bangor on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. Credit: Courtesy of Diane Gasch

Smith had previously worked in construction and at LaBree’s Bakery in Old Town, Gasch said. She had last seen him in May at his mother’s home in Howland, though he had most recently lived in Portland and Bangor.

The fire at 194 and 196 Union St. was reported shortly before 5 a.m. The condemned two-story duplex had sat vacant for the past year,  according to Shannon Moss, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The building, without heat or hot water, had been condemned by the city of Bangor since March 2017 but a neighbor said that he had seen eight people living in the house over the past week.

Two people escaped the fire, Moss said. An ambulance transported one to the hospital with minor injuries, while a passerby helped the other person.

The cause of the fire was unclear as of Sunday night but firefighters planned to return to the property on Monday to continue their investigation, Moss said.

The Medical Examiner’s Office will perform autopsies.

Andrew "Andy" Lee Allen

June 14, 1965 - December 5, 2021

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SILVER RIDGE - Andrew "Andy" Lee Allen passed away December 5, 2021.

Andrew is survived by his children, Scott Murray, Margaret "Maggie" Allen and Samuel "Sam" Allen; brothers, John and wife, Barbara, Garry and wife, Lisa, Timothy and wife, Barbie, Thomas and wife, Terrie, Mark and wife, Marilyn, and Anthony and wife, Jackie; sisters-in-law, Tanis and Wanita; sisters, Jean Gross and husband, Jim, Rebecca Allen, Joyce Black, Rosalie Gallant and husband, Gary, June Rush, Joan Thibodeau and husband, Bruce, and Frances Bouchard and husband, Don; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins and friends. He was predeceased by his parents, John and Margaret; and brothers, David and Bobby.

Born in Bangor, Andy lived in Bradford during his early childhood, and moved to Silver Ridge Twp. with his family in 1975. He lived in Weston, CT, and other Maine towns, but eventually moved back to Silver Ridge Twp. Andy and his twin brother, Anthony, grew up loving the great outdoors, and hunting and fishing both in the "County" and in CT. Andrew dearly loved his children and his big family, who all loved him very much. Andy was soft-spoken, had a big heart, was kind and generous.

All are welcome to join in remembrance of Andrew on Friday, December 10, 2021, 3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Bowers Funeral Home, 64 Sherman St., Island Falls. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 11 a.m. at St. Benedict's Catholic Church, 1063 Benedicta Rd., Benedicta, with the Rev. Dominic Savio officiating. Interment will be in the spring. To share condolences and memories, please visit bowersfuneral.com.

Published on December 8, 2021

OBITUARIES Posted December 11, 2021

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Obituary: Timothy Norman Tuttle Jr.

 

Timothy Norman Tuttle Jr.

BANGOR – Timothy Norman Tuttle Jr. of Bangor passed away suddenly on Dec. 5, 2021. Timothy was born Feb. 9, 1993 at RFGH in Skowhegan Maine; to Timothy Norman Tuttle Sr. and Audrey Marie Trafton.

Timothy attended SAHS and was most recently employed at Skowhegan Tire. Timothy had a love for cars, playing video games and spending time with his family and friends. Timothy had an infectious smile and a kind heart, he will be deeply missed by everyone who was blessed to know him.

Timothy is survived by two daughters: Lillian and Sophia Tuttle of Norridgewock. Parents: Audrey Trafton and step dad Micheal Frost of Hudson; Timothy Tuttle SR of Ellsworth and mother in-law Kelly Rowe of Madison. Grandmother Linda Dwyer. Brother Ryan Tuttle and niece Audrie Tuttle. Aunts and uncles: Margarita Trafton and Jonathan Towle of Dexter, Lisa Brooks of Embden, Rachel and Travis Stymiest of Mercer, Ralph Sproul of Skowhegan. Good friends: Ty Dolphanie of Madison, RoRo Frost II of Dexter and Shawn Memorow. Several cousins and close friends.

He was predeceased by: Nana Francis Tuttle, grandfathers Lewis Tuttle and Clinton Trafton. Uncles: Lewis Tuttle, Cliff Tuttle and Calvin Trafton. Great grandmother Ellen Trafton.

A celebration of life will be held on Jan. 16, at 2 p.m., in Solon, Maine, fire station with services provided by David Ray Sr. from Rickey. A special thanks to Jo Adams for all of her support during this difficult Time.

Any donations can be sent to: Audrey Trafton

208 Lancaster Brooke Road

Glenburn, ME 04401.

Guest Book

 

Audrey Frost

I miss you bubba 😢 so much... It's been 6 days since you passed and everyday gets harder and harder. I can't believe that you're gone. Mommy loves you Timmy. Fly High my baby boy! 😢😭😭. Until we meet again.

Like · Reply · 8w

Like · Reply · 8w

Anna Wells

I'm really sorry for ur loss Audrey I can only imagine how u feel.. I miss him so much too.. may he rest in paradise ♥️ keep ya head up! Stay strong u know that's what Timmy would have wanted ♥️

Like · Reply · 8w

Brenda Sage

I'm sad for your loss Audrey. I don't know you or your son. My 28 year old son died unexpectedly in May 2018. When I read your comment, I remembered that feeling. There are groups on Facebook, such as The Compassionate Friends Network (TCF) Loss of Adult Child which I wish I had found earlier, because for months I felt no one could relate or understand what I was going through. ❤

Like · Reply · 2 · 8w

Brandon Towers

I knew timmy for a long time im so sorry for your loss this hurts i used to hangout with him amd shawn all the time a great soul he will be greatly missed

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Rebecca Day

So sorry to hear the loss of a family member I had never met..So I send my condolences to all family...Rebecca (Trafton) Day

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Maggie Trafton

I miss you very much it's been 7 days since you have passed aunty will always remember the good times love you and miss you Timmy until we meet again fly high 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔

Like · Reply · 8w

Gloria Cyr Caron

Our deepest sympathies!!! I couldn't imagine! prayers going to the family!💔

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EJ Pinkham

Timmy, I don't even know where to start. Here goes... I love and miss you so much with each and every passing day. Some days it does not even seem real that you are forever gone but will never be forgotten. You had the biggest heart and most infectious smile of anyone I've ever known. We had shared so many good times together since I first met you when you were 14 years old. I remember when you bought me my 16 inch low profile tires for my Black Ford focus, and put them on, "once we finally got the wheel spaces in the mail, LOL" You made that car awesome and I loved that car as long as I had it. You hold a very special place in my 💚 and you forever will. Thank you for being there for me even when you didn't know if you should have been, during the hardest time of my life and through my healing process, and believe me I know it wasn't easy, or I didn't help make it any easier but you made it look easier than it was. You really were the better half of my past 3 years and I'll always treasure the memories we made. Audrey, I would just like to say from the bottom of my heart my condolences go out to you and your family for the loss of Timmy, you really should be proud of how great of a son you had and raised. I know words can never express the hurt and pain you must be feeling without him here today but he always talk to me about you and told me how much he loves you. I remember coming with him one day and meeting you after he fixed my car he was so proud and wanted to show you, his love for cars was amazing. But again I wanted to say that I am so sorry for his loss and want you to know if you ever need someone to talk to I'm always here. Timmy may you forever fly high and rest in peace I know a lot of sad people around town that miss you terribly but we know that you're always with us and always will be. Until we meet again rest in peace Timothy and do me a favor say hi to my father and Alan for me and let them know how missed they are. All my love E.J.💙💛💚🧡

Like · Reply · 1w

Bangor wants people to leave homeless encampment under I-395

by David Marino Jr.

November 26, 2021

The city is asking homeless residents living under the Interstate 395 bridge to leave by December 1 due to potential dangers that could arise with inclement weather. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

The city of Bangor is asking more than a dozen people living by the Penobscot River under the Interstate 395 bridge that spans Bangor and Brewer to leave by Dec. 1 and plans to issue trespass orders to those who do not.

The attempt to clear out the encampment is the latest chapter of an ongoing homelessness problem in the city that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated. In a city that serves as the regional hub for eastern Maine’s homeless population, the topic dominated the recent City Council election, with residents divided on how best to address the problem.

The city wants people to leave the encampment due to dangers that could arise with the arrival of winter, especially because the cleared-out area beyond the end of the Bangor waterfront footpath is challenging for emergency vehicles to reach.

The Bangor Police Department’s community relations officer, Elizabeth Ashe, went to the homeless encampment under the Interstate 395 bridge on Wednesday morning to issue warnings to everyone living there that they need to be out by Dec. 1. Torelin Jager, the city’s homeless outreach case worker (background), was with officer Ashe to connect people to services, including potential housing and substance use treatment. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Bangor police think the encampment has dwindled to about 12 to 15 people from 30 two weeks ago, Chief Mark Hathaway said, though encampment populations can fluctuate.

“Once snow and ice comes, we won’t be able to access that area if anyone needs help,” said Assistant City Manager Courtney O’Donnell, who noted that plowing the snow was unrealistic.

Many in the encampment also use the Penobscot River for bathing and to go to the bathroom, O’Donnell said. If someone needed assistance there, it would be difficult for emergency services to reach them, she said.

City staff initially spoke to the people there about relocating by Nov. 19, O’Donnell said, and they seemed ready to do so. But once that date came, many had refused to move. Realizing that they wouldn’t move voluntarily, city staff decided to seek the City Council’s input, which happened at the council’s Monday meeting.

“Unfortunately, many of the folks in that area do not want services,” O’Donnell said. “They are not interested in moving. They made that clear.”

Officer Elizabeth Ashe talks with Todd Johnson, who lives in a tent at the encampment under the Interstate 395 bridge, about having to leave the area by Dec. 1 due to potential dangers that could arise with inclement weather. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Todd Johnson lives in a tent at the encampment. He has been homeless the last few years after he said he was evicted. He used to work as a convenience store clerk, he said Wednesday morning as a Bangor police officer warned those staying there that they needed to leave by Dec. 1.

Johnson said he understood why the city wanted people out of there, with the weather growing colder. He has also seen fighting and a lot of drug use at the site. Still, he said there is a culture of giving around the encampment if you’re honest with others.

While he wasn’t entirely sure where he would go next, he was thinking of traveling south to Boston.

“Being homeless isn’t fun,” Johnson said. “People think it’s like camping. It’s not like camping, not in the wintertime. It’s scary out here.”

The council on Monday acquiesced to plans to remove those staying at the site, though some councilors, including Angela Okafor and Dina Yacoubagha, asked if the city would connect them with services.

Forcing people who are homeless to move is uncomfortable, but ultimately it’s in the best interest of those living in the encampment, City Council Chair Rick Fournier said.

“In my mind, it’s all about safety,” he said.

The police department’s community relations officer, Elizabeth Ashe, traveled to the encampment on Wednesday morning with Torelin Jager, the city’s homeless outreach case worker. While Ashe issued warnings to everyone living there that they needed to be out by Dec. 1, Jager was on hand to connect them to services, including potential housing and substance use treatment.

Community Relations Officer Elizabeth Ashe and Torelin Jager, the city’s homeless outreach case worker, walk through the homeless encampment under the Interstate 395 bridge on Wednesday morning to let everyone living there know that they need to be out by Dec. 1. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Both struck a warm, non-aggressive tone as they went tent to tent.

“Dec. 1 is going to be move-out day,” Ashe said to someone in one tent. “I want to make sure you have fair notice.”

While those living at the encampment are homeless, Jager said that some housed people travel there. One man who drove in on Wednesday was visiting a friend to check on her. She once lived a promising life, he said, but the last few years had been rough.

Several of the tents were empty Wednesday morning, with their owners appearing to be away.

Like in other encampments, the residents there formed something of a community, Johnson said. They all knew each other and several had decorated their tents. There was a skeleton up for Halloween, for example.

But the area is messy.

Items were strewn about the tents on the dirt road, from empty food containers to propane tanks. One man had a copy of a “Lord of the Rings” book outside his tent.

Used needles and needle caps litter the ground of a homeless encampment under the Interstate 395 bridge. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

A plethora of needles also littered the area. One person living there had put several inside a two-liter cola bottle. She said she had gathered them to keep others safe.

The city’s efforts to clear the waterfront encampment come soon after city staff spent two days cleaning up a homeless encampment on Cleveland Street — located behind the Hope House homeless shelter — in anticipation of the winter months. However, the city has not asked those people to leave.

A Maine city plans to issue trespass orders to people who do not leave a homeless encampment under a highway bridge by Dec. 1.

By Associated Press

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Nov. 26, 2021, at 2:28 p.m.

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Bangor to Issue Trespass Orders at Homeless Camp by Dec. 1

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BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A Maine city plans to issue trespass orders to people who do not leave a homeless encampment under a highway bridge by Dec. 1.

More than a dozen people live next to the Penobscot River under the Interstate 395 bridge that goes from Bangor to Brewer, the Bangor Daily News reported. Bangor officials want to clear the encampment and have asked people living there to leave, the paper reported.

City officials said they want the camp cleared in part because of the coming winter. Assistant City Manager Courtney O'Donnell said emergency workers won't be able to access the area when snow and ice arrives.

The issue of how to address the homeless population in Bangor has been a major theme in city politics recently. The executive director of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter has said there are likely more unsheltered homeless residents in Bangor now than there have ever been.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

 

 

Bangor cleans up homeless encampment in anticipation of dangerous winter months

by David Marino Jr.

November 9, 2021

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City of Bangor employees were cleaning the homeless encampment behind the Hope House in Bangor Tuesday. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

City of Bangor employees began cleaning up an encampment of homeless residents on Cleveland Street on Tuesday, a step toward helping those residents plan for a safe living situation during the cold winter months.

The employees picked up piles of trash around the encampment — which is located behind the Hope House shelter and contains several tents — in a cleanup that is estimated to cost around $2,000. The city will be back in a week, offering the help of caseworkers who can connect homeless residents with safe places to spend the cold months.

Tuesday’s cleanup came a week after an election in which Bangor’s lack of affordable housing and its homeless population was the central issue addressed by City Council candidates.

It also happened as the city’s homeless population has grown and as the shelter services available to them are changing.

Bangor’s Assistant City Manager Courtney O’Donnell. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

There are about 170 residents living outside in Bangor this fall that the city is aware of by name, Assistant City Manager Courtney O’Donnell said. That’s a significant increase from the 30-40 it knew of in previous years.

And come the end of the year, one less source of shelter will be available to them as the Ramada Inn hotel, which has served exclusively as a shelter since last year, prepares to close at the end of December when its federal funding ends.

In an effort to partially offset that loss, the Hope House, run by Penobscot Community Health Care, is expanding to include 43 beds, up from its current 30. But shelter capacity as a whole in Bangor has been reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic so shelters can allow for social distancing.

Most of what workers took from the encampment Tuesday was clearly trash — everything from mattresses to shopping carts to abandoned tents. They made sure not to take personal property. Residents living at the encampment could be seen in and around their camps on Tuesday morning.

Piles of trash litter a homeless encampment in the wooded area behind the Hope House in Bangor. City of Bangor employees from Public Works and Parks and Recreation were on site cleaning the area Tuesday. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik

Caseworkers and navigators will continue the work at the site next week, on Nov. 16, making sure that trash has been removed and people living at the encampment have a safe living situation for the winter, O’Donnell said.

No one will be asked to leave the encampments at that time, she said.

However, caseworkers can connect homeless residents to resources to help them find a spot in a shelter or another living situation. Bangor officials often make efforts to reduce the number of residents at encampments as the weather gets colder, knowing that risks become more severe for homeless residents during the winter.

“We’re really just helping them to make plans for the winter months, and to clean up the campsites so they’re as safe as possible when winter snow and ice is upon us,” O’Donnell said.

The city had cleaned up the area behind the Hope House in previous years, though O’Donnell noted it had tried to take a more collaborative approach this year, involving personnel from Penobscot Community Health Care, which runs the Hope House shelter and provides a number of services for homeless residents in the city, and United Way of Eastern Maine.

City of Bangor employees were cleaning the homeless encampment behind the Hope House in Bangor Tuesday. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Many city councilors campaigned on establishing more affordable housing in the city before last week’s city council election. Reelected Councilor Susan Hawes, for example, said Monday that she would push the city to turn blighted buildings into new affordable housing in her new term.

O’Donnell noted that residents often call and email city officials about the conditions of the encampments, asking if residents are safe and have access to services.

“With the housing market as tight as it is, there is no easy solution to this issue,” she said. “We are doing our best as a community to approach this head-on and hopefully reduce the amount of impact it has on our area.”

 

AN OPEN LETTER TO THOSE SADDENED BY SUNDAY’S FATAL FIRE IN BANGOR

Cindy Campbell

Published: December 6, 2021

Kevin Bennett

• 
  

Dear community members, who are feeling as devastated by the deaths of three members of the homeless community as I am.  

We see them every day, walking the streets with their sacks full of their most precious belongings. Some carry backpacks, while others have trash bags slung over their shoulders. Their clothes are shabby and inadequate against the increasing cold of Maine winters.  

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Many of us will turn away when we see these members of the state’s homeless population. Silently, we know that we’re lucky because many of us realize how quickly we, too, could become homeless. We may say a quiet prayer for them, that they find shelter, that they find a place to be warm that night, that someone is watching out for them. There are warming shelters and overnight beds around the city of Bangor, but there are always those diehards who would rather live on their own terms.  

Is that what those five people were doing when they settled into that empty, abandoned house on Union Street? Instead of staying in a shelter, with all the shelter rules, they had found a house. Out of the cold. Neighbors tell us it even had a fireplace that could help them keep warm. It must have felt like a palace.  

Of course, I’m guessing here at what they were feeling. No one knows how long they had been staying in that house. It could have been their first night out of the cold when the fire broke out and took their lives. Three souls were lost just because they were trying to stay warm.  

We all feel it. The sadness. The loss. The frustration that nothing could have saved them. But there is something that you can do. It won’t bring back Tim Tuttle, Dylan Smith, or Andrew Allen, but it may help some other homeless citizens to find their way. You can donate to a shelter. Bangor Area Homeless Shelter or Hope House. Donate to agencies that help in other ways, like Hope for Homeless, the Union Street Brick Church, or the Salvation Army.   

It won’t solve the problem. But it will help these folks do all they can to provide safe and warm options to Bangor’s homeless population. They can’t do it alone.  

Humbly, 

One of the Lucky Ones 

Fatal Fire in Bangor

Three homeless people died in a fire at an abandoned apartment building on Union Street in Bangor on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021.

Gallery Credit: Kevin Bennett

Kevin Bennett Photo

Fatal Fire on Union Street in Bangor

Bangor, Maine-12-06-2021— Members of Bangor’s homeless population embrace in front of 196 Union Street in Bangor on Monday morning. Three men lost their lives in a fire at that location on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as 28-year-old Tim Tuttle, 31-year-old Dylan Smith and 56-year-old Andrew Allen.

Kevin Bennett Photo

Fatal Fire on Union Street in Bangor

Bangor, Maine-12-06-2021— Members of Bangor’s homeless population leave a memorial on a telephone pole near 196 Union Street in Bangor on Monday morning. Three men lost their lives in a fire at that location on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as 28-year-old Tim Tuttle, 31-year-old Dylan Smith and 56-year-old Andrew Allen.

Kevin Bennett

Fatal Fire on Union Street in Bangor

Bangor, Maine-12-06-2021— A man stops to look at the building at 196 Union Street in Bangor on Monday morning. Three men lost their lives in a fire at that location on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as 28-year-old Tim Tuttle, 31-year-old Dylan Smith and 56-year-old Andrew Allen.

Kevin Bennett Photo

Fatal Fire on Union Street in Bangor

Bangor, Maine-12-06-2021— A sign asking people to sign a petition to give homeless people more rights hangs on a telephone pole near 196 Union Street in Bangor, the site of a triple fatal fire that took the lives of three men. The deceased have been identified as 28-year-old Tim Tuttle, 31-year-old Dylan Smith and 56-year-old Andrew Allen.

Kevin Bennett Photo

Fatal Fire on Union Street in Bangor

Bangor, Maine-12-06-2021— A memorial erected by members of Bangor’s homeless population located at a telephone pole near 196 Union Street in Bangor on Monday morning. Three men lost their lives in a fire at that location on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as 28-year-old Tim Tuttle, 31-year-old Dylan Smith and 56-year-old Andrew Allen.

Read More: An Open Letter to Those Saddened by Sunday's Fatal Fire in Bangor | https://q1065.fm/an-open-letter-to-those-saddened-by-sundays-fatal-fire-in-bangor/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

https://bangordailynews.com/2018/12/19/news/bangor/they-lived-in-a-tent-in-the-snow-until-he-began-to-die/

by Jen Lynds

September 2, 2013

HOULTON, Maine — A Silver Ridge man who has been convicted of criminal operating under the influence three times and who was arrested again for the same crime along with unlawful possession of scheduled drugs in February was sentenced to jail last month and will be unable to drive any motorized vehicle for three years.

Aroostook County Assistant District Attorney Kurt Kafferlin said late last week that Andrew L. Allen was tried in front of Justice Kevin Cuddy in Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton on Aug. 7.

According to court documents, Maine State Police received a report that Allen, 46, was operating a vehicle erratically Feb. 8. State Trooper Jillian Monahan pulled Allen over on Silver Ridge Road in Silver Ridge and Allen allowed Monahan to search the vehicle, which he said belonged to his girlfriend. The girlfriend also authorized the search.

Police uncover old mortar round during burglary arrest

Contributed • May 25, 2018

   

STACYVILLE, Maine — State police have arrested a Sherman man and charged him with burglary and theft in connection with a camp break-in earlier this month.

During the arrest, police said they also uncovered evidence of methamphetamine manufacturing and found an old mortar round that needed to be handled by a bomb squad.

Following an investigation, Trooper Tim Saucier determined that 52-year-old Andrew Allen of Sherman committed a camp burglary reported May 12 on the Silver Ridge Road in Sherman, according to a press release issued Friday by Sgt. Josh Haines of the Maine State Police.

Ref. 3

It’s Christmas in Bangor (soft choir)

Let’s all go to Bangor

From Dexter to Dover (punk)

Hudson to Houlton

It’s Christmas in Bangor when you’re (All together)

Homeless in Bangor, better

Buckle up, 

it’s gonna be a long, cold (night!)