Authors | Flagpole Magazine | Athens, GA News, Music, Arts, Restaurants

Blog posts by Gordon Lamb

Michelle Obama Talks 'Let Girls Learn' (Kinda) at SXSW

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Gordon Lamb

First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on the South by Southwest convention hall stage today following her husband, who took part in an informal discussion on the same stage last week. Her appearance was announced excitedly but explained vaguely. Press releases only mentioned that she was planning to talk about ideas and issues surrounding the Let Girls Learninitiative, and that she would be joined by host Queen Latifah, songwriters Diane Warren and Missy Elliott and actress and activist Sophia Bush.

By Gordon Lamb | March 16, 2016
Hopscotch Music Festival Preview

Blog: Homedrone

The sixth annual Hopscotch Music Festival happens Sept. 10–12 in Raleigh, NC. While music is still its heart and soul, Hopscotch has thoughtfully expanded into an event that is most accurately described as an aesthetic festival. In 2014, the organizers launched the Hopscotch Design Festival, which precedes the music event by a day, with a little overlap. This year, it'll happen Sept. 9 and 10.

By Gordon Lamb | September 8, 2015
Simpler and More Streamlined, SXSW Lets the Music Shine

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Mike White

METZ plays the House of Vans at SXSW

Someone got the memo. After several years of ramping things up to occasionally tragic degrees, South By Southwest—at least its music portion—has made good on its promise to reevaluate, streamline and reign itself in. Sure, it’s still a heavily-sponsored event, but this year everything seems more proportionate. Gone is the gigantic Dorito’s vending machine stage. (That space is a parking lot again.) And for all the pre-show press and tooth-gnashing surrounding those burger kings McDonald's having a presence on-site, casual attendees would have no idea. Even the fake Ronald McDonald bleating about conspiracy outside (courtesy of rabblerouser Alex Jones’ Infowars—this is still Austin, after all) didn't do much to attract or divide people.

By Gordon Lamb | March 20, 2015
The Powder Room Suffers Van Fire, Equipment Loss

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: via Facebook

After suffering the major indignity of having a van full of gear stolen on the mean streets of Chicago last year, Athens rockers The Powder Room rallied strongly. Most recently, theyreleased their debut album, Curtains, had it pressed to vinyl, enlisted longtime Athens drummer Patrick Ferguson and headed out of town a couple of weeks ago for a short tour.

By Gordon Lamb | January 21, 2015
Green Room is For Sale

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Photo via Facebook

Nearly two years to the day it opened, Lumpkin Street music room and watering hole Green Room is on the marketplace.

Owner Wilmot Greene says he is offering it up for sale as of now and, in any case, will not be renewing the liquor license currently held in his name, which expires Dec. 30.

More below.

By Gordon Lamb | November 11, 2014
Moogfest in Review: Kraftwerk, Pet Shop Boys, Nile Rodgers and More

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Mike White

Kraftwerk

First things first: The return of Moogfest, and my experience of it, was undeniably positive. Its energy was palpable, the civic pride of Asheville and its attendant culture of inclusion was apparent everywhere and the organizers from Moog Music and the hundreds of volunteers couldn't have been friendlier if they tried. The menu was packed with fascinating speakers on all sorts of subjects and the live music lineup was simply incredible.

The footprint of Moogfest has the festival scattered over several blocks of downtown Asheville, but there's no clear center of activity. For someone unfamiliar with the town's layout, it can take a couple of days to get a bearing on things. This was my case entirely. As luck would have it, most of the shows I really wanted to catch were either at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, the free stage on Broadway outside the Moog factory and The Orange Peel, which is several blocks away.

More after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | May 2, 2014
Flagpole Heads to Moogfest Apr. 23–27

Blog: Homedrone

Kraftwerk

From April 23–27, the latest installment of Moogfest will take place in Asheville, NC. Excitement has swirled for months over the fact that the legendary Kraftwerk will perform three separate instances of their "3D" show, Nile Rogers will perform with Chic, the Pet Shop Boys will appear and mega-producer and dance music pioneer Giorgio Moroder will play.

And indeed, those are four of the major reasons I want to be there. But through a deeper reading of the festival's schedule I've found multiple things to get psyched about, including Sasha, Flying Lotus, Egyptian Lover, Mix Master Mike and more.

More after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | April 18, 2014
SXSW: Q&A with Spotify's Sachin Doshi

Blog: Homedrone

Sachin Doshi

Brands of all sizes populate SXSW, and the biggest ones populate it the most. Same as it ever was, right? This year’s Spotify House features three stages, a house DJ and has so far hosted shows from Phantogram, Dum Dum Girls, Future Islands, Warpaint, Holy Child and more. The hours-long lines to get in start happening at noon each day and don’t let up. Snoop Dogg showed up yesterday. The company could have easily rented a space three times the size of the small-ish corner lot they’re occupying this week, and they’d still have lines, I’m sure.

It can’t be just the lineup. These same bands are playing multiple locations. And it can’t just be because SXSW is overrun with people. Plenty of parties and shows thrown by less-heeled companies are barren even at prime time. I suspect it has mostly to do with brand identity and the way we consume entertainment. People don’t simply patronize a company: They’re encouraged to form a sort of quasi-relationship by “liking” it. People don’t write letters of complaint: They tweet out their dirty laundry. And people don’t just go see one of 10 shows Future Islands is playing: They see them at Spotify House.

The idea of cutting through the clutter of the streaming music market was kind of a novel idea, until Spotify managed to do it, and monetize it, too. The Swedish firm established itself solidly in the European market before expanding to the United States, which Sachin Doshi, head of Spotify’s content and distribution, rightly defines as the largest music market in the world.

Much has been said—from some prominent Athenians, even—about Spotify and its artist compensation. I spoke with Doshi for several minutes yesterday specifically about that.

Read the Q&A after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | March 14, 2014
SXSW Wednesday: Trying to Make Sense of It All

Blog: Homedrone

Bipolar Sunshine

My phone rang at exactly 1 a.m. I’d just gotten through a big line and ushered into a packed show by Spandau Ballet—the group’s first U.S. appearance in 28 years—so I didn’t take it. I texted back, though, and asked, “What’s up?” The response was chilling: “Horrible accident outside The Mohawk! Gruesome scene. Just making sure you're safe.”

More after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | March 13, 2014
SXSW in Review: Def Jammin' with Lady Gaga (Sorta)

Blog: Homedrone

I've never been much of an audio gearhead. Couldn't tell you the first bit of difference between mp3 files, FLAC, OOG, whatever. All of which just shows what a compelling and strong personality Neil Young is. Of course I've been a Young fan for as long as I can remember, and when he hit the stage and started speaking about room echo, warmth and full body reactions to one's favorite records, I knew exactly what he meant.

Even so, I still don't really understand Pono. That's mainly what he spoke about. And while it was cool to be a mere four feet from the most American Canadian ever, it was much cooler listening to him speak passionately about respecting artists' intentions by faithfully reproducing their recordings. I may not really understand how it does this, but Young certainly does, and the level of respect he gained when he spoke of the non-proprietary concept and said, "Look, we may be successful or we might fail, but either way, music wins," was evident by the ample applause from the crowded room.

More, including Lady Gaga, after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | March 12, 2014
Interview with Paul Collins, Playing Hi-Lo Sunday

Blog: Homedrone

Paul Collins

So, there I was, just sitting at my desk working in a rare moment of daytime word-wrangling—most of my writing is done at night—and the phone rang. The caller ID indicated the call was from New York, so instead of letting it slide to voicemail I answered. Who knew? Coulda been Hova.

"Hello, Gordon?" a voice said. "Yes," I answered. "Hey, man," came the response. "This is Paul Collins."

More after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | January 16, 2014
Win Tickets: Former Teen Star Aaron Carter Plays Melting Point Tonight

Blog: Homedrone

“Here's a little bit of old school for ya that goes a little something like this”
—"Aaron's Party" (Come And Get It, 2000)

It's a hard thing to wrap one's mind around the idea that a pop star can make his comeback at the relatively tender age of 25, an age when a lot of pop stars are only just getting their first shot at fame, but turn-of-the-21st-Century sensation Aaron Carter is doing just that. Best known among his Generation Y fans (aka “millennials”) for his hits “Aaron's Party (Come Get It)” and “That's How I Beat Shaq,” Carter hasn't released an album proper for 11 years.

More after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | October 10, 2013
Live Review: X and Blondie at Buckhead Theatre, Tuesday, Oct. 1

Blog: Homedrone

Blondie

I'd been looking forward to this double-bill for weeks, and OK, I'll admit it: I lost all semblance of cool during X's set. Every time the band would plow through a classic song ("Los Angeles," "Nausea," "The World's A Mess; It's In My Kiss" et al), I found myself leaping off the ground, shouting along and sweating it all out.

Although I was hardly the only ardent fan, there were a fair amount of people in my immediate vicinity that clearly hadn't taken their Geritol, gently sipping wine and not caring less that behind nearly every chooglin' Chuck Berry riff sat harrowing and horrifying tales a la “Johnny Hit And Run Paulene.”

More after the jump.

By Gordon Lamb | October 3, 2013
Music Midtown in Review: More Like Music Mudtown

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Gordon Lamb

The Black Lips

I’d never been to Music Midtown before. Even before its multi-year hiatus, the idea of trucking into Atlanta—by some accounts the nation’s number one traffic snarl—and then battling tens of thousands of half-drunk Georgians for mere elbow room and a chance see Joss Stone or Joe Cocker never really blew my skirt up. I must have missed out on some good times, because it turns out Music Midtown can be a hell of a lot of fun, even in the pouring (and I do mean pouring) rain.

By Gordon Lamb | September 23, 2013
Photos: Jason Aldean's Night Train Tour at Sanford Stadium

Blog: Homedrone

Jason Aldean headlined an historic concert at Sanford Stadium this past weekend. Flagpole was there. View a selection of photographs below.

By Gordon Lamb | April 16, 2013
SXSW: A Slight Return and Some Crystal Ballin'

Blog: Homedrone

The truth is that SXSW doesn’t slow down. It goes and goes and goes and stops. When it’s over you feel you’ve been tossed from a train. So with that in mind let me tell you about some things in order of importance.

I decided to not risk getting thrown out of Depeche Mode, so I left my camera behind. But then once I was inside I realized it would have been no problem at all. It was OK, though, because I gotta admit it was the best to stand chest-flush against a barricade in front of a three foot stage and a mere five feet or so from Depeche Mode. Am I making this clear enough? Depeche Mode.

By Gordon Lamb | March 18, 2013
SXSW: The Gospel of Nick Cave, aka Damn the Doorman

Blog: Homedrone

"Some people say it’s just rock and roll/ Oh, but it gets you right down to your soul."
–Nick Cave, "Push The Sky Away"

Every year I’m out here at SXSW, this being the fourth, I have a new plan in my head of how to schedule reportage and updates. So basically, thank God for Twitter, because finding time to actually sit down and write anything is a goal lofted up there with saving the ice caps. That is, you can only do one thing at a time and there’s always a billion factors getting in your way.

By Gordon Lamb | March 15, 2013
SXSW: A Quick One While I'm Away

Blog: Homedrone

Maserati

To quote Nirvana, "Wouldn't you believe it? It's just my luck." We just lost around 600 words here in the mobile Flagpole newsroom because some pushy person tried to gank my connection in the SXSW press suite causing everything to come unplugged. So here we go again…

By Gordon Lamb | March 14, 2013
SXSW: Hello, Austin! How Ya Been?

Blog: Homedrone

Skaters

After a crazy flight delay and this weird confusion surrounding press credentials that took 28 hours to correct, I'm glad to report that SXSW is still cacophonous, occasionally confusing to the point where it starts to feel intentional and packed beyond any reasonable comprehension with a billion characters suffering from what I like to call "Me-Too!"-ism.

By Gordon Lamb | March 13, 2013
SXSW 2012: Let's Get Massive, Part 3

Blog: Homedrone

Kid Congo Powers, Rick Ross, Trash Talk and More! Positive ending, too!

By Gordon Lamb | April 1, 2012