Blog Topic: Last Night

AthFest: Who the Hell Are These Bands? Maserati, Blue Blood, Easter Island, Dead Confederate

By Adam Barnett | June 23, 2013 12:21pm

Editor's Note: New Athens resident Adam Barnett is exploring AthFest all weekend long and chronicling his impressions for Flagpole in a series titled Who the Hell Are These Bands?

Photo Credit: Adam Barnett

Maserati

“Adam Hartbrayker Barnett.” Remember that name, because it’s getting more and more famous by the day. Last night, I recognized four people, and they acknowledged me with at least three minutes of small talk, each. One of them pointed out that my sleeveless shirt and glasses combination differentiates me from the normal Caledonia attendee. What can I say? I’m just a hot bro new to a warm city.

Here’s part two of my Saturday:

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AthFest: Saturday in Review: Breakfast of Champions, Dirty Athens Day Party, Ghost Owl

By Dan Mistich | June 23, 2013 12:15pm

Photo Credit: Mike White

New Madrid

Everyone hangin’ in there? Sunscreen applied and adequately hydrated? Okay, good.

If you got plenty of rest Friday night and were brave enough to make your AthFest experience an all day affair Saturday, you had plenty of stuff to choose from. I missed the tacos, but a friend reported that Sr. Sol catered some pretty badass food to the New West Records party over at 399 Meigs. Buxton, New Madrid and Daniel Romano wound up playing some great sets over at Normaltown Hall. I’ve been to that place over on Meigs now a few times and I’m getting the feeling that it is the best-kept open secret in town. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend you check out the venue the next time they host a show.

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AthFest: Friday in Review: The Whigs, Shade, The Dream Scene

By Gabe Vodicka | June 22, 2013 1:22pm

Photo Credit: Gabe Vodicka

The Whigs

Holy God, do I love The Dream Scene. Javier Morales' tunes are super-duper catchy but also subvert the pop power structure; in a live setting, the music grooves and moves but also somehow seems to exist only for and within itself. It's a trip, is what I'm saying. Last night at Flagpole's showcase on the Georgia Theatre rooftop, a three-piece version of The Dream Scene induced dancing and deliberation in equal measure from an eager crowd. Bassist Mercer West lamented the lack of distortion in his sound, but his instrument's clean, persuasive thwack served in some weird way to heighten the music's mystique.

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AthFest: Friday in Review: Reptar, Yip Deceiver, Velveteen Pink

By Dan Mistich | June 22, 2013 12:30pm

One of the many beautiful things about a small festival held in a renowned music town like Athens is that—holy cow—things start on time (usually)! I rolled into the Georgia Theatre at 9:59 and, by golly, the guys in Velveteen Pink were already on stage. But it’s not the fact that the band was on time that made them worthy of precious AthFest time at a wristband-only event. Although the crowd was scattered throughout the multi-level theatre (likely because of the need to post up for the impending Reptar set later in the night), the band certainly had a few limber young'uns shaking on the floor.

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AthFest: Friday in Review: Modern Skirts Play Final Show to Packed Crowd

By Dan Mistich | June 22, 2013 3:37am

Photo Credit: Mike White

And…we’re off. Officially, anyway.

If you were downtown anytime after noon today, you could feel the hustle and bustle west of College Avenue. Early in the day, a swath of vendors were lugging their merch around to be sold later in the night while the stage crews whipped up the final touches on the Pulaski Street Stage. Not a whole to see for the average AthFest goer, but plenty to look at for the Athens music uber-nerds.

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AthFest: Who the Hell Are These Bands? Flagpole Athens Music Awards

By Adam Barnett | June 21, 2013 12:56pm

Editor's Note: New Athens resident Adam Barnett is exploring AthFest all weekend long and chronicling his impressions for Flagpole in a series titled Who the Hell Are These Bands?

Photo Credit: Adam Barnett

Brett Vaughn

So, I decided to go to this Music Awards show hosted by Flagpole last night because, in the three weeks since I moved to town from Champaign-Urbana, IL, I’ve invested more time in walking around my Animal Crossing town than I have out in Athens. This could be due to the overwhelming number of events going on every single night; there are just too many options. So, instead of stressing over what I should do each night, I spend hours on my 3DS catching the same rare beetles over and over again so that I can be the richest man in the virtual town of GoofsRUs.

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AthFest: Watch Video of Victrola Rotor Oilmen's Bill Doss Tribute

By Gabe Vodicka | June 21, 2013 12:11pm

Here's video captured by an audience member at the Athens Music Awards show last night of Victrola Rotor Oilmen (it's an anagram of—oh, you know) paying tribute to their dearly departed brother/spirit guide Bill Doss.

The group performed two Doss-penned songs: "A Sunshine Fix" and "Love Athena." The two classic Olivia Tremor Control tunes appeared on the 2000 rarities collection Presents: Singles and Beyond. And, though the occasion was somewhat solemn, last night, with of Montreal's Bryan Poole tackling Doss' guitar and vocal parts, they sounded fucking great.

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AthFest: Thursday in Review: David Barbe & The Quick Hooks, Pilgrim play AthFest Eve

By Dan Mistich |

You might be thinking, “Athfest hasn’t even started yet!” And, technically, you’d be right. It may not have been AthFest according to the official schedule, but that didn’t stop the western part of downtown Athens from hosting a series of killer shows Thursday night before things officially kick off tomorrow.

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AthFest: Here Are Your 2013 Flagpole Athens Music Award Winners

By Gabe Vodicka | June 21, 2013 10:39am

2013 Artist of the Year New Madrid

The Flagpole Athens Music Awards show, held last night at the Morton Theatre, was a smashing success. Thanks to everyone who came out! Below is a list of all the winners. Stay tuned for a photo gallery, as well as an extended recap, to come.

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Homedrone: Live Review: Yo La Tengo at Georgia Theatre, Monday, Apr. 29

By Gabe Vodicka | April 30, 2013 1:10pm

In my feature on Yo La Tengo from last week's paper, I noted the band's "quiet confidence." The first of the band's two sets at the Georgia Theatre last night was a prime example. Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew have been playing together for so long, their onstage chemistry is a thing of beauty; the group's opening "quiet set" found them easing through songs from its most recent album, Fade, love-drunk tunes like "The Point of It" and "I'll Be Around."

The band's tender side gave way to guitar dynamism in a raucous second set, which included classics like "Shaker" and "Sugarcube," but again leaned heavily on Fade. The "loud" version of "Ohm" sounded particularly meaty. The jaunty "Beanbag Chair" (from 2006's I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass) provided what was arguably an unnecessary moment of pop levity.

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