Blog Topic: Live Reviews

Homedrone: Live Review: X and Blondie at Buckhead Theatre, Tuesday, Oct. 1

By Gordon Lamb | October 3, 2013 1:00pm

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.

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Homedrone: Music Midtown in Review: More Like Music Mudtown

By Gordon Lamb | September 23, 2013 2:56pm

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.

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Homedrone: Live Review: Phosphorescent at Terminal West, Tuesday, Sept. 17

By Chris Hassiotis | September 18, 2013 1:16pm

While Matthew Houck lived in Athens, he established, practiced and honed all that makes his Phosphorescent releases successful. Though he's lived in Brooklyn for years now, the creak of a Georgia porch still informs his tunes. It's just coincidental, then, that the lighting scheme at Atlanta's Terminal West last night started out all purples and greens for the first few tunes—this full-band Phosphorescent was like an Incredible Hulk-ed version of the Phosphorescent Athenians might remember, heavy rock and country rather than fragile folk.

More after the jump.

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Homedrone: Live Review: Pujol at 40 Watt Club, Friday, Sept. 13

By Adam Barnett | September 15, 2013 11:00am

Photo Credit: Adam Barnett

As Daniel Pujol and friends continue to work on material to follow up 2012’s United States of Being, they decided to head to the 40 Watt Club on Friday to play with locals Tia Madre and New Madrid. Dotted as it was with couches, tables and chairs, the club’s set-up was a tad surprising given the lineup.

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Homedrone: Photos: Bambara Celebrates Vinyl Release in Manhattan

By Christopher Joshua Benton | September 2, 2013 11:08am

Photo Credit: Christopher Joshua Benton

Hometown heroes-turned-NY transplants Bambara celebrated the vinyl release of their sophomore LP DREAMVIOLENCE Friday at the Cake Shop in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Turning the Cake Shop into an impromptu UGA class reunion, the Bambara boys bought together a legion of Athenians and NY locals for a packed out headlining show, rounded out with support from Dusted, Rarechild and '80s post-punk revivalists Rituals.

After the jump, read the rest of the review, and check out a photo slideshow.

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Homedrone: Pitchfork Fest in Review: R. Kelly, Yo La Tengo, M.I.A. and More

By Gabe Vodicka | July 22, 2013 12:43pm

Photo Credit: Leif Johnson

R. Kelly

First, a confession: I skipped out on the first several hours of Sunday's P4K schedule to catch the Braves/White Sox game down at Comiskey Park U.S. Cellular Field. So, that meant no Killer Mike, no El-P and, most importantly, no Killer Mike + El-P. Bummed though I was to miss the Run the Jewels fun, at least I managed to catch some quality Braves baseball. Wait, did I say quality? I meant nine hits and only one run. I did see some drunk bros ironically Tomahawk Chopping, so that was something.

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Homedrone: Pitchfork Fest in Review: Savages, Swans, The Breeders and More

By Gabe Vodicka | July 20, 2013 8:15pm

Photo Credit: Leif Johnson

Savages

Uh. Still hot. And no breeze today. I entered Union Park to the sweet sounds of Phosphorescent, who were finishing up their Muchacho-heavy Green Stage set (later, I would find former MTV veejay John Norris interviewing former Athenian Matthew Houck by the media tent—livin'!), but the first full set of the day came courtesy of Austin rockers …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, who tore through the classics ("Another Morning Stoner") and some new material, which sounded punker and more aggressive than the group's most recent work. "Who wants to fucking mosh?" asked guitarist Jason Reece, before adding, wryly, "Not me." A certain youthful spark may have been lost since Trail of Dead's early, more destructive days, but their rock and roll heart remains.

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Homedrone: Pitchfork Fest in Review: Bjork

By Gabe Vodicka | July 20, 2013 12:34pm

Photo Credit: Leif Johnson

On Friday, Bjork conjured the storm. Before her headlining set was cut short due to approaching weather (the crowd groaned, but 10 minutes later everyone was drenched), she put on a career-spanning show, the indisputable highlight of a day that had already seen some pretty amazing action. Dressed like some strange lightning rod and with her amazing Tesla coil synth on hand, the Icelandic singer and her choir of backup singers/dancers made their way through a set that included tunes from 1997's Homogenic ("Joga," "Hunter") and last year's Biophilia.

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Homedrone: Pitchfork Fest in Review: Mac DeMarco, Angel Olsen, Trash Talk and More

By Gabe Vodicka | July 19, 2013 7:48pm

Photo Credit: Leif Johnson

Angel Olsen

Jesus Criminy, it's hot. Daughn Gibson noted as much in his 3:30 p.m. red stage slot. "It is hotter than a two-peckered goat today," he intoned in his wry baritone. Sweatily, a slowly growing crowd agreed. The singer's loop-based country tunes became meatier, more rocking versions of themselves courtesy of his on-point backing band, and Gibson's stage presence was a thing to behold, even in the sweltering afternoon sun.

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AthFest: Sunday in Review: Bloodkin, Lera Lynn, Patterson Hood

By Dan Mistich | June 24, 2013 1:48pm

Photo Credit: Mike White

Patterson Hood and the Downtown Mystic Rumblers

Because I grew up 20 minutes away from where Daniel Hutchens and Eric Carter are from in West Virginia, I’m morally obligated to love Bloodkin. Even though most of their tunes can be described as Black Crowes-lite, I still get a kick out of hearing great made-for-radio pop. From their grey hair to the way they hold their instruments, you can tell that the guys in Bloodkin are veterans. The band took the stage right at 4:30 p.m. and busted out a solid hour of tunes from their almost 20-year career.

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