Blog Topic: Live Reviews

AthFest: Saturday in Review: Muuy Biien, Shade, k i d s, Nymph

By Blake Aued | June 23, 2013 3:41pm

On the Pulaski Street Stage, Atlanta's Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics turned in a workmanlike R&B set. Velle has a pleasantly gritty voice, and her band has chops, but ultimately it was soul-by-numbers with no real emotion beyond poster-ready platitudes about believing in yourself and following your dreams.

For a cynic like me, the antidote to all that positivity was a block away, at Caledonia's un-officially-sanctioned Dirty Athens day party, because there's nothing like moody punk and post-rock on a beautiful afternoon.

Read More...
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:

Read More...
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.

Read More...
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.

Read More...
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.

Read More...
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.

Read More...
Homedrone: Live Review: Titus Andronicus at Georgia Theatre, Wednesday, May 15

By Gabe Vodicka | May 16, 2013 2:33pm

Last night the Georgia Theatre rooftop was buzzing with people eager to hear Jersey rockers Titus Andronicus perform tunes from their most recent album, Local Business. But the audience got more than it bargained for.

Short version: When band overlord/frontman Patrick Stickles wasn't (half-jokingly?) berating concertgoers for their lifestyle decisions, he was ranting about slavery. So.

Read More...
Homedrone: Shaky Knees Music Festival Review: Sunday, May 5

By Jodi Murphy | May 6, 2013 12:43pm

Photo Credit: Jodi Murphy

Drive-By Truckers

I could go on bitching about the persistent rain at the Shaky Knees Music Festival this weekend, but that would be wrong. The downpour saved me from getting atrocious tan lines, it prevented me from even bothering to wear makeup and it kept the crowd much less sweaty than the average cluster of bodies on a Georgian Cinco de Mayo. Left and right, people were joyously gliding through the mud, splashing in the brackish puddles and drinking from open cups with no interest in what the rain did to their alcohol.

Read More...
Homedrone: Shaky Knees Music Festival Review: Saturday, May 4

By Jodi Murphy | May 6, 2013 10:11am

Photo Credit: Jodi Murphy

Jim James

Before I stepped into the mud among several thousand committed fans, I was a little disappointed that the inaugural Shaky Knees festival was being so torrentially rained on. Driving into Atlanta was, of course, especially hellish in the slosh of stop-and-go traffic. Wearing my most substantial rain gear and excited for a weekend of shows by some of my favorite artists, I was determined not to be a poor sport. That seemed the general sentiment of the crowd members, who were playfully skating through the thick mud and doing rain dances.

Read More...
Homedrone: Live Review: The World Famous Grand Opening

By Gabe Vodicka | February 22, 2013 11:34am

"Everything in here had a former life," co-owner David Eduardo told me last night while surveying the music (and, during daytime hours starting Monday, dining) room of The World Famous. The decor dotting the Hull Street venue does impart a certain warmth that tends to be missing from newly remodeled spaces; repurposed benches, chandeliers and curtains give it the feel of a much older place.

And it is, of course, having housed Wilson's Soul Food for 30 years—the iconic Wilson's sign hangs inside The World Famous—and Eduardo and partner Bain Mattox have taken care to let the history of the place shine through. Subtle remnants from the former tenant remain, and though there is a separate and more complex conversation to be had regarding the gentrification of downtown's west end, Mattox and Eduardo at least seem to comprehend the significance of it all.

Read More...