Blog Topic: Live Reviews

Homedrone: Live Review: Wrecking Ball ATL Festival

By Nathan Kerce | August 11, 2015 2:40pm

Braid

The Wrecking Ball ATL festival was held at the Masquerade on the weekend of Aug. 8 and 9. A huge number of emo, hardcore and pop-punk bands gathered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the historic Atlanta venue and its enduring legacy.

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Homedrone: Live Review and Photo Gallery: Kate Pierson at the Georgia Theatre

By T. Ballard Lesemann | July 19, 2015 2:45pm

Photos by Jessica Mickey

For years, it's generally been considered poor form for a visiting act to cover an R.E.M. hit in the band's hometown, but if anyone could do it with festive authority, it's singer and bandleader Kate Pierson. Standing center stage in front of her own backing band, she closed a lively and intimate set at the Georgia Theatre on Saturday night with a three-song encore that featured a rousing version of "Shiny Happy People."

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Homedrone: Flagpole Writers' Favorite Moments of AthFest

By Music Staff | June 29, 2015 2:07pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones

The Whigs

AthFest photo galleries: Friday | Saturday | Sunday

Friday on the main stage, The Whigs played the kind of enthusiastic rock and roll that forecasted the weekend ahead. With big-name pizzazz and homegrown familiarity, The Whigs set a backdrop for Friday night’s possibilities. Old friends hugged hello, light breezes blew through the crowd, and rainbow stickers celebrated momentous news. Plus, I’ve always been partial to “Kill Me Carolyne.” [Carolyn Crist]

More below.

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Homedrone: 2015 Slingshot Festival in Review

By Various Authors | March 30, 2015 5:05pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones

ZARIGANI$

Check out our Slingshot photo gallery here.

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Homedrone: Simpler and More Streamlined, SXSW Lets the Music Shine

By Gordon Lamb | March 20, 2015 11:18am

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.

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Homedrone: Live Review: Family and Friends at Georgia Theatre

By Ryan Kor | January 10, 2015 3:55pm

A beanie-clad audience braved the cold to see the coziest welcome-home party of the new year Friday, featuring one of the best lineups of folk-rock Athens has to offer.

Semicircle was the first to take stage, setting the mood with minimalist instrumentals and an organically cool vibe. The group, which features two members of Reptar, announced that their newest album, Blown Breeze, Grown Grass and We Are Part of the Earth, (Flagpole review) was available on vinyl for the first time.

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Homedrone: Live Review: Centro-matic at Georgia Theatre

By Dan Mistich | December 9, 2014 10:40am

Photo Credit: Sean Dunn

The sizeable crowd at the Georgia Theatre last Friday included more than a few highly regarded local musicians and music industry insiders, many of whom had been in the Classic City for decades. Both in quantity and quality, Centro-matic had a fine crowd for its final Athens show.

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Homedrone: Live Review: Big Star's Third on College Square

By Dan Mistich | November 10, 2014 3:38pm

Photo Credit: Randy Schafer

Total obscurity seems unlikely for any band in our increasingly archived world. For the Memphis-born Big Star, though, that very fate seemed inevitable for quite a long time. Thanks to the hard work of UGA’s Willson Center for the Arts and Humanities and the Slingshot Festival, plus the help of star-studded guests from Athens and beyond, the band's legacy was kept alive on College Square Saturday evening.

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Culture Briefs: Live Review: Bill Cosby at The Classic Center

By Barbette Houser | October 27, 2014 5:00pm

Bill Cosby, 1969.

My memories of Bill Cosby are hazy and happy, consisting of pudding commercials and re-runs of the “Fat Albert” show I saw as a young child. Hearing “Hey, hey, hey” on Saturday morning announced the start of the weekend. And because I now like to bury my head in the journalistic sands of NPR and the New York Times, where celebrity dirty laundry is trumped by, oh, international news and whatnot, you can imagine my surprise when friends told me about the resurfacing allegations of rape against Cosby, brought to light again by another comedian.

Meanwhile at the Classic Center this past Sunday, nostalgia reigned supreme among audience members as Cosby stopped in for two shows on his current “Far From Finished” comedy tour. Applause filled the theater as Cosby revisited many of his favorite themes: religion, church, family, sibling rivalry, marriage and grand-parenting, among others.

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Homedrone: Live Review/Photos: Yonder Mountain String Band at Georgia Theatre

By Alexander Popp | October 27, 2014 10:58am

Saturday, Yonder Mountain String Band returned to the Georgia Theatre, accompanied by the Larry Keel Experience. “It’s good to be back in Athens, Greece!” bassist Ben Kaufmann joked as his bandmates readied themselves to play.

Every time I see a bluegrass band perform live, I am amazed by the skill needed to make such complicated and lightning-fast music. Yonder is a cut above the rest, playing something in between jam and bluegrass. The band makes jamming look effortless; guitar, mandolin, banjo and bass are combined to create an intricate tapestry of sound. All four members have an active vocal role in the music, each bringing a different voice and tone to the table.

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