Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday: First stop was Murder Beach at the Caledonia. These guys should play more often than once every 6 months, as it's always enjoyable. Lots of dancing and head bopping. Jeff Griggs needs a fan club. Stayed around to catch a bit of King of Prussia, which was also pretty enjoyable. Headed out to see what else was happening, caught a few songs from The Visitations at Hot Corner, but I don't think it's my thing. Caught about 3 minutes of Perpetual Groove and watched people noodling. Again, not my thing, although we were able to joke around all night about the groove not actually being perpetual. Hoofed it back to the Caledonia just in time to catch Nutria. I'm sure it sounds like we're always kissing their asses here, but Nutria is really, really good, and their set this night was loud, tight and vicious - the best I'd heard in a while. This is the only band in town who can cover both Christopher Cross and Motorhead in one set. If you missed this, you missed out. After that finished up, we hit the 40 Watt for some air conditioning and to hear Madeline. This was the first time I've seen her, and she's a lovely girl with a lovely voice. Give her music a shot if you haven't already. Made our way over to Little Kings to catch some of Venice is Sinking. The place was full of youngish looking kids who I think were waiting to see the Modern Skirts, so we were stuck outside watching through the fence. With the sound being shit as it was and being on the opposite side of the speakers, I'm afraid it didn't do these guys much justice. I've only recently gotten into this group and I plan on seeing them live more often. The bassist even rapped for a bit, which was awesome. Cooled off again in the Max Canada with some beers, then geared up to go see Ninja Gaiden Band at the Caledonia. I incurred the wrath of many by walking straight up to the door and ignoring the long line to get in (dragging Mailclerk behind me), then pushing my way to the front to stand on the benches along the wall so I could have a bird's eye view of the action. You don't have to post it in the comments - I know it was a bitchy thing to do, and karma will punish me eventually if one of you doesn't first. But who cares, these guys rocked! I'm always amazed at the dedication it takes to pull something like this off, and with each game/performance these guys are flawless and totally entertaining. I always want to ask the gamer dude how he avoids the dreaded "Nintendo thumb" I used to get playing Legend of Zelda for hours and hours. He even crowd surfed after he won, which I've never seen anyone do at the Caledonia before.
Saturday: I was totally psyched to see Pride Parade at the Caledonia. I brought earplugs and boy did I need them. 3 guitars = loud. Tight, furious, loud, wonderful rock music. The place was packed and I'm glad, as this is my new favorite rock band officially as of right now (and hopefully lots of other folks feel the same way). Headed out to the main stage to check out The Whigs. I hadn't seen them since they switched bassists, and the new lineup sounds much tighter and more rock-oriented than they have in the past. A drunken, mouth-breathing, 50ish-year-old dude standing behind me said if this were 30 years ago, Julian Dorio would be playing drums for Led Zeppelin. Julian Dorio is no John Bonham but he is undoubtedly one of the best drummers around (Esquire magazine thinks so). The Whigs are doing their own thing and doing it well, and I've been enjoying it for years. Hats off to them. I know at some point we popped in to Hot Corner to catch some of Titans of Filth, but I don't remember anything about them other than some chick played flute (and no, Robo Dave, not the skin flute). Rolled in to the Caledonia to catch Freeball. Nick Bielli is a madman. Jetted out of there to go see my old friend, Count Kellam, over at Farm 255. With the support of a solid backing band, he pulled off a great set. However, the door guys at Farm 255 boxed me in for about 10 minutes and I had to jump the fence (and almost bust my ass, which was a show to see itself) to get out of there, causing me to miss Pegasuses XL. I can't even say the word "Pegasuses." Dammit. I decided to pop into Hot Corner to see Christopher's Liver, and they brightened my spirits quite a bit. Their set was a bit sloppy, but I think that's part of the charm. Their drummer looks a bit like Sarah Silverman. One piece of advice to her though: don't wear a short skirt if you play drums. I think I saw the singer trying to calm down a bunch of rowdy underage idiots in line for Ninja Gaiden Band the night before ("Chill, man, you're screaming right in my ear!"). If that was you, Mr. Christopher's Liver, I salute you. Hightailed it back to Caledonia to catch Music Hates You. I love their shows if only to watch how enthusiastic their fans are. Mosh pits remind me of my glory days in the 90's. I flip my double birds to you, MHY, because you kicked ass. Cut out a bit early to catch We vs. the Shark at the 40 Watt. The place was packed to the rafters, and as always, they blew the roof off the joint. Every AthFest this band OWNS this venue, and tonight was no exception. They finished up early enough for us to swing back into the Caledonia to see Southern Bitch. Adam and Wendy Musick are the nicest folks around town, and I'm happy to see Wendy doing well and on stage again, kicking ass in a slinky dress and heels. This is one of the tightest lineups in town and for the brief part of the set I caught, they killed it. Cut out early to catch some of Cinemechanica at the 40 Watt, and again was amazed by how intense, precise, frenetic and insane their live shows are - the interplay between these guys is amazing. Riding high on adrenaline, I rushed across town to catch some of Dark Meat at Tasty World. It was my first time seeing this band, and I enjoyed the 10 minutes I could bear to stand in the packed to capacity, sweaty, pushy crowd. Wish I had ventured out to catch them at the Squirrel the night before. Incredible stuff. A warning to the bartender who sprayed water on the nice Leica lens in my new camera - when I find you I'm going to beat you with a roll of quarters wrapped in a sock. That is all. The Georgia Theater wasn't done rocking, so I stood in the doorway and caught a couple songs by Don Chambers + Goat. And yep, they were great too. I caught 4 of Athens' best bands in one night in the space of an hour and fifteen minutes - God bless AthFest.
Sunday: I was about AthFested out, but I made it downtown to catch a few songs by Drive-By Truckers. I'm not a big DBT fan (in fact, I don't own a single one of their records), but their live shows are great. The crowd and the heat - not so great.
As always, a special thanks goes out to the AthFest organizers and volunteers who put a great amount of effort into the planning and execution of the event - it's great to have something like this in our town that kids, teenagers, and adults of all ages can enjoy, and I look forward to it every year. In particular, many thanks to Jeff Montgomery (sorry we missed you at the info booth!) and Michelle Roche for hooking up TDJ with some sweet media passes. I felt important (or self-important, at least).
Labels: AthFest, TDJ Originals
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