This Weekend In Athens
- posted by Mail Clerk @ 1:50 AM | Permanent Link

So, AthFest weekend is here again. Always a magnetic sort of time around town. We'll of course be out and about taking pictures and whatnot and hope to have some stuff up Monday or Tuesday.

For this post, instead of giving a complete band-by-band rundown of what I plan to see or trying to cover everything I'd ideally LIKE to see, I got Desktop Publisher, Legal Bitch, and photography genius Mike White (of Deadly Designs fame) to contribute their "can't miss" picks as well.

Keep in mind, this is not a comprehensive showing of everything we're gonna go see - and obviously not even close to every act we'd like to see. Again, no links cause I don't have time (trying to get obligatory work out of the way before tonight!)...

FRIDAY:

8:00 - Murder Beach (Caledonia)
Does Jeff Griggs live at the Caledonia? (LB)
When's that album coming out, again?(MC)

9:00 - Engineering (GO Bar)
If you never got to see one of my personal favorite Athens bands before they broke up, now is your chance! Dance rockers Engineering play an Athfest reunion show. Comprised of Zach Hinkle (The Cherokee), Matt Sapp (Timber), and Donovan Babb (Boulevard, The Winter Sounds). This might be last last time you will get to see them, Donovan is touring with The Winter Sounds, and Zach is moving to New York. Put your dancing shoes on! (MW)

10:00 - Nutria (Caledonia)
Always a great live show and a nicer bunch of guys can't be found in town (and yes, I'm including Robo Dave). Sometimes Michael McDonald even makes a special appearance, and that is not to be missed. (LB)

10:30 - Madeline (40 Watt)
I've never seen her live, and I figure it's about time I should. (LB)

10:30 - Jack Logan, David Barbe, Don Chambers (Flicker)
The entire Friday night lineup at Flicker is truly a great one. (DP)

11:30 - Venice is Sinking at Little Kings
I only recently saw them live for the first time, and 'twas good. I'm hooked. (LB)

12:30 - Dead Confederate (40 Watt)
I've heard good things, so it's time to check them out again. (I saw them a few years back in Birmingham, but I've heard it's a much tighter ship now.) (DP)

1:00 - Ninjaband (40 Watt)
The members of Cinemechanica once again check into the Nintendo Rock world (as they have before as Contraband, Megaband, and occasionally Zeldaband) - this time scoring the soundtrack to Ninja Gaidan. Seriously, that was a tough game back then. Hope it's easier in your 20's. In any case, it's gonna rock. (MC)

2:00 - Ceramic Duck, Dark Meat (Secret Squirrel)
If you're still walking, the Secret Squirrel's hosting a kick-ass after-party featuring the reunion of Ceramic Duck and an end-of-night performance by Dark Meat. Helluva way to close down Friday. (MC)

SATURDAY:

1:00 - Jackpot City (Outdoor Main Stage)
They pretty much only play at festivals now, but they're one of the few great "rock" bands left in town and have some fantastic harmonies to boot. (MC)

4:00 - Hope For Agoldensummer, Dark Meat (Schoolkids Records)
Once all their members are in the store, good luck being one of the other 5 people who can get in there.(MC)

Ben Clack: "We'll have some guests apearing with us..we're looking for people to record and take pics and or film the show..there will be some covers and new arrangments.. but 100% acoustic with the exception of a small amp for bass and mandolin."

6:00 - The Winter Sounds (Outdoor Main Stage)
The ever touring Winter Sounds come home to play on the Athfest Outside Mainstage. (MW)

8:00 - Pride Parade (Caledonia)
Former members of Brown Frown make their hometown debut. Think Brown Frown with some country twang. (MW)
Can't wait to see 'em live. During this time the Max Canada bar will be self-serve. (LB)
The hype is true. They are amazing. Very, very loud, but incredibly tight. A wall of sound thing going on. If there's one show you definitely should not miss (if you like loud music to any degree), this is it. (MC)

9:00 - The Whigs (Outdoor Main Stage)
I don't care that everyone likes them or if they're constantly touted as "the next big thing." They've always been good and I've always enjoyed their music and live shows. Better yet, you can come see them for free at the main stage this year, so please do. (LB)
I have been a detractor of this band in the past - having been very underwhelmed at shows and turned off by their crowd and hype... but I have to say they made a great album (you should listen to some of it if you haven't) and some vids on YouTube show that their stage presence has sharpened immensely. Plus, they've got something to prove after the disastrous sound last time they held this spot. Could be their year to rock the Fest (MC)

9:00 - Titans of Filth (Hot Corner Coffee)
Another much-hyped band, though mostly locally. If The Whigs aren't your thing or you just wanna see something else too, y'oughta go see this show, just up the street. (MC)

9:30 Willie-T Express (Georgia Theatre)
William Tonks, Jon Mills, and Aaron Philips. Should be cool to see what they come up with. (DP)

10:00 Freeball (Caledonia)
They are rockin. Not much else to say here other than that. (DP)

10:30PM - Pegasuses-XL (40 Watt)
If you haven't seen these guys yet, do yourself a favor, por favor and see them. Think Braniac meets The Dismemberment Plan with some hip hop thrown in. (MW)

11:00 The Dumps (Caledonia)
One of the tightest "hard core" bands in town. (DP)

12:00 - Music Hates You (Caledonia)
These guys blew me away last year (literally and metaphorically). Note to self, bring ear plugs (and possibly brass knuckles). (LB)
Definitely the most memorable show of last year's festival. (MC)

12:00 - Folklore (Hot Corner Coffee)
When my ears need a break from MHY, this is where I'm headed. (MC)

12:30 - We vs. the Shark (40 Watt)
It wouldn't be AthFest if I didn't see WVTS at the 40 Watt. I have never been disappointed at one of their shows. Sure to be one of the highlights of my weekend. (LB)
Not to try and jinx 'em, but they don't play bad AthFest shows. In fact, it seems they're mostly at peak performance almost every time at the Watt in general (MC)

Jeff Tobias: "Just letting you know that our Saturday show at the 40 Watt at Athfest will be our release show for our new EP/DVD, which is called "EP of Bees EP/We Wanted a New Government, Not Odd Time Signatures." It's four songs on the CD and then a full live show and a "documentary" of the recording of our last record, "Ruin Everything" on the DVD. Our guitar player almost gave himself an aneurysm working on it so we're very proud to finally be putting it out."

1:00 - Southern Bitch (Caledonia)
I missed their first show back in action a few months back and regretted it ever since. I won't make the same mistake again! (LB)
They consistently put on the most intense and rocking sets at AthFest year after year. (DP)

1:00 - Southern Bitch (Caledonia), Cinemechanica (40 Watt), & Dark Meat (Tasty World)
Why does this happen every year?... Trying to float between Southern Bitch at the Caledonia and Cinemechanica at the 40 Watt and hoping both finish early enough for me to see the end of Dark Meat's set at Tasty World. (MC)

SUNDAY:

4:00 - Little Country Giants (Outdoor Main Stage)
Friends keep telling me to see them, and I still haven't, so AthFest is as good a time as any. (DP)

6:00 - Kimberly Morgan and The Everlovin' Band (Outdoor Main Stage)
A girl with a voice, and great players to back her up. You really can't go wrong here. (DP)
When's that album coming out, again? (MC)

6:40 - Lake City (Outdoor Second Stage)
Trust me, trying to squeeze to the front of the Truckers crowd is setting yourself up for struggle, discomfort, and possibly trouble. Why not go check out Lake City, a solid band in their own right, and then get a comfortable, but not too-close view for DBT? (MC)

7:00 - Drive-By Truckers (Outdoor Main Stage)
A fist-pumping way to close out the festival. A newish lineup, plus Spooner Oldham. (DP)

MONDAY:

8:00 - Work (Your Office)
Call in sick. (DP)

OTHER EVENTS:

Dangerous Highway (Cine)
Need I say more? Well, I will. It's about Eddie Hinton, one of the best white soul singers that is, unfortunately, no longer with us. (DP)
Eddie Hinton was amazing. Not sure if this documentary is great or not, but in any case it may not make it to DVD for a while, so y'oughta see it now. If you want Patterson Hood's opinion on it all, he's gonna be introducing the film and doing some Q&A at the Monday night 10 PM show.(MC)

Before The Music Dies (Cine)
Can't make up my mind if I wanna see this or not. Seems like it's probably 2 hours of preaching to the converted, but sometimes attending a rally isn't so bad. (MC)

The Wired Electronic Thing (Detour and Little Kings)
Seems like a cool addition to AthFest, and a maybe a good place to go on festival downtimes. (DP)

Widespread Panic Exhibit: "The Earth Will Swallow You" (Lyndon House)
I went to this on opening night and even if you aren't a fan, the art work is really varied, and the exhibit is very well done. (DP)


If you want a planner of your own, you can get 'em here and of course Flagpole has those handy inserts this week.

Many thanks to Mike for his input as well as to the folks at AthFest and Michelle Roche for providing us passes this and every year we've been blogging (on short notice every time cause you know how our memories are). Them and Popfest are about the only only folks to ever recognize us as "journalists". Man, we've got them fooled. Shhhh.

Back later with pics. Have a kick-ass AthFest, y'all.

Labels: AthFest, Tonight In Athens