Josh and I have both been covering Corndogorama, so we're going to tag team you with yesterday's events complete with photos from Biggie C:
JW: Following a super-charged Friday night, I managed to make it back to corndog land in time to catch
Morning State. As usual, they put on a solid performance. "Never So Strange" kept the truly devoted satisfied. I listened to them through my hangover - something not afforded to lesser bands.
SK: I didn't make it to the fest until
Thy Mighty Contract had taken the stage. This ATL supergroup certainly combined the best elements of their respective sounds into a serious sonic assault. I wish I could have heard a few more songs from them, but good Corndog sets always leaving you wanting more.
Since
Untied States canceled due to some legal troubles, I ran down to East Atlanta and grabbed some grub at the Australian bakery and Josh went to see the Corndog Eating Contest.
JW: OK – that Boone guy showed up again with the belt just to show it off. 17 corndogs in 7 minutes. This anomaly has no competition. I was waiting for the little girl about a third of his size to spew when she got 5 of them down and started kneeling on the ground.
SK: Upon my return we caught
Sonen. Their show was ok, but not anything that grabbed me. They struck me as a par, average Atlanta band. Not bad, but not good. Right after that it was time for
A Armada and the explosions of sound washing across everyone's ears was unstoppable.
JW: A Armada blew people's asses off. This Athens outfit managed to make so much beautiful noise that it blasted through the walls and compelled those outside to come in and pack the main room early in the day. I can't wait to get more of them.
SK: They were a tough act to follow, but
The NEC did as good a job as they could. The first time I saw them, I didn't like them because it sounded like they were ripping off the
Black Lips too much, but now they have added some shoegaze to their sound and are leaning more in the
Deerhunter direction. But while they seem to be noticeably influenced by the ATL big dogs, their style felt much more distinct and unique this time. It's great to see a band evolve and improve.
The next few hours were all about rallying for the big shows later that night, and we rallied hard. The only musical info I noted during this period was that
The Hiss suck.
JW: We were at proper levels of intoxication for
Gringo Star. Atlanta's own lovable southern rockers were given a little trophy from King Corndog during their introduction. I think it was for Best Corndogorama Band or something. With that, they came out firing. The guys have their own version of musical chairs with everyone taking their turn at the kit. Best energy of the day. The highlight of the show was the poppy jam "All Y'all." However, when the band were mid-stride in "March of the Gringo" some of the equipment started to fail…and then it became obvious that they had been CUT OFF. The aforementioned trophy was promptly shattered on stage, mic stands were getting some "treatment", and overall displeasures were being shouted. The immediate aftermath saw a stage manager waving a schedule in Nick's face – to which he slapped away. The guys went to cool down and I caught up with them after Snowden's set. Further backstory from Nick reveals that they had played Corndogorama years ago under much less stringent stage managers. They were put over 3 hours behind to go on – and they held their end of the bargain and lit it up anyway in the wee hours of the morning. Now they've been bitten by the corndog again under opposite circumstances. A truly "Black Night". Too bad you didn't get to hear it.
SK: I caught a little bit of
All The Saints killing it inside before returning to the big outdoor stage for
Snowden. They unleashed a set filled with hits from
Anti Anti and a bunch of new material. As always, they are total badasses live. Some of the new material I liked and some I didn't, but I'm going to wait until the record comes out to pass any real judgment. Jordan said it was coming soon and eluded to some sort of legal issues might have been holding it up.
One last day of Corndogging, so it is time to do it to it.
Labels: A Armada, All The Saints, Corndogorama, Gringo Star, Morning State, Snowden, Sonen, The NEC, Thy Mighty Contract
