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[Review] Animal Collective @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater @ Encore Park (7/8/11)

Dear Animal Collective,

WTF, dudes? I thought we had an understanding, or at least some sort of non-verbal contractual agreement going. All I can say is that you really let me down. Big time. Major huge super big time.

My first complaint is lodged at the terrible choice of openers for your first “big leagues” tour. Words cannot express how super hyped I was before the show to see the Dirty Projectors and Deerhunter open for you. I kind of understand why Angel Deradoorian came out solo since apparently the rest of the Dirty Projectors are recording a cover album of The Offspring’s “Ixnay on the Hombre” from memory. I mean that’s a lot of power chords to memorize. Anyways, I thought that her set was okay, but a little short and a little boring. Plus the ecstasy hadn’t really kicked in yet so I wasn’t feeling her vibes so much. So, okay, I’ll let that one slide. My second huge disappointment was when only Bradford Cox (of Deerhunter fame) came out to perform. I kept waiting for the rest of the band to show and then laugh at what a funny indie-punk’d style joke that was. That never happened, however. I can only speculate that three fourths of Deerhunter refused to show because of low audience attendance. Just another example of rockstars being dickfaces, I guess. Bradford cox played some really good indie jams but I didn’t recognize any of them since apparently he’s not allowed to play Deerhunter songs if the rest of the band skips out and bomb threats wallgreens for oxycontin. I will say, in Bradford’s defense that he did extremely well, considering the fact that he had to come up with those songs pretty much on the spot. They were all well put together and the small crowd seemed to love them. Next time though, try and find openers who aren’t hard at work on a magnum opus of sorts and who aren’t megalomaniacs. I would really appreciate that.

My second complaint has to do with the pure shit-blizzard of a set list you guys chose. This wasn’t a surprise show at the Masquerade. At least there I would expect everything to be awful and wrong. No, this was your big moment to break out and really show the world what you guys can do in a huge amphitheater. I can’t express how enraged I was after listening to sixteen fucking songs and only recognizing three of them! After doing some intense internet research I found out that you did actually play two other old songs, one from “Feels” and another from “Sung Tongs”. So that’s it? Five songs out of your expansive catalogue is all you got to give your fans? It’s almost as if you guys don’t care about material things like tour stats or money or giving people what they paid to see. I’m talking, of course, about your hit single, “My Girls” which was all the rage two summers ago and is the reason myself and probably everyone else there came in the first place. My jeans are way too tight for a time machine, so how am I supposed to travel to the future and memorize your new songs so I can come back and enjoy the show you put on? Don’t get me wrong, I thought the way every song seamlessly blended into one another was awesome. I also totally loved the new songs. A few were a bit slow, but I feel the same way with all of your albums. I just looked at last night’s set list for Styx at the same venue. Wow, big surprise, they played all their fucking solid gold hits. You guys would do well by following the example of Styx, who apparently know how to rock.

Sorry this was so harsh, but seriously, think about the people you hurt by just playing what you want. With an album like “Merriwether Post Pavilion” under your belts, you can’t just do what feels right or natural anymore. You have a responsibility to the paying public. After all, art isn’t about the creative process; it’s about the product you create and the people you sell it to.

Sincerely, Joe.


[Review] Washed Out, ANR, Soft Powers @ Drunken Unicorn (2/10/11)

Tired of this cold weather, I had been reminiscing about spending last summer by the pool listening to a lot of chillwave. So between that and watching the opening sequence of Portlandia for the past few weeks, I was pretty stoked to catch this show. Unfortunately as of late, I’ve been disappointed with every concert that I had high expectations for, and this was no exception.

I got there nice and early to catch Soft Powers, whose recorded material I really enjoy. If I’m not mistaken, this live incarnation of Soft Powers featured a couple of members of the Four4 Collective bringing up the rhythm section, and it definitely felt like the band lacked cohesiveness and obviously had a lot of miscommunications with each other during their set. They opened with two songs from Bad Pop, played sloppily at a slow tempo. Then they performed a lot of stuff I didn’t recognize that was more rock based, and rock doesn’t seem to suit these guys as well as their more glo-fi material. The entire set just screamed of amateur hour, but these kids are young and still have plenty of time to improve their live show.

After that, Clint and I headed to Cameli’s to grab some slices and endure some bad karaoke before returning halfway through ANR‘s set. They definitely possessed some musical talent, but their actual music wasn’t doing it for me. Although they closed with a great cover of Sonic Youth‘s “Schizophrenia.” It’s a bad sign for a show, though, when the best moment of the night was a cover.

We waited in the packed out crowd for Washed Out to set up while Clint made entertaining comments like “How long does it take to tune a Powerbook?” Washed Out then played a fairly short set followed by an encore of his best songs. The Washed Out live show featured some traditional-type band members around Ernest Greene, and the stage presence gained came at the detriment of the music. I understand that it’s difficult to get this sort of music to translate well to a live setting (I’ve heard that he never intended to perform this music live when he wrote it in the first place), but I would have preferred the “Girl Talk dance around a CD player method” to having a live band suck out everything appealing about the songs. For instance, they played some really weak reggae jam that didn’t sound anything like Washed Out‘s studio stuff . Also, Greene didn’t seem to have any effects on his vocals like on the record, and without the effects, he isn’t that great of a singer. Even the version of the hit “Feel It All Around” they closed with didn’t sound that good.

Maybe chillwave just doesn’t work in a live setting, or maybe these guys lack the experience necessary to be a good performer. But either way, it was a disappointing concert.

[Photos + Review] Cinemechanica, Manray, Lazer/Wulf @ 529 (1/29/11)

All photos by Clint Miller

Saturday, I went to see Athens based, Cinemechanica at 529 in East Atlanta. I had never seen them live before, but had heard that cardiac arrest and brain aneurysms were key components to their live show. There was no way I was going to pass up an opportunity like that even if my life, or more realistically, my ears, were at stake.

The first band to play, Lazer/Wulf, was a three-piece, and my expectations were low. They looked like typical frat-guys who decided to ditch the tailgate party and start a band that wears warrior-style face paint. Although, it was the fact that they were the first out of three unknown bands to play that led to my low expectations, not their appearance. I was pleasantly surprised as soon as they took the stage and began to play. I found myself compelled to move with the music and stare open-jawed at the guitarist who was playing notes faster than I previously thought was humanly possible.

They alternate between traditional metal and speed metal, although they make the sound their own. I was surprised at how well they sounded live while having only three members. The guitarist was the best part of the show via getting the crowd amped and making strange faces, although, what really helped was the fact that he is insanely proficient at playing his instrument. The bassist and guitarist both entered the crowd several times while playing extremely technical solos. The only drawback to seeing this band live was the semi-annoying fan-base that had followed them from Athens. (I knew they were from Athens because every time one of the bands mentioned they were from Athens, multiple people shouted “wooo! Athens, Yeah!” )About 2/3 into their set, an impromptu mosh pit broke out, reminding me why I stay away from 90% of all metal shows. Luckily this was the ‘friendly’ mosh pit and not the ‘punch everything that moves’ type pit. Still, though, its never fun to have beer spilled on your face.

Click here to read the entire post…

[Review] Roger Waters @ Phillips Arena (11/18/10)

My friend, who I will call clintbro88, asked if I wanted to see some guy named Roger Waters at the Phillips arena. I agreed since I am HUGE fanz of arena rock shows. I must admit I was confused when making my way to the seats because almost every person there was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt. Luckily my iphone4 was on hand to clarify my ignorance/noobness. For those of you who don’t know, Roger Waters was the bass player for Pink Floyd. For some reason the Floyd have changed their name to just Roger Waters. I gotta give him props on creating the template for megalomania in the mainstream music world by going all “Kanye West” and shit.

Side note: Don’t buy cookies from hippies in parking lot of Phillips arena no matter how sweet their dreds are or how authentic their 73’ Dark side tour shirt is, or how hungry you are because you walked four miles to save ten bucks on parking for a show you paid over 200$ for. And whatever you do, don’t buy two and eat both immediately as I did. Fifteen minutes later I somehow found myself in my seat and telling the complete stranger to my left about my feelings of failure and inability to relate to my father. Not a very browave mindset to be in for an arena rock show.

I feel like I should have been warned that the band formerly known as Pink Floyd would only be playing selections from their album, “The Wall”. I almost felt like a dick for yelling out “WISH YOU WERE HERE” between every song in hopes they would play my totes all-time fave Floyd jam. I think they opened up the show with a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” but I was srsly f-d up on the cookies. That might have been a repressed memory or something. Bro-Clint88 could not be reached for verification.

The basic setup for the show consisted of Roger stealing the stage from every one of the other members while mysterious men in black suits built a wall behind him. The wall itself served as a sort of liner notes section outlining the depth and politicalness of the songs themselves. This was achieved via mind-blowing projectors that probably cost millions of dollars. There were also huge puppets, a 15 minute intermission, and of course, lots of Roger Waters.

If you go see this show be warned that the members are all very old now and look almost nothing like their former selves. Well, except for Rawters, he just looks like an older version of himself. Nick Mason(drums) and Richard Wright(keys) look nothing like their google image search results. The biggest shocker, though, was guitarist David Gilmour. He literally looks like he’s 30 again, only with a different face. I think Roger made them all get plastic surgery so nobody would recognize them so that he could get all the coke and pussy backstage.

With all the construction and theatrics and lasers and mid-show tweets from R. Waters going on, I almost forgot about the most important part: the music. The songs were like epic soundscapes from the past. The band and Roger played flawlessly. I will say that for a band who has been playing these songs for over 30 years, everyone but Roger came off more like hired musicians than actual band members. This did not detract from the sonic experience itself, however. I distinctly remember David Gilmour’s guitar solos reaching through my pot hazed mind and giving my soul the sweetest hand-job. To showcase his “being the shit” abilities, he sang along with a 30-year-old recording of himself. This was cooler than it sounds.

As for the message itself: who the fuck knows. For an hour and a half I watched one pointless pseudo political lightshow after another. Here’s what I remember: Lots of planes and bombs, lots of planes dropping bombs, lots of repetitive consumer product placement images being dropped from planes, planes crashing into “the wall”, lots of hammers marching, flowers having sex, graffiti and cool punk swear words, and the strangest ipod commercial in history. I graduated high school but this still went way over my head. I think the tickets should have come with a complimentary course on intellectual snobbery mind-fuck arena rock show analysis. I talked to cb88 after the show and together we figured it out: Basically the wall is a metaphor for how awesome Roger Waters is and the reason it gets torn down at the end is because of haters who think his older shit was better. I read another review online that said the wall was a metaphor for his feelings of isolation etc. and all the consumer product anti-capitalist imagery shows his leetness and disdain for a capitalist society etc. Cb88 pointed out the obvious stupididy of that view. First, the tickets themselves cost hundreds of dollars. The t-shirts cost 50 a piece (of which I bought four). R.Waters arena show can’t be anti-money. Money, aside from being another sweet ass song they didn’t play, is what enabled the fans to secure seats, and it is what enabled the band to buy their instruments etc. Money, in effect, is the mortar for all those (expensive) bricks in the wall.

Final analyses: Overly ambiguous possible political message on the wall aside, this was the fourth best arena rock show I have ever seen. The music was spot on even if the songs they picked weren’t the best. “Comfortably Numb” and “we don’t need no education” were dope as fuck since I knew the words. I am personally stoked about my long-term t-shirt investment: R.Waters tour 2010 shirts will get you laid. I have already saved well over the price of my ticket on not having to pay for sex in over a week! There were way too many people buying pretzels during intermission especially since the pretzels were only “okay”. In conclusion, anybody who enjoys being preached at for living in a society based on money at a concert they paid a shitload of said money to attend by the very guy who got all that money will cum their pants 4 realz.

[Review] Of Montreal, Janelle Monae @ Variety Playhouse (11/7/10)

Hello, my name is Glenda Harris, and I am writing this in the hopes of saving young people from the horrors that await them in the guise of “fun dance-oriented indie pop”. My son, Sam, was listening to the talented Justin Bieber on his Pandora radio account. Unfortunately, it seems as if the devil was picking the songs. The next song that Satan chose was titled “Enemy Gene” by Of Montreal. Well after he begged and pleaded I agreed to accompany him to see this “Of Montreal” at the Variety Playhouse.

We arrived about halfway through the opening act, Janelle Monae. Her voice was like that of an angel, but right away I knew something wasn’t quite right. Well, as it turns out, she is an obvious communist. One of her catchiest tunes is even titled “Cold War.” I noticed with horror that the crowd went crazy over this Marxist ballad.

Her next song, “Tight-rope”, was so catchy that I myself would have found it impossible not to dance, were it not for the pocket bible weighing my feet down. Her music is a strangely enticing blend of R&B, soul, and hip-hop. I’m sure she designed it that way so that young folks will accept her evil agenda. Several times during her set I found myself wondering if that socialist, Obama, was somehow behind this.

Near the end of her set she was joined by a half-naked homosexual monstrosity who sang a song titled “Make the Bus” with her. I had to put my hands over little Sam’s eyes several times due to the overtly provocative dancing on stage. When the song was over I was relieved to know that I would not have to see the male performer again. She also did something unconventional: she had a canvas brought to the stage in order to paint a picture while performing. I would have liked this but the picture was just wretched. It consisted of black lines and random colors making a face with the words “I love you” at the top to hide her message of hate.

During the break between sets I noticed that almost all the people in the venue were total deadbeat losers. They looked like the worst kind of young people: the kind who have not accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The environment was much too hostile for me to attempt to witness to them, however. I can’t be sure but I think I smelled reefer throughout the entire show. These people are exactly who Glenn Beck is trying to save. I say he’s too late with this crowd. These kids wouldn’t have known the difference between traditional family values and a crack pipe.

Finally, it was time for Of Montreal to come on stage. Apparently, Of Montreal is known for their garish set pieces and costume design. I was not aware of this, having read a review of their show at the 40 watt in September which kicked off this tour. That show included very few costume changes by Kevin Barnes and none of the theatrics. The audience was greeted by two eight foot tall men wearing fish heads with gas masks who were carrying shotguns while walking slowly around the stage. I should have bolted immediately, yet by this point I couldn’t take my eyes off the spectacle before me. Kevin Barnes is supposedly married, but do not let that fool you into thinking he is in anyway a wholesome family role model. His marriage is clearly a sham. I have never seen a more homosexual male in my life. I cannot express my outrage at the realization that the singer for Of Montreal was the very same monstrosity who sang the duet with Janelle Monae. My arm fell asleep no less than ten times while covering poor Sam’s eyes during their set. Kevin Barnes is the indie rock equivalent to The Karate Kid as far as furthering the gay agenda goes. About halfway through the set he all but made love to three other people in pig suits. I was mortified to see that Sam was peeking through my fingers and was unable to suppress an erection. I will have to live with the horror that a homo-erotic sex sequence featuring possible elements of bestiality, and not his wedding night, is how my child learned about sex.

The crowd was mostly well behaved when the band performed any of their new False Priest songs, but was downright horrible whenever they played any older material. Most of the older material was off of their Hissing Fauna album. During these songs, everybody would dance and jump and sing along with twice the energy. If you have not heard their music, the best way I can describe it is psychedelic/funk/pop. The band had incredible stage presence, and performed all the songs quite well. After discerning some of the lyrics I had what my doctor is trying to call a complete nervous breakdown after discovering that there was no way in which I could shield both Sam’s eyes and ears at the same time. The lyrics are all atrocious odes to sexual promiscuity and a sin-filled lifestyle. This show felt like having my soul doused by fire then spit on and made to watch gay actions again and again. The worst part, by far, was the encore song: A cover of Michael Jackson’s song, “Thriller”. The only thing worse than a pedophile’s song is that song being covered by Kevin Barnes. Not only did it sound like the end of innocence, it was the corrupt-homo end of innocence.

I have filed a class action lawsuit against Pandora radio and sent my son to a Bible oriented reform school. I fear that even this will not repair the damage. I hope that young people will heed my warnings and stay far away from this flamboyant fag-man masquerading as a musician. This music will lead listeners straight to hell. God Bless you all.

Best New Atlanta Music: Tealights – “Take Us By Sea” EP

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It’s a rare band that can survive, let alone thrive, after losing their primary songwriter and vocalist. But Tealights seem to be a unique case of addition by subtraction. After a not so amicable divorce from One Hand Loves The Other brainchild Lou Rodriguez last year, the remaining three members had to go back to the drawing board and start all over. Mikey Johnson, Nancy Shim, and Mary Knight all took up trading off vocal duties and built a sound around their distinct talents. They picked up local legend Brett Kelly to play drums, and now with the release of their debut record, Tealights have emerged as a much more dynamic, interesting, and just altogether better band than OHLTO ever were.

The 28 minute EP contains 6 fantastic songs that demonstrate the range and diversity of sound this band commands. The outfit manages to blend together so many different sorts of styles into one cohesive hybrid. At times its trip-hop, at times its indie rock, at times its dream pop, and it all flows together beautifully.

The record is not without its imperfections, though. I have come to find that typically an initial release from a talented young band tends to suffer in its execution, and Take Us By Sea is no exception to this. What is surprising about that here is that the production side of the equation appears stacked, including Snowden‘s Jordan Jeffares mixing. But for the most part, the technical flaws are overpowered by the sheer strength of the songwriting.

What is clear is that Tealights have an enormous amount of potential and Take Us By Sea is quite an accomplishment for a band that is still finding its identity.

Tealights : Exit

Tealights : Clouds

Buy Take Us By Sea

Tealights myspace

Tealights Tour Blog


Here is a teaser video for the EP giving a behind the scenes glimpse at the making of it:


They are currently on tour, and while they have been on the road, they did a Soldout Session with a nice stripped down version of “Passport”:

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photo credit: www.bartramnason.com


Tealights will be at 529 Tuesday October 20th with White Hinterland.

Alchemy – The Georgia Burn: 2009

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All photos by Clint Miller

In terms of American festivals and cultural events, Burning Man has evolved into one the most notorious and intriguing out there. As it has become increasingly more popular since coming into being in the ’80s, it has spurred a growing amount of regional “Burns” as well as an entire subculture. At the beginning of this month, I stepped into this wacky world for the first time at Georgia’s mini-version of Burning Man, called Alchemy. I consider myself a very seasoned veteran when it comes to music festivals, but this would be an entirely different experience altogether. All Burns adhere to what is called Burning Man’s “10 Principles”, a sort of hippie ten commandments. Of these principles, there are two big things that really set this experience apart from others. First, rather than being just a spectator to others’ art, everyone who attends is expected to be an artist and contribute to the event. There are not really bands to see or anything (although plenty of bad techno DJs, but I’ll get to that). The attendees are the entertainment. Secondly, the festival adheres to strict decommodification, meaning that no one is allowed to buy or sell anything at the Burn. Instead, exchanges are only supposed to occur in one direction, in the form of “gifting” someone else. These rules are almost completely adhered to, so there is no vendors of any kind on site.

As hippie as all of this sounds, it is a decidedly different beast than the trustafarian-filled, bro-rific jamband scene. The types of people who were at Alchemy seemed rather diverse and the whole vibe was of its own unique, distinct feel. If anything, the music subculture most represented here was ravers. The rave scene that flourished across the US only a decade ago seemed to be all but annihilated after being heavily targeted by law officials due to its inextricable link to illegal drugs. And let’s face it, it was as much a fad as disco. But it seems the remnants of the electronic music party community have found refuge in these Burns, and are even beginning to flourish in it. I learned that the property where Alchemy was held also hosts monthly ravey camp outs. I knew there had to be some small fraction of that scene that wouldn’t accept the move to uppity clubs or give it up, and it turns out they are burners now.

We left Atlanta early in the afternoon on Thursday and didn’t arrive until dark after dealing with two different flat tires among our caravan. After getting through the gate swiftly, we stopped at Connexus, which was sort of the home base of the whole festival. There is a huge map where each themed camp can identify where they are located and there is a schedule where everyone can list any events they are having. Those of us who were “Burn virgins” had to go through a brief initiation ceremony there, and then we went off around the property to figure out where we wanted to set up our camp. After a lot of indecision and driving around, we settled a place near the base of the hill where the effigy stood. Another difference between this and the many other camping festivals I’ve attended is that a vehicle couldn’t be near your camp unless it was transformed into art, so after setting up, we had to take our cars to a parking lot away from the camping area.

Our camping group decided to go with the theme of “Alchemists Anonymous”. Our contribution to the event would come in the form of lots of games and a ridiculously vast amount of alcohol to freely dispense. The first night was a blur, but I spent almost all of it nearby our campsite. There was a lo-fi rollercoaster built on the large hill near us where someone would sit on a chair on wheels and roll down a wooden track complete with jump ramps. It was called “The Bleeder”, and it had no problem living up to its name as two of our crew ended up getting some serious bruises and scrapes after crashing into and breaking through one of the ramps.

After passing out early, I also woke up early to find that the Burn was still partying strong at dawn. Many people brought entire PA systems and a generator to power them so that they could play techno at every hour, and there was nowhere to escape the loud, pounding sounds of ravers. I spent the morning hanging by the large fire that was burning all weekend long while grabbing beers from the keg. Eventually we hosted a game of Twister on a homemade super-sized board and then I finally explored around the property. There were some open fields, some hills, and some road trails going through the woods. Each camping area had a different theme, and everybody seemed to be going all out.

That night we loaded up a mobile bar and wheeled it around from place to place mixing up drinks for festival attendees. Flurries of activity and craziness abounded around every corner. Costumes, megaphones, dancers, and lots of fire everywhere. After returning to camp and rallying, we headed to “Area 51″, pretty much the coolest chill area, located deep in the woods. They had couches and candles and lasers, and it seemed to definitely be the most popular late night spot. Eventually the nights’ shenanigans faded into darkness and it was Saturday late in the morning. We decided to spend the early afternoon hijacking a friend’s sound system after the constant techno rave out was getting to us. We drank wine while listening to a mix of indie faves like Animal Collective, Of Montreal and Grizzly Bear, and we even attracted a few nudists dancing around with umbrellas.

After spending the late afternoon trading off riding around a borrowed motorcycle, everybody headed up the hill to see the effigy get lit on fire. This was the main event of the Burn, and everyone in the entire place gathers around for it. There was a huge drum circle, and dancers, and music makers, and I discovered that I completely forgot how to play a trumpet. There were volunteers blocking out a large perimeter around the effigy and not letting anyone get very close. The theme of this year’s Burn was “Shock and Awe”, and they did just that when it was time for the fire. Huge explosions and giant mushroom clouds blew up all around the effigy before it went up in a blaze. I don’t think I have ever felt something as intensely hot in my entire life as the explosions against my lightly sunburned face. The Effigy burned while everyone celebrated, and as it was almost completely destroyed, we headed back down the hill to set up our bar. The night before had taken its toll on it, and it was no longer very mobile, so we just set up shop at the base of the effigy hill.

At some point while we were mixing drinks for everyone, someone warned us of not giving alcohol to underage kids. After hours and hours of partying, we brilliantly decided that the only way we could tell if people were of age was to look at their pubes. That quickly morphed into demanding to see people’s genitals in exchange for drinks. Only in an atmosphere like Alchemy could this work out so perfectly. Just about everyone we encountered played along, and there was a whole bunch of nakedness. Eventually we abandoned the bar and headed back to Area 51 and then back to the bonfire, and then at some unknown point, to bed. The festival continued until Monday morning, but we decided to go back to Atlanta Sunday after we woke up.

Overall, the entire experience was pretty damn amazing. I wondered how entertained I would be at a festival without bands to see, but that forced me and everyone I was with to entertain ourselves, and I had an incredible time. Before going, I was skeptical that I would be able to get into the whole spirit of the thing, but by the end I was wearing a mini-skirt and war paint on my face. There was an electricity in the air at this thing, and its power was undeniable. I highly recommend checking out Alchemy or any other Burn, as I’m already scheming up what I’m going to do next year.


More Alchemy photos here

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Live Review: The Other Sound Festival 2009 (9/19/09)

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Photo by Kevin Griggs

The rain has been causing death and destruction across Atlanta for nearly two weeks now, and it tried its hardest to dampen the fun at The Other Sound Festival last Saturday. I got to Little Five Points early enough to get some grub and catch Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun kick off the event, but unfortunately the outdoor stage they were slated to play on got rained out for the day. It was quite unfortunate that the weather washed out so many great acts on the lineup, but there was still plenty of top notch artists left to perform. And while TTMTTS didn’t get to play a set, I did learn that they are just finishing up their next record, an EP which is set to drop next month, so that’s exciting news.

This Piano Plays Itself opened the fest inside of Criminal Records and sounded really nice on the great PA system there. They played a similar set to what they unleashed on Corndogorama, comprised of 3 new, long songs that will be on their forthcoming record. Only three months into their current 5 piece incarnation, and the band is becoming clearly more and more tight and consistent in this formation. I recently listened to some rough mixes of parts of the new album that they have been recording since returning from their summer tour, and it sounded very impressive. Look for that to drop around the beginning of next year. I know regular readers around here are painfully aware I’m squarely on this outfit’s bandwagon, but they continue to make the most of their vast potential and exceed my high expectations for them.

After that I celebrated the time honoured tradition of free PBRs at Criminal Records in-store performances. It seemed just about everyone was suffering various degrees of a hang over, including myself, and a few PBRs helped get me ready for a nice mid-afternoon Yo La Tengo set. By the time they went on, the entire store was completely packed full of people all the way back to the front door. They played a stripped down electric set that included a couple from the new record, a Beatles cover, and they finished it off with a great “Mr. Tough”. I didn’t get any of my personal faves from them, but I didn’t expect to in this setting, so it wasn’t really a disappointment at all. As always, they accompanied their wonderful music with charming banter between songs. Afterwards they signed things for people and did lots of record digging before and after their set. They are one of the rare bands that are both phenomenal musicians and extraordinarily nice people, and I hope they return to Atlanta again very soon.

A few PBRs later, The Orphins took the stage and jammed out a set full of tunes from the new record and classics from back in the day. There are not many bands in this city that want to make me dance, but these guys and gal are definitely one of them. They are able to combine punk intensity with mathy precision unlike almost anyone. Also, I can never get enough of the “steel drum” guitar sound. The Orphins are just such a consistently stellar live band, and The Other Sound was no exception for them.

The Criminal Records portion of the festival closed out with a solo set from Jeffrey Butzer, who did a typically enjoyable set. Mr. Butzer is the master of between song banter with his audience, and he had several humourous things to say this time as well. His easily likable stage presence enhances his live shows, but I have to say that there is something about a one man band setup that makes it hard to capture and hold on to the attention of an audience. While Jeffrey Butzer plays this role almost better than anyone I’ve ever seen utilizing so many instruments at the same time, it still seems to work against him a bit in tandem with music so light and minimalistic. Overall it doesn’t manage to engage me as much as I would like it to, but despite that, a Jeffrey Butzer solo live performance is still pretty damn good.

I took a brief break from the action to go back to my house and recharge a little bit and afterwards headed to the Star Bar for the second half of the fest. After more alcohol consumption, I caught Los Buenos, a new project from former members of the now defunct Batata Doce. Despite the name, this Justin Sias lead group was more reminiscent of Elevado than the world music centric Batata Doce. For a very new band, I thought they sounded great and I hope this line up sticks around for a while.

After some drunken conversations, I only caught the very end of Author’s Apology, and really didn’t hear enough to make any sort of judgment whatsoever. I went back upstairs and caught Untied States next. This was the standout set for me of the entire festival. I’m probably going to be talking about their new, yet to be released record a lot in the next few months, but obviously I think it is pretty amazing, and their live show was of the same caliber. The now 5 piece lineup behind Untied States masterminds Colin Arnstein and Skip Engelbrecht is completely different than last time I saw them, and probably the best supporting cast they have ever had. The drummer alone brings so much to this group. Colin was dressed in an army nurse uniform for this one, and it’s interesting how theatrical this band comes off just simply playing their hearts out on their instruments. These guys are criminally underrated and represent the pinnacle of serious and artful music in this city, so if you haven’t looked into them yet you are losing.

I caught a few songs of Falcon Lords downstairs, but they were a joke, literally. I then tried to wait it out to see Club Awesome next, but the steady supply of beers all day finally took its toll and I had to head back to the house.

Even though the weather tried to sabotage the fest as much as possible, it was still a very fun event overall. Getting Yo La Tengo dropped on the bill was a pretty awesome boost to help counteract the rain. I think The Other Sound was a great snapshot of what’s going on in the local indie scene right now. There is so much great music happening in this town at the moment that it would be impossible to gather it all together for one day, but they did about as good a job as they could. I have to give everyone involved with the fest mad props for assembling such a great lineup. Outside of Yo La‘s time slot, the turnout wasn’t spectacular, but there was a good crowd throughout the entire time I was there, especially considering everything else going on the city that it was competing against. I noticed a ton of ATL superstars in attendance, and I got to meet some new folks and chat it up with some cool peeps I already knew. I saw many of the different artists I like mingling together. The whole thing gave me a very positive feel on where things are heading right now in Atlanta. Between the many musicians and artists and the various people supporting the scene in a multitude of different ways, there is a lot of talent out there right now, and it feels to me like it is coalescing together into something special.

Live Review: Dungen, Woods, Twin Tigers @ The Earl (8/19/09)


Dungen via my cellphone camera.

I headed out to this show by myself, as I often do, and arrived way too early. Instead of lurking around in the nearly empty venue, I went outside and chilled out on a bench in the middle of the Village while a record store nearby blasted some down-tempo jazz. In Atlanta, we’re always pushing hard to the next party, show or responsibility, so it’s a nice treat to just sit back and enjoy the summer breeze on a beautiful August night. At least for a few brief moments anyways, then it’s back to how we do.

I made it back inside just in time for the beginning of Twin Tigers‘ set. This was my third time catching them live, but my two previous occasions were abridged Corndogorama sets, so I was looking forward to finally seeing them play for longer than 15 minutes. They absolutely did not disappoint, and I can’t think of a band from Athens I’m loving more right now. They cast a powerful, yet beautiful blanket of sound that just envelops an audience. If this band can produce some more fantastic studio work building on what they laid out in last year’s way underrated EP, Curious Faces / Violent Future, this band is going to be one of the premiere “Nu-Gaze” acts in the southeast right up there with bands like Deerhunter and Summerbirds In The Cellar. It’s a good thing they have a new full-length coming soon.

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Photos and Review: Octopus Project, Tealights, Living Rooms at The Star Bar in Atlanta, GA (8/6/09)


All black and white photos by Clint Miller
All color photos by Kevin Griggs

I arrived at the Star Bar about halfway through the first song from an Atlanta based three piece called Living Rooms. Their sound immediately caught my attention, as it was extremely similar to Animal Collective. The only major difference that I could distinguish was their use of heavy bass in their sound. It had more of a club/dance feel than Animal Collective.

I was not the only person who felt this way. Almost everyone I talked to mentioned that they were good yet sounded just like AC or Panda Bear. They did, however, hold my attention throughout their entire set.

Even though they sounded like Animal Collective, they did not sound as if they had ripped them off. It was just apparent what they have probably been listening to them for years. I look forward to hearing more from these guys and would recommend them to anyone who is a fan of experimental pop or indie music.

After Living Rooms left the stage I decided to get some drinks and wait for Tealights, another Atlanta band, to play. Then I waited some more. Apparently there were some major problems with the sound and setting up. I found out later that the band was having difficulty with the sound guy. We waited about an hour before they actually took the stage. At this point it was nearing midnight and I was pretty tired. Tealights is a four piece consisting of Brett Kelly on drums, Mikey Johnson playing guitar/electronics and singing, Mary Knight who sings and plays cello, and Nancy Shim who plays flute, keyboard and sings.


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Live Review and Photos: Black Moth Super Rainbow, Serengeti and Polyphonic at The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, GA (7/29/09)


All photos by Clint Miller.

Wednesday I got to see Black Moth Super Rainbow with openers Serengeti and Polyphonic at the Drunken Unicorn. I wasn’t aware of BMSR having much popularity so I was surprised when the show sold out. Maybe they are starting to get the recognition they deserve.

Serengeti and Polyphonic opened, yet they had major computer malfunctions that crippled their set. They are composed of David Cohn (Serengeti) and Will Freyman (Polyphonic) on laptop and various electronic instruments making the beats. Very shortly into their set the computer crashed and the rest of the set was crippled by technical difficulties. The rapping was terrible. It was really muddy and incomprehensible at most times. Also, due to the fact that I was dressed up in a Dharma jumpsuit (from TV’s LOST) I chose to sit outside for most of their show. It was just way too hot to endure their terrible set. They ended their set early due to the technical complications.

While waiting for Black Moth to set up I got to know some of the fellow Atlanta area fans. I was surprised as to the number of people on psychedelic drugs. Some kid wearing a dancing bears shirt asked if I wanted to purchase any “mush”. If you can’t figure that one out, go ask your local D.A.R.E representative. Also because of the jumpsuits my friend and I were wearing we had to pose for a quick photo as well as a barrage of “Oh hell yeah nice jumpsuits!”

Black Moth Super Rainbow opened their set up with two separate videos, which were hilarious. The first was a mock YouTube style video where a guy rags on one thing or another. It was pretty hilarious. I remember the line, “Now you all know the mainstream bands that totally blow like Creed or Nickelback or Linkin Park. Well I’m here to tell you about 5 bands from the underground who totally suck.” then proceeded to go off on BMSR and how “Goth” their music is, and how the only types of people who can possibly find enjoyment in their music are total and complete douche bags. Even though his statements were continuous he was wearing something different every five to ten seconds. This video was followed by something even more hilarious and totally epic. Eric from Tim and Eric Awesome Show had his own little video. Of course, being in Atlanta, the crowd totally loved this. Eric made us all repeat that we were not douche bags or even “DBs” for liking the Black Rainbows featuring Super Goth.


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