|
|
|
ROAD TRIPPED: AthFest 2012 @ various venues, Athens, Ga., 6/20-24
With more than 130 artists in the mix, that's a tall order. Somehow we saw about two dozen; some were great, and none were truly bad.
ROAD TRIPPED: AthFest 2012 @ various venues, Athens, Ga., 6/20-24
words by M.J. Fine | photos by Chris Sikich
Most years, AthFest lures us down to Athens, Ga., with a combination of longtime loves and new discoveries and keeps us running from venue to venue. This time, with few favorites at the festival, we got back to basics and plotted our schedule the old-fashioned way: by reading blurbs about the bands and seeing those that sounded most interesting. With more than 130 artists in the mix, that’s a tall order. Somehow we saw about two dozen; some were great, and none were truly bad. And unlike most events this size, nearly everyone we saw was a local and not just making the festival circuit. Here are 10 highlights:
Kishi Bashi: Though he’s only a frequent visitor and not an Athens resident, Of Montreal sideman Kishi Bashi picked up the prize for Best Music Video for “Bright Whites” at the Flagpole Athens Music Awards on Thursday night. But in his part-heartfelt, part-drunken acceptance speech, he thanked the scene for making him feel at home and promised to move his family down as soon as possible. Later in the show, he backed up his bona fides by outrocking everyone with a two-song set of loopy violin-and-vocal virtuosity.
Young Benjamin: For Mazarine Records’ showcase Friday night at New Earth Music Hall, the schedule went off the rails pretty quickly, with Young Benjamin, the first of six bands, starting almost half an hour late. All was forgiven, though, once we heard the tender chillwave songs Matt Whitaker coaxed from a single guitar and an array of looping pedals. Later, we’d learn that Whitaker’s solo project was inspired by his work as a music therapist with dementia patients, but his moody music and friendly demeanor struck a chord with a younger-skewing crowd.
powerkompany: We’d seen Andrew Heaton in Packway Handle Band and Marie Davon in Venice Is Sinking (in which she goes by her real name, Karolyn Troupe), but powerkompany doesn’t sound like either of the multi-instrumentalist husband-wife duo’s other bands. Davon’s voice sounds more powerful, the textures more sensual than expected. Violin trouble riled Heaton and knocked the New Earth Music Hall lineup even further off schedule, but somehow things clicked musically most of the time.
Thayer Sarrano: With a voice like a barb dipped in honey and dreamy alt-country tunes to match, Thayer Sarrano should’ve cast a spell on Farm 255’s outdoor stage Friday as midnight approached. But too many distractions — competition from the DJ next-door, an overenthusiastic chair collector and a brazen cockroach — took away some of the magic. Bet she’d be great in a venue with chairs and doors.
pacificUV: Back at New Earth Music Hall, the Mazarine Records showcase had fallen so far behind that the last band, pacificUV, went on at 1:30 a.m., a full hour late. No matter. After announcing they’d do an abbreviated set, they played just one glorious blissrock number and called it a night.
The District Attorneys: Despite picking up three Flagpole awards on Thursday (Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Cover Art), The District Attorneys were relegated to a 7:15 p.m. set on the side stage Saturday. And that’s OK; their meat-and-sweet-potatoes rock didn’t knock us out, but at least it drowned out a squad of Bible thumpers who were more irritating than bug bites.
The Glands: Locals seemed most psyched to see The Glands, who haven’t released an album since 2000, but after the show some grumbled that the main-stage headliners spent most of their Saturday night slot playing new material. It sounded consistently all right to us, but we didn’t have our hearts set on the oldies.
Nutritional Peace: The space seemed too small at Ciné to contain Nutritional Peace, let alone the adoring throng that surrounded them. A dozen members — wielding guitars, keyboards, drums, saxophones, flutes and more — staked out physical and sonic space, sometimes scrunched together, sometimes sprawling. It was all too lovely to single out any one contributor, but we’d be negligent not to note that it was the second of John Fernandes’ three engagements between 10 p.m. Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday, sandwiched by terrific shows with New Sound of Numbers and Supercluster at Georgia Theatre.
Incendiaries: There aren’t too many cities where you can stand outside shortly before midnight and watch women carrying on in the tradition of Sleater-Kinney, but Athens is one of them. In Little Kings Shuffle Club’s yard on Saturday, the four Incendiaries raised their aggressive voices, spiky guitar and propulsive drums in a righteous, riotous affirmation of lady-led rock.
The B-53s: A packed Georgia Theatre greeted The B-53s as hometown heroes, which they kind of are. No, they’re not The B-52’s, but they’re an incredible facsimile, offering up classics from Athens’ ultimate party band’s first two albums. In an alternate universe, “There’s a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)” and “Give Me Back My Man” are massive hits on par with “Rock Lobster,” and if The B-52’s have taught us anything, it’s that an alternate universe is wherever you make it. Early Sunday morning, Athens, Ga., was the place to be.
- Activism
- Arts
- Arts Events
- Books
- Dance
- First Person Fest
- Last Chance
- Museum
- On the Fringe
- Philly Artists
- The Curator
- Theater
- Visual Art
- Arts News
- Artist Profile
- Arts Preview
- Street Art
- Been There, Done That
- Big Ups
- Comedy
- LOL With It
- Stand-up
- Critical Mass
- DVD
- Events
- Friday Fill-in
- Ice Cubes
- In Memoriam
- Interview
- Just Do It
- Just Opened
- Kaleidoscopic
- LGBTQ
- Art Phag
- Mailbag
- Movies
- Film Fest
- Movie Review
- On set
- Scenester
- screening
- trailer!
- Music
- 10 Track Mind
- Album
- Album Review
- Concert Review
- DJs
- Local Support
- Now Hear This
- One Track Mind
- Philly Bands
- Show
- Somebody Else Was There
- Song
- The Showdown
- concert photos
- jazz
- DJ Nights Blogged
- Night Watch
- Now See This
- Poetic License
- Printed Matter
- Radio
- Shopping
- Coveted
- Fashion
- What We Heart
- TV
- 24
- Idol Hands
- Mad Men
- ProjRun
- True Blood
- Useless Lost Recaps
- Couch Potato
- Shore Trash
- Turned ONN
- TopMod
- Video Games
- Free Online Game
- PSP
- PlayStation 2
- The 1-Upper
- Wii
- Web Junk
- CAGE MATCH
- Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
