SHOW OF THE MONTH

Club Awesome / The Orphins /
Moorish Idols
The EARL
Atlanta, GA
May 26, 2007

Atlanta has many traditions for Memorial Day Weekend: the Decatur Arts Festival, Braves baseball and more recently, the Annual Club Awesome Pool Party. This latest up-and-coming tradition, sponsored by local musical stalwarts Club Awesome, is made complete by the three-feet-deep kiddie-pool in which the masses can float their bloated selves through a cacophony of rock ‘n’ roll indulgence.
Yes, it is a real pool.

The Annual Club Awesome Pool Party gives the local fans a reason to bust out the 1980s shorty-short swimming trunks and parade around the venue without ridicule. The Pool Party falls away from a neat, late-spring gimmick and becomes a festival of skinny and hairy legs, nut-hugging Puma shorts and enough boys wearing thongs to easily divert the crowd’s attention away from the live performance.

Each year the tradition gets bigger and bigger as more audience members get into the spirit of this trailer-trash version of Jimmy Buffett-esque tropical escapism. This year, a couple even brought beach chairs, set them up in front of the stage and soaked up some sonic rays.

First up was Moorish Idols. Gracing the stage with their good looks and snappy swimsuits, the Idols delivered their brand of intertwining guitar loops a la New York’s iconic Television. The lead singer is shockingly more emotional and self-assured than his recorded, Ben Gibbard-esque approach. The band was tight and sounded perfect — however, Moorish Idols fell victim to the pool. The crowd lost focus and began blowing bubbles around the club, quickly becoming more interested in snorkeling than in rock music — how could the band compete?

Up next were local favorites The Orphins, one of Atlanta’s more underrated and under-appreciated rock bands. The Orphins’ brand of quirky, speed-riddled pop music sounded like a gaggle of birds floating and chirping, pulling the would-be swimmers out of the water and safely to shore like Roy Scheider in Jaws. Thankfully, The Orphins kept everything upbeat and energetic until the end of the set, prepping the crowd for headliners and Pool Party hosts Club Awesome.

Club Awesome followed The Orphins’ lead, unleashing a plethora of disco-pop-ridden rock songs that barely covered the sound of the masses of dancing flip-flop-covered feet. The water level of the pool dropped to an all-time low towards the end of the band’s set when all bodies left their aquatic domain to shake a little ass to the music.

-Review by Chris Parizo, photos by Jason Reed

Dropsonic / Tentonic /
Bad Magic Number
The Drunken Unicorn
Atlanta, GA
June 8, 2007

Bad Magic Number began the evening with a dosage of what some understandably consider cut-and-dry pop-punk, but what is really much more. True, upbeat tempos and high-register, catchy vocal melodies welcome categorization into that genre, but songs like opener “Something is Waiting” delivered Modest Mouse-paced dance rhythms, demonstrating the band’s ability to create more space than is characteristic of punk. Perhaps BMN is still lacking an on-stage X-factor, but as they continue to develop their progressive approach towards punk, the future could be bright.

Tentonic’s charisma turned on before their amplifiers did. Each musician assumed a right-at-home stage presence, creating a sincerity that immediately made the band stand out. Twin Telecasters unfolded huge, open-string chord progressions, with guitarist Jafar Green adding Edge-like ambience with a tone doused in reverb and delay. Driven by long, swelling bass lines and tasteful, funky drum fills, they achieved a beautiful groove that, as was obvious from the crowd’s foot shuffling, was on the cusp of jam-band danceable. Leeds native Sid Wilson’s soaring vocals may frequently give in to Oasis comparisons, but the band just as effortlessly exhibits an air of Perpetual Groove, with heavy, wide-open verses and spacey, aerial melodies filling the club.

Loud noises came next. Dropsonic revels in their volume, proud to unleash rock so hard, so furiously gritty, you need not understand the vocals to catch their drift. But that isn’t to say their sound was wildly blurred by any means — just loud. The indefatigable three-piece jumped on stage with the unspoken focus of factory workers punching in for the night shift. “We’re going to do all new stuff,” said lead inger Dan Dixon, whose ear-pinching vocals, marked by a Southern drawl, pierced all night long through a layer of Les Paul feedback and Zeppelin-esque riffing.

Dropsonic are the kings of stop-and-go rock. Their new material shook nervous systems with sonic booms of raw energy, then paused, and exploded again, with drummer Brian Hunter grounding the otherwise odd timing with thunderous, full-set fills. Bassist David Chase glued the mix together with an unmistakable power in the school of John Entwistle. And Dixon, spitting like an angry kid playing in the garage, flexed his frontman muscle while ripping Page-like solos over brutally snappy, ‘70s southern jams.

Dropsonic continues to put forth material that pushes the boundaries of their previous work and indeed their “new stuff” was a tight pack of barn-burners. “We’re still doing the hard rock thing,” Dixon said, “but it’s all geared towards live performance.”

-Review and photo by Brian Gilton

The Avett Brothers
Sundown in the City
Knoxville, TN
June 7, 2007

The thing to realize when you go see The Avett Brothers is that there can be no favorite brother. You’ll wrestle with this at first, torn between Scott and Seth (not to mention their super hero sidekick, Bob Crawford) the way people bicker about chocolate or vanilla, Coke or Pepsi. The full breadth of their on-stage character sets in the instant you realize how well one brother complements the other, and you are consciously aware of witnessing real artists at work.

The band headlined Knoxville’s Sundown In The City June 7th. Their position in the line-up was a testament to their rising success, as was the careful management of their play list. Once highly improvisational, the band has entered an era of refined demonstration, moving through this and other performances with an evolving dexterity. The brothers are growing as artists, and Sundown was no exception to this trend. Thursday night, the band found the comfortable place between their bluegrass roots and the distilled refinement they recently displayed on Conan O’Brien.

Few of the now early recordings showed up. Selections from the The Gleam were conspicuously absent. The newly-released Emotionalism dominated most of the show, and the band encored with even newer material before a fist-pounding, high energy finale. “Paranoia in B Flat Major” featured all elements Avett: honest lyrics balanced between two brothers; Scott’s romanticism; Seth’s perfectly pitched and well-controlled screams; and together, their eerie falsettos.

The Avett Brothers portrayed the sense of comfortable disregard for their instruments second nature only to lifelong musicians. They are so well adjusted to their tools in hand that they are free to do as they please on stage. Scott maintained grace even when talking to a dull crowd, and Seth had the look of an imperfect wise man tired of talk. The band had the collective personality of your most welcome cocktail party guest ready to go home, and at the end of the show the audience was sad to let them go.

-Review and Photo by Heather Richie

Nathan Beaver / Alan Yates Band / Jupiter Watts
The Loft
Atlanta, GA
June 9, 2007

“It’s Friday and I have to work tomorrow,” says Nathan Beaver, who opened the show at the Loft in Atlanta. This was a special occasion. The Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) put together a benefit showcasing local bands for the sake of raising money and awareness.

Beaver began his set with a cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “Casey’s Last Ride.” He claimed it was the first song he ever learned, and it was an accurate foreshadowing of what was yet to come. His raspy-edged, dulcet-layered vocals, along with the cautious dynamic of his guitar, suggested he would pair nicely with a campfire. His ballads were crisp in contemporary fashion, with a subtle vulnerability, albeit somewhat unapologetic. Although most of his lyrics implied a wise man’s retrospective glance, his budding presence hinted that the best is, in fact, yet to come.

Next on the list was a different spin, the Alan Yates Band, minus bassist Brian Bisky and drum kit. The acoustic set was more of an energetic improvisation and got toes tapping on the backs of the tall chairs scattered in the room. Lead guitarist Alan Yates and guitarist/backing vocalist Will Boos were a perfect fit, a yin and yang joined by the jazz-infused, steady lounge beats Michael “Pico” Lamb supplied on the cajón. The resulting sound was fresh and uplifting, with Boos’ easy backing vocals adding a velvet touch to Yates’ spunky vocals and intertwining with hints of minor melancholy, proving these were unpredictable harmonies. These guys were in synch, making it apparent they’d known each other for a long time. Their cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” was respectful.

Next to play was Jupiter Watts, a five-piece Atlanta band. In stark contrast to the communal, intimate vibe of the Alan Yates Band, these guys were balls-to-the-wall. Vocally it was like Secret Machines arm-wrestling Yo La Tengo. Drummer Kevin Wallace was precise, acting as the referee between James Trigg and Ramon Wals. Each player had his own agenda, occasionally reminding each other they were in this together as members by switching roles, from the keys to the sax, drums to the mic and even bringing in a violin. They were well rehearsed and gracious, ending each song with a polite “Thanks ya’ll.”

-Review and photo byTara Sherman

Kill The Ego / Das Assjugend / Blowfly
The Star Bar
Atlanta, GA
June 8, 2007

Oxford, Mississippi trio Kill The Ego plays quirky indie rock, with pop bass and quick guitars reminiscent of The Presidents of The United States of America — just not as goofy or chipper. Lead singer/guitarist Max Hipp lectured about politics between each song, ranting about the war in Iraq, media conglomeration and global warming.

Norway’s Turbonegro has a very devoted and active fan-base, with almost 2,000 chapters of their Turbojugend (Turbo Youth) fan clubs all over the world. Atlanta’s Das Assjugend is built to please the Turbojugend Atlanta members, who packed the place and went nuts with their patched denim jackets and customized sailor hats.

The band paid tribute to the death-punk group by covering their songs and mimicking their style of glammed-out rosy cheeks, lipstick and eye makeup — complete with the lead singer sporting the Alice Cooper-style black eyes and the bass player in full sailor whites.

Das Assjugend perfectly imitated Turbonegro’s blend of punk, metal and arena-rock, bringing the same energy to the small stage as if they were in a stadium.

Adding to the parody theme of the night was the 62-year-old Miami, Florida headliner, Blowfly. With a garbled voice like Redd Foxx and a sequined costume, this X-rated supervillain played originals and parodies that were graphic and humorous.

Notable was his variation of The Clash’s 1982 hit “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” (“Should I Fuck This Big Fat Ho”) and his topical spoof of The Dead Kennedy’s 1980 and purple suit, cape, and mask.

With each song he would point his long-nailed fingers at any and every woman in the audience, like he was singing to them or about them, and later engaged more women to join his two female dancers on stage. Over his decades of performing, Blowfly has become dirtier than ever, and it’s no wonder he chose the capital of the Dirty South to start his tour to promote his latest album, Blowfly’s Punk Rock Party.

-Review and photos by Alex Adan

Medford’s Black Record Collection
Sundown in the city
Knoxville, TN
June 6, 2007

On the coattails of a big night at Sundown In The City, Medford’s Black Record Collection brought tradition and charm to Knoxville’s most sought-after market venue, The Preservation Pub.

The band is the collaboration of storytellers Michael Davis and Matt Foster, with the recent addition of bassist Clint Mullican. Thursday night’s show was charged with selections to promote MBRC’s new album, released June 15th. The Flatville Murder Album is a well woven story full of the kind of bitter sentiment that it takes an entire album to convey.

Medford’s Black Record Collection’s live sound is rough around the edges, but the band seems determined to rise above the local scene, and their recorded sound reflects that ambition. There is no doubt they’ve won the affections of the crowd — Knoxville locals were lining up to get inside the show.

The band hasn’t seemed to yet reconcile their country sound with a tendency to deliver a punk energy here and there; the trio’s uneven sound makes you think they’re going to burst their seams any minute.

Called “refreshingly country with a capital C” by Molly Kincaid from local publication Metropulse, MBRC are unabashedly proud of their roots and unafraid to show their love for their traditional sound by packing power usually only relegated to hard rock shows.

But what was the most distinctive about the performance was the band’s lyrics. Most of the songs performed reflected the kind of cohesiveness the band feels is limited generally these days to hip-hop albums, images and themes that used to hallmark good recordings. “Sue O’Reilly” and “Sue’s Remorse” demonstrated the juxtaposition between the leads’ voices: one eerie, the other pure.

While the duo has played and lived together for some time, bassist Clint Mullican is a new factor, and his virtuoso support of Davis and Foster was among the band’s most compelling elements Thursday night. Mullican has a background in jazz and brings the experience of several prior band affiliations to the trio.

-Review by Heather Richie

Annuals
House of Blues
Myrtle Beach, FL
June 1, 2007

Annuals brought their sample-laden independent rock to the Myrtle Beach House of Blues on June 1, boasting hypnotic beats and brave improvisation. While the band has been touring the Southeast for several years now, 2007 could be called the breakout year for Annuals, who have already received national attention twice with their song “Fair” being featured in the hit sitcom Veronica Mars and an appear nce on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

The House of Blues is an outside venue, intimate with great acoustics mimicking the sound wave propagation of a closed-air venue. Late add-ins to the bill, Annuals replaced The Maccabees, who had originally been scheduled to open for headliners Bloc Party. Taking the stage with six musicians, led by eccentric lead vocalist and keyboardist Adam Baker, Annuals, true to their trademark zeal, launched into a twisting, tense jam session.

There was a certain amount of dissonance in their music on account of the opposition between drummer Nick Radford’s rhythm lines and the electronic musings of Baker and Anna Spence, who managed to produce various sounds ranging from percussive piano to chirping birds and crickets. But they were well supported by the remaining three — Kenny Florence and Zack Oden on guitar and Mike Robinson on bass.

The performance, though entertaining and intriguing, was plagued with difficult transitions. But despite the erratic performance, there was no shortage of visceral connection between the band and the crowd. Chaos from an individual member was offset by the dedicated direction of another as the remaining members bounced around while still holding their places in the song. The band’s complete devotion to the moment filled their performance with a refreshing degree of integrity and individualism.
Like Be He Me, Annuals’ live performance is reminiscent of early ‘70s Pink Floyd and the wonderful sounds that come from young bands free from traditional music conventions.

-Review byJamison Rasberry, photo by Brandon Harrington

Trances Arc
Smith’s Olde Bar
Atlanta, GA
May 31, 2007

Vocally speaking, there isn’t a stronger live singer — unsigned by majors — in the Atlanta/Athens indie rock music scene than Trances Arc front man Eric Toledo.
Note for note, Eric, or Ledo as he’s affectionately called by adoring fans, belts out the lyrics to Trances Arc tunes like an emotional siren that blares directly into a person’s soul.

Trances Arc delivered an hour plus set at Smith’s Olde Bar in Midtown Atlanta, opening their high-octane set with “New Style,” a song that clearly grabs the attention with cool stop-and-start points that turn on a dime thanks to roaring guitar licks.
This night, fresh off a recent tour that took them to New York City and parts beyond, Trances Arc welcomed their die-hard home base fanatics in Atlanta. Front man Ledo was great at animating the evening’s vibe while providing passion to songs that bordered on a trance-like state of being. However, Trances Arc is certainly not comatose musically on any level.

One of the many highlights was “Champagne,” which was emotional and heartfelt through and through. The song features a haunting chorus and has indeed become a hallmark for the band since it was recently featured on a HEAR Music release that can be found at your local Starbucks store. A hold-on-to-your-teeth version of “Egg shells” was followed by a soul-at-its-core performance of “Penn Station (suicide)” that left no scars hidden. One could feel the dueling guitar expertise of Jay Propst and Michael Dorio right down to the bone. Together their power chords can swallow you whole. The rock-out was sustained by the solid technical drumming of Brad Hagen and the precisely hammered bass playing of Daniel Silvestri.

The lucky few who trotted out to Smith’s this evening were treated to strong and stirring preview tracks from a new Trances Arc album due out in the fall, tentatively titled Birds Collide.

-Review and photo by Ron Wiles