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I-rt Y most P ar *» awar< k shows, musical or
rUI otherwise, are fairty dull occasions.
Sure, it's nice to win an award or see a friend or
even a band you're particularly fond of win, but
for aU but the staunchest of souls an awards show
is Snooze City. So what about our own little
shindig, the 2000 Fla^ole Athens Music Awards
Show? Well, I tell you what tfarts of it were lots
of fun; parts of it were half-and-half and parts of
it were downright dull and intolerably silly. But
that's how awards shows go, I suppose.
Let's get the dull and silly stuff out of the way
first I'm not gonna name any names, but some of
the presenters caused the little veins in my head
to throb with their inside-joking, mumble
mouthed townie hipster nonsense. Again, Tin not
gonna name any names, and I do give all eight
presenters props for having the fortitude to get on
stage in front of the packed house at the Morton
Theatre. Some were a bit stiff and nervous, while
others were more comfortable under the spotlight
but they all deserve some praise.
Anyhow, now that that's off my chest 2 must
say I rather enjoyed the whole affair. As far as the
winners go, I was pleasantly surprised with some,
not at all shocked at others, and a bit puzzled at
a few. But for the most part. I feel the winners
adequately represented their respective categories
and any complaining I'd do would lie more
towards personal taste than anything else.
In-house, I also thought Flagpole presented
itself welL That commie weenie lesemann looked
like a Southern Baptist deacon in his excuse for a
suit but managed not to embarrass himself too
badly. Our Esteemed Publisher looked rather sharp
in his white tuxedo, and, damn, is Pete
McCommons a fine dancer! (Publisher's Note: See
that Thompson gets a small raise.]
But of course, the real treat of the whole event
was the performances by the artists in attendance.
The Oan Nettles Band provided charming backing
music throughout the night with its brand of light
and flexible jazz. I hope this isn't an insult, but
they reminded me of the old Tonight Show band.
Td never seen master percussionist Or. Arvin
Scott, who walked away with three awards for the
night, but that man earn hit those drums. He
stunning medleys, one of whkh included "When
the Saints Go Marching In." Using harmonics and
tapping on their acoustic guitars, the quartet
sounded like a lovely piano. The next act moved a
bit closer to the pop, as everyone's favorite tear-
jerkers, the Star Room Boys, took the stage. The
played two pieces, one on congas and one on a
drum kit, and during both tunes, you could hear
melodies coming through his intricate rhythms.
These were songs, people, and damn good ones,
too. Those hippie knotheads in those drum circles
could learn a thing or three from the good doctor.
following that classical theme, we were all
thoroughly entertained by the Georgia Guitar
Quartet. The four young men played a pair of
ever lovable Dave Mart and his boys played three
songs, including Bruce Springsteen's "Brilliant
Disguise," a Jimmie Dale Gilmore number and
their own "White Lies." As usual, the Star Room
Boys satisfied.
To be honest. I missed most of the Japancakes
set because I was looking for vittles (I was
hungry, dammit; man can't live on beer alone no
matter how hard he tries}, but what I did hear
definitely impressed. Afterwards, the African-
American Choral Ensemble took the stage and
blew the roof off the joint. Singing in traditional
gospel group style, the Ensemble amazed and fiat-
out rocked, and their lead soloist had some hella-
cious pipes on her.
The ovation they got was only matched when
J.B. the Polish Sausage Man accepted the award
for R&B/Soul in his fine blue suit I personally
haven't heard J.B. perform, but he does make a
mean sausage, and that's plenty of soul in my
book.
To dose the night out, Five-Eight graciously
rocked us all unmercifully. I say "graciously,"
because they didn't win the award they were nom
inated for. No matter, the band played its usual
hyperkinetic and highly entertaining show, and 1
wanna see 'em again very, very soon. So, for the
most part, this year's awards hoo-hah was ftm,
and it did give the local music scene a chance to
pat itself on the back.
Matt Thompson
2000 Flagpole Athens Musk Awards Winners:
JAZZ: Squat; CLASSICAL Georgia Guitar Quartet;
DJ/TECHNO: Danger Mouse; EXPERIMENTAl/AVANT
GARDE: Je Suis France; BLUES: Park Bench Blues
Band; COUNTRY: Star Room Boys; TRADITIONAL/
ROOTS ROCK: Drive-By Truckers; HEAVY ROCK/
LOUD ROCK: Jucifer; POP ROCK: The Wee Turtles;
GROOVE ROCK/FUNK: Fuxzy Sprouts; WORLD/
ETHNIC: Dr. Arvin Scott; R&B/SOUL J.B. The
Polish Sausage Man; FOLK/TRADITIONAL Kevn
Kinney; HIP HOP/ RAP: Big Earl and Dem Twin
Soys; SKA/REGGAE: Posh Toner: ALBUM COVER
ART: The Wee Turtles; SONGWRITER/SINGER/SOLO
PERFORMER: Kitty Snyder; BEST BAND TO SEE UVE:
Bluestring; STRONGEST MUSIC SCENE SUPPORTER:
(TIE) Dr. Arvin Scott The 40 Watt Club; ALBUM
OF THE YEAR: "Spirit of the Drum" by Dr. Arvin
Scott* BAND/PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Jucifer
The Georgia Guitar Quartet
B PLACPOLE JUNE 28, 2000