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Jason Ringenberg
Hull St. Stage
Saturday, 7:40 p.m.
The unpredictable ex-honky tonker that
calls himself Farmer Jason, well, he's right
damned concerned about global politics, but
first he's gotta go milk the cows. Huh?
Well. Jason & the Scorchers frontman
Jason Ringenberg has been doing the solo
deal for the past couple of years, both with
his own not-so-cowpunk tunes and the more
lighthearted barnyard ditties credited to his
alias "Farmer Jason." Ringenberg's recent
Empire Builders disc marked a bit of a Woody
Guthrie-inspired detour for the mic stand
slinging vet, while his children-friendly al
bum, A Day at the Farm, is just plain good
times.
Expect a little bit of both—and maybe
even some songs from his now-deceased
band—when Ringenberg brings his soulful
yelpin' and sharp-note chicken pickin' to
AthFest's Hull St. Stage. And hey, you can
catch him doing his kiddie music thing on the
KidsFest stage at 2 p.m. on both Saturday and
Sunday. [Michael Andrews]
Now It’s Overhead
Main Stage
Saturday, 9:00 p.m.
Not since February of 2005 has Now It's
Overhead performed in Athens, and the band's
return to the stage is a welcome one for both
audiences and frontman Andy LeMaster. "It's
been a white since we played a show, period,"
he says. “We just finished a week and a half
of rehearsing. We have a hard time doing that
with people in different cities, so it felt really
good getting everyone together. So now I'm
'officially' excited because I know that the
songs sound good and we can play'them."
Now It's Overhead's first two albums, Now
It's Overhead and Fall Back Open, combined
lush, romantic pop with hypnotic layers of
sound. A new album will hit the streets this
September, and Flagpole brings you the ex
clusive news that it'll be called Dark Light
Daybreak. According to LeMaster, it takes the
band into a more aggressive and epic sound.
“I kind of tried to hone in on the more anthe-
mic qualities of the band," he says.
Lor.a's Clay Leverett (drums), Azure Ray's
Orenda Fink (guitar) and Brad Register
(keys, guitar) and Curtis Brown (bass) from
Florida's Summerbirds in the Cellar round out
the current Now It's Overhead lineup. [Chris
Hassiotis]
Diet Rockstar
Flicker Theatre & Bar
Saturday, 9:30 p.m.
Diet Rockstar is an Athens-based trio that
has its feet planted firmly in experimental
music's most impulsive trenches. Made up of
guitarist Craig Lieske (Garbage Island, Desk
Pussy), drummer Eric Harris (Olivia Tremor
Control, Ham 1) and bassist Jeff Rieter
(Baghouse), the group's combined resume
boasts a patchwork of rhythm, noise and
psychedelia. And in staying true to the ten
dencies of fringe music. Diet Rockstar dives
headlong into the dark waters of instant song
form and composition. Improvisation and ran
dom bits of structure in a state of collapse are
central to the group's sonic creations.
Harris incorporates a wash of tape loops
and lo-fi electronic noise amidst a backdrop
of musical forms tugged in various directions.
The group's performances are bound by a si
lent telepathy tying all three members to an
ever-shifting sense of personality and intu
ition. To date, the adventurous band has com
mitted nothing to tape. As Lieske explains,
"We're still settling into the material and fig
uring out what works and what doesn't." Until
that time the only way to take in the sounds
is to come out to the show. [Chad Radford]
The Revival
The Rltz
Saturday, 10 p.m.
Fresh faces on the scene keep Athens vital,
and so long as our community supports lo
cal music, bands will continue to move here
to nurture their art and contribute to the
town. So it is with The Revival, a five-piece
soul group which formed in Macon in late
2004 when vocalists Lonnie Lewis and Lamar
Williams, both formerly of the group Georgia
Brown, recruited guitarist Scott Rainwater
and bassist Pat Yoe from the group Rainwater;
drummer Josh Birmingham is a recent addi
tion. Earlier this year. The Revival relocated
to Athens.
Currently unlike any other local band, par
ticularly those heavy in the downtown scene,
The Revival smoothes out any rough edges
and delivers alternative soul with subtle
rock and jazz influences. Curtis Mayfield and
D'Angelo are both apt comparisons, as tracks
like "Lonely Road" deliver sweet soul harmo
nies, while "Maybe" delves into infectious,
hip hop-influenced rhythmic grooves. The
band is a welcome addition to a constantly
diversifying local music scene, and should be
of interest to those looking for something
new. [Chris Hassiotis]
Panda
Georgia Theatre
Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
When Sanni Baumgartner moved back to
Germany in 2005 after years in the local mu
sic scene, the absence of her band Audition
With Max Reinhardt was sorely felt. That
group's take on German cabaret was refresh
ing and interesting; Baumgartner is back in
Athens for a visit, though, and tonight as
sembles a group of Athens musicians to debut
the American incarnation of Panda.
Last summer, Baumgartner spent some
time recording Panda material with Andy
Baker, recruiting a number of local musicians
to help out: Will Taylor, Andrew Robison,
Brent Jones, Amy Bramblett, Jenny Culler,
Jason Emond and Eric Harris, among others.
"Songwriting doesn't come easy to me," says
Baumgartner, "but the music is definitely
moving away from the cabaret of Audition and
the gypsy influences of Frangipane, more into
the indie/ pop direction. What stays the same
is the variety of instruments, still including
strings, horns, saw, accordion, glockenspiel
and now also keys. Most of the .songs are in
German," she adds, "but I find myself writing
more in English again since I moved back to
Germany." [Chris Hassiotis]
Tony Tidwefi & the Scalded Dogs
Transmetropolitan
Saturday night, 12:00 a.m.
The southeastern United States is chock
full of kudzu, dirt roads and routinely over
looked singer-songwriters. Among them are
Kenny Roby, Scott Miller, Ralph Roddenbery
and the South Carolina-born Tony Tidwell.
Tidwell put out a couple of albums (1996's
self-titled debut and '98's Out of the Way)
through Athens label Ghostmeat Records that
somewhere should be sitting atop a pending
reissue list
With his band The Scalded Dogs (which
also featured Lona's Mikey Dwyer and
Southern Bitch drummer Chris Ellenburg),
Tidwell headed a country-infused brand of
barroom rock similar in spirit to that of The
Dashboard Saviors, Bottle Rockets and V-
Roys. Today, Tidwell continues to perform solo
shows, and still plays out with the Dogs at
his side. They've been doing more full band
gigs as of late and this appearance will give
Ath Festers a rare chance to see Tidwell rock
the cozy Transmet upstairs with some of his
Classic City homies (including Dwyer and
Ellenburg) in tow. [Michael Andrews]
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