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RICH MERRITT
The other strong success of the festival was
Dark Meat, and that band didn't even receive
an official slot in the conference! Wheeling
into town after a late-night stint in Louisiana,
the band played with a 12-person lineup at a
Thursday party thrown by Athens-based promo
tion company Team Clermont. After parading
down the street and into the venue, the band
rocked through a psychedelic but brief set, open
ing up for Gruff Rhys, the Pipettes and other
buzzed-about acts. Friday saw the band share the
stage with Les Savy Fav and impress the crowd
at a party hosted by comedian David Cross;
thanks to that performance, in fact, the band
was invited to play a last-minute gig on Saturday
night following former Primus bassist Les
Claypool at an event sponsored by JamBase.com.
About 20 percent of the jam-band fans in that
crowd hated Dark Meat, 10 percent loved 'em and
the other 70 percent just seemed confused, but
the band certainly made a mark and, if it can
keep it up, could do even bigger shows next year
at national events like SXSW.
In bigger terms, though, what could've been
a high point of our local bands at South by
Southwest turned out instead to be only a pleas
ant diversion, though one that points to promise
in the future. The Athens in Austin party was an
afternoon of food, friends and six Athenian acts,
but it was an event that came together at the
last minute, even according to some of its orga
nizers, and it felt like it.
The party took place out at the Green
Mesquite barbecue joint, and it was moderately
attended by people with personal connections
to Athens—friends, bandmates, business types,
writers. R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck did stop by,
which made for nice whispers in the crowd; he
was in town to play with buddy Robyn Hitchcock
at several performances. In fact, that combo
pairing—one half of the Robyn Hitchcock &
the Venus 3 quartet appearing on Wednesday,
Mar. 21 at the 40 Watt—got a lot of attention
in Austin, from lines out the door at venues like
The Dirty Dog to fawning press coverage through
out the week (though it often focused as much
on Buck and Hitchcock's colorful shirts as it did
on their music).
Anyway, back to the "Athens in Austin" party.
Opening act Ker Will Morton is an able song
writer, and his American folk sound has grown
increasingly rustic and battle-scarred the longer
he's been at it. He's definitely more handy doing
the solo thing rather than fronting predictable
rock bands, though, and had a moderate amount
of success gaining the attention of a hungry
crowd waiting for the free barbecue to appear.
The Empties and The Pendletons took the
stage next, plying agreeable, inoffensive pop
rock that's endeared 'em to UGA crowds. It's nice
to see rock bands that aren't afraid of putting
vocal harmonies out front; perhaps if nothing
else that can be the legacy of the Modern Skirts'
popularity in this town. Both The Empties and
The Pendletons are reminiscent of The Whigs cir
ca 2003 or early 2004. (Sidenote: What's up with
that Pendletons tune that sounds like a straight
lift of Modest Mouse's "Float On"?)
Speaking of the Modem Skirts, that band
turned in a tight and impressive set, with several
Austin natives commenting on how refreshing
the band's sound was. The Skirts are precisely the
sort of talented, regionally popular and promis
ing, rising band that should play at SXSW. Maybe
a higher profile gig next year will come their
way, though they did go on to play an unofficial
show later the weekend; perhaps a few more of
the right ears got turned their way.
Seeing Folklore on the bill was a pleasant
nod to the indie-pop eclecticism that has been
prominent in Athens, though the crowd wasn't
really engaged, and Summer Hymns headlining
the day party seemed a little predictable—they
were the same band who played the last time a
similar "Athens in Austin" party was thrown at
the same space in 2004.
Overall, the Athens in Austin party came
across as a good time (if admittedly hastily as
sembled), and the bands selected didn't repre
sent the breadth of talent in our town, or even
in the Athens musicians who were in Austin. And
there were a lot of people out in Austin from
Athens who hadn't even heard about the party,
so there's also room for growth in getting the
word out.
It's a promising first step in what will hope
fully become a more robust annual tradition.
Jared Bailey and the rest of the party's orga
nizers deserve a good amount of acclaim for
their work in bringing in some of the more "of
ficial" sponsors not regularty tied to the music
scene—folks like the Chamber of Commerce, the
ACC Development Foundation and the Mayor's
Community Development Fund. (It should be
noted that Flagpole was a financial sponsor of
the party, though the music department wasn't
involved.)
Other Athens bands made it through
town—or at least near town. A late-night chat
with members of Cinemechanica over tacos re
vealed that a show the band played was a little
off the beaten path, though still, apparently,
enjoyable. We Versus the Shark and Bomb the
Music Industry also made a few peripheral SXSW
appearances in the midst of their current tour,
although nothing that was linked specifically
to the festival. Even former Olivia Control Guy
Bill Doss was in town; he's been playing in the
current touring incarnation of Apples in Stereo,
and though that band's new songs seem to be
more straightforward lately, they're also drawing
more attention than the band has had in years.
And we'll also mention that Jason Isbell, not an
Athens resident per se but familiar to us a mem
ber of the Drive-By Truckers, also performed a^jig
or two in Texas.
It was a moderate year for Athens bands, and
one where a lot of talent remained under the
radar, though acts like The Whigs and Dark Meat
show that our home team can remain vital in a
national setting. Hopefully higher-profile show
cases for Athens bands next year, coupled with
an increase in national attention on our town
and its acts will show that 2007 was just a lull.
~ Chris Hassiotis
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Bald is Beautiful!
City Salon + Spa is excited to raise money for the American Cancer Society in their First Annual Papa's
Bald For A Cause fundRAZOR. This event joins two teams who are willing to shave their heads (by
those who donated money). Half will be on stage at the Athens Clarke County Relay for Life, and half
will participate at UGA’s Relay for Life. Want to be part of it? We need 20 volunteers to help raise $1,000
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close to everything...naturally!
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Saturday, March 24 • 2pm to 6pm
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310 Research Drive - Athens, GA
S10 donation/ person • children 12 & Linder FREE
(all proceeds benefit Oconee River Land Trust)
for more info, go to www.theseasonsofathens.com or
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