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JOT ‘EM DOWN
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H&O MAC.ON N^r
706'b~*iJ-2l1o
Rt?Q • IWS • nor tWktD PfcAWUrs
$ BAR NO*/ OPEN? f
SERVING BEER AND |W»NE
Sunday, March 29th • 3pm
BETSY FRANCK
& THE BARE KNUCKLE BAND
EVERY DAY SPEClAi
1 BUCKET of 12 5 i
S.75
STEAMED OYSTERS
AU- DAY SUNDAY:
SENIORS 10% OFF
KIDS EAT FOR $2 with purchase of Adah Plate
-^7^.
B«you Gaill
LIVE MUSIC ON THE PATIO:
WED MARCH 25tH
7he Bocups are backi
WED, APRIL 1 st
Nathan Sheppard puo
WED. APRIl 8iti
Parrothead Paradise
(Buftlff, Mcxiey & &eoc^ *vne*}
WED, APRIL 15th
The Big paddy 's
Thursdays
$4 MARTINI SPECIALS
Raw, Chargrilled and Buffalo Oysters
BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE
Bar only, 11 am-7pm
1155 MITCHELL BRIDGE RD
706-552-1193
DOWNTOWN IS MOVING TO THE EASTSIDE
PRinAY MARTH 77 ImONDAYS:
NATHAN SHEPPARD
9PM1ZAM
TEXAS HOLD EM
6PM A 9PM
TUESDAYS:
KARAOKE WITH LYNN
THE MASTER OF WILD DANCE PARTIES?
8 BALL POOL
TOURNAMENT 7PM
WEDNESDAY:
LADIES’ NIGHT with
THE BROS MARLER featuring
AVERY DYLAN 9pm
SI DOMESTICS L WELL DRINKS FOR THE LADIES
I [THURSDAY,
MARCH 26:
LOCAL BAND
FRIDAY,
MARCH 27:
LEAVING
COUNTRIES -9pm
DIXIE MAFIA-9pm
SATURDAY.
MARCH 28:
THE LIONZ - 9pm
Come Relax with us at
4030 LEXINGTON RD.* 706 353 0241
l&Ochel/
. ^ Salon
Go Dutch
Book 2 haircuts together and
get one HALF OFF
■Mi. with Artee or Amber L
7C6-353-C5CC • Drunfown
Computers and Music
Surplus, (Computers, and Music
It’s not a pawn shop.
8849 Macon Hwy, Athens
(706)353-0802
THE COATHANGKS
Scramble
Suicide Squeeze
Atlanta band The Coathangers
released its selt-titled debut album last
year, and though there was an alluring
energy runntng through the heavy-
booted punk brevity and screechy
call-and-response vocals, the shadow
of '90s riot grrrl bands loomed large
over the recordings. But it Pearl Jam
must have its Creed. The Beatles
their Monkees, then sure, why not let
The Coathangers serve that role for
Bratmobile or The Slits 7 (Why not 7
Because sometimes we want more than
adequacy in the form of pale imitation,
or because it's boring when bands cop
the style but sacrifice the substance)
The ramshackle, amateurish sound
of Scramble, the band's follow-up out
in April, is nothing more than it is
unpleasant and that's nothing against
lo-fi. crappy recordings—shit, it’s
not like Athens bands are paragons
of professionalism or slickness, and
those that reach in that direction
anyway usually get pilloried tor it. But
there’s something to making a rough-
around-the-edges album charming,
and The Coathangers don't have that
Credit, though, goes to the band—
Julia Kugel (guitar/vocals). Stephanie
Luke (drums/vocals). Candice Jones
(keyboard/vocals) and Meredith Franco
(bass/vocals)—for experimenting with
melody (using some) and song struc
ture (using more than one)
Things do get a little more point
edly dissonant on Scramble, a little
more sonically abrasive and interesting
than on The Coathangers, so give the
band credit for not ripping itself off and
making the exact same album twice,
but that doesn't mean this is anything
but aping what's come before The
Coathangers still haven’t done enough
with their own songs to merit calling
them their own.
Chris Hassiotis
THE GOURDS
Haymaker
Yep Roc
Austin^ unpredictable Gourds
continue to add new layers and molt
a few older ones with latest release
Haymaker Genre specificity has never
been one of The Gourds' strong suits
and, for those who recognize that rock
itself was born from a mutant blend
of country, blues, swing and hillbilly
danger, that's a good thing.
One of the band's catling cards, its
trio of rotating vocalists, is somewhat
downplayed here Kevin Russefl wtth
his Boomerhauer-esque mumbling
holler, is at the mic more often than not
wtth an occasional step to the plate by
multi-mstumentalist Claude Bernard
and too tew tracks sung by livewire
bassist Jimmy Smith A good many
traveling songs make the cut this time
around and The Gourds, like Chuck
Berry and Doug Sahm before them,
are second to none when it comes to
being turned on by a Rand McNally
road atlas The mischievous Tex Mex
Trip" hijacks the rhythm from Dave
Dudley's hardcore truckin' anthem “Six
Days on the Road' and takes it on a
tour of south Austin's red-light district
"Fuck a bunch of hairdo boys and their
spandex britches,' declares Russell
on "Shreveport,' an overview of the
"heavy-metal rednecks' and assorted
characters he encountered while living
in the metro Louisiana river town dur
ing the "80s
Nothing here rocks as hard and
loose as Blood on the Ram or comes
across as life-affirming as some of
Noble Creatures' slower, more con
templative tracks did Still, Haymaker
is a joyous melting pot rife with not-
so-bashtul Gulf Coast accents, fiddles,
carny organs/accordions, giddy vocal
harmonies and a few cuss words If
you re already a Gourdite, Haymaker
will be another day-maker If they
haven't been your thing before, it will
only further the confounding process If
that's the case, then its really your loss
Michael Andrews
The Gourds celebrate their CD
release on Saturday. Mar 28 at the
Melting Point
BLOODKiN
Baby. They Told Us We
Would Rise Again
SCI Fidelity
Few bands say "We don t give a
tuck' the way Bloodkin does Exhibit
A: "The Viper,’ the lead-off track on
the Athens duo s new album: the song
is an ambling country-rock jam com
prised of three chords and seven-plus
minutes ot unabashed electric guitar
noodlery Given the bands 20-plus
years as one ol Athens' best almost-
famous rock acts (with eight albums
to its credit), there is no reason to start
carinr about impressing the masses
with a predictable pop hit. On Baby ..
Bloodkin sounds more comfortable
and confident than ever, turning out
slowly building hooks (such as the
absolutely stellar “Rhododendron') as
if singer Daniel Hutchens and guitarist
Eric Carter were raised on a diet of
Allman Brothers and Warren Zevon
records. This is not to label Baby... as
a lighthearted outing. Hutchens' world
is filled with ne’er-do-wells, addicts
and cynics, the stories of which are as
powerful as the blaze ol guitars that are
always present on this album
There are some unexpected
qualities that serve Bloodkin well
on Baby... For starters, there are
hints of psychedelia on "A Place to
Crash,* a song thaf gives indications
of Bloodkin s abilities as a live act
There is also a mix-up of styles on
this record—an odd albeit welcome,
nod to The Replacements is evident on
“Little Margarita' tor example Lastly,
there is Hutchens voice with its defi
antly Southern drawl and a growl that
makes everything he sings sound like a
vital lite-or-death message He is good
at what he does. and. with any luck,
the world outside of Athens will soon
become acquainted with Hutchens
voice and the many other joys of this
phenomenal album
Mark Sanders
BLACK UPS
200 Million Thousand
Vice
I’m troubled by this new Black Lips
record, potentially, for a multitude of
reasons that aren’t all entirely negative
Unpacking this record and the dire
circumstances surrounding its release
could hold a novellas worth of pith for
me But as I sit here experiencing its
half-assed cynical drool and sloth, I'm
at a loss, which obviously proves tor
turous for a longwinded motherfucker
like me
Just bringing up the idea of
potential—yours, mine theirs, this
record's—lies seriously delinquent
ot this flaccid album s over-evident
mission, as stated by the portentous
manifesto inside, the needless explana
tions of the lame lyrics, and the lack
ol conviction in the performances
themselves
I’ll thereby leave it spare-ish:
potent, this ain't And I can’t tell if it’s
on purpose, because as you're told
so thoroughly within, this record
celebrates privileged intransigence,
shitting where you eat, flashing your
zit-bleared butt crack to your beige,
moneyed patrimony. So. is it an act of
ingenious zen-like mimesis that this
record sounds like nothing at alP
Seriously, it’s neither here nor
there: production value isn't at all raw
nor particularly sparkly; songwriting
amounts to repetitive piles of rock
and roll cliches old enough at this
point to vote Republican logically; the
mix is just plain milquetoast, with ail
guitar-and-tape noise moved politely
to the back of the bus They even rip
off themselves a few times, and to little
effect! Talk about nothing worth talking
about!
This album is missing the spazz
factor that makes older Lips records
worthwhile. That’s right—they've
slowed the tempos and tried some
thoughtful ballads This leaves me with
some important questions, like all art
should. Does this mean they’re matur
ing? It so. then how will Vice market
their impending adulthood without
compromising their old (highly sal
able) image as boner-driven teenaged
drug addicts? Can you be pensive with
a mouthful ot piss?
Jim McHugh
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