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MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP
Burgers Everywhere: California label Burger
Records is bringing its “Caravan of Stars" to
Little Kings on Saturday, July 10. The show is
free, begins at 3 p.m. and, true to its name,
the label will grill up burgers and give them
away free while supplies last. The label will
showcase the bands Garbo's Daughter, Bombon
(see Calendar Pick on p. 19), Alrighty Do Me
a Favor, Trashcans, Barreracudas, Pipsqueak,
Apache and Cosmonaut. Local bands fleshing
out the bill are The Agenda, The Humms,
Vincas and Timmy Tumble. DJ Kurt Wood
and others will spin tunes between bands. For
more information on Burger Records and the
bands, see www.burgerrecords.webs.com.
Two Weekly Opportunities: Two longtime
Athens artists, Celest Divine and Montu
Miller, have been hosting separate, but
similar, events on a weekly basis. Miller hosts
Poetic Soul at New Earth Music Halt each
Tuesday from 9-11 p.m., and the event is an
open-mic with signups between 8 and 9 p.m.
Inspired and driven by the recently formed
Live Poet Society, Poetic Soul is open to all
poets, singers, songwriters and other perform
ing artists, and each performer gets a full five
minutes at the mic. DJ Chief Rocka provides
musical ambiance throughout the evening.
'-Divine hosts Poetic Release Therapy every
Wednesday evening at Bulldog Cafe/ Sky City
Lounge located at 468 North Ave. This is also
an opernnic for spoken-word artists and other
Brian Burton (DJ Danger Mouse)
poets, with signup at 8:30 p.m. for the 9 p.m.
show. Miller's events have been successful at
bringing together a nice mix of different types
of artists, and Divine's events regularly feature
headline performers in addition to the open
mic portion of the show. For more information
concerning Poetic Soul, please drop a line to
Montu Miller via undergroundathens2@yahoo. -
com. If you'd like to know more about Poetic
Release Therapy, please contact Celest Divine
via CelestNgeve@gmail.com.
A Thanks, Buddy: Although he hasn't legiti
mately been considered an "Athens artist" for
almost a decade, Brian Burton (DJ Danger
Mouse) has never failed to speak volumes ’
about how much he loves Athens musk. T o
wit, he includes no fewer than seven Athens
and Athens-related artists (including Neutral
MHk Hotel Ottvia Tremor Control Azure
Bf Power and ILE-M.) in his massive
• \
170-song "Endless Summer Playlist," which
was commissioned by New York Magazine.
That may not seem like a lot, but considering
the list has no restrictions on age and style,
I think it's pretty good. Dig it over at www.
nymag.com.
Take a Break: Local rockers Romanenko will
go on indefinite hiatus after the band's show
on July 30 at Little Kings. At least, they're
calling it an “indefinite hiatus." To the rest of
us, it looks like they're breaking up, especially
considering that the band is going to literally
give away its remaining merchandise. Guitarist
Jessie Marston and drummer Erika Rickson
have reportedly already begun working on a
new r^oiect together. I can't help but be a
little saddened over Romanenko's demise as
I think they were one of a handful of bands
in Athens operating quite creatively within a
solidly rock and roll-oriented, as opposed to
some sub genre of it, paradigm. Dead Dog,
Soapbar and Charlotte, NCs Marco Polio will
share the bill with them this night. Go hear
what we'U be missing soon enough over at
www.myspace.com/romanenkomusic.
Second Time Around: After last year's Athens
PopFest was postponed until 2010, local dude
Derek Wiggs (Daffodil) organized a two-day
event at Little Kings named Slopfest, and
he's doing it again this year. Thirty-six bands
will play, including Tendaberry, Shfthead,
Laminated Cat The Awesomelies,
The Hidden Spots, American
Cheeseburger, The Sopors, The Jack
Burton, Future Virgins and tons more.
Actually, most of the lineup is a really
killer mix of some of the best Athens
underground rock happening right now.
The event runs on Friday, July 23 and
Satuiday, July 24 and features free BBQ
starting at 4 p.m., with music begin-
: ning at 5 p.m. each day. A two-day
wristband is S6, or you can pay $5
each night at the door. Wristbands are
on sale now at Little Kings. If you've
.got any questions, please drop a line to
Wiggs via thefranklingoldmine@yahoo.
com, but be warned, it can take a while
for him to get back to you. Other than
that, have a ball
Speaking of Which: Futl festival passes
are still available for Athens PopFest
for $45, and tickets for the individual
nights at the 40 Watt will go on sale
this Friday (July 9) at noon. Individual
tickets will be available for Thursday, Aug.
12-Saturday, Aug. 14 but will only cover the
shows at the 40 Watt. Headlining bands those
nights are The Wedding Present Apples in
Stereo and Mission of Burma, respectively.
The prices are $12, $12 and $15, also respec
tively. These are the only shows you may pur
chase advance tickets for. If you want to see
a bunch of bands on the cheap all week, get
the wristband. If you want to see one show
at the Watt buy a ticket Simple as that
In other news, this year's Athens Pepfut is
e completely ell-ages event Every single
show is open to everyone. So bring everyone.
This year's festival runs Aug. 10-14, and in
the Interest of foU disclosure, yes, I am heav
ily involved with this organization. Purchase
tickets and get more info over at www.athen-
spopfest.com.
threatsandpromises@ftagprrfe.com
VBBCE IS 8N0N6
Sand & Lines: The Georgia
Theatre Sessions
One Percent
Though not quite as acoustically
robust. Venice Is Sinking's third LP
is the Athens equivalent of Cowboy
Junkies' The Trinity Sessions. Before
a fire claimed the venue last summer,
the band recorded the album live
using only two mics at the historic
Georgia Theatre, at the behest of owner
Wilmot Greene The raw, live capture
can sometimes be dreamily distant
but even that cant contain the majesty
of these songs Turn up the volume,
and the atmospheric detail that exists
between the lines of their sedate, folk-
laced chamber pop comes alive. The
songs drift by Jike ghost ships, ethereal
and immense.
The stately organ of Tails City'
coaxes the soul while the harrowing
desperation of Dolly Partook 'Jotene'
is punctuated by haunting folk crescen
dos. In the uncharacteristically upbeat
“Bound by Violets,* guitars, church
bells and violins rise in constantly
upward spires. And the Baroque pop
of ‘Pebble Hill’—the album's finest
moment—ndes at a gallop that could
keep pace with the Field Mice.
Though understated, the lush hush
ot Sand & Lines is crafted with enough
detail, elegance and sense of gather
ing scale to prevent it from becoming
wallpaper. And though the record is
thoroughly an Athens landmark whose
context and story is as rich as the
musical tapestry itself, the songwriting
stands alone.
Baole-Huu
Venice Is Sinking is celebrating its
CD release on Friday, July 9 at toe 40
wattCtub
sophomore album is a dirty, headlong
blitzkrieg of sludge, punk and thrash
Top picks include the ftailing
destruction of “Embrace the Madness,’
the Cro-Magnon stomp of ‘Red Eyes,’
the hard Dixie charge of “Way of Horse
and Bow’ and the gaping, 10-story
riftage of “Twist the Knife.’ But the
relentlessness and power of Black
Tusk’s attack is remarkably consistent
throughout, making for a concise
record that comes at you good, hard
and head-on
The sickness on Taste the Sin ts
the kind ot swampy nastiness that
could give the grisly hatchet men of the
Northwest a run for their money.
BaoLe-Huu
Munxr
LP4
(XL)
When you establish a brand as
functional and identifiable as Ratatat c,
you don't look to reinvent the wheel
But while they remain ever-taithtu! to
their typically sleek and sinewy lines,
the New York duo has occasionally -
sought expression beyond simple
indie disco, and that continues here.
The arrangements feature a noticeably
expanded palette, even working with a
full string section for the first time. But
this wider brush also means that foerr
normally sharp-etched concept occa
sionally slips out of focus.
Of the mold-breaking moments,
successes include “Bob Gandhi,’ a
track that features spindly harpsichord
and flickering percussive detailing that
would be comfortable in The Books'
library. Same goes for the excel
lently soul-grooving, smooth-gliding
‘Mandy.’ And with its vaguely Middle
Eastern flavor, “Bare Feast' is an
interesting bit ot exotica. But look to
the futuristic funkiness ot “Drugs’ tor
classic Rattat.
By now, «fs dear that these cats
can crank out tight intuitive work like
LP4ir, their sleep But the fewts to
tier aesthetic are beginning to show.
BaoLe-Huu
the RoboL and Resident Patient, his
dulcet classically Pained tenor was a
constant, if often overlooked presence
in the Athens music scene. Whether
singing about outlaws hopping trains
or outlaws hopping spaceships, Harris
has always painted the picture of a
hard-luck, drifter troubadour, and with
A Waste ot Water and Time all of these
disparate projects reach their logical
conclusion, coalescing into a gorgeous
space-jazz-folk hybrid that finally
provides the appropriate vessel for his
soulful tales of life on the run.
Harris ensconces his acoustic gui
tar in swaths of robotic effects, found
sounds, dark synths and warm harmo
nies. suggesting by turns a campfire
singaiong with the crew of Serenity and
closing time at the Mos Eisiey Cantina.
The tolktronica experiments of
ads like Tungg and Bobby’ Birdman
could be called stylistic touchstones,
but Harris' vocals are in a class by
themselves. Songs like “Supernova’
and “Underground* induce chills,
giving voice to the kind of love that's
written in the stars, while heartbreakers
like “Wind Up Dead’ make that love
feel planets away. Interspersed among
the songs proper are spoken-word
sections, which, while occasionally
obtuse, act almost as a kind of footnote
to Harris’ loose space-outlaw narrative.
In his sound, history and the future
collide to create something that feels
very of the moment Maybe this drifter
has finally found a place to call home.
David Fitzgerald
PORTUGAL TIE MAN
American Ghetto
Equal Vision
You dorrt get called one of todays
most ambibous young bands by sitting
still. And on this new. ostensibly, “for
foe tans'album, P.IM continues to
steer further away from toe suffocating
esoterics that tft sometimes known
tor toward dearer, more concise skies
Thoutfiftmovtog to an increasingly
programmed and synthesized direc
tion, its expansive rock is shl! carved
deep with humid soul. A lean, forceful
economy drives this effort and fie
much simpte arrangements provide a
black Tint
Taste the Sin
Relapse
Georgia heavy metal footedrajor-
league ass right now, and foese leaders
of foe Savannah school are a big. if
slignBy unrwsoea, reason wiy. wrwe
progressive Marti cousin Mastodon
geeks go? on masturtvaforyn^sbosm.
these foree dudes (who all oorirtute
unique singing voices to foe mix) just
want to rock out to foe most prirnj’
noxious sey possible. brand
homed Southern hosptatoy that* aH
about rock and ro8 ramify defowred
with face-breaking brutality And Ws