About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2011)
Flagnnle Rucnmmenn our SCO ra vorite hthfbst Banns we have any AthFest advice to give you it's this: check out a band you've never seen before. Pick one at random. Pick one based on its name. Go see a band because the description in the program intrigues you/ confuses you/ enrages you. Whatever it takes. That's how some of the best musical discoveries are made. But if you aren't feeling bold, we'll still be here to hold your hand and make a few suggestions. Here are some of our favorites, in order of appearance... Easter Island: Shimmering, melodic pop from one of our Flagpole Athens Music Awards Upstart of the Year finalists. It's delicate and lush and beautiful, and the songs just keep get ting better with every show. [Michelle Gilzenrat] Pulaski Street Stage, Friday, 5 p.m. Oryx and Crake: A huge ensemble with a sound to match, this neo-folk outfit out of Atlanta brings heartfelt emotion and haunting presence to their craft. A flurry of strings from banjo to cello provides a rustic backdrop for soaring gang vocal swells that tug at the memories of anyone who has lived and loved in the South. [David Fitzgerald] Hull Street Stage, Friday, 6 p.m. 2 r> Lera Lynn: Get a preview of her set at the Flagpole Athens Music Awards on Thursday, and ™ you'll soon understand why we nominated her £ as one of this town's finest country artists. | Whether performing solo or with a full band, Lynn's voice and stage presence are absolutely riveting. Ooh, and let's all request her breath taking cover of TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me," which might be even better than the original. [MG] Pulaski Street Stage, Friday, 6:30 p.m. Centro-matic: They can be called an "Athens band" only tangentially (frontman Will Johnson has spent time here and has included Athenians in his various musical projects through the years), but Denton, TX's Centro-matic are no stranger to AthFest, having given some sweaty and superb perfor mances in years past. Perpetually awesome and tragically underrated, the group seemingly has been reenergized by a new record, the crisp Candidate Waltz. [Gabe Vodicka] Pulaski Street Stage, Friday, 7:45 p.m. a few great songs about stars... "Lucky Stars," which you can hear on this year's AthFest CD, and the beautiful "Stars Go On," which the band played in tribute to Jon Guthrie at its debut (and only previous) show. But the other tracks are pretty stellar, too. I'm looking forward to hearing the Stooges/ Pretenders-inspired "Disposable," a song Kathy Kirbo says is about "corporate greed and its long-term effects on the environment"—something the local activist knows a lot about. Kirbo says this project serves as sort of an experimental play ing ground—a place to try out alternative tunings and go off in new directions not explored in the members' other bands. "They are all rock-based right now," she says of The Spinoffs' tunes, "but span from surreal, artsy rock to Deadhead-esque to power pop. Chris [McKay] said 'space pop,' and I think he's on to something. I like spacepop." [MG] The Globe, Friday, 11 p.m. Hans Darkbolt: A theatrical story line set this young concept band apart. With every new song Hans Darkbolt adds to its supervillain's mythology, and the operatic vocals and dynamic rock arrangements ensure that the music is as entertaining as the lyrics. The band also recently expanded its sound, adding horns and more keyboard parts; so, if you haven't seen these guys in a while, it's worth a revisit. [MG] Ricker Theatre & Bar, Friday, 11 p.m. equal time to experimental play and rowdy head-banging. [DF] Farm 255, Friday, 1:15 a.m. Monahan: What a voice! If you miss Jeff Buckley, if Jimmy Gnecco of Ours melts your black heart, if Bono gives you a bro- ner, don't miss Monahan's set. [MG] Hull Street Stage, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. The Whiskey Gentry: Simply put: a rock and roll hootenanny. Rock and bluegrass instrumentation combine with neo-tradi- tional songwriting and rhythmic rapidity to bring the band's sound close to folk-punk, but country predominantly underlies The Whiskey Gentry's sound. Lead vocalist Lauren Staley's Allison Krauss-meets-Dave King (Flogging Molly) delivery has just enough twang and pipes-a-plenty, giving the edginess of the music a nice dose of unbridled beauty. [KC] Hull Street Stage, Saturday, 4:45 p.m. Jim White: One of the more legitimately talented songwrit ers in the over-saturated Southern Gothic folk scene, Jim White rarely struts his stuff for an audience, so when he does, it's well worth checking out. Many know White from his role as narrator and star of the BBC documentary "Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus"; his grasp on the scary, joyous truths of the new American South informs his life and his music, which veers between ominous serenity and noisy, Waits-ian clang. [GV] Pulaski Street Stage, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Dip: Here's something to mull over: Do you think Das Racist's dorm roommates at Wesleyan heard "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" and thought it was brilliant? No, they probably told them it was stupid, and they were right. Doesn't matter: it's infectious in its stupidity and signaled the deeper cleverness which Das Racist has since showcased. One might cau tiously foster similarly high hopes for Dip, the unrelentingly goofy booty "rap" group featur ing Christopher Grimmett and Noah Ray. True, they may just be capitalizing on the prolifera tion of cheap/free/stolen music software, but if "Skinny Dip"—the genuinely great leadoff song on their latest album Double Dip—is any indication, they at least have a good grasp of dynamics and a sense of fun you can't fake. Come on, Dip... don't let us down. [JT] Go Bar, Saturday, 9 p.m. Futurebirds: It was almost surreal watching the crowd response to our boys over at SXSW earlier this year. Set after set, the venues were packed, and by the end of each night everyone was singing along and singing their praises. These boys are on their way up. Check out this show if you dig har monies, heartfelt Americana and a rollicking good time. [MG] Pulaski Street Stage, Friday, 9 p.m. Green Thrift Grocery: What's the opposite of a secret weapon? An obvious weapon? Green Thrift Grocery's obvi ous weapon is lead singer/guitarist Chloe Tewksbury, who has effortlessly dashed past all the miserable shoegazers in your favorite bands to become the most exciting performer in Athens music right now. Unchained from her usual gig behind the drum kit for Tunabunny, Tewksbury's brazenly unpredict able wildness makes you feel like punk never happening never happened. The rest of the band churns out jangly, jarring noise pop that buttresses her deeply "free* acoustic-electric guitar playing. A truly sustainable source of local music, and they're only a quick walk away! [Jeff Tobias] Go Bar, Friday, 9 p.m. 'Powers: Four guitars, one drum set, all shred, all the time. Like watching a hurricane from within the eye, 'Powers is a quadraphonic metal maelstrom that must be experienced to be believed. [DF] 40 Watt Club, Friday, 10 p.m. % The Spinoffs: Oh, my stars. An all-star lineup featuring mem bers of Heavy Feather, The HEAP and the Critical Darlings offers Manray: This was Flagpole's favorite new band of 2010, and they just keep getting better. Furiously aggressive with intri cate guitar and relentless energy... It might get loud. [MG] 40 Watt Club, Friday, 11 p.m. Spring Tigers: With incisive lyrics, immense energy and a melodic sensibility that would have given Blur a run for its money, the recently revitalized Spring Tigers are steadily reclaiming their place at the upper echelons of Athens' music scene. The band has been busy recording its debut full-length, and recent gigs suggest the group is toning down the pop and turning up the rock—not that they haven't always seemed to have a predilection for rocking out, but fans of The Strokes.will be happy to hear Spring Tigers continuing down a more angu lar, gritty road. Plus, the British actent is pretty sexy. Note new set time! [Kevin Craig] Caledonia Lounge, Friday, 1 a.m. Cinemechanica: With perfect timing and stunning synchron- icity, these guys power through technically complicated, mind-bending math rock with a fury usually reserved for speed metal. Indeed, for the duration of their set, AthFest will unquestionably be transformed into MathFest. [DF] 40 Watt Club, Friday, 1 a.m. Mouser: This long-running project takes the straightahead power of psychedelic garage rock and splices on an absolutely legendary horn-section. Tripping between ska, jazz and maria- chi-flavored melodies, Mouser delivers a musical wallop, giving Reptar: We've gushed about this band so much it's almost embarrassing. The shows are a blast; the debut EP sounds great, and we just hope that when they are sitting on top of Pop Mountain they remember that lil' ol' Flagpole loved them first. [MG] 40 Watt Club, Saturday, 11:45 p.m. Sea of Dogs: What makes Sea of Dogs great is the same thing that makes life worth living: amid the grim realities, there's hope to be found. Emily Armond's banjo-driven songs are an unblinking look in the mirror for narrator and listener alike, and her band has the good taste to play quietly enough to give the lyrics plenty of elbow room. [JT] Flicker Theatre & Bar, Saturday, midnight Like Totally!: Although the dancing flower and his friends were throwing back beers and prancing with cigarettes dan gling from their mouths at their Farm 255 debut last week, they promise to clean things up for the kid-friendly set at KidsFest. All the best kids shows and movies throw in a few winks and nudges for the parents to enjoy, and Like Totally! offers that, too. If you have any love for whimsy, it's hard not to smile watching this colorful cast of costumed merry-makers sing songs about friendship and discovery. I've been told that costumes might rotate, but there's a good chance you'll see a singing scientist, a gee-tar pickin' farmer, a dancing octopus, a bouncy Beanie Baby and a sax-playing banana. Lots of talent up on one stage and even more cuteness. [MG] KidsFest Stage, Sunday, 5:00 p.m. 14 FLAGPOLE.COM-JUNE 22,2011
