Athfest 2009: The day of sweet melodies begins

Dancer vs. Politician pleases the crowd

Saturday, June 27th 2009
Dancer vs. Politician & Liz Durrett

At noon on Saturday, I woke up ready to feed more music to my eardrums. After a bit of coaxing (and some rather ridiculous noise-making as well), I finally managed to rouse my friends from their slumbers so that we could make our way up the steep hill to the main stage for the day's musical adventures. Dancer vs. Politician, a band that calls both Athens and Berlin home, started things off with some soft, winding melodies. Their lyrics leaned heavily on the German side of the scale, giving the show a sort of European pop vibe. Very nice. Then they whipped out the musical saw. Seriously! I've never heard a musical saw in action before, and it sounded a bit to me like a female opera singer wailing, but I have to admit, it was awesome. I definitely admire the bands that managed to completely stand out in the sea of music that was Athfest! Then, after getting us all involved with some rhythmic clapping, their set was done, and the day of soothing music was off to a running start.

Later that afternoon, singer Liz Durrett, accompanied by her full rock band, demonstrated her amazing vocal talent for us at the Hull Street stage. It was really incredible to listen to and so calming that the heat that was constantly attacking all of us didn't seem nearly as malicious. Off to the side, I noticed an adorable little baby in the audience keeping the beat with the band by tapping on his father's head. I've got to take this moment to say "Awwwwwwww!" It was such a cute sight! It looks like the general consensus is that people of all ages love Ms. Durrett.

Stay tuned for more from Sweet Music Saturday!

For more blogs about Athfest 2009, click here! I'll be updating regularly, so be sure to check back often. Also, don't forget to check out concert videos from Dreams So Real, Venice is Sinking, Dead Confederate and many more at http://www.youtube.com/echoreynofathens!