An Explosion of Art and Music with Tigerbird, Atlas, and Flight of Ideas

Throwback: Atlas performs at my birthday party in 2009 

It's been almost a week since the final Tigerbird art expo of the semester, and I still can't get over how awesome it was.  I swore I'd update the blog whenever I experience a memorable, incredible night on the scene, and that evening definitely fit into this category!

Being the ridiculous person that I am, I arrived at the house for the expo long before anyone else showed up.  As the third in a series of great monthly community art and music showcases, I knew I would be treated to a house full of original artwork, photography, and sculpture by an ever-changing group of local young artists, and once again, I was not disappointed.  Room after room featured stunning and thought-provoking creations, most never-before-seen by the public.  Being an art lover, it was simply magnificent!

Since the showcase fell on the same night as the ever-popular Twilight Criterium, there were concerns that no one else would really show up, but luckily a crowd arrived just in time for the bands and wordsmiths to begin rockin' the house!  First up was a spoken word artist (whose name unfortunately escapes me).  Sharing his often insightful poetry with us as a band set the mood in the background, we all adopted the appropriate coffeehouse manner for this type of performance and snapped as he finished. Then it was time for Flight of Ideas, a quite talented rap duo.  The rap scene is one I haven't really seen much of here in Athens, but apparently, I've been missing out.  These guys were brilliant!  Their lyrics dug far deeper than those of the rap artists you hear on the radio, and everyone in the crowd enjoyed their performance immensely.

Next on the makeshift stage was a very old favorite of mine, Atlas.  Longtime readers of the blog might remember these musicians making sweet and haunting melodies at my birthday party way back in 2009.  Hearkening back to their old style, they played song after beautiful song during what turned out to be their farewell performance.  Then, in a touching tribute to their start as Athens musicians, they finished with "Black Gold," one of my favorites of their old tunes.  I have to admit, I got a bit emotional during their performance, remembering the times when I sat with them on the Myers Quad so many years ago as they crafted this very song.  I just love it when music goes full circle!  As they ended, singer Parker announced that he would be off to California soon where I am sure great things will follow for him. And as for the remaining members of the band?  Well, they all regrouped as the next act, Tigerbird!

Now, you may not yet have heard of Tigerbird, but over the past few months, they've been carving out a place for themselves in the scene in a very unique way.  Debuting at the first of these art expos a couple of months ago, they've already gathered together a bit of a following, and these fans are certainly well-deserved.  With a soulful, soft and sometimes jazzy sound, their tunes range from originals to uniquely arranged covers, and their a-capella style singing is often quite incredible.  During their set at the showcase, the crowd leapt up and began dancing wildly, with gleeful abandon.  Always a fun sight to see!  Then this particular show became even more awesome than usual when, after being encored, all of the multi-talented band members switched up instruments and mics and launched into an open mic rap set and jam session.  Amazing rappers seemed to appear out of thin air as various members of the audience took to the stage and shared their inspired craft.  It was just such a cool experience!  This is the true underground scene of Athens that I've been dying to be a part of again.

It was, without a doubt, a crazy and wonderful night.  Wishing you too could have been there? It seems these awesome art and music showcases will start back up in August with the new school year, and I'll definitely let you all know when the next one is happening.  Indeed, here's to nights like these that make us fall in love with the Athens scene all over again!

Debuts, Jams, and the Spirit of Giving

Refugees all over the world need our support, and the International Events Association hopes to provide! This group brought us a fund-raising night of tunes last Tuesday night to help satisfy this need.

Matt Daniel of the awesome band Leading Edge took the stage first to present his solo act. He's quite the talented fellow, I must say! He served up some nice, original songs on the keyboard and guitar and even gave us a musical homage to John Lennon.

Moments later, it was time for the official downtown debut of the band once called Neptica. Although (as I explained in my birthday party entry) they are now introducing themselves as Atlas, everyone I've talked to agrees that the Ha's Neptica Atlas sounds like a rockin' name. Hint, hint. :) Regardless, their songs were wonderful as usual. Jeff was particularly amazing on the flute and sitar. Wow, that guy can play! And Sarah's cello playing really completes their songs. She brings a finished quality to their sound which makes their tunes quite amazing to listen to. Singer Adriana was feeling a bit sick, but man, she's great. Even with her voice not up to her usual standards, she managed to sound absolutely beautiful, only a bit quieter than usual. Lovely music, indeed.

Another name-changing band, Bigfoot, stepped onstage next. Last spring, I raved about a new band called Cyrnaca that rocked the Myers Quad. Well, it seems that this band has gained a new member or so as well as a brand new name. Their sound, too, has changed to become a bit more danceable though they still maintain their ground-vibrating rock style. Best of all, the girl in the band played her violin as if it were a guitar. In all of my adventures through the Athens music scene, I've never seen anything like it! Weirdly enough, though, they were the third band I've seen in a month that played a cover of the Ghostbusters theme. Is this a new band favorite or something? I've truly enjoyed all of the awesome differences in each incarnation of this tune that I've heard so far this year, but honestly, if one more band plays it any time soon, I may have to ever-so-painfully remove my ears. One can indeed have too much of a good thing.

Then the final band emerged from amidst the crowd dancing wildly to Bigfoot's set and took their enthusiastic energy to the stage. Calling themselves CocoRico, they brought a refreshing taste of pop to the mix. Their sound was very finished, very impressive, and the singer's and keyboardist's unexpected series of hilarious risque dance moves was just plain unforgettable. They finished out their set with about 15 minutes of straight jamming with guest guitarist Parks Miller. Well, that was kind of unexpected. They're definitely a rockin' band though.

Good show. What a cool way to help those in need.

What an UNBELIEVABLE night! Crumbling Arches & the Ha's Neptica Atlas bring dreams to life...

Spectacular. Nearly indescribable. Pure euphoria. I'm still recovering from the shock of having my dream birthday party become a reality. My absolute favorite band in the world played a set just for me and my pals!?! Pinch me! This can't have really happened, right?

This culmination of over a year of dreaming and planning took place on Friday the 13th... What an ideal date for a costumed concert party! Since Halloween is my most favorite holiday, the house was adorned with tons of balloons, lights, and streamers in black, orange, and purple. Ooh, festive! Candy, juice boxes, and cake filled the room with sugary sweetness as well. However, it was the performances that topped everything else!

The band formerly known as Neptica made their official debut as the night began following a spontaneous name change to Atlas. Henceforth, I shall refer to them as the Ha's Neptica Atlas... until further notice, at least. Well, whatever they choose to call themselves, they were simply amazing! Everyone gathered around them in a semicircle on the floor, fully absorbed in their folk acoustic sound. During one song, they even had the attentive crowd wave their arms fluidly to their organically-formed music. The members of the audience jumped at the opportunity to involve themselves in the creation of such melodic magic. Beautiful. And what a curious array of instruments they used! It's purely awe-inspiring to hear Adriana, Parker, Jeff, and Sarah combine their musical talents to create a such wondfully fresh mix of tunes. I rejoice in the fact that I've gotten to see them grow as a group from one of their earliest practices into a now fully realized band with limitless potential! Their official public debut will be at a benifit concert at Tasty World on December 1st, so never fear, you'll get to see these bundles of talent for yourselves soon!

Then, just minutes later, it was Crumbling Arches' turn. I don't think I've ever gone into a show with so much anticipation before. I mean, CRUMBLING ARCHES! This was the band that first introduced me to the Athens music scene, that first inspired in me a true love of music. To have them perform at my birthday party as a favor to me is nearly beyond comprehension. And the set they played! Wow! Kicking things off with a completely ridiculous cover of the Ghostbusters theme infused with a slight hint of birthday references, they had the whole house dancing and yelling "busting makes me feel good!" Just plain hilarious. They followed this song with a wonderful set of their newer tunes including the holiday appropriate and deliciously dark Vampire Sex song. Mmm, how I love the organ-sounding keyboard in that one! And then, most joyfully, they dedicated their song Mutant Love to me. Everybody say awww. I just can't stop smiling! Their final tune of the night was old favorite, I'll Make a Man Out of You, their rock version of the ever-popular Mulan song. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the floor was shaking wildly from the nearly 50 person crowd rocking out to this song! Nothing can beat the energy that filled that room. Unbelievable! Ian finished things off by saying that whenever I want to celebrate another fake 18th birthday, they'll be there. Oh man, I love these guys!

Right now, I'm practically oozing appreciation. I absolutely must thank all of the members of Crumbling Arches and the Ha's Neptica Atlas for their spectacular performances as well as the members of Bambara for the use of their PA system. Also, I can't forget to thank the people who made this possible like the owners of the house especially Olivia, Kelly, and Megan as well as my pals Susannah, Meghan, Leona, and Sheila (you all know what you did). Oh, and I guess I should thank the police officer who didn't give us a noise violation too. :) I can never thank you all enough! As my friend Susannah declared, this party was the stuff of legend! It seems that the line between dreams and reality is not quite so thick after all. At this moment, I am utterly and completely ecstatic!

Stay tuned for tons of videos from this incredible event! Coming soon.