Kristen here, also known as Echoreyn of Athens. You won't find another person as enthusiastic as I am about some of the more unique bands and acts from Athens, Georgia! Come join me on my quest to discover and celebrate some local rising stars that are worth a listen or two.
Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 Dirty Athens Day Party Shonna Tucker and Eyecandy
Full of anticipation and craving even more wild tunes after my rockin' Friday night, I made my way downtown for Athfest early Saturday afternoon. Before heading to the main stage, I stopped by the Caledonia Lounge's annual Dirty Athens day party, my favorite place to find shade with my tunes during the festival. It seems a whole lot of people had the same idea I did. The place was packed! No surprise really, though. You can't go wrong with quality bands, a roof overhead, and even some free food. Deciding to stay a while, I caught a bit of their awesome lineup including loud indie rockers Tater Zandra and poppy experimental dreamers Co Co Ri Co, a fun project featuring half of the members of Reptar.
Then I turned the corner and stepped on over to the Pulaski Street stage to hear a bit of Shonna Tucker and Eyecandy. Her take on southern country rock certainly hit the spot. And speaking of hitting the spot, I caught a glimpse of the giant Menchies icon dancing along to the band's songs as well. Athfest Saturday was definitely off to a great start! I couldn't wait to find out what else the day had in store for me.
For all of our massive coverage of Athfest 2013, from preparation guides to articles on some of the best featured bands and shows, click here! More entries on all the bands and madness of the festival will be posted daily, so be sure to check back often. Plus, soon you'll be able to check out our show footage and Athfest vlogs up on the Echoreyn of Athens YouTube channel as well!
Well, for all you Athfest enthusiasts out there who, like me, just can't wait to immerse themselves in the tunes and bands of the massive festival, we've got a bit of news for you! Those spectacular people who put on Athfest for us have updated their website to include a more complete schedule of bands for the outdoor stages. I'm sure we can look forward to seeing all those slots filling up soon!
Also, starting tomorrow, we're in for an exciting weekend here in the ATH-town. Thursday night at MAX (formerly the Max Canada) there will be a massive celebration featuring dark rock band Gift Horse, wild adventurers Co Co Ri Co, a brand new band with members from Eddie the Wheel, and Lame Name, a collaboration brought to us by several talented musicians around town including Hardy Morris of blog favorite Dead Confederate. It's gonna get crazy up in there!
And don't miss your chance to experience the insanity that is Reptar at their album release party in Athens this Friday. YES, THEY'RE PUTTING OUT A CD! Want to know more? Check out their Facebook event right here!
Here it is! The latest in my series of late show reviews of madly spectacular shows. See, the Critical Darlings weren't the only band I saw last Thursday. Not by far. After they rocked their return to the stage, I hightailed it to the Caledonia for some pure crazy in the form of Coco Rico, Wowser Bowser, Qurious, and Reptar.
Now I've seen Coco Rico before, but their (what could only be called a) mating dance never ceases to make me laugh. What ridiculousness! In this case, it totally set the scene for the rest of the night.
Then Wowser Bowser stepped onstage and stole the show. Seriously, they STOLE it! Even nearly a week later, I want to dance all over the place just thinking about them. In a whirl of paper confetti, they showered us with purely awesome tunes that were full of heavy drums and indescribable fun. You know when you hear something that just feels right? Wowser Bowser was one of those bands. Oh yeah! And I definitely wasn't the only one feeling it. Near the end of their set, the crowd flowed onstage to surround the band in what proved to be an epic display of fan love. Ah, I'm still basking in the moment!
Luckily, the rest of the night didn't disappoint either. Qurious, the next band up, donned masks a lá Of Montreal and gave us an eerily artsy performance beside a motionless, masked effigy. Whoa. I felt like I was in the midst of some sort of supernatural ritual. As they shared with us their ethereal tunes, something of a trance fell over the crowd, and they leaned and grabbed at the stage. All in all, it left me rather speechless. I think my pal Elizabeth may have summed it up best when she said that she felt like she " was swept up in some mystical ceremony invoking a feminist vagina god." Complete insanity, without a doubt.
And, to top it all off, there was Reptar. If you haven't heard of them yet, you will, believe me. Still rather new by even Athens' standards, they've taken the town by storm and gone so far as to perform at SXSW! Is it even possible to have this much of a following after one year? To appease their ravenous fans, many of whom had their faces covered in war paint for the occasion, they broke all the rules and played one of the longest sets ever. And you thought downtown closed at 2 AM. The party doesn't stop till Reptar says it does! They gave us a cover of Prince among their many dance-inducing original tunes, and the crowd went insane. Though no one could, to borrow another phrase from Elizabeth, "buy the hell out of their CD" because of some sort of failure on the part of the CD printing company, I'm sure the pre-orders were pouring in after that show!
Holy platypus, this lineup was outrageous. Oh Athens, I just can't get enough of you!
Last week, you read about the silly banter that keeps live shows constantly exciting. But what else do bands do to make the time between (and sometimes during!) songs less like waiting and more like some sort of wild party? Welcome to the circus, my friends! It's time for some crazy antics. From acrobatics to unexpected appearances to pure jungle madness, you simply won't believe your eyes at these shows!
Last Athfest, Deaf Judges gave us an insane spectacle when, dressed in full vampire garb, one of the members of the band leapt up and scaled the balcony inside of Morton Theatre to rap while perched atop the ledge, high above the crowd. What a sight! Talk about an experience I'll remember forever! And that's not all. At the award show the night before, they threw beach balls into the audience and rapped from chairs throughout the venue as the balls flew overhead. Wow! Just wow.
Speaking of playing in the midst of a crowd of fans, bands 50:50 Shot and Matt Kurz One know that there's nothing more exciting than bringing the music to the people. Just a few weeks ago, the trombone player of 50:50 Shot appeared amongst the crowd and began to play right beside me while the band rocked the Caledonia. How cool is that! And Matt Kurz One did his one man show thing in the round at Ciné during Athfest so that everyone could see the crazy mix of instruments and techniques he used to make his music. Awesome, indeed.
Local rockers Coco Rico and Doctor Squid get into their tunes so much that they've been know to burst into interpretive dance on occasion. It's so much fun to watch! Coco Rico's show at Tasty World in December was simply full of madness as they writhed and moved in an intense dance that almost resembled some highly amusing animal mating ritual. Doctor Squid, on the other hand, took it the literal route with some incredibly comical hand motions that fit the words of the song perfectly. I can't help leaving with a smile on my face after shows like these!
If physical feats are your thing, Crumbling Arches will give you an unforgettable night. Jumping from speakers straight into a rockin' guitar segment? They've done that! Playing their instruments blindfolded? They've done that too! Strumming their guitars while locked in some sort of ridiculous music-infused embrace? Yup, they've done that! And, I've mentioned my favorite of their antics before: the flip. Seeing them crawl over, around, on top of, and through the legs of each other without touching the floor is just totally mind-boggling!
And any conversation about band antics is incomplete without a mention of Kite to the Moon. Their off-the-wall costumes and unimaginably-shaped instruments are wild enough, but with the help of the Tiger Girlz of Athens, they put on a show that is almost literally like a circus. The Tiger Girlz, dressed in impossibly high heels and an array of unexpected costumes picked for each song, actually swing, climb, and fly on a trapeze right beside the audience during the music! It's an absolutely unbelievable spectacle!
These are just some of the completely insane things bands do to make sure their name sticks in your mind. You know you'll tell your friends about the outrageous antics you've seen these crazy musicians engage in downtown! But what else makes a show an all-encompassing experience? Don't miss the next segment of More than Music!
To read about all of the ingredients that make up a live show to top all others, click here!
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.
Deciding to stay a while, I caught a bit of their awesome lineup including loud indie rockers Tater Zandra and poppy experimental dreamers Co Co Ri Co, a fun project featuring half of the members of Reptar. 
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