Athfest 2011: Easter Island and Oryx & Crake start things off

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Easter Island & Oryx and Crake

Late Friday afternoon, I headed downtown through the waning heat, positively brimming with excitement and ready to bask in the awesome tunes of this year's Athfest. Local 5-piece band Easter Island was the first to rule the main stage with their uplifting take on soft, melodic rock. The inspiring power of their rhythmic drumming had a cohesive strength that molded and guided each of their songs, and their smooth and sweet vocals lent an airy yet driven feel to the tunes. Truly, Easter Island was a wonderful way to begin the festival.

Then, just before it was time to head over to the Hull Street stage for Oryx & Crake, I was summoned over to the backstage area and asked, to my great surprise, if I would introduce one of the bands playing later that weekend. Being the generally shy creature that I am, it took a bit of convincing, but finally I agreed to announce Lingo on Sunday morning. Then my pals - who had managed to sneak up behind me while I was absorbed in the set - hightailed it over to the Hull Street stage with me, just a block away. I've got to take this chance commend those who set up Athfest this year for switching the layout back to what it was during Athfest 2009 where the Kidsfest area owned the street between Hull and Lumpkin, and the main stage and second stage were easily accessible from one another. I've also got to give a virtual pat on the back to the person who decided to alternate sets between the stages instead of having two bands play longer sets at the same time forcing us, the fans, to choose which amazing band to see.

Up and coming Atlanta band Oryx & Crake were just setting up as we arrived, so we took seats near the front in anticipation of the tunes. I've been lucky enough to see this band before, way back in November, and their soft, indie psych rock was just as I'd remembered it. Cello, keys, acoustic guitar, and drums blended to create such a beautifully unique style of melody! As dark clouds rolled in above us, and thunder echoed in the distance, the band responded in turn, drumming with a power that sounded just like nature's own rhythm. Then the wind picked up, cooling off the crowd as one of the members of the band whipped out a musical saw. Too cool! Only moments later, though, Oryx & Crake's very first Athfest set ended, just before a scattering of raindrops began to fall. Athfest 2011 was certainly off to a great start, but with these dubious weather conditions, would our time on the scene be cut short?

For all of our massive coverage of Athfest 2011, 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, get ready for show footage and Athfest vlogs coming soon to the Echoreyn of Athens YouTube channel as well!

Kristen's Concert Picks: The songs of March will shower you with luck!

March is on its way, bringing with it whispers of Spring Break and leprechauns and bright beads and warm breezes. But that's not all this month has in store for us! A bunch of big names are playing their way through our city over the next few weeks too. This March is going to awesome!

Thurs, March 3: Face/Off: the Return@ 8:30 PM @ 40 Watt

Gotta love a benefit show! Featuring random trios of members from Abandon the Earth Mission, the Futurebirds, Venice is Sinking, Gift Horse and tons more awesome bands, this show's sure to be exciting and super fun! And best of all, the proceeds go towards helping Project Safe in their mission to end domestic violence. Oh yes.

Fri, March 4: Modern Skirts & Oryx and Crake@ 9:30 PM @ 40 Watt

Modern Skirts and Oryx and Crake? Nice! This pairing of a big time Athens' pop favorite with a group of much-buzzed-about pop rockers is nothing short of brilliant! See it. You won't regret it.

Sat, March 12: The Baseball Project @ 9 PM @ 40 Watt

My friend Jordan (best known around these parts as Athens Music Junkie) is overflowing with enthusiasm for this show, and well, her excitement's contagious! This supergroup joins together Pete Buck of R.E.M. with longtime collaborator Scott McCaughey and musicians Linda Pitmon and Steve Wynn for what is sure to be a rockin' show.

Thurs, March 24: Snoop Dogg @ 8 PM @ 40 Watt

What!?! Now Snoop Dogg is coming to Athens? Wow. Just wow. Well, that's unexpected... Tickets went on sale at Schoolkids Records and Wuxtry Records on Sat 26th, so I hope you've snatched them up before you missed your chance!

Thurs, March 24: Kenosha Kid & Manray @ 10 PM @ Caledonia Lounge

Kenosha Kid, hands down one of the best jazz bands in Athens joins Manray, a progressive math rock band that's got my friends raving, for a show that's guaranteed to be full of crazy goodness.

Tues, March 29: Pholksinger Josh @ 8 PM @ WUOG in the Tate Center

Pholksinger Josh'll give us a great big helping of "gangsta folk" spoken word during WUOG's always awesome Live in the Lobby show. A cozy space plus free tunes with a southern twang? It doesn't get better than that!

Wow, looking over this list, it seems that the 40 Watt's the place to be for the month of March! Now, as always, don't forget to keep checking back to see the which newly listed shows have made the concert picks list. Just dying to share the news of any other bands rocking stages around Athens this month? Let the world know in the comments! Hope luck smiles on you all this month, my friends!

It's Party Time: WUOGfest 2010 with Oryx & Crake, Venice is Sinking, and Reptar!

Downtown Athens is the perfect place for a party, no doubt about it! Given my tendency to throw birthday parties two weeks after my actual birthday, I was on the lookout for a rockin' linuep of bands sometime around the 13th. I didn't have to search for long... WUOGfest featuring blog favorites Venice is Sinking and Reptar was prepared to take over the 40 Watt that very night!

So, on Saturday, my friends and I headed to the Watt dressed in our ridiculous best. Silly hats, feather boas, and condom dresses ruled the night! But enough about my party... what about the bands?

Well, I've been hearing buzz about Oryx and Crake for a while now, so I was quite overjoyed to learn that they would be playing just before Venice is Sinking on this night of nights. Truth be told, I'm always a bit skeptical of bands with an incomprehensible number

of members since, in the past, I've seen just as many multiple-personed bands give the audience a cacophony of noise as I've seen play cohesive music. Lucky for us, Oryx and Crake definitely belongs in the latter category. They managed to throw together a banjo, a violin, a cello, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, drums, a bass guitar, computer-generated layers, and vocals to create a sound that's just plain amazing. I'd describe their music as beautiful pop rock with an undeniably awesome beat. This is one discovery I'm incredibly happy to have made. I'd love to see this supergroup rock the stage again sometime soon.

And then, it was Venice is Sinking's turn to fill the fans' ears with their tunes. Now, clearly, I can't get enough of this band. I honestly saw them perform twice this week. They're just that good... always. They're definitely one of the two bands I've written about most on this blog. So why do I love Venice is Sinking so much? Maybe it's their sound that transcends this world with its softness.

Maybe it's the fact that most of their songs have a lovely fun beat, perfect for groovin'. Or maybe it's because, at the end of every show, they gather together a massive crowd of band members from countless Athens bands to help them play and sing their wonderful song Bardstown Road. No matter what it is, their shows never cease to be amazing. Even better, at Saturday's show, they debuted a brand new song that I really enjoyed. Yup, it's true! I'll always come back for more.

No other band but Reptar could finish out a night like this. Reptar's particular brand of crazy is the sole reason why I knew no one would question my friends and I when we drew all over each other with body crayons. When you've got a band that plays their first song next to a bunch of people who seem to be building some sort of blanket fort onstage, nobody wonders about anybody's actions anymore. Now, if you've never seen them, Reptar is widely known as one of the most fun bands in Athens. Their Of Montreal-like antics are an attention-grabber every time, and their tunes never fail to drive the fans nuts and leave them dancing up a storm. Crowdsurfing was the act of the night on Saturday, and one of the members, Will Kennedy, even involved some of the fans in his music making as he had them hold up his giant drum so he could give us the beat standing on the edge of the stage. Accessories were a band favorite with umbrellas, giant fish, and road signs showing up onstage throughout their set. Even crazier, they peppered the crowd with large sheets of paper as they played so that, by the end, the floor of the 40 Watt looked like the site of some office building explosion. Madness truly has never been so much fun!

What a night that was! It definitely ranks as one of my top favorite birthday parties ever. Oh Athens, you give us all such joy!