Gimme coffee!

Don't be misled by the title of this post: I'm not talking about the chain of espresso bars that started in Ithaca, NY before expanding all over New York State (after all, they're really called "Gimme! Coffee"), but about the late Hot Corners, here in Athens, GA.

Yep, late. Hot Corners, this local institution providing coffee, treats and couches for thousands of students and night owls since 2003, closed its doors for good on Fri. 05/09. The very last cup of coffee was offered to yet another local institution, Gordon L., for his birthday. A photographic evidence is displayed (stolen from "Overseen in Athens", sorry and thanks guys), where you'll recognize the legendary trucker hat/glasses/beard. One can only assume that the beverage is indeed coffee, with roughly half a pint of creamers, as usual for GFL.

I'm still flummoxed by this sudden disappearance. I wasn't a regular, but it was neat to know that coffee could be found in Townietown/Tinytown at whatever hour of the night (during school months). Now, I'll have to run to Espresso Royale or Walker's to get a cup of joe or whatever sugary product to fight hypoglycemia, which is a good 3 blocks walk. No, I won't mention a third possibility, they don't need the publicity. Besides, where will I kick friends' collective ass at Scrabble, mmh ?

Moreover, Hot Corners used to be a cool place for small open-mic style shows. I'll always keep a very fond memory of a Titans of Filth show for Athfest2007 that drew a fairly impressive crowd in the "quiet room".

So, the information I could get points towards the walls being taken over by the Trappeze Pub, which opened just before Christmas 2007 in what used to be the "quiet room" mentioned above. Hardly a surprise, given the recent craze around the pub: a wide selection of exotic and expensive beers, a knowledgeable staff, semi-private booths and a patio of some sort... What else could you ask for ? Coffee ? As GFL summarized,

"the message they send is clear: in Townietown, get drunk or get lost"

Ecco.


BTW, it was indeed GFL's birthday last week-end, and a show was organized at the Caledonia Lounge: on the bill, Wedge, Entertainment, TJ Young, Fishboy and Spring Tigers.

• You already know what I think of Wedge, no comment.


• I was expecting the worse from Entertainment, mostly because of the blurb in the last flagpole:

  The Atlanta/Athens band plays dark, synth- and bass-heavy rock that's propulsive and layered, maybe a little like the lovechild that results from the late-night gropings of U2, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Cure.

  and this hilarious review of their latest album:

  Gender, the first full-length album from Athens band Entertainment, is a dark, dance-y amalgamation of all things '80s. The band melds post-punk, new wave, goth-rock and pop into something that sounds as if Bauhaus, Joy Division, (very early) U2, and Chrome were having an orgy.

  Wow. Once again, where's the indie police when you need it ? How did this piece ever got published ? Surprisingly, Entertainment are actually pretty good: they are old enough to have a first-hand knowledge of that musical period, they obviously love it and do a very decent job in recapturing it. I was fearing for some kind of Interpol-inspired rhythms, I was wrong, and I loved being wrong. I'm not ultra-keen on the Shaun Ryder like vocals on some tracks, but hey...


• TJ Young is a local stand-up comedian. Gordon, if you want, I dress up as a clown for your next birthday.


• Fishboy is a band I shouldn't have to introduce. They released one of the best concept/opera-rock albums of the decade, Albatross: How We Failed To Save The Lone Star State With The Power Of Rock And Roll. Go and listen to it now. And buy it. Twice.



• Spring Tigers recently lost a member: their keyboardist Brian called it quit. Fortunately, Shane was able to cover most of his parts while managing with his. Great job. Hopefully the band will find a replacement soon: let's say that the coming months are expected to be full of very exciting news for the Tigers.

That's it for now. I'll post some MP3s soon, when I'll be caffeinated.

A visit from the real world

Some old and dear friend of mine and a friend of hers came to visit Athens this week-end straight from up North, somewhere "in the real world" as they nicknamed their Massachusetts haven. Luckily for my guests, there was plenty to do...

Fri. 04/04 (incidentally, the 7th anniversary of my American Adventures) saw Spring Tigers rocking the Flicker Bar out. That was the second Tigers show since their return from SXSW, and they were really tight. Unfortunately, the PA had some difficulties catching up with their set-up and the sound was sub-par for most of the tunes. Nevertheless, a very efficient show.

Till we are talking about Spring Tigers, let me open a parenthesis and urge you to check "New Improved Formula", their first video-clip, shot and edited by their keyboardist, Brian Smith. 90s of pure energetic catchiness, a fast and in-your-face editing and... kittens. All the ingredients for a youtube hit, as you can see for yourself below. FYI, most of the footages were filmed in Austin, TX during SXSW: the astute viewer will recognize bits of the Kindercore showcase performance at the Light Bar, as well as pictures of the Congress district. And a bunny.



We moved next door (40W) afterwards, where Dark Meat were playing an "acoustic" show. The quotes indicate that even if the guitars/bass were not electrified, the full band was on stage, keeping intact the power and chaos of their more "classical" performances. The show was a benefit for Gus Ramos, a local musician still hospitalized in critical but stable condition after a moped accident. Also on the bill were Music Hates You, but I phased out. On our way home, we got called inside a party where I narrowly escaped being savagely mauled by a tiny dog, who hated me. I wonder whether its name was music.

After recovering in front of Godard's "Bande à part" and strolling along the Oconee River Trail, we eventually found ourself Sat. 04/05 evening at the Go Bar, for a show of one of my favorite local bands, The Buddy System. No need for introductions as I post regularly about them. Portable TV sets and monitors appropriately placed in the bar let the whole audience enjoy the animations, their classical ones along a new song, based on a new concept (think a kind of photonovella, with Lauren Gregg's characteristic touch superimposed). It was refreshing and bodes well for the near future, as TBS keep pushing their limits. Great job, guys... And then we danced our ass off as Dan Geller spinned a tiny part of his 80es/90es indie -dance standards collection, before moving to Little Kings for DJ Mahogany's BDay Bash, and finally to the famous DIY venue where we did not catch any show but still had a lot of fun.

Sunday was spent in a mini REM pilgrimage (Weaver D's, the steeple...), watching Kitano's "Kikujirô no natsu" and yours truly realizing that preparing food for your friends is not a cook-out if you don't cook outside. We could have tried to catch We vs the Shark at the Farm 255, but a certain bottle of whiskey had to be finished before going to bed: guess who'll be married or hanged in the year, as we say back home ?

Anyhow. Guys, come back soon, we miss you already. What's so good about the real world anyway ? Oh yes, I forgot...

MP3s
Dark Meat - Three Eyes Open
Dark Meat - Freedom Ritual
Spring Tigers - Wichitalinemanager
Spring Tigers - Beep Beep

Last week in show - Missed it !

Springtime is about to settle in Athens, at last, which tends to set me in a rather cozy mood. So, minimal review of last week's shows.


Thu.02/28 - 40 Watt

Showcase for Jimmy Hughes' (Folklore, Elf Power) bumbleBEAR label, back to activity after 5 years of slumber. I showed up far too late and missed most of the bands, but did catch Titans of Filth in their newest incarnation.
A few months ago, the band lost their multi-instrumentalist Emily Armond to her many other bands (Dark Meat, Mouser,Sea of Dogs) and their violonist Ann Rogers to her personal adventures. Since then, the Titans performed a couple of shows as a trio, before welcoming guitarist Spencer Rich among them. Replacing 40% for a band by yourself is no small feat, especially when the 40% in questions were so charming and talented. Nevertheless, Spencer did a fair job. I'm not completely convinced, however. The subtle balance the Titans had achieved and which materialized in some famous shows at New-York Popfest and at Hot Corners during Athfest 2007 will probably take more tweaking and practices to be fully restored. Still, the material is as good as ever, and I'm still fan.

Don't forget to lurk around the bumbleBEAR site, a true treasure trove of MP3s goodness.

MP3s:
Titans of Filth : Our Impending Announcement
Titans of Filth : Swinging Lovers

_____

Fri. 02/29 - Flicker

Following mostly the same pattern as the previous evening, I missed Everybody Everybody, the new band of Nate Mitchell (Cars Can Be Blue, Titans of Filth), Laura Swindall (Christopher's Liver), David Specht (Quiet Hooves), who were introducing Melissa Colbert, their new singer. From the reports I heard, the show was very dance-pop, fun and quite exciting, à la ESG. I know I should have hurried, but hey.
I was too busy drowning my regrets and celebrating my first day of Spring to really pay to the New Sound of Numbers the attention they deserved, but I liked what I heard. And the evening ended in yet another awesome dance party, but alas, my favorite partner was M.I.A. So I made more of a fool of myself on karaoke hero. I suck.

_____

Sat. 03/01 - Flicker / 40W

Talk about some confusion in the organization: the 40Watt was hosting Vic Chesnutt and Jonathan Richman, while Flicker was presenting Spring Tigers, another band named after a mall, and the Besties, more or less at the same time. Too many choices!
Spring Tigers followed their new motto "tighter, faster, louder" to the best effect. Really great show.
Vic Chesnutt was entrancing, but I spent most of the show fixing my nicotine levels and trying not to break in tears. I therefore missed the verbal altercation between Vic and a spectator that may or may have not been on his cell-phone during the show.
Despite Marisa's cold (she had to whisper before the show as to save a bit of voice for the actual performance), the Besties were faithful to their name and their reputation. It'd been too long since they last paid us a visit.
Jonathan Richman was as endearing as ever... He was again accompanied by drummer Tommy Larkins, and both were promoting the upcoming release of Jonathan's next album, "Because Her Beauty's Raw And Wild". Priceless, leaves me speechless.

MP3s
Besties: The Zombie Song
Jonathan Richman: Not So Much To Be Loved Than To Love

After such a song, there's nothing much to add...

[Update 03/07/2008: Mike White posted pictures of the 40W show. Go and check!]

Last week in show

Wow I'm later than a white rabbit, so let's not wait and start our "Last week in show"...


Mon. 02/18

Killick & Tatsuya Nakatani - Flicker

Technically, I didn't attend that show, I was outside, sipping a PBR after having bought some cigs, and waiting for Caledonia to open their doors. Anyway, I'm utterly impervious to this kind of improv' on percussions (Nakatani) and cello (Killick), even if I recognize the talent and the technique, so no comment.


Wedge & Evangelicals & Headlights - Caledonia

Tommy Wedge, a native of Indiana, relocated to Athens in 1999. Last year, he released his solo album, "Heavensville", publicized as "a lush, ambient foray into territory first charted by bands such as Cocteau Twins and Xymox". Be warned however that Wedge doesn't sound anything like the Twins or Xymox at all, but more like Slowdive, Sigur Rós or even Radiohead. That brand of generic dream-pop makes me want to crawl up in a hole and die. At least, stay outside the venue till the end of the show, even if it was in the low 30es and I wasn't properly layered up. Quite a feat indeed.

The Evangelicals are a quartet - Josh Jones (vocals/guitar), Kyle Davis (bass/keyboards), Austin Stephens (drums), Todd Jackson (guitar) - from Norman, OK, who took way too long to set-up (but I was cold and therefore impatient). However, that was definitely worth the wait. I had purposely avoided reading or listening to anything about them as to not impair a first experience, and it was a good move. They completely blew me away with their sound, as if Flaming Lips were collaborating with Animal Collective on some Queen covers (cliché, I know, but to the point). They made a fairly extensive use of lights and fog machine, to the extent that at one point, you couldn't see the stage if you were more than a dozen feet away. The Evangelicals just released their second album, "The Evening Descends", a more complex follow-up to their 2006' "So Gone". Both are heartily recommended.

In comparison, the Headlights, a combo from Champaign, IL, paled a bit. Oh, not that this wasn't a good show, quite the contrary. Tristan Wraight, Erin Fein, Brett Sanderson, Nick Sanborn and John Owen were promoting "Some Racing, Some Stopping", the praiseworthy successor of "Kill Them With Kindness". It's a great album, but I had seen the Headlights earlier, so there was no surprise factor. Besides, I couldn't help remembering Tilly and the Wall, go figure...

Photos of the Monday shows are available at www.deadlydesign.com. Thanks Mike.

_____

Tue. 02/19

"Persepolis", the animation feature based on Satrapi's series of autobiographical comics, was done by 11PM. I underestimated the time I needed to catch Edgie Sedgwick at the Caledonia (I've been told it was really great dance-pop), but I had enough time for

Joe Lally - Caledonia

Former Fugazi bassist Joe Lally was performing in front of a sparse but extremely respectful crowd. Not a word could be heard from the audience during or even between tracks. Not a lot of cheering either, it felt like attending a concert of classical music in a church. Maybe it was, I've never been a fan of Fugazi, so Lally's presence wasn't some kind a religious experience for me. Interesting show, that taught me a new taunt seemingly popular among third graders: "You got cheese in your plate".
To summarize, it was very quiet, very grown-up, very cozy. But I'm still not ready for that yet.

_____

Thu. 02/21

Leaving ATH for ATL for once...

Spring Tigers - Smith Old Bar

It was only the third show of Spring Tigers (after a first one opening for the Lodger at Flicker last November, and a second one a few weeks later at Caledonia), but the first with the new configuration (Kriss on lead vocals and guitar, Brian on keyboards, Shane on second guitar, Eli on bass and Chase on drums). Eli and Chase are an ideal addition, they were really tight. All of them were tight. All in all, it was really great performance for the best brit-pop band this side of the pond. My only regret is that there were not enough backing vocals, but no doubt that'll change as the rest of the band gains more confidence: after all, it was only the second first show. The new mini-LP is just about to be ready, more news very very soon.


Silver Seas - Smith Old Bar

The next band of that evening was the Silver Seas, a quarter from Nashville, TN, who play some kind of neo-yacht rock formatted to please the whole family. Ideal for weddings, bar-mitzvahs or retirement parties. I couldn't tell if one of the songs they played was an original or a cover of Van Morrison, but it sure did sound a lot like "Jackie Wilson Said". And thankfully, we had to leave to go back to ATH.

_____

Fri. 02/22

Black Skies & Subrig Destroyer - Caledonia

What do you want ? Sometimes, the Caledonia Lounge is more of a social club than an actual venue. At least, it's how I take it. So, no comment either on Black Skies, a heavy metal trio (Kevin Clark on guitar/vocals, Michelle Temple on bass and Cameron Weeks on drums) from Chapel Hill, NC, nor on Subrig Destroyer, a heavy metal duo (Chris Holcombe on drums and Joel Martin on bass) from Athens, GA. Not that they were bad or anything, it's really not my cup of tea, so I cannot comment due to a lack of references.
However, nice creative chats with some friends.

_____

Sat. 02/23

A busy day, with an afternoon of beers and rugby (France-England in the Six Nations Tournament, we lost), that finished with

AUX2 - Flicker & Little Kings & Ciné

That was the second edition of a local art festival focused on electronic and experimental music. Going into the details of it would take far too much time, as the event was spread on three venues and mixed music, video, dance, art installation, and the best honey-pecan vegan cookies I ever tasted. Anyway, I only caught a bit of Black Swan Network (mostly OTC members), Pterodactyl Wingspan (mostly Dark Meat members), Maps and Transit that I really liked, and, er, that's about it. Eric Harris (of OTC fame) was also presenting the prototype of the Magic Tape Cube, a clever device that automatically composes your very own "pop"-song depending on some settings you select by turning some knobs. It works !
Overall, the whole event was kinda like a big family reunion, everybody who has ever been in any band in Athens was there, it was really heartwarming. Which was needed because of the sudden drop in temperature we experienced at sunset.


The Buddy System - Caledonia

Fifth show of TBS, and last one in town before a few weeks. No new animation this time, but a very smart trick. Ryan Lewis (guitar) had some last minute commitment that prevented him to play. Instead of canceling the show, he recorded himself on video with the help of his brother Mat, and the footage was shown on four displays stacked one on top of the other on stage.
The result was of course a virtual Ryan, scratching his beard between songs, and shredding during songs (with and without a bear mask). Quite original, very well done (even if a minor, temporary screw-up made our Ryan lose his head for the mac equivalent of a BSOD), and actually a really cool idea that deserves to be used again...
Pictures available at www.deadlydesigns.com, thanks Mike again...



OK, that's it. No MP3s this time, I'm way too late for that. Blame deadlines and cracks in the spatiotemporal continuum.

With a little help of my friends...

Some random news, mostly plugging friends.

The Lolligags are playing a free(?) french-colored show at Go Bar on Saturday, Jan. 19th. Opening will be Andy from Denver, the new "band" of Andy G., of M(arshmallow) Coast fame. "Band", because Andy plays solo, guitar, keyboards and sequencer. The show will be another Budding Helping Buddies production, which already brought us the Lodger, Spring Tigers, Black Kids, and "Control".

Mike W. from Deadly Designs posted pictures of the last PCC/Casper show (cf previous post).

Hillary B., half of the famous Team Brown, posted some videos of yesterday's Yo La Tengo show (this one, that one, and that later one).

"Return to Horse Mountain", the new track of the Buddy System, kicks ass, as the audience of their Saturday Jan. 12th show at the Georgia Theater could witness. It starts western, it ends kung-fu, there are evil horses and their dark overlord, I'm a fan. Lauren, marry me.

Update 01/17/2008:
Well, turns out that the Buddy System just posted the clip of "Return to Horse Mountain" on Youtube. Check their myspace page as well to listen to their new song, "Watermarx". Thanks guys !




(Flyer artwork by Eric H.)