Regina Spektor @ The Park Tavern

Who: Regina Spektor
Where: The Park Tavern
When: September 17th, 2006
Price: Free!
With: Robbie, Erik, and Claire

This was one of those nights you wish you could be at two places at once. Band of Horses was playing at the Variety Playhouse, and Regina Spektor was playing at the Park Tavern. I wish I could have seen both. I like Band of Horses, but I have really been into Regina Spektor lately. Also, this concert was free, so once again, the wallet rules.

At first I thought I had chosen wrong. The event was heavily sponsored by 99X, and getting the crowd ready for the show included throwing out free T-shirts and towels. Don’t get me wrong, I like T-shirts as much as the next guy, but I often get perplexed when adults scream like babies to wear subsidized clothing. It was actually comical though.

Once Regina Spektor started singing, I knew I had chosen the right concert. She has an amazing voice. She does a lot of interesting things with her voice, quickly changing pitch, tone, and tempo. When I first heard her album, “Begin to Hope”, I was impressed but subconsciously assumed it was heavily doctored in the studio. Why? Well, that’s actually the norm these days, and it was so clean. But Ms. Spektor gave us a very interesting and intimate set. And I was floored by how great she is live. No band, no canned music, just her and her piano, and occasionally guitar. I really had a good time. Afterward, Robbie and I met up with Aaron at The Independent across the street. I was very impressed by their jukebox.

The Flaming Lips @ The Tabernacle

Who: The Flaming Lips
Where: The Tabernacle
When: September 13th, 2006
Price: $45.
With: Robbie, Erik, and Claire

I had been looking forward to this show for a very long time. I saw the Lips at the SoCo festival, and looked forward to seeing them again. When I found out Deerhoof was playing I was even more stoked. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out very well. I was sick. I was too late and missed Deerhoof. I had to stand near the back, near a lot of stupid people that really didn’t get what was going on. When Wayne Coyne would be saying something between songs they would shout things like “Play a song!” or simply “Shut Up!” I really didn’t understand why people would pay $40 to see someone that they clearly didn’t like.

Despite these circumstances, I still had a good time. The Lips played an awesome set with amazing visuals. The set was almost the same as the SoCo set. There was no Bohemian Rhapsody sing-a-long, but there were a couple of added songs. There was a lot of confetti. And this time it wasn’t just Aliens and Santa Clauses. The stage consisted of Aliens, Santa Clauses, and now Superheroes. Even Space Ghost came out for a good time. It was fun. Also, this was my first time at the Tabernacle. I know, isn’t that amazing. It’s a great venue.

Later, I thought to myself, I had already seen Deerhoof and The Flaming Lips this year play great sets. I mean think of all those poor unfortunate souls that don’t get to see either band this year, or even ever! I don’t think about those people very often. It just gets me too down. Anyway, if you have the opportunity, you must see the Flaming Lips! You must!

Photo courtesy of Claire

Athens Pop-fest @ The 40 Watt

What: Athens Pop-fest 2006
Who: Deerhoof, We Vs. The Sharks, Apples in Stereo and many more
Where: The 40 Watt
When: August 8th – 12th, 2006
Price: $10 for one day, $40 for entire event.
With: Robbie, Erik, and Claire

Yay! Pop-fest! I only went Friday night, which was the best night. I got to see Cinemechanica, We Vs. The Sharks and Deerhoof.

Cinemechanica: Wow! I have seen Contraband, and Megaband, but Friday night I got to see the real thing. I was blown away by their heavily 8-bit inspired anthems. The only problem I had with the set is that it was much too short.

Break for beers at Room 13.

We Vs. The Sharks: I liked them, but I wasn’t blown away. They were fun.

Deerhoof: This is the second time I have seen Deerhoof, and the first time wasn’t that great. The first time I saw them at The Drunken Unicorn, and they only played songs from their new album. That’s not a bad thing, I guess; it’s a great album, but I don’t think one album can accurately portray the band, especially their energy. Friday night, they had a lot of energy and played songs from at least four albums. It was great, and I had a great time.

Freedom Dance Party '06 @ Home

What: A somehow American celebration of tequila and dancing
Where: Home
When: July 2nd, 2006
Price: $15 (supplies)
With: Robbie, Erik, and Claire

For some reason, on Monday, Robbie got it into his head that he had to see Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. I hadn’t heard much about it, but until Robbie told me, I had no idea Michel Gondry directed it. I haven’t seen anything by Gondry that I didn’t like, so I wanted to see it too. Despite having a car with voice activated GPS that can fly, we could not track down a copy that night. But on the 4th, Erik came through! We decided to get some nice Tequila, make some Margaritas and watch it. I really enjoyed the movie, and afterwards the plan was to go to Decatur for some fireworks, but I really did not feel like fighting crowds of people to see fireworks, which I see every year anyway. Alcohol and ambivalence soon gave way to music and motion, as we decided to stay in and have our own little dance party. As the rain poured on self-proclaimed pyromaniacal patriots that were probably pouting, we partied. I learned that stupidity, drunkenness, and irresponsibility are excellent ways to celebrate freedom. Here’s to you America!

Brightblack Morning Light @ The Drunken Unicorn

Who: Brightblack Morning Light
Where: The Drunken Unicorn
When: July 2nd, 2006
Price: $8
With: Robbie and Erik

Robbie told me about this band over breakfast at the Highland Bakery. He said something about a tie-dye covered organ and hippie tent dwellers. I decided that I should see them; partly because I was intrigued, but mostly because I had no real plans that night. Recently, I decided that playing Final Fantasy XI cannot constitute real plans, and that social opportunities must take priority. And so, Robbie, Erik, and I headed to the Drunken Unicorn. Before the show Erik and I checked out the table in the back, where one of the band members was giving away prismatic glasses. Erik asked her “What are these for?” “To freak out, man!” she replied.
I really loved this band. They had a very mellow and fluid sound, and the way they dressed, I swear they came out of some 1969 hippie time-warp. I was in the right state of mind for the show, it was a great experience!

I rate it: B+

Corndogorama @ The EARL

What: Corndogorama 2006: 10 Years of Mud, Sweat, and Beers
Who: Man Man, Band of Horses, I Am the World Trade Center, and many more (55 total)
Where: The EARL
When: June 22nd – 25th, 2006
Price: $5!
With: Robbie, Sarah, and Amy

55 bands + 3 stages + Corndogs + $5 Admission = A great weekend. Simple as that. Atlanta’s 10th annual Corndogorama is all about killing yourself: blowing out your ear-drums, destroying your body, and drinking horrible beer. It’s totally self-destructive, and totally fun! Unfortunately, I only went on Saturday, but I don’t think many people are able to go all weekend. It’s pretty exhausting.

It’s kind of funny how I found out about the whole corndog bash. Last month, Sarah called me and left a message. All it said was “Saturday, June 24th, the Avett Brothers, Atlanta!” Sarah had been telling me how much she loved this band called the Avett Brothers, so I was like “Cool! That sounds like fun.” Later, Robbie IM’ed me and told me Man Man was playing at the Earl on June 24th. At first, I thought that was great. But then I realized I had already told Sarah we were going to the Avett Brothers. I saw a dilemma rising. See a new band that you could like, or see an amazing band that you know you love? Luckily, I didn’t have to decide. They were both playing! It was fun, we saw the Avett Brothers, had a corndog and some Miller, got some pizza at Grant Central Pizza, went back to the show, watched the new and improved Deerhunter set, and the amazing Man Man. My thoughts on that night are so random and segmented, I will give them to you below.

Corndogs: The corndogs were delicious. It is important to note the difference between festival corndogs and your grocer’s freezer corndogs. One is good and tasty, one is battered cardboard.

“Bass Solo!”: During a bass solo of the Avett Brothers set, as usual, someone shouted “Bass Solo!”. Twice. I began thinking about how silly that is. I know he was excited, but what if whenever I was excited about something, I randomly identified it. During a concert, “Chorus!”, or “Verse!”. At the gas station, “Candy Bar!!”. During a game of Uno, “Draw Four!”. OK, the last one actually does happen, and increasingly as of late.

The Avett Brothers: This one is going to be hard to discuss. You see, Sarah loves the Avett Brothers, and my feelings are actually quite different. To me, their fusion of Bluegrass and Punk seemed contrived and reminiscent of “Blues Hammer” from Ghost World. I also did not enjoy being screamed at. Well, turns out I was the only one who didn’t like them and Sarah, Robbie, and Amy were quick to point out reasons they were good. The pizza and the conversation was great.

Grant Central Pizza: Best pizza in Atlanta

The Suicide Girls: I think they are stupid and ugly. I can see why they would want to kill themselves. OK, that was mean, but seriously, I never thought I would see the day when The Suicide Girls would go up on stage and dance with Man Man. At one time Man Man and The Suicide Girls had no connection and were clearly differentiated in my mind. This is no longer the case.

Socialism: As Robbie astutely pointed out, you may have Socialism creeping in your heart.

Deerhunter: The first time I heard of Deerhunter, Josh and Robbie told me about them. They said they weren’t that good, but they were OK. Then I saw them a couple of years ago with The Spooks. They were good, but not great. Saturday, I saw Deerhunter. They were great! Seriously, they have improved a lot and I really loved their set. Front man Bradford Cox still looks a skeleton.


Man Man: Man Man plays better without stupid women dancing on stage. Or, at least, better in my mind. Another great set by Man Man. This is the third time I have seen them, and all of them have been awesome.

Conclusion: Great time, had by all, yada-yada, you get the point.

I rate it: A-

Photos courtesy of Alex Adan
Where courtesy means I stole it from them, but if I am asked to, I will take it down.

Devotchka @ The EARL

Who: Devotchka
Where: The EARL
When: June 17th, 2006
Price: $10
With: Robbie, Josh, and Micah

I have said it before, and I will say it again: Any band that has an accordian will put on a good show. I don't know why, but that's the way it is. Saturday night at the EARL was no different; Devotchka put on a solid performance. Devotchka has a unique sound consisting of Mariachi, Yiddish, Italian, and Rock, which made for some fun foot-stompin' action. Unfortuneatly, what began as a very enjoyable set got tired because of length and repitition. This didn't seem to bother anyone though, everyone just kept on stompin'. I think after a while I was starting to not like it because I was tired, the club was horribly smokey, and I was betwixt two very fat and very drunk guys that kept bumping in to me. This was pretty unlucky for me since there was probably only about 200 people there. 1 All in all, I had a good time. Next week should be real fun, The EARL is hosting 55 bands for their very own Corn-dog-o-rama!

I rate it: B-

1. Brown's First Law of Concert Crowds: For every 100 people in attendence at any given concert, there shall be one (1) obese and sweaty drunkard, who feels no inhibitions at all to dance and breath and bump into whomever is unfortunate enough to be nearby. This law is inflexible and has yet to be disproven.

Beck @ The Georgia Theatre

Who: Beck
Where: The Georgia Theatre (Athens)
When: June 13th, 2006
Price: $45
With: Erik and Claire

Wow, this show was amazing. Despite selling out huge shows, for some reason, Beck decides to play a show in Athens in a small venue. Result: Sold out shows in record time and lots of hype. But did Beck actually live up to the hype. You bet he did! Although I was somewhat disappointed that Beck didn't break out any of his funky moves he is known for, he did deliver an awesome set. As the band produced their amazing sounds, a small band of similarly dressed puppet counter-parts acted out the show with amazing accuracy. One thing I've noticed about concerts, is that no matter how good a performer is, ultimately it is up to the crowd to make it a memorable show. You see, as a musician performs, if the people respond with high energy and approval, the musician feeds off that energy, and it keeps accumulating into this zen of energy, music, and connection...... At least, that's my theory. :) Well, everyone was into it, and it made the show truly memorable. Beck played singles from Guerro, Sea Changes, Midnite Vultures, Odelay, and more. While we waited for Beck to come out for an encore, we were treated to a short series of video clips of the puppets "misbehaving" around athens. This was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Thanks for getting the tickets Erik!

I rate it: A+

The Liars @ The Drunken Unicorn

Who: The Liars
Where: Drunken Unicorn
When: May 22nd, 2006
Price: $8
With: Robbie and Erik

I really like the Liars new album, "Drums Not Dead", so I thought I would go down to the Drunken Unicorn with Robbie and Erik to check them out. It was great. They played really well, and I had a great time. I'm suprised how many people turned out too. I really didn't think they had a very big following. I was going to buy Drums Not Dead on vinyl after the show, but some kid cut in front of me. In my head I was thinkin "No Worries, just be patient". But then I found out the kid bought the last one. I was angry.

I rate it: B+

The Flaming Lips @ The SoCo Music Experience

Who: The Flaming Lips
Where: Centennial Olympic Park - The SoCo Music Experience
When: May 21st, 2006
Price: Free!
With: Robbie and Micah

Finally, I got to see one of my favorite bands, The Flaming Lips. I gotta say I was building myself up for this concert for a whole month, and I wasn't disappointed. I have heard about how The Flaming Lips are an amazing band to see live, but I really had no idea what I was about to see. All right, lets do a Flaming Lips show inventory:

Dancing Aliens. Check. Dancing Santa Clauses. Check. Gigantic Projection Screen. Check. Giant balloons filled with confetti. Check. Inflatable personal ball to crowd surf with. Check. Bull horn. Check. Boxing Nun. Check. Streamers shooting in the air. Check.

Yeah, so you get the point. As for the music, they started out with the first track from Soft Bulletin, "Race for the Prize". It was awesome. They mostly did songs from Yoshimi, Soft Bulletin, their newest At War with the Mystics, but there were some old favorites from Transmissions like "She Don't Use Jelly". I got to say it was an amazing experience. In their music and in their shows, the Flaming Lips want you to live your life as full as possible; to be aware of your own mortality, but to use that awareness as a cause for action. The amazing visuals and sounds reinforced this concept. This was one of the greatest shows I have ever been to.

I rate it: A+

B for Blog

Yep, you guessed it. My inability to focus on one thing at a time has permaeated my blogging habits. Apparently when I get bored with one blog I just start another. Blogger probably hates me. This one is about concerts.