Concert Review/Photos: Athfest @ Athens, Georgia
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Last weekend was the continuation of a tradition in my life.
[ 6/18-22 ] Last weekend was the continuation of a tradition in my life — attending the Athfest music festival in Athens, Georgia. It was my fifth in a row I have attended with my wife (and sixth overall). Going to Athfest always means many things. There will be scorching temperatures. (Highs in the mid-90s all weekend). Sweet tea will be flowing and good eats will be bountiful (The Grit’s vegetarian bonanza is always at the top of the list). And there are always multiple visits to the great record establishments of Low Yo Yo Stuff and Wuxtry.
But of course the weekend is really about the live music. With over 100 acts to choose from at about 20 venues around town, it is always fun to revisit bands seen many times before and discover new musicians as well. We saw at least one song by 29 different bands. Here are my highlights, in no particular order.
* No matter what, nearly every year multiple projects involving the dynamic sister duo of Page and Claire Campbell are heard and enjoyed. This year they helped to introduce me to a newer venue — Hendershot’s — and a new performer — Honeychild. On Friday the Campbells’ classic harmonizing in Hope for Agoldensummer followed up the ukulele-wielding SJ Ursey’s Honeychild. Honeychild and its ethereal artistry were a welcome discovery. On Saturday, the Campbells returned to Hendershot’s with Page in the lead of the rock band Dream Boat. With intergalactic projections lighting the band and a sound richer than ever before, they whetted appetites for their forthcoming record.
* Prior to Dream Boat on Saturday at Hendershot’s, another Athenian I love to see put on a glorious rock show — Thayer Sarrano. With a brilliant lighting rig, she and her band rocked out while seated, punctuating her haunted folk with a campfire aesthetic.
* Youth was in great numbers as far as musicians go, and the crowds were justified. There was Ruby the Rabbitfoot, who played no less than four sets at various locations (we caught her at the Normaltown Records’ Breakfast of Champions on Saturday), delivering her sweet-edged folk. Four Eyes, another stand-out singer-songwriter, played before only a handful smart enough to listen. Then there are local powerhouses New Madrid and Reptar, who played before massive audiences who love the jamming indie sounds of the former and the vast instrumentation of the latter. And let us not forget relatively recent Athens transplant Kishi Bashi, who electrified the Pulaski Street Stage on Saturday night with his violin and eccentricities. The edgier side of music was not lost on youth either, as Muuy Biien and their dark and angry testosterone echoed outside Caledonia for another non-official-Athfest show on Saturday.
* This is not to say the older generation didn’t rock hard. Don Chambers brought his hybrid Tom Waits/Nick Cave/Bruce Springsteen self to the forefront with a glorious set during a scorcher of a Sunday afternoon. Five Eight delivered a ferocious combo of songs, complete with water being thrown at the crowd and a brilliant cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” with accompaniment from Jack Logan and Betsy Franck. Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ closed out the festival with their electric grit. I Am the World Trade Center, a synth-pop band born back in 1999, got back together after a long hiatus for a joyous one-off show complete with balloons and breakdancing. And then there was the oddity of the 8-Track Gorilla: a man in a gorilla mask doing a fascinating karaoke rendition of the entirety of Lou Reed’s Transformer. You have to see it to believe it.
* One of the great treats of Athfest is the unexpected surprise performances one catches. The local weekly Flagpole revealed a cool theremin-based band (Therepy) unspooling their sounds at the 40 Watt during the day on Friday. Despite being us being only two of three audience members at the time, I thought Therepy was quite cool (and quite a different vibe from the brilliant, mosh-inducing Coathangers, who performed later that night in the same space). Then there are the moments of word of mouth. During Dream Boat’s set, Page Campbell noted that half the band would be playing at Flicker Bar in a band called Never. While walking toward the next show, Never singer Melissa Colbert-Taylor suggested we see her band, sight-unseen. Long story short, Never blew my socks off with a ferocious psych-rock punch and wail — and wowed a fairly full room.
* One other reason Athens is so great is that there is so much to do beyond the musical confines of Athfest. This year provided the chance to look at the musical past in Art Rocks Athens. (Full disclosure: we donated to its Kickstarter campaign.) Spread over four locations throughout the city, handbills and artifacts from R.E.M., Pylon, The B-52s and many more could be found as well as artwork from that crucial time of 1975-’85. One location, Lyndon House, hosted a Sunday afternoon concert to commemorate the opening of a second part of their exhibit Paper Covers Rock. We happened to catch two of the three acts: Array and the Michael Guthrie Band. The former is a striking group of teenagers who electrified the crowd — including B-52s singer Cindy Wilson, the proud mother of two-thirds of the band. The latter, fronted by wizened guitar craftsman Michael Guthrie, was a fitting end of my experience with Art Rocks Athens and one of the final musical notes of the weekend. The past is certainly alive and well in Athens, while the future is screaming for our deserved attention.
Until next year, Athens.
