Tag: Georgia Theater
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Deerhunter @ The Georgia Theater
The move to go backstage was sudden. Without a choice, my friend and I were told, “Let’s go,” as Lockett Pundt’s cousin (a friend from home) told us to follow her backstage, along with the rest of Lockett’s close relatives. Guitarist, Lockett Pundt leads us up multiple flights of stairs to Georgia Theater’s “backstage.” Bradford sits on an ottoman, surrounded by his family members. His aunt is sewing a “Volvo” patch on his red jacket. Notorious Deerhunter dog, Faulkner, greets us, and Cox relates family stories as if he had known us for years. It seemed as if we were an audience to Pundt and Cox’s family affairs, but in no way did it feel like intruding. Cox’s bubbly humor and Pundt’s stoic poise created the atmosphere of a friendly hang out, and the same is true of their performance.
We left backstage to leave the family members to their pre-show reunion and found a spot on the balcony, right above the stage. Bitchin Bajas opened with an instrumental, psychedelic jazz sound. Their combination of saxophone and keyboard offered a smooth transition to Deerhunter’s loud, pop rock style. With the theater packed, Deerhunter enters onto a neon stage in front of what one security guard predicted as “close to a thousand” audience members. Cox honors those who saw their show at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta (Deerhunter’s origin) the night before. Guitarist, Josh McKay, greeted the audience as an Athens native. Cox joked, “We loved Athens so much we imported their guitarist.” Deerhunter dedicated various songs from their new album, Fading Frontier, to their family members. Cox dedicated “Take Care” to his mom, who watched from the VIP section.
I found my gaze leaving the stage throughout the set to watch audience members. People swayed back and forth, a guy jumped up and down out of rhythm to the songs, couples stood together. On stage, Cox invites the boys of Bitchin Bajas to join them, and the show eventually became an extended jam session between good friends. Songs like “Snakeskin” played longer for a 5-minute, ambient collaboration. The song ends as Cox slowly kneels on the floor, eventually hovering over his guitar on the stage floor. It’s obvious the other band members are unsure what’s happening. Pundt leans to Cox and laughingly asks the audience if there’s a doctor around, because Cox had “seized” and “couldn’t get up.” Cox immediately stands up and laughs about Pundt’s inadequate delivery of the joke.
The band continued their set for a twenty-minute encore before Cox thanked the audience and told us goodbye. The show harbored a sense of familiarity and friendliness. Deerhunter performed in such a way that audience members, or myself at least, felt comfortable. In no way did the band members seem “untouchable,” instead they were welcoming and real. Of course, Deerhunter is on their way to wider recognition, but it was obvious as I watched backstage and from the balcony above, family and friends play a large part in Deerhunter’s success and will continue to keep them grounded, and their warm interactions with the audience will keep us all coming back for more.
Futurebirds: ‘Hotel Parties’
Everything you know and love about Athens, GA band Futurebirds remains in their newly released studio album, Hotel Parties. The twangy hollered harmonies, the distinguishable fusion of country and atmospheric indie rock influences, and the lingering reverby sound can all be checked off the list, yet this time in a more polished package. The rambunctious band, whom I first had the pleasure to see in 2012, has cleaned up their style a bit. But don’t be fooled; this album has the band’s name written all over it.
Hotel Parties, which is the band’s third studio LP, is an ode to the duality of life. Futurebirds guitarist Thomas Johnson adds that it is about “the give and take of life; dreams vs. reality; loving vs. longing; wanting to grab life by the horns vs. needing to chill…I could go on forever. With a touring band, the home vs. road theme comes to the forefront daily.” It is simultaneously an anthemic roll your windows down kind of album that you can also listen to before going to bed. Either way, the album brilliantly captures the band’s outerworldly sound and energy; truly, it features some of their best work to date.
To kick off their promotion tour, the 5-piece band came home to the Georgia Theater in Athens, GA to give their fellow Athenians a first glance of this stunning work. The 11-song record was highly anticipated among their many fans, as they have steadily gained traction outside of Athens since their forming in 2008. For what seems like one endless tour, they have made their mark at many reputable venues and festivals. This fall will be no different; their tour schedule features dates in both Southern college towns and large metropolitan cities to promote this album.
Be sure to check out Hotel Parties as well as one of their live shows if you get the chance; these Georgia boys will not disappoint.
10/02 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
10/03 – Zanzabar – Louisville, KY
10/04 – Cosmic Charlies – Lexington, KY
10/06 – The Bishop – Bloomington, IN
10/07 – Southgate – Newport, KY
10/09 – The Southern – Charlottesville, VA
10/10 – Black Cat – Washington DC
10/11 – The Camel – Richmond, VA
10/13 – Mothlight – Asheville, NC
10/14 – Revelry Room – Chattanooga, TN
10/15 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL
10/16 – Montgomery Museum – Montgomery, AL
10/22 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS
10/23 – Martin’s – Jackson, MS
10/24 – One Eyed Jack’s – New Orleans, LA
10/27 – Lightbulb Club – Fayettesville, AR
10/28 – Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
10/29 – Rose Music Hall – Columbia, MO
10/30 – The Bootleg – St. Louis, MO
10/31 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL
11/02 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH
11/03 – The Basement – Columbus, OH
11/04 – Mohawk – Buffalo, NY
11/05 – Higher Ground Showcase Lounge – Burlington, VT
11/06 – Great Scott – Boston, MA
11/07 – Press Room – Portsmouth, NH
11/10 – Iron Horse – Northhampton, MA
11/12 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
11/21 – Music Farm – Charleston, SC
SHOW REVIEW: Tame Impala at the Georgia Theater
Some concertgoers can’t get enough of upbeat, high-energy shows that keep them dancing all night. Others prefer a more laid-back musical environment, one in which they can simply bob their heads and let the music soak into their skin. We give you the best of both worlds: Australian fivesome, Tame Impala. Their show at the Georgia Theater in Athens on February 23 was a constant mix-up of both types of tune – one song heavy and bouncing with the energy of a thousand guitars, the next transcendently mellow.
As the band walked onstage and began to play, we couldn’t refrain from thinking that their outfits – tee shirts, jeans, sneakers, and shoulder-length mops – were a bit reminiscent of a high school band. But once the steady drumbeat ushered in “Apocalypse Dreams”, all thoughts of amateurism vanished immediately. The crowd was swept into a psychedelic, undeniably Jefferson Airplane-esque paradise, and instinctively swayed happily in unison. The band and audience gained speed through the next few songs, along with the screen behind the stage, which warped from simple, colored lines pulsing to the beat to undeniably 60s-inspired, exotic rainbow patterns. This energy peaked with “Elephant”, arguably Lonerism’s catchiest track. As lead singer Kevin Parker crooned in that oh-so-John Lennon-ish voice, “Well, he feels like an elephant, shaking his big, grey trunk for the hell of it…”, we were all pushed over the edge into an earful of blues-y perfection that we couldn’t help but move to.
Soon, Tame treated us to a trio of our favorite tracks. With “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards”, the insatiable toe-tappers in the crowd became smooth sailors on a wave of chill psychedelia. When repeated whisperings of, “Gotta be above it, gotta be above it…” introduced Lonerism’s first track, though, the audience began undulating excitedly all over again, feeling Parker’s inspirational lyrics washing over us. Finally, the band transferred us to Haight-Ashbury circa 1967 during “Mind Mischief”, a tune with a very – well, there’s no other way to properly sum the vibe up – cool guitar sound.
Tame finished up with the upbeat, drum-focused “Half Glass Full of Wine”, and after an incredible, lengthy jam session – and this comes from someone who typically can’t stand when live bands jam – those at the Georgia Theater were begging for an encore. Thankfully, the crew came back for “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control”, a very optimistic song with some unabashedly dark lyrics. I have to say, though, that our moods as we were leaving were much more similar to the song’s mood: as we exited the theater, we felt like we were floating atop a mind-bending whirlpool of rainbow-bright colors and dynamic sound.