Photos: All The Saints, Dead Confederate on 6/7/08 at The Earl in Atlanta, GA

Dead Confederate














All The Saints

Nomen Novum Photos, Tour, and 7" Info

With all the attention the Atlanta music scene gets for a certain bands on-stage antics and flaming pussy farts it's refreshing to know some people here are putting music and art first. Nomen Novum is just such a band. Led by Guitarist/Singer/Visual Artist David Norberry and also featuring Mark Godfrey and Alex Martin, as well as other guests musicians, Nomen Novum is a band that deserves a lot more attention from local and national fans.

Their recent 7" "Mantis Man" is a great record, from the production to the all the serious badass stuff that comes with it. For $5 you get all this:


For 5 bucks you couldn't buy all the blank media, paper, and materials that went into it. Fuck "Free" as the new price model, these guys are losing cash on each record they sell, if that's not dedication to your work then I don't know what is. You'll never get a greater deal on any piece of art.

You can buy the record from Criminal Records, Wax ’N Facts and Ella Guru. Or just send $5 to:

Nomen Novum
1572 Anita PL NE
Atlanta, GA 30306

and "if you have a sleeve color preference please specify." Luckily for the southeast Nomen Novum will be touring soon, here are the dates:

May 9 2008, 8:00P at The Birdhouse in Knoxville, TN

May 10 2008, 8:00P at Yauhaus in Charlotte, North Carolina

May 11 2008, 8:00P Village Tavern in Charleston, South Carolina

May 12 2008, 8:00P at Caledonia Lounge in Athens, GA

More Dates to come. Here is a sample track from the 7":
"Aunt Urn"


And here are some photos from their last show at The Drunken Unicorn:















The latest and more info at:
Nomen Novum myspace

Photos: SXSW Day 4 - 3-15-08 in Austin, TX

Plants & Animals












Dead Confederate

Photos: SXSW Day 3 - 3-13-08 in Austin, TX

Bowerbirds










Jason Collett












Northampton Wools










Black Helicopter










Tall Firs










Be Your Own Pet












J. Mascis




Thurston Moore Band

Photos: SXSW Day 2 - 3-13-08 in Austin, TX

Genghis Tron








Holy Fuck












Phosphorescent












Evangelicals












Bon Iver

Photos: SXSW Day 1 - 3-12-08 in Austin, TX

Earlimart










Jeffrey Lewis And The Jitters










Kaki King

Photos: Beach House, Papercuts, The Meeks Family on 3-1-08 at The Earl in Atlanta, GA

The Meeks Family




Papercuts








Beach House

Photos: Club Awesome, The Orphins, Brass Castle and Nomen Novum played a benefit for Sarah Nope on 2-22-08 at Lenny's Bar - Atlanta, GA

Nomen Novum








Brass Castle






The Orphins










Club Awesome

Photos: Holy Fuck, The Fiery Furnaces, Super Furry Animals on 1-30-08 @ Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA

Holy Fuck










The Fiery Furnaces














Super Furry Animals

Live Photos, Videos, And Review: Yeasayer, MGMT, Morning State (1/18/2008) The Earl

Before throwing down at 1084 for our party last week, we went down to The Earl to catch this great show. First up was Atlanta's own Morning State. They had just recently recorded their first full-length album and the label they had just signed to went under, so they had to go and re-record the entire album with Asa Leffert (Dark Meat, The Pendletons, The Whigs) in Athens, Ga so they could release it. Recording an album is a big undertaking, so I'm sure having to do the whole thing again would be frustrating, but it looks like they've made the most of it:

“The whole label thing sucked. It was really nice to have someone tell us that they were going to front the money for our album and release it and spend a bunch of cash on marketing it. When the label folded we had hoped to keep what we recorded but in order to do that we would have had to sign another contract and we decided it was best to walk away from that whole mess and just do it all over,” says frontman Russ Ledford. “We’re really excited to have a chance to re-make the album though and create something even better. We also have a lot of energy because of this whole situation, and I think that’ll really come out in the recordings.”

This recent show they brought it hard and I think they were the best I've seen them live yet:




Photo by Biggie C





Next up was Yeasayer, whose album All Hour Cymbals I've been jamming hard since I discovered it. The four-piece were incredible live and had so much energy on stage. The lead singer somehow cut his hand when he was jumping on his monitor and had blood running down his arm for half of the show, but it didn't seem to phase him too much. Biggie C took some photos:





See the blood:







"Wait For the Summer":



You'll notice in this second video that the crowd was a bit fratty. Others noticed as well:



The final act of the show was the other New York band, MGMT. I had seen them open for Of Montreal on Halloween last year and enjoyed them. They played another good show, but I think Yeasayer's complete awesomeness kind of overshadowed them a bit. I found myself really digging some parts and not really into others. I bought the album, Oracular Spectacular, at the show and I think it is pretty great. This band certainly has potential to be something special. Biggie C got some nice shots:











Since I had technical issues and couldn't get a video, here are some MGMT goodies:

MGMT : Oracular Spectacular : Weekend Wars


"Time to Pretend":

Photos and Video: Yo La Tengo, Kurt Wagner- 1-12-08 at The Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA

Yo La Tengo










"Tom Courtenay"


Unknown


"Looney Tunes B-Side"
"I'm Set Free"
"My Little Corner Of The World"
"Sometimes I Don't Get You"
"One After 909 (Beatles cover)"
Answering Questions
"Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind"

Kurt Wagner - "Slipped Dissolved And Loosed"


"The Daily Growl"


"Let's Go Bowling"
"Autumn's Vicar"
"Of Raymond"
"Chelsea Hotel #2" (Leonard Cohen cover)

Photos: Year In Review 2007

In my first year of concert photography I learned a lot. The first show I shot was in January and by October I had a press pass for Voodoo fest. I accomplished more than I ever thought I would in a year. Thanks to everyone for all the positive feedback and kind words. Next year I look forward to many more great shows that I will shoot using still photography and video. Please enjoy my favorite photos of 2007.

#15 Eluvium


#14 Bradford Cox of Deerhunter


#13 Tiesto


#12 Eric Guenther of From Exile


#11 Jeff Tweedy of Wilco


#10 Brad Barr of The Slip


#9 Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins


#8 Marnie Stern


#7 Portugal The Man


#6 Nick Zammuto of The Books


#5 Carrie Hodge of Parade


#4 Skip Engelbrecht of Untied States


#3 Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse


#2 Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine


#1 Mike Stroud of Ratatat

Photos & Video: From Exile, Moorish Idols at Home Park Fest - November 3rd, 2007

From Exile

"Crushing Reality"


Other Videos:
"Minor Key Jam"
"Product Of Sin"












Moorish Idols

"Fer-De-Lance w/ Runaway Train Teaser"


Other Videos:
"SETI"
"Renouncing The Renaissance"
"Past Lives Club"
Moorish Idols - "Trem Two" (Mission of Burma cover)









Lots more Home Park Fest Photos and Video to come!

Photos: Voodoo Festival 10-28-07 at City Park - New Orleans, LA

Christian Scott












Clap Your Hands Say Yeah












Good Guys












Quintron and Miss Pussycat










Wilco

Photos: Voodoo Festival 10-27-07 at City Park - New Orleans, LA

Spoon












Tiesto












The Smashing Pumpkins

Photos: Voodoo Festival 10-26-07 at City Park - New Orleans, LA

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club










Porcupine Tree














M.I.A.










Rage Against The Machine

Photos: Do Make Say Think, Moorish Idols @ The Earl, Atlanta GA - 9-22-07

Saturday night was a great night to be a music lover in the A. "Queens of The Stone Age", "Girl Talk" and "Dan Deacon", and "Do Make Say Think" all shared the same Saturday night. The Ohmpark crew all settled on the "Do Make Say Think" show which was opened by one of our favorite local bands "Moorish Idols". The Idols played to an already somewhat large audience which showed not everyone was there just for just the headliner. After a solid set which included a few new tunes "Do Make Say Think" was up. The Toronto band which Saturday included 8 members played a hefty set of incredible instrumental music. If you haven't heard this post rock group with members associated with "Broken Social Scene", do yourself a favor and pick up one of their albums.

Moorish Idols











Do Make Say Think

8-12-07 Daniel Johnston, Keith Kozel & The Lovesick, Pink Kodiak at Savannah Smiles - Savannah, GA

Daniel Johnston loves pop culture icons. His songs are littered with references to Marilyn Monroe, Captain America, and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Like his cultural heroes, Daniel Johnston is a legend. Through all the adversity of his life Daniel has triumphed to become the rock star he always aspired to be. Admittedly I just discovered him this year after renting the exceptional documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston.” Seeing him achieve his dreams and stay positive regardless of his bipolar disorder gave me strength in a recent difficult time in my life. His stark honest song writing is imaginative, captivating, and original. Since the 80’s people have worshipped and emulated the man and his songs with good reason.

Last Sunday night I caught him live in my hometown of Savannah, GA. I hadn’t seen a concert there since I saw White Zombie years ago when I was in the 8th grade. I am pleased to see Tiny Team Concerts booking such eclectic and amazing shows in a city that lacks them. I waited in a long line to get into the show but once inside had easy access to the front of the stage because not a soul was waiting there! A huge crowd was at the bar and everyone else was seated around tables. The opener Pink Kodiak was a one-man project playing self-described “Death Pop.” After a few songs he counted the people standing in front of the stage: Eight. He tried to coerce more to the front by exclaiming” I can count well into the thirties.” The songs were entertaining and catchy. He played a bass while the other parts were pre-recorded. Later I asked about his lack of band (thinking he was misunderstood by the local scene) and he told me the concept of the band involved it being a solo project. It was much easier to tell the second band was local. Keith Kozel and The Lovesick were a typical bar band in a city full of them. The band had all the movement and talent of the “The Rock-afire Explosion”. Keith Kozel did his best Mick Jagger impression. Later “The Lovesick” served as an unnecessary backing band for Daniel Johnston.

By the time Daniel Johnston came out people were standing and ready. He opened with a few songs on electric guitar. Sadly this was the only time Daniel would play an instrument all night. After those songs a friend accompanied him on acoustic guitar, which was very nice. Together they did a few songs including a cover of The Beatles’ “You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.” During the night Daniel performed old favorites like “Grievances” and “Walking The Cow” and more recent songs such as “Rock This Town.” His performance was great considering he read his lyrics and was very nervous (an apparent fact due to his shaking). I would have loved to see JUST him for the entire concert, especially playing piano but perhaps he didn’t possess the will power for such an intimate performance.


(Click for larger photos)


Pink Kodiac







Keith Kozel & The Lovesick










Daniel Johnston















Some Miscellaneous Daniel Johnston Videos:

"I Live My Broken Dreams"


"True Love Will Find You In The End"

Photos: Portugal The Man 8-7-07 at The Drunken Unicorn- Atlanta, GA

(click for larger photos)

Portugal The Man

Photos: Marnie Stern, Celephais, Lid Emba 7-26-07 at The Drunken Unicorn

(click for larger photos)

Lid Emba




Celephais







Marnie Stern

Photos: Parade 6-17-07 at Criminal Records- Atlanta, GA

(Click for larger photos)

Parade

Live Review, Photos, and Videos: The Books, Todd Reynolds (4-20-07) Variety Playhouse

Review by sleo
Photos by BiggieC
Video by bobloblaw79

Friday night The Books tour stopped in Atlanta promoting the new tour/online only Play All DVD. The show started out with Todd Reynolds, a masterful violinist with effects pedals and a bass drum. Todd also used a large screen to display many graphics that were developed by a variety of artists. Not only could Todd play a mean violin with twists and turns throughout his elaborate, overlapping melodies, but his use of the pedals and bass drum also added an intriguing element of intensity to his visual effects. My favorite visualization shown by Todd was a portrayal of riding on the British monorail. The artist took footage from the front and back of the train at the same time and displayed each perspective side by side. The journey down the rail was traveled at the same rate of Todd’s violin bow, and quickly became mesmerizing to watch. Todd had also cleverly designed his musical piece around his artist friend’s footage to coincide with the changing directions, speeds, and overlaps of the different angles from which the artist filmed his journey on the rail.

Then The Books took the stage and totally blew me away. It’s not often enough that I get to go to a show that has so much going on in their music and on stage that I can’t even tear my eyes away. The duo also utilized the large screen on stage with several videos that went along perfectly with every song. They showed a wide variety of footage, from creations of simplistic and distorted graphics of the alphabet to old family videos. Nick consistently held the mellow tone of their music with his acoustic guitar, while Paul contributed dramatic melodies on his skeletal cello. Throughout all of their songs, several different samples of voices and music filled in over the acoustic sound of their instruments from what seems like quite an extensive library of sounds. There was not a large turnout for the show, yet the crowd that was there was thoroughly entertained as the sounds of their enthusiasm throughout the entire performance was thunderous. It was additionally nice to be able to chillax and see everything going on with such a friendly and upbeat crowd. Todd Reynolds came out to join the duo for a few of their songs, which made for a more complex and compelling performance. They even did a phenomenal cover of a Nick Drake song from his album Five Leaves Left (which they admitted to having done last year at their performance at the EARL). I had a great time at the show and really can’t wait to see what else these guys can come up with.

(Click for larger photos)

Todd Reynolds



The Books

















"Cello Song" (Nick Drake cover)
Note: The video is very dark but the sound quality is listenable)

Live Review And Photos: Ratatat, 120 Days, Despot (4-10-07) The Loft

Last night, my Ohmpark buddies and I went to the best show I have seen yet at The Loft in Atlanta: Ratatat and 120 Days. Sugarkane dropped this band on me only a few weeks ago, and I have been trying to catch up. I found the crowd at the show to be an uncommon mix of indie hipsters and video-game styled music enthusiasts. I blame this on the venue's proximity to Georgia Tech; perhaps one of the only 'subculture' groups in the city with as healthy an addiction to Internet celebrity and fanfare as the indie crowd. Those 'old-wave' synths and lo-fi sine waves really get those pencil pushers moving...

Ratatat pull an interesting array of fans together by using their old-school aesthetic to drive their rock star image and still somehow bring a heavy dose of hip-hop into their music. Personally, I love their take on some of the popular trends in music happening today; one being the http://www.8bitpeoples.com type synths. The other, of course, is the pervasive influence of hip-hop culture and how it has become an increasingly central part of mass entertainment culture through the Internet. Ratatat accomplishes a unique intersection of subcultures and styles without becoming confusing or undefined; they have a defined sound.

I had the hardest time explaining to my friend what made Ratatat better than other bands that have latched onto the 8-bit-synth trend/aesthetic (depends how much you scoff/respect it). I hate to say this, but it was the same thing that birthed rock into the mythic proportions it was to consume: the guitar. It makes the entire live show for a band that's noise-space is 75% synthetic. Other bands have attempted this approach ( http://www.myspace.com/anamanaguchi to a further degree, for example), but not quite to the sweet spot of trendiness that Ratatat has found....

I should also mention 120 Days, who put on a great opening set. Probably pretty disappointed with American crowds; piles of guitar effects strung up with the analog synths proved these guys could play the trendiest dance club as easily as a a rock and roll dive. I was very impressed and ran home to check them out; I think most of the crowd was surprised.

Note from BiggieC: Ichuda got to the show after Despot was on. I personally enjoyed him very much. I was stoked to see he could rap without a hype man or DJ. His best song was "Get Rich or Try Dying."

Also I'd like to thank Catherine for granting me a photo pass.


(Click for larger photos)


Despot







120 Days
















Ratatat

Live Videos And Photos: Deerhunter (4-2-2007) Criminal Records

Monday we went down to check out Deerhunter doing an in-store performance at Criminal Records. I picked up their new EP, Fluorescent Grey, and it is great. Biggie C tooks some photos:



















I video taped the show and it was the first show I've ever video taped. Check it out in low-def:

"Cryptograms":



"White Ink":



"Hazel St":



"Spring Hall Convert":



"Flourescent Grey"/"Tech School":

Photos: 3-31-07 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Love of Diagrams

(Click for larger photos)

Love of Diagrams













Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Photos: 3-30-07 Kid Koala, Samadha

(Click for larger photos)


Samadha













Kid Koala



















Kid K signed Leah's oven mitt's.

404 Noise and Experimental Festival @ Eyedrum 3-10-07, Atlanta GA

"It's what punk should have been."
-Travis Morgan

from the article "404 Noise Festival: Difficult listening" in Creative Loafing.

Note: I really wanted to catch Magicicada but after nearly 6 hours of shooting 9 noise projects and having been up since 8:30 friday morning I just couldn't make it.

(Click to enlarge)


Self Inflicted w/ December 23rd






Cenotype






Mugu Guymen






Subliminator






Eiliyas






Spit+Smudge






Black Meat






Navicon Torture Technologies






Jabroe vs. Choking Sun

Live Review and Photos: Explosions In The Sky, The Paper Chase, Eluvium (3-13-2007) Lenny's

It seemed like forever since i had raced down to Criminal Records to scoop up the last 2 tickets for this show. I had no idea who was even opening for Explosions In The Sky until a couple days earlier. Me and Biggie C arrived one minute after the supposed door opening time and were barely able to secure a spot in the front row. Lots of kids with "X"s on their hands were already setup. After The crowd quickly grew behind us, Eluvium came through the audience and climbed on stage right next to me. With all three bands' equipment cluttering the small stage, it seemed to be the only way to get up there. Eluvium's new record, Copia, is really good and I've been jamming it a lot over the last month or two so i was very excited when I learned he was on the bill. Eluvium is the stage name of Seattle's Matthew Cooper. He plays really ambient and distorted music on a keyboard and guitar. His performance was much more "wall-of-sound" than I had expected from the very mellow album, and continued a trend of being way too loud to not have earplugs(I'm stupid, I know i should be wearing earplugs to shows but they are just annoying to me). Looping each instrument into massive sonic waves, it was even better than I expected. The underage kids surrounding us were not impressed but good music taste often takes a while to develop. I'll post some Eluvium tracks next week. Biggie C with some pics of a very dark stage: (click to enlarge)







Shortly after that, The Paper Chase took the stage. i didn't really know anything about these guys, but they were great, and very very loud. I heard one of the kids around me describe them as "jagged noise-pop"(which they obviously found on Wikipedia), and that's them exactly. Front man John Congleton was extremely entertaining between singing great, Jamming some amazing, piercing guitar lines, and dancing around in a really awkward way. The rest of the band was going at it like machines and it was well worth the damage it did to my eardrum. I'll have some songs from these guys next week too: (click to enlarge)







So, for those who don't know, Lenny's has just recently moved to a new building down the street from the old one. I was not a big fan of the move at first because I liked the old, crappy, tiny place and that building has a lot of history (like this DVD I have of Cat Power with Steve Shelley drumming there back in 1995 when it was called Dottie's) But the new place is pretty cool, especially the murals across the wall. That said, it was a very unfavorable location for an Explosions In The Sky show. First, the stage is very short and the EITS dudes are often on the ground playing with their pedal gear so most could not see what was going on. The sound setup and "shotgun" building shape combined with the thick sea of people made for greatly different volumes depending on how far away from the stage. Being lucky enough to be in the very front, my concert experience was quite different than most people I've talked to who also attended the show.

While EITS was setting up, all three of the axe wielders came on stage with an old suitcase containing about 7 pedals each. After setting up, they then laid down the rock. The entire set was pretty much one big crescendo. I really can't remember a show where the music had such a steady building momentum. I remember seeing Mogwai twice last year and thinking it was rather "underwhelming" and kid of wondered if post-rock could really grab you in a live setting and EITS proved that i could. The venue exploded in cheers at the Set's conclusion and after the crowd roared for what i thought was an impressive plea for an encore, One of the guys came out and said they didn't have anything else. Encores sometimes seem so cheesy to me that it doesn't bother me when a band comes and just puts forth the show with no bells or whistles and just kicks ass with pure sound. The way the entire show built up and let loose, I can understand why it would be hard to just throw another song in afterwards. Overall, a great show and i highly recommend you check out EITS when they come back (they said they'd be back in the fall). Hopefully they will play in a venue better suited to them. Just make sure to bring some protection for your ears because all I could hear afterwards was ringing until I passed out.

(click on image to see the full size)

Photos: 3-11-07 Beach House, Birds of Avalon @ The Earl, Atlanta, GA

(Click for larger photos)


Birds of Avalon













Beach House

Photos: 3-8-07 Gringo Star, The Slip at Smith's Olde Bar- Atlanta, GA

Last nite local (soon to be national) favorites Gringo Star opened for The Slip. Since my birthday is December 31st I was stoked that The Slip opened with "Children Of December" and played a long set way into the late hours.

Excerpt from "Children of December"

All the parents of the children of December
Have a clutch
'Cause their birthdays are the hardest to remember
When you're born on Christmas
Or the day before new year's
They can sing out your birthday
But but but nobody hears


(Click for larger photos)


Gringo Star
















The Slip

Live Review and Photos: Sparklehorse (3-4-07) Variety Playhouse

Last Sunday's Sparklehorse show was short and sweet, like this review. First up (since Deerhunter dropped out) was Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter. The band was not bad for an opener but not too impressive either. I'm always kind of put off by a name that's "Somebody" and "the other guys' band name". I mean it's one thing when you're a music legend from some other band, but when you're not even the best musician in your band and the band is backing you, well, it just doesn't feel like they're in it for the music.

Sparklehorse came out and rocked hard and concisely. The set contained only a few songs off the latest Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain(#14 of 2006), but was very entertaining and i just really love this band. The drummer's daughter was dancing around on the stage most of the set and even had her on a piano or something to play during the show. Biggie C got some great photos as per usual: (click to enlarge)



















Check Out Sparklehorse

Photos: 3-2-07 Grizzly Bear

Friday nite Grizzly Bear mauled the Drunken Unicorn and the bloodthirsty crowd loved it. In reality they ate Adrienne's world renowned vegan chilli before the show.


(Click for larger photos)

2-22-07 Moorish Idols Live Photos

After listening to songs off the new Moorish Idols EP on their Myspace page all week it was locked in my head and I had to go to the show. I hadn't seen them recently, and was eager to hear this new material live. Now I'm not pushing these guys just because they are friends who used to practice in our basement (which by the way you guys are always welcome back), if they were total oasis-esque assholes that I had no connections with I would still love the music. Seriously these guys and The Orphins are my 2 favorite local Atlanta bands.


To my dismay I got to the show early and had to listen to the opener which consisted of a drum machine and a guy who talked with a wolf mask on. After about a song of that I decided to make a trip to the store for a 24 ounce of a Miller Lite since this tea house was BYOB. Tea and Rock music just don't mix. Anyway they didn't have any PG Tips.


The second band was a jam band lead by a really thirsty British guy. What a weird ass lineup. I shared my Miller Lite with Idols drummer Alex October.


Finally the Moorish Idols hit the stage and proceeded to rock the fuck out. The songs from the New EP were just as great as I hoped they'd be live even though the production on the disc by former 1084 roommate Eric Olson is superb. Go buy the EP now at Criminal Records for $6 bucks. It's worth it for the unique artwork of singer/guitarist David Norbery alone. Big thanks to Schmike's evil twin Shawn for letting me use his external flash to capture these guys in the non-existent lighting of the 11:11 Teahouse. I'm no music critic but if these guys don't blow up the ATL rock scene soon I'd be pretty surprised.


(Click for larger versions)

Photos: From Exile 2-17-2007 The Masquerade

Saturday Night was Legendary. In addition to the the various faces rocked off, the night was complete with Gallons of PBR, girls passed out in hallways, snot rockets, a trampoline, glacier like weather, t-shirts and coozies, motion video madness, ice cream cake, ticket scalpers, puke, phlogs, and a birthday spectacular. Tapers were in full force and as soon as i get my hands on something, we'll put it up. BiggieC on the lens (click to see full picture):













From Exile

Photos: 2-10-07 Go Motion - Lenny's

Saturday night I got drunk way too fast on PBRs and caught the Omaha, Nebraska band Go Motion at Lenny's. These guys are really good and you should check them out: Listen to them here. BiggieC took some pictures:

Yo La Tengo : Live Review

Last Saturday night I went to see Yo La Tengo and it was one the best concert experiences of my life. This was the third time I had technically seen them, but the first was at Bonnaroo and I only caught the last half of the set, and the second time I got so drunk that I had to go sleep on the sidewalk outside the venue halfway through the show. This time though, I arrived exactly at ticket time clean and sober. Well, mostly. I was able to easily secure a spot on the stage right in front of the guitar setup as pretty much everyone there already was sitting in the seats. It ended up being literally the best spot in the house. My view:


Tenement Halls opened and I was not very impressed. It wasn't so much bad, but too conventional poppy and boring for me. Had it been a 5 song set, I think it would have been fine, but 10+ songs from these guys were a little too much for me. After that, though, Yo La Tengo took the stage with Ira Kaplan on the keys and James McNew on guitar for the first two songs and a second, primitive drum set for the third. After that, McNew moved over to bass and Kaplan took the guitar and went into Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Good Kind, the opener on Yo La's newest LP, I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. Before the show, we decided to makeup the term "drogging" for the psychedelic drone-prog-rock jamming that artists such as Kaplan and Thurston Moore employ (someone needs to make a wikipedia page for that), and much drogging was to be had from this point on. They were on top of their game for this show and had alot of funny moments such as McNew telling the story of meeting a bum in LP5, or Georgia Hubley distracting Kaplan while he was talking, or them declaring their love for The Masquerade, or Kaplan stopping Sugarcube about 30 seconds in to tell us about a Jethro Tull show they had just watched where Ian Anderson kept stopping a song. I have to say that seeing Ira convulsing and shaking in the groove while playing like a madman on guitar is a transcending experience:





Pretty much still in shock from the pure awesomeness of the main set, I didn't notice Ira starring at my t-shirt at the beginning of the first set until he addressed me by "hey you with the Built To Spill shirt" and went on to say that I could make a request for all the Built To Spill fans here tonight. I thought he was getting crazy and wanted to do a cover so I requested Carry the Zero, My favourite BTS song. "No, I meant one of our songs" Much laughter ensued and then they played a spectacular version of Stockholm Syndrome (my favourite YTL song) for me with a very Doug Martsch-esque take on the solo. I don't think I've ever felt more of a connection with a band on so many different levels at a show ever before. But that wasn't it. After taking a request from a chick, and playing another great song I didn't recognize, they came out for a second, 3 song encore including a really cool version of Autumn Sweater that had Georgia pounding out beats, James hitting a groove, and Ira singing and hitting a few piano notes here and there. Oh yeah, then they came out for a 3rd encore.







Basically, if you have never seen these guys, you're missing out. The new album is incredible and they are amazing musicians. I'm hearing rumors that they may be at Bonnaroo this year. I sure hope so.

Photos: 1-20-07 Deerhunter, Psychic Hearts, The Selmanaires- 40 Watt Athens, GA

(click to enlarge)

The Selmanaires





Psychic Hearts











Deerhunter