Blog: Popfest

It's 8PM on Saturday, the last night of PopFest, and the show at the 40 Watt is set to begin with the appearance of the Smittens followed by Big Fresh. I'm scheduled to cover the 10PM and later shows tonight, so I'm conserving my energy outside of Flicker. I'm excited about tonight, because the lineup reads like an Elephant 6 family reunion. Someone says PopFest is like band camp for indie rock kids. Tonight it's like a high school reunion, a high school where you liked everyone.

Thee American Revolution

I don't need to start covering bands until Andy from Denver at 10PM, but at 9PM, I head inside to see Thee American Revolution, because I hear (at the last second) that this is a side project of lead Apple in Stereo Rob Schneider. This evidently isn't a secret, but they're a band that doesn't advertise themselves too much, and I'm surprised and pleased to catch Schneider, especially after missing the Fat Planet show at Little Kings on Friday afternoon. Not sure who everyone in the band is but Schneider brings up Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control, Sunshine Fix) dressed in a blue paisley psychedelic shirt (one of those that looks like it's from 18th century) with mutton chops; he looks like he should be in the Byrds or (in keeping with PopFest) the 13th Floor Elevators. Nice to see a rock start dress like a rock star!

Thee American Revolution sounds like Schneider and company getting their early 70s heavy metal fix. The second song ("Magazines") has Bill Doss doing a great "Smoke on the Water" bass line. The final song ("She's Coming Down") almost has a Sabbath feel to it. Great stuff! It's a shame that they ran out of time before they can do one more song, but the bill for tonight is packed tight, they've already fallen behind, and they obviously want to give the ending bands enough time to play. (This will become a theme for the evening, but in the end it works out.) This is probably a gross generalization, but PopFest all week has been a lot of newer, young bands making great music, but starting with Scheiders' Thee American Revolution and looking at the schedule, this last night is shaping up to be the night where the seasoned pros come out and play.

Pipes You See Pipes You Don't

The next band up, in the 9:30, slot is Pipes You See Pipes You Don't, and all I can is Holy @#!* I never thought I'd hear folk-rock, almost country-rock, at PopFest. Only Pete Erchick, former keyboardist with Olivia Tremor Control and another E6 alum, could pull this off at a PopFest, and it's a nice and enjoyable change of pace even if the set is far too short. Bill Doss is on stage again playing rhythm guitar; maybe he's going to play with every band tonight. Eleven people on stage; that's almost a half Dark Meat!

Andy From Denver

Breaking from the E6 theme, HHBTM artist Andy From Denver (Andy Gonzalez, formerly of Of Montreal and Marshmallow Coast; and, I believe, his wife, Sara Kirkpatrick) does an interesting take on the husband/wife, brother/sister, boy/girl two piece, with Andy playing electric guitar and signing pop songs over early 80s synth beats.  I keep trying to place the synths (Robert Palmer?), but nevertheless, the 80s feel is definitely there with Andy even dressed a bit like Tom Cruise in Risky Business (although with red, heart-shaped sun glasses in place of the Ray Bans). He even dons a Nintendo Power Glove at one point! Sort of a jazz-influenced (Steely Dan or solo Donald Fagen?) feel to the guitar work. Lots of cleverness on display with Andy's internal thoughts (pre-recorded) playing for us between songs ("That went pretty well ... Boxers up my ass ... Gotta be like the energizer bunny"). It works pretty well, and I want to see more, but sadly after playing 12 minutes (yes, I timed it), Andy is told he's done; the show must go on.

Casper and the Cookies

Next up is one of my favorite local live bands, HHBTM artists Casper and the Cookies. The show is finally almost exactly on time. They are the last band slotted for a 30-minute slot, so this problem will hopefully go away once the headliners take the stage. The band comes out all glammed up (they must have gotten Bill Doss's memo). Lucas Jensen (Venice is Sinking) joins Jason, Kay, and Jim onstage tonight as fill-in drummer, and he's spot on; you'd never know he's a temp. Before they play, they show a video of Keith John Adams, who through some stroke of luck is both an HHBTM artist as well as a BBC correspondent. Adams is in Beijing for the Olympics, and he's doing a mock man-on-the-street piece in Beijing asking a "local" teen who her favorite American bands are. Turns out they're all HHBTM artists (Smittens, Bunny Grunt, Andy from Denver, Lolligags)! I especially enjoy the fact that the Visitations are the American band that best embodies the values of the Chinese Communist Party. Adams then goes on to introduce Casper and the Cookies. You could almost believe that he wishes he was here. Hilarious. Is this vid up on YouTube yet? The band then proceeds to tear through their set. They actually handed out a program for their show. They mention before their last song that they had to skip some it. Did they follow it up to that point? Hard for me to say from where I was listening. It doesn't matter. The set is great, and the band's quirky power pop is a blast that the crowd loves. (I keep hearing the wonderfully strained vocals and off-kilter timing of Big Star.) They have to skip some of their program, but at least Casper and the Cookies end up being the first band to play without being cut off.

Circulatory System

The night is really taking off as the show moves to the big three of the night, who will be given a full hour for their sets. The 40 Watt is pleasantly full. I'm not getting crushed, but the place is probably 80-85% full, which is great turn out considering all the music we've already seen this week, and how tired everyone must be (or maybe that's just me). Circulatory System arose from the breakup of Olivia Tremor Control, and the band contains everyone from OTC minus Eric Harris (Ham1) and Bill Doss (Sunshine Fix), although Doss does come to play bass for one song. Multi-instrumentalist John Fernandes is part of the mix, and he wins the award for most stage time tonight, playing with everyone I saw except Andy from Denver and Casper and the Cookies. Lead singer Will Cullen Hart leads the band through some dark, heavy psychedelia, and the cacophony of sounds and long jams of the band is the peak of the E6-style psychedelic rock of the night. Olivia Tremor Control was always very Beatles-ish in its psychedelia, but Circulatory System has taken the more experimental side of that and seems to have infused a bit of the San Francisco side of psychedelia into their sound, although more of a darker Airplane style rather than the cheery Dead side of things. I've always thought that the experimental psych of Circulatory System suffers from not having Doss's pop sensibilities (and vice-versa), but tonight the music is exactly what I'm looking for, spacey yet with a strong rhythm section to hold it together. Hart has trouble tuning his guitar toward the end of the set and leaves abruptly, which mars a set that otherwise is one of my favorites of PopFest.

Elf Power

Elf Power is next on stage at midnight. Elf Power has always been the more straight-ahead pop/rock side of the E6 collective, and they are a crowd favorite. I'm never sure why I don't like them more, as my tastes usually run toward the poppier side of things, but I've never gotten into them as much as everyone else. I should love them, but I don't. But that's OK. They don't need my love. They get plenty of adulation from everyone else. Their set is tight and rocking, and the crowd loves every minute of it. For me, there are some interesting moments, especially when Laura Carter's keyboards and John Fernandes's clarinet join the fray. Some of the songs even lean toward a GBV-like prog rock, which is always a welcome sound.

The Music Tapes

The PA System is playing Neutral Milk Hotel's On Avery Island while The Music Tapes set up, which is a nice nod to one of Julian Koster's former bands. The stage for The Music Tapes is packed with musicians, instruments, and other items: a giant metronome, a hand-clapping machine, an old TV up front, a step ladder holding what looks like an old radio or a record player (turns out it's a keyboard that Koster later plays), lit-up plastic dog and snowman lawn ornaments. The place is packed by now, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the band as they set up the elaborate stage.

I'm unfamiliar with The Music Tapes, and I really don't know what to expect, and when it starts (with Koster alone, strumming his banjo and singing in a high, shakey voice, before the full band joins him and starts to  rock) the music and the stage have me struggling for some way to describe what's going on. The E6 connection is definitely there, and there is a neo-psychedelic feel to the whole thing. The odd instrumentation of Neutral Milk Hotel is there, with the banjos, tubas, and the singing saw that Koster plays, bending the saw and playing the teeth with a violin bow. Amplified, the saw has a haunting, almost theremin quality to it -- "singing" is a good descriptor. For the second song, the cover comes off the old TV in front of the stage, and Koster's pre-recorded voice dubbed over an animated doodle of a half-smiling face sings the song while the band plays. The TV probably sings half the set, and it works well with the whole stage setup. The TV vocals sound a bit like the Polyphonic Spree, and I wonder how many overdubs Koster puts on the vocals that he pre-records. I continue to struggle to describe this music, and then it hits me that it's primitive psychedelic/indie rock, psych done as if it were coming from the backwoods of Georgia. It's as if legendary Georgia folk-artist Howard Finster started an E6 band: Finster Psych! Indie rock as folk art.

The odd instrumentation continues with Koster bouncing a red ball on a drum while he sings "Song for the Death of Parents," which, with it's line, "Try and find a world where every parent is just a daughter and son," isn't as dark as its title suggest. In fact, the music is light in mood throughout (at least without knowing all the lyrics); it's circus music, or carnival music. Koster is having a great time. He's taken his task of closing PopFest seriously, and he's not disappointing. In many ways, The Music Tapes embody everything we love about the Athens music scene: it's a bit too weird for mass consumption, but it still has the pop/rock hooks and beats to keep us interested and dancing along. Koster has a unique vision of what rock (and I'll still call it "rock") music can sound like, and the Athens PopFest crowd is thrilled to be here to share the experience.

It's going on 2:30, and I'm wondering how he's going to end things, when friends of the band start to pass out kazoos to everyone in the audience. They must pass out a few hundred before they're done; I'm in the back, and I manage to get one. More people on stage now (friends of the band), all with kazoos as Koster leads everyone in a simple kazoo melody with the horns in the band adding some extra oomph. It's an epic experiment in breaking the fourth wall (a common theme to PopFest, in general), and it's the most majestic use of kazoos I've ever heard. Koster tells the audience "Follow us," and he leads the audience out of the 40 Watt and down Pulaski and then Hancock in a kazoo parade.

The stream of concert goers dwindles as we make our way down Pulaski, but the kazoo melody can still be heard and we continue down Hancock to an open field off Harris street where about 150 of us finish the song and cheer. Koster tries to keep us quiet, to not draw too much attention to what we're doing out here in the dark (the plan was originally to do down Clayton to North campus, but that evidently was considered to be a bit too visible). The song is over, but Koster's not done yet. He explains that we're going to play a game that I'll call blindfolds and bells, where the final goal is for the blindfolded to find all the belled with everyone in blindfolds at the end. The game lasts for about 20-25 minutes (shorter than I expected), a final cheer goes up, and the game and the show and PopFest is over.

I walk back to the 40 Watt with some friends, and around 3:30, at the last possible second, I even get to meet Yetter! My PopFest is now complete. What a great week it's been. Kudos to the organizers, the volunteers, the bands, and the fans. Someone should give Mike Turner the key to the city. This is why we live in Athens.

It's late, and I'm too beat for after hours . Goodnight Athens. Goodnight PopFest. See you next year.

A gawky guy takes the stage in the dingy cool Caledonia Lounge and mutters something about trivia.  “What is the deadliest shark?” he questions.  People begin shouting out their answers. “Please raise your hands, boys and girls.”  When a girl answers bull shark the man on stage hands her an LP of some obscure 70's band bought from a second hand record store and the newest Ham1 CD.  Trivia goes on for a while and sets the overall tone for the quirky band to follow.  After the gawky guy introduces all of the members of Ham1 except for himself he grabs an electric guitar and proceeds to rock out.

Ham1 has the audience swaying and doing the hipster head bop halfway through their first song.  The band's retro sound in combination with their crooning lyrical style is a surefire crowd pleaser.  However, Ham1 doesn't have an outdated bone in their ensemble.  The band has an uncanny ability to mix and mash the old with the new to create a refreshingly different sound of modern psychedelic with a dash of nostalgia.  Ham1 is a homegrown Athens, GA group whose band members include  Eric Harris, Jacob Morris, Christopher Sugiuchi, and Jim Willingham.  Ham1's versatility is partially due to their crafty use of trombone and cello.

My favorite thing about Ham1 is that they don't take themselves too seriously.  Members of Ham1 hung out with regualar joes outside after their show. Ham1 was entertaining throughout their set and even had a wind-up doll with a xylophone who was a guest band member in their song “Moonie."  I definitely recommend checking Ham1's music out on their MySpace page,  and seeing them live around Athens.  I didn't know what kind of music I would be into Friday night at Caledonia but Ham1 had the precise dose of energy and charisma that I needed.

Their record, The Underground Stream, is available for free download at their website.

The 40 Watt on the last night of Popfest.

Casper and the Cookies were introduced from halfway around the world on Saturday night.  Keith John Adams, a BBC correspondent and Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records artist, introduced them from Beijing, his video projected on the back of the stage set off the show.  The band was then backed by a high speed video replay of the opening ceremony of the year's Olympic games.  The make-upped four piece played a clean, sexy set, rifling through powerpop anthems for Athens.  They made a statement. "This is pop. You're welcome." 

Circulatory System played next. The seven band members laid down the gamut.  A cello, keyboard, multiple guitars and percussionists, a violin and a clarinet.  Bow trembling, tambourine jerking, keyboard raping, fret slashing good ole time.  The organ crescendos morphed into noise sessions that broke down into a genuine ruckus, on stage and off. They didn't play music, they destroyed it.

At this time I refer to my notes from the evening:

"It's right about this time the guy sitting next to me, whose job description must be 'backstage bouncer' is going to tell me to stand up. First, this is a clearly unnecessary job for a person to have in a venue that no one is trying to sneak backstage. Secondly, I'm sitting in a spot that supposedly creates a fire hazard.  The edge of a step up to a bar with no exit in sight.  My mobile person is quite the obstacle in the case of flames overtaking the 40 Watt.  Since he hasn't bothered me yet I guess I'll keep writing.  

"The athens music scene is a unique beast.  The city is devoid of fanatics.  Mind you there are fans, but a surprising absence of the derivative of that word.  No one seems to put up much fuss over the musicians they flock to see.  Band members meander through packed concert venues immediately after playing with no bother, no fuss.  Maybe it's the extraordinary and paradoxical aversion Athenians claim to have for anything cool.

"It's good though.  Musicians can be themselves. They can buy a beer, watch the next group, and chat with friends without being hassled.  It makes them real.  Fans certainly appreciate the music but respect the difference between a stage performance and a someone's real life.  It ends up being a very healthy relationship for both sides.

"The 'bouncer' tells me to stand up now.  I ignore him. Now Elf Power is on stage so I will stand up. He thinks he has won. Never."

Elf Power enters.  Two guitar, bass, keys, drums, and later accompanied by cellist and clarinetist and assorted other musicians from earlier in the night that make up the 'extended band.' If anything stood out more than another it was their appreciation for the audience. It is refreshing when a band acknowledges the fans just as adamantly as they do the band. Elf Power played some hoppy, cruising tunes with break downs and melodica fun. If there was ever going to be anything that should define pop music, Elf Power would get damn close.  They played to Popfest exactly what is implied in that name. Pop: noticeably rhythmic element, catchy melodies and hooks. Fest: an event, usually and ordinarily staged by local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.  

The unique aspect of Athens' pop music scene could be exemplified by the relationship between the audience and bands Saturday night.  Certainly a special relationship that isn't present in many music cultures.

Photo of Casper and the Cookies by Courtnie Wolfgang.

This year at PopFest, the Caledonia hosted (for the first time, I believe) shows that ran during the same time as the main night shows at the 40 Watt. I went over Friday night to see what it was like.

The first band of the night was Laminated Cat, and I kept wondering whether their name was a partial homage to the song "Phenomenal Cat" by the Kinks, who were an obvious influence on their music, or if it was in reference to the high vocal styles of their front man, Tanner Olin (turns out it's a reference to a Jeff Tweedy song and the Kinks are not listed as one of their influences -- go figure). Geddy Lee (of course) comes to mind when hearing Olin's voice, but that's missing the mark. He does, however, have the sort of voice that, as I was walking into the club, made me wonder whether a guy or a girl was singing. But I like odd voices, and Olin's quickly grew on me. By the end of the set, I finally figured out that I liked it, because despite the highness of his voice, there's an Olivia Tremor Control quality to his voice. But the Kinks influence (acknowledged or not) is there (I kept hearing "Shangri-La" in their first song), as well as the Beatles and Pink Floyd. Even though it's all all filtered through the indie rock blender, they definitely seem to be influenced by some of the classic bands. This is Laminated Cat's second PopFest in a row, and Athens has charmed the band enough to move here. (Is that an ulterior motive of PopFest, to import rock bands?). I think they'll make a good addition to the town's music scene. I like their influences. I like what they're doing with them. Fun stuff. If I run into them, I'll have to pass them some Kinks.

Next up was one of my PopFest picks: Ham1. One of the major advantages of PopFest over AthFest, in my opinion, is the out-of-town bands that PopFest brings in. While it's great to showcase Athens bands, I don't need a festival to get me out to see them. Nevertheless, it's nice that one of my finds of this PopFest was a local act, one that I've been hearing about for some time, but haven't made it out to see. Ham1 began their set by having singer Jim Willingham (who is a school teacher by day; he made us raise our hands!) quiz the audience with the prizes being "select" vinyl LPs. I was one of the lucky winners (Q: When was the television invented? A: 1923. Prize: Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits. Lucky me!). After the give-away, the rest of Ham1 came on stage, and they really nailed it. To me they sound somewhere in between Vic Chesnutt (who they backed up on his last tour) and the neo-psychedelia of Neutral Milk Hotel (and doesn't that sound like a great place to be?). With trombone and cello, they also sound a bit like Lampchop (more Vic connections). But I don't know; it's my first time hearing them, and I'm looking for connections. The final verdict: I loved it -- definitely in my Top 5 of PopFest 2008.

Third band of the evening was My Teenage Stride, from Brooklyn. These guys had a tough day with their van breaking down in Commerce as they were driving into Athens. (But at least they made it to Commerce, so PopFest folks could drive out to pick them up.) My Teenage Stride had some fans in the audience who knew their material, and they really seemed to be enjoying it. I'll have to beg off on a fully fleshed-out opinion of the band. The sound was sort of mid-80s jangly pop, well-done but not my thing (at least not any more), and I didn't really get it after hearing their show. I don't want to write them off completely, however: While writing this, I went to their MySpace page and listened to some album tracks, and I think this band warrants some further investigation on my part.

The fourth and final band of the night was another revelation (and another for my Top 5 list), and oddly enough (or perhaps part of a pattern) another Athens band I hadn't heard before: A. Armada. Two guitars, bass, drums, no vocals; they themselves classify as shoegaze, but that's a lousy name for it. Their set was noisy and epic (ear plugs in) with wall-of-sound guitars/bass/drums alternating with sweet guitar-only melodies. The drums where the lead instrument here, and they led the charge through the changes upon changes that each song was built on. By the last song, I was thinking to myself, What's the name of this song? Ragnorak? Not to say it was Heavy Metal cheese; just to say that it was downright Wagnerian. This isn't anything I would listen to in my car, but you can bet I'll be there the next time they play live.

So that was it for the Friday Caledonia show. Well, not really -- DJ Other Voices, Other Rooms was going to be there for late-night disco, but that really wasn't my thing, so I headed over to the 40 Watt to catch the last few acts.

I wasn't sure what to make of it when the AE folks exiled me to the Caledonia to cover PopFest's "2nd Stage" while they went over to the 40 Watt for the big show, but I have to say it was a great night of music that was well attended, and Mike Turner and Gordon Lamb deserve a lot of credit for expanding PopFest to the point where it can support a second stage. Bravo!

Athens PopFest 2008 Friday night at Caledonia. 

My Teenage Stride, the Brooklyn/ Massachusetts four piece, held down the third spot on the Popfest Caledonia stage.  The up-tempo high energy rock would cater to the 'Carlton Dance' very well.  They almost didn't get to grace the Athen's music scene with their presence after van malfunctions in Commerce forced them to be rescued from roadside despair and delivered to the Classic City in time to rock some socks off.  Reversal cued some call and response, hip swinging jangly pop. My Teenage Stride in some form has been together for five years making music, as Jed Smith, guitar, "For people who like songs."  Their "newer wave" style moved some toes for sure.

A. Armada finished off the night.  The absence of spotlights suggested a coequal playing field for the local instrumental quartet.  With a sound reminiscent of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, the Athens rockers take a little heavier route. I would say that it's great music to either drink coffee to or hunt unicorns. Both would be a fitting activity to the breakbeat snare and staccato guitar licks. Their sound really can't be translated into fitting words.  Epic post-rock might suffice for now, but you should try to make some up for yourself after seeing them live.

Though I call Athens my home, both geographically and spiritually, I had yet to see local band Dark Meat.  I can’t count how many times I’ve walked past a venue in town that’s been advertising “Dark Meat,” often playing either before or after somebody I find to be really keen, but I’d never witnessed the show for myself.  All of this is changed now.  Watching Dark Meat set up, even if it does take over 30 minutes to do, is like watching the circus roll into town.  I couldn’t tell if they were all in the band, or if Kesey’s bus had broken down in front of the 40 Watt and the crazies had wandered on stage.  In fact, they were all in the band. 

I counted 20 musicians, which took me a few tries since no one seemed to enjoy standing still, but I’m almost positive that’s an accurate figure.  With dueling drummers, multiple musicians on guitar, bass, and violin, as well as a healthy horn section, various other stringed instruments, a chorus line shaking tambourines and somebody twisting the dial on a little box referred to as the Raga-Master, Dark Meat’s sound is similar to a mariachi-Mars Volta candy-flipping (that’s where you take acid and ecstasy together, or so I’ve been told) on Ike & Tina Turner’s riverboat rollin’ on the river.  Yeah, it didn’t make sense in person, either, but I think that’s what I like about Dark Meat; it’s juicy, flavorful, and everybody’s fighting for the drumstick.  I’ll even go so far as to call them my new favorite band in Athens.

Dark Meat photo by Waites Laseter.

Things slowed down for a bit after Cars Can Be Blue, as Great Lakes took the stage.  Another two-piece, featuring Dan Donahue and Ben Crum, Great Lakes’s sound was much more toned-down, with an early, stripped down Tom Petty feel.  Twangy, bluesy, and soulful, the way that music from the country (and let’s face it, as much as we may try to deny it, Athens is in the country) is supposed to sound.  The crowd swayed and moved with the music, as a chill, relaxed, almost melancholy atmosphere took over.  That is, until the last number.  Former band members, harkening back to Great Lakes’s Elephant 6 heritage, rejoined the band for their last song.  The tempo was kicked up, the rock was rocked out, and the Great Lakes family reunion squeezed every last note out of arguably (I wasn’t officially keeping time or anything) the longest ending of a song in PopFest history.

Great Lakes photo by Waites Laseter.

As with most things in life, I arrived at Day 3 of PopFest late.  I’ve always had a strange relationship with the 40 Watt, mostly due to the fact that I’m not entirely sure I’m cool enough to hang at this hallowed hall of legends.  Still I try, and after the bouncer looks extra-close at my ID (I promise, I’ve been 21 for a bit now), I wander in.

I love covering PopFest, and bands like Cars Can Be Blue are a big reason why.  Cars Can Be Blue, which consist of guitar/vocalist Becky Brooks and drummer/vocalist Nate Mitchell, were in the midst of their rollicking ruckus of a set.  The band, which sounds like what a coked-out midget humping your leg might feel like, was keeping it fun and keeping it naughty with their rampant drumming and power chord-beating sound.  Brooks, who is credited with writing most of the lyrics, is very genuine in her feelings, however untoward they might be.  Cars Can Be Blue were there to party on Thursday night, killing shots and sipping beers between songs, to the point that, after a particularly nasty shot, Brooks seemed to have the moment that all heavy drinkers fear:  that split second where the vile liquid that you just shoved down your throat is trying to claw its way back up, and its up to you to keep the bastard in its place.  Brooks kept it down, and Cars Can Be Blue kept the show going through the last power chord.

Photo of Becky by Waites Laseter.

Atlanta's Tendaberry just played a great set of straight up rock music, but even if they hadn't, I would have loved them anyway.  One of the basic no-nos of Athens music is that you don't cover REM.  I've only ever seen one other band even try it (an out of town band), and the crowd got so quiet they stopped halfway through.

So the Tendaberry singer gets on stage, and the first thing he does is sing the first verse and chorus of "So. Central Rain" a capella.  And nicely, at that.  Here's to you, kid.  Its about time that it became OK to cover the elephant in the room.

Really... who doesn't want to hear We Versus the Shark play "Driver 8?"

The best thing about afternoon PopFest shows is the likelihood that you will be surprised by band at least once per day.  Yesterday, that band was Little Birds from McKinney, TX.  They played soft, soft music where the guitars sounded like ringing bells, with a country jangle.  One of the lyrics stuck with me: "Something more than what I am."  They were definitely more than what their unassuming stage presence indicated.

When we asked them a month ago what to expect from their PopFest set, they told us, "Music from Texas that doesn't necessarily sound like music from Texas."  Well, it did sound like it was from Texas, like the unhurried rumble of Texas weather.  It wasn't lazy, just  inevitable and purifying and dusty.   I'll never read a page of Cormac McCarthy again without hearing Little Birds in my head.

What really got me, though, was the tinge of small church gospel that colored most of their set.  The harmonies weren't boys-choir-flawless, but they were rough and beautiful enough for the worship of regular people, which is what I happen to prefer.  If you have a minute, check out some of their music on MySpace - "A Song For You" gets me a little.

Rambling into Little Kings around eleven p.m., not quite sure who’s next on the docket, there’s a woman sprawled at the foot of the stage. Clad in a white slip and surrounded by an array of stuffed animals, she begins to writhe around while ambient music sounds from the speakers and a video screen displays a single circle pulsating a spectrum of colors.

The din from the set change has not yet subdued. Few have gathered closely to view the twisting silent female in a kitten mask – an expression of confusion adorns their faces.  This is the Whistling School For Boys.

The music shifts between experimental electronica to typical techno as performer Sabrina Cuadra dances briefly in a normal but somehow unsettling way. The video screen displays images varying from Cuadra cowering in the woods, sliding down stairs and slowed footage of a Latin-esque disco(?) ballroom dancers. 

Cuadra moves about confidently as she distributes slices of bread around the room. Back on stage she stands to the side of the screen as she repeatedly lines her arms with clear lipgloss or perfume. Returning to the floor she tosses her stuffed animals with goodie bags crammed in the mouths out into the audience. Some are caught nervously, some left to the floor, others are played with. With an armful of toys Cuadra moves to the entrance of Little Kings where she begins to hurl her playthings back at the audience.

The audience is flatly confused by what’s happening. Some simply appreciate and respect. Some are amused by the feeling of absurdity. Some are perplexed to the point of annoyance. Yoko Ono may have been more expected.

You have to give it to Cuadra, her deadpan face fringed with childlike innocence never faltered or belied anything non-performative. The set lacked a whimsy that would have made Whistling School a Bjork cliche.

At some point a bit of reflection could be lent to the consideration of Cuadra’s performance... Notions of <i>musical</i> performance is stretched – if not obliterated – since the music itself was not actually performed in the moment. Was it simply performance art? If so, what was Cuadra expressing?

It’s nearly 1:40. The threat of martial shutdown looms amongst the crowd at Little Kings. But none will be satisfied until We Versus the Shark gets a chance to sink their pearly teeth into the Popfest beast. By now the crowd has thinned considerably. Down to the wire, the stragglers and die-hards are starting to show their wear as We Versus makes haste to set up.

Its WVTS’s first show since the loss of guitarist Samantha Paulsen... The complicated nature of their music creates skepticism: how will this work as a trio?

Guitarist Luke Fields grates on the strings and without warning Jeff Tobias pushes into the crowd with an Earth shattering scream. It’s 1:40 and nothing is going to be held back in the name of noise ordinances or exhaustion. A girl in the front clutches her ears but remains unwilling – for the moment – to budge from her spot. Little Kings flashes the “Last Call” lights – a strange strobe light that bears no affect on the intensity WVTS had detonated.

Exploitation of space – as usual – is the theme for the band. Be it Fields flailing his torso at extreme angles in the multitude of possible directions, Tobias invading the crowd and climbing on available platforms or drummer Scott Smith ravaging his kit.

Like an alarm clock screaming unexpectedly in the a.m. the crowd is revived as some start the thrash about, caught up in the ferocity of Tobias’s face. The audio sensitive listener has been displaced by two movers and shakers who have saved it up for WVTS.

Smith continues to pulverize the drums as the music frenzies around various time signatures. Look at the crowd trying to find the beat as the “Shark” ventures into unchartered rhythmic waters.

Fields: “Are the cops here yet?” The crowd: “Keep going.”
So they do.

Time: 2:20.

Status: Exhausted but satisfied (evidenced by a dimwitted smile).

Hearing ability: Nil. We Versus the Shark gets the prize for piercing the tympanic membrane.

Everyone seems to know about the Black Kids afternoon performance at PopFest 2007.  The chance to see the next big thing perform is what brings a lot of people out to the afternoon shows, but they're my favorite PopFest sessions for entirely different reasons.

I like sitting in a comfortable chair, drinking something cold, and getting to watch bands from all over the country bless our fair city with their sound.  The atmosphere cannot be beat, given that going to a rock show often means a lot of sweat and a lot of people, but the afternoon sessions feel like fellowship to me.  Bands and fans from all over the country gather in a single place because they love the music.

On a Friday night in Athens we go see local music.  Most people in most places don't have the opportunity to do this, so we should count our blessings.  But in every city, and every town, there are supporters of homegrown music, and in the afternoon PopFest shows we get the chance to see what Friday night might look like to a music lover in Detroit (the Hotwalls!), or a college kid in Gainesville, Florida (Oh Sanders) or even down the road in Atlanta (Tendaberry, woot!).

I get to spend some time in someone else's shoes, and end up better for it.