Brothertiger, Monolithic Cloud Parade, Historians, and Iron Jim & The Broken Hand Band / March 3 / The Smiling Skull

Things didn’t go quite according to plan last night, but unexpectedness and spontaneous behavior is what makes the fun world spin ‘round. And that’s just where we were last night—the fun world, also known as the Smiling Skull.

On the bill for the evening were Brothertiger, Monolithic Cloud Parade, Historians and Iron Jim and the Broken Hand Band. Who, I believe, ended up actually playing were: Brothertiger, Historians and Iron Jim with a different bassist than usual, with no trace of Monolithic Cloud Parade. A bummer, yes. But the night still went on and good spirits were still rustling like the ghosts at a Christmas feast at Hogwarts (Microsoft Word knows what Hogwarts is!).

Iron Jim played first, but I missed most of it since the hustle and bustle after my first arriving was still going on after they ended. I don’t remember hating the sound that was going on, though. I guess that means they were okay in my book.

Historians were next, and I didn’t absolutely love them. It could have been due to the crumby sound system, but the vocals seemed a little off. They played a varied set, though, with no song sounding quite like the other, and sometimes the intricate and bouncy instrumentation picked up the slack, but for the most part, I wasn’t too enchanted.

Brothertiger, as per usual, got most of the people on their feet and cutting loose. He’s got quite a following too. In between songs, one could hear many chants of “Brothertiger!” and even some singing along a bit. It’s safe to say he’s an Athens favorite and he’s one of my favorites too. Anything a sister can boogie to is something a sister loves—and loves even more if it’s unique and self-created.

--Hannah Cook, Managing Editor