High Castle, Pigeonholes, Nurser, and Hippie Grinder / September 15, 2011 / The Smiling Skull

By: Sam Boyer, Staff Writer | '90s Blogger

My first venture to The Smiling Skull was marked by some apprehension. As a socially awkward sophomore, the thought of wandering beyond Court Street filled me with a ridiculous sense of dread. Translation: I’m really weird and I don’t like hanging out with people. But I’m a big girl now, and I have the ability to traipse around Athens like I own the damn place. Kind of.

Now that we’ve established the proverbial “popping” of my local venue cherry, I can get into the super rad experience that ensued.

The Smiling Skull looks slightly menacing upon first glance, but inside lies the coziest little hole-in-the-wall you ever did see. And by cozy I mean littered with (sometimes X-rated) graffiti and various vintage beer signs. Home sweet home.

The first band up was Pigeonholes, a pop-punk outfit from Parkersburg, W. Va. As I am partial to bands of the punk persuasion, I dug these guys. They were playful and had the three-chord progression thing down pat. The lead singer had a permanent smile plastered on his face, which translated to my face. If you’re happy, I’m happy, dude. And if you name one of your songs “This Coke Tastes Like Pepsi,” you automatically get my seal of approval.

The Skull started to fill up pretty quickly after the first set, but it wasn’t claustrophobia-inducing. One reason why I prefer The Skull over The Union: Atmosphere. There isn’t a ton of space, but the close quarters make for the dank bar equivalent of a group hug. “You smell like PBR and sweat. Let’s be friends!”

But I digress. Nurser was up next, and since I am ignorant to the local scene, I kept an open mind. Unfortunately, Nurser didn’t quite woo me the way Pigeonholes did. The former is a noise-rock band, so comparing the two is absurd. But after a few songs, I came to the conclusion that Nurser is just not my cup of tea. Too much noise, not enough rock. But that’s just my humble opinion. I am not the master of local music.

Due to the fact that I hadn’t eaten much all day, I only caught a few songs during High Castle’s set. What I did hear was fantastic. West Coast punks always rub me the right way. They kind of had an early Green Day thing going on, and considering my GD obsession, that is a very good thing.

I regret not seeing Hippie Grinder, but hopefully they come back around. My expectations for a “hardcore punk” band are very high.

ACRN's Lobsterfest 2011: Day Two / June 3 / The Union

The Friday night edition of Lobsterfest 2011 started off at The Union with Nurser, a band who seemed very much at home within the confines of the dark upstairs music venue.

I had missed Nurser to this point, and actually had not read anything about them aside from our hilarious interview with them this week. So, aside from knowing them to be humorous young gentlemen, I had no idea what sort of music to expect.

Nurser plays a sort of... we'll go with noise rock. I can certainly see why some people would not be into this (it does seem to be a very polarizing genre), but I dug it. Shane Riley's guitar sound was probably the most untuned I've ever heard, and his vocals were admittedly a bit hard to hear over the cacophony of noise built up behind him. Then again, that's probably the point. Is it the point? If it's the point, they're winning.

One thing I could comment on was the overall tightness of the band... you can tell they've not been a band as long as some of the others, and--as a result--there does seem to be times that a beat is missed or delayed, or that something simply doesn't seem right with the music. These are just tiny instances that don't take away from the overall experience, but I'm sure they'll be back in the fall sounding better than before. And perhaps, as per their interview, playing in the vault of Chase Bank. Which would be rad.

Following Nurser was Evolve, a hip-hop act (sometimes duo) out of Cincinnati. This was my third experience with Evolve, the first coming at last year's Lobsterfest. Let me say that Evolve is an act never to be missed when he comes to the area (take note, Lobsters and Athenians not at the show last night!). Evolve is not your normal hip-hop/rap act. Rapping about the "social climate in modern Capitalist America," as he put it in an interview with us last fall, Evolve incorporates electronic beats and sounds into the easy-going rhymes. It's definitely a laid-back affair compared to what one may be used to from his genre of music.

The one thing that always irks me about Evolve's set is its length. I cannot say whether it's the fact that I'm enjoying the music or that the set really is that short, but a show with Evolve always seems to blow by. Short and sweet is at times something I can get behind for certain acts, but I'd love to hear more from Evolve. Maybe someday.

--Kevin Rutherford, Editorial Director
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Narrow and the Brights. See them. Immediately.

Frontman Tim Race, whose vocals fall somewhere between a less melancholic Ian Curtis and a less-produced Paul Banks, and drummer Zach Inscho, a percussion powerhouse, put on the best set of the night with the help of their bassist Brad Wilson, no slouch himself.

Soaring guitars, a drum kit getting worked-- nearly abused-- and the conclusion that Narrow and the Brights are undoubtedly the strongest post-punk act I’ve seen come through yet this quarter, made Lobsterfest, Friday night edition, completely worth it.

After Narrow and the Brights went Child Bite. Hardcore is not my forte but I can defintely respect these guys. I probably won’t be caught at Haffa’s buying their album, but their energy was staggering. I am still trying to figure out how their keyboardist/vocalist made it around the stage that much, seemingly without missing any of his parts. I am also still trying to figure out how their bassist ended up on the floor of the Union at the end of their final track with a girl straddling him. Details will be provided as further developments come to light.

--Amanda Norris, Staff Writer

ACRN St. Jude Benefit Show / May 5 / The Smiling Skull

A sleepy brain and a game of “Would You Rather” later, and we were on our way to the Smiling Skull. We were apprehensive of the price at first, but morally we couldn’t allow ourselves to use that excuse, given the show was a benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. We had to think of the children.

The Athens-famous, omnipotent, flawless Nurser took the stage (of sorts) first. Things went better than the last time I saw them, but their music is so weird that it’s hard to tell when things aren’t going well. I mean that in the best way possible. There are definitely some inventive sounds coming from them, particularly from Shane Riley’s guitar. He finds the most obscure notes to play, but stirs them together so that they transition solidly.

They had some new material to lay on the growing crowd, one song in which bassist Sam Mink had to step out because he hadn’t learned his part yet. To that, Riley said something along the lines of, “Our bassist can’t play to this song because it’s such a rager.”

Blithe Field was next and to my and everyone else’s dismay, he was having technical difficulties. He tried to push through as best he could, but the beats weren’t quite the way they were meant to be. Still, he had a supportive crowd that wished him well, but his set was forced to end too soon.

Stomp the Condor, very much unlike Blithe Field, was a weirdo, rambunctious bunch. Or, really just the lead singer/keyboardist/guitarist was. They played rowdy tunes that the crowd greeted with rowdy energy. It was punk rock and other stuff at its finest. A couple of them took off their shirts, too, and of course that’s always a good time, even more so when the shirtless are wearing jorts.

The crowd was at its largest with Brothertiger, which usually is the case every time he plays. I only stuck around for a couple of songs, but left a trippy, happy, dancing group of people. That’s alls yous gotta do, anyway.

Apparently we raised $300! May good causes be benefited and may good music be cherished for all of eternity.

--Hannah Cook, Managing Editor