Hey man, are you here for the chill wave?

The Smiling Skull may just be one of Athens' most precious "hidden" gems; for the Union-dwellers who are low on cash and sick of the same 'ole crowd, The Smiling Skull is definitely the place to check out. And if you weren't there last night, I have to be honest when I say that you missed.

I've never seen The Skull so hoppin'; students and townies alike were diggin' the tunes brought to us by yours truly, ACRN. The night started off with Chiswola, who debuted last week at The Union's free show. Honestly? They weren't really my jam. I thought they sounded unrehearsed and a bit too off-the-cuff -- but I'm probably biased, just in that their taste didn't really align with mine. I'll hand it to them, though; they're doing something different, and for that I commend them. Plus, they got the crowd movin' and groovin', so kudos for that.

"Hey man, are you here for the chill wave?" <-- Decidedly the best pick-up line ever, Brothertiger came up next, bringing on said chill wave. I don't know if my "beverages" were slowly sinking in or if this music is truly just mesmerizing at any given time, but Brothertiger enchanted me into a stupor that I don't often fall into in public. I totally dug 'em, and based on the equally-entranced audience, I'd say they were altogether well received.

Sad enough, Whale Zombie was the last act I caught last night. The aforementioned beverages were consumed all too quickly, and my bed was a'calling. But Whale zombie, as usual, was a toe-tapping, dance-able success. They were the perfect end to my night, as ended my night squirming between too-full tables and too-drunk college kids towards my walk home. Whale Zombie's tunes reverberated in my brain for the remainder of my evening, and altogether the kick-off to ACRN's birthday weekend was a total success.

-Krisi Nehls, Blogs Editor

Good music, awful photos, nice night

First off, I love free shows. Especially free shows that happen at The Union. Unfortunately, last night was apparently the night to have shows because they were happening everywhere.

Chiswola started things off, and to my surprise, the stage wasn't being utilized; it was actually really awesome. The crowd was really into it and the band - described as "surfy chinese punk" - seriously delivered. With loud, catchy drum beats, fast and dirty guitar licks, and screaming vocals, how could anyone go wrong?

I chatted with the drummer, Brent Lawson, for a few minutes and he had this to say: "At the beginning, I felt excited. At the end, I felt tired." Understandable what with the non-stop drum playing he did. Perhaps even more laborious as he was wearing sunglasses in the already dark Union.

So, Chiswola. What the hell does that mean? The response I received was, "it means 'we're so fucking angry.' It's kind of girly, like if a girl got really frustrated she would say [at this point, Lawson adapted a classically exasperated girl voice] 'Ah, chiswola!'"

I stuck around to see Mr. Leg. It was this kid sitting on the floor with a magical box which played samples of songs but also enabled him to add different sounds, songs, and beats. At this point, I was really feeling it and thinking "Why is this not Dance or Die right now?" The only thing I wasn't into was that he would play some delicious, sexy beat and then suddenly (I guess this is what makes it "experimental") there would be a bunch of commotion with cymbals and piano and lyrics and it just threw off my whole groove.

But it was free so who am I to complain?

-Kaitie Firm, Blogger