What rock competition? High Schoolers just want to have fun!

It has been almost three years since I last stepped foot into Athens High School, and that was my 2007 graduation. Out of sheer curiosity, the need for content for a feature article and Saturday boredom, I finally returned with my two siblings (who go to the school) and boyfriend to see how the then-freshmens are utilizing their last semester as impending graduates.

Battle of the Bands took place in the school's small auditorium. Its capacity pushes somewhere along the line of 250, but seats were not needed for half the attendees. The whole event was set-up by the school's student council, so the emcees of the night were its two representatives. (My foggy memory renders me unsure as to exactly what positions.) As their between-sets introductions proved, this event was and has always focused itself on the current AHS students. Although poorly rehearsed (if at all), the students seemed to get them. This is also true with tonight's roster of performers, as once again, I felt out of the loop during certain instances of the night.

On the contrary, I don't see anything wrong with it, because this was the most spirit-filled, enthusiastic Battle of the Bands I have ever seen. Seriously, where DID all this enthusiasm come from?! Each band, regardless of how good they were, managed to cover the floor with spectators. In return, the spectators flailed their arms, shamelessly sang along and pushed to the front to touch their classmate's hand and warm their hands in guitar solos. During the second half of the show, I grimaced every time a wave of bras catapulted their way on stage. I didn't want to know from WHO they came from, but I was in panic when one made its way towards me. There are two cops in patrol. I am an adult. I'd rather not deal with them at a high school event.

This entry would be novel-worthy if I went into every detail of the night. Some highlights include a "freestyle" rap interlude after The Remedy's cover of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So," in which awkward attention directed itself at the freshmen when half of the audience pointed and screamed, "Freshmen! Freshmen!" Two and Fro, the freshmen-filled second act, blew away everyone with their instrumental talent, taking on licks and solos of "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix and incorporating a classics-influenced original called "Baby, You're Smokin'." The metal-established act T.M.P. stole my wretched heart with an Iced Earth and Megadeth cover. It was also ladies night, as most took over the acoustic performances and played varieties from Paramore, The Veronicas, Taylor Swift and The xx.

Like the Athens' music scene, most bands performing that night shared band members. Some of the bands played to perfection, while others emulated the end project of practicing on Rock Band. The night capped off with the residential Andrew W.K. cover band "Who Knows?" They have an original called "Keep It Up," which was eerily similar to anything Andrew himself would have composed. After party-chants, a bursting piñata filled with candy and Magic cards and an impromptu, experimental set, it was the funkified Mauve Avengers who took the first prize: four-track recording in the ACRN studio, plus a spot in an ACRN-hosted show.

-Rika Nurrahmah, Senior Writer

The First Street Heat lets the funk flow

I haven't been to many shows at The Union since arriving in Athens, but I feel like I've seen enough to guess what the crowd will look like. I expected (and eventually spotted) the indie kids in skinny jeans and plaid shirts, the girls glammed up to catch the attention of the lead singer, the bros with spiked hair who came to fist pump and the group I've always associated with in concerts: the apathetic metalheads wearing hoodies, with crossed arms and trained “even if this band doesn't suck, I will refuse to admit it” looks.

As time went on, I began to see people filter into the club that didn't fit any of these stereotypes. I saw a girl sporting high heels, a perfectly-maintained afro and huge doorknocker earrings walk in immediately after a guy wearing a fedora and a bright red pimp coat. I questioned what kind of band I was seeing when at least three men rocking their best lounge singer gear entered. And I just didn't know how to respond when a guy in a chest-baring top that instantly brought “Jimmy Page in the late '60s” to my mind came in. Oh, and did I mention the guy in a purple pimp hat, which looked suspiciously like one that can be won at a county fair?

Turns out this was the band, The First Street Heat. They took the stage, but this was hardly a traditional four-piece. When they launched into their first song, I counted 10 people on stage, easily the most people I've seen performing on the cramped stage of The Union. Despite the sheer amount of sound coming towards the audience, The First Street Heat was always on-point. They warmed up the crowd with some funk, R&B and pop covers that had the audience jumping, drunkenly singing along to saxophone solos and generally enjoying themselves. The band covered Sugar Ray's “Fly,” and instead of laughing it off as a joke like the general population does to Sugar Ray, they waved their hands in the air and sang along to the chorus with the two vocalists.

The First Street Heat continued with excellent covers of Curtis Mayfield's “Move On Up” (you know, that song everyone knows because Kanye West sampled it?), Stevie Wonder's “I Wish” (you know, the song that everyone knows because Will Smith sampled it?) and even a few Bob Marley songs.

The set closed out with the band playing their originals, which ranged from reggae to ska-punk to a few jazz/rap tunes when they were joined on stage by a rapper who spit rhymes to the backing of a tight brass section. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for jazz rap, and they caused me to temporarily forget my role as a concert metalhead . So I really got into these songs by air-drumming, throwing my hands up, and generally looking like a fool. I didn't mind how I looked though. For those few hours, I saw music fans from all walks of life united in appreciation of a band bringing some very underrepresented genres of music to a tiny stage.

And to top off the night for me, right before The First Street Heat played their last song, a very intoxicated girl bumped into me and spilled a good portion of her drink onto my favorite white hoodie. One of these days, I have to remember to not wear anything that I want to keep clean to concerts.

-Travis Boswell, News Writer

John Walsh reps Positive Scene with High Fives, Hug Pits

Pheromones and Dopamines both play rad sets that rattled my happy brain waves. I notice a few faces I don’t recognize, and the crowd seems to be even with representatives from Athens and Columbus. Fairfield natives John Walsh opens their set, and immediately I’m impressed: extremely fast melodic hardcore with twinges of ‘90s pop-punk.

Thrash? Don’t mind if I do!

The Brown Town basement shifts into a punk rock dance floor. Friends good-naturedly grab each other in football lines and mosh. The chick in front of me leans forward and shakes her appendages while simultaneously raking her metal claws in the air. Another girl seems to experience spasms in her legs and shrugs her shoulders to her ears, all the while manically shaking invisible cans of Cool Whip in her fists. John Walsh’s singer theatrically grabs his chest and crashes into a friend. The two tumble to the floor and the singer finishes the verse on his back before leaping to his feet. He’s generous with mic grabs on the originals which results in a duet in the final chorus of their anthem “Closing the Gap!”

John Walsh rips into “I’m in Love!” a breakdown-laden slow jam in which the band professes its contentment with sobriety. The band prompts audience members to engage in a “hug pit” during the next song. They play “Hugs!” an ode to embracing, and a dozen-person mosh wheel commences to spin about the basement. The group’s participatory, inviting demeanor spawned a kind of crowd command.

John Walsh embodies characteristics common to punk-derived genres: pop-punk style guitar and drum lines adjacent hardcore breakdowns and sing-a-longs. Modern punk and hardcore bands tend to direct great thematic focus on isolation, anger and other forms of emotional turmoil. John Walsh keeps hardcore vocal style but its lyrics promote a positive perspective and embrace punk community members as friends. And still promotes pits. Pits filled with high-fives.

It’s been awhile since I’ve attended a punk show in which I didn’t witness individuals display attitude, unnecessary violence and excessive drinking. This show proved to me, though, that people can still form communities with integrity. The patrons and bands that played last night demonstrated real commitment to creating a participatory, comfortable atmosphere. The sky poured down snow. Brown Town doesn’t allow booze. It was a Saturday night. All of the preceding function as deterrents for show attendance, yet the basement was comfortably packed with people who care about their community.

-Dani Purcell, Senior Writer

Unfamiliarity at its finest

Dear livejournal,

Just kidding. But really.

My emotions were running wild last night. Was it the PBR and cheap vodka putting a hazy barrier around the balanced part of my mind? Possibly. But more so I’d say it was the music and the people, both of which (as a freshman) I’m not too familiar with around here.

After trudging and slipping as quickly as we could across town to get to the Manor house last night, we arrived too late to see In Silent Movies and a little ways through Theodore’s set. But luckily, I snuggled in a place right up front, literally about a foot from the bass player.

Usually, in cases like this, a part of me gets jealous of people’s abilities to create music that can have a moving effect on other people. After all, I want to be in a band, and only in my dreams can I contrive music like that. It’s a bit discouraging at times. But last night called for merely an appreciation of it all.

Theodore was definitely appreciable. At some points they made me kinda sad, but in a good way. It’s just emotional tunes that I think take some sort of toll on everybody listening. They were captivating and mollifying and a bunch of other adjectives that probably couldn’t do them justice. And they seemed like such kind souls, too.
Bruce Manor’s own Manor Animals came on last. They fit so comfortably in their own little basement. The band played a jaunty set and my knees and heels quickly found the beat. And people were bantering and clapping and havin’ fun and bein’ friends.

The atmosphere of the night couldn’t have been more charming. And there’s no better way to top it off than with a pit stop a the Union Street Diner. Oh sweet bagel and cream cheese that I could make myself in my dorm room, but for some reason it’s so much better here -- I’ll pay $1.27 for you any day.

So while I’m still not too familiar with things around here, I think I’m getting there. And enjoying myself thoroughly while I’m at it.

-Hannah Cook, Staff Writer

Sparse crowd at Casa misses a true-blue bar band

The Cowboy Angels rolled through Athens last night for a free show at Casa Cantina. Let me say that again: free show. Sadly, for a free show, there ended up being less people there than shows I've been to in town with a $5 charge.

Of course, one must take into consideration the day of the week. It was a Thursday. Some of the college crowd (myself not included) still had class the next day, and Thursdays in general are not known for having a huge amount of patrons in the bars, but regardless, Casa seemed rather empty.

That said, it was not a bad evening in the slightest. After paying the $2 underage charge to get in (which I was totally expecting, since "free show" in Athens only ever seems to mean "free show for those 21 and up"), I took a spot next to the bookcase and waited patiently for the show to start. Speaking of that bookcase, they've got a nice selection there! I mean, shoot, if I could have actually seen the words through the dark, I might've finally started reading The Da Vinci Code!

Kicking off the evening at around 10:30 was a band known as the 65's, who I hadn't heard of and still don't know much about. Definitely some former members of the Sad Bastards in it, though. A very good band through-and-through, if anyone ever gets the chance to see them. Country-tinged, but what seemed to be a folk-indie influence as well. They're all very talented and seem to be veteran musicians.

My mind began to wander toward the end of the band's set and while the Cowboy Angels set up. This is what happens when I'm ungodly tired. I began to update my Twitter for no reason whatsoever, even going as far as quoting Kindergarten Cop. I cursed my underage-ness since I'm thirsty and I'm in a bar. I began to wonder if eating all those burritos beforehand was a good idea (spoiler: it wasn't). I began to debate whether or not the Punk Goes (insert genre here) compilations deserve to exist. And finally, I decided to open a hipster loft in Portland and form a bluegrass band featuring a drum set worthy of Neil Peart, just to be really ironic. All true facts.

The Cowboy Angels finally took the stage and my mind snapped back into focus. I had interviewed the guitarist earlier in the week, and he told me that the band was country rock, the Stones with some Drive-By Truckers in there. And you know what? He was pretty much spot on.

The Angels are pretty much the quintessential bar band... not that they can't and won't expand beyond that. The songs are generally mid-tempo, there're no crazed guitar solos going on, and singer Dan England is actually a good vocalist. I had thought of a comparison to him at the show, but sleep has caused me to forget it. Let's put it this way, though: he could certainly front more than just a country-rock band.

I must express my disappointment at the lack of people at the show, once again. This is mostly out of respect to the band... I know people are going to have other things to do, especially on Thursdays, but I feel bad for them in that they're a touring act just trying to get their music out there and make a little bit of cash. One show like this isn't going to be a problem necessarily, but if a whole tour gets like this... well, I can't help but think that funds might be a little sparse by the end. Then again, you know what they say: Rome was not built in a day. Every band goes through shows like this. When my bluegrass band finally hits the road, we'll no doubt encounter the same problems.

When the set was complete, I made my way to the back of the place to pick up a copy of the band's CD, The Burden of Love and Sin. There I met both the vocalist Dan, and Gavin, the band's tour manager. Really nice guys. I really do hope nothing but the best for them. I expressed my hope that there would be a few more people out the next time they came around Athens, if by chance they do head out here again. Maybe on a Friday or Saturday night in much warmer weather.

-Kevin Rutherford, Senior Critic

Sibs Weekend... breaking down a $15 bill

The line-up of musicians for this year’s Sibs Weekend Concert was a disaster waiting to happen.

3rd Degree consists of some pretty sexually frustrated guys who didn't get selected to be in the already overly-sexual group Pretty Ricky. Little singing was involved in their set, but a lot of grinding on the stage and slithering to the ladies in the crowd with their tongues. Then they violated the hell out of this girl in a "bedroom only" lap dance on stage. I literally LOL’d! I put my headphones back on after that, hoping I could hear anything else over their performance. I was really hoping I did NOT pay 15 bucks for this crap.

Once Corey Bapes came on the stage, a vast majority of Cleveland area folks hopped out of their seats and started bouncing around the aisles. You could tell from the performance that he is highly loved in Cleveland. But he and his hypemen should’ve stayed in Cleveland, because they were not worth my money. Maybe like a dollar out of the total 15. He earned a buck because it was nice to see the crowd get hype to “Bitch, It's the Corey B!” Plus his delivery was nothing less than crunk. Many seats were still empty, yet the air was filled with the scent of sweaty and stinky pits after his performance.

After a great opening from his DJ/MC Jasmine Solano, the highly anticipated Wiz Khalifa came out singing “So Long” with the crowd. Small glitches and a miscommunication between he and the DJ began killing Wiz’s high and the crowd’s drunkenness. When he performed “Say Yeah,” I couldn't even hear him rap his own lyrics over the sweaty crowd emulating them. Neither could he. So he said fuck it, and started dancing on stage. His delivery was on-point once the crowd got to actually hear him from there on out. Most of the stuff he performed was off his mix tapes, and it ended up that the crowd unable to sing with him. Overall, it was worth 6 of my fifteen.

J-Cole stepped out to a very hesitant crowd. After his opening song -- with its crazy lyrical delivery and charm -- the crowd crept closer. A couple of blends later (Kanye’s “Cheers to the Roc” and Jay-Z’s “Dead Presidents”), he had the crowd, especially the hip-hop crowd, rocking with him. His next song “Losing your Balance” lost the hype of the crowd, with the intense conscious rap song killing the buzz of the crowd that was ready to party. It was actually a pretty good set, but the crowd grew restless and began yelling “Where's Mario?” At this point you couldn't blame them with the rest of the misleading opening acts for Mario. Out of the 15 bucks for this concert, he was worth 6 bucks because he didn’t back down to the audience’s request for sex-craved, booty-shaking music and held his own as a real hip-hop emcee.

The intermissions were the best part of the show! Random appearances by 3rd Degree, who humped the stage more than Shakira humps everything else. I really hope the TBAMA staff sterilized the stage after this concert, or else whoever steps on the stage will endure a sticky situation. It was a joy to see the drunken dance battles in the audience as well.

Once Mario got on stage, almost every female began screaming until her esophagus fell out. OK, maybe not all that, but it was definitely loud. His claim to “Re-do Valentine’s Day” definitely happened. His singing was great, the song selection was spot-on and the near-sex scene was baniddles! Sorry LL, the ladies love Mario now. He managed to address mishaps throughout his career, including his videos that have been filled with lighter skinned Black women, so he sang his new song w/ Lil’ Jon and R. Kelly called “Chocolate Girls.” He also sang happy birthday to someone, too! To continue itemizing my receipt for this performance, he was worth the rest of the bill.

Overall though, I could’ve kept my tail home. There was no real line-up to this concert, instead it was a random group of musicians put together by an organization that I’m pretty confident made this line-up just to make some money. There was no theme in this concert whatsoever, and the atmosphere of each artist was thrown off by the different crowds that was there for a certain artist.

-Star Watson, Staff Writer

Sometimes it be like woah

It's currently 2:46 p.m. on Sunday. My tummy is rumbling, my breath stinks of cheese and beer and my brain is violently attempting to exit my cavernous skull. The familiar signs of boozing and loosing have me feeling like I had my ass kicked... hard. Which in not untrue. Indeed something walloped my fanny last night. It was Larry and His Flask.

Guinness, yelling and beards were the order of the evening. I knew LAHF could bring the pain to such a degree that the Richter scale wouldn't be able to keep up. I didn't know they could bring said pain with a deliciously Irish sensibility. I felt like gorging on raw potatoes and screaming Gaelic blibber blabber during the entire show. There's a reason these six Oregonian gentlemen and one remarkably friendly girlfriend await a tour with The Dropkick Murphys. The reason is because they could make Mahatma Ghandi get buck wild.

A man named Tom VandenAvond was playing some interesting folk music when I entered. Apparently he too engaged in the ass-kicking business. His voice was strong. It was a tried and true, a veteran brand of strength that not many can attain. It was the kind of strength that you can only acquire after years of a pack-a-day habit. It was strength that never quivers but rests gently beside the realm of complete and utter despair. Basically, I had the distinct impression Tom had been through some shit, both good and bad.

Then he invited most of LAHF onstage for a few songs. They played "Dirty Old Town." If you are unfamiliar with "Dirty Old Town," you are a bad person. If you live in Athens and aren't familiar with "Dirty Old Town," there is no hope for you. Call it a life and move to Detroit immediately. "Dirty Old Town" is a song by The Pogues, who essentially wrote the book on keeping it real (which interestingly enough was co-authored by A Tribe Called Quest and Beethoven. Here is a Wikipedia article about this book). The wonderful cover left all in the audience weak in the knees. It was like listening to Jameson.

There isn't much more I can say about the rest of the evening that hasn't already been said about Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. It was perfect, took less than six hours to enjoy and left me with the desire for more. I can confidently say it was one of the best shows I've seen in Athens in some time.

-Davis Chambers