Shower Beers, Southern State, Eternal Sleep & Homewrecker / January 15, 2014 / Castle Gennesse

By: Megan Fair, Copy Editor

Castle Gennesse hosted one hell of a banger Wednesday night with a stacked line up of Athens’ own Shower Beers, Columbus’ Southern State, Pittsburgh-based Eternal Sleep and Ashtabula’s Homewrecker. What made this show rad was not only the intimate venue, but the impressive musicianship of each and every band that played.

Shower Beers kicked off the night with their distinctly unique sound. The group managed to blend elements of technical post-punk style with emo and punk vibes all around, and the use of a vocal effects pedal made for an extremely captivating sound. Each member displayed a great presence through the performance. 

Bringing the beautifully twinkly and punchy (so many ‘y’s’) tunes was Southern State. The sadness was evident, the jams were fabulous and I was blown away. I would love to see these dudes throw down again, not to mention the bassist brought along an exceptional pup named Bear. The music was sonically exceptional and filled every inch of the room.

Both Eternal Sleep and Homewrecker know how to get a crowd riled up and moving. And also deaf. The wall of amps provided a deafening sound arsenal with which to assault the crowd’s eardrums. I think I woke up with a little blood on my pillowcase. Eternal Sleep got the crowd headbanging, shoving and rioting, and I was very impressed by the outfit’s natural showmanship and in-your-face style. 

The same could be said for Homewrecker, who I watched from the side to avoid getting positively moshed on. I’ve never felt angrier or headbanged harder, quite honestly. That’s when you know heavy musicians are doing it right. 

Not a single band disappointed, and it was well worth the walk in a frozen Athens tundra. My nose may have been redder than a rose and my ears will be ringing for weeks, but I’ll never complain because CG delivered. Hard. 

ACRN Presents: Small Steps, Frankie Teardrop, Shower Beers & Stella / November 23, 2013 / The Union

By: Garrett Bower, Contributor

Saturday night at The Union was a departure from commonality for those who attended. With scene staples Shower Beers, Frankie Teardrop and Small Steps, as well as the lesser-known Stella, the show was a disorientating blur of screaming, violently bashed guitars and furious drums with a hell of a lot of noise to drive the whole thing over the edge.

It felt like too much Dramamine or some other dissociative. Listeners were thrown into this abrasive world of sound, wholly disorientating. The members of each band slowly succumbed to the delirium as the night drew on, with brief fits of sanity where the music reformed into tangible cohesiveness before being beaten back down with a scream or beat that bled the entire spectacle back into one inescapable din.

I’m not entirely sure what’s to be taken away from nights like this. To me, it felt like a showcase of subversive anger, with the bands demonstrating violence for violence’s sake. Perhaps that’s the point--to leave preconceptions at the door and be buried in something alien and think outside of what you know and what’s familiar.