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Home > Atlanta Music Scene > Archives > 2008 > March > 12
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Athens in Austin at South by Southwest
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dead Confederate.
Modern Skirts.
The always-in-motion Dark Meat.
Any more Athens bands and you’d be in Georgia.
That was what it said on the banner behind the stage at the Athens in Austin party on the first day of the music portion of this year’s South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival. It could be the theme of the entire event, since you could catch more than 30 artists if you throw Atlanta into the mix.
This Wednesday afternoon shindig gave ample reason why Athens has been considered a hotbed of musical talent for several decades.
One of the fest’s hottest - and hardest working - acts is Dead Confederate. The quintet lived up to its advance buzz by working up a remarkable amount of energy in a set that lasted less than 45 minutes (that’s all anyone got today). The music thudded and caterwauled with purpose and power, as Walker Howle’s guitar and Hardy Morris’ vocal power and presence kept the still fresh crowd riveted.
Next up, it was the more melodic rock of Modern Skirts, a band with a flair for hooks and an obvious appreciation for the songcraft of folks such as Ray Davies and early Todd Rundgren. The band’s manager, Troy Aubrey, was one of the organizers of the Athens in Austin party, but these guys deserved a spot no matter who was in charge. Aubrey told me that the band has recently been in the studio with R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and the quartet will be playing the Glastonbury Festival in England this summer before heading across the channel to open for R.E.M. in Amsterdam.
“I hope no one’s offended, but…” said guitarist Phillip Brantley, before taking a little lighthearted poke at Texas barbecue. That took guts in the middle of the state capital. “Real barbecue is from the Southeast,” he continued. Most of the crowd seemed to be in his corner, though, since this was a heavily Southeastern crew.
“We should retract the barbecue statement,” said frontman Jay Gulley a song later, stoking the fire, “but we won’t. Barbecue should never be beef.”
This time, there were rumblings from the crowd, with one dissenting voice grumbling that “anyone can barbecue pork.”
The brief barbecue skirmish behind us, long-serving Athenians Elf Power then gave us a taste of their soon-to-be-released new album, “In a Cave.” Though the band, led by Andrew Rieger, leans toward the lushly arranged on record, the live quartet rocked with clean efficiency.
The stunner, though, was the recently signed Dark Meat, now a Vice Records labelmate of Atlanta’s Black Lips. This sprawling combo is hard to take in at one go. They’re like a punk band with a not-so-secret affection for acid-drenched progressive rock. Then imagine that this strange marriage of styles has careened into a marching band, a batch of lost circus folks and some Renaissance Faire outcasts. It’s nutty and outrageous in the best possible way - and it’s captivating. You have to see - and hear - this 15-strong outfit to believe it.
India Arie on Upcoming Albums, Broadway
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After finally discussing at length her decision to boycott this year’s Grammys, Atlanta singer-songwriter India Arie also looked forward.
She’s busy working on two albums at once, “a process that become more intense in January, and I hope to have completed by the summer,” she said.
That’s because Arie (above) has been cast in a new version of Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When The Rainbow Is Enuf” — executive produced by Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg.
“The idea of remounting it and making it modern and totally redone for Broadway has been floating around for a few years,” Arie said. “But it’s real now, and quickly approaching…I really don’t know who else is going to be in it. But I know I am, and I am excited!”
Are you interested in an updated version of “For Colored Girls” - and with Arie in it? Who else would you cast? Arie also shared that she plans to get in the studio with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis - something their longtime muse Janet Jackson passed on this time around. How do you think that pairing will fare?
