That’s the Black Lips’ bassist Jared Swilley. There weren’t very many pictures, it’s hard to take shots when the crowd is trying to crush anyone in the media pit…
so, I’ve been at AthFest for two days now and have see quite a lot of great bands. Taken quite a lot of photos an met a some really interesting people. Where to begin…
Day 1
Day one started with getting to Athens at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, I would have thought the vendors and such would be set up and ready to go by then. The first shows at the outdoor stages were to begin at 5 or so, so those sound checks were understood. But nothing was really set-up. there seemed to be a lack of urgency around the situation. What else to do, oh, go eat at Clocked. Yes, go eat at Clocked.
During the day and not in the late night post show Clocked is a whole different experience. One place you can eat by yourself and be completely entertained by the aesthetics alone. But i’ll talk about that later.
The town was normal-ish for a day in the summer, it wasn’t slamming with a pre-AthFest crowd like I thought it would be. The streets weren’t lined, some of the restaurants were busy, but its was lunch time, so what did I really expect…
Those Darlins, Twin Tigers, Dead Confederate
I left around 4 to set-up my sleeping situation. Am staying the weekend at the Misfortune 500 house. It’s always interesting to stay with a band. Wii sports would later be the name of the night.
re-entered AthFest at 630pm to catch the Mainstage kickoffs. Local band Twin Tigers started at 6:40, caught their set. And over at the second stage Those Darlins out of Tennesee were playing their dirty Nashville grit-country. Three ladies out front and a frilly shorts drummer in the back.
Dead Confederate followed on the Main. Now, these guys have been getting some serious press this past year, and I was anxious to see them live. Needless to say, they’re good. Someone said they had “space-rock” in their description… I don’t know about “space-rock” but their sound is definately heavily haunting. And I don’t mean metal heavy, I mean it is literally ‘heavy’ when they play, it weighs on you. Hardy Morris stands at the microphone with his hair over his face and his guitar as far down as his arms can reach. But his voice is… pained. Rushed with the throaty whine you hear from early Kings of Leon, except you can actually understand what he is saying.
They were good.
Black Lips
The Black Lips were insane. I was talking with Misfortune 500 about the Black Lips, and how they seem to be getting slated with a stage presence similar to GG Allin. Granted, they have done some pretty …choice acts at shows, but when I was watching the crowd, it was the fans who were going ballistic. This isn’t Slipknot, it isn’t GWAR, it isn’t Dillinger Escape Plan. Its just blues-punk, rock, but something about them rally’s the demons from their patron. Oddly, AthFest didn’t have any security at the front of the stage/pit barricade before the show began… the minute they walked on stage, that barricade was shoved forward three feet and panic struck the staff of AthFest. A constant 45 minute struggle between wall of fans and wall of security began. It was like watching an accordion, back and forth, back and forth, repeat. The crowd Surfing began and the objects in people’s hand soon flew in every direction, mostly stage-bound.
First song in stuff begins to break. First it was guitarist Joe Bradley’s microphone head-butt within the first song… and subsequently the second that put that mic out of commission. Drum sticks dissapeared and a halt to the show was held so Joe Bradly and crew could look around the stage for them. Ian Saint Pé ended the set with a Pete Townsend guitar smashing. One in which he threw the guitar into the crowd, and immediately ran after it to get the strap back. I met up with him after the show. I told him I hope he gets a new guitar before Wednesday’s show in Atlanta, “pssh, I bought that thing from over there (points to 40 watt) just to smash it”.
So the day 1 ended the opposite of how it began. it started lackluster and indifferent and was over with a scared shit-less security and the loyal fans of the Black Lips covered in many different fluids. Including some ‘lucky’ front rowers taking Pé spit home with them.
