Athens Popfest 2006: Day ThreeAthens Popfest 2006: Day Three
Athens, GA - Kaela, Brett and I set out Thursday morning due north toward Popfest. It would be our first time in Athens, and we were excited. We arrived six hours and three stops later, with three bellies full of "tradition served daily" from Cracker Barrel. We were just in time to catch some going ons at Little Kings.
Little Kings was the home of all of Popfest's day shows, mostly consisting of lesser known bands. It was a really great choice since the windows let the daylight pour in on stage and it was a more intimate setting than its late night counterpart, the 40 Watt Club.
The Ocelots took the stage at 5 p.m. Their rock was my first taste of Popfest and got the blood flowing. Seattle's Patience Please kept it going 'til dinner.
We had an hour to kill before the shows started up at 40 Watt, so we headed to the locally recommended Five Star Day for some home-style soul food. Butter chicken, biscuits, hoppin' johns (a rice/bean/salsa mixture) and a cup of cream of mushroom soup made me so full and so happy. Highly recommended (and only $10 for a meal!).
Rolling ourselves back, we caught the start of The Smittens' set at 8:30 p.m. They were all smiles, and their enthusiastic twee-pop was a nice way to start off the second half of the day. When their guitarist broke a string, they sang an acapella instead of standing around awkwardly like most bands. In a cutesy Popfest moment, guitarist Colin "Charming Smitten" Clary offered free hugs if you couldn't afford their merch. Be sure to check out the interview we did with them.
Next came Cars Can Be Blue, an Athens duo that started off as a joke. Their music is twee-pop meets Adam Sandler (in a hilariously great way). Their music piques your interest. Then it makes you laugh and generally have a good time. Their MySpace page asks "Who said music can't be fun?" and that describes them to a t. We were treated to a dirty twee-pop song (MP3 available on their Podbop profile), a cover of some Ol' Dirty Bastard song, and a seductive bellow when Nate revealed his true colors. Check out the interview we did with them as well.
I pretty much tuned out both M Coast and The Gazeteers. Neither were bad in the hurt-your-ears, nails-on-chalkboard kind of way, but they just didn't stand out as anything special.
During the down time we walked down the street to the local indie coffee shop. Hot Corner Coffee was our hub during Popfest (one block from both venues) and provided the necessary free wi-fi, caffeinated libations and comestibles to keep us going. Their jasmine and garden iced teas were also delicious.
The Love Letter Band went on at 11:30 p.m. Apparently they are usually a full band, but we were treated to a stripped-down acoustic set by singer-songwriter Chris Adolf with his friend providing some backups. A hint of Bob Dylan's twang and Bright Eyes' angst could be heard in his outstanding folk-rock performance. Reminds me of something you'd find on Saddle Creek. This guy could really go big.
Oh-OK headed on stage next. Apparently they were a twee-pop band from the '80s. I don't think their music was anything special, but you could tell that the two frontwomen were psyched to be back on stage after all that time. A good show can result from awesome music OR completely enthused musicians. Their constant excitement and gratitude made me smile.
A great show happens when you get both excellent music AND enthusiasm from the performer. The Mountain Goats delivered in every account imaginable. I confess the whole time I watched him perform, I was standing there thinking to myself, this is the kind of show that has made the 40 Watt Club legendary; this is the kind of show I'll still be talking about in five years.
We returned to Mark's house around 2 a.m. and fell to our beds in rock-induced exhaustion.
