We’re going back to our roots and moving forward at the same time. No, this isn’t a commercial for an American auto manufacturer. However, it is what’s going on here at Atlanta’s A-List.
This whole thing started when we would find a local act we loved, or heard of a national act that was coming around, and tried to get people out to see the great music. We sent irregular emails. We found ourselves in the middle of summer, and discovered we had something to write about almost every week. We sent weekly emails. Somebody told us we could get rich by starting a blog (liar!) so we started a blog. We posted once a week.
We’ve been at it for a little while and I think we’ve grown. The blog has grown from posting the weekly email to something worth checking out a couple times a week – or at least we like to think so. We’ve reviewed shows, new records, books. We’ve posted about upcoming shows and even posted some pics of shows we’ve seen. We’re on Twitter – which is increasingly informative and addictive (really). We’re on Blip.fm – a great place to hear music on the web. We even do the Facebook thing.
The weekly update has changed too. The introductory rant has become a regular part of each week. We’re covering more events than ever too. Really that’s the problem. We can’t catch everything you need to see. We don’t publish a list because we know there are others out there that simply do it better – check out Atlanta Shows or Stomp & Stammer, we link to both on the blog. When we try to cover everything we just miss stuff and we don’t like that. We also haven’t been so good about the book thing lately, which means fewer events for us, and less time to read. When we don’t mention something until the week it hits town, it may be to late to get tickets or change your plans. We don’t like that either.
We’re going to try to solve this in two ways. We’re continuing the weekly email for now, but we will only feature one show or event a week. To compensate, we will be posting more stuff to the blog. Look for early announcements of major shows and short announcements for shows on tap. We’ll try to get some more vids and music up there, so you can get the flavor of things yourself. We also hope to add a lot more in the way of reviews. Watch the left hand column of the blog for A-List Festivals too – like the upcoming AthFest. In short, less in the email, more on the web.
Now time for the first week of the Atlanta’s new A-List.
Breaking the Law
Despite that whole rant there, we’re going to talk about two events this week. First, the legendary Kirkwood brothers are clean, free and back together as the Meat Puppets. These punk grinders rose to celebrity when they backed Curt Cobain for covers of their own songs on Nirvana’s infamous MTV Unplugged in New York record. Their subsequent release, Too High to Die, featured the very grungelike “Backwater” and sold quite a few records. Soon, the album’s title came to reflect true life and the band broke up. They’re back again and the most recent reunion has produced a new record and a free appearance Tuesday night at Decatur CD.
In advance of their Tuesday night show at The Earl (only $15), you can catch them at DCD around 6:30. There will be free beer, free music, and a band with easy access to Sharpies. Too easy. In case, you didn’t hit it above, more details here.
The second show we can’t resist talking about is Camera Obscura at the Variety Playhouse Friday night. There most recent, My Maudlin Career, has been greeted with much enthusiasm. If you were a fan of last year’s M. Ward/Zooey Deschanel release as She & Him, then this this may be for you. The hooks are drawn from 60s pop and Traceyanne’s vocal is spot on. They’re worth checking out, adding one more paragraph, and breaking our own new rule.
That’s Atlanta’s A-List and all the same, we take our chances, laughed at by time, tricked by circumstances.
by Gunter Grass. All are welcome.
