[atlantaprog] odds & ends

Hi,

Thanks to those intrepid souls who turned out for the showcase last Tuesday night. TouchXtone turned in a nice set of trancy ambient electronica while Belljar delivered a high-energy set of their unique brand of dark, moody alterna-prog. In keeping with the unofficial tradition of including a cover tune in ARIA sets, TouchXtone quoted the Quaker spritual "Simple Gifts" in the midst of one of their techno-workouts, while Belljar did a killer version of the Doors' Five to One. The funny thing about this is that both of the bands are new to the ARIA community and were most likely unaware of the cover-tune tradition! There were about a dozen ARIA regulars in the audience. Combined with the band's on entourages and a few Brandyhouse regulars who wandered into the room from time to time. it's safe to see there was an audience of about 30 folks - considering it was a rainy Tuesday night just before a holiday, that doesn't seem so shabby. Unfortunately, the configuration of the BH had every sitting at tables down the side of the room, leaving the main floor area quite bare, so it looked rather empty!

Another downside of the BH experience was the realization that BH doesn't charge a cover on Tuesday nights. A tip jar was quickly set up and each band earned a whopping $35 - which is actually more than the bands would earn at CJs after paying the $100 room rental!

Next month, Noise dot com's Dec. 22nd show at BH will serve as the ersatz ARIA showcase for December and starting January we should get this rolling on a regular basis. Stay tuned!

Lastly, a couple of shows of interest coming up in town this December - on Friday the 3rd, Umphrey's McGee will be at Variety - well yeah, they've never heard of YOU either! But they are featured in the latest issue of Progression. Apparently they are quite big on the jamband circuit, but are really quite proggy. The buzz is they're on their way to becoming the next Phish, but they would rather be compared to Crimson.

They say, and I quote:

Umphrey’s McGee is what would happen if King Crimson, Steely Dan and John Coltrane collaborated on a magnificent bronze statue paying tribute to Frank Zappa…and then returned the night after the grand unveiling to blow it up using an extremely small, homemade thermonuclear device.
Umphrey’s McGee is a Jamband according to many, a Prog band according to some, a Jazz combo according to a few and a rock band according to themselves. "A little bit of everything played at an aggressive volume," says guitarist Jake Cinninger. "We put on a rock show."

Also, Jane Siberry will be at the Red Light Cafe on the 11th. At one time she did very artsy rock in a Kate Bush/Tori Amos vein and collaborated with folks like Eno, but later albums have been a bit more jazzy/loungey. I don't what she'll be doing this show, but I'll be there to find out.

See? You KNEW you were on this list for a reason...

AWG

Other related posts: