Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power

with Liz Durrett and Ham 1

Saturday, Dec. 16 @ 40 Watt Club

originally published December 13, 2006

Rich Merritt

Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power

The depth of the Athens music scene is staggering, but even the most ardent live-music showgoers can get a little burned out. Y'know: "Yeah, that band's great, but I've seen 'em, like, 50 times this year, and always on the same stage…" So hip hip hooray for the rare collaborative performances that increase the depth of possibilities in local music, allowing performing musicians chances to exercise new muscles and giving audiences a fresh reason to open their ears.

Audiences got a chance to see local songwriter Vic Chesnutt, that icon of wry and tender Southern sorrow, backed by the psych-rock powerhouse Elf Power at a taping of the Turner South show "Music Road" at the 40 Watt Club back in January. "Vic asked us to play with him on the TV show," says head Elf Andrew Rieger, "and as we're huge fans of his, of course we obliged."

The show ended up never airing, but the performance was such a success, the 40 Watt went so far as to schedule and promote a summer show pairing Chesnutt and the Elves, but the show had to come off the calendar due to prior obligations of Chesnutt's that took him to perform at festivals in Canada. Things have finally come together for an encore performance, though, timed just right to serve as the 40 Watt's annual holiday celebration (a party at which Chesnutt has become a regular performer). Expect to see Elf Power add some oomph to Chenutt's idiosyncratic songs: "We rock 'em out, snazz 'em up, add majestic flourishes and psychedelic makeovers," says Rieger. Also, Chesnutt has been known to roast a few reworked Christmas tunes over an open fire in years past. As for future collaborations? "We've talked about recording together again," says Rieger, who welcomed Chesnutt's backing vocals on the title track from the 2004 Elf Power album Walking With the Beggar Boys, "so hopefully we will do it at some point."