Ani DiFranco

w/ Over the Rhine

Friday, March 7 @ 40 Watt Club

originally published March 5, 2008

Ani DiFranco began playing guitar on the streets of Buffalo, NY, as a preteen. Before she was 20, she already had her first record out on her very own label, Righteous (now Righteous Babe) Records. In the nearly two decades since, DiFranco has released 18 more albums; signed 13 other acts to Righteous Babe's roster; traded in her characteristic dreads, morphing from hardcore to hottie; and has been named one of CMJ’s "25 Most Influential Artists." At five-foot two inches, the pint-sized provocateur is renowned for multifaceted, socially and politically conscious lyrics; her impassioned vocal style; and her characteristic staccato finger-picking that often employs alternate tunings. A year after the birth of her only daughter, DiFranco is returning to the road to promote both the release of her latest retrospective album, Canon, as well as her first book of poetry, Verses.

Opening act Over the Rhine has been touring nearly as long as DiFranco. At the core of this Ohio-based band is wife/husband duo Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler. Their work, though not quite as well known as DiFranco's, is just as highly regarded; they have backed the Cowboy Junkies and opened for Bob Dylan and R.E.M, among others. Like DiFranco, their sound is not easy to categorize. Although their repertoire is mostly piano-driven, they seamlessly draw on rock, alt-country and Americana roots, with sometimes melancholy and often introspective lyrics referencing cultural touchstones like Tom Waits, Thelonious Monk or The Bible. What is constant is the range and emotion of Bergquist’s opera-trained voice and the masterful versatility of multi-instrumentalist Detweiler. Most recently, the duo delivered a sizzling serving of sultry cabaret with The Trumpet Child.

Ironically, Detweiler credits his musical tenacity to his family’s Amish roots and its cultural suppression of music. He was not allowed to play a musical instrument until his family finally moved to their own farm when he eight. Once he had the chance, Detweiler began improvising on the piano immediately, determined to make music of his own. Fortunately for the rest of us, he’s never stopped.

Deirdre Sayre

These United States

w/ Andy From Denver

Friday, March 7 @ Flicker Theater & Bar

originally published March 5, 2008

It's hard enough for a new band to hit the road with just a debut record in the bag, but DC folk collective These United States wanted to make it even harder. The band is about to head out on an outlandish, albeit ambitious, tour playing 33 shows in 33 cities… with 33 different line-ups. Core members Jesse Elliott, Tom Hnatow and Robby Catholic will hit the road early each morning, getting to their destination in the afternoon with just enough time to meet their new bandmates for a quick run-through. The resulting performance will literally be one-of-a-kind.

What could inspire such shenanigans? Well, maybe Elliott just has that adventurous spirit in his blood. As it turns out, his family tree traces back to one John Chapman, better known to the adoring masses as the legendary Johnny Appleseed. Maybe old Uncle Appleseed helped keep the doctor away with the fruits of his labor, but a performance by These United States has even more to offer. Elliott's lyrical prowess is almost disarmingly poetic. The debut record A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden is rich with allegory; layers of metaphor and imagery delivered with plaintive warmth and earnestness.

Before These United States, Elliott was something of a gonzo-journalist, and that fanciful articulation rings true in his lyrics and even in his emailed interview responses.

"It will be driving across the desert and the mountain," Elliott says of touring. "It will be the second mountain and the river of people who cut through it. It will be no end in sight and then one day, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, it’s all over. And we’re all the better for it, all us amateurs."

No clues yet as to who will make up the Athens band, but Elliott suggests musicians from other bands on the bill will likely fill in, plus any number of surprises. Maybe you can be a part of this colorful experiment?

Michelle Gilzenrat

Pattern Is Movement

w/ Cinemechanica, We Versus the Shark, Ponytail

Friday, March 7 @ Caledonia Lounge

originally published March 5, 2008

Andrew Thiboldeaux (vocals, bass, keys, mellotron) and Chris Ward (drums) are soldiering on as a duo these days, after the departure early last year of Pattern Is Movement member Corey Duncan.

The artful Philly pop band most recently stopped through Athens a few weeks short of a year ago - on its way to South By Southwest then, just as it is now. The pair will drop in again to put on display new tunes off All Together. It's the band's fourth album, officially coming out on Apr. 2, and on All Together, the two bearded guys find themselves settling into a tight pattern that recalls their past work, yet builds upon it.

The tunes remain rhythmically cyclical, and what pops up is no less ambient, yet not quite as stark as on albums past. Pattern Is Movement's songs set forth a strong argument that technically proficient and intricately structured rock music need not be overbearingly abrasive; some of this stuff is downright mystical, heavy on acoustica and densely layered, a headphonic experience translatable to live performance. Speaking of that onstage presence, Pattern Is Movement lets the subtlety stay on the stereo, thanks very much, with enormously sweaty, frenetic displays as the thrilling norm. And by the way, for those expecting to find Dirty Versions, the new album from local favorite We Versus the Shark, on sale tonight (the club had made some mention a month back of this being the band's CD release show), think again; it'll still be a while coming. Instead, sate yourself with a performance alone, along with one from the Athens guitar heroes in Cinemechanica and Baltimore's kinetic, noisy, rock-and-roll act Ponytail.

Chris Hassiotis

The Apes

w/ An Albatross, Smokedog

Monday, March 10 @ Caledonia Lounge

originally published March 5, 2008

It's worth noting that years before it was de rigueur to name your band after your spirit animal and walk around looking like you just stepped out of an ashram, The Apes were unapologetically doing just that - and very much on their own terms. This pack of lunatics performed at the Caledonia in the fall of 2003. For starters, you had a legitimately simian character in Ronald Wolf behind a translucent drum kit. Majestic Ape (apparently a schoolteacher by day) was a woman who severely owned and controlled her keyboard more than played it. Jackie Magik wrung truly disgusting tones and distortions from his bass guitar. The frontman might be described as a feral Jim Morrison. That's right, kids - no guitar. Don’t freak out, man! You won't miss it. At their inception, The Apes were basically Black Sabbath minus the six-string.

The aforementioned Lizard King has left the building, presumably to go hang out with a mystical Indian somewhere in the desert. In his place, a man known as Lucius Twilight has stepped into the role of lead vocalist. This new lineup is still going, still strong. A tour EP with hand-drawn artwork manifested itself as an early document of the band’s current mutation, and now there is a full-length recording called Ghost Games.

One of the great things about Athens is that you can go to the Caledonia Lounge even on a Monday night and still get your skull smashed against the walls. And whilst the Apes sup on your brain-jellies a la those crazy monkeys in that movie Congo, you can use your last moment to think, "Long live The Apes!"

Jeff Tobias