Season's Rockings
Sometimes Those Big Rock Shows Can Inspire You - Just Ask Photographer Chris McKay
originally published November 22, 2006
As a concert photographer by trade, I’m fortunate enough to see some of the greatest music artists in the world. Heck, it’s in my job description. Whether they’re heading up the chain or going back down, I get to watch and capture it on film. Of course, no matter the quality, night after night in an arena or club can tend to leave one jaded. I’ll admit that feeling washes over me on occasion; but over the last couple of months, I’ve seen some things that brought back my excitement and reignited that wide-eyed sense of wonder. These aren’t necessarily my favorite recent shows, but they are the ones that have left the biggest impression on me.
Paul Stanley
October 21, 2006 @ The Tabernacle, Atlanta
Chris McKay
Paul Stanley
Hair-metal rock gods: Paul Stanley of KISS proved that sometimes these guys can get it right. Paul’s touring behind a truly embarrassing new solo album called Live To Win. Since I always find opening nights of tours intriguing, I was interested in checking it out despite the fact that the new album is a bust and Stanley’s being backed by the "Rock Star: Supernova" house band. I wasn’t expecting much. Then the lights went down.
There was no pyro, no "Awwwwwlllllrrrrriiiiight Atlantas," no theatrics whatsoever. Paul walked out with a smile to greet his crowd. His hands looked to be slightly shaking. He was definitely nervous. When the whole audience started singing along at the first chorus of “Live To Win,” you could see him visibly relax. Then it got good. The first big surprise came with a smoking version of the obscure KISS song “A Million To One.” It rocked, hard.
From there, it just got better. In addition to a sprinkling of new songs, Stanley and crew alternated between his first solo album (which I’ll admit a soft spot for) and KISS tunes. While you could see "Lick It Up" coming from a mile away, it was the songs like "Magic Touch," “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me” and "I Still Love You" that got me going. I was surprised at how well the band kept the spirit of the old songs without having to duplicate them note for note. I guess that's a skill that they honed as the house band for the "Rock Star" shows. Paul joked that at his first few rehearsals with them, he felt as if he was going to get voted out of the band.
As the show wound down, Stanley pulled out the big guns including “Do You Love Me?,” “I Want You,” “Detroit Rock City” and perhaps the biggest gun, “Love Gun.” Paul’s KISS cofounder Gene Simmons watched from the balcony and wielded an air-guitar.
Lindsey Buckingham
October 6, 2006 @ Variety Playhouse, Atlanta
Chris McKay
Lindsey Buckingham
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a bit in awe of Lindsey Buckingham and always have been. He’s that rare artist that can balance his experimental tendencies with mainstream masterpieces. Between his towering solo material and his work with Fleetwood Mac, I believe that Lindsey Buckingham is the most underrated musician in rock history. Judging from the lyrics on his brilliant new solo album Under The Skin, he agrees!
This was yet another Atlanta tour opener, so no one was quite sure what to expect when he took the stage by himself with his acoustic and launched into "Not Too Late." It sounded like wood and sparks. Reverb wrapped around the listener during the choruses only to be pulled back during the verses. It was as jarring and in-depth in the flesh as it is at home with headphones. After solo versions of "Trouble" and the Fleetwood Mac classic "Never Going Back Again," the band came out. Buckingham unleashed a new version of "I'm So Afraid" that is a lot more restrained than the Mac version. It's almost eerily quiet. Strangely, the super-powerful solo at the end was equally as intense but in a more muted way. Nice harmonies were added by the other guitar player. I think "gently intense" may be harder than straight ol' intense and this was a masterful display of that. There were also great versions of “Big Love,” “Go Insane,” “Tusk” and “Second Hand News” thrown in amongst the new tracks. It was no surprise that "Go Your Own Way" was the show closer and even less surprising that the place went berserk.
The encore of “Holiday Road (Theme From National Lampoon’s Vacation)” was a total shock as I’d always heard that Lindsey hated this one and refused to perform it. Well, he did it tonight and it was replete with a dog-barking, fall-to-the-floor-and-roll-around ending! We all sang along (and felt good about it).
The Zombies
September 27, 2006 @ Variety Playhouse, Atlanta
Chris McKay
The Zombies
The Variety Playhouse was looking good when I got there for this Little Steven’s Underground Garage sponsored show. They had the place all decked out with '60s movies projecting on the walls and honest-to-God go-go dancers shaking away on the stage to the best of garage-rock, power-pop and golden oldies. There were a lot of great bands on the bill, but I was there for one reason: The Zombies.
Oh, how I've longed to hear those Zombies classics live. How would they fare? Could they still pull it off? The answer is a qualified "yes." Colin Bluntstone's voice may be better than ever and Rod Argent's keyboard playing is still just over the edge (but in a way that you want it to be). And while it should literally be a crime for replacement guitarist Keith Airey to put an Eddie Van Halen influenced, hammer-on laden guitar solo into the middle of an otherwise dead-on “She’s Not There,” the rest of the show more than made up for that.
The Argent hit "Hold Your Head Up" was cool enough, but it was the Odessey & Oracle stuff that had me drooling. After all this time, there I stood finally listening to "This Will Be Our Year" in person. It felt bittersweet. The seemingly arbitrary chord changes of "Care Of Cell 44" wrapped around me and transported me to a time that I would never otherwise know. "A Rose For Emily" was pristine.
Then came the big one: Colin announced that they had been goofing off with a certain song at sound check and that some of the other bands on the bill said they should perform it. So for one of only a couple of times in the nearly 40 years since the song was recorded, they did "Beechwood Park." God, it sounded good. How could they not do this every night? Later, I grooved along to an extended takes of "Time Of The Season" and "God Gave Rock & Roll To You" as well as a "magical" quiet version of the standard "Summertime.” I felt, as I often have lately, privileged.
"Finest Worksongs" Benefit
September 13, 2006 @ 40 Watt Club
Chris McKay
R.E.M.
"We're R.E.M. and this is what we do.” Maybe this was the worst kept secret in Athens. But at approximately 8:50 p.m. on Sept. 13, no one in the room cared as Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe ripped into “Begin The Begin." Right out of the gate, it sounded amazing. I must say that I’d forgotten just what a formidable combo the original lineup was (and apparently still can be). Bill Berry really ups the ante as he drives the other guys more into rockier territory. It's definitely a different feeling with all four of them. The sad thing was that most of those who knew about “the secret” weren’t even there yet. No one figured they’d go on at the beginning of the event. So most of the sold-out crowd missed the two-song set that ended with “So. Central Rain.” I had, in fact, barely gotten through the door when they sauntered out nonchalantly. You’d think an R.E.M. reunion on the 40 Watt stage would be the highlight of the night, but the unity of the Athens music scene kept it going until last call.
Claire Campbell, Bain Mattox, Modern Skirts, The Observatory (with Vanessa Hay from Pylon) and so many other great Athens musicians took the stage to do their versions of R.E.M.’s back catalog. The early highlight for me was the duet between husband-wife duo of Bain Mattox and Amanda Kapousouz (AKA Tin Cup Prophette), who did a great mashup of "Nightswimming" and "Radio Song." She also did a hypnotic version of “Tongue” that was hard for the other acts (including R.E.M.) to top. Patterson Hood & Friends transformed “Burning Hell” into a lumbering monster that would be right at home in a Drive-By Truckers set, before inviting Mike Mills and Peter Buck to join them. For the rest of the night (give or take), Mills and Buck were up there jamming with the new guard of Athens. They did "Don't Go Back To Rockville" with Hood and then had some quality time with Five Eight. Buck even did a few of his trademark leaps during “Radio Free Europe.” Michael Stipe spent most of his time enjoying the evening. The most impressive thing to me was that the Athens folk left him alone and let him enjoy it! Every time I walked by, he had a smile on his face.
The finale was inevitable. Mike Mantione invited everyone up. Stipe climbed back on that jam-packed stage acting as a conductor for the massive roar of “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It." Every person in that room was singing along.
What an incredible night for an incredible town. And as a bonus, the event raised money for Community Connection and so this night will keep on giving. After the whole thing was over, I got hugged more times by more different people than I've ever been. It really does feel like family here. I love this place.
Poison
August 25, 2006 @ Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta
Poison in 2006? What’s the point? That’s what I was thinking. I’m not a fan and never will be. To my utter and complete surprise, they were a fun Friday night out. I guess that’s their stock in trade and tonight, they delivered. But it was what happened at the end of the show that earned Poison my personal award for “Most Rock And Roll Moment Of The Year.”
You see, Poison bassist Bobby Dall and singer Bret Michaels got into a bit of a scuffle during the encore. It seemed as if the once-pretty-boy frontman threw his microphone in the direction of the bassist. Bobby responded by taking off his bass, winding it up (just like in the “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” video) and slinging it at Michaels, hitting him hard, right in the legs. The other bandmembers and security intervened as the two dived at each other with Michaels then going into a boxing stance. After briefly leaving the stage, Michaels returned to apologize and said, "That's been building up for 20 years. You might have just witnessed the final Poison show with this formation."
As Michaels continued to apologize, Dall came from the wings, ran up to the mic and said, "I'll do one more fucking song” as guitarist C.C. Deville and drummer Rikki Rockett looked embarrassed and frustrated. The band then tore through a nearly punk version of "Talk Dirty To Me.” After that, Dall threw a peace sign and walked off, leaving the rest of band to take the final bows. The rumor is that Bret Michaels wound up leaving the venue in an ambulance. The tour ended a few days later.
Catch The Fever
For The Past Year, Early Athens Punk Band The Plague Has Been At It Again
originally published November 22, 2006
Although the history of the Athens music scene has been written many times, often revisited in this very paper, there are a few bands who are perpetually overlooked. A case in point is The Plague, the group that is arguably the first “proper” punk band from Athens. Link Soutar and Jaye McDonaldson formed the band in 1981 and the two would eventually recruit singer Kirk Stigler and Rick Lickwar.
“We all shopped for music at Chapter Three Records," says Soutar of the long-gone downtown record shop in the space that now houses Five Star Day Café, "and they had a little section of punk and new wave records that maybe totaled 30 albums. Our first buys were Richard Hell, Dead Boys and Television. Later on, we got Buzzcocks, Stranglers and Damned records.” Taking as much inspiration from the local scene as they did their record collections, the bandmembers were privy to some energizing events: “We were inspired by R.E.M.’s first gig, we saw the Clash for $5 and saw The Stranglers at Tyrones,” says Soutar.
The Plague's sound is a mixed bag, just like the bandmembers' influences. It alternates the speed of early American hardcore with the rhythm and melody-driven sound of second-wave English punk. The Plague regularly appeared at house parties and the then-burgeoning club scene during the '80s. “Jaye worked as a doorman for the 40 Watt," says Soutar, "and saw a lot of bands but no one with an 'edge.' The Plague was confrontational, some would say rude, and we sang about politics and the world. We played lots of house parties at places like the Peach & Pink house along with 688 and Metroplex in Atlanta, and the 40 Watt and Stitchcraft here in Athens."
By 1985, the band's credentials included having played with punk legends Circle Jerks and Suicidal Tendencies - “they tried to steal our girlfriends,“ says Soutar - and it was time to record some songs. Entering the studio with John Keane, the band, which was now with third drummer Vince Spivey, laid down several tracks that have, until now, lain stored away. In 1986, The Plague splintered after Lickwar and Spivey left town. Soutar and Stigler went on to form Big Head and Soutar and McDonaldson would eventually play together in Sump and ****Volcanic.
In late 2005, The Plague decided to resurrect its own punk sound. The inevitable question is, more than 20 years later, why? Soutar says the idea is pretty simple. “After **** Volcanic broke up, Jaye and I hadn’t played together in three years," he says, "so it was time for us to do that again. I also wanted to get a good recording done of our songs, for posterity.” Joining the band this time around is Bob Fernandez (ex-Star Room Boys, Big Head), who, according to Soutar, once served as The Plague’s one-man road and video crew.
Considering the current Athens scene, Soutar is nostalgic but encouraging. “More bands and more bars are a good thing," he says. "The quality of the music is always something the listener has to judge. Back when the scene was smaller and more insular, you’d always see the same people at all the shows. The attitude was looser. Most of Athens' biggest bands came from that period, like The B-52’s and Widespread Panic. If there’s a scene now, it’s a bunch of new kids doing it, and I say more power to them. It’s great to see some of the old guard back at it, though.”
The Plague recently returned to John Keane’s studio and laid down rough tracks for 19 songs which are still in the mixing and mastering stage. There’s a chance that a CD will make its appearance at the band's upcoming show, but there’s just as good a chance it won’t. One thing that’s not in doubt, though, is Soutar’s retention of his original punk ideals. When asked if he considered the Athens music scene to have been better when our local government was less aware of its existence, as opposed to its current practice of touting the scene as a tourist attraction then hamstringing it with regulation, Soutar says, “It was better when government was unaware of the music scene. Government does very little well.”
WHO: The Plague, Phoenix Pharaoh, Sacred Hollow
WHERE: Tasty World
WHEN: Wednesday, November 22
HOW MUCH: $5
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