WOW! What an amazing weekend. First let's step back in time a bit. It was a Saturday afternoon, April 2 of this year. I was sitting on the couch watching TV with my wife when I decided to take a look at the email on my phone. One of the emails was from twitter with a collection of tweets that twitter thought I would be interested in seeing. One of them was from
Thursday. I saw this
tweet and could not believe my eyes. Not only were Thursday going to play again! One of the bands my son loves and introduced to me,
American Football, was also going to playing a reunion that weekend. I literally got up out of my seat, knelled on the floor for a minute and was speechless. There were so many other outstanding acts set to play that weekend that I knew I would not want to miss that weekend and my son would never forgive me if I were to not take him along. So, on April 4, I bought two tickets to
The Wreckingball.
Now we fast forward to the weekend of the festival.
Saturday
I woke up at 4:05am, hit the snooze and woke up again at 4:15. I got myself ready and we were on the road by 4:50 to drive to Atlanta. At some point right around
here is where the drive got interesting. My check engine light came on and was soon followed by my battery light. I went into the display settings for my car and sure enough, the battery voltage was dropping. At times it was as low as 10.4 volts. It was still too early for any of the auto stores to be open so I continue driving. Once we stopped to get gas
here, my car would not start. We get a jump start and then find the
nearest auto store where they test the battery and alternator. It was determined that the battery was bad, so replace it and we are back on the road. But wait, there's more! If you spend anytime driving on the interstate system you will see pieces of shredded tires littering the roadway. Ahead of me I see on chunk in the middle of the two lanes. I noticed a pickup truck towing a trailer. I thought to myself, as he signaled to change lanes, "he is going to hit that piece of tire." Sure enough he hit it. It then flew into the air, made it's way into my lane, bounced once, bounced of the hood my car and landed on my trunk and came to rest against the spoiler. So I pull off at the next exit to remove it from my car.
Once again we are back on the road. Thankfully, that was the last travel incident of THAT DAY.
The Festival
Saturday
After checking in at the hotel and checking our bags, because our room was not ready, we drive to the venue. Parking in that area is nearly impossible. I probably could have parked at the shopping center across the street since we did eat lunch there, but I did not want to risk having my car towed. After 15 or 20 minutes of futile searching for parking, we go back to the hotel and drop off the car in favor of Uber. This was my first ever experience with Uber. I have seen
videos on Youtube involving Uber drivers. My experience was great. The car arrived quickly, the drive was expedient, the driver offered local knowledge and it was, overall, very convenient.
We finally make it into the festival and the first band we see on stage is
Milemarker. Ironic that we drove 6 hours to see a band that formed in a town 45 minutes from where we started our drive. With it being the dead of summer in Atlanta it was hot. Hot and humid. Fortunately there was free water to be had, even though it tasted like the rubber hose it came out of.
After having driven all morning, and looking at the schedule of bands that we definitely did not want to miss, we went over to the
shopping center across the street for lunch. The
food court in this place was like no other I had seen before. We settled on
H&F Burger. This appeared to be the fastest and best option. However, a cheeseburger here cost $12.00. Honestly, it was good, just not $12 good.
When we got back to the festival
Julliette Lewis and The Licks were on stage. A good actress but her music was not quite my style. Next was
Anti-Flag. More in keeping, I think, with the overall feel of the festival. A good socially conscious punk band.
We then explored the
area a bit walking around to see what we could see. I knew there was a
skate park nearby that would interest my son. However, it turned out to be quite a walk and we didn't want to miss too much more of the show.
When we got back
Bayside was on stage for just a few minutes more and then
The Joy Formidable was to be on stage at the other end of the park. I had listened to TJF before, but their stage show was remarkable and one of the highlights of the day for me. When that set ended we walked over to the
The Masquerade, the club hosting the event, and waited to get inside to see one of the reunion shows. This time it was
Piebald. That was a raucous event with the floor bouncing and everyone having a great time. With only two shows left for the night we went outside to wait for
Drive Like Jehu to hit the stage. Again, a set full of energy and purpose oozed from the stage. You could really tell these guys like performing and sound was amazing. The final festival show of the day was
L7. Being a child of the 90's I knew of L7 though I was never a big fan. The performance though was professional and the band sounded tight.
That was the end of the festival for that day, however, there were some after shows happening at the club. One of which was
Thursday. This was to be there first show in five years and there was no way I was going to miss it. We head over to the club and wait in line to get inside. The opening bands were
Gouge Away and
Touché Amoré. Great sets by both bands. Between TA and Thursday I almost fell asleep twice. It had been a long day. Then Thursday hit the stage and any sign of drowsiness quickly faded. The set list was great, the band sounded amazing, like they had been together the last five years playing shows. The crowd was energetic and you could feel the excitement in the air.
The night ended and we went back to the hotel to rest for the next day to come. By the time my head hit the pillow I had been awake for 23 hours.
Sunday
We left the hotel in plenty of time to catch the first act of the day,
exwhy. I had become familiar with exwhy from listening to the Wreckingball Spotify Playlist. The two songs that were on the playlist I found to be wonderful. The band actually played a show a couple months earlier in Chapel Hill that I went to. I talked to the singer at that show and told them the story of finding them and bringing my son to Atlanta for the festival. He was intrigued that my 15 year old son was such a fan of the music being showcased at the festival. Following that was
Young and Heartless, another band I had come to love through the Spotify playlist. Another great sound and well worth standing in the mid day Atlanta sun.
Bully, a band I became familiar with through
Sound Opinions played next. We stuck around for a few songs but then headed inside to see
Looming. Once again this was a Spotify favorite of mine and they did not disappoint.
After that set we once again went across the street for $12 cheeseburgers.
The next bands we saw were
Tigers Jaw, followed by
The Promise Ring, another reunion. We once again attempted to escape the heat and humidity by heading inside to catch a few songs by
CIV.
Now the day was really starting to take off, and our biggest expectations for the day were about to hit the stage. We made it outside in plenty of time to get a good spot for
American Football. The crowd was buzzing with excitement for this reunion. There was plenty of talk in the crowd and when the band come on stage the cheers were immediate. It was a wonderful set and something for which I feel privileged to have witnessed.
We went inside for the last time. The last time not only for the day, but the last time that either myself or my son will ever step foot in that building. With construction in the area The Masquerade is moving locations. The band we saw was
Foxing. This was my sons suggestion as I do not even remember hearing them on Spotify even though I listened to every track on that playlist. It was a very welcome surprise. They now have a new fan and the only shirt I bought, though it was my second choice behind the sold out American Football shirt, was theirs.
Another 1990's band, though they still are making new records, was
Dinosaur Jr. We did not get close enough to the stage for any good views as we were setting up near the other stage for the penultimate show of the festival THURSDAY again! This time we were in the thick of the crowd. When the music started the crowd surged toward the stage. A mosh pit started and crowd surfers made their way to the front on the hands and backs of the enthusiastic mob of humanity that had gathered for this momentous occasion. With a different set list than the night before Thursday had to be the big hit of the weekend. I know they were for me and my son. The adrenaline surged as we jumped and screamed during every song of their all too short hour long set. It seemed as though the time was flying by and the set ended with
Understanding In A Car Crash.
The joy was overwhelming and even though there was one more performance to round out the night, I knew nothing would top the performance we had just seen. We stuck around for a few songs by
Quicksand, who on any other night could have been the best thing happening.
Monday
Pilgrimage
I have been an
R.E.M. fan since the late 80's and I knew that if I was ever near Athens, GA I would love to drive by a few of the famous sites. So that is what I did on the way back home. We drove to spot off the railroad tracks that is featured on the front cover of
Murmur. We then went to
Wuxtry Records, where Peter Buck and Michael Stipe formed their friendship. We drove by
Weaver D's restaurant, famous for providing the title to
Automatic For The People. We stopped to see the
steeple of the church where R.E.M. played their first show, April 5, 1980. The final stop on the trip was the
Murmur Trestle which appears on the back cover of Murmur.
The drive home ended the way it began Saturday morning. Engine light, battery light, dropping voltage. I took the car to a shop today and they could not find any faults with either the battery or alternator. The story will continue later.
The Pilgrimage
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| Kudzu - Murmur Front Cover |
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| Wuxtry Records |
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| Weaver D's |
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| Steeple |
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| Murmur Trestle Information |
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| Murmur Trestle |
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