- Listener
JAC0B S1NG3R
Age: 29
Location: Athens, GA
Joined On: Jan 14, 2007
Occupation: Graduate Student
Website: www.myspace.com/hovel_de_james
Music makes my spirit soar. These bands are listed here because their music makes me happy. I do my best not to be a snob about music (or anything for that matter) -- I'll admit that I don't always succeed because I'm passionate about my opinions and even a little overly dramatic at times. I do listen for musical talent, inspired lyrics, experimentation, and emotional communication when I hear a band -- those things are important to me, but they don't have to be for you. I'd like to think that my favorite artists are those that create music from within themselves without thinking too much about sounding like other artists and just let their inspirations happen. Please let me know what you think.
Modern Skirts at the 40Watt w/ Band Marino
Last night was my -- and Athens' -- first exposure to Band Marino. I'm a huge MS fan because they know (and write/perform) great music. This opinion was further confirmed last night when I saw them and Band Marino last night at the 40 Watt. I must first give some cred to the masterful sound engineer -- great job! (they only do voice-overs and pitch enhancement on SNL and the like, right!?). Yeah, both bands were that good. OK, here are my individual reviews.
Band Marino: GREAT enegry! They deserve huge credit for winning the audience over early by playing nice tight numbers and really having fun with it -- dueling guitars and all! I felt so hypnotized it was scary! I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't let their set speak for itself when lead singer Nathan Bond repeated shameless plugs for their merchandise. (That's obviously a compliment and a criticism). If this band comes back to Athens and shows me they can perform at anything close to that level, I'll be completely won over. You can take that promise to the bank, Band Marino, because I'll be sure to buy some of that merchandise.
Modern Skirts: Not their best throughout, but solid and extremely enjoyable as always. Despite audience response, I thought "Four Years Later" was great, but it was better last time then t was called "Tootsie Roll." I like that name better too. The audience rightly got into it though as the show picked up speed, and get into it they did. It was my first 40 Watt show where I saw crowd surfing and even a stage dive attempt, though I'd be remiss to say that The Whigs are the loudest thing I've seen at the 40 Watt so maybe I just haven't been at the right shows. I missed not hearing all of the new songs not on the album (which is amazing -- it's a must own) and was disappointed at a few poor harmonies, especially during the normally solid Ring the Bell, which they used to closed their encore -- the rock-out jam at the end was as thrilling as ever though. I think the road might be catching up to these guys a little bit right now, but they are still a must see where ever they perform.
