Antony & The Johnsons ATL 2.08.09

Photo by Michael Alan Goldberg


This is going to be my attempt to write a short review of the Antony & The Johnsons show at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta on Feb 8 2009.
I am going to be honest, before attending the show I was not very familiar with his music. A good friend had an extra ticket and persuaded me to go. The whole time telling me that I would really enjoy the show and that Antony is an amazing songwriter and vocalist. Unfortunately we arrived about 10-15 minutes into his set. The show started really early at we got there about 8:40. We headed straight upstairs to the balcony area to get a good view.
Antony was seated at a grand piano with an awesome band. Cello, violin, guitar, bass, drums and horns. I was a bit familiar with the Cello player Julia Kent who has played with Angels of Light and Devendra Banhart, among many others. From the time I sat down I was mesmerized by his voice. Trying to put his music in a category is useless to me. You just have to take it for what it is. Emotional music with ups and downs that can take you to faraway places in your mind.
There was some great banter between the audience and Antony with proposals of marriage, talk of authors, crushes and playing in ATL.
They played until about 10pm with 1 encore. Seems like he played everything the audience wanted to hear and even threw in a Beyonce cover, Crazy in Love, which was really good in my opinion. The starfish song was another highlight for me.
All in all I will say it was a great show and I wish more artists could keep my attention for 1.5 hours like Antony did with his amazing music. I definitely recommend trying to catch one of his shows on this short tour.


Tour Dates Here

I Like

Today I want to share a few sites that i have been checking daily. Most of you probably already are familiar with them but for those who aren't, ENJOY.


1. Experimental ETC - Everything from Muslimgauze to Brainiac, Naked City to Sightings.


2. The Dust Bowl - Great site "For all things loud." Most recent post with Cop Shoot Cop. Most recent turn me on to a new band, "The Rabbits."


3. Beyond Failure - This site hits home for me. Based out of Atlanta and headed up by the drummer from one of my most favorite Atlanta bands ever, The Hal Al Shedad. He posts great stories and band info for lots of 90's Atlanta hotties. Including Bob, Fiddlehead, Car vs Driver and more. Updated quite a bit with downloads and video links.


4. COD Music - Lydia Lunch, Boredoms, The Swans all have been covered here. Good site that I need to check daily!


5. Sucka Pants - Tod Seelie has an awesome eye for photography! His photos from live shows and traveling round are incredible. Check em out NOW. Lots of Matt & Kim, CSS and Team Robespierre.

But I don't feel old!

So I have actually been leaving the house a lot more this year. Making an attempt to be social, have a good time, meet new people and see some great music. I find it funny that I am staying out later these days than when I was playing in bands and actually enjoyed going out. Crazy .... I can honestly say 3 of the 4 times I have been out lately we are usually the last ones in the bar for last call.

So Sat night we headed over to the Drunken Unicorn for night 2 of a local fest. Had some drinks at the bar Bookhouse in the same parking lot. (I believe it is owned by the same guy who owns MJQ.) Nice enough little place I would definitely go back for drinks. No smoking though which is not that common in ATL. So the plan was to see Brass Castle at Unicorn then head over to Highland Inn for "Fringe Factory night." Thanks to my friend John we were on the list at Unicorn so when we found out that Brass Castle was off the bill we still went and checked it out for a little while.

Drunken Unicorn was dark as usual and actually smelled a bit stale that night. There was a band playing when we arrived, we watched for approx 2 minutes then headed to next room for the bar. The DJ was playing pretty dealable music in the bar so it was nice to just hang there for a while. Gave the next band a few minutes of out time then decided we were outa there. It was billed as a "punk" fest but it the bands seemed to lean toward the metal/hardcore side of it all. I will say there was a pretty good turnout for a local show at the unicorn.

We headed over to The Highland Inn next for their "Fringe Factory" night. Seemed like a huge collection of "coolio" types out and wanting to be seen. I am not knocking it, I remember being in my early 20's and wanting to be out everynight where the action was. haha It was nice to run into some old friends that I hadn't seen in years. Mostly people that were also in bands during the 90's. I will say it was a bit crowded for my taste and the "smoking alley" sucked in the cold weather!
So again another 4am night. I guess "Fringe Factory" is 60's music ... Not really my thing but I would go back for some good DJ's.

So far my favorite newer bar in ATL is the 529. It is @ 529 Flat Shoals in East Atlanta Village. It is really small but for some reason I have taken to it. Can't wait to see Thank You & Mi Ami there in march. Should be a great show.

Budget Travel Bathrooms

Some bathrooms I have used in SE Asia...
Penang Malaysia 2003, some old hotel in Chinatown


Hotel in Labuan Bajo on Flores Island in Indonesia

Animals while Traveling

Various shots of animals ...

My Thoughts at 1am

My thoughts right now ... probably change tomorrow haha

Best ending to a song
Interpol
PDA ... last 1-2 minutes, transition done beautifully.

Best beginning to a song
Dead Kennedys
Holiday in Cambodia

Nepal Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/squidchip/

Nepal Photos - Oct, Nov 08

Nepal Photos

Creeping Thorns

A few videos I took while in Nepal. The band is called Creeping Thorns and they play all over Nepal. Some cover songs, some original material. Here are some video links if you want to check em out.

Back in the USA

Back in the US after a great trip to Nepal. Spent 24 days around the central and southern areas and had a blast! Will post some photos as soon as I go through the 8gigs worth of them.
Also will be posting a short video of a local band playing on the street in the town of Pokhara Nepal. One original song and one cover (Black Sabbath!) They are called "Creeping Thorns."
So that's my excuse for not posting for a while.
Hopefully back on track now.