Atlanta Music Guide

Live Review: The National @ The Tabernacle, May 27

By Julia Reidy

It began with "Runaway." The nine-member incarnation of The National, complete with three horn players and a keyboardist, began the set with a new, mesmerizing, post-Boxer song. Poignant and compelling even on the first go-around, everyone listened with rapt attention. Then, like one communal exhale, guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dessner launched into the opening riffs of "Start A War" and the place erupted. It wasn't the during-intro cheers that marked the change, it was that the baritone notes that spilled out of Matt Berninger as he clutched his microphone like a lifeline were now veiled in a delicate tenor and soprano cloak as thousands sang along with him. Our song shimmered in the background like the tinsel curtain behind the band itself.

CD Review: Von Iva -- Girls on Film

Von Iva
Girls on Film
Stickfigure Records

By Eileen Tilson

Rumor has it that Von Iva, grandmother of Jillian Iva and the band’s namesake, was one of the most seductive snake-charmers of her time. She captivated her audience, mesmerizing them with her control of her body; Walking on stage in her short shorts and heels on Von Iva’s “Hell on Heels” tour, it is no secret that charming runs in Jillian’s veins as well.

Q&A with Cris Kirkwood of Meat Puppets -- Playing The EARL June 16

By Samantha Parvin

Meat Puppets, a band that has been around for nearly three decades and has experimented with most all musical genres under the sun, has just released yet another album, Sewn Together. Brothers Cris (bass) and Curt (vocals, lead guitar) Kirkwood, along with drummer Ted Marcus, began a tour to support the album on May 12 in Los Angeles and will end in Austin on July 9. Cris caught up with AMG to talk about the album and the show on June 16 at East Atlanta’s The EARL.  

Tell us about the new record, Sewn Together. Artistically, what did you want to accomplish on this album that is different from your previous albums?

On previous we were trying to keep from giving each other crabs. Now we’re trying to give each other crabs. We’ve kind of laid off getting offensive and have grown close to our own.

You and your brother, Curt, are back together again for the first time in several years. What do you think your reunion and the addition of drummer Ted Marcus will create on this tour? Do you see a vibe or tone forming yet for the tour?

Curt and I met Ted during last record in 2006. We noticed something right away. Whatever the fuck it is, we noticed it right away. The faint stink of doo-doo that Curt and I do, just the two of us together again – we’re family, and we’ve been so astranged – and that was because of me. One thing I feel is that we’ve done it so long, we’re almost able to “ape” my heroes and I can almost tolerate what I do - almost. 

What have the shows been like thus far on the tour, and what can we expect from the June 16 show at The EARL?

Disappointment, alienation, you know, the stench of desperation. 

CD Review: Magic Wands -- Magic Love & Dreams

Magic Wands
Magic Love & Dreams

By Eileen Tilson

With a name like Dexy Valentine, from the leader of a band called The Magic Wands, you are most likely to expect a scene out of a Hogwarts prom, and truth be told, you would not be that far off. With their four song EP, Magic Love & Dreams, Nashville-based duo The Magic Wands and their pubescent laced lyrics and blissfully psyched out guitars, are the perfect soundtrack to a Dumbledore dance-a-thon.

The Charlatans Coming to The Loft on October 5, Tickets Go on Sale Friday, May 29

Ah, those baggy trousered, cagoule-wearing, northern British lads with bad bowl haircuts and an affinity for brilliant guitar-driven rock. If you have any knowledge of music from across the pond, then you probably know what we're talking about. From Oasis to the Verve, Cast to Shed Seven, and of course The Charlatans, these lads lef the Britpop revolution in the early- to mid-'90s. The Guardians of Baggy Britpop have kept a long, steady career that has spanned two decades, and as they ready the physical release of their latest record, You Cross My Path (already out digitally), they have also announced an American club tour.

The Charlatans will be hitting Atlanta on October 5, and tickets will be going on sale this Friday, May 29 at Ticket Alternative. To get you in the mood, we've put up the video for one of the band's most classic tunes, "North Country Boy," with a fresh-faced, mop-topped from 1997.

CD Review: Elizabeth & the Catapult -- Taller Children

Elizabeth & the Catapult

Taller Children

Verve Forecast

Elizabeth & the Catapult's fearless leader Elizabeth Ziman has some serious credentials on her musical CV. Born and raised in Greenwich Village, she was introduced to music through classical piano, leading her to fall in love with composers like Debussy and Chopin, and discovered a talent that led her to join the New York City Young People's Chorus, perform at the White House and then win a scholarship to study classical composition. After she was hired to sing backup for soul singer Patti Austin, Ziman found her own passion for writing and singing her own, songs, which finally led her to form Elizabeth & the Catapult, who recorded this stunning debut with Mike Mogis, of Saddle Creek fame.

With all that music cred, there's a lot to expect from Taller Children, the band's debut full-length. Luckily, Taller Children delivers. In spades.

Passion Pit @ Drunken Unicorn on June 6 is SOLD OUT!

Tickets for the June 6 Passion Pit show at Drunken Unicorn is SOLD OUT! So if you didn't get your tickets in advance at Ticket Alternative, you're outta luck.

Win a Pair of Tickets to see New York Dolls @ Center Stage on June 12!

We have a pair of tickets to see the incredible, legendary New York Dolls at Center Stage on June 12. We recently reviewed the band's latest record, Cause I Sez So, with writer Noel Wurst saying of the band, "New York Dolls have always defied the odds against them, and their fame has always been somewhat hard to swallow for some. The fact that through three decades, they’ve managed to not only stay true to themselves, but to also churn out a handful of great tracks on every album, is a feat that not many bands can say, and is certainly something to admire." Nuff said.

To win tickets, email win@ticketalternative.com with the words "New York Dolls" in the subject.

CD Review: Wayne Hancock -- Viper of Melody

Wayne Hancock
Viper of Melody
Bloodshot

By Al Kaufman

You won't hear Wayne Hancock on country radio. That's because Hancock is too country for today's country radio. Hancock is an unabashed throwback to the days of Jimmie Rodgers and Ernest Tubbs. This is old fashioned roadhouse, honky-tonk, country, with a yodel or two thrown in for good measure.

Hancock's message is simple; times are tough, so let's swing. He opens his seventh CD singing "I wanna jump the blues and make the hard times swing." That sets the tone. There are plenty of songs about the bad economy, but there are just as many about driving cars and riding in trains, plus the obligatory songs about falling in and out of love.

CD Review: Nerd Parade -- The Span of a Life

Nerd Parade
The Span of a Life

By Alexandra Edwards

Hearkening back to the days when the American South was inextricably tied to rock 'n' roll, Nerd Parade's The Span of a Life contains the kinds of big sounds and inventive daring that rock music should be about. The songs would, in fact, make the perfect soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's next film — gritty, soulful, searing. Their palate is wide-ranging, as though they went into the studio with a big grab bag of '70s rock and punk sounds, shook it up really good, and then pulled out pieces at will.  But it's also fresh, not so much stuck in the past as acknowledging a little bit of nostalgia, then moving on in unexpected ways.