Music In Atlanta

Boog Brown - 'The Essense'

2009-06-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

A satisfying taste of what the Atlanta underground hip-hop scene is brewing...

BoogBrown isn't a female emcee... She is an dope emcee, who just happens to be a woman. Backed by a soulful track designed by Illastrate, Boog drops an instant classic describing the feeling and atmosphere that cultivated all of us who call ourselves "hip-hop heads"...
This is 'The Essence'...

Be on the look out for her upcoming project titled: 'Miss Black America'...

- Arablak

The Munchees @ Cenci feat. Arablak, J-Live and more (May 15)

2009-04-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

*** RSVP THE EVENT HERE ***

Title: J-Live & Arablak
Location: Club Cenci
Description: Live at Club Cenci
1259 Glenwood Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30316

Date: 05/15/2009

For more info contact SpeakEasy Promotions…

Hijacking Music Presents some SHOWS for 2009!

2009-01-30T06:40:00.001-08:00

Jan 31 2009 @ Wonder Root

82 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, GA 30316
http://www.wonderroot.org/

8pm
ALL AGES
$5

HORROR Themed Art/Music showcase feature several of Atlanta's finest Horror painters showing their work and collaborating live during the show.

Bands include:

13 Day Mission - http://www.myspace.com/13daymission
Attila - http://www.myspace.com/attilaga
Light Pupil Dilate - http://www.myspace.com/lightpupildilate
Sanus Valde - http://www.myspace.com/sanusvalde

Feb 20th 2009 @ Cine

234 West Hancock Ave, Athens GA

9pm
18+
$5

Bands:

Beatrix Kiddo - http://www.myspace.com/beatrixkiddomusic
Sounds of Silence - http://www.myspace.com/soundsofsilence
In The Lurch - http://www.myspace.com/inthelurch

Dungen - 4

2008-12-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

Let me paint a picture. We exist within an information age. Consumers are inundated on a daily basis with advertising images and product placement that flood their minds, so much that it’s easier for consumers to tune out, isolate themselves, and create and embellish their own private worlds. The Internet and new information technology have flipped the rules and regulations of the virtual and metaphorical casino. The $500 roulette table is now $2 blackjack and the high rollers’ five card poker den has been transformed into cheap slot machines conveniently situated right near the bingo tables. The guards never bully patrons in this casino and they let everyone in. The sudden and rapid influx of people quickly leads to a deterioration of the quality of the casino games and everyone suffers.

But what does this have to do with the music and the art? Bands and artists are hardly artisans of their craft anymore. While both in the past and present, successful musicians have had to don the rough and rugged teflon attire of the business world, things have changed even more. Even with amazing talent and a razor sharp business acumen, no one is guaranteed success. Artists are simply fishermen of men; casting their nets into a digital sea of information and praying to make the daily catch. But like the fishing industry, the ones with the most resources come out shining like kings. Older and more established acts are akin to very streamlined and efficient fishing vessels while new, up and coming acts awkwardly float and fumble around the seas in filthy and rusted sailboats, not quite knowing where to drop their anchors.

Now at this point, you’re probably wondering, when is this review going to start and what does this have to do with Dungen? It’s simple, Dungen’s new record is both brilliant and intoxicating. The production quality instantly evokes dusty memories of the psychedelic and colorful sixties. In addition, Gustav Ejstes’ songwriting and compositional skills are of a superior and high caliber which set the record apart from others within it’s progressive/psychedelic rock genre. His subtle, but cleverly calculated melodies and harmonies strike the listener’s emotive heartstrings with a blinding velocity. In addition, the contributions made by Reine Fiske, Mattias Gustavasson, and Johan Holmegard are both crucial and timeless; notably Fiske, who creates weaving and melodic solos that are miniature compositions and works within a much larger musical fabric. His solo work on “Samtidigt 1& 2" sounds like the fuzzed out love child of Jerry Garcia, Duane Allman, and John Cipollina.

At it’s core, “4" is essentially a 60's style pop/jazz-fusion record and will hit hardest in the hearts and minds of jazz fans. Songs like “Fredag” and “Bandhagen” are well planned and thought out compositions that arouse musical flavors similar to the subtle, but potent works of Bill Evans and Vince Guaraldi. And in general, “4" is a timeless record, a true classic. But as mentioned earlier, the real question is this...does a record like “4" have the capacity to be received as a classic album in a day and age in which the consumer is bombarded by so many different images and products at once? Is “4" capable of being heralded and lauded as one of the best records of the decade or will Gustav and his musical troupe simply fade into the darkness? Unfortunately, I do not have answers to these questions, but I will say this. “4" is a damn good record and it’s worth taking a long, hard listen to. And I don’t mean little bits and snippets, but the whole thing from front to back. It’s an audio masterpiece and Dungen deserves a well earned spot and accolades within whiskey and sweat soaked halls of music’s Valhalla.

- Taylor Northern

CHON - Demo Tracks

2008-11-14T06:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.myspace.com/musicofchon

I heard of Chon via a myspace bulletin from the band Burning the Masses, in a day they had over 2,000 plays. These guys are all in highschool, barely, and are churning out some of the techiest metal I've heard all year. After hearing the songs on their profile I asked if they could hook me up with a copy of the demo, and they did.

Over four short tracks, Chon takes us through high energy riffing, constantly changing time signatures, guitar solos, and just overall jams. The quality of the recordings are top notch, and for the most part, these guys execute their parts flawlessly.

With two guitarist syncing up, blasting some riffs that any guitar virtuoso would be proud of, and the rhythm section holding down the on and off time signatures, these kids are working their way into something very promising. These demo tracks are all instrumental, which is more than fine by me :), and they show that Chon has definitely been honing their playing skills. I look forward to watching this project develop and I can only hope that these guys will stick together for many more years to come.

Capillary Action - So Embarrassing

2008-10-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/capillaryaction

For starters I just want to say that THIS IS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!!! Oh how the excitement churns inside me when I hear this music. From the first few seconds of my first listen of the first song, I knew this album was going to be special. I've since listened to it almost daily since I received a copy. As well I have been telling anyone I know that can stand to listen to a billion notes and twists and turns and jolts and general mind bending awesomeness, to check this band out. Jonathan, please forgive me but I might have illegally distributed your album to some of my friends...

So Embarrassing is extremely thought out and executed with precision. We experience elements of several styles of jazz including avant, big band, smooth, straight ahead, etc. As well we are taken through a listening journey of pop, metal, freak out, indie, rock and roll...pretty much if there is a 'genre' out there, its covered on this album. At this point in my career as a musician and a listener, I need maximum stimulation to really get exited, and this album just dominates my senses.

Every musician participating on this album is very talented. Jonathan's guitar work and jazzy vocals are right on point. The drums are all over the place, super clean, and always a perfect match for the particular section of music. The tones from the keys are great and the playing is very high level. The horns and strings add amazing depth and thickness to the music without sounding muddy. Its as if Jonathan wrote and critiqued every second of every song to include just enough of every instrument.

Some of my favorite parts of the album would be the heavy breakdown in the middle of Bloody Nose. I listen to a lot of 'metal' and am pretty much sick of 'breakdowns', but to hear them go from a smooth pop sound into grinding heavy metal just does it for me.

The vocal percussion on Badlands gave me chills the first time through. The song starts of very soft and then you'll hear no more words, just rhythmic breathing with some bright percussion behind it. By the end, the drummer is going off, Jonathan is killing it with the vocal percussion, and its the best example of 'fight music' on the album. It really gets my blood flowing.

Self-Released, probably my personal favorite track, has a buildup at the end that can not be topped. The words "you will always be, self released" are repeated over and over, all the while instruments start to float in under the vocals, and everyone participating is slowly bringing their volume up, uP, UP, UP!!! By the end, the speakers in my car are about to explode along with my ear drums, finished off with the touch of a triangle to sooth my mind.

I found Capillary Action by accident on Myspace, showed it to my friends, and one of them contacted Jonathan about O Team doing a review. Because of that I have been blessed with one of my favorite albums of all time. Even after having been through the album many times over several months, I still feel new to this music. Every time I go through it I hear something I had not heard before complimenting some piece of the music I've become very familiar with. This is the kind of music the future holds for those of us that have grown up in the world of A.D.D. and need this audible medication to sooth our pain.

Hijacking Music Presents @ Wonder Root - ATL - Aug 23rd

2008-09-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

For some brief background of Hijacking Music art shows, check out our last event here:

13 Day Mission, Beatrix Kiddo, Miles from Pangaea, and Ship to Shore @ 11:11 Teahouse - 04-04-08

13 Day Mission - http://www.myspace.com/13daymission
Beatrix Kiddo - http://www.myspace.com/beatrixkiddomusic
Miles from Pangaea - http://www.myspace.com/milesfrompangaea
The Jungle - http://www.myspace.com/thejungletheband

Our goal was to make this event bigger and better than the April 04 2008 show, and we did! Hiacking Music represent hard on this evening. We had more artwork shown, we had more people painting live, each band had a movie of their choice projected onto them, the O Zone Lair came out and recorded all the bands, we had more people show up, and we had more fun all the way around. I would like to thank Jessie for allowing us to use her photos of the event.

Lets start this review with the bands.

13 Day Mission played first, and we played two 35-40 minutes sets. The first set was great, possibly our best performance as a quartet, and fortunately we recorded it and can share it with you! The room filled up as the set went along and by the time we finished there was a decent crowd hanging out, and it was only about 9pm :) Our second set we invited Eric(sax from Miles from Pangaea) to jam with us. During this set Dave's gear crapped out, Eric left the stage, and we ended up as the 13DM three piece you've come to know and love.

13 Day Mission - Live @ WonderRoot MP3

Miles from Pangaea played second and Dave was able to leave his gear on stage and do his thing yet again! They bobbed and weaved their way through the psychedelic fusion that is their music, and it was good. All four members were killing it the whole time and this was a really good performance overall. They were able to keep the positive vibes flowing and the audience was very pleased with the jams. I was a little sad that they didn't invite any extra percussionists as they tend to do, but I am sure they will again in the future.

Miles From Pangaea - Live @ WonderRoot MP3

We wanted the Beatrix Kiddo, who are from Athens, to get some exposure so made sure they had a later time slot by setting them up third. They played a really solid set and have definitely been honing in on these new songs( btw they have a new EP out, contact them via myspace ). It is nice to hear them coming together, especially with the vocals. Between songs the singer felt the need to babble about nonsense, which kind of turned me off from the set and I personally felt it was ruining the vibe, but during the songs the vocals were right on point and I did enjoy that. Beatrix brought the jams as usual though and the music part of the night stayed on track.

Beatrix Kiddo - Live @ WonderRoot MP3

After months of chatting and listening to their album, I finally got to see The Jungle play live. These guys are one of the strongest groups of musicians that we've met to date. They are all on top of their game technically, and they write jams. They opened the set with some new material, the first song being my favorite of the entire night and also the MP3 below. They have a ton of gear on stage and everyone but the drummer plays more than one instrument at any given time. This makes for a well blended but very thick atmosphere of music throughout their set. I was definitely impressed and very much enjoyed their performance. I am sure we will work with them more in the future.

Beatrix Kiddo - Live @ WonderRoot MP3

Now on to the art! This was a great success in my opinion, and I got to meet a lot of new, very talented people. Below are the pictures of art that was already finished and the artists hung to show

Here is a play by play of the canvas that was worked on during the whole event. It started off really strong and was going good, until the end of the night some people found a sharpie...thank you "Steph to tha Dee" for your contribution :D

:)

And some other live painting that was going on.

Overall a very successful event! We made a lot of new friends, had a huge amount of talent between the bands and the visual artists, and hopefully gained some exposure for everyone invloved. We will be doing this more and more so stay posted!

The Fiery Furnaces - Remember

2008-08-29T06:02:00.001-07:00

Strangers and newcomers to the Fiery Furnaces are not the target audience for this sprawling collection that spans two discs and clocks in at just under two hours and fifteen minutes. Unlike most live albums that highlight a single performance or a small series of performances, the Furnaces' foray into live albums features material from several different shows with different line-ups and different recording media (bootleg tapes, soundboard feeds, etc.), which have been spliced and mixed down together so that single tracks are formed from different performances of that song and each song is blended over the next so that the album plays like a single live performance. For the most part, it works. Some of the transitions between bootleg and soundboard feeds are disconcerting, but no more jarring than their studio material. Like their studio work, the album takes patience to appreciate. Trying to soak it all in on a single listen will leave the listener confused by the frenetic Furnaces.

Highlights: Blueberry Boat, Wicker Whatnots, Vietnamese Telephone Mystery, Philadelphia Grand Jury

Bottom line: Live album highlights the Fiery Furnaces dynamic style and exciting live show but is not for the newcomer to the band, who may be overwhelmed. B

Here's "Tropical Iceland," from their album Gallowbird's Bark

Fiery Furnaces official site
Buy it from Amazon

Droppin' Science: Greatest Samples from the Blue Note Lab

2008-08-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Like most hip-hop heads, I always love to find the source material of a particularly dope beat, and in that vein, Blue Note's Droppin' Science: Greatest Samples from the Blue Note Lab is a rewarding compilation. Containing the original material for elements of songs from acts like A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, DJ Shadow, Madlib, and many others, the album is an amateur (or armchair) DJ's wet dream. In addition, many of the songs are restored or remastered versions, making the collection appealing to jazz aficianados as well.

Highlights: Davids Axelrod's and Mccallum's "The Edge," as featured in Dr. Dre's "Next Episode," Jeremy Steig's "Howling for Judy," as featured in Beastie Boys' "Sure Shot," and Grant Green's "Down Here on the Ground," used in ATCQ's "Vibes and Stuff."

Bottom line: If you have listened to hip-hop in the last twenty years, you're bound to appreciate at least 5 songs on this album. B+

Blue Note
Amazon

Excellent & Pathetic (The EP)

2008-07-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Grade: A-

Long time recording comrades, fellow Fort Martians and very good friends of mine, Ethereal Plains and Forth Star have recently collaborated, resulting in an incredible collection of songs, titled Excellent & Pathetic (The EP). Comprised of 6 new songs, as well a bonus cut recorded sometime in 2001, this is sure to get your head nodding and brain tingling from the first knocking kick to the final slapping snare.

Ethereal (pronounced "E The Real") is an exceptional emcee, with a laid back/monotone delivery, yet sharp, witty rhyme schemes and heavy content. Excellent & Pathetic (The EP), entirely produced by Forth Star, is a guaranteed fix for hip-hop addicts hungry for some grimey boom-bap. His drums are muddy and his samples are chopped, looped and tweaked to perfection.

The opening track Check The Numbers is backed by dark guitar riffs and filtered bass that rides your spine like a gremlin in heat. REM part 2 is a magnificent story of boy-meets-girl, from the perspective of a uninhibited, young gentlemen.

My favorite track overall is Recluse, where Ethereal & Forth Star trade verses over an acid/rock sample, blessed with rapid fire drums, explaining why some of us keep to ourselves, in our own little artistic worlds.

I gave this one 4.5 stars (A-), based on the music alone. I try my best to remain completely unbiased, since I'm a friend and crew mate to there guys. With that said, I truly would have given this EP 5 stars, if it where a full LP, with more tracks consistently as creative and fresh as the ones provided here.

Simply put, this project is dope. I recommend everyone check it out. And the best part is that it's absolutely free! Social Light Sounds has decided to give it away as a free download. Click the link below and find the link on the homepage.

*** FREE DOWNLOAD ***

Enjoy!

- Arablak

HUGE ART AND MUSIC SHOW IN ATLANTA!!!

2008-07-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

Its true, we are putting on our second Hijacking Music art and music show on August 23rd at Wonder Root in Atlanta. Show starts at 8pm, all ages, $5.

We are still looking for artists interested in showing their work, if that is YOU, please contact us or one of the bands and we'll get you set up.

- OTEAM

Black Spade - 'To Serve With Love'

2008-07-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Grade: A-

When I hear the now cliche term "hip-hop is dead" I can only laugh. It is my assessment that it is only the lazy, pseudo fans of this beautiful art that claim such nonsense.

Case in point: Black Spade, native to St. Louis, MO, who credits his influences to greats, Prince, J Dilla and Radiohead, has released an interesting / alluring mix of hip-hop, soul and attitude titled To Serve with Love.

Think Kanye West meets ATCQ and Dudley Perkins in Bobby Womack's garage. This cat is bad.

The beats are soulful, synth-laced, bass heavy and gritty. The joint 'As We', is a funky swing, airy track with humble but braggadocios self-proclamation of his intent as a dope emcee here to make his claim. The title track feels like a missing song from Slum Village's Fantastic Vol. 2 but it's clear Black Spade is no clone, vibing over the Dilla-esque production with singing melodies and a calm yet syllabic rhyme flow.

My personal favorite is 'She's The One (20's Love Song)', that has a old jazz love song sample and he delivers an intricate picture of "the one for me" with a style reminiscent of a young Q-Tip.

For fans of something new with a taste of that old school soulful flare, this is an album you will appreciate. And as I usually state, if you don't regularly listen to hip-hop, check out this album as it will give you a glimpse of this genre outside of it's mainstream representation.

Peep the video for the track "Evil Love":

Always,
- Arablak

Zechs Marquise and 13 Day Mission @ O Zone Lair - 06-29-08

2008-06-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Read over at Pine Magazine...

http://www.theozonelair.com

http://myspace.com/zechsmarquise
http://myspace.com/13daymission

Where do I even begin? How about with a little background information on how the show came to be in the first place.

A couple of months ago I started trying to find places in Florida for 13DM to play this summer. I saw that they were going to be at Club TSI with Our Name is Legion ( http://www.myspace.com/ournameisduval ) who we were already acquainted with via some online communications. So I started making calls and sending emails to the venue and the band we know to no avail. Finally I got in contact with Zechs booking agent and we started talking, Zechs wanted to stop in Atlanta as the last show on their east coast tour. Unfortunately they would be here on a Sunday. In Georgia, the only way a venue can serve alcohol is if they are also a restaurant. There are very few of those and none of them wanted to host the show. Also in town this weekend was Corndog-o-rama, probably Georgia's biggest local music festival. So I asked if they would do a house show as we have been wanting to hold a show at our house/studio for some time now. They agreed and we made it happen.

Since this was a Sunday and a house show, to me that meant we needed to grill out. So we did :), everyone brought some food and no one went home hungry. There was even a second course of salmon and chicken after the show.

Something else that concerned me, only because I had not met these guys yet, was being able to record their set. Since the whole event was happening in our studio it was only right that we do record. They were very happy about the idea and so we went ahead with micing and recording the whole show. I have to say, it came out GREAT.

This evening, 13 Day Mission included the guitarist from Miles from Pangaea doing sound scapes with his effects pedals as a guest...hopefully he will continue to jam with us like this because the more it has happened, the more awesome it becomes. It was excellent to be able to perform in our rehearsal area. It made for a very comfortable, very intimate performance. After listening to some of the audio that we recorded it sounds like there was a tornado of sonic energy swirling around the room way to loud for any sane person to sit through. Thankfully most of the guests did stay inside and get scorched with the fiery flames of 13DM :) Unfortunately there is no video from the 13DM set...maybe next time.

13DM, minus Dave(Miles from Pangaea, on effects/soundscape) who was in the corner

After we finished, we cleared the way for Zechs to set up their gear. The rain then started pouring down, go figure. After about 30 minutes of waiting we decided it would be best to have everyone help bus stuff inside real fast and get the show on the road. Everyone did help and it was a very smooth, mostly dry process. Once they all had their gear in order it was game on. They immediately fell into the groove and the jams were coming at us with the quickness. Marfred is perfect on bass, he holds the rhythm right on with the kick. His bass cuts through the music just right, and he has a great sense of natural rhythm to work with. Mike on drums is a freaking animal, you can't ask for any more energy than what he gives out. Matthew and Marcos played off each other very well and although I could not hear the guitars so good during the set, but they definitely come through on the recordings and they are killing it. We will be posting that audio after it has been mixed.

ZM, minus Mike(drummer) who was MIA for a while after the show

ZM owning

*all pics by Shanan Williams

Zechs played for almost an hour straight and everyone enjoyed their set. Overall everyone had a great time and it was really good to see all these people come out and support the DIY music scene. Zechs will be back in the fall so stay posted!

- Bret Phillips

Russian Circles, Daughters, Sorry No Ferrari @ Drunken Unicorn - 06-25-08

2008-06-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Read over at Pine Magazine...

http://www.myspace.com/russiancircles
http://www.myspace.com/daughters1
http://www.myspace.com/sorrynoferrari

I was getting texts about the show being sold out around 9:50, frightened I left for the Drunken Unicorn and arrived to find out that they were not sold out. Unfortunately I had gotten there as Sorry no Ferrari was on their last song. Sorry no Ferrari always puts on an excellent show so I am sure that it was good. It is also good that they were able to get on this bill. There was a nice turnout and I the crowd seemed to be digging what they were doing.

After their set I grabbed a drink and made my way to the front of the stage for the next band, Daughters. I had only heard of Daughters a few weeks before this show and had only listened to the music on their myspace. I had no idea what I was in for. These guys completely dominated for their entire set. From the first song to the last song the crowd was pummeled with synchronized blasts of sonic energy, freaked out bass lines and guitar riffs, and some massive drumming. Not to mention crazy antics from the singer who apparently is not interested in the social norm called 'clothing'. Standing there in front of all of this, I continued to hear noises coming from stage that I had never heard before...at least not at a show...maybe in a nightmare or a chase scene in a horror film, but definitely not from a band. We were also blessed with a guest appearance by Jeff Worms, who is an amazing guitarist and totally fit in with the Daughters sound. I could not have asked for any more from this band, they delivered and did it with authority.

Daughters

While Russian Circles started getting themselves together on stage for their set, the singer from Daughters made a quick appearance, completely lacking ALL clothing. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Russian Circles turned on their gear, and started playing the show. Note there was no mic on stage for speaking, they just let the music do all the talking. I really enjoy when bands do this because the last thing I want to hear is some necessary banter in between songs, especially from an instrumental band. They started playing without saying a word and the journey began.

Russian Circles is a three piece instrumental band with huge amps and effects boards. The guitarist runs three amps on his own, from what I could tell he had two sets of heads/4x12 cabs, and another combo amp in the mix. I personally love to hear guitar running in stereo, and this was the perfect setup. One 4x12 on the left side of the stage, one on the right side. In the middle was bass and drums. Their music flowed from quiet smooth jams into intense, over driven walls of sound. The guitarist made great use of his loop box, and the rest of the band played along with those loops perfectly. They showed great precision and you can tell these guys play the music they want to play without being hindered by the outside world.

Russian Circles

Definitely a great show and great lineup, anyone that missed this show missed one of the best shows of 2008, and I am sure that comment will stand true until the years end.

- Bret Phillips

13 Day Mission, Self-Evident, and Dropsonic @ The Earl in Atlanta - 05-17-08

2008-05-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

13 Day Mission had NO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES during this show. And the performance was flawless. Definitely one of our best of the year and as a 3 piece. The sound was amazing on stage, the crowd said the sound was amazing off stage, and the energy was really good for the whole event.

I had only recently heard of Self-Evident(because of this show), but was immediately a fan. The music they make is right up my alley and I was stoked to see them. They did not let me down. They twisted and turned my brain in and out for their entire set. Just when I thought I had caught their rhythm...they would change it. Just when I would start to bob my head, my neck would snap trying to keep up with what just happened. One thing I really enjoy about their music is that all 3 members are seemingly playing different songs over each other, but in fact they plan it that way. There is not much more I can say about that awesomeness but you can enjoy a few videos and see for yourself :)

Dropsonic was too loud for my little ol' camera to handle, so in the middle of every song that I tried to record, the camera would shut down thinking it had been dropped. These guys play pretty straight forward rock and roll music with definite influences from yesterday and today. I felt some Muse in the vocals and some of the music which is definitely a good thing. The bass player and drummer were perfect the entire night, never missing a beat and always on point with each other. The guitar was overbearing and covered the whole room, cutting through the rhythm section just right. These guys are very polished and talented and it was a real treat to be able to perform with them. They also traded me a shirt for a 13DM shirt, and the grossness that is on it has been getting great reviews!

- Bret Phillips

Fall of Troy @ The Masquerade - 05-09-08

2008-05-10T00:54:00.000-07:00

The last two times I've gone to see Fall of Troy, I've caught the last song and a half of their set and it really made me sad. This time that was not the case.

We arrived at the Masquerade while The Dear Hunter was playing. These guys, to me, sounded like a watered down version of Fall of Troy. I say this because occasionally, when they would go into a jam, there was a very FoT feel to what they were playing, but without the same level of intensity. We saw about 20 minutes of their set and it sounded like they were playing the same song the entire time, not very much movement in tempo, some rising and falling of volume, nothing to really grab my attention and not let go. These guys were very tight though and the whole band had their act together. The vocalist had a great voice and hit his notes with ease. They ended and we scooted up towards the front.

Fall of Troy came on, did a sound check, then destroyed us. I couldn't believe it, I was actually there for the start and was going to see the whole show! I threw my camera up in the air to catch the beginning of the set. Apparently I was standing right in the middle of what became the pit and the camera shut itself off, but I have about 50 seconds of complete awesomeness happening.

Like Radiohead the evening before, Fall of Troy hit us up with music from all their albums. I was really happy to hear some old jams from their self titled release, and definitely from Doppelgänger. This crowd was really intense, constantly moving, people jumping off anything they could climb, climbing on stage and diving, Eric diving, security guards getting the big finger for trying to stop it. They even stated this show was on par with Baltimore for the most awesomeness on their tour to date. I took a step back from the front for a while to catch at least one full song on video, then pushed back up for the last two songs. My whole crew was soaked from head to toe and looked like we had just came from running a marathon ready for rest.

Both bands executed and the whole night was a blast. I was pretty sore the next day so I know I had a good time fighting to stay standing and getting kicked in the head from balcony jumpers, and I can't wait to see them again!

- Bret Phillips

Radiohead @ Lakewood ATL - 05-08-08

2008-05-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

For starters, my band 13 Day Mission was supposed to perform at the Masquerade on this evening, but the show was canceled due to some issue at the Masq. Fortunately my buddy hit 'refresh' a few hundred times the day before this show and managed to snag two really good tickets and we were off.

It was a rough time getting there, we ended up taking Marta which was not really smarta, but it did get us to the show. As we were walking through the parking lot to the ticket gates, we could hear the soft soothing sounds of Radiohead. Chugged the Sweetwater 420s and bolted inside. The place was PACKED. With people standing everywhere, we pushed our way through the lawn crowd and found a nice spot to chill for a while.

Radiohead went through a good mix of songs from all of their albums. My personal favorites were all from Kid A, and Paranoid Android which is really the song that got me listening to the band back in the day. The visuals are excellent. There are live cams set up all over stage and they are projected onto a screen behind the band. The colors change, the filters change, and at some points the video being projected of the band playing live, actually looked like it could be a cartoon in sync with the band.

Shortly before the end of their set, and prior to encores, we went down to our seats. We showed the isle worker the tickets and he started walking us to the seats...we passed up ever row until we got to the front! The section in front of us is lower down so we could see over all of them as well(it would have been much cooler to be down in the very very front, but these seats were most excellent). We jammed out to the two encores and had our minds blown appropriately.

I really enjoyed that they covered material from every album instead of only performing cuts off their latest release. The visuals were stunning and the vibe was chilled out but definitely partying.

- Bret Phillips

Explosions In The Sky @ Variety Playhouse

2008-04-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

I saw a flyer for this show a couple of months before they came and procrastinated in getting a ticket even though I really wanted to go. Turns out they sold out a few weeks before hand and I was sad :(. Fortunately, they decided to do a matine show as well and I quickly grabbed a pair of tickets.

Opening for them was a guy that went by the name Lichens. He and a few loop pedals and instruments sat in the middle of the stage. He started off with some almost synth sounding guitar loops and continued to build around that for the next 20 minutes or so. He brought in some vocals, did some beating on the guitar for drums, and took the audience really far out there. His set reminded me of the recording of Wireman O and Wireman Spacewars, and I throughly enjoyed it.

I was well prepared for this show, and grabbed another Sweetwater during the set break. Explosions came on stage and without ever saying a word(I like this) and began their journey. They took us through quiet times, slow building jams that seemed to never end but also never seemed to be the same. They took us through very exciting overdriven times, occasionally reminding me of 13 Day Mission(or maybe we reminded ourselves of Explosions?), and as with Lichens, I throughly enjoyed it. Occasionally the bass player would pick up a guitar and there would be 3 guitars blasting us all with a massive wall of sound which was very cool, the only other time I have seen that in a performance was with Battles. It is really great to see an instrumental rock group getting so much support. The variety holds about 400 people and the place was PACKED...this being their first show of 2 for the day. That being said, I look forward to seeing what kind of effect Explosions has on the industry as a whole and hope they are able to continue to grow their fan base by leaps and bounds.

- B

13 Day Mission, Beatrix Kiddo, Miles from Pangaea, and Ship to Shore @ 11:11 Teahouse - 04-04-08

2008-04-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

HIJACKING MUSIC PRESENTS:
13 Day Mission
Beatrix Kiddo
Miles from Pangaea
Ship to Shore

The second HIJACKING MUSIC event to be held in Atlanta was a huge success! Despite some difficulties from a lady down the street that likes to leave her window open and call the police about any small disturbance in the force...everything went very smooth. All of the artists showed up early to hang their pieces, all of the bands were able to make it and played without technical difficulties, and there was a nice turn out from the ATL night people.

Ship to Shore has greatly improved since the last time I saw them, which was the last time we played with them over at the Eyedrum also in Atlanta. Before they did half of their set with a drum machine and the other half with a newcomer Jack on drums. This time it was all Jack and Jack ripped it up. He was much more confident with the music and the group as a whole flowed through their material for almost an hour. Their sound is almost timeless but fresh and new at the same time. The keys and melodica were very smooth and clean while keeping the bassy parts in the mix. The guitar colored over both of them and took the melodies elsewhere but kept it tight with the music. Great set from these guys and definitely the longest set of the night.

Ship to Shore

We have been trying to get Beatrix Kiddo in front of some people here in Atlanta and this night we were able to do it. They were all a little shaken about a show they had earlier in the week that was not very cohesive and planned out, although they said their set was good the rest of the night was funky. Fortunately the vibe on this night was perfect. It was a bit muddy at times due to the room acoustics at the Teahouse, but definitely tolerable. The bass lines were coming through strong while Wes belted out his vocals into the mic. The guitar riffs are jamming as always and Chris dominated the drums. The new music they played sounded really good and I look forward to hearing those songs work themselves out.

Beatrix Kiddo

13 Day Mission snuck in a vocalist to perform with us. We had rehearsed a few times before and one night the week of, the goal being for him to know when to come on stage and when to go back off stage. He did it flawlessly and the report from the people was good news. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the energy was really great from all of us on stage. We cut out one of our songs so that we could get Miles From Pangaea on stage before the cops shut us down for good.

Unfortunately the police had been called about 7 times by the time MFP went on stage. They asked that we cut the music at 12:30...they were setting up at 12:00. Anyway, MFP were able to run through a few of their songs before they had to stop for good. They have been working on new material as well and played some of it for us again, and its great! They have also been bringing extra percussion and the drummer from Ship to Shore has been joining them for a few songs. I am a huge fan of percussion so more is always better. Their set, although short, was sweet and true to their other performances this year.

The artists that showed their pieces are all very talented, and it was great to be able to bring them all together in once place. Because of the quality of their work, the owner of the Teahouse asked them all to leave their pieces on her walls for a few weeks so she could continue to show them. In her words "it's just nice to have such a breath of fresh air come through". I could not say it any better myself. Below are some pics and a vid of the art and some of the live painting.

Shows

2008-04-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 18th @ Fontana Dam, North Carolina

Miles from Pangaea is performing with special guests from 13 Day Mission and Beatrix Kiddo to mix things up. For more information on this event check out http://www.myspace.com/hiyakfestival

"Hi-Yak: Another Dam Festival. Hikers grab your packs and kayakers bring your boats as we celebrate the Appalachian Trail and Cheoah River. If you're an overall outdoor enthusiast come along as well! For this event we will be having trail maintenance with the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club and Benton MacKaye Trail Association, river clean up of invasive species, music from great local bands, vendors, lectures, movies, and more."

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 18, 19, and 20 @ ParkGrounds Atlanta

For more information, schedule, and tickets, please visit http://nophest.com/

13 Day Mission, Sorry No Ferrari, Ahleuchatistas @ Drunken Unicorn - 03-27-08

2008-03-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

13 Day Mission
Ahleuchatistas
Sorry no Ferrari

To start, this is by far the best show I have attended as well as my band has performed so far this year. It will definitely be high on the list of 'most excellent shows 2008' throughout the year as well.

As I said, 13 Day Mission dominated. So far this year we have had technical difficulties almost every show, and while the audience probably had no idea, our set suffered because of it. This time, no technical difficulties, no bad stage sound, just straight up awesomeness. The sound guy Chad at Drunken Unicorn always does a great job and we were definitely happy about the outcome. The crowd response was excellent and I think people were actually 'getting it'.

13DM

The last time we saw Sorry No Ferrari was actually the last time we performed with them, we were a two piece at the time and did another Stickfigure show at the Eyedrum in Atlanta. That show they set up on stage with another band and they would rotate playing after every song. This time SNF were able to play their set in its entirety. These guys dropped a few songs on us and then announced they would play their last song after having been on stage only about 15 minutes...I knew what was going to happen based on their promo's earlier...THE PROG ROCK EPIC! SNF bobbed and weaved their way through 17 minutes of post rock mathy tapping looping craziness with great precision. It was great to see them perform again and they did so with confidence and excellence.

SNF

Now for my personal favorite part, Ahleuchatistas. I have been listening to them for a little over two years now and have been waiting on them to hit up Atlanta so I could catch the performance. Little did I know that when that time came we would also be performing with them, something I could only dream of. These guys bent and warped my brain for almost an hour. The guitar riffs are all over the place, the bass lines are huge, and the drums are so fast and clean. Watching them start every song was like watching them all fall into line every time, no counting, just magic synchronization. What I really enjoy about this band is the sounds they are able to create individually and as a whole without using any effects outside of a volume pedal and reverb built into their amplifiers. The songs swell from quiet to overwhelming with the quickness, then right back to some off time signature flawlessly. The bands performance was very solid and I am happy that I was finally able to witness it in live action.

Ahleuchatistas

Overall an incredible evening of instrumental rock, anyone who was there will agree with me and anyone who missed it, missed something special happen in the universe for the few hours that we spent together inside the venue.

-bp

Fag Static, We Verses The Shark @ I Can Fly House - 03-18-08

2008-03-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/weversustheshark
http://www.myspace.com/quakerguns

Last night I went out to the I Can Fly House for the first time. This is just a house in Atlanta where the tenants throw house shows occasionally. I was going to see this band from Brazil that I have been talking to called Debate, unfortunately they had some family things to tend to back in Brazil and have gone back ending their tour.

Starting things off was Fag Static. I was pretty excited to get some video footage, but the venue is just so loud(being that the band is just set up in the dining room), my camera kept shutting off because it was shaking from so much bass. Fag Static is four guys dominating some heavy indie rock. The bass and guitar played off each other with harmonics and such keeping my ears peaked. The sound of the bass was incredible, I was really impressed with the tones he was getting from his setup. The drummer beat the hell out of his kit for the entire set, definitely surprised me as I am used to having to tolerate less than par drummers just holding a beat down. A really good performance from these guys and I would definitely like to see them again if not play a show with them.

I have been listening to We Verses the Shark for a few months now via myspace, I heard about them through Cinemechanica. Their recordings are definitely good jams but the live show is a whole other level of awesomeness. Again the bass players tone for this group was really good. He also had a keyboard that he rock a few times and it sounded pretty awesome in the mix. There were three guitarist switching in and out the whole set, one of which apparently was just on tour with them recently subbing for one of the regulars. On drums was a crazy dude that just pounded away the whole set. He actually took a break for one song and was on vocals. He ended up outside on the front porch screaming his brains out while the band rocked out inside, very cool.

After they finished I left, not that I did not want to see the next two bands, but it was already pretty late and I was spent. I met a couple of cool people and other members of bands that I had seen perform before which was a nice networking level up, and overall the event was a success.

- Bret Phillips

13 Day Mission, Beatrix Kiddo, Goodbye Donovan, Miles from Pangaea @ The Warehouse - 03-15-08

2008-03-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

HIJACKING MUSIC PRESENTS:
13 Day Mission
Beatrix Kiddo
Goodbye Donovan
Miles from Pangaea

In route to The Warehouse, Chris, the drummer for Beatrix Kiddo, was in a car accident. He is OK, his car is trashed, and he was unable to make it to the show. Leaving three bands on the bill.

Up first was Goodbye Donovan. This four piece, with Wes from Beatrix on bass, played some indie, poppy, rock for us. They brought it to another level though. All of the musicians are very talented and the song writing, though familiar, was very strong and the players of it very tight. Wes beats up the bass all the time, it was cool to see him rocking a different flavor of bass lines. The guitarist held it down with the basics until the band would let him have at it. At that point he ripped it up with some blues solo licks only to fade back into the music shortly after. The front man, or woman I should say, did a great job leading. Her voice sounds smooth and fresh over the music, and she sings on key while also playing some guitar. The drummer beat it down the whole set, between songs letting himself go, then holding down the ones and twos with the whole band. Excellent showing from Goodbye Donovan this night.

Goodbye Donovan

We(13 Day Mission) took the stage next. Since Wes borrowed my gear I had nothing to set up and was ready to rock. As well, because Beatrix was unable to perform, we had Taylor(guitarist from Beatrix) jam on stage with us for two songs before we started our set, and it was good. Our set was smooth, NO technical difficulties for the first time this year. The sound was ok on stage, I could barely hear the drums if I was not facing them, but overall not too bad. No idea how it sounded in the crowd, but if it was anything like the other bands, it was not too bad. I can not understand these places with huge 18's all over the floors that have NO kick drum pumping through...come on dudes, fire those bad boys up! Lennys is the same way.

13 Day Mission - Fear Dims the Sunlight(minus about 20 seconds of the begining)

Headlining was an old favorite Miles from Pangaea. These guys are getting better and better with each performance. Dave picked up a new amp(fender hotrod deluxe...in all white...VERY sexy) and a new pedal. His tone definitely was different than when he played through the marshal head, but it was still very under control and spaced out like he does. Frank on bass seems to be better now that his finger has healed from slamming it in a door post Athens show, and his sound was coming through strong. Jared played very well and having Jack(drummer from Ship to Shore) on stage for the final song as some extra percussion was awesome.

Miles from Pangaea - Cosmic Shores

- Bret Phillips

The Human Abstract, August Burns Red @ Masquerade 03-13-08

2008-03-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/thehumanabstract
http://www.myspace.com/augustburnsred

There were more bands on the bill for this evening, but I went to see The Human Abstract, and stayed for the next band August Burns Red.

The Human Abstract ripped it up as the opening band. This is the second stellar metal group that has come to the MASQ this year and played first. Protest the Hero being the other, unfortunately I missed that show :(. I was sad to see them perform post A.J. Minette, but this new Tapley guy is a pretty big guitar badass as well. He and Dean did a very solid job of harmonies and solos, Brett on drums destroyed the whole time, I was very happy to see him perform. He thinks outside the box and manages to keep the metal drumming on point. Nordeen on bass was a pretty big presence, most of the time I could not hear anything he was doing though, same for the keyboardist that was with them. The vocalist did a great job the whole time, it has to be a bitch to actually try and sing in tune after screaming your head off, but he went back and forth through both really well. It was great to finally see The Human Abstract live and I look forward to their return, hopefully as a headliner for their own tour.

This was the first time I had heard of and seen August Burns Red. The first thing that comes to mind is BREAKDOWNS. This music was almost entirely breakdowns. Fortunately the musicians were all very talented so they made breakdowns OK. Instead of your typical terrible metal band breakdown, they just let some of the guys hold the breakdown and some of the guys rip up their instruments. I enjoyed their set and they definitely got the crowd moving which was great. Some kids actually were making contact in the pit too, definitely something you do not see at the regular local shows.

- Bret Phillips

Pelican, Black Cobra, Unearthly Trance @ Drunken Unicorn - 03-12-08

2008-03-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

Pelican
Black Cobra
Unearthly Trance

I showed up for this show with lots of promotional material for my own 13 Day Mission show happening at Drunken Unicorn later in the month. Doing so got me into the venue for free, and two big X's on the back of my hands. I missed the first two bands because I was over at Lenny's Bar checking out the HIJACKING MUSIC crew.

The headliner was Pelican, and they were pretty good. Their version of post rock meets metal with some good math in there really got me jamming. The sound was very tight, you can definitely tell they have been playing together for a long time. I was very impressed with their ability to keep the flow of a song extremely slow and somewhat quite, then blast into a massive drone of heavy riffs before I even knew what was going on. They reminded me of Explosions in the Sky but with a more metal and math edge. The show was excellent and I look forward to seeing them again.

- Bret Phillips