Wavves!!

Yesterday was quite possibly the weirdest day ever.
It started with my mandatory reporting for Jury Duty.  When I got the original jury summons last October, I had to have it rescheduled because of Cassie and Mark's wedding.  The rescheduled date wasn't a problem until we had to reschedule a mandatory software training at work in January.  I reported for that date but I informed the staff that I had mandatory training at work but I showed up because of the reschedule.  They told me I could reschedule again but I HAD to report or else!  Just kidding - but I really did have to report or else I would've been in trouble (apparently).
Lo and behold - my jury duty was scheduled the same day as Wavves!  So I made a day of it in the city.
I had anticipated being at the courthouse all day but I was luckily let go at lunch time so I rolled around Atlanta - stopping at Cameli's for pizza, killing time at UO (getting a wardrobe update for that night and good thing I did because it was hot!) and meeting up with Michael for some coffee talk



And then it came time to hang until showtime.  I settled in to the parking lot of Book House until they opened (getting my eyebrows wrangled next door) and once the doors opened, I planted myself at the bar and had a few dark and stormies.  Lauren was kind enough to meet me once she got off work and I entertained myself by talking to this guy who had his California driver's license on the bar.  I asked him where in Cali he was from and he told me that he was actually from Hawaii and we started talking about island living and all that fun stuff and I honestly had no idea it was the lead singer of FIDLAR that I was talking to.  WHAT



So - that was crazy.  FIDLAR was AMAZING.  So were the Cheatahs.  I wish I had more cash so I could've bought CDs from each but I spent most of my cash on booze and some Wavves goodies.

Wavves was INCREDIBLE.  The energy was so much better than last time, I have to admit.  Last time was awesome, don't get me wrong but this time was even more awesome because this happened



I was able to get way better photos than last time (despite having to crop out some guy's ridiculously large and obtrusive afro - which you can see here) and overall, it was just fucking awesome!!  I mean, we all know how much I LOVE Afraid of Heights and experiencing those songs live was pretty amazing.

I also ran into my most FAVE BLOGGER EVER - Matt T.  He let me know they were hitting up the Clermont - which you can read about here.  I kinda wish I had stayed but I was really exhausted since I got up so freakin early for jury duty...All in all, it was a great fucking night!  Thanks Wavves, FIDLAR and Cheatahs!  You guys were great!

Check out more Wavves photos here!

Star Slinger in ATL!

I didn't realize last night was going to be so cold so I didn't dress accordingly.  As I stood outside and shivered, I listed to conversations being had by kids who were at Drunken Unicorn for the first time ever - which made me wonder: What was my first ever Drunken Unicorn show?  I can't remember but I can say that I've seen almost everything there and the excitement that the kids were feeling about seeing Star Slinger was so great that I was getting all giddy too.

Star Slinger was one of my first ever Tumblr friends.  I'm always happy to get reblogs from him and even happier when he posts tracks.  I had this idea in the back of my mind that he might remember me from Tumblr, so I decided I'd use that as my intro - at the complete risk of sounding like a fangirl (which I totally am).  Not gonna lie, I was expecting to be a little star struck when I sat down with Star Slinger last night at Drunken Unicorn but instead, I felt like I was talking to an old friend (and yes, I was completely star struck too).  I called him by his real name and said, "I don't know if you know me but we blog together on Tumblr" to which he said, "I know!  You're Katzi!  Thank you so much!"  I was beyond ecstatic that he remembered me even though I haven't been on Tumblr that much lately.  I was totally fangirling but I had to reel it in.  He was saying that I have been there from almost the beginning and I said it was amazing to have seen his progress so quickly.  He's the coolest, mot chill guy and it was great talking with him.  It was even cooler when kids came up to him while we were talking to tell him how awesome he was.  Crazy!

After the initial shock of "OMG I'm talking to Star Slinger", the show was really great!  I didn't realize Time Wharp was from Atlanta.  I need to check that kid out more!  His set was the perfect start to an amazing show. 

I have to say, I only knew Shlohmo from the Friends of Friends comp and Star Slinger, so I wasn't expecting the awesomeness that was Time Wharp and Shigeto.  Shigeto blew me away!  That kid played live drums over his loops!  Crazy!!


His set was pretty chill too and I started getting more and more into it.

I got a little bold and decided to try and make it front and center for Shlohmo.  Done and done.  He opened up with Aaliyah - which was fucking amazing - but as I scanned the crowd, I saw more blank stares than I thought I would - which made me sing out even louder!
His set was the perfect lead in to Star Slinger.
I maintained my place at the front of the stage and jumped up during the last song. That shit was crazy! He got the whole place going NUTS!!  It was the most fun I've had at a smaller venue in a long time and I was so happy that Star Slinger was FINALLY in town and getting his music out there for more people to experience.  It renewed my faith in Atlanta's music scene.  I saw so many smiles in the crowd when I was on stage and it made me so happy that there's at least one genre of Atlanta music fans that can get over themselves and just enjoy the fucking music.  It was amazing!  I want Star Slinger to come through again!  Maybe next time he'll let me buy him a shot or two...

Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Dub Step, DnB and a Search and Rescue Mission via the Twitter Machine

I had been waiting for this event to happen ever since I saw that Eskmo was going to be on the bill. Then, I was informed by my good friend at rClique that he, too, would be taking part (Crookhaven). So, I had to go. I shrugged off the $25 cover (WTF?! I know, right) and made my way in early (9-ish) - just to make sure I didn't miss Eskmo.
When I got in, I was greeted by teenagers. Teenagers all fucked up on Ecstasy and whatever else they do now. And glowsticks. Lots and lots of glowsticks. And glowstick acrobatics - which I haven't seen in quite a while. And Captain Crunk.
Yes, Captain Crunk was in the midst of tearing up the decks for the kids to shake their asses to. Only one slight problem - Abelton happened to be a punk and crash on him towards the end of his set. No worries, though. He brought it back full force and the first pass out of the night happened! I'm not sure what caused it but when the Masquerade secruity crew finally picked the kid up, he looked like he was pretty fucked up.
Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out how to direct message on Twitter from my phone. Turns out, I can't so I had to @Reply my friend who I was suppposed to meet there. It was quite the ordeal since my Send/Receive for my email notifications (the only way I know I have a direct message on Twitter) is 30 minutes. I tried to find him but I gave up after walking around looking like a crazy person. So many teenagers to push out of my way. Joy!
To my surprise as I made it back upstairs, Eskmo was on. Since the place wasn't really all that crowded (yet), I was front and center for all of his set - which made me really happy since that's all I really wanted. For that moment, I forgot I was alone, I forgot about my friend location quest, I forgot about the $25 cover, forgot about the annoying teenagers that were bumping into me in their drug-induced comas and just let it happen. I went back to my 18 y/o self and remembered what it was like to go to a party. My legs were so sore after Eskmo's set but the quest was back on.
Up and down the stairs, legs burning, almost pushing people over for not moving fast enough, I was @Replying my location and my outfit to be better located but I didn't reach my friends' locations in time because of the 30 minute delay on my email notifications. I could have just kept Twitter on but my battery was dying. Fast. After my front and center adventure for Evol Intent, I kept my ears open for Crookhaven. Downstairs, in Hell at 1am (Twitter update).
Finally! The search was over! We exchanged all of maybe 4 sentences and then Crookhaven's set began. It was the perfect ending to the evening - even though I think there was someone else on in Heaven afterwards. The minimal crowd made it better for me since it was very chill and they slowed down the evening right. I waited for about 30 minutes after Crookhaven's set to possibly exchange more than 4 sentences with my friend but business had to be handled, so maybe next time.
All in all, Friday was amazing from start to finish. Good music, great DJs, no pretentious assholes standing in the back trying not to sweat out their hair and makeup. It was like the good old days - people dancing, having a good time. As the night wore on, the crowd, it seemed, got better and better (and bigger and bigger). It reminded me why I love drum and bass and dub step so much. Once the beat begins, you can't stop moving and that's what it's all about.



♥
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

V.I.P. at Drunken Unicorn

I arrived at Drunken Unicorn, early as usual, to find that the doors were still locked so I invaded Richy and La Chansons at their pre-show dinner at Bookhouse to have a couple of drinks. I wasn't planning on staying too late since I had to be at work early today but El Ten Eleven's performance was insane.
La Chansons were great, as always. I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do because I'm starting to get all self-conscious about the pictures I take with my camera (like, they're not very good) and I didn't really feel like distracting them with my camera's triple flash attack.

♥ And all the guys in the audience had stars in their eyes for Carson ♥

**Thank you to Greg for the +1 and a drink ticket! You all made me feel like a VIP!**

When El Ten Eleven came on, I saw a bass and a drum set and thought of Death From Above 1979. You know, same set up. BUT these guys are amazing! Loops and layers upon layers of sounds and textures...great, great stuff. Krystyn let me know that they did a few songs for the documentary film Helvetica. I didn't know what to think at first but the more they played, the more energetic it became and the less it started feeling like I was listening to instrumentals. It felt like every layer had its own personality and style, causing it to evolve with every layer ontop of it, making it grow into this wild, out of control piece that flowed together in such a way that you didn't really want it to end. You can check out more of their skylarkings here and here. I wish I could have stayed long enough to pick up a CD but my bed was calling and now I'm definitely feeling the lack of sleep.
But I will say this: It was totally worth it and you should be very sad that you missed it.

♥
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Your new favourite (local) bands

So, I've been re-connecting with old friends via Facebook and Myspace (but mostly Facebook) and it's been a little awkward but very rewarding.
The best thing that happened was that I was checking up on a friend by the name of Ryan. We recently found each other on FB and I was checking out what he was up to (different from FB stalking btw) and I noticed he was in a band called Little Tybee and they were playing that night at Drunken Unicorn. Joy! I really wanted to see Ryan since I hadn't seen him in FOREVER. Like, since the old Lazy Indians days...
So I made the plans to see them. I shared my new musical findings with Damien and he put me on a quest to acquire music from them (if it was available - which it WAS).
Upon my arrival to Drunken Unicorn, not only was Ryan on stage showcasing his amazing violin skills but 2 other old friends were on stage showcasing their musical talents as well: Andre (singing and playing guitar) and Bradley (singing and playing drums). Little did I know that this was Book of Colors.
I had not seen Bradley and Andre since the old Lazy Indians days as well, so it was good to see them - and all together on stage making sweet, beautiful music.
We ended up catching up at the Local that night and I have not stopped listening to their music.
I had the pleasure of seeing them again this past weekend at Niche during the Castleberry Hill ArtStroll on Friday and at Beep Beep Gallery on Saturday.
And on both those days, I ran into people I hadn't seen in a long time: Robert (Andre's brother) and his GF and Michelle (a very VERY old friend) were spotted at Niche and Natalia (Ryan's former bandmate Ethan's sister and old friend) and Melissa (an ex's sister) at Beep Beep. It was great! Seeing familiar faces is always nice - especially after so long!
So, Little Tybee and Book of Colors bring people together with their dreamy, sweet music. Make sure you catch them around Atlanta. They seem to be performing quite a lot - which is great in case you miss them one day.
And don't forget to check out Andre's art as well. Ever since I've known him, he's been creating art in some way, shape or form. You'll be glad you did.

So, if you find yourself looking to listen to some dreamy, melodic, meaningful music, Little Tybee and Book of Colors are exactly what you need.

♥
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.