The Other Sounds Festival has re-branded itself as Little Five Fest, or Little 5 Fest, depending on where you read it. I thought “Other Sounds” was an interesting name and was used to indicate that the bands you’d hear at the event weren’t like other shows you could go to every week in Atlanta. A few of those types of events have come and gone over the years but edgy, avant garde music doesn’t generate the dollars it takes to sustain a festival. I don’t know if this was a concious decision by Other Sound organizers, or merely a name change that coicides with the fact that there wasn’t that much “other” about the sounds at Little 5 Fest.
This isn’t a complaint. There were a lot of great bands. I just didn’t see a lot of new stuff, perhaps in part because I didn’t get there early or stay late. Life has been busy (moving, renovating, job hunting, other hobbies, etc.) so maybe it’s not you, it’s me.
By the time we arrived, we had to choose between Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause or Grand Prize Winners From Last Year. We started with Grand Prize Winners, who I hadn’t seen since, well, year before last at the Other Sounds fest.
They cover a lot of ground, going from Outkast-influenced hip hop to Prince-sounding pop rock to almost electronic dance and beyond. It’s all good, but drum tracks rarely to the job for me, even when fattened up with actual horns and guitar.
But it always impresses me to see a band whose members can change instruments song to song, even if they don’t take each instrument seriously or use them to their full potential.
With stages inside and out, and across the street at Auroroa, there were almost too many options. We snuck out halfway through GPWFLY’s set to the outdoor area and grabbed some pork sandwiches from the guys at Smokin’ Woods, I think it’s called. It’s a new place in EAV on Metropolitan somewhere. Damn fine pulled pork!
Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause were on stage, but paused during their country ballad set for technical difficulties just after we arrived. Eventually they got going again and charged into more rock-oriented sounds. Either way, the barbecue made the perfect chaser!
Speaking of lost causes, rumor has it Adam, the drummer, is leaving town. Not sure what that’s going to do to the bands he’s in (Forty Fives, Anna Kramer) but I’ll miss his monkey face around town.
(And no, Anna has not dyed her hair bright pink, it’s just the lights.)
A horde of photographers and videographers scuttled underfoot to get into position for West End Motel. I suspect Brent’s fame in Mastodon had much to do with it, but whatever will bring attention to other local bands in town is fine by me.
The crush of people and devices and the slight moat of cables and monitors between the band and us sucked away my motivation to take more photos. The set was good, a bit more… colorful than the All Night Drug Prowling Wolves material, but built on similar rock foundations.
The outside and Aurora stages closed, forcing a festival crowd into the confines of The Star Bar. We weren’t up for the sardine can conditions and called it a night.
Hopefully I’ll wrap up the move soon, finish the renovation projects and get a new job so that I can get back to more regular reporting on local music. Meanwhile, I’ll be doing fewer and cheaper events, probably involving the other creative outlet I work on, Pangenre LLC.
