When one of my all-time favorite bands scheduled a show last fall when it seemed covid was on the decline, I bought tickets the minute they were available. Then the delta variant blew up and the show was cancelled. It was rescheduled for a date that seemed far enough out that we might be in comparatively normal times, so again I bought tickets immediately, fearing it would sell out. Then omicron blew up.
Lately, facebook has been showing me memories from 13 years ago that included Degenerate Press missives with reviews of some great shows and a Prophesy section so dense that some days listed three or four recommended shows each, night after night. Work, mortality, and the ability to only be in one place at a time all suck, so most of those shows I would regretfully miss, a regret that deepens in hindsight.
Two years since I’ve been to a local, indoor show.
Two years.
Yeah, maybe I am rationalizing an irrational decision, but I went. Everyone had to show a vaccination card, you were supposed to wear a mask when not drinking, and it wasn’t very crowded.
So what’s it like to go to a show these days? Goddamn weird.
My social skills, never that sharp to begin with, have dulled considerably. I forget to ask questions and conversations stall and we just stand there, awkwardly.
Being masked most of the time, and dodging people’s air when not.
Tipping excessively because you know they need it.
There have been a few changes in the world itself too. The Euclid Avenue Yacht Club changed owners right at the beginning of the pandemic. It underwent some needed renovations, mostly in the kitchen, so you’d have to know the place very well to notice. They didn’t have brisket on the menu last I looked, which was their best dish by far. They don’t stock Barbancourt rum anymore either. The dartboards are gone. But the décor is largely unchanged and the clientele is much the same, so the neighborhood vibe is still strong.
The Star Bar also changed hands just before the pandemic and also underwent some renovations that you probably wouldn’t notice. The sound system seems to have improved a bit, with bass speakers that make your chest thump. (That said, there was still a very Star Bar moment when the system went down, and the sound person had to run backstage to trip a breaker or something. Some things remain the same.) There have been some changes in booze selection there too, but they seemed to change regularly before – or maybe I’ve just been a regular so long that each change of ownership has brought new offerings.
Which brings me to the change that should not have shocked me, as I knew it was coming, but nonetheless – goddamn, y’all aged. I have no sense of time, so it seems like only a few months ago that you were young, thin, beautiful, energetic, and a bit of a dumbass. Now… old, maybe not so thin, perhaps handsome in a way, slower but wiser. The worst part is staring at yourself in the mirror behind the bar. Who the hell is that? Sure, I see him every day at home, but in the horrid LED lights most venues have now everyone looks like a corpse and then you get a glimpse of yourself and wonder how you got out of the casket.
But on to the show.
As mentioned, the Star Bar was by no means crowded. It felt like perhaps 25% capacity. To go out on a cold Thursday night in the middle of a pandemic, you either really just want to be out or you really like the bands, so the small crowd had a happy vibe.
DJ Dookie Platters, one of the guys in the beloved Noot d’Noot, spun up a very eclectic and, most importantly, fun mix of danceable music. If you need a DJ for any event I can’t recommend him highly enough.
First up on the stage proper, Certain Times, a duo of vocalists with backing tracks that I was prepared to dismiss, as I generally prefer a higher percentage of my performance to be live. However, the tracks they put together were rich and varied, and their voices brought it all together. I was reminded a bit of former local Emily Kempf (Back Pockets, White Gold, Iron Jane, Dehd, etc.) and New Order. Catchy, electronic pop stuff with interesting, well-constructed sounds that made me want to dance. I would’ve given them four out of five cliff notes in ye olde Ear Plugs days. Travis from Judi Chicago got on stage for one number, adding sax to the mix for a more organic sound.
They had a cute video projected onto them and the wall featuring snippets of people dancing from tons of recognizable films, sometimes as if choreographed to the music on stage.
Judy and the Jerks brought the hardcore punk a la X-Ray Spex and Bad Brains. If I could’ve understood a single word of the lyrics I’d say they were fuckin’ great. Instead, I’ll just say really fuckin’ good. Nothing original here, as far as I could hear, but sometimes you just need a standard that does the job like your old pair of worn-in Doc Martens.
Social Studies is another duo with electronics, and another impressive one. One guy cranks out a ton of electronic sounds of a sort of trip hop variety with the other raps with a flow like a firehose. I was reminded of a former coworker who used to try to convince me to listen to more hip hop, one of his arguments being about the number of words in a typical hip hop tune vs. the number in a rock tune. Social Studies brings all the words. James of Judi Chicago joined them for a tune, adding live drums to the already percussive mix.
The lineup was logically assembled to match the many threads that Judi Chicago pulls apart – dance, electronic, punk, words. They hadn’t performed live in seven or eight years, they said at the start of the set, but you wouldn’t know it from the show they put on. All the energy, as synchronized as they ever were, and they even brought a couple of new tunes. Close your eyes and you might’ve thought it was 2009 and the pandemic was ten years and countless concerts, most of which you couldn’t get to, away.
But the shock of winter air at 1AM and remembering to put your damn mask back on before you get into the Lyft will bring you back to the present.
Hopefully I’ll survive to see more shows, and build up the regret of missing others. You only get so many chances.
Brilliant! Good to get up to date in the ATL scene. You’ve a lovely way with words.