Blackoutfest IX Preview for 2004
By Matthew Toledo - 4/26/2004
Good news children! Rock and Roll Xmas has returned to Athens for the ninth year in a row. Thanks to the hard work of the folks at the Union and show organizer, Scott Winland, this year promises to be yet another fantastic showcase of some of the region's best underground rock and roll.
Once a strictly local one-day party for trash rockers living in Athens, Blackoutfest quickly grew to include some of the best underground rock this nation has to offer. This year marks the festival's first international showcase band, Mother's Anger, from Israel.
Many people are of the opinion that the Athens music scene is experiencing a period of growth. New art-spaces in town have taken up the slack of closed bars and the introduction of hip-hop in Athens has consolidated the other genres in town. Bands that once played at competing bars are now swapping members. Perhaps that is why this year's bill showcases a larger number of local acts than last year's fest. Last year, 5 bands were local. This year, there are 9 local acts.
This year's festival will also coincide with Ohio University's "Mom's Weekend" which, for people unfamiliar with OU's calendar of events, means that Athens' bars will be more packed than usual Friday and especially Saturday evening.
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Local artist Tracy Duncan will hold an art opening on the lower level of the Union starting at 7:00 PM on Thursday. Tracy is known for her often grotesque and distorted studies of the human figure. She painted the mural for the Union upstairs and has also designed numerous CD's and T-Shirts for local bands and projects including last year's Blackoutfest T-shirts.
(Info about the bands and the schedule is being added to this story as it becomes ready for print. Please check this page over the next few days for any updates)
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Click here for a printable version of the schedule shown above
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The Real Kids have been asked to headline the final night of Blackoutfest 9. Formed in Boston, Massachusetts during the early 70's, The Real Kids blazed a trail for many punk and underground rock bands. One fan site compares their career back in the 70's to a comet: burning brightly but as it burned, it tore itself apart. The Kids spawned a host of imitators and sound-alike bands before drugs and alcohol helped bring a temporary end to the act. Time, wisdom and the encouragement of legions of fans and record-geeks have kept the band alive through record sales, word of mouth, and cover performances of Real Kid's songs. Thanks to their fans and the garage rock rebirth of the late nineties, the band found itself back on tour by 2000. They are hailed by many as the fathers of trash rock. When you consider their importance in the musical lexicon of this country, It's hard to believe that The Real Kids are coming to little-old Athens.
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The Lost Sounds will headline day two of Blackoutfest. They decry on their website that garage rock has grown boring, so they invented their own genre instead. They call their creation "black wave" which is "a term created out of the genres black metal and new-wave." This Memphis, Tennesee quartet features high energy drums and guitar work laced together with insane chuncky synth tones and riffs. They have established themselves the anti-garage band in our region-- even going so far as to state in an interview with Athen's own OU Post that they "hate the modern garage rock - it's passé." Jay, the guitarist and keyboardist for the band went on to comment that, "I was involved in that whole music scene for quite a few years...now all the worst (bands) are getting attention." Preaching aside, expect lots of attitude, metal-like head banging and insane engergy from the Lost Sounds.
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Thursday night headliners, The Demolition Doll Rods, hail from Detroit, Michigan and have played our fair town before. They are known for playing stripped down trash rock while stripped down themselves. Playing in next to nothing, the band's provocative lyrics are nearly as outrageous as their g-string stage costumes. Visual gimmicks aside, the Doll Rods lo-fi rock has landed them opening slots for Iggy Pop, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Cramps.
