AthFest 2008: Day Three, Baby.

Forget about what I did today- who gives a shit? I'm going straight to the awesome bands I saw throughout the day:

I got a chance to catch Heidi Hensley Band earlier in the day. It featured local Athens legend, John Keane (far right on stage), producer for bands including R.E.M., Indigo Girls, and Widespread Panic. It's always a blast to get to hear John on guitar on stage. The band definitely set up a chill atmosphere for the day's events.

Next band that rocked my socks was Blue Flashing Light. Man, they can really kill it live. They've been rocking all around the world, including being invited to perform all over China last year. Since coming back from China, they've been involved with the UGA Music Business Program Student-Run Record Labels and performed at the SRRL Showcase this past April, where they rocked the Melting Point in Downtown Athens. These guys are awesome and I can't wait to see them make it big across the nation. After listening to them again today, I finally realized that they sort of remind me of the band Live, especially Ian Schwarber's voice. Awesome job guys!

Hells yes- I bought their CD "ShadowBoxing" and got Ian to sign the cover and this is what he wrote. He's been working a lot for AthFest and doing a great job as Promotions Chair. If you're reading this, Ian, you rock man. And thanks for the ticket;)

Modern Skirts closed the main stage tonight as the headlining band for Saturday, and close it they did- Washington street was PACKED! They played crowd favorites along with new songs that will be on their new album coming this August. About time! I've been waiting for a new album for awhile. These guys know how to put on a great concert and everyone in the crowd was having a great time. 

I've been wanting to make it out to see We Versus the Shark for ages now and tonight I finally got to. Put it simply: We Versus the Sharks fucking rocks. They began performing around midnight at 40 Watt and the rest was history. It's hard to explain, but these guys are so clean and so distorted at the same time. The sound just melted my face off! They also had great stage presence and I could tell they loved what they were doing. Of course, I had to pick up their CD. Can't wait to see them live again, hopefully soon.

After WVTS, Cinemechanica came out and burned the place down with their awesome set. These guys are just so awesome live, I couldn't recommend enough to go to one of their shows. I first got to see them last fall when they played at Nuci's Space as a part of the UGA Music Business concert groups I was a part of and since then they've been one of my favorite bands ever. That show was Nuci's Space's highest attending benefit concert they ever had and once you see them live you'll completely understand why. They're souring melodies and ever changing rhythms had everyone at 40 Watt bobbing their heads and jumping tonight. At the end, the crowd was cheering them to come back out and play and we convince them to have an encore performance playing "Yen" which completely shut out AthFest as the best encore performance this weekend. I'm sure people could feel the sounds all the way to Tasty World.

We managed to sell most of the merchandise. I listened to some absolutely amazing bands today right here in Athens, Ga. My feet are about to fall off. I love what I'm doing and I'm excited about being in the music business. My ears are ringing.

Today was a good day:)