No introduction needed on this one…an entire set of Blondie songs (primarily from Parallel Lines) performed by veteran St. Louis indie-kings Bunnygrunt.

Blondie-Grunt
8.13.2008
Athens Popfest, Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16

Setlist:
1. Hanging On The Telephone
2. One Way or Another
3. Fade Away and Radiate
4. Pretty Baby
5. I’m Gonna Love You Too
6. 11:59
7. Sunday Girl ^
8. Heart Of Glass
9. Rapture *

Notes:
^ = with Sara Oberst (That’s My Daughter) on vocals
* = with Nate Mitchell (Cars Can Be Blue) on vocals

(Here’s a megaupload link to the full set.)

(Photo courtesy of Cable and Tweed.)

After a short dinner break, the festivities at Little Kings started up again with a treat.  Side-project Supercluster, which boasts an impressive lineup of musicians:

Randy Bewley (Pylon)
Vanessa Briscoe Hay (Pylon)
Bill David (Jolly Beggars)
John Fernandes (everyone)
Bob Hay (Jolly Beggars)
Hannah Jones (Sound Houses)
Kay Stanton (Casper and the Cookies)

This semi-acoustic set was a welcome change from earlier bands that day, with Bob on acoustic, Bill on mandolin, and John on violin.  Collaborations like this are what make the Athens experience so special.

Supercluster
8.13.2008
Athens Popfest, Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Too Many Eights
3. Brave Tree
4. The Mermaid’s Tale
5. I Got the Answer
6. Just Like Anyone
7. The Night I Died
8. Sunflower Clock
9. Time To End the War

(Full show link here.)

The Gainesville scene had strong presence at PopFest this year, with at least four bands that I know of representing.  The following two acts, Nervous Systems and Oh Sanders, played back-to-back on Wednesday.

Nervous Systems were an aptly named band on this occasion.  The entire set was a collection of high-strung tunes (none longer than two minutes), without any banter whatsoever.  Maybe the band really was a bit nervous, or maybe it’s just part of the act.  Either way, don’t let the hard edge fool you–underneath this maniacal pace is a set of catchy, repetitious lyrics that will have you singing along:

“So shut up, so shut up.  I can’t understand the words that you’re saying to me.  I can’t comprehend the language you’re speaking.” (Mondegreen)
“I realize that sometimes that sometimes I am a verb. I realize that sometimes that sometimes I am a verb.” ” (Sometimes I Am A Verb)

I haven’t run across any details about an album, but they’re supposedly involved with Obscurist Press, who is responsible for putting out records by a number of Gainesville acts.  Anyone have details?  Hopefully we’ll be hearing more from these guys in the future.

Nervous Systems – 8.13.2008
Athens Popfest, Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16

Setlist::
1. All True Believers
2. Soft Weapons
3. Mondegreen
4. Good Luck
5. Sound Effect
6. Sleeping Arrangements
7. Mnemonic Device
8. Sometimes I Am A Verb

Oh Sanders was a favorite for me on this particular afternoon.  Dan had recently returned from Mongolia. This performance was the band’s first in a few months, but they didn’t miss a beat.  Stella’s personal lyrics left me reminiscing about college days past…and wanting to go for an afternoon jog…and take someone to the zoo…   Their first full-length has just been released on HHBTM, and will be christened with a show at The Atlantic on September 6th.

On a side note, Dan had a scrabble table set up for most of the day, challenging the crowd to beat him and win a copy of the new CD.  While I didn’t have the grit to take him on, I now have the option of listening during the downtime on my tapes and expanding my vocabulary.  Thanks!  :)

Oh Sanders – 8.13.2008
Athens Popfest, Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16

Setlist:
1. You Should Have Been Nicer
2. Below the Radar
3. The State of Disorder
4. Underwater Voyeur
5. Season for Sleeping
6. The Concrete That Surrounds Us
7. Conspiracy to Commit Arson

Cleveland’s Afternoon Naps certainly kept us from falling asleep on last Wednesday afternoon, with their set at Little Kings.  Despite a number of feedback issues throughout their performance, and even losing stage power at one point, they were in good spirits, cracking jokes and working the crowd with a string highly-danceable songs.  The set mostly consisted of number from their recent release, Sunbeamed, but also included several new songs, such as “Discoverse”, which reminded me of a futurepop version of Talking Heads.  Katie over at Athens Exchange has a great review.

BTW, what’s up with musicians the “Brown Chicken, Brown Cow” joke?  I’ve heard three bands use it on-stage this month!

Afternoon Naps
8.13.2008
Athens Popfest
Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16

One Disc:
1. Can’t Stop the Weather
2. Orange Paw
3. Postcard
4. Clean Bill of Health
5. Discoverse
6. Catholic School
7. Firefly *
8. Bubblegum 45
9. Winter Olympics
10. The Sun Ain’t the Same
11. Happy All the Time

Notes:
* = aborted after power was lost on stage

Here’s the full show available as a zipfile.

Indianapolis band Amo Joy! followed up Boy Genius as the second act at Little Kings on Tuesday.  Their psychedelic pop tunes are sure to be a hit for the E6 fans, saturated with kazoos, singalongs, and a nice helping of melodica.

Amo Joy!
8.13.2008
Athens Popfest
Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source: Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by: Lance Stack (inthistube [at] yahoo.com)

One Disc:
1. Diggity Doom
2. Kiss the Tail
3. The Sane Design
4. ?
5. The Avian Dilemma
6. ?

Here’s the full set via sendspace.

The first day of music at Little Kings was launched in proper Popfest style when Brooklyn’s Boy Genius took the stage in front of the small but enthusiastic crowd of music fans devoted enough to arrive early.  Kicking off a festival set at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday is no easy task, but as soon as the intro guitar riffs and cymbals of “Tied in Two” melded into a wall of fuzz, you were immediately engaged.  No warm-up songs necessary here. These guys meant business!

Upon listening to the live set straight-through, I’ve realized Boy Genius has really mastered the fine art of developing setlists.  With a 30-minute set, it’s had to say what you want to, musically.  The mid-temp pop beats behind “Tied in Two” were just enough to engage the crowd…this ratcheted up a notch for a segue into the more-aggressive “Scatter”, relaxed again for “No Beginning”, hit the ground running again for “Talk About Love”, etc.   Perfect pacing.

The band was giving away free copies of their Eureka EP at the merch table.  After giving it a listen at work today, I’m kicking myself for not picking up their full-length LP, Anchorage.

Anyway, here’s to a great start of PopFest.  Check it out:

Boy Genius
8.13.2008
Athens Popfest
Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16

Setlist:
1. Tied in Two >
2. Scatter
3. No Beginning
4. Talk About Love
5. Eleanor
6. The Hardest Part
7. Radio Silence

Sendspace link to the entire show.

Just made it back into town from PopFest…what a great time!  It was great meeting a regiment of new friends and getting face time in with familiar faces.  I managed to get most of the week on tape (71 acts!), and only missed a few on the last day due to equipment issues.

For fear of inundating everyone with too much at once, I’m hoping to post something akin to “Popfest Set-of-the-Day” as I get things tracked out.  This should allow everyone time to reflect on each performance/act.

Most requested has been the reunion of high-school band Fat Planet, lead by Robert Schneider and Bill Doss.  I missed most of the set (down at Flicker setting up for the next act), and can’t provide much input on the experience.  Rich has some good coverage of it over at C&T.  He’s also posted a great set of photos.

Anyway, on to the music!
(A zipfile of the entire performance is available here.)

Fat Planet
8.15.2008
Athens Popfest
Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300′s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 >
Firewire > CoolEdit Pro > CDWave > Flac16

Setlist:
1. (intro/banter)
2. Skyway
3. Jumping Fences
4. (Warm Milk and Chocolate story)
5. Warm Milk and Chocolate
6. Mercury Mother
7. Opera House
8. A Sunshine Fix
9. California Demise
10. The Gypsum Oilfield Fire
11. NYC-25 (aborted)
12. Monsters
13. The Rainbow

Lineup:
Robert Schneider (Apples in Stereo, Marbles, Ulysses, Thee American Revolution)
Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control, Sunshine Fix, Apples in Stereo)
Will Cullen Hart (Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System)
Peter Ehrchick (Pipes You See Pipes You Don’t, Olivia Tremor Control)
Charlie Johnston (63 Crayons, Circulatory System)

Well, summer is finally fading in Colorado, giving me some time to catch up on all the recordings I’ve captured over the past few months. I’ve been getting several requests for sets from this year’s Athens Popfest, and will be trying to get some of the Popfest highlights posted. One of the most requested sets is the Black Kids performance.

Full mp3′s can be obtained via sendspace.

Black Kids
8.11.2007
Athens PopFest, Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA

1. intro
2. Listen to Your Body Tonight
3. I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
4. I Wanna Be Your Limousine
5. Hurricane Jane
6. The Magnificent Seven
7. Look at Me When I Rock With You
8. I’ve Underestimated My Charm Again