Half-Handed Cloud

w/ Lake, Casper and the Cookies

Thursday, May 1 @ Flicker Theatre and Bar

originally published April 30, 2008

Uniqueness noticeable sans magnifying glass is rare. Sure, every snowflake is different, but it takes effort to tell them apart. The music of John Ringhofer, AKA Half-Handed Cloud, is like a two-headed puppy mixed in with a bunch of snowflakes: easy to pick out from the masses, odd in ways other than by mere difference from stuff that is not very interesting and weirdly cute. Signed to Asthmatic Kitty, the label that also produced The Danielson Famile and Sufjan Stevens, both of whom Ringhofer has ties to (he's a trombonist for the Illinoisemakers), he also shares the inclusive Christianity of Stevens and Dan Smith, weaving fascinating and obscure religious imagery into the lyrics of his tiny, beautiful songs. His last full album, Halos and Lassos, which came out in 2006, blows through its 19 songs in what seems almost no time at all, each track feeding into the next and the whole thing encouraging the repeat button, mirroring the circular structure of its titular objects. Ringhofer makes heavy use of the omnichord, an electronic autoharp of sorts, and its warm yet eerie tone combines angelically with the frenetic pace of the songs so packed with words it seems obvious the lyrics have been squashed into the later-composed melodic structure. Pushed into a world of knowledge, beauty, love and utter strangeness, one can experience the joy of a structure present but uncomprehended by any other than the author, which is exactly the point. Know, too, that despite the underlying seriousness, Ringhofer's music is the purest pop, with no time to get impatient either within or between songs, and harmonies poking out of every crevice. Maybe it's the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, but both sugar and medicine are wonderful.

Hillary Brown

“AthFest CD Release Party”

w/ Packway Handle Band, Titans of Filth, Timber

Friday, May 2 @ Tasty World

originally published April 30, 2008

Being a college town, Athens is particularly prone to cyclical ritual on an annual schedule, and so when the college kids burrow away to study for finals and then start trickling out of town as their summer break kicks in, the town moves with a lighter spring in its step. The annual festivities of Boybutante and the Twilight Criterium just wrapped, and it’s time to gear up for AthFest, the summer’s tentpole music and arts festival.

The first step towards that late-June event lands in early May, when Tasty World hosts a free show to celebrate the release of the AthFest CD. The annual albums compile 20 or so tracks from local bands, most of whom have been active in the scene over the past year, and the disc, assembled by Ghostmeat Records, usually offers a varied sampling of local styles. The 2008 comp looks to have a more folk-flavored lineup than years past, with previously unreleased tracks from Madeline, Hope for Agoldensummer, Bicycles & Gravel and William Tonks, although Athens guitar-rock, old and new, remains well represented by Five Eight, Lona, Russian Spy Camera and Dead Confederate. Local favorites Ham1, Perpetual Groove and The Inflatable Orchestra, among others, also contribute tracks.

Three bands who appear on this year’s album - the bluegrass pros Packway Handle Band, the scrappy pop nostalgiacs Titans of Filth and the country-leaning group Timber - perform at Tasty World tonight. The free show starts at the earlier hour of 8 p.m., and copies of the album will be available for sale at the show and then in stores on Tuesday, May 6. For more information on the compilation or the AthFest festival itself, hit up .

Chris Hassiotis

The 3rd Annual Gimme Shelter Benefit

w/ Jackpot City, HEAP, Clay Leverett, Supercluster, William Tonks, Dana Downs, The Corduroy Road and more!

Friday, May 2 @ 40 Watt Club

originally published April 30, 2008

It's a shame Elton John doesn't have any tunes about needing a house. "Gimme Shelter" was a very clever title for the Athens Area Homeless Shelter benefit when it debuted in 2006. That night featured a host of Rolling Stones covers (thus the name), and when all was said and done, over $18,000 was raised for the charity. Instead of sticking with the same featured artist, the organizers have stuck with the catchy title and decided to mix up the annual theme. We got a dose of Neil Young covers last year (and $15,000 for the cause), and this year it's all about Elton John. Going along with his flashy persona, tonight is billed as a "flamboyant costume ball" and eccentric outfits are highly encouraged! Hopefully the Rocket Man's classic tunes can rake in just as much money - if not more - for this worthy cause.

The list of participating local artists is a mile long and crosses all genres. Catch artists like Jackpot City, HEAP, Clay Leverett, Supercluster, William Tonks, Dana Downs, The Corduroy Road and many more leading Elton John sing-alongs.

This is also the first year that the AAHS will host a pre-party event before the concert. Details of the fun and games are in Threats & Promises this week.

“We are thrilled to, once again, coordinate the Gimme Shelter concert, and for the first time, the pre-party event,” says Courtney Davis, Executive Director of AAHS. “This event is tremendously important to us in our efforts to raise the funds we need to support homeless families with children in the Athens community. With the community’s support of this exciting annual event and the Athens Area Homeless Shelter, we are able to serve several hundred homeless individuals each year.”

Michelle Gilzenrat

Jukebox the Ghost

w/ The XYZ Affair, Morning State

Tuesday, May 6 @ Caledonia Lounge

originally published April 30, 2008

Having already swung through Athens earlier this year (opening for Modern Skirts at the 40 Watt Club), Jukebox the Ghost, a young three-piece group from Washington, D.C., has been touring aggressively behind its debut album, Live and Let Ghost. The comparisons to Ben Fold Five fly fast and furious, but just because a band has a keyboard/piano front and center doesn’t mean it's in the same vein of mope-pop. Jukebox the Ghost is generally considerably zippier, poppier, and above all, happier than most anything off Whatever and Ever Amen. Even when Jukebox the Ghost slows down (e.g., “My Heart’s the Same”) it resembles mid-period Joe Jackson in its delicacy and grasp of how to use aural space. Lead singer/songwriter Ben Thornwell can almost wail like Rufus Wainwright, although he loses it a little on some of the higher notes. The seeming simplicity of instrumentation (the group consists of keyboard, guitar and drums) doesn’t hurt the drive behind the tunes, which have strong enough rhythms to withstand verbal hyperactivity. “Good Day” in particular is perky and catchy enough to soundtrack a Target commercial quite easily - picture The Click Five mated with the twitches of dance punk and the rococo flourishes 88-Keys encourage one to make. Indeed the track was recently selected for NPR’s “All Songs Considered.” So much indie rock tends to encourage doziness, whether it’s from an excess of concern with slow beauty or the circular structure that often dominates its dance music, but Jukebox the Ghost is caffeinated without being overly so. They’re not Mountain Dew, but they may be Dr. Pepper - quirkier, made up of many flavors, a choice for the pale, but not the lazy.

Hillary Brown