-COLIN DUNLOP
In full disclosure, The Ashford Manor "Concerts on the Lawn" was not the first time I saw Modern Skirts live. In fact, the last time I saw them I was hammered drunk, in the small, dark and dingy 40 Watt Club, belting out lyrics alongside a strictly 18-plus crowd.
To say the band played a family-friendly show for a family-friendly concert series in a family-friendly town is an understatement.
In the antithesis of their normal eclectic wardrobe, the polished members came on stage in button up collared shirts and looser-fitting jeans — not ones made for teenage girls. Even the on-stage banter was curse free.
The set reached just under two hours, thanks to the 30-minute intermission, and the band's power-pop tunes translated nicely from their normal drunk college-aged crowd to sugar-buzzed children.
What didn't translate so well was a Skirts staple — high impact on-stage energy.
Starting promptly at 7, "My Lost Soprano" sailed through the speakers and into the chilled dusk air — but the open-air venue muffled the songs normal punch. The audience couldn't have felt the music rattle through their bones, I thought. But as cheers rose up at the end of the first song, it was very apparent they weren't looking for a skeletal jolt.
The Ashford Manor series, now in its eighth season, is wildly popular in Watkinsville, a town 15 minutes from the musical Mecca of Athens. In fact, the Skirts played Athens just three days before, but still managed to pack out the Manor. It seems the call for talented bands to play a family-friendly venue sounded (see Packway Handle Band's June performance) and Modern Skirts was more than happy to oblige.
The band sped its way through a first set dominated by highlights from "Catalogue of Generous Men," its first album. The band took its time with the second act, which, as expected, was geared toward its recently released sophomore album, "All of Us In Our Night." It was during the latter set I made two observations: I hate the way "My Bully" sounds played outside but love the way "Pasadena" does.
Don't get me wrong, I love "My Bully" — it's my favorite song on the first Skirts CD — but it demands to be played loud in close confines. "Pasadena," on the other hand, has never been my favorite. But it managed to reinvent itself as a perfect end of summer anthem more potent by a crisp fall breeze — a feeling unmatchable in a hot, sweaty, crowded club.
But that's the magic of Modern Skirts.
Its musical talent and versatiliy means the band can play a 1 a.m. show to a stinking, drunk college crowd, or make a 10-minute drive and croon to hundreds of small children and aging hipsters in the waning evening hours. While I won't fault the Skirts for branching out for its listeners, I can't say I'll be attending anymore of its outdoor shows.
No, I like seeing my bands blind-stinking drunk, cramped in a dingy club.
Modern Skirts performing Shaker in the Band
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Modern Skirts - Pasadena
Modern Skirts - Pasadena
Modern Skirts performing Shaker in the Band
4 comments:
I liked this review because of the way you compared their performances in Athens to a college crowd with an outdoor lawn concert in the early evening. It's a different way to look at a band, instead of just commenting on how they play songs. Most people in Athens have heard of Modern Skirts and several are fans, so we don't really need to know what they sound like. I like then how you focused on something else that not everyone may be familiar with. I especially liked your points at the end about how certain songs sounded outside versus in a bar. I definitely think some music translates really well outside when you're relaxing and some sounds better blaring in the car or in a crowded club. It was really easy for me to visualize your experience and the review added the topic of venue as something I may not have considered beforehand. Also, the video at the end is not really great quality but I thought it was actually better that way because it gives a reader a better idea of what the "stinking-drunk" college crowd scene would be like. Great job, makes me want to go to a concert now!
To the group: I didn't notice any changes on your blog yet since we talked in class, but you have a lot of great stuff on here already. I especially appreciate the performance or music videos and most of the visual effects in general.
Aside from minor spelling errors and a less-than-concise headline, I liked it. This was one of those situations where you liked it yet didn't like it - and those kinds of reviews are hard to write. Yet, it worked, and within the ambivalent feelings of the stage setup and song choices, I was still able to pick out your opinion. So kudos for that, plus the design (the banner screams Designed by Colin).
It was interesting to read your review of something that I also reviewed. It was obvious that we both agreed that the Skirts didn't produce their typical high-energy show at this family-friendly venue. In their defense, the show did end with a mosh pit of college students crowding the stage and rocking out to the last few songs. . . just like old times at the 40 Watt.
While the Modern Skirts might have a hard time rockin' out in front of kids, there are certainly young Athens children who can rock out to the Modern Skirts. My friends live over in the "Normaltown" area and have a 5 year-old neighbor named Louise who absolutely LOVES the Modern Skirts. She came over when we were watching the SEC championship game and actually turned off the TV in the middle of the game so that she could blast the Modern Skirts from their stereo and show us the yoga moves that she had made up to go along with it. She belted out every single word of the song (though I don't remember the name of it), and we were all very impressed. Too bad she wasn't there to kick it at this show!
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