when The Ropes came to town

Jess Jones from Dandelion Desserts, Ben Coleman from Judi Chicago and Nick LeMay of 4th Ward Heroes. It was a family affair @ Criminal Records.

The Ropes, Criminal Records, Atlanta, GA

Whynatte & Esperanza Present: Metromix 1 YR Anniversary Bash Saturday August 15th

Saturday August 15 @ STATS @ 300 Marietta St NW, 30313

The Constellations http://www.myspace.com/constellationsatl

B.o.B.

http://www.myspace.com/bobatl

DJ Black Dominoes

http://www.myspace.com/blackdominoes

And one more special guest… I’ll tell you about him soon:)

Get tickets here:

Presale tickets available here for a limited time at a discounted price. Get em!

Judi Chicago, Noot d’Noot, and Other Words to Feed your Bored Mind.

Judi Chicago and Noot d’Noot 8/8/09

This night I was amongst the hipster republic of Little 5 Points pondering the nostalgic wonder of young experience. We are all adults here in the Starbar, at least by the amount of years we’ve traversed the Earth, stumbling through buildings and attempting to ascertain the beauty of some strange landscape and rambling into reckless experimentation with various….drugs.

I mostly found a fondly close comfort in the fact that we are all still children. Yes, we, and by we I mean the collective young “adults,” have not deviated much from the lost days of silent lunch, boy-girl-boy-girl seating arrangement, or nap-time. We do not fall far from the primitive tree of child-like desire. We might even catch ourselves crying from a scrape on the knee after falling from that tree.

The important thing for us now is to capture that small window of vivid happiness. It is important to not analyze or intellectualize those negative occurrences we see in the great hill of life. Towards the bottom of that hill is a pit of fire and lava and all the women (or men) you pissed off with your genitals. Don’t look at it though. Just embrace it as an experience worth having, because they’re all worth having.

This leading to a concert review. I promise. I’m almost completely positive that maybe it will turn out to be probable.

I only thought all of this because I remember the first time I fell in love with Atlanta. I walked through the Krog Street tunnel, slightly inebriated and missing clothes that would’ve covered my lovelies. It was easy to feel love after enormous amounts of alcohol.

I fell in love with Judi Chicago’s music in a similar way, however, this particular time I was wearing my clothes…most of the time. “Mad Ape” came on and this youthful energy exploded during the chorus. It was as if we had been holding back for so long. Maybe those silent lunches and boy-girl seating and countless rules thrust on our tiny backs had finally been lifted. And it was lifting, or liberating, or any other ridiculous human emotion that one associates with being happy.

Later that night, I was viciously accosted by a strange little girl. She choked me. She put some kitten-like scars on either side of my neck. It was an aggressive cat scratch. A little girl coming at me like whirlwind of teeth and fingernails and absolute insanity manifested from some previous childhood issue. I preceded to put her in a deserved head lock. This little black haired girl is the silent partner of a posh midtown eatery or so my memory tells me.

Afterwards, I made this delicious grilled cheese sandwich with jalapeños. I recommend it. Really, come to my house. This is all I do. I get bored and make sandwiches. It helps me keep my youth while still pretending to have responsibility.

I think I shit my pants later on that fine day, though. I’m good about twice a year for that.

On a more conservative note…..

5 Straitlaced Things to do on a Monday in Atlanta:

1. Find shrooms. Go to the park. Stare at clouds.Then go to www.iprelay.com and phone your friends…seriously. Possibly the most entertaining thing to do with your time. Ever.

2. Find more shrooms. Take off work. Paint your walls. Make a Diet Coke Bomb with Mentos.

3. Find shrooms. Go to Java Lords. Get 14  $1 dollar PBRs. Try to remember the night.

4. Find shrooms. Call an old friend. Go break shit at a junkyard.

5. Stop doing mushrooms and writing inane lists.

P.S. Toy Story 2 was O.K.

Here’s a joke to tell your friends when you’re afraid they hate you for not being funny:

What did Adam say when Eve jumped into the river at the Garden of Eden?

(The stupid freaking answer): “Son-of-a-labia-licker! Now all the fish are gonna smell like that…

Kind of cool.

June 2009, Noni's Bar & Deli 357 Edgewood Ave., Altanta. Love that place. Photo by: My second favorite latte monger.

This may come as a shock, but truth be told, Luis & I have worked together behind the scenes for quite some time. We work the middle now and again. We get stealth. I have come to call Luis many things, some explicit, some not. But most lovingly I refer to him as my mentor. What does that mean you ask? Basically, he’s the man. He’s the man I call when I hit the sides, need a hug, and/or a drink.

Before I worked for HaveYouHeard.net as the Live Sessions Coordinator, before Team Luis (the name, not the man), and what seems like an effing lifetime before I founded 4WH, I attended a Modern Skirts show at Smith’s Olde Bar with a couple of friends, post trainwreck relationship during my sojourn to the other side of the world. My friend Jorge got silly drunk. Our group decided to leave and take him home after the show ended. I walked out with them, but just as I was about to get in the car, I surveyed the situation and decided I was not quite ready to leave after all. I asked if it would be cool with them if I went back in, and they cheered me on as good friends do. I have to admit, it was the first time I was at a bar, never mind a show, alone in the A. I was still rather new to the dirty.

I slid up to the bar, a little slippery myself. Up came a blazing head of hair.

Hoffman: “Wanna do a shot?”

Me: “Why, yes. Yes. I. do.”

The rest is history.

We drank tequila. We talked. We laughed. He introduced me to a fine young chap named Phillip. We drank more tequila. We laughed a lot more. Anyway, I fell in love with the man in the vest, every inch of the fro, the curve of his grin, and those sparkling sea colored eyes. It took him a couple of years to introduce me to Luis, hmmm, but eventually he did, and I fell in love with him too. He bought me a PBR, but had me at hello.

Pop Death Squad's Big Trouble in Little Five August 2008

We have shared a drink or two. Last weekend, we shared the remaining drops of latte in a crushed Whynatte can on the patio of 529. We even kissed once, although he says it did not count, whatever that means. But this, my lovers, is our first ever official show together as presenters. On August 11, 2009, 4WH & Team Luis Present: How I Became The Bomb, Young Orchids, Sealions, and DJ Black Dominoes @ 529.

I cannot tell you how much it has meant to me to see those Pop Death Squad boys in the crowd as I announce bands at 4WH shows or to get a text from one of them telling me “great show” after the night has ended. I look forward to this show with Team Luis, not just because it is our first official show together as presenters, but because it means I will have the best in the business at my side.

I hope that everyone will come out and celebrate what we can accomplish when we support each other. If we want to make a contribution to the culture of Atlanta, to Atlanta’s music scene, we need to work together, just like the bands do. They share a stage, a drum kit, a bill. We share a club, a sponsor, a night. It’s all the same. It’s all about working together for the greater good.

If you think it’s easy being a girl in this scene, think again. Not so much. I have literally fallen apart after tearing apart boys twice my size in a parking lot. The other night I had some drunk guy, who has worked one of the largest music festivals in Atlanta since its inception, pushing me in the chest demanding I answer an incoherent question. All in a night’s work.  But fellas like Luis give me hope for the rest of the jackals out there. He is a gentleman, a bad ass promoter, a member of the nice mafia, and a friend.

I kind of revel in the idea that is it difficult to tell which shows are actually 4th Ward Heroes shows, because this show coming up is only our 6th! Bet you didn’t know that. I revel in this observation, because despite the downsides (Yes, I do realize there are downsides) it means that I, and to a greater extent we, are fulfilling the mission of 4th Ward Heroes. We are supporting the local music scene and the artists who make the music. This Tuesday, I get to stand at the side of someone who exemplifies this idea. Not in front of, not behind, but at his side. Kind of cool.

Much love, M!

Photo credit: Jesse Altman a.k.a my second favorite latte monger.

4WH & Team Luis Present Tuesday August 11 @ 529: How I Became The Bomb, Young Orchids, Sealions, DJ Black Dominoes

4th Ward Heroes & Team Luis Present: Tuesday, Aug 11, @ 529 Flat Shoals Rd, East Atlanta Village: How I Became The Bomb, Young Orchids, Sealions, DJ Black Dominoes. Doors @ 9 / 21+ / $7 // Poster by Adam Trimble