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AthFest 2019 On The Small Stage

As usual, it was hot, but not all that bad under the tent.  I wasn't under the beer tent.  I volunteered this year, for the second time only this time I was sober.  I'm not really trying to make a big deal of the sobriety thing, but when I think back to the last time I volunteered I remember I was pretty messed up.  I made it through the entire weekend without walking off, or passing out.  I honored my commitment as has always been the case if I'm working and drinking.  I've never missed a day of work because of drinking.  I'm what some would call a functioning alcoholic. 

I prefer to think of myself as a functioning regular drinker, but we are in the midst of a cultural civil war, you know.  And, when Evangelicals elect a non-drinker in Jesus' name who sure seems like he's drunk, I feel I have the right to distinguish between behaviors that Southern abstainers won't.  After all, Christians who do not consume alcohol are superior to all other Christians, right?

So, I was sober until last night at the end, we all had a few beers.  Nothing to excess, but having taken the month off, I woke up feeling like my head was full of cotton and I didn't like it.  You grow accustomed to that feeling and think it's normal, but it's not.  I wasn't hungover with a headache, or nausea.  I was just feeling rather thick.

However, my aim for the day was to recap my AthFest experience working primarily the small stage on Hull Street that was jam packed with some amazing talent and I'd say it was a shade cooler than the main stage which had the Eastern sun shining in on it all day long, only to have the setting sun in the Western sky heat things up from behind at the end of the day, as per usual.

I'm not complaining.  This is just a fact.  So, if you've never been to AthFest, in the future be sure you are prepared to sweat.  It's still a far cry from hell fire, but enough to give you a headache if you walk around in it for too long as I did yesterday while doing what they call Crowd Hawking, fundraising.  I'm not, and never have been, very good at asking people for money.  Maybe that's why I don't beg on the streets.  I'm just not good at it.  Plus, I'm honest to a fault.  I'm a horrible liar.  Every time I have ever tried to lie in my life, people can tell immediately.  I haven't tried very many times, but I probably wouldn't make a very good actor unless I was just playing myself and then I wonder if I'd mess that up too.

More to the point, let me just share with you here, the amazing talent I saw on the small stage down from the Hot Corner this first Summer weekend in Athens, GA.  It's a town with so many bands we should start a reality TV show and follow some around for a time!  That's my idea Bar Rescue, and so was that!

One of the best acts I saw was like a Democratic presidential candidate I never heard of, but much more interesting.  Sam Burchfield out of Atlanta led off Friday with a versatile style from Southern twang to a sort of New York flavor in the keys.  I subscribed to their channel on YouTube as I did with the others as well.




The Broken String band, unlike a Democratic presidential candidate, is a band I have heard of, but had never heard.  This was insane!  I call it BLUEGRASSID!  I've heard folk music and Bluegrass in my life.  In fact, as a kid, a classmate of mine used to let me get up on stage with them when his father's Bluegrass band used to play at festivals.  I just shook the tambourine, but they never complained.  So, I guess I have some rhythm.  This was a different kind of Bluegrass with enough energy to make you sweat.  Like I said to someone earlier, if you catch these guys, bring your own towels!




Harvey Funkwalker... Johan Harvey who I got to know from Live Wire Athens when they used to do an open mic night, came off the stage and I said, "Joe, a lot of people would say that was SICK, but I'm not sure what to say about it".  Johan just laughed and then said, "Ill", stopped for another second of thought as I repeated it and then said, "NASTY", to which I totally and enthusiastically agreed.  Every time I've heard these guys play I am astounded and it is soooo NASTY.  Soooo, while some presidents make the word NASTY a negative, Harvey Funkwalker makes it RIGHTEOUS even though the street preacher on the corner during the festival says it's WICKED.  At least, he has an opinion.




And, oh my God, this next act through a series of random events beginning with my first sighting of Random Art in June of 2012, which was supposed to be the end of the world, represented the beginning of this string of sightings I call Random Art.  It all started with a clay sculpture of a figure crawling, down on one knee, with one arm stretched out.  It was just lying on the ground.  I picked it up and placed it on the edge of the fountain and took a picture.




Well, about a month ago, through some random article, or something I saw online, I came to know who Sarah Zuniga is.  This must have been about the same time I found out who Ariana Grande is when I was working with two lesbians who had sex changes to become males, maintained their homosexual relationship, as males, and one of them was studying to be a minister.  That's another story entirely, but it was about that time... A month ago.

Regardless, this clay figure was the first post I made of Random Art, and Sarah Zuniga is one of my most recent posts of Random Art, just about a month ago.  Two weeks ago, I was at the library when my blind eyes spotted a wavy haired brunette across the room.  This is a sure fire way for me to look.  Just send a curly haired brunette into the room and it's as if ESP kicks in.  I could have sworn it was Sarah Zuniga, and about ten minutes later when this local talent, via NY, got up to leave and she was close enough for me to see better.  At that point, I could see it was indeed her.

Now, fast forward to this AthFest weekend when I saw her walking down the sidewalk and almost stopped her to compliment her.  I was on duty and felt a little awkward about anyway.  So, I let her walk by without an awkward scene.  Then, there she was again later in the day, but was stopped by someone else for a conversation and before I knew it she was gone the next time I looked.  I had to go help somebody that was to perform next unload their vehicle.

Saturday morning came and I was somewhat randomly scheduled to work the Hull Street stage.  In order to make this long story shorter, guess who opened up the day... Oh, it was just Random Art!




However, as if this Banana Split needs a cherry on top of it, I gotta say Orquesta MaCuba was just that!  It was amazing enough that we were able to park this band because as many of you well know parking is always a problem in Athens, especially when a major event is taking place and it's a Salsa band you're trying to park!  AthFest is such an event, and Orquesta MaCuba is that Salsa band.  Have no fear!  We got it done and all without any parking tickets, while people were literally dancing in the streets!





Finally, and probably the STUPIDEST act of all, kind of like Harvey Funkwalker is NASTY, was this GROUP called Misnomer, for by any other name would still be Misnomer.  Not only was I not drinking beer, but I also was not smoking any pot, but still found these guys to be mesmerizing.  I'm not quite sure how they categorize themselves, but I'll categorize it as My Kind of music!  Who needs vocals when you're gonna end up making some up for yourself?  That is, if you feel so inclined to do so.

This is the second time I heard Misnomer play, and it must have been at AthFest when I heard them before.  I live in this music town, but don't hear a lot of live music unless it is at the Nowhere Bar, and I haven't been shooting a lot of Pool lately.  So, I'm somewhat ignorant of much of the music scene.  However, I am not ignorant of Sam Burchfield, The Broken String Band, Harvey Funkwalker, Sarah Zuniga, Orquesta MaCuba, or Misnomer.  I'm just not that STUPID!




I honestly believe this is probably the best AthFest I have ever experienced and it's probably the only one I've ever attended without having beer!  I can't say I'm never going to have another beer.  I never intended on taking a month off.  I just did.  I committed to beer at a young age. and I absolutely refuse to ever claim abstention believing it's just another form of addiction, but one very much pushed in the South, the land of religious people who do not drink and don't think anybody else should either.  Because, if you do, you're an alcoholic and inferior to them, of course.  The street preacher said it was so.

People spend an awful lot of time trying to make other people feel inferior, but I just wanted to share some superior musicians with you today, somewhat randomly!  And, this is what happens when I don't drink... for a month!

Salud!

Fourth Sunday In June


The GAP




More Random Art:


NOTAUFO
2012





Travelers
2018





Classic Boredom
2017







The Blur
2012





Cherry Garcia, The Blur 2
2012





Face of Shade
2014







Duct Craft
2012





Barista
2008





Accidental God
2012





Josh Daniels
2012












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