Athens Reminiscing - Music

(This post has nothing to do with football. Sorry.)

I'll admit, I am not the biggest music fan in the world. I've been to a few Dave Matthews Band concerts and even went to the Zack Brown show in Jacksonville last fall the night before the Cocktail Party, but I rarely attend shows live. However, there was a period in my life where going to see concerts was much more common and that was during the five years I spent at Georgia. Athens has often been called the best local music scene in the country, have produced the likes of REM, Widespread Panic, and even a couple of classmates of mine who are better known today as Lady Antebellum.

Here some of the memorable shows and bands I remember from my days in Athens:

Jennifer Nettles with John Mayer - August 2000

Yes, you read that right. In the summer of 2000, my friend convinced me to go see some guy named John Mayer, who he described as Dave Matthews-like, open for Jennifer Nettles. Little did we know that the approximately 50 people that were at that show at the 40 Watt were watching two future Grammy winners. Jennifer Nettles went on to become the lead singer for Sugarland and John Mayer went on to be come...a douchy version of John Mayer. I saw John Mayer play a few more times in Athens before he got big, including the show at the Georgia Theatre when they recorded the video for "No Such Thing."

Sister Hazel
Probably the best known band that always seemed to play in Athens about once a semester. Yes, I know they are from Florida but they sure were fun in concert.

Jupiter Coyote
I saw them play about 10 times in a two year period. My sister had their CD from when they used to play in Statesboro. Great southern rock that never took off on the radio.

Stewart and Winfield
To this day, I still love Stewart and Winfield. This is another one that my sister brought to my attention. "Catatonic" is still one of my favorite songs.

Kinchafoonee
If you wanted to hear a bunch of drunk Georgia kids sing songs that were popular when their parents were young and watch grown men cry when they played "Amazing Grace", the Kinchafoonee Cowboys were your type of band.

And, the last band I want to mention is one that seemingly fell into obscurity since I cannot find any mention of them anywhere on the internet. The band was called BlueString they played southern rock/folk music that included like 10 people in the band playing guitars, fiddles, and banjos. I saw them two or three times my freshman year when I could stumble back to O House from the Georgia Theatre. But then I never heard from them again.

So what are your favorite memories of seeing bands play in Athens? I'm sure a lot of us saw the Dave Matthews Cover Band, Corey Smith, and may have even caught an elusive performance by Michael Stipe. Leave your stories in the comments.

Colin Cowherd in Atlanta for LSU-Georgia

Colin Cowherd is broadcasting his show from Buffalo Wild Wings in Buckhead today. Doesn't seem to be as a large attendance like I've seen at his past visits to other cities (or at least a more interesting crowd, like when he was in Austin the day before Texas-Texas Tech).

This is probably because 1) regular folk like ourselves have this thing called work (even if I am doing it from home right now), and 2) if you are traveling here to preview the LSU vs. UGA game, perhaps you should go to Athens where the game is being played.

I'm sure logistics are easier to handle in Atlanta, and around lunch the crowd might just explode given the location, but there is no way Atlanta can suffice for Athens.

Imagine having the background of his show full of drunk undergrads before noon, particularly some co-eds in their best sundresses.

Just saying.

UPDATE: It is way more packed now at his show, but I still maintain it would be much better in Athens.

Welcome to BNE, AUMaverick

As some of you have noticed, there is a new contributor to the BNE staff...me. So, in the spirit of Lewis Grizzard, who loved the State of Georgia, UGA, and SEC football, I'd like to say WAR EAGLE to all you Georgia Dawgs as well as everyone else who follows this blog. I know Lewis wouldn't mind someone from "the other side" contributing to a blog dedicated to UGA and college football; afterall, the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry is between Auburn and UGA. Besides, just like CNN, FOX News and the AJC, every good editorial needs to be fair and balanced.

That being said, I'd also like to say GO DAWGS! No, you didn't read incorrectly, and no I am not a traitor to my school. I happen to love UGA and Auburn equally, except of course for one Saturday out of the year. For those of you who don't know, I was raised all over the world and I happen to call Georgia home. Belive it or not, I even lived in Athens for a short time. I have spent many nights in Athens with my Dawg friends, enjoying all the great scenery and atmosphere that only Athens can offer. My favorite restaurant is in Athens and I even met my wife in Athens one summer long ago. So, while UGA and Auburn have a very deep and bitter rivalry, it is still a friendly rivalry, and, being a great lover of SEC football and all things from the state of Georga, I too can root for UGA...most of the year.


So, from time to time, I will contribute my thoughts and observations on all things SEC football, UGA, and of course, Auburn. I will try to keep my thoughts fair and balanced, giving a voice to the others out there who may not always see the red between the black and white. I also vow, here and now, to hate Alabama and all things crimson and houndstooth. God hates BAMA just as much as he hates giant lizzards and stinging flying bugs. I make no apologies and that is the one thing I will always keep a hatred toward in my heart. However, I will keep my hatred for Bama out of the mix for as much as possible and focus soley on football.


With that, I'd like to close with a quote from Lewis Grizzard and I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming season. Lewis once said, "The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity." Go Dawgs and WAR EAGLE!




*With this brief introduction, BNE invites you to become familiar with and ask that you please welcome AUMaverick to the contributing staff. His primary and first responsibility will be to manage this fall's upcoming BNE College Football Pick 'Em Pool, which you will learn more about in the coming days. We wanted to give AUMaverick this opportunity to introduce himself humbly to our faitful reader base in advance of the launch of this season's pool. Be sure to send AUMaverick your love & thoughts via the comments section of this post and by e-mailing him through his profile link. Go Dawgs! BFR & the BNE Staff

THIS WILL MAKE YOU MISS ATHENS (& THE LADIES)

Just watch this from this year's "Bid Day" and you will miss all the "sights" Athens has to offer.

The last minute is the best, because it's pretty much non-stop footage of the ladies screaming and hollerin' (with a little Jackson 5 spiced in at the end).

A Day in Athens 4 Weeks Before The Season Begins

As any of you who have been following our countdown know, we are just 29 days away from the start of the 2009 season. Georgia opens the season on the road in Stillwater, so our first game at Sanford is 5 weeks away. I was off work yesterday and decided to take a trip up to Athens. With the students not yet back from summer, campus was mostly dead and the stadium was rather empty. Below are some pictures I took walking around yesterday:

This is the new addition to the Tate Student Center

The view of the stadium standing at the new Tate. The old Tate can be seen as well (the red roof)

The Vince Dooley plaque that was placed inside the stadium last year.

A view of the stadium standing on the bridge

This pressure washer was the only person I actually saw inside the stadium

Another view of the field from the bridge. It was very strange seeing the grass without any lines on it and all of the Red seatbacks out of the stadium.

I also took some time to check out the vast amount of construction taking place on campus. Did you know there is now a parking deck at the intramural fields? The new band practice field also looks really nice. My last stop was to check out the new fraternity houses being built on River Road next to Kappa Sig. From the outside, I was very impressed. Here are the pictures below, though I have no clue which house belongs to which fraternity.

Over the next few weeks, we will begin our preseason analysis of the upcoming season beginning with the Bubba N' Earl preseason top 25.

LA Times Says, "Go To Athens"

The Los Angeles Times recently did a list of 29 places to go in 2009.

Among places they included were East Timor, Hawaii, Tibet, Thailand, Australia, Las Vegas, Belize, and...ATHENS, GA!

That's right, even the LA Times says going to Athens is just as important as venturing out to a south Pacific tropical paradise.

And what number were we on the list? 24.

We'll go ahead and assume Knowshon had something to do with it.