yup, i am still alive and as the aussies say, “no worries,” i am coming home straight away.

in the meantime i thought i might link you over to my latest brush with fame down under on the melbourne metblog.

enjoy.

it’s back to blogging about atlanta for me shortly.

2009 will make 14 years I’ve lived in Atlanta.  I’ve been a part of the music scene, off and on, during that time and played at just about every club in town.  I’ve seen countless shows at clubs all over this city.  Today I was thinking about Atlanta’s live music clubs from days gone by and my favorite ones that still rock.

The Echo Lounge in East Atlanta, now East Atlanta Ice House, was my favorite club.  I saw so many great shows there: Death Cab For Cutie, Spoon, Dresden Dolls, Don Caballero, John Vanderslice and Ranier Maria to name a few.  Their sound system was big and loud.  Bands enjoyed playing there.  Due to some weird zoning laws the club had to close because of misfiled permits.

Another favorite club was The Point, now The Clothing Warehouse, in Little 5 Points.  I loved the intimacy of that club.  The band would have to walk right by you to get to the stage since there was no “backstage” there.  I saw many great shows there from Lush, The Ocean Blue and Ben Folds Five.

One last club I liked that bit the dust was The Cotton Club on Peachtree St., next to Jock’s and Jill’s. I didn’t care for the rectangular layout of the club but I did see some great shows there: Mojave 3, Floyd’s Funk Revival and missed seeing a sold out Mr. Bungle show. I couldn’t believe it sold out.

Clubs like The Masquerade and The Variety Playhouse never went away and still have national acts every week.  I like Variety and The Masquerade but they’re much bigger than the Echo Lounge and The Point were.

My favorite club now that has the intimate vibe that Echo and The Point did is The EARL.  The EARL is small and you can get right in the face of whoever is playing.  I recently saw Les Savy Fav there and was treated to the performance of a lifetime.  I’m glad I got to see such a great band in a small venue like The EARL.  If you’ve seen Les Savy Fav you know it’s as much performance art as it is music.  It’s an interactive show to say the least.

Right down the street from The EARL and across from The Clothing Warehouse is The Star Bar. I’ve always enjoyed seeing shows there. Star Bar leans more towards local acts so honestly I haven’t been there as much. I do like the vibe there and they have a good sound system.

What about you? What were some of your favorite clubs from the past? Which ones do you like now?

I went for a long walk Monday night through Inman Park and half The Highlands and only crossed the path of one other person out doing her thing. There were threats of snow that night but the air was 40degs, the precipitation had ended hours before and what are usually streets lousy with runners, walkers and cyclists were barren.

Should I attribute it to:
a) A number of local shops and restaurants aren’t open on Monday
b) Superbowl hangovers
c) Monday being the “rest” day for a lot of folks
d) general wussitude
e) all of the above

?

There has been a lot of discussion on the local internets about crime recently.  Tomorrow morning is a chance to do some in-face discussion at City Hall.  The Atlanta Police Department has been lobbying to change rules concerning the new Citizens Review Board so they don’t have to provide most documents when the Review Board investigates police misconduct.  There is a meeting tomorrow morning of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee at 10 a.m. to discuss the legislation.

While I certainly think reducing officer furloughs and hiring more police officers is an important piece of tackling the crime issue in Atlanta, I think the police department needs some massive structural changes, too.  I don’t think this legislation is a good idea.  If you recall, the Citizen Review Board was instituted after the Kathryn Johnston incident.