Amos' Southend, December 18th, 2004
Athenaeum Farewell Show #1
Farewell shows are a new thing for me. My last band, Collapsis, played its last show at Rollins College to three people. We didn't have a farewell show, unfortunately.
In the case of Athenaeum, the notion of “breaking up” is a bit different. Judging from the 600 people who came out to see us at Amos’ Southend in Charlotte, NC on Saturday, December 18th, it’s not because a lack of fan support that the band is calling it quits.
I think we all realized at the beginning of the year that 2004 would be the final year for Athenaeum. There comes a time when you have to do what you have to do. We realized after a few shows into the new year that it was time to put these songs to rest. To say that we’re not a little sad and emotional about it would be mistaken; although, we all agree that it’s the right thing to do.
I’m glad that we’ve decided to send-off Athenaeum with a bang. If you were at our Amos’ show this past Saturday, you know what I mean.
Joey Auch and The Clear opened the show. Both acts played well as usual.
We took the stage at 11:50 p.m. Our set was a bit different:
Damage
Different Situation
Flat Tire
No One
Sour Milk
On Her Way
October
All My Life
Frozen in Time
Away
Life Line
Don’t Fade Away
Comfort
Little Red Corvette
Radiance
Unnoticed
---------
Banana
Just Like You
Hourglass
Plurabelle
Revolution
Sweeter Love
What I Didn’t Know
The greatest challenge for me on this night was that I had a bad cold. Singing with a cold is tricky. You just have to know how to do it. It requires much more concentration than usual, but it can be done. And, honestly, after a few songs, one’s adrenaline takes care of the phlegm and inflammation. I thought I would have some trouble getting through “Sour Milk,” but I was fine.
The set was powerful and spontaneous. We deviated from the plan by moving “Don’t Fade Away” up a few songs and cutting “On My Mind.” I enjoyed playing “Comfort” again. It’s been a long time since we’ve played that one.
The encore was quite fun. Over the past four years, I have typically done a solo song to kick off the encore. For this show, I thought it would be great to do an Athenaeum song that we usually don’t do. I chose to play “Banana.” I got the words right, but I screwed up the chords here and there. Oh, well.
Mark asked me to bring my mandolin to the show, just to see what would happen. During sound check we ran through a few songs in a stripped down manner. We decided on doing “Just like You” and “Hourglass.” I was surprised that the guitar licks in “Just like You” translated so sympathetically to the mandolin—it’s an unforgiving instrument.
Then, Remy and Big Mike came back on for “Plurabelle.” I’m not exactly sure what happened at the end of “Plurabelle,” but, whatever it was, will never be duplicated again by anyone, anywhere, at anytime. My wife, Holly, compared it to some of the primal scream pieces from an earlier Peter Gabriel concert she saw. I made the mistake of putting my “Plurabelle” guitar down and picking up my fresh one for “Revolution.” It was a happy accident, because it backed me into a musical corner as to my options. I could only play G# for a few minutes. And, when I went to solo, I switched on my reverse guitar pedal and played randomly in the appropriate scale. It was pretty wild.
After a spirited “Revolution,” we closed the encore with “Sweeter Love” and “What I Didn’t Know.” The room was nearly equally as full at the end of the night as it was at the beginning. Most who attended were there for the show and stayed to the end.
Looking back on the last four years I've spent with Athenaeum, I can say that just about every show with the band has been a complete joy. What I am going to miss most about Athenaeum is my supporting role in the band. I viewed my job as doing what I could do to make the band appear and sound its best. If that meant playing keyboards, acoustic guitar, and singing at the same time, so be it. I enjoyed trying to make they guys laugh, too. Although, usually, my jokes aren’t funny. Often, I’d just think about how bad my jokes were and laugh to myself. Most of the guys thought that was funny enough. It goes without saying that Mark's songs were ultra-friggin' awesome, too.
What about MG4? Well, it’s true that we’re all going to still play together under a different name. Although, with MG4, I’ll be in a completely different headspace. Even though it might basically look and sound the same, it’s a totally new thing in my eyes. And, being the front man carries a whole different set of responsibilities. Often, these duties are stressful and time consuming.
Our final show at Ziggy’s on December 30th will be a sight to be seen. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I’m sure it will be an emotional, exciting, and fulfilling show both for the fans and for us.
Thanks for the memories, folks! And, yes, the tour diary will remain active as long as I'm touring in some capacity.
Farewell shows are a new thing for me. My last band, Collapsis, played its last show at Rollins College to three people. We didn't have a farewell show, unfortunately.
In the case of Athenaeum, the notion of “breaking up” is a bit different. Judging from the 600 people who came out to see us at Amos’ Southend in Charlotte, NC on Saturday, December 18th, it’s not because a lack of fan support that the band is calling it quits.
I think we all realized at the beginning of the year that 2004 would be the final year for Athenaeum. There comes a time when you have to do what you have to do. We realized after a few shows into the new year that it was time to put these songs to rest. To say that we’re not a little sad and emotional about it would be mistaken; although, we all agree that it’s the right thing to do.
I’m glad that we’ve decided to send-off Athenaeum with a bang. If you were at our Amos’ show this past Saturday, you know what I mean.
Joey Auch and The Clear opened the show. Both acts played well as usual.
We took the stage at 11:50 p.m. Our set was a bit different:
Damage
Different Situation
Flat Tire
No One
Sour Milk
On Her Way
October
All My Life
Frozen in Time
Away
Life Line
Don’t Fade Away
Comfort
Little Red Corvette
Radiance
Unnoticed
---------
Banana
Just Like You
Hourglass
Plurabelle
Revolution
Sweeter Love
What I Didn’t Know
The greatest challenge for me on this night was that I had a bad cold. Singing with a cold is tricky. You just have to know how to do it. It requires much more concentration than usual, but it can be done. And, honestly, after a few songs, one’s adrenaline takes care of the phlegm and inflammation. I thought I would have some trouble getting through “Sour Milk,” but I was fine.
The set was powerful and spontaneous. We deviated from the plan by moving “Don’t Fade Away” up a few songs and cutting “On My Mind.” I enjoyed playing “Comfort” again. It’s been a long time since we’ve played that one.
The encore was quite fun. Over the past four years, I have typically done a solo song to kick off the encore. For this show, I thought it would be great to do an Athenaeum song that we usually don’t do. I chose to play “Banana.” I got the words right, but I screwed up the chords here and there. Oh, well.
Mark asked me to bring my mandolin to the show, just to see what would happen. During sound check we ran through a few songs in a stripped down manner. We decided on doing “Just like You” and “Hourglass.” I was surprised that the guitar licks in “Just like You” translated so sympathetically to the mandolin—it’s an unforgiving instrument.
Then, Remy and Big Mike came back on for “Plurabelle.” I’m not exactly sure what happened at the end of “Plurabelle,” but, whatever it was, will never be duplicated again by anyone, anywhere, at anytime. My wife, Holly, compared it to some of the primal scream pieces from an earlier Peter Gabriel concert she saw. I made the mistake of putting my “Plurabelle” guitar down and picking up my fresh one for “Revolution.” It was a happy accident, because it backed me into a musical corner as to my options. I could only play G# for a few minutes. And, when I went to solo, I switched on my reverse guitar pedal and played randomly in the appropriate scale. It was pretty wild.
After a spirited “Revolution,” we closed the encore with “Sweeter Love” and “What I Didn’t Know.” The room was nearly equally as full at the end of the night as it was at the beginning. Most who attended were there for the show and stayed to the end.
Looking back on the last four years I've spent with Athenaeum, I can say that just about every show with the band has been a complete joy. What I am going to miss most about Athenaeum is my supporting role in the band. I viewed my job as doing what I could do to make the band appear and sound its best. If that meant playing keyboards, acoustic guitar, and singing at the same time, so be it. I enjoyed trying to make they guys laugh, too. Although, usually, my jokes aren’t funny. Often, I’d just think about how bad my jokes were and laugh to myself. Most of the guys thought that was funny enough. It goes without saying that Mark's songs were ultra-friggin' awesome, too.
What about MG4? Well, it’s true that we’re all going to still play together under a different name. Although, with MG4, I’ll be in a completely different headspace. Even though it might basically look and sound the same, it’s a totally new thing in my eyes. And, being the front man carries a whole different set of responsibilities. Often, these duties are stressful and time consuming.
Our final show at Ziggy’s on December 30th will be a sight to be seen. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I’m sure it will be an emotional, exciting, and fulfilling show both for the fans and for us.
Thanks for the memories, folks! And, yes, the tour diary will remain active as long as I'm touring in some capacity.