Sat June 04.

Bon and Jon . Matt McCalvin . Ronney Danger . Louise Le Hir

Five Eight hits Atlanta

by Justin Sias

I spent most of the 90′s in Athens, Georgia. The classic city was full of numerous notable bands. Bands like: The Glands, Neutral Milk Hotel, Pylon, Azure Ray, Vic Chestnutt, Olivia Tremor Control, Japancakes, Macha, Drive By Truckers, The Martians, National Anthem, Cinemechanica, Of Montreal, Maserati, Guided by Voices, Now It’s Overhead, Harvey Milk, Widespread Panic, oh and what’s that one band… R.E.M.? The list of bands is endless and nonetheless, Five Eight weighs in heavy as one of the most incredible bands ever to come from Athens.

Legend has it that the lead singer went crazy and returned from episodes of insanity with the ability to bring the beast back from the other side within his music. Mike Mantione has a certain enigmatic quality that may only be experienced at a Five Eight concert. Their upcoming show at 529, should it be crowded at all, seems too small a room to hold them in the event that Mantione loses control and thrashes around, which is almost inevitable. With the possibility of a guitar smashing ever-present, Five Eight also never slacks on the music. Lyrics are as catchy as they are troubled and insightful and melodies uncontrollably plant themselves them into your head.

My friend Eric Holder from ISP lived in Athens when I did and was also a fan. He offered up his thoughts.
“Five Eight was the first band I saw in Athens, literally …. playing at the Tate Center the first day of class. That was back in their 3-piece days, right after Tigger joined…. The next year I grabbed I learned Shut Up on cassette and was blown away at a sold out 40 Watt Halloween show. Mantione was possessed .. If it weren’t for The Angriest Man and Weirdo, I might have left town but Five Eight was THE band, period, paragraph, hard carriage return.”

Bassist Dan Horowitz holds a certain legendary status of his own. Along with always dropping heavy hitting bass lines, he is notorious for saying the weirdest, most off-the wall, ridiculous shit onstage. If he ever lost the music bug, he could be a stand-up comedian. Through it all, the band has endured many lineup shifts in its 20+ year career, but Patrick Ferguson (Tigger) has been the drummer throughout a large portion of it and with Sean Dunn back in the fold, this Five Eight lineup is guaranteed to rock your face off. If you don’t believe me, watch this documentary.

Five Eight plays at 529 on Saturday, Feb 5 with Baby Baby, The Charges, and Starfighter.

Jan 29 – Sarah and Harrison Keys – Sibling Revelries – Art Opening

Sarah Keys is an artist who uses unconventional methods with conventional materials. Her medium is part painting, part embroidery, and part collage. This method is one she invented while working towards a BFA in textile design at Georgia State University. Sarah has been drawing, painting, making jewelry and crafting since childhood and gets her influences mostly from books, nature, life experiences, and anything funny, bizarre, or both.

Harrison takes his background in graffiti and a love for drawing to create an unusual look inside his world. The work ranges from minimal line portraiture to the psychedelic and surreal.
Harrison Keys at Get This! Gallery
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Feb 4 – Romeo Spike, Pink Pompeii, The Sneaky Hand at Picaflor, presented by Rock Science Records

Rock Science Records is proud to do a series of shows at Picaflor Studio. The first installment is on Feb 4th with Romeo Spike, Pink Pompeii and The Sneaky Hand on Feb 4 and more coming soon.

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Coming soon to Picaflor

Jan 29
“sibling revelry”
Harrison Keyes and Sarah Keyes with musical guest Fiend Without A Face