It can’t be easy for some bands to determine how “big” they are, though I assume in some ways they all want to become “big” in some way. For bands, becoming locally famous is an odd dichotomy — it gives them the sense there can be a wider audience, but doesn’t guarantee it.
Two Athens bands within the past decade show flip sides of this. In 2006 the two biggest rising acts in Athens were The Modern Skirts and The Whigs, two bands riding strong albums to building Classic City crowds. The Skirts had a slight edge, the sold-out crowds were entranced every time the band played, singing the bulk of songs from Catalogue of Generous Men in full-out yells.
The Whigs were more straight-ahead but dynamic on stage, more rock to the Skirts pop output.
Eight years later see The Whigs traveling the world and appearing on Letterman, while the Skirts are no more. Ask anyone during a Skirts 40 Watt concert in 2006 and they’d tell you it was a band destined for the world stage. You just never know.
The Cloud Nothings visited Athens not so long ago, a band from Cleveland (Ohio) with all the right intentions, carrying a sound that has others comparing them to Nirvana (this could be due to the band’s tie with Steve Albini, which in and of itself is a strong achievement). The band’s 2012 album Attack on Memory and recently released Here and Nowhere else are justly feted — singer-songwriter and band founder Dylan Baldi is a man with undeniable talent.
I love this band, but its decision to play the Georgia Theatre was a wrong one.
The Theatre is a great place to play with a capacity crowd (though when it’s too packed it’s kind of a pain, but that’s the old man in me talking). But when the Theatre is sparsely attended, it’s a cavernous disappointment — the sound is off and it feels a little sad, no matter how fun the handful of attendees are having. The Cloud Nothings probably have to turn people away in Ohio, but in Georgia the band makes just a tiny ripple.
Why did Cloud Nothings, or those who manage the band, think the Theatre was the place for it to play now? This show at Caledonia would have been epic — like ones held by Okkervil River (fellow Ohioans) and Titus Andronicus in recent memory. Yes, the 150 people at the Theatre seemed to enjoy themselves, at least those slamming near the stage, but I was left feeling lackluster. The sound was muddy and unsure, and the band didn’t felt disconnected, too far away from each other and the audience on the large Theatre stage.
Not long after I moved to Athens for good, another up-and-coming band came to Tasty World for what was monumental set that maybe 30 people saw. This band, touring on its second album, never let up, and owned the room from the start. At that time, Tasty World was the perfect place for the band to play, and when it came back a few years later to play at the 40 Watt, the Hold Steady was unstoppable. The Hold Steady has always been a band which knew where it stood with its audience, never biting off more than necessary. Playing in small rooms gives a band a buzz and a chance to connect. Sure fame and fortune is great, but there’s nothing better than hearing the audience sing yours songs back to you, even if it’s just 30 people.
I would hope the Cloud Nothings weren’t ruined on Athens, expecting a crowd when none came, though they seem rooted enough to understand the crowd will come if the music is authentic. And in that, Cloud Nothings have nothing to be worried about.
