Art Contest Show Preview.docx

Gabriel Savage 1 Superbody / Jennifer Vanilla / Emotron / Art Contest / Barbra Show Preview Tonight at 8 PM, some of Atlanta’s favorite progressive acts will unite to light the underground. Setting the stage at The Bakery, one of Atlanta’s newest independent venues, wellestablished local-ish acts like Superbody (Chattanooga) and Art Contest (Athens) will be rocking the night away with new music and new lineups. If you have any streak of experimentation in your existence and you grew up on rock music, this is your show. Opening the lineup for the night is Art Contest, veterans of the Athens and Atlanta indie rock scenes. Their 2014 debut album, Math Major, is still go-to running music for me. Songs like ‘Tripp Pants’ and ‘Banana Boat’ are as captivating and thrilling to me as the first drop on a huge rollercoaster. They would definitely be songs I would choose on Universal Studios’ Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Orlando if they were options. Featuring newcomer Saam Wilson of Fuiste on guitar, the three-piece will be sure to showcase songs old and new spanning their discography. These guys are tight and will undoubtedly blow you away with their musicianship. Barbra, the likely next performer, is a new evolution of jazz fusion with rock. Heavy, fuzzy bass guitar and drums pair oh so surprisingly smoothly with a wild saxophonist that makes Coltrane look tame. Their most recent release, a self-titled LP, which debuted last week will be their focus tonight. You will love this band if you love ska or hardcore. Next up is Emotron, a solo artist from McDonough. He leaks melodramatic sap from a bark built out of synths, drum machines, and droned vocals. His music is an intriguing cross between Radiohead circa OK Computer and vocals from an early 2000’s pop punk outfit. His set will be a nice drawdown from the speed and intensity from the previous two acts. Touring artist Jennifer Vanilla will bring her pizzazz and posh presentation to Atlanta. Having only released a couple features on some tracks online, I am curious to see what she performs tonight. Rough Trade Records named her release ‘This is Jennifer’ their cassette of the month in April last year. Her music should be a smooth segue from Emotron’s electronica to her own electro-pop. Closing the magical night is long-time Atlanta heartthrob Robert McCurry AKA Superbody. Putting his single ‘Champagne’ out last month, McCurry will bring his Tennessee charm in his typical mic-hugging fashion featuring this song. Though Caleb Dills is no longer performing with Superbody, McCurry still brings the heat live and I am looking forward to watching him steal the show.