It’s hard to believe it has been 12 years since the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. We will never forget those who lost their lives on that day and those who have sacrificed their lives since then while protecting our country and fighting for our freedom. Never forget.
And now, here are some shows happening in Atlanta tonight, including a play at The Balzar Theater about the aftereffects of the collapse of the World Trade Center.
The Guys @ The Balzer Theater at Herren’s
The Guys, starring Jasmine Guy and Brian Kurlander, is based on playwright Anne Nelson’s own story. We meet Joan, an editor, as she receives an unexpected phone call from Nick, the fire captain. He requests her help on composing the many eulogies he must deliver at memorial services for the men he lost on 9/11. As the afternoon wanes, a friendship grows while the two navigate the emotional landscape of grief, drawing on humor and the bonds of a common humanity. This play premieres tonight at The Balzar Theater and runs through October 6th. We wrote a blog about the play on TA Live, which you can read here.
Spencer Day @ The Loft
Spend an Evening with Spencer Day to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association tonight at The Loft. Day’s debut recording, Vagabond, released in 2009, was a musical hybrid that drew from the Great American Songbook, but also maintained an alternate aesthetic that sidestepped easy categorization by borrowing from influences like Burt Bacharach, Roy Orbison and Dusty Springfield. But while his next album, The Mystery of You, also draws from a range of sources, the result is a much more personal tale. The story opens with the noir-ish title track. Filled with the unlikely combination of James Bond guitar riffs, Middle Eastern strings and Motown drum fills, the track explores the intrigue that comes with the early stages of getting to know someone. “The goal was to constantly surprise the listener’s ear with new sounds,” says Day. “And at the same time, it’s this classic torch song that talks about love like a crime scene.” All Proceeds of this charity concert is to benefit the 2013 WALK to End Alzheimer’s and supporting the Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:30pm.
VIP Table seating: $30 General Admission: $15
Online, phone, and outlet sales end at 4pm today.
Gold Panda with Slow Magic @ The Basement at Graveyard Tavern
Hailing from Chelmsford in Essex, but now located to Berlin, Germany, Gold Panda started writing beats and collaborating a few years ago, beginning a journey that ultimately saw him nominated in the BBC’s sound of 2010 list and won the Guardian newspaper’s prestigious First Album Award 2010 for his debut album Lucky Shiner. Gold Panda begins 2013 with the release of the Trust EP – the first full EP he’s released since his pre-Lucky Shiner days. That release will be followed later in the year by his second album. For 2013, dates have already been announced in New Zealand and Australia, Singapore, USA, Canada, Mexico, the UK and central Europe. He will be performing at Barcelona’s legendary forward-thinking music festival Sonar, for the first time this summer, having already appeared at the likes of Primavera, Glastonbury, Melt Festival, Roskilde, Hove, Latitude and Sasquatch festivals across the world in the last couple of summers. Doors open at 9:00pm. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of the show
Grails with Wrekmeister Harmonies @ The Earl
Grails is a band most easily described as “restless”. They’ve stubbornly pushed against the staid cliches of instrumental music and towards new sonic frontiers, creating heavily textured albums, stacked deep with epic song hooks and exotic instrumentation. Grails carry echoes of the classic bands of many genres, but they combine those various styles onto a single record, under one umbrella of musical freedom. They are the renowned stylistic globetrotters of a fanatical underground record collecting scene, able to hybridize their disparate musical heritage (from The Ventures to ‘Tibetan Crime-Jazz’) with grace and confidence to build new languages out of genres that were never intended to work together. Also appearing: Lilacs & Champagne. Doors open at 8:30pm. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show. Online, phone, and outlet sales end at 6pm tonight.
Jessta James @ Vinyl
Jessta James may not be from the South, but the Montana native surely knows what country is. “Out here it’s about the cowboy way, ranching and rodeos,” country’s innovative new up and comer says. With the release of his album, Time To Get Right, the rest of America will soon know how Jessta’s unique blend of country, rock and hip hop honors his country roots while advancing the genre to places just recently discovered. “I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember,” Jessta, whose name is a play on the word “jester” aka an entertainer, admits. “Some of my earliest influences were from my parents. My dad listened to a lot of outlaw country—Willie, Waylon, Hank Jr. and Johnny Cash— when I was growing up, as well as classic country, rock and Southern rock.” A late bloomer artistically, Jessta didn’t write his first song until he was 24 years old, but the bug quickly bit him and he was hooked. “I wrote probably 150 songs over a year and a half, “the former construction worker says. “If I had an idea while I was at work, I’d write it on a two by four or a piece of cardboard I’d ripped from a box of nails.” While still working his day job, Jessta began performing around Montana, doing both his own shows and opening for national acts, all the while building a devoted following. You can read an interview we did with Jessta James here.
Doors open at 7:30pm and the show starts at 8:30pm. Advance ticket sales close at 4:00 pm day of show and are only $10. Vinyl is a general admission, standing room venue
Songwriter’s Open Mic @ Eddie’s Attic
For over 19 years, Eddie’s Attic has hosted Atlanta’s premiere SONGWRITER’S OPEN MIC for the performing songwriter. National and local acts perform 2 songs each, with 3 finalists returning for a third song at the end of the evening for a chance to win a cash prize and a spot in their bi-annual, nationally acclaimed Open Mic Shootout. This is a great opportunity for up and coming talent to hone their skills and for listeners to see and meet tomorrow’s stars.
Caleb Caudle with Roseland @ Smith’s Olde Bar
Tickets are $5 and doors open at 8pm.
Sleep the Owls with Air Wolves and The Private Pageant @ The Drunken Unicorn
This two piece rock outfit is performing at The Drunken Unicorn tonight! Tickets are $5 and doors open at 9pm. The show is 21+
Hello Cobra, Illiterates, Krill, and Phossy Jaw @ 529
Hello Cobra is a five piece collective, with members from all walks of music. They all bring a unique style and idea to the group, forming an intricate and complex dynamic. 9PM | FREE | 21+
Tonight’s Line-up
12:30 – Illiterates
11:45 – Krill,
11:00 – Hello Cobra
10:15 – Phossy Jaw
