While we've been to Park Tavern before, a) it was years and years ago, and b) the Park Tavern didn't feature national-level touring acts back in the 90s. Since one of my unofficial jobs seems to be supporting Pacific Northwest bands when they play Atlanta (see The Family Crest and Motopony), I was sufficiently motivated to pass up last night's episode of Game of Thrones to see Seattle's Kris Orlowski and Ivan & Alyosha play the Park Tavern.
The Park Tavern has added a big tent to cover the outdoor diners and the stage since I was there last, but it's still not really set up for live music. The floor is covered with widely spaced, large tables, each of which had anywhere from 4 to 8 to more people seated, talking, drinking and having fun. While there's certainly nothing wrong with that, many of the people seated had their backs to the stage, and many of the tables were so far back that the people were barely aware there was live music coming from the stage. Further, there was no bar or anywhere else for a single person who was just there for the music to hang out, other than to stand alone and conspicuously between the stage and the tables. I bought a beer from inside the tavern and brought it back "outside" (actually, inside the tent), and tried to find a spot against the wall where I could stay out of the way of the busy waiters and busboys as they served the tables. It was only after the music started that I and a few others ventured out into the area between the tables and the stage.
The first band was a surprise (they weren't listed on the bill) but a pleasant surprise - Atlanta's own cellist and singer, Takenobu. He played a lovely, lyrical set accompanied by a violinist, and I think that only I and about a dozen other people even knew he was on the stage. Pity, most people missed out on a great set.
Next up was Kris Orlowski, a solo, acoustic singer/songwriter who had an even tougher time being heard above the din on the diners. He took it all well, and made a few small jokes for the benefit of the few of us paying attention, but then he finally took matters into his own hands and stepped off stage to wander among the tables like a mariachi band in a Mexican restaurant, playing unamplified to those near him.
The gambit worked and got Kris a little more attention and respect from the audience, but a lot of the people present were at The Park Tavern to drink and socialize, and again, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not a great setting for a folk-style singer.
Ivan & Alyosha are a full band, a quintet, and had enough volume to drown out the audience. Also, as soon as they took the stage, dozens of mostly teenage girls flooded the area in front of the stage, drawn by Ivan & Alyosha's boy-band looks.
Ivan & Alyosha (named for characters in a Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov) play a folk-rock/ indie-pop hybrid. Frontman Tim Wilson warned us that on one song, a ballad, they "go a little Celine Dion," but their pop tendencies are balanced by guitar-rock rhythms and four-part harmonies. If you imagine a cross between Local Natives and Paul McCartney, you'd be approaching Ivan & Alyosha's neighborhood. Here's a sample:
Yesterday was guitarist Tim Kim's birthday, which still doesn't fully explain all of the homoerotic biting ("birthday bites") going on in the video.
Anyhow, with the music amplified and the energy level raised and the stage area filled with clapping and adoring teenage girls, The Park Tavern finally started to resemble a music venue and not just an outdoor restaurant, and suddenly, everything was alright.
For those of you keeping score at home, this is our second time seeing Ivan & Alyosha, whom we previously caught at Bumbershoot 2013.
Here's the set list from last night. Even though Be Your Man wasn't listed, they closed their set with the song. There was no encore and as soon as the band left the stage, the house music came on and the audience returned to their tables.
I got back home before 11:00 pm, in time to catch the second airing of Game of Thrones (that Valyrian steel!). Next Sunday, Milo Greene play The Park Tavern, and later this summer, Kishi Bashi.
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