Book of Colors at The Wherehouse, Atlanta, October 24, 2015

Phoenix Fest is a DIY celebration of Atlanta music, literature and art curated by Davy Minor of Deer Bear Wolf.  

I wasn't around yesterday for most of the event, but I did arrive on time to take in the visual arts and catch a set by Atlanta's Book of Colors.

Last time we saw Book of Colors perform, it was just Andres playing solo at the Park Tavern, opening for Kishi Bashi.  Last night could not be more different, as not only was everybody dressed in Halloween costumes but at times they had as many as 10 performers on stage, including Takenobu on cello, who we also saw this summer at Park Tavern (and coincidentally also opening once for Kishi Bashi) and Anna Kramer on backing vocals.  There might have been other Atlanta bands represented as well, and I apologize if I didn't recognize them.   

They did the best they could on the sound, but given the constraints of a DIY sound system and the acoustics of a metal warehouse building, it did get a bit muddled at times when all 10 musicians were performing.  However, Andres and company pulled it off just by sheer power of personality, the audacity of the all-star line-up, and the quirky charms of the rest of the festival.  A good set on a good night at a good event - what's not to like?

Dude, I Was There!

This is the Atlanta music scene with which I'm familiar - no guns and no shootings, just graffiti artists and Little Tybee.

Phoenix Festival, Atlanta, November 15, 2014

According to the organizer Davy Minor (Deer Bear Wolf), "Amongst the ruins of a derelict motel site in the Lakewood community of Atlanta, Urban Sprout Farms has created a sanctuary for growing fresh produce. On November 15th, a group of champions for the Atlanta arts community are getting together to present a day of music, literature and art to raise awareness for this creative repurposing of land that was once laying to waste."   

The emphasis really was on the visual arts, mostly by graffiti artists covering the outside of the old derelict motel, and installation artists set up in the various rooms.  Musical contributors included Atlanta's Lily and The Tigers.

There were also readings and unamplified acoustic performances over by the skankiest, most overgrown motel pool you'd ever want to see.

We saw performers Landline open for the Fresh & Onlys in only their second-ever performance as a band, and they played again today at Phoenix.

We didn't stay for headliners Little Tybee, even though we saw Brock and Nirvana walking the grounds, and guitarist Josh Martin and bassist Ryan Donald were pulling up in their car just as we were leaving.  Nothing against Little Tybee (quite the opposite, in fact!), but it was the kind of autumn day where it seemed more important to go find out if the Crimson Tide could hold off Mississippi State for three more quarters (they did).  

The day was a nice introduction to the Urban Sprout Farm site and another good merger of music, art, and literature by Deer Bear Wolf,  It would be nice of this became an annual affair.