Coming home to Athens from a vacation is usually a good feeling…..because wherever I’ve been I always feel that Athens is still a pretty cool spot. Not such a good feeling this last time as I knew I was driving back to an Athens without the Georgia Theatre. The events of last Friday, June 19th, still don’t seem real…..but after spending some time today at the corner of Lumpkin and Clayton and seeing it first hand for the first time it has begun to sink in.
I have no clue when I went there the first time, but over the years I saw some great music and had some great times at the Georgia Theatre. A few special times stand out….the Roosevelt Jam from 12/31/93 and how I really did have a hard time finding my way home that night…..the opportunity to have my kids participate in Sunny and Arvin Scott’s “Beat the Drum” project…..the last show I saw there was Chris Rabold’s Canine Rescue Benefit and it was a special night for lots of reasons including music. But here’s the GATH memory I treasure above all other ones — the last time I saw Mikey perform was with Jerry Joseph and Friends on 5/3/02. I stood about 3 or 4 deep from the center of the stage and just took it in. All I have to do is close my eyes and I can put myself back there again. Incredible and indelible. Thanks Georgia Theatre……for the stage you provided for so long and for the memories that will last forever.
To celebrate the Georgia Theatre in an archive kind of way, I’m going to pull some selections from the vault over the next several days…..
Let’s get started with the first few tunes from 10/5/92. Garrie takes care of the intro…TheTakeOut>DrivingSong>Disco>HappyChild>DrivingSong>Fishwater
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3/14/92 Georgia Theatre…….encores: Jam>Disco>Dog Song>Chilly Water
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3/13/92 Georgia Theatre……from Jojo’s first show…..Stop Go>Fishwater Check out the transitional space between the tunes. Still during the non-setlist days, you can hear JB call Fishwater 3 times before Dave finally hears it too….and then they are off again…..
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I was lucky enough to have seen 1 show at the Georgia Theatre. it wasn’t until September 2008. my buddy mike flew in 2 Atlanta and we saw panic get inducted into the Georgia hall of fame. then after that we drove to Athens to see Outformation play the last 45 minutes of their “one” set. we didn’t know at the time they were only going to play 1 set but I’m glad we didn’t because we might not have gone and i wouldn’t have ever seen a show there!
i dig the musical highlights right there for listening enjoyment as i scroll. thanks. if you haven’t already check out neil young’s new archived material blu ray extravaganza. fun stuff and interesting perspective.
I got to see Col Bruce and Big Ass Truck the night before the CD release party 4/18/98 that whole weekend was one i will never forget. Heading over from Jacksonville Al me and three of my best friends got caught up in Freaknik when we stopped to get gas in atlanta that was fun. Got to athens and hung out at a bar across the street from the theatre the town was already getting crowded. Went to the show and had a great time some great stories from that night and camping out at the campground was a real adventure.