THE BEAUTY I WAS NEARLY GONNA SEE IN PERSON...and the phoenix that is the venue...

This is maybe the only time you'll ever hear me say this: Dang it,SUPERCHUNK! Dang you for playing Atlanta on 9/8/2011. I bought my tickets a few weeks ago...

I discovered FIRST AID KIT quite by mistake I think. YouTube is good for that sort of thing. I was late to the party. The Swedish sister act had long since risen to notoriety on the strength of a YouTube posted video of a FLEET FOXES cover of "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song." Their talent is only surpassed by the clear adoration Johanna and Klara Soderberg share for each other. I was smitten instantly and quickly snapped up their 2010 release "The Big Black & The Blue" as soon as it was released. A truly gorgeous piece of folk goodness, warmer than pie. I was in love,love,LOVE. I thought to myself...surely, I would never get to see them live. They did tour in the US on a limited basis, but frequent checks of their tour calendar found them playing all over Scandinavia most of the time. Until recently.

My heart leapt into my throat last week when I was sent an invitation on facebook. It informed me that FIRST AID KIT will not only be performing live on tour support of BRIGHT EYES...but they will be doing so in Athens,Georgia! On 9/8/2011(cue the loser music from The Price Is Right). As quickly as my heart leapt, it sank. DANG! If only we could talk Coco into getting that bill at SKY CITY on a swing date. *sigh* I'll be at the SUPERCHUNK show in Atlanta. Maybe there will be another day to catch FIRST AID KIT. After all, they're only teenagers...very old soul teenagers that sing like angels floating on ambrosia clouds. However, the fact remains SUPERCHUNK has been near and dear to me since the 90's and I may not get another chance to see them live.

If you have not yet experienced FIRST AID KIT, do yourself a favor and seek them out. Check out their website at http://thisisfirstaidkit.com/.

More remarkable to me than my favorite teenage troubadours performing in Georgia is the fact that they are appearing at THE GEORGIA THEATRE. There are very few more concrete(see what I did there) examples of the Phoenix story. A fixture for as long as I can remember(the building was erected in 1889), it burned to a shell on June 19,2009. I thought to myself that it would never be a functional venue again. But the community rallied around, and with the help of countless donations the 4.5 million dollar restoration project has finally reached fruition. THE GEORGIA THEATRE will celebrate its re-opening August 1-14th. If only Augusta could get behind THE MILLER THEATER in the same fashion. The marquee of THE GEORGIA THEATRE recently read "How You Like Me Now?" I wish I could walk down Broad Street one day soon and see this on The Miller Theater marquee "Appearing Live Tonight Only: FIRST AID KIT."

See y'all at the rock show.

Stak