Athens or Bust, Baby!

This past weekend Craig visited and we fulfilled a mission that was nearly 20 years in the making! If I'm remembering correctly, the first time Craig and I ever hung out outside of school was around the time that The B-52's "Cosmic Thing" album was released. For the next several years, it was non-stop B-52's for us as we sought to collect their entire songbook (at least seven full albums) and learn any shred of information we could about this amazingly cheesy, playful, and highly-original band of misfits. You have to remember that this was before the Internet was invented, so aside from brief blurbs in "Rolling Stone" magazine, we really had to shake the trees to get any info. They played at Darien Lake in the summer of 1991 and it was my first-ever concert. They played almost 40 songs and did ALL 16 dances.

Although that was the beginning of my introduction to new wave/college/alternative music, I have never heard anything like the B's since (and don't expect to). Craig also introduced me to R.E.M. - or at least, the songs of R.E.M. that didn't get played on the radio. It wouldn't be until I went away to college in the mid-90s that I would truly understand how great R.E.M. music could be as a backdrop for college life.

It was only natural that two teenagers in suburban Rochester dreamt of taking a road trip to the birthplace of the college music scene (oh, yeah, and of these two great bands, among others). Eighteen years later, and a two-hour drive north of Macon is all it took to check this one off our list! Here are a few of the highlights:

This is the steeple from the church where R.E.M. performed their first gig.
The church itself was torn down to make room for some condos.

This is known as the "R.E.M. Trestle" since it graces the cover of their album, "Murmur".

We took a moment out of the day to pay our respects to the Mothership, aka UGA. UGA is the flagship school in the University System of Georgia, of which I'm a faculty member.

This is a soul food shack that is open, apparently, whenever the single employee/chef/owner decides to cook. The name for one of R.E.M.'s albums was inspired by the restaurant's sign.

Athens has no shortage of clubs and restaurants... it was so much of a college town that Craig and I felt like we were right back in Ithaca (we essentially went to college together also, me at Cornell and he at Ithaca College on the opposite hill). Craig bought a vintage 1960s sherbet orange transistor radio at the X-ray cafe antique shop and we had dinner at the Grit, a vegetarian joint located in a building owned by Michael Stipe.

This was a cool little coffee shack... looks like all they do is shut the barn doors when it's closing time! Perfect collegetown kitsch!

Attached to the Grit, is the Go Bar, where Stipe is known to hangout (hey, he's the landlord after all!). Note the vintage tour poster on the left - the Go Bar is where the B's cut their musical teeth - we were so close to greatness!

Vintage album release and tour posters from decades past... now part of a sidewalk art museum honoring the Athens music scene.

Here's the Geogia Theatre where the B's reportedly had to beg to play one of their early concerts (they had to sell $1500 in tickets before the manager would book them). The 40 Watt Club is in its 6th or 7th location now - supposed to be one of the hottest music clubs in the country for college bands.

Thank you Athens, and thank you Craig for rockin' out on this trip down memory lane!