Atlanta Botanical Garden Announces Summer Concert Lineup

Nothing represents summer in Atlanta more, than Atlanta Botanical Garden’s “Concerts in the Garden” series. Music fills the air amidst flowers and nature in the heart of Midtown during the 10th annual Concerts in the Garden. Atlanta’s most intimate outdoor music event has been recognized as “Best Outdoor Concert Series” by Atlanta Magazine. This year’s lineup is filled with amazing acts including:

June 1 – KD Lang w/ special guest Jane Sieberry

June 22 – A Bluegrass Evening with Vince Gill and special guest Sarah Jarosz 

July 20 - Neko Case with special guest Kelly Hogan

August 10 - Merle Haggard with special guest Chris Janson

August 11 - Keb Mo & Aaron Neville

August 24 - Mary Chapin Carpenter

September 7 - Chris Isaak

September 14 - Indigo Girls

Tickets on sale starting Monday, April 30. Discounted tickets on sale to Garden members starting Monday, April 23. Available through ticketalternative.com or in person at Garden Admissions.

5GB With Crystal Stilts; Playing Rock and Roll Hotel, April 14

If you’ve never been introduced to their take on experimental noise-pop, the Crystal Stilts are primed and ready to take you on a ride. Their latest album In Love With Oblivion will give you the perfect crash course. Coming to Rock and Roll Hotel this Saturday April 14th, JB Townsend of Crystal Stilts joined us as part of our 5G series.

What’s the first gig you’ve ever attended?

Well, most of my life I went to church on Sunday with my folks and there was always a big emphasis on the music at the churches they went to. So I guess I went to a gig every Sunday morning for the first 15 years of my life. The guys playing in the bands certainly treated it like a show.

What is the best gig that you’ve ever played/performed?

We’ve had a lot of fun ones. It’s in the future!

What is the best gig you have ever seen?

White Lion in ’89. Scorpions in ’88. Phish in ’95. All epic.

Gig you would most like to play?

I think it depends- some of the super big festivals could be cool if you’re a big enough band– we’re usually pretty keen on doing most festivals that come our way because they’re a good axis for a tour. All Tomorrow’s Parties curated by somebody interesting would be fun. It tends to be more enticing if there are other bands you know and like playing at it and stuff. Festivals treat you pretty well so they’re usually worthwhile.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

I’ve had this question before and I’m always stumped. Probably something so oddly matched that it would have to be weirdly awesome and out there like Cockney Rebel, Love, Wu-Tang, Bo Diddley, Television, Milli Vanilli (headlining) and us. There’s potentially a million different dream shows. The venue I’m not sure of. Dream bill would have to be a dream venue too. Rock’n'Roll Hotel?

Catch Crystal Stilts this Saturday April 14th at Rock and Roll Hotel.

CD Review: Say Anything — Anarchy, My Dear; Playing Black Cat, April 17

Say Anything
Anarchy, My Dear
Equal Vision Records

By Al Kaufman

First things first, these guys are nothing like the John Cusack movie. They are not going to play Peter Gabriel through their boom boxes up to their girlfriend’s window. No, their love songs have more of a Sid and Nancy feel to them. On the cut, “Say Anything,” Maxim Bemis spits out tortures he would go through for his girl: “I’d throw up every morning, pull my nails out, take a wrench to all my teeth.” Damned if that doesn’t make a girl feel special. … Continue Reading

New On Sales for Friday, April 13

Happy Friday everyone! We have some great on sales coming up today. As always, tickets are available at www.ticketalternative.com and our outlets.

On sale today at 10:00 a.m.

Rock and Roll Hotel (Washington, D.C.)
- White Dress (Wednesday, May 16)
- Crystal Fighters (Tuesday, May 22)
- Air Sex Championships (Tuesday, July 3)
- Friends (Friday, July 6)
- Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Saturday, July 9)

The EARL (Atlanta, GA)
- Friends (Thursday, July 5)

Onsale today at 12:00 p.m.

The 40 Watt Club (Athens, GA)
- Corduroy Road (Thursday, May 10)

DC9 (Washington, D.C.)
- California Wives (Sunday, May 6)
- R. Ring (featuring Kelley Deal of The Breeders) (Tuesday, May 15)
- MV and EE (Wednesday, May 16)
- A Life Once Lost (Sunday, June 24)
- Milo Greene (Tuesday, July 24)

The Drunken Unicorn (Atlanta, GA)
- Negative Approach (Friday, June
- Milo Greene (Saturday, July 21)

Black Cat (Washington, D.C.)
- Ms. Director (Sunday, May 20)
- The Donkeys (Tuesday, May 22)
- Al Scorch’s Country Soul Ensemble (Wednesday, May 30)
- Pygmy Wish (Sunday, May 27)
- Ugly Purple Sweater (Thursday, May 31)
- The Bouncing Souls (Tuesday, June 12)
- Scott H. Biram (Tuesday, June 19)
- Iceage (Tuesday, June 24)

Red Palace (Washington, D.C.)
- Koffin Kats (Tuesday, April 24)
- Scott Lucas and The Married Men (Thursday, June 12)
- Orgone (Thursday, June 21)

- Canon Blue (Friday, June 22)

Sticky’z Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack (Little Rock, AR)
- Morning Teleportation (Tuesday, May 15)
- Mike Pinto (Wednesday, May 23)
- The Black Angels (Saturday, August 11)
- The Chris Robinson Brotherhood (Tuesday, August 14)

Vinyl (Atlanta, GA)
- Chappo (Saturday, June 2)

5GB With The Jezabels; Playing The Red Palace, April 14th

Australia knows indie rock. Take for example, The Jezabels, whose debut album  was voted #6 in the well respected Australian  Triple J Album Poll for 2011. They joined us for our 5GB series before their show at The Red Palace this Saturday, April 14th.

What’s the first gig you’ve ever attended?

I saw the Gloria Record at a youth centre in San Diego. They had technical difficulties and only played a few songs, so my friend drove me up to LA to see them at the Knitting Factory the following night.

What is the best gig that you’ve ever played/performed?

We played quite early on the main stage at a a festival called Soundwave in Australia. an all time favourite band of mine, Sunny Day Real Estate, were watching from side of stage as they were on after us. It was nerve racking but equally exciting. After we finished up I got to watch SDRE from side of stage, quite a memorable day.

What is the best gig you have ever seen?

Seeing The National at Southbound in 2011 was absolutely incredible. Really opened my eyes to how much a good performance adds to good music.

Gig you would most like to play?

I’ve been told about an amazing festival in Iceland called Airwaves. Apparently the line up is always incredible and I’ve never been to Iceland.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

The National, Cursive & us with David Bazan doing a few acoustic songs during each change over. Would be magic.

Catch The Jezabels April 14th at The Red Palace

5GB With Basement Batman; Playing April 12th @ Rock & Roll Hotel, D.C.

They consider themselves “Dirt Pop” but we think that Brooklyn’s Basement Batman has the same sort of grittiness that made the Beastie Boys awesome…They are playing the Rock and Roll Hotel tomorrow and joined us for a 5GbB series of questions…Their answers are short, but their show will be well worth it.

What was the first gig you ever went to?

The Fugees, in College Park Md. We were taken by our friends mom. We thought we’d hear Lauryn Hill, but it ended up being 10 rapping yelling into mics.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed at?

Baghdad, Summer 2011

What is the best gig you have ever been to?

Baghdad, Summer 2010

Gig you would most like to play?

Woodstock, 1969 Basement Batman at 11 on the last night.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

Outkast, Kanye West, The Beatles, Beethoven + Mozart (in a piano battle), Basement Batman-At the White House

Catch Basement Batmans tomorrow  at Rock and Roll Hotel tomorrow, D.C..

Ticket Alternative Welcomes the Fabulous Fox Theatre to the Family!

Things just got a lot more Fabulous here at Ticket Alternative. We are so excited to announce that Atlanta’s legendary Fox Theatre has signed on with Ticket Alternative.

With Ticket Alternative being an Atlanta company, the Fox Theatre holds a very special place in our hearts. We have all seen countless shows there, gazed up at the starry ceiling, listened to the famous Mighty Mo organ before film screenings, and even attended events like weddings and proms in its beautiful halls. And we can’t wait to serve the theater and its staff to the very best of our abilities.

We are truly thrilled to get the opportunity to have a venue like the Fox among our clients. Stay tuned for more information about on sales and ticket information!

Picture Book: Green River Ordinance at Revolution Music Room, April 7

By Sydney Frames (www.visiblesin.com)

Full gallery after the jump.

… Continue Reading

5GB With Bombino: Playing DC9, Tomorrow, April 10th

What was the first gig you ever went to?

The first show that I saw was in 1995 when the Peace Corps was here in Niger, they organized a big concert featuring Tidawt and some other local groups.  It was the first time I saw a real concert, and as far as I know that was the first real concert of its kind in Agadez.  It was very eye-opening and it helped me a lot to inspire my concerts today.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed at?

That is hard to say because there are several that I think of. The one that sticks out in my mind is the concert we played last year in Tel Aviv. There was such a large crowd and they were so deeply into the music, as if they had been born and raised in our traditions. But it was the first time many of them had heard this kind of music. It was a huge inspiration for me.

What is the best gig you have ever been to?

This is also really hard to say. There are so many and its not easy to try to pick one. I would have to say my favorite show that I can remember is the show that JuJu did at WOMEX (Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara). It was such a cool mix of styles and it blended so well. And it rocked! I had such a good time just dancing like a madman that night. But also I should mention the first time I saw Tinariwen — Ibarhim from Tinariwen is my biggest musical inspiration because he has shown other Tuareg musicians that it is possible to find success for our music and culture abroad and open the eyes of the rest of the world to Tuareg music.

Gig you would most like to play?

I think I would like to play at the World Cup or the Olympics or something very big like that. Our mission is to get as many fans as we can from all over the world and to have them discover Niger, Agadez, and the Tuareg culture through our music. So I want as big an audience as I can get!

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?

I think my perfect bill would be to play with Ali Farka Toure, Jimi Hendrix, and Dire Straits. That is the bill of my dreams. Ali and Jimi were my biggest heroes growing up, so I always dreamed of playing with them. If I could chose any place to do that concert, it would be right here in Niger, in Agadez, so that my whole community could enjoy it.

Catch Bombino tomorrow  at DC9, D.C..

New On Sales for Friday, April 6

Happy Friday everyone! We have some great on sales coming up today. As always, tickets are available at www.ticketalternative.com and our outlets.

On sale today at 10:00 a.m.

Rock and Roll Hotel (Washington, D.C.)
- Black Clouds (Saturday, May 12)
- The Impact Is Imminent: A Benefit For The Wounded Warrior Project (Saturday, May 26)
- Hurt (Thursday, May 31)
- Michael Kiwanuka (Saturday, June 16)

The EARL (Atlanta, GA)
- Penguin Prison (Tuesday, May 22)

Juanita’s (Little Rock, AR)
- Thread (Saturday, April 28)
- Crossfade (Tuesday, June 19)

Smith’s Olde Bar (Atlanta, GA)
- Hill Roberts and Naked Money/Nick Johnson & Friends (Saturday, April 14)
- Gregory Alan Isakov (Monday, May 14)
- Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek) (Saturday, June 9)
- Joe Purdy (Saturday, June 23)

Onsale today at 12:00 p.m.

DC9 (Washington, D.C.)
- Races (Monday, May 7)
- The Aggrolites (Monday, May 14)
- Beat Connection (Sunday, July 1)

Black Cat (Washington, D.C.)
- The Mousetrap (Friday, April 20)
- America Hearts (Monday, April 23)
- Neil Hamburger (Monday, June 18)

The Loft (Atlanta, GA)
- Ralph Stanley (Friday, May 18)

Red Palace (Washington, D.C.)
- Doctor Who Burlesque (Friday, April 27)

Revolution Music Room (Little Rock, AR)
- Adelita’s Way (Wednesday, May 9)