Photo by Taylor Gould

Futurebirds and Washed Out
Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta, GA
December 30

The twin billing of Washed Out and Futurebirds at Atlanta’s Buckhead Theatre represented a state of the union showcase for music in the Peach State. The verdict? Things are going well in Georgia and the musical epicenters of Atlanta and Athens continue to serve as fertile grounds for new bands of all different flavors to prosper, grow and develop a following.

The Friday night show featured two still-young bands in the midst of a substantial rise to widespread notoriety coming off of their biggest years to date. Of the headliners, Washed Out went first and the full band live set that transpired displayed an interesting, albeit brief alteration of Ernest Greene’s bedroom recording output, adding rhythmic and danceable layers to the diffuse and drone heavy soft pop.

A colorful lighting palette added an ephemeral Technicolor vibe to the otherwise dull and sterile venue during the set. The live arrangements of Washed Out’s songs are transformative to say the least as even the breeziest tunes from the Within and Without like “Soft” were geared with a disco-leaning, up tempo and bass-heavy sound. On the flip side, “Feel It All Around” rolled at a slower pace with a subdued tilt, giving the well-known staple a more relaxed feel. Without gearing towards a homogenized synth-laden pop sound, Washed Out was able to walk the difficult tight rope many electronic musicians fall short of, by keeping the fan experience both deeply introspective and collectively enjoyable – no easy task.

After a brief intermission, the crowd responded to the Futurebirds arrival with a roaring ovation, showing who the majority of the audience likely came to see. The guitar heroics of both Carter King and Thomas Johnson were on display throughout the set as the band ran through their growing catalog of songs from Hampton’s Lullaby (2010) and the Via Flamina EP (2011). “Dirty D” and “Red Top Girl” stood out from the early portion of the set as a solid indicator of both the band’s starting point and subsequent growth since their early days hustling in tiny Athens bars like the now-defunct Tasty World – both beaming with an updated, tweaked sound, proof that these Athenians continue to investigate and develop their music on their own terms. Those experiences playing to mostly college crowds have served the band well as growing popularity has brought them to much larger platforms this year (including appearances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits and a couple opening spots on Widespread Panic’s fall tour). The country fried rock sextet showed signs of possessing the rarely seen ability to shrink a large, lifeless room and propel it into an intimate and delectably strident barroom affair. This skill will surely help build the Futurebirds’ reputation as a must-see live force going forward once the initial buzz-band cycle begins to inevitably wane.

The apex of the show arrived during the encore when opening band Grass Giraffes joined in for a heroic and memorable rendition of “Yur Not Ded” that had the whole room leaving hoarse and happy. In the confines of an otherwise vanilla venue, these once unknown bands from the Peach State helped round out a big holiday season for live music in the state capital in front of a sold out and festive crowd.