Next week, I will not miss the Streetlight Manifesto and Suburban Legends show at The Masquerade. Promise! That same night at the same place, Bobaflex is playing, but just like you must choose your battles, I must choose my shows.

“Singer, songerwriter, basist, and guitarist [of Gondwanaland] Angelica is one of my friends from high school. She was actually one of the people who introduced me to the stranger side of music and has been writing twisted ballads for years. I finally got to see her play with Matt and Ryan in her latest band, Gondwanaland. Matt leads vocals and Ryan is behind them, beating wildly on drums. Their sound is hard to label. It’s definitely rock. They’re self identified a ‘music that Neanderthals would listen to’, but that doesn’t quite cover their peculiar subject matter. With titles like ‘Schroedinger’s Cat’ and ‘Aphids’, Gondwanaland seems to be one of those bands that could write a song about anything. Especially because that’s what the songs are actually about, although ‘Satanic Giraffe’ is really about a drink that Java Lords makes. They may even go from thrashing and screaming to an occasional beautiful acoustic melody. Overall, Gondwanaland isn’t even on the radar of what most current bands are doing. They’re refreshing in a post-modern, but not pretentious way.”

That was from last August in the lobby of Seven Stages. This show was in a much less intimate venue which allowed them to kick up the sound. Maybe it was intoxication or maybe it was energy, but they were loud and wild. Even though it wasn’t perfect, it just made them sound like punk rockers and there’s nothing wrong with that. The look on singer/guitarist Matt Greenia’s face was so intense that he may as well had been having a staring contest with the audience. You’re not quite sure if he’s lost in the song or about to jump on you.

I missed out on some of Mice In Cars, but they’ve got a cool sound. It’s contrasting to Gondwanaland with airy, guitar-driven pieces. It was funny running into guitarist Mark because he competed in the Atlanta Roller Girls Man Derby with my boyfriend. Mice in Cars are big roller derby supporters.

Also, tonight is the Jonathan Coulton show.

They Might Be Giants made their annual appearance in Atlanta at The Variety Playhouse last Friday. This was my fourth time seeing them. I try to make it to their show every time they come through town because TMBG shows are just fun. There’s nothing ostentatious about them or their fans. It’s just good, geeky, come-as-you-are fun. There’s something inspiring about a band that’s been around since the 80′s and keeps playing even though they’ve had no major hits since then. Even those hits weren’t so big. The two Johns (John Linnell and John Flansburgh) of TMBG just keep playing for their cult following as long as their listening. They’ve produced 18 albums in their musical existence and that’s not even counting the singles, EP’s, free online songs, and Flansburgh even wrote a rock musical. They never seem to run out of material, but that’s easy to say for a couple of guys that can write a song about anything, even if it doesn’t make sense.

This time, an Irish band called Oppenheimer opened for them. I wasn’t too impressed. A lot of synthesizers and keyboards. Their signature is an air-horn, which was kinda random. When they were over, TMBG opened up their set with the last track off of their latest album, The Else, called “The Mesopotamians,” which reaches back into history rock about ancient rulers that you learned about in high school that go on to make a rock band together. They played on for about two hours. They covered everything from favorites from the old days like “Particle Man” and “Istanbul” interspersed tracks off of their new album. Somewhere in there, they even did a bit about contacting the dead through the phone and their song especially about The Variety Playhouse. At the end, they came on for a four song encore. Seriously, I think they would have played until everyone left or the band passed out from exhaustion.

Now, speaking from an “experienced TMBG show-goer,” it wasn’t the best show of theirs that I’ve been to. It was probably the least audience interactive one, but I don’t know if you can beat the 2004 show when a giant conga line formed throughout The Variety. Oh, and their was even a puppet show with characters from Homestar Runner. I’m not saying it was bad, though. They played their songs and gave a long encore because they still love their fans. The drummer, Marty Beller, came out at the end to sign stuff (like my Animal t-shirt). I’ll still be back next time to see them.

Unfortunately,  I’ve been sick, so I didn’t get to see the 99x Brouhaha and there won’t be a report on that. On a lighter note, They Might Be Giants is playing tonight at the Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points. I’ve got my ticket. How about you?

What else is happening? Sinnead O’Connor will also be performing on Friday night.

Agnostic Front will be here next Tuesday at the Masquerade.

You’re next week should be full by now.

All of the Plug stuff will be posted on this site via link or cross-post once it gets going.