Put on by the same folks that present Spotlight • Slingshot, the festival of music, electronic art, and technology in Athens, GA each March, this "Big Star's Third" concert held on Saturday night, November 8, 2014. It was honestly one of the best shows I've ever seen! Held in a downtown Athens street for free, it was close to 45 degrees outside when the show finished at about 10:00 PM, but despite the cold night, everything was spot on and top notch to my ears. The show was an orchestrated performance of 1970s Memphis band Big Star’s legendary Third/Sister Lovers album done by an all-star band. The group was made up of original Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Chris Stamey of the dB’s, Mitch Easter of Let’s Active, Pat Sansone of Wilco, and both Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies. Also included on stage were a chamber orchestra, a horn section, and a diverse cast of guest vocalists. Yes, this was an undertaking.
Big Star historically is just enough out of the mainstream that I have to stop and explain who they were and hence my reason for driving an hour and a half to Athens, GA from my Atlanta home. To reference something musically familiar to most, I have to point to the sixties band the Box Tops which featured a 16-year-old future Big Star founder Alex Chilton. The Box Tops topped the pop charts in 1967 with the classic song, "The Letter," they had a few other hits as well, but that one song stands out in music history. With the Box Tops ended, Alex Chilton eventually returned to his hometown of Memphis in the early seventies and teamed up with musicians he had played with during his high school years, namely Chris Bell. In time Alex was asked to join the band Ice Water with Chris Bell which in turn became Big Star.
Big Star played Beatlesque power pop music which perhaps in the days of Led Zeppelin rising wasn’t the thing. Big Star recorded their first album "#1 Record", but with ineffective marketing by their label Ardent and Stax Records horrid distribution, Big Star’s first album #1 Record went nowhere literally. There were great reviews for the first record and then the second "Radio City, but again bad distribution. Finally, there was a third Big Star album recorded in 1974 which may have been intended as a solo Alex Chilton record with just Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens along with a large cast of Memphis musicians. Chilton had never done anything like this album, and he never did again. Today there are plenty of off-kilter pop records, listen to a few top album picks on the website Pitchfork, and you’ll hear modern day “weird” records, but needless to say a label did not accept this off-kilter recording in 1974. Big Star Third/Sister Lovers, wasn’t officially released until it came out unannounced in 1978, possibly without the official permission of the musicians.
It was the Big Star Third record that my friend Steve Shattah and I drove to Athens to hear performed live by an all-star band in its entirety. At one point someone from the stage said "If you know the album, this is where it gets weird" and then they played the song "Downs" complete with Mike Mills bouncing a basketball as part of the percussion! Indeed on the record, a ball was used as a snare drum. It was so crazy and beautiful! I should note that there are plenty of accessible moments on the Big Star Third album, so listen to the album if you haven’t.
During the show loads of praise was rightfully directed towards Chris Stamey, of dB’s notoriety, for his analyzing and arranging of this music and presented on stage to an audience. Chris Stamey obviously has a great love for the music. Having the full effect of having not just guitar, bass, and drums, but horns and strings made for a sonically impressive show; all very unexpected for a free show on a stage in the street on an early November evening.
Big Star historically is just enough out of the mainstream that I have to stop and explain who they were and hence my reason for driving an hour and a half to Athens, GA from my Atlanta home. To reference something musically familiar to most, I have to point to the sixties band the Box Tops which featured a 16-year-old future Big Star founder Alex Chilton. The Box Tops topped the pop charts in 1967 with the classic song, "The Letter," they had a few other hits as well, but that one song stands out in music history. With the Box Tops ended, Alex Chilton eventually returned to his hometown of Memphis in the early seventies and teamed up with musicians he had played with during his high school years, namely Chris Bell. In time Alex was asked to join the band Ice Water with Chris Bell which in turn became Big Star.
Big Star played Beatlesque power pop music which perhaps in the days of Led Zeppelin rising wasn’t the thing. Big Star recorded their first album "#1 Record", but with ineffective marketing by their label Ardent and Stax Records horrid distribution, Big Star’s first album #1 Record went nowhere literally. There were great reviews for the first record and then the second "Radio City, but again bad distribution. Finally, there was a third Big Star album recorded in 1974 which may have been intended as a solo Alex Chilton record with just Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens along with a large cast of Memphis musicians. Chilton had never done anything like this album, and he never did again. Today there are plenty of off-kilter pop records, listen to a few top album picks on the website Pitchfork, and you’ll hear modern day “weird” records, but needless to say a label did not accept this off-kilter recording in 1974. Big Star Third/Sister Lovers, wasn’t officially released until it came out unannounced in 1978, possibly without the official permission of the musicians.
It was the Big Star Third record that my friend Steve Shattah and I drove to Athens to hear performed live by an all-star band in its entirety. At one point someone from the stage said "If you know the album, this is where it gets weird" and then they played the song "Downs" complete with Mike Mills bouncing a basketball as part of the percussion! Indeed on the record, a ball was used as a snare drum. It was so crazy and beautiful! I should note that there are plenty of accessible moments on the Big Star Third album, so listen to the album if you haven’t.
During the show loads of praise was rightfully directed towards Chris Stamey, of dB’s notoriety, for his analyzing and arranging of this music and presented on stage to an audience. Chris Stamey obviously has a great love for the music. Having the full effect of having not just guitar, bass, and drums, but horns and strings made for a sonically impressive show; all very unexpected for a free show on a stage in the street on an early November evening.
