Crib Notes

BEHIND DOOR NO. 3: Spree Wilson

Remember the old game shows? You know the ones where the over-eager contestant would get to chose a prize behind Door No. 1 (a compact cd player!), Door No. 2 (a new leather couch!), or Door No. 3 (a new Subaru!).

This year’s A3C Festival is a little like that.

While the laminated “map” to the events was studied diligently by some of the heads in attendance, by and large East Atlanta Village presented a maze of hip-hop wonders last night, taking a cue from the popular South By Southwest Fest in Austin, Tex. where music lovers wander and pop into bars and venues at will.

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Lead by former Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes, A Hawk & A Hacksaw explores various enclaves of Eastern European and American folk music with an accordion and something of a surreal bent. The group is touring in support of their latest release, Délivrance (Leaf). Jeffrey Butzer and Damon & Naomi open.

$10. 9 p.m. The Earl. 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.

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Athens band Modern Skirts headlined day 1 of the Corndogorama on Saturday night. The heat was brutal during the day and didn’t let off much after the sun went down, and a brief spell of rain made everything soggy, then humid. Still, the vibe was mellow, and the chunk of real estate upon which this year’s Cornodog landed is spacious. Although it never felt crowded, it wasn’t empty by any means, at least by the end of the night.

The new location feels right, but needs more places to hide from the heat. It is June in Georgia after all. Sitting in the summer heat and sweating for the sake of a good time and good music is one thing, but when you add the grease and girth of a steady intake of corndogs staggered throughout the day, washed down by however many hot PBRs it takes to get the job done, the body moves in slow motion. Such was the case for many who were willing to suffer for their music at Corndogorama XII.

At the end of the night, best estimates put it at somewhere just over 1,000 people had attended from beginning to end. When asked if it was success? David Railey laughed, “I think so, but I don’t know. Ask me tomorrow.”

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The A3C Hip Hop Festival turns five in 2009, and it’s going through some changes. Beginning this year, the three-day, multi-faceted celebration of hip-hop takes its three-ring circus of B-boys (and girls), rappers and DJs and heads to the East Atlanta Village.

For the past four years the fest was housed in the CW Midtown Music Complex, but last year the festival hosted a huge number of artists and 2009 could be even bigger. To accommodate the growing line-up and turnout, the festival will be spread across multiple venues within walking distance.

The Earl, 529, Cenci, and the East Atlanta Ice House have all been confirmed as venues, according to festival organizer Brian Knott.

The regular date in late March and early April has also been swapped out for a new slot in the fall (October 1-3). The move to October means no longer having to compete with SXSW, while giving organizers more time to shore up sponsors in a year when music festivals have already been hard hit.

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