Atlantis Music Conference 2000
Atlanta, GA 
August 9-12, 2000
by Frank Mullen
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| Frank Mullen | |
| The Psychedelic Furs |
Empire 44 played in the seemingly cavernous Variety Playhouse -- the elaborate lighting and sound system were the perfect compliment for their extremely visual show. It's too bad more people weren't there to see.
The Psychedelic Furs were a great live band in their heyday, and recently toured with the Go-Go's and the B-52s on an "80's flashback" tour. I missed that show, smelling an I've-got-a-mortgage-to-pay sellout, and half-expected the flashback to be more of a bad trip -- thankfully, I was surprised. A little balder, but otherwise sleek, suave, and seemingly healthy, the Furs made a great appearance at Atlantis. They sounded terrific, played all their best old and new music (everything from "India" and "President Gas" to "Heaven"). Kudos to them for playing "the hits" and not trying to pretend they haven't been pretty much sitting on their butts for ten years.
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| Frank Mullen |
| Empire 44 |
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| Frank Mullen |
| The 45s |
The Forty-Fives headlined the Echo Lounge on Friday night -- a year or so of constant touring has honed this band into a razor-sharp rock machine. A Hammond organ now fills out their Rickenbacker/Fender-powered '60s soul-xplosion. If James Brown had grown up listening to the Clash and the Sex Pistols, this is the band he'd be in.
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| Frank Mullen |
| Gargantua |
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| Frank Mullen | |
| The X-Impossibles |
X-Impossibles shut down the Star Bar on the last night of the conference, and this show was somewhat a celebration of their recent signing to Cargo Records. They don't hide their love of the New York Dolls and the Clash, and took it even further tonight, with covers of Iggy's "Search and Destroy" and AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap."
The rest of the weekend was awards, parties, panels, glimpses at new music technology, and hanging out with music industry wizards and wannabes; all well and good, but for me, it's about the bands. 
