Photo by Mike White @ deadlydesigns.com
When I heard that Pylon was playing the Melting Point in Athens, I was a little worried. The Melting Point is a more intimate kind of venue, best suited to the awesome country/bluegrass/western genres since it’s a sit down type of place with a great menu and several tables on different levels.
Turns out I shouldn’t have wasted my breath. Pylon and openers The Buddy System took the Melting Point and transformed it into another place, hell, another time even. Sure, we sat down and watched The Buddy System’s awesome animation but it didn’t take long for everyone to get up and dance, however awkwardly.
Pylon roared, danced, and jumped their way through an 18 song set that included opener “Cool,” “Crazy,” and “Feast on My Heart.” The crowd was slow on the uptake at first with only a few people dancing but soon all hesitation was put aside. By “Working is No Problem,” everyone was on their feet.
Back at Athfest in June, during a Q & A after the Athens, GA: Inside Out screening, Michael Lachowski lamented the lack of dancing in the current scene. Well, between the twenty-somethings that made up the front of the pit and the fifty-somethings in the back and everyone else in between, I think that it’s safe to say that wasn’t a problem on Thursday night.
The atmosphere was absolutely electric. All you had to do was look up at Vanessa, Randy, Michael and Curtis to see that it wasn’t just the audience having a great time. Michael was bouncing all over the place while Randy picked up the dancing bug halfway through the set. Vanessa was doing her usual twirls and twists and Curtis (blocked by his drumkit) just beat the hell out of his kit. And they made it seem so effortless.
And we cherished those precious few seconds between songs that let us catch our breath. By the end, there wasn’t a person there not drenched in sweat.
After the show, the members of Pylon hung around and chatted with some old friends and new faces, being extremely kind to this young music junkie. Some of the stories they told…I felt like I was really part of something special. Not just a “scene” from long ago, but a mutual friendship.
The music rang out. The people danced. And for all too brief a while, it was 1981 again.
blueshades
Watch most of the show here.
athensmusicjunkie.com 
Great recap – I had a chance to check out the YouTube footage – looks like grand times that night! How was Bill Berry?