Hey everyone.  I promise not to be as long winded with this review as
the one I did for Atlanta.  Naomi and I drove down to Athens after
working in the morning on Monday.  We arrived in Athens a little after
4:00, and since we did not have tickets yet, proceeded directly to the
club.  The venue was called the 40 Watt Club, and was located in
downtown Athens, just blocks from the University of Georgia.  From the
outside, you would never believe that it was a club.  It was located
at the end of a strip of shops and restaurants, surrounded by a tatoo
parlor and a cool record store.  Anyway, we were told that tickets
could be purchased at a local record store several blocks away.  As we
prepared to go in search of the store, we noticed some guitar
strumming that sounded a lot like Rob Baker.  The front door to the
club was open, so we walked in to take a look.  Sure enough, Rob was
onstage.  We felt a little uncomfortable, and decided to wait outside
and observe what was going on.  Several minutes later, Rob was joined
by the rest of the guys and they proceeded to soundcheck.  They played
Thompson Girl, The Rules, and Courage.  Gord S. walked out and we got
a chance to talk briefly and shake hands.  I asked him if they were
going to rock the house that night, and he replied that they sure
hoped to.  He also said that they were looking to have a lot of fun,
even for a Monday.  He then left for the bus with a wave and a
goodbye.  Very nice guy.  After that Rob walked out.  I was still in
shock after talking with Gord that I could not think of anything to
say to Rob.  He slowed down while passing us by, and gave us a look
like he expected us to say something to him.  How could I resist that.
 I told him how much we enjoyed the Halloween show in Atlanta several
nights ago.  He thanked us, shook my hand, and proceeded on towards
their bus.  He was a friendly lad, and probably would have talked more
if only I had more to say to him.  We then went to get our tickets,
which we purchased at Big Shot Records for $8 each.  After hanging out
at the hotel for a few hours, we left for our enchanted evening.  The
counter guy at our hotel recommended a vegetarian restaurant called
Guaranteed, so we decided to give that a try.  When we walked in out
of the pouring rain, we saw the Hip's road manager.  I am not sure
what her name is, or if she is a vegetarian like us.  I smiled at her
and said hey, she gave us a look like she had seen us before but could
not place the faces with the places.  When our waitress asked why we
were in town, we mentioned following the Hip around.  The tour manager
brighted up at that and shot a huge smile our direction.  That was
about as friendly as she got, though.  After dinner we went on to the
club.  Doors were supposed to open at 9:30 so we got there at 9:20 and
took our spots in the front of the line.  After a brief wait with
about ten others, they opened the doors to the legendary 40 Watt Club,
where REM got their big break.  The room was square shaped, and kinda
small.  There was a bar along the right wall, and some lounge chairs
and couches along the left wall.  My wife took her spot in the front
row, directly in front of where Paul would be standing.  The club was
VERY sparsely populated as the Derek Trucks Band took the stage at
10:00, maybe 50 people!  There were only 8 people on the front row,
and everyone else was scattered throughout.  The Derek Trucks Band
rocked us with about 8 bluesy numbers, then left the stage for the
Hip's crew to get things ready.  By the time the Hip took the stage at
11:15, there were maybe 150 people there.  My guess was that the club
held about 800, so it was pretty empty.  The bad weather plus it being
a Monday night probably contributed to the poor turnout.  The turnout
did not seem to bother the Hip though.  They came out and rocked us
hard.  Here is the set that they played:

Save the Planet
Giftshop
Something On
The Luxury
Thompson Girl
Ahead By A Century
Lionized
Grace, Too
Membership
Scared
Escape Is At Hand For The Travelin Man
Emperor Penguin
Fire In The Hole

Encores:
Fireworks
100th Meridian

Highlights of the show were Emperor Penguin, which is way more
incredible live than on Phantom Power.  Also, Fire In The Hole was
really good.  They really had the crowd jumping up and down during
that one.  They had Locked In The Trunk Of A Car on the setlist
between Scared and Escape, but did not play it.  They also had The
Rules and On The Verge on the setlist as encores, but did not play
them either.  I do not know if that was because of the small crowd,
but it probably was.  The Hip are not used to playing in front of less
that 200 people.  As a fan, the atmosphere could not have been better.
 I did not have anyone within 5 feet of me, as I strategically placed
myself in the most optimal sounding location in the entire club.  I
thought to myself, what a great recording situation this would be.
Hmmmmm......  Anyway, the show was really good.  The crowd was pretty
much laid back, with only two small groups of Canadian fans screaming
and flag waving.  Most of the audience seemed local, and that in
itself was unusual.  It was my 30th birthday that night, and I cannot
think of anything I would have rather been doing than jamming out with
the Hip in such an intimate setting.  Truly an unforgetable night.
Until Charleston on Friday...

Later and Stay Hip,

Alan Moore