After the Athens Perimeter Mall was built, downtown Athens took on another vibe were the chain retail stores were sub divided into smaller venues and the Georgia Theatre morphed into a live entertainment joint.

Much older than the college crowd, I enjoyed going in, drinking beer and watching the shows from the bar deck. I wouldn’t dare venture down on to the floor where the drunk students practiced bumper cars with their bodies, bouncing one another across the crowded floor. I never quite understand the goal?

I remember one night checking out a group by the name of “Prozac”. They were pretty good. I wore a pair of slacks and a blue stripped oxford shirt. Some kid from the opening band which I did not see thought I was a record agent and insisted I give him my business card. I told him I’d left them back in New York. He insisted that I come back the next night and see his group play. I promised I would try. Not!

I saw Wyton Marsalis for $15 playing acoutiscally with his brass band. The next night, they were in Atlanta playing fo $45.

I remember the night I drove all the way from Durham, NC just so I could catch up with Robert Randolph and the Family Band after first spotting their wild performance on the PBS Show “Austin City Light”. That night, I sat next to a guy and we watch 8 consecutive drunk students miss the single step down to the floor level and bust their asses while sliding across the beer ladened floor. If a girl was pretty, we’d warn her but the guys, they deserved it. That night, after 3 beers from the rusty draft beer lines, all the girls were pretty. We laughed our behinds off.

Hey but the fire is a new beginning. Build it back and make if better. The walls are still there. Just need to gut it out and start all over.

bjohn1202