Going back to Athens town
There are plenty of good times to be had in Athens. (University of Georgia)
Come September, thousands will be making the trek to Athens for home games at Sanford Stadium. Many come in a day or two early; others linger through the weekend, enjoying the other attractions of a city widely acknowledged as one of the best college towns around.
Of course, you don’t have to wait for football season to enjoy the offerings of Athens, some of which are hailed in the current issue of Garden & Gun magazine, which calls Athens a place where “music, food and football” come together.
Besides hundreds of places to drink beer (as you’d expect in a college town), there are rich cultural offerings thanks to UGA and some great restaurants. (Last year, I ran down some favorite places to eat in the Classic City, and to that list I’d add the Royal Peasant Pub in Five Points, a tiny spot offering some of the best fish and chips around.)
But the thing Athens is best known for besides UGA and football is its internationally renowned music scene, which takes center stage at the annual AthFest festival of bands, movies and offerings for kids this weekend.
Any time is a good time to sample music in Athens, however. The best known venue in town is the 40 Watt Club, which books a mix of big names and local acts drawing both townies and the college crowd. And this time next year hopefully the rebuilt Georgia Theatre will be back in business, too.
Downtown Athens offers lots of places to eat and drink. (Downtown Athens Development Authority)
In the meantime, the Melting Point, located in what once was an old foundry (and which oldtimers might remember as the Athens Steam Company nightclub), is probably the listening spot most alums would like since it draws a somewhat older crowd with its mix of singer-songwriters, country, jazz and bluegrass.
As for what places besides the 40 Watt and Melting Point are worth checking out, I threw that to my 25-year-old son, who got two degrees at UGA, and he said it depends on your taste in music.
Reports young Bill:
“Caledonia Lounge is a pretty initmate spot with some really good indie rock, though it’s not always everyone’s cup of tea, as it can also be really weird indie rock.
“I actually like the outdoor area at Farm 255, which has a stage with those white Christmas lights and outdoor seating. That can be really nice on a pleasant evening and they do jazz, etc. in addition to rock. (A lot of these bars do different genres of music actually.)
“Flicker Theatre & Bar is another pretty small space and can get into pretty obscure local indie stuff, but it’s not all bad. They also have a popcorn machine with free popcorn. I’ve never been to New Earth Music Hall, but it draws a pretty decent lineup, especially in the post-Georgia Theatre days. Little Kings Shuffle Club has bands and it has a large outdoor area with seating and cornhole (the game where you toss beanbags. Beloved by tailgaters.)”
Bill warns that those of us who get goosebumps when we hear the trumpeter in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium “might not be so into places like Flicker and Caledonia, as those are the domain of the indie/artsy crowd of Athens. If they really want to see the Athens music scene, those are places to go,” but his experience is that many fans in Athens for a football game “want to get drunk in a bar that plays Journey at obnoxious levels and hit on some of the lovely co-eds. (Fortunately, there are about 40 of those bars downtown.)”
Bill says that’s why “I was able to sit at a table and have a conversation at Manhattan Cafe (westside of downtown indie bar where I’ve seen Mike Mills of R.E.M. multiple times) and could barely move in the Allgood Lounge (large undergrad bar with loud music and virtually no decor or charm to speak of) on the Saturday night after the South Carolina game.”
One thing’s for sure, whether the loud bar scene is your thing or you’d rather sip a quiet one at Trappeze or the Globe, Athens is a great place to hang out, even when the Dawgs aren’t playing. And, hey, if you drop by Bailey’s American Tavern, you might even run into Boss or Champ!
After a game or anytime, what are your favorite Athens nightspots?
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161 comments Add your comment
Cobia2000
June 25th, 2010
4:20 pm
Downtown Varsity
The Mayflower
Strickland’s Restaurant
guy
June 25th, 2010
4:22 pm
i was born and raised in the south and love it here. i just dont love the racism that pops up from time to time. im not trying to change the facts of what happened. i just dont think people should be celebrating certain aspects of the past.
as for your point on education, maybe check and see where most southern states fall on the national education rankings. we all know the motto of georgia public schools: “thanks god for mississippi”
MsBulldawg
June 25th, 2010
4:23 pm
WOW wingery….closed….
Garden & Gun magazine is actually a very nice magazine. Great articles! Tastefully done.
The Melting Point is an awesome venue for music. You never know who is going to pop in on any given night. John Berry did a guest spot on Wednesday night with The Big Daddy’s.
Only 10 more weeks til football returns to Athens!!!
Cobia2000
June 25th, 2010
4:25 pm
Take the whole pill, Guy.
col fot
June 25th, 2010
4:30 pm
UGA ,best college town in America
UGADawg7
June 25th, 2010
4:43 pm
The Loft & the Winery are my favorite bars!
J
June 25th, 2010
4:50 pm
Guy, you’re a bigot.
Athens= God's Country
June 25th, 2010
4:51 pm
Enter your comments here
J
June 25th, 2010
4:52 pm
Guy, stay in midtown. We don’t need your bitterness in Athens.
Athens= God's Country
June 25th, 2010
4:56 pm
Roadhouse, El Centro, Nowhere Bar, Georgia Bar, The Globe, Boars Head, The Last Resort, East West, Weaver Ds, Aqua Linda, Son’s (the deck), Summers are the best, the shoals (sliding rock), and of course The Georgia Theatre. How about the lovely ladies? My God, I may drive up for Athfest this weekend…Best town period!
UT96
June 25th, 2010
4:58 pm
I saw a pretty good country band at the Georgia Theater a couple of times- Kinchafoonee Cowboys. Are they still around?
samuel
June 25th, 2010
5:01 pm
Did you forget to mention the TRASH!!!!
Cobia2000
June 25th, 2010
5:01 pm
Oh, Yeah? I saw Shaft and Blackula there in 1973. Top that!
Me
June 25th, 2010
5:03 pm
After just driving up here on vacation to N.C. mountains thru Athens and north Georgia, I can’t ever recall seeing so many Confederate flags in all my life…on front license plates, hanging in front of homes, even saw a truck outside of Blairsville that had 4 of them flying proudly. Come to think about it, the one thing I didn’t see were alot of Black folk in those areas which could be just a coincidence. Not a commentary, just an observation…….By the way, Athens was nice…I would rate it highly as a college town.
samuel
June 25th, 2010
5:09 pm
Me, what’s wrong with the Confederate flag? afterall, you’re in the SOUTH!!!!!
Bull
June 25th, 2010
5:15 pm
If you walk into a DT bar and everyone is wearing Ralph Lauren lame-o clothes.. that’s a good clue to find somewhere else to hang and meet interesting people
Thomas
June 25th, 2010
5:24 pm
Guy,
If you don’t like it don’t go to that bar. There are plenty of gay bars in midtown ATL that would be more fitting for you.
cindy
June 25th, 2010
5:32 pm
Is the Redcoat band going to play Dixie? If so, great!!!
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dbc
June 25th, 2010
5:35 pm
Anybody out there remember the Mad Hatter? You could get a 3 for 1 drink (about 36 oz.) for a buck fifty. How about Miss Blanches? — we used to go there when the bars closed for iced coffee and fried egg sandwiches. Miss Blanche not only handled the grill, but also was a dispatcher for Your Cab Company.
supsalemgr
June 25th, 2010
5:40 pm
How is the “new” Allens doing out on Prince? I was in school duering the early 60’s and the place to go downstairs.
Rocket Rod
June 25th, 2010
5:40 pm
Nobody mentioned listening to Tony Pritchett at Tk’s on the deck or inside when it was to cold to play out. How about the 5th Quarter out on Atlanta Hwy to watch games. Also the Frog Pond and O’Malley’s, the 40 Watt or any frat party going on. Sitting on the deck at Sons of Italy eating great pizza and lots of beer. Wow you guys brought back some memories. Met the Great Lewis Grizzard at Tk’s where my best buds were Bar tenders. Don’t know if anything compares to tailgating before a Ga game, well maybe a lovely coed;-).
Thanks for the memories
Delbert D.
June 25th, 2010
5:41 pm
Somebody needs to open a Garden and Gun Club in Athens.
My impression of the magazine (my barber subscribes) is that its intended audience is a civilized man and his civilized wife.
BEST SCENARIO
June 25th, 2010
5:56 pm
guy, you are just another JELLOW JOCKITCH.
Fridawg
June 25th, 2010
6:11 pm
Walker’s Pub for Bloody Mary’s
Five Star Day Cafe for lunch (I like the Carolina BBQ)
Globe
The Grit (vegetarian, but great!)
1eyedJack
June 25th, 2010
6:33 pm
Anyone who believes that ignorance and racism are limited to the south should invest in some travel.
It’s a small world….and very, very, bad.
Anybody know how one might go about subscribing to that Garden and Guns magazine?
HBTD1
June 25th, 2010
6:40 pm
Guns & Gardens is actually an upper end magazine, so for the morons commenting on it in a negative manner, you obviously have ZERO class. You just proved your status to me, smart azzes!
Bill King
June 25th, 2010
7:19 pm
supsalemgr:
The new Allen’s is on Hawthorne, across from the Athens YMCA. Nice place. Much more upscale than the original.
HBTD1
June 25th, 2010
7:24 pm
Garden & Gun…….sorry! Guns were at the forefront of my mind because I’m irritated at some people making comments on stuff they don’t know jack about. Typically, GT folks!
kentucky cade
June 25th, 2010
7:26 pm
used to go to poss’s barbecue when cats were in town….pick up a copy of kickoff and get my stats….wonderful evening there last year when we whipped up on puppies
Bill King
June 25th, 2010
7:28 pm
NavySealDawg:
The old Allen’s in Normaltown is gone, but a new one is on Hawthorne. And Black Forest has moved from Normaltown out to Gaines School Road on the eastside.
guy
June 25th, 2010
7:50 pm
you’re seriously going to ban me bill? for not jumping on the ‘racism is ok if its a theme bar’ bandwagon. real mature buddy.
guy
June 25th, 2010
7:52 pm
and for some reason that post gets through….
feel free to point out when i ever said racism is confined only to the south, or that everyone in the south is a racist. im just saying have a ‘theme’ bar that glorifies slavery/the old south reflects poorly on an otherwise great college town.
DawginOH
June 25th, 2010
10:39 pm
Being a guy into both indie rock AND football, Athens is simply paradise. I miss that place so much… GO DAWGS!
#2 BAMA FAN
June 26th, 2010
5:59 am
The best two party towns in the SEC Athens and the city of the Red Stick!! RTR
GREENE
June 26th, 2010
6:33 am
There is another place in athens for fun we parked our r.v. there last year.a place called forest lodge we got there on thrusday and the mngr. gave us a good rate.his name is russ 706-372-1564.try it you would enjoy it.
supsalemgr
June 26th, 2010
7:56 am
Upscale and “Allens” does not go together.
Alphare
June 26th, 2010
11:03 am
Cannot believe you UGA homers. Seriously, who would give a flip about Athens except UGA fans? I’ve been to that little place, not impressed to say the least. I went route 316. A lot of establishments don’t even bother to keep their grass in shape.
Except Bill King, as an adult, who would want to hang out with a bunch of college kids? Not me.
FromtheBARstool
June 26th, 2010
11:44 am
why should there be so many bars in a college town? Most of the students are not of legal drinking age until their 4th year of school.
MissMina
June 26th, 2010
1:02 pm
I’ve only been away for a month since graduation and I miss Athens like crazy!! Gotta get back there ASAP!! GOOOOOO DAWGS!!!
FromtheBARstool
June 26th, 2010
1:16 pm
Why missMina? Found out your are “prego” and need to start the DNA testing atr the Sig Ep house to find the baby daddy?
T'Ville Dawg
June 26th, 2010
4:32 pm
O’Malley’s was at one time one of my favorites until they sold out on gameday to the Gators that one miserable Saturday when we were the hosts to the home and series.
T'Ville Dawg
June 26th, 2010
4:38 pm
Blast from the past-anyone remember “The Rail”-got served my first pitcher in Athens. Maybe not a memorable place, but it holds a special place in my heart.
GaDawg
June 26th, 2010
7:20 pm
@bbdawg
Thanks for jogging my memory! I had completely forgotten about the Sugar Shack, but who could forget about Effie’s?
s schoninger
June 27th, 2010
6:22 am
john mooney, who owned somebodys pizza killed t.k. hardy, and went to jail for it. there was a beer price war going on at the station, and mooney wanted to win.
Denise Griffin
June 27th, 2010
6:57 am
Guy, I got your drift about the article and the “red-neck craphole.” Of course, I’m a Georgia State U grad having nearly flunked out of UGA after many a drunken night at the B&L Warehouse in the mid-70s. By the way, after 4 years at GSU, I learned that “alot” is not a word (Destin Dawg & Burning Red Bleeding Black).
Denise Griffin
June 27th, 2010
7:14 am
By the way, just went online and viewed the Garden & Gun. Pretty well done magazine.
Bride of Chucky Knapp
June 27th, 2010
5:43 pm
Garden & Gun is actually a rather snobby upper crust mag for the country gentleman, but interesting. Too fancy shamcy for me, but I appreciate their effort at something than the normal men’s rag and worth checking out.
longdog
June 27th, 2010
7:17 pm
Back in 1965 when I went to UGA I saw Little Stevie Wonder play at the Full Moon bar He could still see because he had his glasses on.
Dirty Dawg
June 28th, 2010
9:16 am
If you don’t think UGA’s been a great place, name me another one where you could party with Ike and Tina Turner, or the Isley Brothers, or the Soul Sisters, or Bobby Blue Bland, or any number of others – and that was just at a Fraternity party. And since when was Effie’s ever anywhere but on River Road?…and the Effie’s I visited wasn’t made out of bricks – then again it was dark and I was pretty-well wasted.