It was not the same. My feet, for starters, simply refused to stick to the floor. It had no adhesive qualities whatsoever. Also, the beer tasted a little more like beer than I was used to. I recalled it having more of a dirty-pipes-and-taps aftertaste.
I didn't have to search for one of the small percentage of seats that was not broken, didn't worry about stumbling across the too-dark and not-too-even floor and didn't feel a pang of pity for a long line of ladies suffering in front of an under-stalled restroom. Those things, things that made the Georgia Theatre a unique and always special music experience have vanished.
I can't say I missed them one bit. In their place is a venue that, while retaining the spirit of the legendary Athens music hall, has become polished, professional and a wonder to behold.
I drove down Friday to catch one of the first shows at the Georgia Theatre, which was famously gutted by a fire two years ago. The band was Drive-By Truckers. The star was the Georgia Theatre.
It's clear there's a few bugs to be worked out. For instance, one employee was assigned to man the elevator that runs between the lobby and the new rooftop bar -- which is very nice, by the way. He said he would be there all night -- a bummer for him and a fairly inefficient use of manpower. The theater might have been better served by assigning him to the balcony bar, where a party of over-exuberant Trucker acolytes made life a little difficult for the more focused fans.
The real priority, however, has to be the sound. Granted, the Truckers are, on paper, a hard band to mix. They play loud, there's a lot of instrumentation and nobody in the band is a real belter. Still, the vocals seemed a little lost in the mix and instrumentation often felt more muddy than dynamic. I'm willing to chalk all these things up to growing pains, pains I'm extraordinarily grateful the Georgia Theatre has the opportunity to experience.
ART INSIDE THE LINES. The last coloring book I claimed as my own probably recounted the line-drawn adventures of G.I Joe. The next one, I feel, will be much more esoteric. An ad hoc collective of Augusta artists -- Jason Craig, Jay Jacobs, Rich Menger, Chris Murray, Staci Swider and Leonard 'Porkchop' Zimmerman -- will present The Artist's Coloring Book Vol. 1 at a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the new Gaartdensity gallery on the 1100 block of Broad Street. The book features four drawings by each artist inspired by the themes Things That Float, A Bad Idea, A Promise I Won't Keep and Getting Even. The limited-run books are $15 and the artists will be ready, Sharpie (or perhaps crayon) in hand to sign copies.
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