Hope for the Night

Claire and Page of Hope for Agoldensummer

Thursday night was one of the most musically satisfying nights of my life. From 5 pm to 10 pm, I managed to catch four different acts, each with its own unique sound and style. Even better, each show was free and took place on the UGA campus. How amazing is that! You’ve gotta love UGA.

The first band of the night, Hope for Agoldensummer, was one I’ve been trying to see for a while now. I kept hearing and reading about them, and naturally, I rejoiced when I found out that they would be playing at the Take Back the Night event in order to promote nonviolent relationships. As they began to play, I soaked in the sweet melodies of their songs with a smile on my face. If I was to compare their sound to any of the other Athens acts I’ve seen, I’d say it is closest to that of Venice is Sinking. However, unlike VIS, Claire and Page of Hope for Agoldensummer keep it simple with just a few acoustic guitars and the occasional musical saw. Overall, I enjoyed their songs although they seemed to struggle a bit to remain on-key during their performance. The highlight of their short set was the cover of Aliyah’s “Somebody.” They managed to sing that song with a soulful air not heard in any of their other songs. One of the girls even rapped Timberland’s lines to the amusement of the audience.

I always place great importance on band/fan interaction, and Hope for Agoldensummer did not disappoint. They shared silly stories with their listeners, and they even dedicated one of the songs to an audience member. Also, one of the girls had baked five pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and she offered them to the audience at the end of the show. That’s probably one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen a band do.

After their 30-minute set ended, another band Incatepec began their show. Markedly different, Incatepec most closely resembled a South American flute band with jazz and rock touches. They had a wide range of instruments from an ocarina to a saxophone, and they played songs from both Latin America and South America. They even played a spiced up version of an old rainforest tune my mother used to listen to on tape when I was a child. It was rather nice to experience a bit of nostalgia and to get a taste of culture from their songs. However, the night was far from over…