It's a holly jolly Squidmas!

It's that time of year again when reindeer antlers miraculously sprout from the heads of Athens music fans, elf hats are a common sight to behold, and Santa Claus himself makes his way to 40 Watt. What could possibly bring about so much festive joy? SQUIDMAS, of course! There's nobetter way to ring in the holiday season, that's for sure. As yearly Athens music events go, Squidmas is second only to the magic that is the 150+ band show Athfest in my mind. And joy upon joys, the third (official) annual Squidmas last Tuesday night definitely did not disappoint!

First on the bill was the brand new local band Flesh and Blood. Although they are certainly newcomers on the scene, most of the members are no strangers to Squidmas, having performed at last year's celebration under the name, Romanenko. Now, you know what's cool about Flesh and Blood? There are three women in this band and just one guy. As I've said in the past, this is such a tragic rarity in Athens. And, wow, do they know how to rock! It's no surprise that sales of this year's Squidmas album went towards helping women rockers enter the music scene. Power to them all! Flesh and Blood played through their set, one amazing song after another, each infused with hints of lovely darkness. How can there be so much brilliance in just their

second show? It seems the bands of Athens are certainly stepping up their game lately. I've no doubt that I WILL be seeing them again!

Craving that warm fuzzy feeling? Well, at Squidmas, we were all in luck because cheer-inspiring rockers the Warm Fuzzies were up next. Amidst their Christmas covers, they gave us a brand new original song about wishing for an alien for Christmas. Pure awesome! But, really, nothing could beat the holiday version of their hit song Hey Milunka. Calling the song Hey Santa, they had everyone in the crowd smiling with this take on the tune. Joy!

And then the moment had arrived... The band we were all waiting for stepped onstage... I mean, really, what is Squidmas without a nice, healthy dose of Doctor Squid? Now these guys topped

themselves this year with a set that would make Santa's own head explode with excitement. How can they possibly throw a better Squidmas every year than the year before? HOW DO THEY DO IT? Intermixing their hit songs with countless beloved Christmas tunes, they gave us a set only Doctor Squid could. Seriously, this band is the only band in Athens that could release a whole full-length album of original Christmas mixes that tons of people would buy without hesitation. And these guys never fail to throw a party at their shows! Their signature slow-to-speed style is just perfect for the madness that is Squidmas. By the end of the night, they had a massive crowd of fans leaping about, clapping wildly, and even crowdsurfing to their tunes! It was a thing of beauty.

Truly, I think we can sum it all up with a few words from Jessie of Flesh and Blood who, in the most epic way, declared that "never before and never again will there be holiday spectacular such as this that is Squidmas!" Squidmas is my favorite.