A buzz worthy lineup and the "Return of Allison Weiss"

All of the bands on 40 Watt's bill last Friday night have garnered quite a bit of buzz about themselves. As such, I knew I would just have to split my time between my friends' graduation and this crazy stacked lineup. Kicking off the night, the Young Orchids played for us a very indie set with a sort of old school vibe. Their soft pop rock songs layered with the punk-like vocals of the lead singer gave them a bit of a unique edge, and I was certainly intrigued when they whipped out maracas for one of the tunes.

Next up were the Winter Sounds, a band I was introduced to very early in my exploration of the local music scene. I've always been a fan of their rich and powerful sound and their beautifully soft yet upbeat style. This time around, the band featured what seemed to be a whole slew of new members whose presence added a brand new dimension to their tunes though admittedly also made them a bit less cohesive than I remember. The sweet melody of the violin intermixed with the rock, however, was undoubtably exciting, and their banter between songs was just plain hilarious.

Then it was time for the widely advertised return of Allison Weiss. Back in the day, people would refer to her as the queen of the Athens music scene, but she has since changed things up by making the big move up to New York and trimming her locks as well. Fans of Allison can rest assured , though, that she still employs that rather adorably awkward style of crowd banter between songs that had been something of a trademark when she lived here. Backed by members of the Winter Sounds for many of her newer songs, she started things off with the familiar tune I'm Ready before launching into a set that alternated between slower melodies and very upbeat dance tunes. The latter of these naturally caused an eruption of hipster dancing at its finest right in front of the stage as the other fans mouthed the words to every song along with her. During the performance of a cover, Allison even brought two of the dancers onstage to move behind her as she sang. Quite a crazy time!

Finally, after an Eminim song served to us by two girls calling themselves Feminem, headliners Misfortune500 finished out the night with a set that, once again, was impossibly better than their last. These guys are definitely among my top favorites in the scene, no question about it. What a show!