Athfest 2013: Modern Skirts bid Athens farewell

Friday, June 21st, 2013 
 Modern Skirts

As darkness fell over the city on Friday evening, an era in Athens music came to an end.  Modern Skirts, longtime rulers of the local music scene and beyond, played their final show together under the bright lights of the Pulaski Stage, the crowd hanging onto every last note.  After a touching intro, the band rocked it out with an insane level of tangible enthusiasm that the fans matched with their wild excitement.  Tossing a chorus over to the crowd, the fans sang the words back to the band they loved, filling each lyric with joy and energy. Then with great gusto, singer Jay smashed his maracas, spraying beans all over the stage as the bass reverberated up through the entire street.  Kneeling on the road in the press area, I felt the music and the beat wind it's way through me, immersing me in a full body rock experience.  The fans felt it too as they danced along gleefully, obviously relishing every minute of the show.  Just before leaving in the interim before the encore, drummer John jumped offstage to gift his drumsticks to one of their most passionate fans.  Screaming like a banshee, she accepted them with an expression of awe on her face.  Gotta love a band that cares so much about the people who have loved and supported them all of these years!

As they returned for their encore and struck up their final tune of the show, Jay gave a heartfelt dedication to the song, declaring, "This is for us and you and everybody."  Deafening cheers rose up as the band finished their song and gathered onstage for the very last time as the Modern Skirts.  There truly could not have been a more perfect send off!

For all of our massive coverage of Athfest 2013, from preparation guides to articles on some of the best featured bands and shows, click here! More entries on all the bands and madness of the festival will be posted daily, so be sure to check back often. Plus, soon you'll be able to check out our show footage and Athfest vlogs up on the Echoreyn of Athens YouTube channel as well!