{a rare Popfest sight - an empty 40 Watt, by Rich Guiterrez}

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Athens Popfest is always the best week of the year for indie pop nerds, and this year was no exception. Think five days straight of raging shows, surrounded by so many old and new favorite bands and your "camp buddies" you only see once a year + 100 (or more) degree heat and southern humidity + cheap booze + insane nerdery. All I can really say is that it was epic, for so many reasons. Here are a few highlights.

Top five favorite bands:
1. Go Sailor
There was kind of no way that this wasn't going to be my favorite, as I'm a die hard Go Sailor fan, but their set was amplified by me and about 20 other die hard Go Sailor fans screaming along every word to every song. You just can't buy that kind of camaraderie and sense of community. At that moment, Go Sailor were our Beatles. We spent the whole set singing specific favorite lyrics to each other and jumping up and down and dancing our asses off. I consequently spent the rest of popfest without a voice. It was totally worth it. Their whole set was recorded and is on youtube, but here's my favorite song of the set "A Fine Day For Sailing". (That's us in the background.)

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{Thermals photo: Westin Glass / Superchunk photo: Jason Arthurs}

Last month's Imaginary Crafty Listening Party was bumpin with Lo & Behold Shrie teaching us all how to embroider {and armed us with TIG birdies to practice on} while we blissed out to the new Darren Hanlon and Menomena albums.

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Up next in the bands I'm chomping at the bit to see at Athens Popfest are Athens locals Witches, another band I hadn't heard until I saw them on the Popfest lineup. While they have the unfortunate slot of last on Wednesday night (an all day 2pm-2am run at the smaller venue, Little Kings), I know I'll be pounding the widely available vats of iced unsweet tea and pacing myself on the Little Kings drink special ($4 Makers Mark and Blendheim's ginger ale!) to be able to make it to 1am not too worn out and tipsy to properly enjoy Witches.

I've been listening to their myspace page for a few weeks now, but have been struggling with  how to describe them without too much ridiculous (and inaccurate) hyperbole, and the best I've come up with is a touch of mid-tempo late period Sleater-Kinney mixed with Silkworm's interpretations of Neil Young. Their popfest bio just says "Think: WIPERS, NIRVANA, DEAD MOON, THE BREEDERS, NEIL YOUNG, BEYONCE" and honestly, that's pretty accurate.

Check out this video with live audio and scenes from their performance at a Mexican restaurant in Athens.

{photo by Mike White/Deadly Designs from the Athens Popfest website}

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For this next installment of Athens Popfest hysteria, let me geek out about one of my favorite indie pop bands ever, the venerable Go Sailor, who happen to be performing right before the Wedding Present Thursday the 12th at the 40 Watt. BEST SHOW EVER!

Go Sailor probably have one the highest ratio of influence to released materials in indie pop. With just three EPs and a handful of compilation tracks to their name and 13 years of not playing shows, they’ve still managed to be one of the most important bands to multiple generations of indie pop kids. With the sweetest of love songs and the some of the best breakup anthems ever, their songs have provided the soundtrack for falling in and out of love on thousands upon thousands of mix tapes over the years.

To us younger generation pop fans, seeing Go Sailor perform live seemed like a futile wish until Rose Melberg (the Softies, Tiger Trap, her own solo material), Amy Linton (Henry’s Dress, the Aislers Set), and Paul Curran (Crimpshine) decided to give it a go for the Slumberland  Records 20th Anniversary parties in California this past March, and I’m pleased as punch that they’ll be joining the ranks for Popfest this year.

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So remember that Tullycraft covers compilation we mentioned a while back, Wish I'd Kept A Scrapbook? Well, it's done, and will be available for purchase next month. And, you can stream the whole thing on their website! I've been swooning all morning. This compilation features so many of my crush bands, like Gold-Bears, Fishboy, the Smittens, Bunnygrunt, and Math and Physics Club.

The folks at Unchikun Records have been nice enough to share a few MP3s, so for your listening pleasure, check out two of my favorite songs from the comp, Hot Lava covering "Pink Lemonade" and the Medusa Snare covering "Every Little Thing".

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I've had the fortune of crossing paths with Tom Brosseau many times in the five years since we first met, and it's always been nothing short of total perfection. An intimate show at an all-ages venue back east, a night at the Living Room in New York City, sharing the stage with Ethan Rose and Shelley Short at the Tractor -- the list goes on and on. Both coasts and many stellar performances later, we recently landed at the 18th floor of the Hilton Garden in at SXSW together, and I got to experience Tom's work in a whole new light.

He's out on a purposeful small-room tour this go-round, bringing magic to our ears as part of a duo with the incredibly talented Angela Correa.  Sweet, deconstructed original numbers carry their voices in a perfect blend of melody, with little more than Tom's acoustic meanderings and a foot tap here and there to keep the time. It's dramatic while remaining completely understated, powerful and intimate, and absolutely not-to-be-missed.

Check out their MySpace for a proper sampling of this modern take on some standard sounds, and then grab your ID and come down to Hattie's tonight. With all this and Shelley Short opening up the night, you won't be disappointed. Promise.

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Join us Sunday, June 27 from 1p-3p at Neptune Coffee for the second edition of our Imaginary Crafty Listening Party! Last month we had a glorious time making new crafty friends and debuting the new Math & Physics Club album.  This time around, we'll fill the air with the likes of two album we think should be on your must-have summer playlist:

Carissa's Wierd - They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave: Songs 1996-2003
This retrospective reminds us why Carissa's Wierd should be counted as one of the most important bands to come out of Seattle. They perfected elegant sadness and inspired the beard-core movement that has penetrated today's music charts.

The album releases July 13, 2010 on Hardly Art and they will knock our socks off at the Showbox at the Market on July 9. Listen to "Die" on repeat.

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It's no secret that we here at Three Imaginary Girls LOVE Nana Grizol. The magical twitter birds happened to post this news today:

June 29th at the Mine (5113 Russell Ave NW)

Defiance, OH (Theo NG's other band)

Kimya Dawson

Your Heart Breaks

Theo Grizol (his solo sets are so magical!)

Chin Up, Meriwether

8pm sharp, $6-$10

Though it's a Tuesday, we feel this show needs no explanation. Without the horns and the double drums and exploding energy, what's left in Theo's songs are beautiful, heartwrenching tales of friendships and relationships so honest and true that it's hard not to instantly relate.

I recently came into posession of a Nana Grizol Inspirational Pillow Case with the phrase (from the song "Galaxies") "What you now are seeking hope to realize. Don't give it til the weekend it will takes weeks months years it will take you your whole life". Just think about that one for a while and try not to be inspired.

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WOAH Babes! Like pop? PDX Pop Now! has put together a pretty great festival to celebrate their seventh year of supporting the Portland music scene. The dates are July 30th through August 1st, at Rotture. Think it's worth the trip?

Aan / AgesAndAges / AndAndAnd / Asss / Atriarch / AU / Autistic Youth / Ben Darwish / Billygoat / Blue Cranes / Blue Horns / Brainstorm / Cloudy October / Defect Defect / Da’Rel Junior / Eternal Tapestry / Fear No Music / Get Hustle / Grey Anne / Guantanamo Baywatch/ Hockey / Hosannas / I Can Lick Any Son of A Bitch In The House / Jackie-O Motherfucker/ Joey Casio / Joggers / Krebsic Orkestar / Kung Pao Chickens / Kusikia / Lewi Longmire / Luck One / Michael The Blind / Operative / Parenthetical Girls / Please Step Out of The Vehicle /Reporter / Rollerball / Shoeshine Blue / Skeletron / Soup Purse / SubArachnoid Space / Tiny Knives / Tu Fawning / The Tumblers / Typhoon / Wampire / Why I Must Be Careful / Ylang Ylang

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Lucky us! It's been less than a year since Fishboy's last stop in our fair city, and now, he's back for more! This time, he'll be solo, accompanied by only his fantastic songs and his wit. Lead Fish-dude Eric Michener writes insanely catchy and clever albums, such as 2007's rock opera Albatross: How We Failed To Save the Lone Star State with the Power of Rock and Roll about trying (and failing) to save the state of Texas with the ghost of Buddy Holly (one of my favorite albums of the last decade). It's like if Neutral Milk Hotel wrote fun songs all in the vein of "Holland 1945" instead of heartbreaking ones. You can stream the entire album here.

Rumor has it Fishboy is working on a new album right now. We got a bit of a taste the last time they were in town at Vera, though I've heard most of those songs have been scrapped. Michener always has a way of keeping his fans on their toes, so you never know what to expect, except a great time filled with fantastic songs. Stop into the Mars Bar on Friday to check out someone we can truly call a Three Imaginary Girls favorite. Show starts at 8:30 (Fishboy's on first) and also playing are the Terrordactyls, the Heligoats, and ten speed.

{Fishboy photo by Steve Louie}