Party x 2

I'm home sick today from massive amounts of planning, petitioning and, well, partying for the first Paste Issue Release Parties.

Went over to The Loft yesterday afternoon to catch the DAVE-FM Circle of Friends show with Robert Randolph & the Family Band. The Loft just got a facelift and looks awesome so far -- much better layout. Minus the crazy lighting at the show (neon, logos) it was unique to see Randolph in a smaller space with only 100ish people... not like the larger shows and festivals he usually plays.

Stuck around afterwards for our release party downstairs at Vinyl, one of my fav venues in town. Paste's business team and a few editors were on hand to host the VIP party before performances by Manchester Orchestra and What Made Milwaukee Famous. Meanwhile, up in NYC, Paste's senior team was hosting our release party concert with Beck, HEM, Hymns, and ?uestlove from The Roots (spinning between sets).

Atlanta was an early night... lots of other things going on across town (Criminal Records 15th Anniversary Party, Alejandro Escovedo, Robert Randolph's large show, etc) but there was a good turnout. Some folks from Turner, Coke and Delta came out to enjoy the night. Always fun to hear what our Atlanta business friends are working on.

Happy to see good shows from both the bands in Atlanta. If you haven't heard Manchester Orchestra or What Made Milwaukee Famous, you're missing out. I can't stress enough how good both debut CDs are. Was bummed that a lot of the crowd left after Manchester -- lesson learned, put local acts on last... wish more people'd seen the WMMF set.

Here's a good photo illustrating a marketing technique we'd never used before... not long til we have interns walking around Peachtree Street with sandwich boards...