The post below got me thinking. It's true, Avail ain't been doing much the last few years, and there are reasons legitimate reasons for that. Nobody's hating, we're all getting older and settling down and Avail has been a huge part of our life experiences. Sooooo, what do y'all think their "peak" would have been? Between whatever album(s) were new and the tours that supported those albums, what time period would you say is your favorite or that they were at the top of their game?
0 Kudo
AVAIL's golden age?
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 Scotty B Augusta County |
AVAIL's golden age? |
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Posts: 128 (07/28/07 09:49:33) |
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eastcoastpete |
huh? | ||
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Posts: 236 (07/28/07 13:16:32) |
It's insane and insulting to think they're not STILL at the top of thier game, even with fewer releases and shows.
insane. |
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genu |
avail | ||
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Posts: 495 (07/28/07 15:18:46) |
they are like a fine wine..getting better with age
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Scotty B Augusta County |
vino | ||
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Posts: 128 (07/29/07 08:28:49) |
Aww jeez fellas, I didn't mean to insult anyone or come off as cuccoo or anything. I guees I was just reminiscing about the One Wrench era. Summer of '00, I had just went through this awful breakup and One Wrench came out. It was so different than Over the James in that it was more aggresive, to the point, depressed and pissed at the same time. Then I saw them at the Tremont in Charlotte and it was the best non-RVA show I've ever seen. I guess to me, in my life experience, that was sort of the best AVAIL time. The lyrics of the songs really helped get through some tough, drunken, strung out times, and the music helped just release from all of it just wile out. Is that how you would spell "wile out?" Anyways, no disrespect to the band or any of my fellow AVAIL board geeks.
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genu |
scotty | ||
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Posts: 495 (07/29/07 12:26:01) |
your dead to us!!!!
ha jk |
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michaelpclark |
Re: scotty | ||
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Posts: 105 (07/29/07 15:09:29) |
Yeah I couldn't even judge that... Dixie is one of my favorite albums ever, but that probably has more to do with the time of the life it came out and I first discovered Avail. Every album has different qualities I love. And I thought they were finished before Front Porch Stories came out, so that was even a nice surprise. Plus The Falls and West Wye are 2 of my favorite Avail songs yet. Can't wait for the next album, I really liked the live acoustic song they posted on the site.
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avail138 |
I'm with Scotty..... | ||
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Posts: 495 (08/02/07 17:30:12) |
I was a late bloomer with Avail. Over the James was my first CD and One Wrench was about to come out. My first live show was on the One Wrench tour and I was going through quite a lot personally and Avail just hit me like a ton of bricks.
Seeing them live was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The girl with me was being a pain and just sat by herself. I had the time of my life as well as 5 or 6 times after that seeing them in either Chicago or St. Louis. As far as them winding down, I don't know. Front Porch Stories is probably my 2nd favorite after Over the James so they still have it in them. They're not 20 years old anymore and touring, drinking, and not sleeping catches up with you quick. Hell, if I go out one night I'm spent the whole next day. I can only imagine what it's like in a hot stinky van. Tim's solo stuff tides me over though. It's just as great as Avail and just as moving so as long as the guys are still creating music, I'm happy. |
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 joemamma |
mmmm | ||
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Posts: 978 (08/05/07 20:20:20) |
youre right about the age thing. seems like it ised to be i could handle two shows in two nights.. but after that last tour the band did i had a 3 day hangover. maybe its cuz i bring my A game to AVAIL.
even the day after the tim / drag the river show i was fuggin beatdown. of course i think that has something to do with a shot of whiskey at the end of the festivites. as for avail hangin it up, i think they still got it goin on. (altho i was worried after the 02 tour and no one came to the shows) any band that hasnt put out a new record in nearly 5 years and still bring people in to sing along to the same old tunes like its the first time theyve done it must be doin somthing right. |
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joemamma |
Re: mmmm | ||
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Posts: 978 (08/05/07 20:21:39) |
man my typin sux
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brat |
golden age | ||
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Posts: 7 (08/07/07 11:13:06) |
I guess the question depends on how you define 'Golden Era' - are you talking about productivity, like touring? recording? popularity?
If that's the case, the golden era was probably in the mid-late 90s when punk and hardcore were hugely popular in suburbia... when they seemed to put new music out constantly, toured a ton (they still do, but it seems like they don't because they never come to Canada). I remember seeing them several times back then, and the only band that has ever rivaled Avail for live shows was (R.I.P.) At The Drive In. Funny thing, is that given how much people love Avail, I think their Golden Era is, in a way, ongoing, even as they slow down. Avail is a very unique band in that they have a *very* loyal following - I think because their music hits at a very raw, intense level - a fanbase which only grows larger with the years/generations. They probably have exponentially more fans now than they did 15 years ago. How many of us grew up with Avail (I did. I first heard Dixie when I was 14 - I'm now 26) and how many of us are raising our kids to love Avail as much as we do? So, objectively maybe their albums aren't there and they're not touring as much, and they're doing much more solo work... but subjectively, they've probably never been loved more. Anyway, love 'em. Glad they're still around. They're like, my soul band or something. They've stood the test of time, I love them as much as ever, and there is always some lyric or song that I listen to obsessively during the hard times, because it manages to so perfectly capture what I'm feeling (think Lombardy St and Fall Apart for hard times with my ex-boyfriend - these songs have engrained themself in the soundtrack of my life). |
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michaelpclark |
Re: golden age | ||
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Posts: 105 (08/08/07 03:12:15) |
I agree, Brat. When they came through here with the Draft last April, the crowd was pretty small but it was so many of the same people who were there the first time they played the Detroit area in 96. It was like a family reunion.
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