Ten years ago two beautiful babies were born from the minds of Bill Doss, Will Cullen Hart, Robert Schneider and Jeff Mangum: The Olivia Tremor Control and The Elephant Six Recording Company. Both began as the musical journey of four highschool friends from Louisiana. In the early nineties, Schneider headed to Colorado where he would later form The Apples in Stereo, another E6 band. While Schneider branched out west, Mangum and Hart headed to Athens, Georgia the begin work on Synthetic Flying Machine. Later, Doss left NYC where he'd been working with Chocolate USA to join Mangum and Hart in creating the Olivia Tremor Control.

The rich southern soil of Athens nurtured their musical minds and shortly after releasing the California Demise EP, Olivia Tremor Control began working on their second EP. By now an official line-up was established with Mangum leaving to concentrate on Neutral Milk Hotel (I don't know, you may have heard of them). Hart and Doss were joined by drummer Eric Harris, bassist John Fernandes, and keyboardist Peter Erchick. With the help of Schneider, Mangum and host of other E6 musicians, the band created some of the sweetest, thickest, most interesting pop music since Brian Wilson became agoraphobic. And their first album: Music from the unrealized film script: Dusk at Cubist Castle was a landmark in indie-pop history. Olivia Tremor Control went on to release Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One in 1999 and enjoyed much success. Sadly, the demands of touring and independent projects tore the band to shreds shortly thereafter.

In 2001, a bored high school senior wandered into her public library to find Dusk at Cubist Castle in the compact disc section. Intrigued by the album art and recognizing the name from something having to do with Neutral Milk Hotel, she checked it out and immediately fell in love. Alas, she was unrequited and later heartbroken to find that the band was kaput and no longer touring. For the next four years, she clung to burned copies of her library finds and her prized copy of the singles compilation released by Emperor Norton/Kindercore Reconrds, holding her breath and crossing her fingers for a reunion, somehow, someway. On April 15, 2005, now a jaded college senior, she headed to Athens, Georgia, for the show she's waited her whole musical life for: The Olivia Tremor Control Reunion.

Five hours I drive north along I-75. For the first four and half hours, I talk myself into not listening to any OTC but once I see the familiar signs boasting the mileage to Athens, I can't help myself. With Black Foliage at full blast and the sun beginning to set I sped along those stupid two lane country roads fantasizing about the set list and the possiblity of being in the same room as Jeff Mangum. Beers and hours later, my friends and I arrive at the 40 Watt after hearing a disturbing rumor that the club oversold the show. The crowd outside was much calmer than I expected, but tension was high when Bill Doss, the man himself, tried to cut through the mob to get in and was turned away by the doorman. The people in front of me actually accused him of cutting--Athens entitlement issues in action.

I had never been to the 40 Watt and I found it to be a pretty generic venue: dirty bathrooms, two bars, cheap Pabst with a better-than-expected sound system. The best thing about the 40 Watt (other than the giant cans of PBR) are the couches in the back by the sound setup. Perfect place to sit and watch the crowd as the predictable uninteresting opener, Elf Power, played the same sound for a solid hour. Finally, 12:30 am, Olivia Tremor Control takes the stage. The original line-up, Doss, Hart, Fernandes, Harris, and Erchick, plus E6 celebs, Scott Spillane (Neutral Milk Hotel), Julian Koster, and Hannah Jones put everyone in their place with "A Peculiar Noise Called Train Director" to start. Just like the albums, the songs flowed effortlessly into one another as "Jumping Fences" became "Holiday Surpise 1,2,3" and then "Define a Transparent Dream". The textures that are so rich and palpable on their recordings were not lost in the live setting and they sounded as tight and as fresh as the first time I listened to Dusk.

I prepared for a let down as I heard rumors from Athens-townies that some band members weren't too excited about the show. An abprubt stop halfway through the set scared me and John Fernandes told the crowd, "We'll be back in five minutes." My friend and I shared a disappointed look and invented a fight they could be having backstage. While we joked about which bandmember was getting voted out, a parade of marching musicians: horns, tubas, acordions, percussion, bombard the entrance and snake through the anxious audience toward the stage. The entire band took five minutes to circle the building, rally more E6 orchestra members, and lead a procession back to their places on stage. It was a perfectly timed treat and a joy to watch everyone react with happiness and surprise, especially the band. Any hint of awkwardness was dispelled after the band's whimsy showed it's face.

The show rode the wave of high energy until just after 2:30am when the band thanked us, put down their instruments with reverance and walked off stage. That didn't last long, however, as the crowd's cheers demanded an encore which came in the form of "I Can Smell the Leave" and "The Opera House". I have never heard a more emotionally charged and connected encore. For the first time in my experience of going to shows, I felt that my enthusiasm and emotional investment matched the band's perfectly and though I was standing in the back on a broken sofa, it was as though I could see their faces with the crisp detail of digital film. I left the show that night feeling as though I'd been jumping on a trampoline for three hours.

Usually, I am disappointed when I expect so much from a musical experience, but Olivia Tremor Control was worth every second of waiting. However, in hindsight, there was one snag: no Jeff Mangum. Am I the only one out there clinging to the dream of a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion? I'll just have to wait and see. . .

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