RadATL New music

Revisiting Pylon Reenactment Society’s ‘Christmas Daze’


Pylon Reenactment Society’s “Christmas Daze” captures that peculiar mix of frantic motion and quiet clarity that settles in around the holidays. The song was born on instinct during a late-2021 rehearsal: bass player Kay Stanton dropped a riff that snapped the room into sharp focus. Within minutes the group had a new song on their hands. They carried that momentum straight into Chase Park Transduction, tracking the tune on December 29, 2021, while the season’s energy still hung in the air. The song was initially released via Bandcamp on December 1, 2023.

“Christmas Daze” follows a lone traveler who runs out of gas on the way to and from a family gathering. But the breakdown serves as a reset. Instead of leaning into frustration, the song’s narrator reconnects with the small charms that make the holidays worthwhile. Tiny flashes of warmth are found in roadside stillness, the glow of passing decorations, and the quiet pause between obligations.

Pylon Reenactment Society. Photo by Christy Bush

PRS delivers it all with their signature taut and wiry pulse. Vanessa Briscoe Hay’s voice cuts through like a cold wind, carrying equal parts wry humor and wonder. Jason NeSmith’s guitar sparks and coils around Gregory Sanders’ crisp drumming, and Stanton’s riffs propel the music forward. ‘Christmas Daze’ hums with the notion that life moves better when you stay present enough to catch the beauty flickering in every passing second.

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RadATL Atlanta shows

Five Eight and the Ladies Of … ring in the holidays at Smith’s Olde Bar on Fri., Dec. 12

Five Eight photo by Marc Pilvinsky

Five Eight plays Smith’s Olde Bar on Friday, December 12, delivering a jolt of Athens-born punk and pop catharsis for the holiday season. 

Fresh off a year of renewed energy sparked by Marc Pilvinsky’s documentary Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight, the group released their first new single in over six years, a ramped up number titled “Take Me To the Skate Park.” A successful run at SXSW served as a sharp reminder that Five Eight’s fire still burns with undeniable force.


Now, Five Eight is one of the first 100 bands announced to play SXSW 2026. In the meantime, the group hits the Music Room stage with the force of a band that’s lived through triumph, tragedy, and chaos, only to come out swinging.


Their latest single, “I’m Alone,” arrived on Nov. 7, offering a sharp, emotional snapshot of the songwriting depth that has elevated Five Eight from an underdog to a bonafide Georgia music fixture. With a new album slated to arrive next Spring via hardcore label Static Era, the show offers a chance to catch the band as they embark on a bold new chapter.

Singer and guitar player Mike Mantione, bass player Dan Horowitz, guitarist Sean Dunn, and drummer Patrick “Trigger” Ferguson share the stage with the Ladies Of… featuring James Hall, whose hybrid of glam, punk, hillbilly boogie, and dark-edged poetry turns every set into a spectacle. Hall’s presence alone brings an electric gravity to the room—equal parts swagger, invocation, and celebration. Together, Five Eight and The Ladies Of… promise a holiday show that trades sentimentality for sweat, noise, and raw, communal release.

In the true spirit of the season, the Music Room will also feature a photo booth. There will also be blind contour drawings by artist Kayti Didriksen, adding a visual counterpoint to the evening’s sonic fireworks.

Before the show at Smith’s, Five Eight’s Mike Mantione and James Hall make a stop at Criminal Records on Thursday, December 4, hosting a listening party for their new holiday tune “Christmas Without You.”

The Criminal Records in store show is free. Music starts at 4 p.m.

For the Smith’s Olde Bar show, doors open at 7 p.m., showtime is 8 p.m. $20 (advance). $30 (day-of show). $48 (VIP pre show meet-and-greet, includes a signed poster).

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RadATL Uncategorized

Southern fried rock ‘n’ roll Christmas feat. Elzig with the Captain & Maybelle at Dixie Tavern Friday, December 18

Elzig didn’t have nothin’ to do with that Danzig Sings Elvis LP that came out back in April. But the Southern-fried lord of the left-hand path knows how to celebrate when those blue snowflakes start fallin’! On Friday, December 18, at 9 p.m. there’ll be a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on when the Demon King tears into the collective greatest hits of both Danzig and Elvis—steeped in skulls and rhinestones.

America’s favorite sideshow couple, Captain & Maybelle, brighten up the holiday season with a set of sword-swallowing laughs and old-world oddities. You saw them at “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!,” on “America’s Got Talent,” and “Wife Swap.” Now catch them live and in the flesh. $10. 9 p.m. The Dixie Tavern, 2349 Windy Hill Rd SE #130, Marietta.

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