If you’ve never been to The Atlantic, I’ll give you a quick rundown: it’s a laid-back, intimate little hole-in-the-wall bar with great beer – I recommend the Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro – and fun, quirky décor. An owl lamp and a ceramic cat behind the bar? Yes, please.
The Atlantic hosts theme nights throughout the week, my favorite being Wednesday’s Motown Showdown, when they play a mix of soul, funk, ’60s dance hits, and all of your favorite Motown jams.
On Oct. 16, The Atlantic welcomed two acts from very different walks of life: The Larry Mitchell Trio and The Savants of Soul.
The Larry Mitchell Trio is led by Grammy award-winning producer/engineer and guitarist Larry Mitchell, who wowed the audience with his innovative, soulful guitar riffs. Russ Garner on drums had the crowd (myself included) whooping and hollering for more, and Austin Solomon on bass had no shortage of mind-bendingly awesome solos, tying it all together seamlessly for an inventive and original blend of jazz, blues, soul, and funk.
The Trio met and started playing music together nearly 2 years ago in Auburn, Alabama; Mitchell, originally from New York, has been playing guitar for nearly 40 years, and Garner and Solomon from New Jersey are both graduates of the prestigious Berklee College of Music. They are currently touring up and down the East Coast and Midwest and will be ending their tour in early December.
Next up was The Savants of Soul, a nine-piece (normally 12-piece) band, formed in 2010 by Alex Klausner, Wilson Stern, and John Gray Shermyen. Their performance featured the ardent vocal stylings of Justin McKenzie, Kylie Winkles, and Christina Holder; on guitar was Billy Schmucker, with Stern and Klausner on percussion, Shermyen on bass, Mandy Moo on trumpet, and David Rinehart on tenor saxophone. Their dynamic set included covers of Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye, along with original pieces that had the crowd on their feet dancing, singing, and begging for an encore.
The Savants of Soul have played all manner of gigs throughout Gainesville’s downtown area, from 1982 to The Jam, as well as events on UF’s campus. They’ve had the pleasure of playing alongside such acts as Thomas Wynn & The Believers, Dopapod, The Toasters, and The Wailers. The group, Klausner said, hopes to go on tour in the near future. In the meantime, they will be playing Soulfest 2013 at UF’s O’Dome on Oct. 26.
If you get a chance to see either of these bands, I suggest you seize the opportunity! Both performances were electric, the crowd was lively, and the atmosphere was incredibly cozy. I’ve never had as much fun moving and grooving with a bunch of strangers as I did watching The Larry Mitchell Trio and The Savants of Soul. Not only will I be returning to The Atlantic to try a few of their many craft beers (I hear they have a pumpkin beer on tap around this time of year), I’ll also be getting my hands on some of the bands’ music to blast in my car all around town!
