So it seemed like yesterday was much cooler than Friday. But that might just be because we missed most of the outdoor stuff.

Dave and I met some friends at The Grit for brunch and then we headed over to Ciné for the R.E.M. RETROSPECTIVE and Athens, GA - Inside/Out. After the movies, we walked back to my car at the paper (leaving his down there since we had a prime parking space).We stopped by Wuxtry where Dave bought some CDs that the athensmusic.net tent didn't have. We then headed home for some music swapping and a nap.

When we got back downtown, we were walking from the Morton to Tasty World to Farm 255 to the 40 Watt to Flicker to Ciné. And I have two very painful blisters to show for it.

So here are some pictures from last night. I won't be going to any shows today because I have to work in the office. Hope your AthFest was as fun as mine.

What's Our Name

First of all, I know you guys enjoyed the live blog that Julie and I did of the Flagpole awards. And I did try to tweet for you guys, but the Internet on my stupid phone wasn't working.

Well AthFest started for Blake and I with a tad bit of drama. I went to will call at Morton Theatre like I was told to pick up my press pass and ran into Blake there. However, our passes were not there. The people there were a little less than helpful and told us to go to the “Welcome tent” at the police sub station. So we walked up there in the 400-degree heat only to find a woman selling sunglasses. So then we made out way to an AthFest volunteer who told us to try the info tent near the main stage. THERE we finally got our passes.

Blake had to get back to the office and I headed to the main stage to see The Empties

Like beautiful and unique snowflakes, no two Pegasuses-XL shows are alike.

There’s a 50 percent chance that they will completely blow your mind, and a 50 percent chance that they won’t even remember how to play their own songs and you’ll want to walk out after two minutes. And I don’t think they’d be offended by that statement.

At last year’s AthFest, it was the former. In fact, it was the best thing I saw all weekend. As my colleague Julie Phillips wrote about their stunning, cathartic, drunken performance:

“My brain is rattled and my voice is hoarse. I have a low-grade headache and a nap is in my immediate future. … Leaving out extraneous details, there’s this that I re-discovered last night. Rock music is something that’s either embraced or embodied. Last night I witnessed the latter.”

How do you top that? Pegasus Jeff Tobias doesn’t know.

The scene: A small living room – more of a foyer, really – in a ramshackle house in the Hancock Corridor.

Half the room is taken up by some really overly enormous amps for such a small space, a tall guy with the most immaculate Jewfro since the Jimi Hendrix Experience broke up, local indie Svengali/drummer Mercer West and a foxy bassist – Puddin’ Tang. The other half is crammed with hipsters jumping up and down.

A few years, pounds and knee injuries ago, I might have been right there with them. In my ancient decrepitude, I thought it best to stand near the back and watch.

They’re rocking out, and the wood floor is starting to rock out with them. I mean, it’s really bouncing up and down. I’m starting to get worried. I edged a little closer to the wall, just to be safe.

In the early aughts, word start getting around Atlanta about a band called the Black Lips that went absolutely bananas during their shows, beating each other up, making out on stage, peeing in people’s mouths and all kinds of other crazy stuff.

I saw them for the first time at the EARL in 2003 or 2004. Their music was quite possibly the worst I’d ever heard. They jumped around and randomly banged on some guitars for 45 minutes, then started throwing firecrackers at the audience. The audience threw them right back. It was so energetic that it was still cool even though they played awful.

While the Lips’ schtick drew fans, it also got them banned from clubs all over the country, including the 40 Watt, where the drummer once set his kit on fire. The 40 Watt has since reinstated them, and they’ve been on their best behavior there ever since, even joking about the incident when they returned to the club in 2007.

Patterson Hood is playing sans Truckers for his headlining slot on the outdoor stage Saturday.

His backing band, the Screwtopians, is a supergroup of Athens and Texas musicians that includes Centro-matic frontman Will Johnson and Drive-By Trucker John Neff on guitar, Truckers producer Dave Barbe on bass, Truckers keyboardist and fiddler Scott Danborn and Truckers drummer Brad Morgan.

The band backed Hood on his second solo record, “Murdering Oscar (and other love songs), recorded at Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens and released Tuesday on Ruth Street Records. They’re wrapping up an eight-city tour with their AthFest gig.

Here’s a clip of Hood and the Screwtopians at Nuci’s Space:

Today, R.E.M. sees the 25th anniversary reissue of “Reckoning” — the 1984 album that contains some of my personal favorites — “Harborcoat” and “Camera.” Of course, it’s a classic through and through. The reissue features a second disc with a live show in Chicago at the Aragon Ballroom, recorded in July 1984, and I’m looking forward to getting a listen to this, too.

With a nod to that, tonight, Cine (organized by Jeff Montgomery) will open:

1984 R.E.M. RETROSPECTIVE
(1984, Digital, 30 min) In recognition of the 25th anniversary release of Reckoning on June 23, a collection of rare interviews and live performances from 1984. Showtimes: 8 p.m.Tuesday-Thursday, 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Kentucky rappers Nappy Roots scored a couple of Top 40 hits in 2002. So what are they doing playing a 12:40 p.m. Saturday set at AthFest?

“They got in touch with us at the very last minute and that was the only slot I had left,” booker Troy Aubrey said. “I think they’re trying to reconnect with the college students where they got their start.”

Not sure who Nappy Roots are? Maybe this will refresh your memory: