George!

Did you ever see one thing that reminded you of something that you thought happened at the same place as that one thing, only to realize later that the something didn’t happen at that place, it happened at another place, not the place where that one thing happened that made you think about the something to begin with? Yeah, me too; I do it all the time.

That is exactly what happened here. I saw this clip of REK singing at the Georgia Theatre and it reminded me of how when I was attending graduate school at the University of Georgia in Athens (June 1989 to June 1990) I would go to the Georgia Theatre all the time to see dollar movies. I thought about how I saw Sex, Lies, and Videotape there, as well as the first Lethal Weapon movie, and I don’t remember what else. And then I thought about how the theatre would roll these credits or messages at the beginning of the shows. I presume they said things like “don’t smoke” and “don’t talk” and “take your crying baby outside”; I know they did not say “don’t talk on your cell phone” because we didn’t have cell phones back then. That bit of film trailer also gave you the names of the theatre manager, and this person and that person; but the last name that you’d see before the real previews started was that of the custodian. There it was, big and clear on the screen, “George Johnson, Custodian”. And everyone would yell out “George!” and would hoop and holler and probably take a swig of whatever they had snuck in. It was kind of like some of the things you just know to holler out when you go see The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Ah yes, the Georgia Theatre in Athens. My key to a trip down memory lane.

But none of that happened at the Georgia Theatre. In fact, I don’t know that I ever went into the Georgia Theatre. This occurred to me because I thought “I don’t really remember the movie theatre having a stage.” So I began the process of conducting in-depth research, meaning I looked it up on Wikipedia, where I learned “The Theatre […] shut down again in the early 1980s, and spent a few years as a movie house with occasional shows. It was reopened as a venue in 1989, and the Theatre has since hosted many of the major touring acts that come through Athens.”

Further research (Google) told me that my “George!” memory was at the Georgia Square 5, which amazingly is still doing dollar shows. Here is a quote from a theatre-goer who turned in a review of the place. It sounds like exactly how I might have described it back in 1990:

“Can't beat it: Sure, the seats are old and ragged and the sound is not Dolby digital surround but for 2 dollars, 1 dollar on Tuesdays, you can have a fun night out and barely scratch the bank. They have 5 screens which rotate movies in every so often. (typically they have at least 1 new movie each week and average about 6 on any given week) They don't always have every movie but they do a good job on selecting the ones they do choose. It has character and quite frankly, it makes me feel good to walk into the place.”

So, yeah, it turns out my memory of the Georgia Theatre is no memory at all.

Searching through YouTube to see what else might be posted from the Georgia Theatre (lots), I saw this clip of a Luke Bryan concert there. Here he’s playing the song “Good Directions” which he wrote and Billy Currington sang and made a hit of it. I always resisted liking this song until I found out Luke Bryan wrote it. Anyway, I offer this to you as something to watch the next time that, after putting drops in your ear (presumably for medicinal purposes), you need to lay on your side for 3 minutes and 46 seconds. (Watch the video. You’ll understand.)



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Music I’m Listening to Now: Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 on Rhapsody.com
What I’m Reading Now: David Wroblewski, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.