Pylon Reenactment Society resurrects Athens, Georgia, underground legends at the Veranda

Drivin’ N Cryin’ playing an anniversary show in Orlando is notable enough to venture out to the Veranda, but the other Southern icon on the bill is enough to inspire a good ol’ Looney Tunes spit take from us. Pylon are legends of the fertile Athens underground of the early 1980s – on par with their better-known contemporaries R.E.M. and the B-52s – and a group whose angular, brittle, but deeply groovy and buoyant sound is an inextricable element of the DNA of modern indie music. Pylon released their influential debut album, Gyrate, in 1980, a perfect Southern answer to the deep grooves of Gang of Four and PiL, and carved out a niche as an oft-copied cult act before disbanding in 1991, later regrouping in the early 2000s to record for DFA. The death of guitarist Randall Bewley put an end to the original Pylon, but Pylon Reenactment Society is an utterly charming successor. Members of Casper & the Cookies and the Glands support utterly inimitable Pylon frontperson Vanessa Briscoe Hay on a romp through the Pylon catalogue. Still got that Attitude …

with Drivin’ N Cryin’, Giddy Up Go, Catfish Dinner | 6 p.m. Friday, May 11 | The Veranda at Thornton Park, 111 N. Summerlin Ave. | 407-797-4145 | verandaevents.com | $20

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