The last time I had the chance to ask Eric Bachmann directly about his former band Archers of Loaf, he had just put out a very quiet and reflective solo album that was miles removed from the Chapel Hill icons' punk-pop roar. And he professed not to miss the Archers, even though he was still in touch with his three bandmates.
"We're all still good friends and we still talk, but I don't miss the band," Bachmann said. "Now future records of mine will be more uptempo, like rock records. But not like the Archers. I don't want to rehash. Still, I do miss the jumping around. I plan on doing that some more."
Well, times change and so do minds. Saturday night found Bachmann onstage at Cat's Cradle (site of the final Archers show way back in December 2008), reunited with his old Archers bandmates as opening act for The Love Language. And danged if it wasn't just fantastic. I was expecting something along the lines of sloppy fun, but the Archers betrayed no rust whatsoever as they blasted through a 40-minute set of 12 songs from their 1993-'95 prime. If you closed your eyes, it sure did sound like glory days. It looked and felt just as good with eyes open, too.
As to future plans, that's up in the air. It's possible this was a one-time-only event. Bachmann is still busy with his pop band Crooked Fingers, who play Saturday night at the Evening Muse in Charlotte. Hmm; wonder if there will be an unannounced opening act over there, too?...
We may be in the grip of a crushing recession, but 
