The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, w/ Circulatory System at 40 Watt Club, Athens (18 May 2015)

Sean Lennon

He got on this subject while referring to the video for The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger’s Moth to a Flame, in which bandmate Charlotte Kemp-Muhl eats him. He clarified that she doesn’t eat him in a sexual way, but rather in the traditional sense of consuming him as food. (I’m 2 for 2 this week for reviewing bands with videos in which they are cannibalized. First it was Icky Blossoms with their video for In Folds, now The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, or commonly abbreviated as The GOASTT, with Moth to a Flame).



I was awestruck by the song Poor Paul Getty, inspired by the true story of J. Paul Getty III, grandson of oil Tycoon J. Paul Getty, who was once believed to be the wealthiest man in the world. At the age of 16, Getty III was kidnapped and held for ransom. When his family refused to pay the $17 million dollars the kidnappers demanded- believing the kidnapping to be a hoax perpetrated by Getty III himself to fund a bohemian lifestyle in which the young man participated in left-wing demonstrations- his kidnappers cut off Getty III’s ear and mailed it to the press. At that point, his grandfather negotiated a deal with the kidnappers to reduce the ransom amount and paid what was agreed upon. According to an article in The New York Times, his grandfather refused to come to the phone when Getty III, after his release, called to thank him for paying the ransom that set him free.



One of the night’s most notable song medleys was La Carotte Bleu/Jardin du Luxembourg. These songs show just how well Sean Lennon can shred on the guitar. His chops are impressive; outstanding in fact. He lulled the devoted crowd at Athens’ 40 Watt Club with his guitar’s psychedelic wail.



Speaking of Sean’s guitar, it’s a beauty. The headstock appears Fender-esque, but the body is more like that of a Gibson. There is a single f-hole on the left side of the body. Once the show was over, Sean laid the guitar flat on its back on the stage and the roadies took over from there. I looked at the headstock and realized it was a brand of guitar I’d never heard of before; a Bilt S.S. Zaftig. The color was a sparkling, metallic deep turquoise, probably a custom color because I could not find another Zaftig online in the same color. According to the Bilt Guitars website, the Zaftig has a “full curvy body,” and they encourage us to Google the word.



I’m sure many of us already knew its’ meaning, but I Googled it anyway to get the official lowdown. As it turns out, the meaning of the word zaftig is in the guitar’s description- having a full curvy body; pleasingly plump. So there you have it.



The show opened with Athens’ psychedelic rock heroes Circulatory System. They gave their hometown crowd an energetically electrifying, all-encompassing representation of their musical catalog, including their self-titled debut, Signal Morning and Mosaics Within Mosaics.

Circulatory System (with Robert Schneider)

For a portion of their set, Elephant 6 alumnus Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo joined Circulatory System onstage. His hauntingly ethereal vocals added an additional layer of surreality to an already surreal set. It’s beautiful how the members  of E6 can effortlessly transition from one instrument to another and one band to another, helping each other out and sharing in the joy of their truly stellar musical collective.



The GOASTT’s latest release is a 10″ EP called Stories, which will be out next week, May 26th, via Chimera Records.
After a UK tour in May 2015, the band will be back in the US with the Primus and Dinosaur Jr tour from July to August.