The Ataris come to Smalltown, IN

On Saturday, September 13, The Ataris stepped foot in Bluffton, IN—but not by accident. Starting off like any other local rock and pop punk shows, Fort Wayne and surrounding area local bands took the stage, playing covers and original songs. There was only one difference tonight: the bands would be opening for a largely familiar band. The concert had been Bluffton’s biggest concert in history.

Gutshot, Rudy Can’t Fail, and The Ready Set were performing openers before The Ataris took the stage to rock down the night. Drop Anchor, Set Sail reunited this one night only for the special occasion.

“This was my favorite concert I have ever played,” Blair Williams, a Freshman, said. “It was a once and a lifetime kind of thing.” Williams is a singer and bassist from the reunited Drop Anchor, Set Sail.

Not even half of the Bluffton 4-H Quonset building was full as The Ataris took the stage, shocking all that were there who were wondering how many would eventually show up. Alas, fans were still ecstatic to watch what was about to be released by Kristopher Roe and fellow band members. Everyone waited with anticipation for the band to start their set.

Roe started off with thanking everyone for coming out to Bluffton for the show and killing time until all the musicians fine-tuned the equipment. Chris Swinney, the guitarist, lit a pre-show cigarette while tuning his guitar and getting ready to rock the Quonset building for the next hour.

“So Long, Astoria,” “In This Diary,” and “The Boys of Summer,” were played as well as a smorgasbord of other originals and cover songs. Roe politely thanked the audience for being so kind to the applause and also told a few stories.
But how did they end up in Bluffton? “Chris [Swinney] has some ties to Bluffton. He was from the band The Widow Jenkins and joined The Ataris,” said Williams. “We asked them to play a show and it happened.”

The Ataris originated from Anderson, IN in 1995. Coming is their sixth record release, so be on the lookout when the album hits stores in 2009!