Here’s a photo gallery of the last Cray Bags show for the foreseeable future. I am unwilling to say last show ever, because that would be a damn shame, as they were (are?) one of the most powerful bands Savannah has seen in recent memory.
Anyway, the details: Cray Bags closed out Weekend Mania, a mini festival packed with great Southeastern punk, garage, and just generally rad bands. Both bands and fans battled it out with lots and lots of PBR and Wild Turkey. (Maybe that part goes without saying, as the show was at The Jinx?) The band was as tight and feral as ever, the wound up crowd ate it up, pinball machines were walked on, beers were poured into the crowd from the stage, crowds were surfed, pits were formed…you know, Cray Bags show stuff happened.
The boys are back in town…well, they will be soon! Savannah’s very own PASSAFIRE are making their way back to the Hostess City this weekend in continued support of their latest effort ‘Longshot’. We posted an interview with drummer Nick Kubley earlier this year for the release, and Anna Chandler has just published an in-depth chat with frontman Ted Bowne in this week’s Connect Savannah that’s a good read regarding the new work, and thoughts from Ted on the Savannah scene at-large, as well as life on the road.
Advance tickets for their show at The Jinx this Saturday evening (7-29) can be purchased here, and are sure to go fast.
Here are a few photos from their performance at Lucas Theatre for the Arts last year, with more after the jump….
*Boy Harsher
*Faux Ferocious
*Downtown Boys
*Shehehe
Enjoy.
Boy Harsher formerly Savannah
“Motion” from the new EP Country Girl out in October on Ascetic House
The duo who make up Boy Harsher often stayed under the local music radar when they were based in Savannah, but they’ll be getting attention from the national music press with hypnotic electronic tracks, gorgeous vocals, and striking visuals like those in this new video. – bill
. Downtown Boys Providence, RI
“Lips That Bite” from Cost of Living out August 11 on Sub Pop
The second single we’ve heard from Downtown Boys, one of the only current punk bands that actually matters. That being said, minus the awesome, confrontational vocals, this isn’t very punk, it’s simply a great rock and roll song. Synths simmering in the background throughout and then a sax solo toward the end of the tune, really cool stuff. – tom
. Faux Ferocious Nashville, TN
“Me and Jonny” and “Solvency” from the self-titled 12″ ep out now
I haven’t decided if there’s a resurgence of kraut rock or if I’ve just realized that I like kraut rock and I’m more tuned in to it. Well, here’s a big dose of it, particularly “Me and Jonny” which locks into an urgent motorik groove early and keeps with it for most of its 7 1/2 minute run time. Faux Ferocious killed at Stopover a couple years ago and at El Rocko more recently and I’m loving these new tunes. More please, both recordings and live shows. – tom
. Shehehe Athens, GA
“Dirty Life” off of their sophomore album Endless Summer due out on August 11th
What’s this? Catchy, heavy guirtar riffs? Infectious sing-along choruses? A general kick-ass, no frills, rock and roll attitude? Yep, it’s a new track from Athen’s own Shehehe! Their latest track, “Dirty Life”, is slightly more polished and gives off a bit more of a pop-punk vibe than the shred heavy tracks seen on their debut album, Rock and Roll Queen, but the heaviness is still lurking there for sure! Be sure to pick up the entire album later on this summer when it’s released on Athen’s own Laser Brains records. – Petey
The bluegrass boys of City Hotel celebrated a milestone by throwing a free shindig for friends & fans at Sentient Bean this week. Performing both of their albums in entirety gave those of us that have been following them through the years some great memories, and a reminder of why they continue to win awards, as well as remain in-demand regulars on our city’s music scene. Someone once told me ‘write about what you know, and it’ll always be authentic’. That’s what these friends do with their songwriting, studio-work, and live performances as well. A new album has been recorded, and according to guitarist/vocalist Aaron Zimmer it’s now in the mastering stage. Pre-orders can be purchased by visiting their website which is linked in through the highlighted text above.
Talented, friendly, local, and fun…it was a great night for Savannah-grass!
Check out a few photos here, with more after the jump.
It looks like a decent weekend for music downtown ahead. There are a few good shows scattered throughout the weekend, you can find someone pretty much every night. I have listed most of the shows that looked interesting to me. I hope to see some of you around this weekend.
Thursday 7/20 Gypsy Jam – Rancho Allegro (7p) City Hotel – Sentient Bean (8p) JJ Grey and Mofro – The Stage On Bay (8p, $29) Winston Ramble – Barrelhouse South Whiskey Diablo – Wormhole
Friday 7/21 Micahlan Boney and the Pine Box Dwellers – Tubby’s Thunderbolt (6p) Keith Aherne (4p), Sound Experiment (9p) – Molly MacPherson’s Anders Thomsen Trio – Rail Pub (7p) Urban Soil, Marvelous Funkshun – Barrelhouse South Sound and Shape – Wormhole ($5) Little Stranger – Congress Street Social Club Jeremy Riddle – Dub’s Pub (8p) Savannah Sweet Tease – Jinx
Saturday 7/22 The Boy Jones and Katie Buxton – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7p) Big Engine – Coach’s Corner (7p) City Hotel – Wyld Dock Bar (7:30-9:30p) Chris Henry and Hardcore Grass – Randy Woods Guitars (8p) Ray Lundy, Eric Dunn, Anders Thomsen – Jazz’d (9p) The Southern Belles, Travers Brothership – Barrelhouse South Dougie Poole, Jeff Zagers – El-Rocko Hitman Blues Band – Molly MacPherson’s Savannah Sweet Tease – Jinx
Monday 7/24 Perpetual Groove Acoustic – Barrelhouse South (7p, $12) Open Mic – Abe’s on Lincoln
Tuesday 7/25 Clouds & Satellites – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7p) Ben Keiser Band – Bay Street Blues Eric Culberson Open Jam – Bayou Cafe
Wednesday 7/26 Eric Culberson Band – Boomys
Thursday 7/27 Perpetual Care, The Hippie and the Punk – Sentient Bean (7p) Custard Pie – Barrelhouse South
Revival Fest took a break in 2016, but the stellar festival returns this year on Sept. 30 at the Georgia State Railroad Museum, which has been a tremendous venue for the daylong event planned by the folks at MusicFile Productions/Savannah Stopover.
This year’s lineup includes headliner Blitzen Trapper. The Portland, Oregon-based rock/alt-country band played Savannah a couple of years ago for a soldout show at The Jinx. I’m especially excited for the return of T. Hardy Morris and his band The Hardknocks, and the event also features three Savannah acts: The Train Wrecks, Bottles & Cans, and the Sweet Thunder Strolling Band.
Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics, Ranky Tanky, Blackfoot Gypsies, Cale Tyson, and Caleb Caudle round out the lineup.
I’ll preface this post with a confession…I’ve never been a fan of Barbara Streisand, nor Judy Garland…ever. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way let me say a few things about Key Change Cabaret‘s tribute performance last week dedicated to the two icon’s catalogue of tunes. Natasha Drena and JJ Collins, with accompaniment from Kim Steiner (piano) and Marc Chesanow (upright bass) ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT with an incredible performance! Hands down it was one of the best shows that I’ve seen & heard from the Cabaret yet.
It’s easy for me to get stuck in the mindset of only ‘liking what I like’, but this night made me remember what I love about live music…passion, professionalism, competent performers, a little bit of familiarity (turns out that I already knew most of the material after-all), and great banter with the audience in between songs & sets. There are still three more shows left in this year’s run, and I highly recommend checking it out. Click on the highlighted text above for more details & ticket information.
For this week’s post, we have new work from:
*Pierce Edens
*The Powder Room
*Speedy Ortiz
*Greta O. and The Toxic Shock
*King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard
Enjoy!
Pierce Edens Asheville, N.C. Stripped Down Gussied Up
Pierce Edens and partner Kevin Reese are back with another album of humble, yet gut-wrenching tunes from Southern Appalachia on this release. I had the pleasure of performing on a bill with them a few years ago, and was hesitant to go up on stage afterwards, these guys are so talented. I don’t really do comparisons in my posts, but in regards to Pierce there really isn’t another artist that comes to mind to do that with anyhow; one of a kind. Just check this first track out, and then more…I’m betting you’ll be glad you did. – Jon Waits
. The Powder Room Athens, GA
“Reckless”
The Powder Room is right in my wheelhouse, angry, Nirvana at their most aggressive type noise rock. Driving, bass heavy, angry but clear vocals, urgent guitar…yep, this pushes all the right buttons for me. This is a great new song recorded live, but both the video and the sound are excellent. Check out southernshelter.com for an almost impossibly deep treasure trove of well recorded Athens gigs. – tom
Proceeds from this catchy, compact, instantly classic sounding gem from Sadie Dupuis and Co. go to benefit closerikers.org, so don’t be a jerk, go download it. RIYL: Belly, Helium, Ex Hex kind of stuff. – tom
. Greta O. and The Toxic Shock Savannah, GA
“Cum Blood” from upcoming full length
Have you got 48 seconds to spare? No? Maybe you aren’t very good at time management. You ever think of that? Oh, you do have a minute to spare? Good, I was starting to worry about you there. Anyway, check out another new burner from Greta O. and The Toxic Shock. Not sure what Greta’s singing about, to be honest, but judging from the title, it sounds like maybe someone should see a doctor. – tom
. King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard Melbourne, AUS
“Invisible Face” from Murder of The Universe, the second of the “4 or 5” full lengths they plan to release in 2017, out now
I’m going to go ahead and guess that illicit substances of some sort were involved in the making of both this song and the accompanying video. The thing is I kinda dig their kitchen sink approach to garage, psych, prog, acid, you name it blend of rock. Full steam ahead for King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard. – tom
Hey guys,
It looks like another very good week coming up in the downtown music scene. There are some tough choices every night this weekend. It looks like this will be a weekend I will be bouncing from place to place. A few shows to point out: Good Bad Kids (a Shovels and Ropes-kinda sound) at Molly’s on Friday, Supersuckers (“Greatest Rock and Roll band in the world”) at the Jinx on Saturday, and Stopover alumni Big Mama Shakes at Social Club on Saturday. You are sure to find me at those shows. Maybe even one or two more than that. See y’all around somewhere this weekend.
Thursday 7/13 Cyral Durant – Molly MacPherson’s (4-8p) Danielle Hicks Duo – Jazz’d (7p) Dream Culture, Timothy Eerie, Rude Dude & The Creek Freaks – El-Rocko Maradeen – Barrelhouse South Garden Giant – Jinx (Peter’s Going Away Party)
Friday 7/14 Jeremy Riddle (4-8) – Molly MacPherson’s AM Rodriguez, Abby Posner – Jinx Songwriters In The Round (6p) Voodoo Soup – Tubby’s Thunderbolt (6p) Payne Bridges – Wyld Dock Bar (7:30-9:30) Randall Bramblett – Tybee Post Theater (8p, $25-30) Good Bad Kids – Molly MacPherson’s Jeff Crompton Trio – El-Rocko Tweed, Summer Survivors – Barrelhouse South Devin Smith, Britt Scott, Abby Posner – Jinx The Reality – Congress Street Social Club
Saturday 7/15 Damon and the Shitkickers – Jinx Happy Hour Danielle Hicks Band – Tubby’s Thunderbolt (6p) Cranford Hollow, Tell Scarlet – Coach’s Corner (7p) Cash Unchained: The Music Of Johnny Cash – Mars Theatre (8p, $20) Magic Rocks – Molly MacPherson’s Gang Of Thieves, Aquaduck – Barrelhouse South The Future Babes, Mr. Elevator – El-Rocko Supersuckers, COEDS, Blood On The Harp – Jinx Big Mama Shakes – Congress Street Social Club
Sunday 7/16 Voodoo Soup – Congress Street Social Club
Monday 7/17 Open Mic – Abe’s On Lincoln
Tuesday 7/18 Jay Rudd & Joshua Fletcher – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7p) Ben Keiser Band – Bay Street Blues Eric Culberson Open Jam – Bayou Cafe Open Mic – Molly MacPherson’s
So what are some of our contributors listening to this week? We have new embedded here by:
*Japanese Breakfast
*Boris
*Cults
*St. Vincent
Enjoy!
Japanese Breakfast Eugene, OR
“Road Head” from Soft Sounds From Another Planet, out July 14th on Dead Oceans
One of my favorite new artists of the last few years, Michelle Zauner, aka Japanese Breakfast, will release her sophomore album next week. In advance of that, comes this delightfully creepy, Twin Peaks inspired video of “Road Head”. It’s a masterful re-working of a song from her first album, 2014’s American Sound. Low-fi pop doesn’t get any better than this. – Kayne
. Boris Tokyo, Japan
“Absolutego” from the upcoming album Dear, due July 14th, 2017, (but streaming now on NPR, if you’re interested)
Boris, a 25 year old institution in the experimental metal world, is in it for the long haul. Impossibly heavy, syrupy, sludgy riffs combined with some drone, shoegaze, punk, throw in some noise and…you know what? At this point, you probably have an idea of what Boris does, so check it out, or you know, don’t. But if you like the HEAVY stuff, Sleep and Sunn O))) and the like, and you haven’t checked out Boris, you’re missing out. – tom
. Cults NY, NY
“Offering” from upcoming LP of the same name, out on Sinderlyn Records October 6th, 2017
As far as modern dream pop goes, I’ve always dug the New York duo Cults. The self titled 2011 release was fantastic, and 2013’s Static held some gems, too. Four years later, we get Offering. We’ll see what the album gives us, but here’s the first taste, a keys driven track that’s starting to flesh itself out in my brain after a few spins. RIYL: Beach House, Tennis, etc. – tom
. St. Vincent New York, New York
“New York”, single hopefully from an upcoming full length
Arty indie rock guitar hero/weirdo St. Vincent dropped a fairly restrained, but very pretty track this week. This being the singular St. Vincent, I expect there are infectious singles, ultra cool guitar work, and some arty and colorful videos headed our way in the near future. – tom
Headed into downtown Athens for the Classic City American Music Festival last Sunday, had an absolutely lovely time! This was my first time at The Foundry and I found it to be one of the nicest venues I’ve been to in Athens…very clean, great sound, great views all around, plenty of seating. Loved both the main indoor stage and the outdoor deck stage. I had some chores to get done around the house and wasn’t able to see all of the acts on the bill, but all of the ones I did see were phenomenal.
The first act I caught was Norma Rae. The Athens-based group’s lead singer, Kelly Hoyle, had a great, very powerful voice. I loved her “bloom where you take root” tattoo. They had a pedal steel guitar, I think I overheard someone say that that was a new addition to their lineup, or maybe even just temporary for this show, but it really added to the sound and I loved it. Hoyle used an iPad to read lyrics throughout the set, cool modern touch for such a retro twangy rock type of sound.
Next up was Lera Lynn, the only artist of the day whose repertoire I was previously familiar with. She lived in Athens for ten years, so she was familiar with the town and had very genuine banter, seemed like a fun person to hang out with. This was her last night of her tour. She did a stunning rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire”–the crowd loved it and she acted mock-offended when everyone cheered when she suggested she do Springsteen covers the rest of the night. I’m a bit partial to The Boss myself and would’ve been totally stoked at a night of Springsteen covers, but her original material was awesome as well!
The next act I saw was Caleb Caudle, haling from Winston-Salem and recently named an “Artist You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone. He performed by himself but had a great deep voice with lots of resonance and I didn’t really feel like he was lacking for not having a backup band. He did an amazing John Prine cover, but the outdoor set was unfortunately cut short by lightning. Would’ve loved to hear more of him.
I had to head home for a bit but came back at night for the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies, what a cool trio! The crowd went wild and was dancing to the upbeat music. I loved the breathless, yippy vocals and excellent harmonica skills. The lead singer stayed seated the whole time (in a skull-adorned rocking chair), but was still covered in sweat by the time the set was done–I was impressed at his energy level even while seated. They gave out a salute to a friend, Kevin Distacio, who was having a tough year, and urged everyone to tag him in social media posts to cheer him up.
The last act I saw was the Packway Handle Band, another amazingly fun group that the crowd loved. The fiddler was incredible and their style was a great mix of modern and old time hillbilly. They did a great beat boxing, high speed cover of Fat Bottomed Girls.
I really had a blast at the festival and this is one I’ll be adding to my yearly go-to list. The venue was lovely and the lineup was so good, I really enjoyed all the acts and couldn’t pick a favorite.
After some uncertainty due to the changes at Lucas Theatre for the Arts, the beloved summer cabaret is back with all of the usual suspects. Last night marked the beginning of the new season, a new location, and name change to boot. Covering a wide genre of music through the five show run this summer, Key Change Cabaret kicked things off to a packed house that was excited to hear a healthy dose of southern soul, as well as see the return of some of Savannah’s favorite performers. Season tickets as well as individual shows are still for sale, but if last night’s turn-out are an indicator they’ll go fast.
Former hissing lawns contributor, and now A&E editor at Connect Savannah, Anna Chandler, wrote a great preview that can be read by clicking on the above highlighted text.
