hissing lawns

Order of the Owl, Set and Setting, Primate and Mouth of the Architect at The Jinx – photos

by Tom Cartmel • August 25, 2014

It was pretty obvious from the amount of amps on the stage that Friday night at The Jinx was going to be a metal kind of night. With members of Mastodon, Kylesa, Black Tusk, Zoroaster and plenty of up and comers on stage and in the crowd, it would have been heavy even if kazoos and harps were played through those amps (well, maybe not), but rest assured, it was guitars, lots and lots of guitars.

Order of the Owl, Set and Setting, Primate and Mouth of the Architect stopped in the Hostess City on their way to Southern Darkness Fest, a first year music festival in Tampa featuring a slew of the South’s best metal, including Savannah’s own Black Tusk. Hopefully it becomes an annual festival, this year’s lineup was pretty formidable.

Atlanta’s Order of the Owl set the tone for the night with their awesome down tuned doom. They didn’t have much room on the stage as 4 bands worth of amplifiers were stacked behind them, but their set was really well received by the mostly black shirted crowd.

Next up was Set and Setting, and I’m really, really looking forward to digging into their new album A Vivid Memory, which is currently streaming at the AV Club. I’ve mentioned before that I love atmospheric, instrumental rock and Set and Setting is right in my roundhouse. Outstanding, and highly recommended for fans of the genre. Seriously, if you like Russian Circles, you should definitely check out this band from St. Petersburg, FL. Dual drummers rule, by the way.

Jon has already posted some great pics and written a bit about Atlanta’s Primate, and I enjoyed their set, too. Though Primate features one of Mastodon’s guitarists, their sound is based in the aggression of hardcore punk and grindcore rather than the sprawling metal Mastodon is known for. Good stuff.

Mouth of the Architect, hailing from Dayton, OH, closed out the night with a dark set. Literally. The lights were out for the majority of their set of heavy prog riffage. They eventually got some light when one of the musicians proclaimed that he “couldn’t see his guitar”. Yeah, I could see that being a problem. All in all, a great night of heavy music and darkness. (More pics after the jump.)

Primate at The Jinx – photos

by JWaits • August 24, 2014

As a musician & fan I’m more often found frequenting Americana shows, and metal has never been my go-to on the stereo or in the car, but I had the chance to catch a friend of mine’s band, Primate, at The Jinx this weekend, as part of a larger show featuring Mouth of the Architect, Primate, Set and Setting, and Order of the Owl.

Earplugs in and ready for some noise I actually found myself enjoying their set and not quite as focused on just shooting images. While Bill Kelliher has certainly risen to the top of the metal scene with his other band Mastodon, regularly opening for the major heavyweights and performing for much larger audiences themselves, the guys in Primate are certainly not to be discounted as just his ‘off tour’ side project. They put in the effort, have the chops, and are doing their share of mini-touring as well. It’s great to see old friends doing well, loving what they do, and I look forward to catching them the next time they come through Savannah again.

Southern Holiday Jazz Band | Sanctuary Concert Series at Trinity UMC- photos

by JWaits • August 23, 2014

Photos from another of historic Trinity United Methodist Church’s Sanctuary Concert Series. This latest edition with Southern Holiday Jazz Band’s soulful ‘Billie on Barnard’ performance.

T. Hardy Morris added to Revival Fest lineup 9/20

by bill • August 21, 2014

T. Hardy Morris, whom many of you will know because of his band Dead Confederate, has been added to the Revival Fest lineup for 9/20 here in Savannah.

The inaugural Revival Fest, which was also held inside and outside the old paint shops at the Georgia State Railroad Museum (aka The Roundhouse), was one of the best days of music of 2014 in Savannah, at least for those of us who are passionate about various roots genres.

An awesomely talented musician from Athens, T. Hardy Morris has found room on the Revival Fest bill because the previously announced Los Colognes will not be performing.

Morris’ addition is especially fitting since he shot a series of spectacular music videos at Georgia’s “Places in Peril.” The paint shops aren’t in peril, of course, but are the site of active restoration.

Check out the music, including videos from the state hospital in Milledgeville and Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden:

MusicFile Productions, parent company of Revival Fest and Savannah Stopover, also announced details about VIP passes for Revival Fest, which will include live music (band TBA) in the courtyard of The Brice (the old Mulberry Inn) with food and drink from Pacci Italian Kitchen + Bar. Pacci will also be running the pig roast at Revival Fest on Saturday. Click here for more details and here for tickets.

So here’s the updated lineup (detailed schedule presumably coming soon):

Futurebirds (Athens, GA)
The David Wax Museum (Charlottesville, VA)
Roadkill Ghost Choir (Deland, FL)
T. Hardy Morris (Athens, Ga.)
Packway Handle Band (Athens, Ga)
Cedric Burnside (Holly Springs, MS)
Dirty Bourbon River Show (New Orleans, LA)
Velvet Caravan (Savannah, Ga)
Megan Jean and the Klay Family Band (Charleston, SC)
Water Liars (Athens, GA)
Family and Friends (Athens, GA)
Waits & Co (Savannah, GA)
Blank Range (Nashville, TN)
Sweet Thunder Strolling Band (Savannah, GA)

Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour 8/21/14 – 8/27/14

by Larry Jack Sammons • August 21, 2014

Hey guys,
Well, I notice that the number of good shows is starting to pick up, I am hoping the few week slowdown is beginning to end (of course, I still made it to 20 last week). There are plenty of good choices this week. While looking at this week’s upcoming shows, I find it kind of odd that many of the shows contain at least one brass instrument.

I plan on starting the weekend with two saxophone funk bands at the Wormhole on Thursday. Friday brings a few choices, R&B/Funk with Ambrose (and one horn) and a ten-piece(!) band at Social Club. Saturday will be a night of too many choices for me. The Jinx has a rockabilly show (with a sax/trombone combo), the Congress Street Social Club band sounded pretty good on YouTube, and Radio Birds at Barrelhouse should be good (they played an acoustic show at River Street during a near-thunderstorm a few weeks ago). But, the all-girl show at Hang Fire will probably win most of my time that night. If you have never seen Rachel Kate or (heaven forbid) Lovely Locks, you should really plan on showing up this week. I hope to see some of you out this week, be sure to say “hello”.

Thursday 8/21
Royal Noise, Those Cats – Wormhole (soul-funk show)

Friday 8/22
Georgia Mountain String Band (bluegrass supergroup with members of Waller and City Hotel) – Rail Pub (6-9p)
Gypsy Slim – Flip Flop Tiki Bar
Ambrose (R&B from Steven Baumgardner & company)- Barrelhouse South
Kansas Bible Company (10-piece, 2sax/1trombone rock from Indiana) – Congress Street Social Club
Why Not Be Kings (Nashville pop-rock) – Wormhole (a part of Wormhole’s new Freeky Free Friday series)

Saturday 8/23
Ga. Mountain String Band – Blowin Smoke (7p, all ages)
Phantom Playboys (rockabilly from Indiana, trombone & sax), Alex Culbreth – Jinx ($10)
Dank Sinatra (rock-funk-blues from Athens) – Congress Street Social Club
Jon Lee & The Apparitions – Boomy’s
Rachel Kate (soul funk), Lovely Locks (pop rock), Calamity Cubes (trashicana) – Hang Fire
Radio Birds (Atlanta rock) – Barrelhouse South

Sunday 8/24
Danielle Hicks & The 8-Ohm Band – Barrelhouse South

Tuesday 8/26
Tawney Ellis, Waits & Co. – Dollhouse Studios (Americana show)
Forced Entry, Jungbluth, Centuries – Hang Fire (punk show)
Ricardo & Sasha (of Velvet Caravan) – Foxy Loxy
Mobile Deathcamp (Toledo speed metal) – Wormhole (9p)

Wednesday 8/27
Damn Tall Buildings (Boston bluegrass), Fare The Gap – Ampersand

Wet Socks, Zulu Wave, Bully Pulpit, Wave Slaves, Hotplate at Hang Fire and The Jinx – photos

by Tom Cartmel • August 18, 2014

I walked back and forth between The Jinx and Hang Fire six times Friday night and caught five great sets of cranked up rock. Here’s some super quick thoughts:

Hotplate is quickly turning into one of my favorite local bands. I love tight, complex, instrumental rock in the vein of Don Caballero, Pelican and Russian Circles and Hotplate’s winding riffs seem to get tighter every time I see them, which is as often as I can. Good “early” crowd at The Jinx, “early” meaning 10:30 ish.

I missed Fare the Gap (again), but hopefully Zulu Wave makes Savannah a regular stop, as they played an energetic set at Hang Fire to an appreciative, well lubricated crowd. I could have used a little more vocals in the mix, but it sounds like the songs are there and I dug it. Their Facebook profile says “noise rock” but I hear old school Braid, maybe? I’d definitely check them out again.

Back at The Jinx, Wave Slaves cranked out their classic surf rock set and looked like they had a damn good time doing it.

Wet Socks are drawing some of the better crowds in town currently, and, boy, do they know how to get them moving. Stooges cover, too? Hell, yeah. I can’t wait for the upcoming LP on Retro Futurist. So good.

Bully Pulpit, out of Charleston, unfortunately, experienced the occasional late night Jinx crowd drop off. Those of us that were there were treated to a great set of dirty, heavy rock and a mess of a front flip over the monitor and onto the floor by the lead singer. Yikes.

Modrag + Wet Socks at The Jinx – photos

by bill • August 18, 2014

First things first: Modrag is pronounced “mod-drag” according to the band’s Facebook page — not “moe-drag”.

Modrag is a young foursome out of Austin — a little garage, a little pop, some psychedelia. They were excellent in front of a relatively small but totally turned on crowd at The Jinx on Congress Street here in Savannah on Saturday night. When the band had apparently finished their set, I was glad to see Gil Cruz tell them to keep playing.

And then Savannah duo Wet Socks took over — their first gig at The Jinx after probably dozens around the corner at Hang Fire — and pretty much tore things up, both figuratively and literally. The set was shortened by some technical problems, but I’m sure we’ll see John, Hunter, and Hunter’s hair on the big stage again (despite the fact that they’re so slacker that they haven’t updated their Facebook page in over two months).

Here at hissing lawns, we’re pretty excited to hear Wet Socks’ upcoming record on Retro Futurist.

More photos of both Wet Socks and Modrag after the jump.

The Accomplices at Congress Street Social Club – photos

by JWaits • August 17, 2014

Downtown Savannah on a Saturday night is always a spectacle in itself, but the lowcountry’s own The Accomplices, back from their performances in Wrangle, Alaska were prepared and ready to give it their best. The crowd, while a bit slow to come in during the first set, were ready to throw down by the second and into the third.

Our very own Larry Jack Sammons was in attendance, not surprisingly, and remarked on some minor improvements that the establishment has made, providing for a better stage and perhaps making Social a better indoor live music venue. By the time I left the band were obviously back to taking care of business in their hometown and the crowd was loving every minute of it.

Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour 8/15/14 – 8/19/14

by Larry Jack Sammons • August 14, 2014

Hey guys,
As you can tell when you walk out the door (even at 8AM!), we are still in the dog days of summer. Savannah does have a tendency to slow down during the summer, it keeps us from dying out there in the heat. I thought that the amount of music had slowed down the last few weeks, but then I realized I had seen 17 bands last week, so that is probably not true.

I would like to point out a few shows that I am excited about. Although it is on a Sunday, I recommend trying to catch Big Something at Barrelhouse South this week. I have seen them before and am looking forward to seeing them again. Of course, seeing them on a Friday or Saturday would have been nicer. Also, the Fog Fest is this weekend at Molly MacPherson’s. The Charlie Fog Band and guests are playing all weekend, so you can get your fill of Grateful Dead. And buy one of Ashley Workman’s bags while you are there! And both the Jinx and Hang Fire have good rock and roll shows lined up this weekend. As always, get downtown and listen to some live music.

Friday 8/15/14
Danielle Hicks & The 8-Ohm Band – Rail Pub (6-9)
Hounds of Hate, Crazy Bag Lady, Without – Graveface Records ($5, 5p? or 7p?, all ages)
Fare The Gap, Zulu Wave, Wet Socks – Hang Fire
Bully Pulpit, Wave Slaves, Hot Plate – Jinx
Charlie Fog Band – Molly MacPherson’s

Saturday 8/16/14
Accomplices – Congress Street Social Club
Jubal Kane – Boomy’s
A Nickel Bag Of Funk – World of Beer
Whaleboat, Fiasco, Hotplate – Hang Fire
Modrag, Wet Socks – Jinx

Sunday 8/17/14
Big Something, The Syndicate – Barrelhouse South
Willowacks – Sentient Bean

Tuesday 8/19/14
Clouds & Satellites – Foxy Loxy
Haints In The Hollar – Sentient Bean

Those Darlins and Hurray for the Riff Raff returning to Savannah

by bill • August 12, 2014

Those Darlins and Hurray for the Riff Raff put on two of the best shows of the 2014 Savannah Stopover, so we’re pretty thrilled that both bands will be back in Savannah before year’s end.

MusicFile Productions (parent company of Savannah Stopover and the upcoming Revival Fest) has booked Those Darlins for Oct. 3 at Dollhouse Productions and Hurray for the Riff Raff for Oct. 28 at The Jinx. Click here for more info on tickets. Opening acts haven’t been announced yet.

Those Darlins simply electrified the latenight Stopover audience at the Knights of Columbus, and there were at least half a dozen Savannahians on hand for the band’s late set recently at Bragg Jam in Macon.

Those Darlins at Bragg Jam

Those Darlins at Savannah Stopover

Hurray for the Riff Raff is Alynda Lee Segarra, whose understated stage presence doesn’t obscure her evocative voice and brilliant lyrics. The Moon River beer garden was packed for the early evening Stopover set last March by Segarra and her stellar band. I was also lucky to see HFTRR at Forecastle Festival in Louisville in July — the performance seemed even sharper.

HFTRR at Forecastle

Hurray for the Riff Raff at Savannah Stopover 2014

Steph Stewart and the Boyfriends at Tybee Island Social Club – photos

by JWaits • August 9, 2014

For local music fans it’s easy to think that downtown Savannah is the only spot around for live music. That would be incorrect as Tybee Island has quite a few venues that consistently bring in both local and touring acts. Check your local listings, grab a designated driver, and find out for yourself.

Friday evening the Carrboro, N.C. performers Steph Stewart and the Boyfriends brought their string music to Tybee Island Social Club to a very appreciative audience. They can also been heard tonight (8-9-14) at The Sentient Bean at 8pm. Photos by Jon Waits.

Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour – 8/8/14-8/12/14

by Larry Jack Sammons • August 8, 2014

Hey guys,
There were some very enjoyable shows last week.I hope some of you made it out to see Eric Sommer at Abe’s on Thursday, I had to leave a little early and was hoping for a bigger crowd later. I was especially glad to see the Accomplices back in Savannah at Molly MacPherson’s on Friday.The Hypnotics always put on a hopping dance party at Molly’s, and Saturday was great fun.And I got to sing with them! Thankfully for the crowd, I’m pretty sure the mic was turned real low.

This week is another relatively slow week, but there are several good shows to try out. Friday brings People’s Blues Of Richmond to the Social, I have seen them before and they are very good. COEDS will be returning to the Jinx on Saturday. There are lots of bands playing, easy to walk around, my recommendation is to wander down Congress Street (and surrounding area) and see which of these shows grab you.

Friday – 8/8/14
Drivin N Cryin, Jordan Igoe – Coachs Corner (7p)
Brandon Nelson McCoy – Sentient Bean (8p, all ages)
Cope (Tampa psychedelic southern-fried rock), Baked Alaska (5-piece from Tybee) – Barrelhouse South
Peoples Blues Of Richmond – Congress Street Social Club
Highlands Band, Culture Vulture (Savannah 3-piece instrumental progressive band w/ a trombone) – Ampersand ($5)
Knife, Miggs, Freak Tha Monster – Jinx
Patch, Spirits & The Melchidzeke Children – Hang Fire
Whiskey Diablo – Molly MacPherson’s

Saturday 8/9/14
Missionary Blues – Bub-Ba-Q (6-10, all ages)
COEDS, Bitchmouth, Jeff Two-Names & The Born-Agains – Jinx
Ambrose – Barrelhouse South
Cape Fear, Reconns, Sunglow, J. Zagers – Hang Fire
Mystery Music – Molly MacPherson’s
Square One – Congress Street Social Club
Shapes & Their Names (Savannah auditory lemonade), Crazy Bag Lady – Wormhole – Last show for Shapes & Their Names
Voodoo Boogaloo, Culture Vulture – Ampersand ($5)

Sunday 8/10/14
Danielle Hicks – Barrelhouse

Tuesday 8/12/14
Buffalo Rodeo, Triathalon – Hang Fire
Jason Bible – Foxy Loxy