hissing lawns

Punk Mess 2 Preview

by Peterson Worrell • June 24, 2016

Rolling into its second year, Savannah’s annual punk, rock, garage, and noise festival, Punk Mess, is poised to be stronger than the first fest.

The lineup of over 20 bands spread out across two days and two separate venues shows just how far the homegrown festival and Dad Joke Promotions have come in a relatively short span. This year’s festival features a heavy onslaught of bands from Florida, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and more, supplemented by some of Savannah’s favorite local bands. With so many good catches, it’s a good thing that you won’t have to make any gut wrenching decisions as far as choosing between two bands since there won’t be any overlap in the schedules over the two days. Just for reference though, here’s a quick list and brief description of each band.

The fun starts July 1st and tickets are still available!

Friday, July 1st at The Jinx

Without: 830

Swift and heavy local hardcore. Without’s style is rooted in traditional hardcore tinged with just a bit of sludgy, swampy brutality.

Feeding Tube – 9:00

Local Savannah gimp-core. I don’t think there are actually any references to gimps, but the mask and the vocalist’s wild antics make for a great show.

Exit Dust – 9:30

When atmospheric death rock meets the energy and vigor of punk, Exit Dust is the result and the results are very, very good.

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Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour – 6/23/16 – 6/29/16

by Larry Jack Sammons • June 23, 2016

Hey guys,

It looks like another good week of music ahead. I will be at Athfest this weekend, but these are some shows I would be seeing if I was still in town.

Thursday 23rd
Jay Rudd and Cory Chambers – Molly MacPherson’s
Part One Tribe – Barrelhouse South
Dead Oak, Jeff Two-Names & The Born Agains, Continental – Jinx ($7)

Friday 24th
Wet Socks, Breakers – El-Rocko
Bonnie Blue – Molly MacPherson’s
Jahman Brahman – Barrelhouse South
Trae Pierce & The T-Stone Band – Congress Street Social Club
Hivelords, Brick By Brick, Set And Setting – Jinx

Saturday 25th
Gringo Star – The Grey (12n)
Whaleboat – Rail Pub (5p)
Bradford Lee Folk and the Bluegrass Playboys – Tybee Post Theater ($20)
Eric Sommer – Sentient Bean ($5)
Charlie Fog Band – Congress Street Social Club
Hitman – Molly MacPherson’s
Lucky Costello, Lucidea – Barrelhouse South
Come & Rest, Dead Planets, Citadel, Amor Exitium – Sulfur Studios ($8/10)
Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband – Jinx

Sunday 26th
Bradford Lee Folk and the Bluegrass Playboys Brunch – Ruth Chris Steakhouse (12:30, $49)

Tuesday 28th
Clouds and Satellites – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7-10p)

Wednesday 29th
Anders Thomsen Band – El-Rocko

Hans Chew at The Roasting Room Lounge & Listening Room – photos & links

by JWaits • June 23, 2016

I had the chance to reconnect with an old friend last night, and couldn’t have been more surprised at the talent that he’s become. Hans Chew hails from NYC these days, but comes from Tennessee via the haze & daze of the Atlanta early 90s scene that I came up in. That brief period brought about some of the performers that are now on the world stage including Catpower and Mastodon. Back in those days we were all just working in restaurants or swinging hammers, living in Cabbagetown (Atl, GA) doing what it took to make ends meet & continue to play music. I’ll put a post together one of these days that digs a bit deeper into that time & place.

Hans Chew has gone on to bigger things, recorded multiple albums, and tours incessantly. While it may have been a small crowd at Bluffton, South Carolina’s The Roasting Room Lounge & Listening Room, which has established itself as that neck of the woods’ premier music venue, there was no lack of professionalism & talent from the stage. It’s hard enough to draw a crowd from over the bridge, much less on a Wednesday, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to bring him to Savannah soon. Joining him onstage for a David Crosby tune was none other than another Atlanta underground legend Brian Halloran of Smoke, Opal Foxx Quartet, and currently W8ting4UFOS.

Here are a few photos, with more after the jump.

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Little Tybee, Culture Vulture, Kewl @ Tybee Social, El-Rocko, The Jinx – photos

by bill • June 22, 2016

I made it out to Little Tybee’s shows on Thursday at Tybee Island Social Club and on Friday at The Jinx, the latter of which was opened by Culture Vulture in their final local gig before their move to L.A. On Friday, I also caught the new band Kewl at El-Rocko Lounge.

So this post is a mishmash about all those shows.

Little Tybee is now touring extensively in support of their new self-titled album, which is an extension of the Atlanta-based band’s complex and beautiful orchestral pop/indie folk sound. They’ve got a big fan base in Savannah because half the band grew up here and because the music is fucking awesome. Really good crowds both nights (but pretty bad lighting for photos, so I didn’t try very hard).

Culture Vulture‘s eclectic instrumental fusion of rock, jazz, whatever will sure be missed on the local scene, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing them again somewhere down the road.

Wet Socks drummer John Zimmerman turns out to be a charismatic — even a little glam — high-energy frontman, and he’s backed in the new project Kewl by some familiar faces on the local scene: Derek Lynch, Daniel Lynch, Kyle Brown, and Samford Justice. I’m looking forward to seeing where JZ takes the band. The newish El-Rocko appears to be booking live acts routinely, but the bar was not designed to be a music venue at all, so I’m hoping we’ll see some major changes to the space in the near future.

More photos after the jump.

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Black Water Choir, The High Divers, Young Mister super show at El-Rocko on 6/22

by Chipper_Bones • June 21, 2016

Black Water Choir, the folk duo of Corey Hines and Alexis Ambrose, has returned to the stage after a dormant period and we are more than excited to see the haunting melodies these two produce. After playing at Bluffton, SC’s much acclaimed Roasting Room last Saturday, they are playing a last second gig at El-Rocko Lounge tomorrow night with a killer lineup, presented by Savannah blog Country Club Deserted.

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indie label Hearts & Plugs hosts 3rd annual Summer Shindig in Charleston

by bill • June 21, 2016

The Charleston-based indie record label Hearts & Plugs will host their third annual Summer Shindig on June 25th in the parking lot at The Royal American.

The label has assembled a great lineup for the “flamingo themed” event:

Brave Baby
SUSTO
ET Anderson
The High Divers
Grace Joyner
Hermit’s Victory
Johnny Delaware
after party w/ Infinitikiss

Check out the official Summer Shindig mixtape:

Charleston is just a couple hours up the road from Savannah — much closer than Atlanta or Athens — so I’m hopeful that we can see more creative interplay between the two coastal cities. Saturday’s party runs from 5 p.m. to midnight, and you can find $20 general admission tickets here.

Susto at Savannah Stopover 2016

Brave Baby at Hang Fire in 2015

The High Divers at The Grey at Savannah Stopover 2016

The Hooten Hallers and A.M. Rodriguez at The Jinx – Photos

by cailab • June 20, 2016

The Hooten Hallers joined A.M. Rodriguez at The Jinx a week ago for a fantastically raucous show that lived up to their name.

The Hooten Hallers are a blues, soul and rock outfit out of Columbia, MO. Billing themselves as hillbilly rock, their inclusion of bass and baritone sax adds a cool element and really brings it all together. If you haven’t seen them, I’d definitely recommend checking out their tour schedule — you won’t regret it.

What was really impressive that evening was A.M. Rodriguez’s set with his full band. Traditionally a one-man band, the addition of fiddle, piano and feminine harmonies transformed his sound and added a rawer,even more heartfelt tone. Still regular ol’ A.M. Rodriguez, but with an added kick.

Check out some photos below, and more after the jump.

A.M. Rodriguez

Hooten Hallers

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New Music Monday – 6/20/16

by bill • June 20, 2016

Here’s our third New Music Monday post. The last couple of weeks included a number of new releases from here in Savannah, but today’s installment features songs, videos, and albums from all over. You’ll find some big names on this week’s list — Beck, Run The Jewels — plus some other acts that might be new to you. In keeping with our goals here at hissing lawns, we’re included embedded media to make this as user-friendly as possible. Obviously, if you hear something you like, go check out the artist online.

So, in random order, here’s some new stuff that we’re recommending. Lots more after the jump:

.
Jon Lindsay
Raleigh, North Carolina
“All Them Houses” from his new album Cities & Schools

Lindsay’s latest release, Cities & Schools features ’80s pop reminiscent melodies mixed with darker and harrowing lyrics. The result is a catchy album that covers everything from former coworkers to shady business partners to the relationship between musicians and their audience. – Caila

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Beck
Los Angeles
“Wow”, a new single off an untitled album due in October from Capitol Records.

I love sad bastard Beck, but I’ve missed electro weirdo Beck; this scratches that itch. – Tom

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Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour – 6/17/16 – 6/22/16

by Larry Jack Sammons • June 17, 2016

Hey guys,
As you can see, there are plenty of good choices this weekend. I will probably be wandering up and down Congress Street all weekend, slipping into wherever catches my ear. I would like to point out that this is Culture Vulture’s last Savannah show, they are moving to California soon. Velvet Caravan at Randy Woods on Saturday also looks like a weekend highlight. It will be hot this weekend, but the music downtown will make it well worth going out. I hope to see you around somewhere.

Friday 17th
Accomplices (Sav’h lowcountry string band) – Congress Street Social Club
Hypnotics (Sav’h garage rock) – Molly MacPherson’s
Little Tybee, Culture Vulture (Sav’h instrumental progressive rock) – Jinx
Zahira, SPORE (Jacksonville electrofunk jam) – Barrelhouse South
Cray Bags, Mantra Love, Kewl, Tug – El-Rocko

Saturday 18th
Velvet Caravan (Sav’h gypsy-jazz) – Randy Woods
Hypnotics (Sav’h garage rock), Crazy Man Crazy (Sav’h rockabilly) – Tybee Post Theater
Akilavue (SC rock, CD Release), Madam Adam (Charleston rock), BBXF – Barrelhouse South
Jon Lee and the Apparitions (Sav’h rock) – Molly MacPherson’s
Jason Courtenay Duo, Jason Bible (Train Wrecks frontman), Bill Hodgson (Sav’h rock covers), Groovetown Assault (Hilton Head dance) – Wild Wing Cafe
Hot Plate (Sav’h math rock), Wax Ligature (Sav’h), The Death Hour (Sav’h rock) – Jinx
Viscious Dream (Orlando punk), Pussy Launcher (Sav’h punk), Street Clothes (Sav’h rock), Broken Glow (Sav’h grunge blues) – Wormhole ($5)

Sunday 19th
Cory Chambers (Sav’h singer-songwriter), Sundown, Danielle Hicks (Sav’h rock) – Tybee Post Theater

Monday 20th
Strange Face (San Diego), McLeod (Sav’h underwater rock), Too Much (Sav’h) – Sulfur Studios
Max Pain & The Groovies (Utah rock ), Twisty Cats (Sav’h rock) – El-Rocko

Tuesday 21st
City Hotel Solo Sessions – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7-10p)
Ben Keiser Band – Bay Street Blues
Eric Culberson Open Jam – Bayou Cafe

Wednesday 22nd
Jeff Two-Names & The Born Agains (Sav’h punk), Some Kind Of Nightmare (San Diego punk) – Wormhole
Anders Thomsen Band – El-Rocko (7-10p)

Culture Vulture plans move to California; Savannah farewell show on 6/17

by bill • June 17, 2016

Culture Vulture — the talented, eclectic, boundary-pushing, Savannah-based instrumental — is moving to California.

From Anna Chandler in Connect:

CULTURE VULTURE’S Nick Gilbert, James Weber, and Mathew Pelton aren’t Savannah natives. But the sound they hatched together among Savannah’s raucous and deeply supportive house show scene is a true born-and-bred Savannahian.

Musical academics schooled in jazz, punk, ska, and classical music, the trio moved to town armed with a wealth of experience and knowledge. After four years of cultivating a truly unique, progressive sound built on math rock tendencies and killer dynamics, the band is ready to make the next move: Los Angeles.

From Josh Peacock in Do Savannah:

Culture Vulture was born and raised in a two-story, faded yellow party mansion on the corner of Price and 30-something in Savannah.

In a spacious living room on the first floor of a house as unique as the band’s music, they shaped the pop, jazz and rock fusion sound that has painted the edges of the Savannah music scene with tenacious originality.

Lots more info about the band can be found at those links. The consensus here at hissing lawns has been that Culture Vulture gets tighter and better with each performance, and we’re really sorry to see them go.

Their last Savannah show as local residents will be tonight — Friday, June 17th — at The Jinx, where they will open for Little Tybee. Click here for more info.

Little Tybee is promoting their new self-titled album, and a great crowd showed up just last night for their gig at Tybee Island Social Club. I interviewed bass player Ryan Donald for my Unplugged column in this week’s Do.

Check out Girls’ Night:

Culture Vulture at Savannah Stopover 2016

Urochromes, Life Stinks, Predator, Cray Bags, Forced Entry and Sherman’s Boot at The Dollhouse – photos

by Tom Cartmel • June 14, 2016

Jeez, there was a lot going on in Savannah on this night….Savannah Bananas opener, Jinx show, house show, plus the regular Thursday night drinking and stumbling around town that never seems to stop. Between my faith in Dad Joke’s bookings and having seen several of these bands before, there was no place I’d rather be than The Dollhouse. 6 bands dealing out my favorite kind of underground punk, straightforward guitar based nasty rock, some leaning toward krautrock, some garage, some hardcore, all killer, and the kind of bands who don’t give a shit about social media presence or image.

Personal standouts were Predator’s stunning, frantic, airtight set (man, I love this band), Urochromes animated, weirdo frontman who was impossible to look away from (music was tight, too), and Forced Entry’s last set ever(???). Great stuff.

Check it out.

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The Graveface Roadshow with The Casket Girls, Stardeath and White Dwarfs, Wet Socks & Hospital Ships at Southern Pine Co. – photos

by bill • June 14, 2016

The Graveface Roadshow is now traveling across America, headlined by The Casket Girls, who are now promoting their eerie, dense, catchy, and awesome new album The Night Machines.

The Roadshow kicked off last week here in Savannah with an evening at Southern Pine Company that was especially dynamic and dramatic.

Some of the excitement was due to the new all-ages space in the sprawling Southern Pine Company complex and the indications that Ryan Graveface — godfather of all things Graveface — might be leasing the southeast corner permanently.

Great sound, decent air flow despite no AC on a hot night, tacos from BowTie Barbecue Co., a solid turnout — it was a good night for the Savannah scene.

Hospital Ships kicked things off with atmospheric and meditative songs, at least a few of which are off the brilliant newish album The Past is not a Flood. The garage rock duo Wet Socks (not on the Graveface label) followed with one of their usual killer sets.

A late start and sound complaints compressed the evening, Stardeath and White Dwarfs played a short set. The crowd loved the jammy and psychedelic rock, and I think everyone wanted more.

The Casket Girls were exceptionally polished, I thought, and the occasional choreographed moves made Elsa and Phaedra even more captivating.

Both Tom and I took a bunch of photos — click on through for more.