hissing lawns

Parker Millsap at Forecastle Festival 2015 – photos

by bill • July 22, 2015

This Parker Millsap KEXP session is a year old, but I’m sharing it here because it begins with the delightfully perverse “Quite Contrary”, which was one of the highlights of Millsap & co.’s set on the opening day of Forecastle Festival in Louisville last week.

Oklaboma native Millsap will be bringing his fresh bluesy sound and compelling storytelling to Savannah’s Revival Fest in September, and I have no doubt that the set will be as spirited as last week’s on the WFPK Port Stage, with the Ohio River in the background. Hard to imagine any other 22-year old who would be such a good fit for a festival in old railroad shops.

Andy Berger already previewed that Revival Fest gig for hissing lawns:

Millsap is a 22-year-old Oklahoma native with a baby face and a grown man’s voice, but it’s his knack for crafting a song that makes him stand out as a unique talent. Without the life experiences one might expect a songwriter operating in the American traditions of folk, blues, and country & western to possess, Millsap eschews personal yarns in favor of character sketches that expertly capture the intricacies of the American experience.

For example, “Heaven Sent” — which is not yet available on official release — is described by Millsap as “a love letter from a son who’s gay, to his father who’s a pastor at a small Baptist church in rural anywhere, America.” It’s a moving, heartfelt song that depicts the heartache and chasm created by cultural divides here in 21st Century America.

I guess it’s not a bad thing that Millsap looks like DiCaprio? More photos after the jump:

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Houndmouth at Forecastle Festival 2015 – photos

by bill • July 22, 2015

OK, I’m late to the Houndmouth fan club, but the band from New Albany, Ind. (across the Ohio from Louisville) was one of my favorite acts at Forecastle Festival 2015. Such a talented and versatile foursome, and the new album Little Neon Limelight puts the band’s excellent songwriting front and center. Check out the recent KEXP session, which begins with the gorgeous “Sedona”.

USA Today recently featured Houndmouth in the series On the Verge, and it seems like a band this engaging will soon be headed for much bigger things.

As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t have photo pit access for Forecastle, and I couldn’t even see the drummer from where I was standing, but I got a few photos. Major props to lead singer Matt Myers for the outfit. More photos after the jump:

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White Reaper at Forecastle Fest 2015 – photos

by bill • July 22, 2015

Ahead of last weekend’s Forecastle Festival in Louisville, I obviously sampled music from all the bands I didn’t know, including White Reaper. I immediately loved the garage rock sound, so I added them to my list.

I had no idea at the time that White Reaper is from Louisville, that the band is still really young, and that their brand new album White Reaper Does It Again was streamed by NPR’s First Listen.

I also had no idea that White Reaper puts on the type of high-energy show that we love at this blog. It was one of the festival’s hottest sets, in every sense of the word.

There are obviously some good things going on in Louisville these days, with a DIY scene, a solid club scene, and some real pros helping get the music out there. Early in their set, the band gave a shoutout to sound engineer Kevin Ratterman of La La Land studio, who also worked on Murder By Death’s Big Dark Love and also (I think) ran sound for the MBD cavern show that I reviewed and photographed.

If you like garage rock and punk, I’m pretty sure you’ll be hearing White Reaper again.

Lots more photos after the jump:

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Shovels & Rope – photo gallery from Forecastle Festival 2015

by bill • July 21, 2015

Carrie Ann Hearst is 7 1/2 months pregnant, but she seemed to relish the sun and heat on Saturday afternoon in front of a huge crowd at Forecastle Festival along the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville.

Hearst and husband Michael Trent — who together comprise Shovels & Rope — have one more pre-baby date at Floydfest, but if the Forecastle show was indication, the duo could play right up to the baby’s arrival if they wanted.

Living in Savannah, it’s been pretty easy to follow the rise of Charleston’s Shovels & Rope, who first landed on my radar screen around 2010 when Hearst was performing with The Unchained Tour.

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Forecastle Festival wrap-up + photos from day 3

by bill • July 20, 2015

On the final afternoon of Forecastle Festival 2015, I finally stopped by the Forecastle Foundation booth near the Mast Stage in Louisville’s gorgeous, sprawling Waterfront Park.

The Forecastle Foundation seems both idealistic and pragmatic in its approach to environmental preservation and stewardship. I chatted for a while with board member Doug Weede, who explained that the mural in progress reflected the foundation’s work with the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust on the Pine Mountain Wildlife Corridor. The foundation website calls the Pine Mountain Project “the largest conservation effort ever undertaken in the state.”

It was blazing hot again on Sunday — and I say that as someone who grew up in central Kentucky, lives in Savannah, and likes the heat. The three days of hot weather definitely posed some challenges for the festival, which also had to cope with a very high Ohio River that changed the position of the main stage, a vicious storm on Friday night that cut short Sam Smith’s headlining set and knocked out the projection screens on either side of the stage, and site prep difficulties that delayed the opening of the gates on day two.

But organizers, volunteers, bands, fans and everyone else persevered to make Forecastle an impressive, varied, and hugely successful festival. I was actually less interested in the this year’s headliners than in the acts that played earlier in the day and delivered one great set after another. That was certainly the case on Sunday.

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Forecastle Festival day 2 – photos

by bill • July 19, 2015

Day 2 of Forecastle Festival in Louisville got started an hour late because of the vicious storm the night before, and the day was blazing hot at times, but the music was even hotter.

I’ll write some more commentary in a festival wrap-up soon. Let’s get right to the photos from the great sets I saw on Saturday (more photos in upcoming posts too). Two quick notes: I don’t have pit access, so MMJ was impossible to get close to without camping out for ages, and The Barr Brothers weren’t really the band — two members were stranded in an airport all day — but the performance was still awesome.

Lower Dens:

Mariachi El Bronx:

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Forecastle Festival – day 1 recap + lots of photos

by bill • July 18, 2015

What a thrill to be covering Forecastle Festival in Louisville again this year. The 3-day festival is held in downtown’s Waterfront Park, a beautifully designed space nestled along the Ohio River. Forecastle has tons of great amenities too, which I’ll say more about in a full festival wrap-up in a couple of days.

This post is just a quick walk through my day 1, which included just one act I’ve seen before — St. Paul & The Broken Bones. I do not have photo pit access for Forecastle — hissing lawns is after all a pretty small outlet based over 600 miles away — but it’s always pretty easy to get decent photos at the smaller stages. The larger stages are tougher, obviously. Still, there are lots of pics in this post, so click on through for more.

I started the day with Empires at the Ocean Stage, which is literally under an overpass. I loved the outfit’s sound and charismatic stage presence. I can’t wait to check out their recent album.

Wow, what an excellent weekend lineup on WFPK‘s Port Stage, which is also the most attractive of the four stages. Parker Millsap got things rolling there yesterday, and it’s nice to see that the young Millsap is in fact the real deal. I’ll post a bigger gallery and have more to say about him soon.

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Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour – 7/16/15 – 7/23/15

by Larry Jack Sammons • July 16, 2015

Hey guys,
It looks like another good weekend for music downtown. There are pretty good shows all weekend. There are several bands coming through town this weekend that I hope to catch. I hope to see some of you out this weekend. Don’t forget to drop some love in the bucket if you enjoy any of these bands.

Thursday 16th
Matt Eckstine – Warehouse
Bradford Lee Folk & the Bluegrass Playboys – Sentient Bean
Dobby Simmons & James Lee Smith – Molly MacPherson’s
Eric Culberson (Sav’h Blues) – Bayou Cafe

Friday 17th
Johnny Octane (Sav’h rockabilly) – Rail Pub (7-10p)
Downtown Sheiks – Warehouse
Train Wrecks, Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters, Bradford Lee Folk & the Bluegrass Playboys – Jinx ($10)
Blackfoot Gypsies (Nashville blues rock) – Congress Street Social Club
Forced Entry (Sav’h punk), Wet Socks (Sav’h garage punk), DUMB Doctors (Charleston rock), Sauna Heat (Providence rock), House Of Gunt (12:30a) – Hang Fire Birthday Party
Magic Rocks (Sav’h classic rock) – Molly MacPherson’s
NoNeed (Tampa reggae rock, with trumpet &sax) – World of Beer

Saturday 18th
Naps, Cleats – Sentient Bean
Velvet Caravan (Sav’h gypsy-jazz) – Randy Woods ($20)
Charlie Fog Band (Sav’h Grateful Dead covers) – Molly MacPherson’s
Bardus (Philly noise rock), Pretty Please (Atlanta grunge), Hot Plate (Sav’h math rock) – Jinx
Wood & Steel (Sav’h Americana), Southern Maple Band (Sav’h rock) – Barrelhouse South
Solomon’s Ghost (Statesboro prog metal), Pridemeat (Sav’h death metal), Sincision (Statesboro metal) – Dollhouse Studios ($5)

Sunday 19th
Harbor Pilots – Molly MacPherson’s 10th Anniversary (1-8)
Ray Lundy – Jazz’d

Monday 20th
Culture Vulture (Sav’h instrumental progressive rock), Trees on Mars (SC prog rock), Beneath Trees (Sav’h blues punk) – Hang Fire

Tuesday 21st
Lukas Borsten – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7p)

Thursday 23rd
COEDS (Sav’h rawk), Carpet Coats (Sav’h freak-folk) – Civvies Grand Opening (14 W. Broughton, 6-10p)

CUSSES e.p. release with Crazy Bag Lady, The Bronzed Chorus and Fiasco – photos

by Tom Cartmel • July 16, 2015

All right, here’s a speedy review of the CUSSES e.p. release party for “Here Comes the Rat” at Hang Fire last weekend. Nice crowd, free cd with paid cover, cold beer and a consistently strong, interesting, and varied lineup. What’s not to like?

Crazy Bag Lady opened with a blistering set, possibly the best of the dozens of times I’ve seen them. Maybe it was just me, but I don’t think so. Tight, angry and a little unhinged. New songs sound great.

Charleston’s fiasco was up next and served up a super set of early 90’s indebted melodic post hardcore. They’ll probably hate that description, but whatever you call it, I dug it.

Holy crap, why didn’t you guys tell me about The Bronzed Chorus? Seriously, why? A guitar and drums instrumental 2 piece, I was entranced throughout the entire set. Guitar was looped and layered, both over itself and the insane time signatures coming from the drum kit. Apparently the polyrythmic percussionist needed a challenge, so he often played keys and a trigger pad with his left hand while somehow keeping track of his other appendages simultaneously. Craziness. HIGHLY recommended for fans of Don Cabellero, Trans Am, Tristeza, Breadwinner, basically any math rock.

The bar was set high for CUSSES to finish the night, but do you think Angel, Bryan, and Brian let the sweaty, amped up crowd down? Not a chance. Another great set to cap a fantastic night of rock from all over the spectrum.

Lots of pics, be sure to click through.

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Creepoid record release at Hang Fire with Crazy Bag Lady & Ghost Foot – photos

by bill • July 16, 2015

Creepoid‘s Savannah release show for Cemetery Highrise Slum was on Monday night at Hang Fire. The “briefly Savannahian heavy/psych/noise/slowcore/stoner/hazy rock outfit (and all around nice people)” — to borrow Tom’s words — cranked the smoke machine and played an inspiring (and very hot) latenight set. They spoke of their love for Savannah, gave a shoutout to Ramsey, and even played a song in honor of Warren’s recently deceased dog Penny.

Creepoid has given up the Savannah apartment, but many of us are hoping/expecting that they’ll be back here regularly.

Crazy Bag Lady was also on the bill, fittingly, with yet another sharp set, and Ghost Foot from Shreveport was a late addition to the bill (I regrettably missed Ghost Foot completely).

At some point, I realized that there had to be at least five of us getting some sort of decent images, despite Hang Fire’s notorious darkness and despite Creepoid’s smoke machine. So here’s a big collaborative photo gallery from Wicked Ways Photography (click here for her Facebook page); Dave Spangenberg, who was using only his phone (check out his Facebook page and website); Jason Nielubowicz, who was experimenting with a new camera; Tom Cartmel, who was using his usual stealth equipment; and me, who struggled with my Nikon with a 50 mm 1.4 lens. Click on through for a whole lot more:

Wicked Ways:

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BJ Barham of American Aquarium solo at The Jinx – photos + review

by bill • July 15, 2015

BJ Barham — the frontman for American Aquarium — played at The Jinx here in Savannah last week as part of his ongoing solo tour across the South.

B.J. has written so many good songs over the years that I didn’t know what he’d play at this gig, but all the choices felt just right for a relatively quiet barroom on a hot Wednesday night in the middle of Savannah’s slowest season. With little commentary and with a relaxed command of the stage, B.J. began the 70 minute or so set with — “Burn.flicker.die.”, “Hard to Quit”, “Wolves”, “Lonely Ain’t Easy”, and “Water in the Well”. Later on, the setlist included “Katharine Belle”, “Man I’m Supposed to Be”, “Hurricane”, and — of course — “Savannah Almost Killed Me”.

If you know anything about American Aquarium, you probably recognize a few of those titles — and you probably know that they come from a variety of albums the band has released over the last decade. BJ has bravely chronicled his emotional journey over those years — as a member of a band on the verge of breaking up, as a heavy drinker (now reformed), as a man unable to find his place in the world, as a chronicler of the frustrated hopes of small towns in the South. It’s definitely going to be interesting to see what experiences BJ channels in the years ahead now that the band is finding well-deserved success, now that he’s sober, now that he’s got a wife that he’s clearly crazy about.

Contributors to this blog go to a lot of rowdy shows — from foot-stomping bluegrass to frenetic punk — but sometimes it’s nice to see an artist like BJ at the top of his game playing beautifully crafted songs with just the right amount of restraint.

Everymen returns to The Jinx – photos

by bill • July 15, 2015

I saw the Florida-based Everymen for the first time last year, and pretty much anyone who has seen Everymen once will plan to see them again. They play a kind of gypsy hillbilly punk, they tell bad jokes (What do you call a frog in a no parking zone? Toad.), they climb on stuff, they egg the crowd into various games like this tour’s fight with foam thingies and even limbo.

Of course, the stage antics wouldn’t work if the band didn’t have such an interesting sound and esthetic. Check out the 2014 video for “Masquerade”: