hissing lawns

The Slackers at The Jinx – photos

by Tom Cartmel • May 29, 2015

The Slackers have been a band for 23+ years. How do you survive that long as a band? By delivering sets like the one that a crowded room at The Jinx got to enjoy last Wednesday. The kind of set that has the whole room moving for an hour and a half or so. Hell, I almost even danced. A set that you can tell the performers are enjoying. The kind of performance where the bar staff shows up on their night off to see the show. A show where the encore consists of songs requested by the crowd. A set of reggae, ska, rock steady, ska, soul, dub, rock, whatever….who cares what it’s called, just keep playing it.

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Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour 5/28/15 – 6/2/15

by Larry Jack Sammons • May 27, 2015

Hey guys,
Lots of good music this week again. No need to talk about it, I’ll get right to it on our Connect Best Of award-winning site (sorry if it gets old, I like saying that)

Thursday 28th – Those Cats are returning to Savannah tonight, they are definitely worth going out on a Thursday night. I hope to slip down to River Street and catch a bit of Apparitions tonight also. If you happen to be on the Southside, I would recommend heading over to Georgetown and checking out Super Bob at Rachael’s, they put on a high energy show.
Those Cats – Barrelhouse South
Jon Lee’s Apparitions – Warehouse
Super Bob – Rachael’s 1190

Friday 29th – Another fun night Downtown. I plan to start the evening off with a great reggae show in Forsyth Park. Then I’ll head down to the Jinx for a highly anticipated show from J Roddy Walston and Avers (this show may sell out, you can buy tickets online). If you don’t make it to the Jinx, there are still plenty of choices. One of Savannah’s best guitarists, Ben Keiser, is at Rocks On The Roof, jam band Orange Constant from Statesboro is at Barrelhouse, and one of my favorite bands, the Hypnotics, will be at Social Club with a Leukemia benefit show.
Rusted Root, Wailers – SCAD Graduation in Forsyth Park (7p)
J Roddy Walston & The Business, Avers – Jinx ($25)
Hypnotics – Congress Street Social Club
Ben Keiser Trio – Rocks On The Roof
Orange Constant – Barrelhouse South

Saturday 30th – There is plenty of music again tonight. I plan to bounce back and forth from the punk show at Hang Fire to the metal show at the Jinx, so if you see my ears bleeding tonight, you know what happened. I hope to find time to see some Americana from another favorite, the Train Wrecks, at Social Club and classic rock from the Magic Rocks at Molly’s.
Wet Socks, Crazy Bag Lady, Generational Pill – Hang Fire
Bear Fight!, Brother Hawk, Big Jesus, Stonerider – Jinx
No Sound In Space Party – Wormhole ($5)
SPORE – Barrelhouse South
Train Wrecks – Congress Street Social Club
Magic Rocks – Molly MacPherson’s

Sunday 31st – There are a few chances to see some Americana from Waits & Co over the next few days. If you make it to one of the shows, be sure to congratulate Jon Waits for winning Connect’s best singer-songwriter award.
Waits & Co – Blowin Smoke (1p)

Tuesday 2nd
Waits & Co – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7p)

Caleb Klauder Country Band, The Bread and Butter Band, and Black Water Choir at ArtLab Sessions – videos

by JWaits • May 27, 2015

Here are the latest video releases from ArtLab Sessions, featuring Caleb Klauder Country Band, The Bread and Butter Band, and Black Water Choir.

Caleb Klauder Country Band

The Bread and Butter Band

Black Water Choir

Preview: Parker Millsap at Savannah Revival Fest

by andy_berger • May 27, 2015

The 2015 Savannah Revival Fest lineup was announced last week, and while I was excited to see that Southern Culture on the Skids and Those Darlins will be returning to town, I was most excited to see Parker Millsap‘s name on the bill.

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.

***

Elsewhere, the lead single off Millsap’s self-titled debut album, the shit-kicking “Truck Stop Gospel,” is about a preacher who drives his rig across the country in hopes of saving the truckers and lot lizards that people this nation’s truck stops. I’m not sure if that’s actually a thing, but it feels like it’s absolutely a thing, and it makes for a heck of a compelling song.

***

Like in previous years, I’m sure this year’s Revival Fest will afford all of us the opportunity to discover some new favorites; however, Millsap is one act I’m already excited to hear in the Railroad Museum’s Paint Shops.

Revival Fest tickets are on sale now. There are limited quantities of advanced tickets available for $35, so get ‘em before they go up to the regular price of $45!

Dick Dale at The Wormhole – photos + videos

by sweitman • May 26, 2015

I’ve bragged to a lot of people about seeing Dick Dale at The Wormhole back in April, and only a handful have actually known who he is, so if you don’t recognize the name, you are not alone. For context: if you’ve ever seen the end of Pulp Fiction, when Vince and Jules are walking out of the restaurant and there’s a guitar riff playing – that’s “Miserlou” by Dick Dale.

I first learned about Dick Dale in a class at UGA, and was in awe hearing about his experiences in the music world (Leo Fender designing a guitar and challenging him to destroy it), his unique technique (lefty playing guitar upside down), and who he had influenced as a musician (The Ventures, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, and Sonic Youth among countless others). Seriously, read up a little on him if you have a minute.

Known as the father of surf rock, Dick Dale began playing in the late 1950s and, at 78 years old, is still going strong today. I had no idea what to expect from this concert and, honestly, prepared to be the youngest person there. I figured, no matter what, this was something that I didn’t want to miss. As Dale walked onto the stage, accompanied by security, I got the impression that this show might not have too much gusto. I’ve never been happier to be wrong. Dick Dale puts on a show like you would expect from any classic rock icon – loud and a little bit showy, but in the best way possible. A couple more photos (I didn’t have my best camera with me, btw) and another video after the jump.

Dick Dale – “Miserlou”

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Black Tusk, Prone and Bottled Violence at The Jinx – photos

by Tom Cartmel • May 25, 2015

The first thing I did when I heard Athon had passed away…well,…the first thing that I did was cry. After that, well, I cried a little more. After that, though, I thought that the mighty Black Tusk couldn’t go on. After a bit of time, I heard that Corey Barhorst (Niche, ex-Kylesa, Tonto (is Tonto still a thing? man, I really liked them)) was going to play bass on the already booked European tour supporting Black Label Society. “Okay,” I thought, “Corey’s a great musician and it makes sense for them to do this tour.” Then I saw the online tour diary and the band spreading their friend’s ashes in the places that he loved to tour and play. Black Tusk has always thrived live and reviews from the tour confirmed that hadn’t changed one bit. I began to think, “How could they not go on? It makes perfect sense.”

Saturday night’s return to The Jinx was everything I expected it to be: capacity crowd of familiar faces, great local support from Prone and Bottled Violence, PBR and whiskey flowing, metal tunes curated by DJ Metal Rob, some tears, and at the center of it all a killer live set from Andrew, Corey and James. Though Athon’s outsized personality was undoubtedly missed, the band didn’t miss a beat, and it made me realize that they really had three front men, all capable of carrying the band, and they still do. Andrew has maybe taken on a bit more of the traditional front man role (or maybe it was my imagination), but the outfit is still a power trio in every sense. The new songs sounded great, too, although there is still no release date for the record made before Athon’s passing. I can’t wait to hear it.

~~Black Tusk is dead.~~ Long live Black Tusk.

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Caleb Warren & The Perfect Gentlemen, Clouds & Satellites, and Cold Heart Canyon at the Thursday Night Opry – photos

by JWaits • May 24, 2015

The Spring Edition of Trinity Sanctuary Concerts‘ Thursday Night Opry was held recently, and we have photos of headliners Caleb Warren & The Perfect Gentlemen, Clouds & Satellites, and Coldheart Canyon.

Caleb Warren & The Perfect Gentlemen

Clouds & Satellites

Cold Heart Canyon

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Black Tusk returns to The Jinx in Savannah on 5/23

by bill • May 23, 2015

I’m sure there will be some intense emotion tonight (Sat., 5/23) at The Jinx here in Savannah. The metal trio Black Tusk is playing their first hometown gig since Athon’s death in 2014. Corey Barhorst has stepped in on bass for the winter European tour with Black Label Society — a tour that Athon was especially excited about. This is also the first Black Tusk show since Andrew Fidler’s son was born.

From Josh Peacock in this week’s Do Savannah:

From the English Channel to the Gulf of Finland, Fidler, May and Barhorst spread portions of Athon’s remains in more than a dozen rivers and lakes across Europe as well as the Atlantic Ocean, memorializing their friend with a deed befitting his own exuberant life.

“We knew he was being cremated,” Fidler said. “James and I were talking with Athon’s mom and tossing around ideas of what we were going to do with him. Athon spent the better part of his life traveling the world. Why not take his ashes and put them around the world?”

“It made sense for how he lived,” May added. “How any of us live!”

Here’s drummer James May talking about the upcoming record with Anna Chandler in Connect:

I know on this one, for a few albums we had said, ‘This song isn’t long enough,’ ‘This song is too long.’ On this album, whenever we felt like a song was done, it was done. Even if it was two minutes long. We hadn’t done that in a long time—just wrote some short, banger songs. And on this one, there’s those, which I like, because it gets a little old when you’re monitoring yourself: ‘This isn’t quite long enough, so we need to write another part.’ Even if you think the song’s fine. So we didn’t do that with this, and I think it came out better that way.

I’m sure Athon will be on hand somewhere enjoying the show:

Shaky Knees Music Festival photos now on our Facebook page

by bill • May 22, 2015

We’ve posted a lot of coverage of Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Music Festival, the incredible 3-day indie festival that just celebrated its 3rd year. But now I’ve put all the photos into Facebook galleries for easier viewing.

You’ll find significant numbers of photos here of the headliners from each night of Shaky Knees — The Strokes, The Avett Brothers, and Tame Impala — plus lots of pics of other acts, including Pixies, Social Distortion, Mastodon, TV on the Radio, Clutch, Interpol, Ride, The Kooks, Surfer Blood, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Dr. Dog, Best Coast, The Both, Old 97’s, Palma Violets, Speedy Ortiz, and, well, on and on. The lineup was really something.

As I noted in previous posts, I was extremely impressed with almost every facet of Shaky Knees, and I was glad to see so many folks from Savannah make the trip. Maybe next year we’ll have a big hissing lawns meet up for Savannahians during the fest. The deal with embedded Facebook galleries: if you’re logged into Facebook as a business page you might not be able to see these. (And, as always, “likes” on Facebook are much appreciated.)

Posted by hissing lawns on Friday, May 15, 2015

Posted by hissing lawns on Saturday, May 16, 2015

Larry Jack’s Magical Music Tour 5/21/15 – 5/28/15

by Larry Jack Sammons • May 21, 2015

Hey guys,
I would like to say is a big “Thank you” to anyone reading that voted for this blog in the Connect contest. Tom Cartmel and I got a chance to go to the party for the first time, and we really had a good time. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to go. On with the picks for the weeks.

Thursday 21st
Bit Brigade, DOT, Trophy Wives, Nightly Borders – Chromatic Dragon (8p)
Caleb Warren & The Perfect Gentlemen, Clouds & Satellites – Trinity Church ($10, 7:30p)

Friday 22nd
Ambrose – Congress Street Social Club
Crazy Man Crazy, Whiskey Diablo – Wormhole
Hoplight, SPORE – Barrelhouse South
Magic Rocks – Molly MacPherson’s
Oceanstone – World Of Beer
Waits & Co, Caleb Warren & The Perfect Gentlemen, City Hotel – Jinx
Heavy Pets – Southbound Anniversary Concert

Saturday 23rd
Eric Sommer – Sentient Bean
Atlas Road Crew, The Fritz – Barrelhouse South
Black Tusk, Bottled Violence (Minor Threat cover band), Prone, DJ Metal Rob – Jinx ($10)
Trongone Band (VA rock family w/ trombone) – Congress Street Social Club

Sunday 24th
Wood And Steel – Rocks On The Roof
U2BYUV (U2 tribute band), Steppin Stones – Wild Wing

Tuesday 26th
Clouds & Satellites – Foxy Loxy Cafe

Wednesday 27th
Pussy Launcher, Death Of Paris, Sins Of Godless Men, Hotplate – Hang Fire

Thursday 28th
Those Cats – Barrelhouse South

Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest of Glass, Velvet Caravan at Service Brewing – photos + video

by bill • May 21, 2015

MusicFile Productions (parent company of Savannah Stopover and Revival Fest) has paired with Service Brewing on Indian Street for a series of concerts. First up was Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest of Glass with Velvet Caravan.

Kiah is a spectacular performer with an especially compelling voice, and her band consists of members of this mountain, who have a devoted Savannah following of their own. Our friends in Velvet Caravan, which won Best Jazz Band in Connect’s Best of Savannah awards this week, opened the show and then joined Amythyst and the rest for one final song:

Amazing encore of Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest of Glass with Velvet Caravan last night at Service Brewing. Stopover alumni supergroup! Thanks to everyone who came out.

Posted by Savannah Stopover on Friday, May 15, 2015

And a few pics (there’s a nice new stage, but not any real light on it yet):

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hey readers, thank you again. seriously.

by bill • May 20, 2015

Tom Cartmel and Larry Jack Sammons were the official hissing lawns representatives last night at the Morris Center to pick up our award for being chosen Savannah’s best blog for 2015 in Connect Savannah’s Best of Savannah readers’ poll, but there were other people associated with our site who were also on hand, including Jon Waits, Jason Nielubowicz, Kayne Lanahan, and Anna Chandler (a former contributor who is now Connect’s A&E editor).

As it turns out, we didn’t just win the award for best Savannah-based blog. hissing lawns was also runner-up for best website to Connect Savannah itself. I’m not really sure what people were voting for when they typed us in for that latter category — the simplicity of the design? the breadth of the photography? the seriousness with which we examine the local music scene? our heavy use of video and audio? Whatever the case, we’re pretty freakin’ pleased.

Kayne Lanahan, Tom Cartmel, Jason Nielubowicz, & Larry Jack Sammons

Because of a torrential downpour, our certificate was left at the party, so that photo above might be the only hard evidence of our win. We may not have the physical certificate, but we do have this fine photo of Larry Jack with Wet Socks, in tacky drag:

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