Black Water Choir recently stopped in to ArtLab Sessions, and here are some still shots from that video shoot and live recording. We’ll post a link to the videos as soon as they become available. You can view other videos and shoots on ArtLab Sessions’ Facebook page by following this link.
Black Water Choir
Black Water Choir
Black Water Choir
Black Water Choir
Black Water Choir
Black Water Choir
I’m going to keep this brief, there’s a lot of photos to look at. Saturday night at The Jinx was a BLAST.
I’m looking forward to seeing Bent Out of Shape again. I love grunge/noise/protopunk and they fit the bill nicely.
Athens’ SHEHEHE has a fairly unique sound with dual, aggressive, harmonizing female vocals, tight punk rock instrumentation and legit songs. I remember liking them the last time I saw them, this time I loved their set. I have no idea why I didn’t pick up their new vinyl at the show. They’re playing A.U.R.A. Fest in Statesboro soon.
COEDS, as always, ruled.
Peelander-Z……let’s see here….there were costumes, dumb/fun songs (who knew “Old MacDonald” could be so much fun?), crowd participation, human bowling, a wrestling match in the crowd, giant mic stands, whole crowd limboing, walking on the bar, beer coasters were eaten, bartender playing the drums, So Many Mikes…..I don’t know, just chaos and sloppy, messy, noisy, fun. The evening, like some of my pictures, was not always in focus, but it was glorious. Just go with it.
Singer-songwriter Isaac Smith has been making a name for himself in Savannah, both through his own band’s performances, as well as lately through guest-spots with everyone from Colin Gilmore to Black Water Choir. He can regularly be seen playing out in town, and a quick check of YouTube brings up a variety of performances. More recently he released an album Magnolia Bloom that’s available on iTunes, as well as at his shows.
Isaac Smith
To read more about Isaac, check his performance schedule, etc., visit his website.
Look, don’t ask questions, just show up at The Jinx Saturday night with a sense of humor and experience the lunacy that is Peelander-Z. As a matter of fact, show up early, because I know for a fact that SHEHEHE and COEDS seriously rule. I haven’t caught Bent Out of Shape yet, but let’s assume that they’re amazing too.
I don’t even know how to describe the Peelander-Z set at the 2014 Savannah Stopover, so I won’t try, just look at the pictures and realize that it was more chaotic and colorful than the photos. Don’t screw up, the show (and trust me, it is a SHOW) is at 10pm. I’m even going to guess that it will start sort of, kind of, on time, as there are 4 bands on the bill and there will be a crowd.
Lots of pictures after the jump.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t familiar with Lullwater when I went to The Jinx Friday night, but the crowd that filled the place sure was. At the end of the night, though, I had enjoyed the set almost as much as many of the people who were singing along to the songs. Just a plain old, super solid, energetic set of straight up rock played to an appreciative crowd. Good stuff.
BigBigXtraFace and Falling In opened the night, and sounded great, but I only caught 1 song from Falling In (didn’t even have time to get my camera out), and my pictures of BigBigXtraFace were all shot from the same spot and not so great.
Anyway, as always, more pics after the jump.
Dope Sandwich, the Savannah-based indie label that for years has been at the forefront of the region’s hip hop scene, has had a prolific year — and the work keeps coming out.
Late last year, Dope Sandwich released the Miggs‘ video for “Illest Illustrator” from his debut album Son of a Gun:
And here’s the third and newest single from Knife‘s latest album Iconoclast:
On April 28th, Dope Sandwich will release the debut album Blood Is Not Enough by Savannah Trip-Hop band Bassdrum Bloodlust. The record will be Dope Sandwich’s first non-hip hop release.
We’ll be following developments as Dope Sandwich continues to build on its already-impressive body of work.
Who doesn’t like Dawes?
As Jim Reed said in his excellent preview of the quartet’s Savannah Music Festival performance in Do Savannah, Dawes has become known for “meticulously crafted, emotion-drenched, country-tinged, everyman-inspired ‘classic rock’ songwriting epitomized by the likes of Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison and The Band.” (UPDATE: Click here for Jim’s review of the show.)
But I arrived at Trustees Theater on Sunday night expecting the live show — the SMF gig was the band’s Savannah debut — to be a lot like the recorded tracks. Beautiful, but occasionally a little somber.
The first surprise was the 5th person on stage — guitarist Duane Betts, who brought an unexpected energy to the show. The next surprise came with the opening number, “That Western Skyline,” which frontman Taylor Goldsmith sang with more edge than the somewhat wistful recorded version.
And that was a sign of things to come, as the band tore through a 2 hour set that breathed fresh, urgent life into the group’s already-strong songs.
Goldsmith said just enough to express his pleasure at palying Savannah for the first time, but the pace of the show never slowed. Some of the most effective moments came when drummer Griffin Goldsmith was singing too — the brothers’ voices work beautifully together. Keyboardist Tay Strathairn and bassist Wylie Gelber were also even better live than I imagined from the recorded work, though I sure wish Strathairn hadn’t been buried stage right in the midst of his instruments — sometimes he was completely obscured from view of the seats down front.
I was especially impressed by the gripping rendition of “A Little Bit of Everything”, “Time Spent in Los Angeles”, and “If I Wanted Someone”, but there wasn’t a weak moment in the set.
The rapt crowd at Trustees stayed in their seats for most of the show — the space sort of dictates that most shows are “sit down” ones — but a group of jubilant dancers moved down front at the end. The encore began with an especially entertaining cover of Warren Zevon’s “The Hula Hula Boys” — a great choice to finish a fantastic concert.
Hey guys,
The Savannah Music Festival starts tonight. There are several sites that you can read about the fine shows there, I will only mention a few of them on my listings. The downtown shows may be slightly less numerous than the last few weeks, but I think a small break will be welcome after the Stopover and St. Patrick’s weekends. I listed a few shows at the brand-new live music location, Paddy O’Shea’s, which is on MLK, next to Carlito’s. It is a pretty large venue, about a 300-400 capacity. I hope to catch a show there this week.
BTW, if anyone has an extra ticket to Shovels and Rope, I will be glad to take it off their hands. <edit> I got one, thanks for the offers.
Thursday 19th
Cory Chambers (of City Hotel) – Dept. 7 (7-10p)
Jon Lee’s Apparitions – Warehouse
Gunsafe (CA folk-punk), Sara Clash – Sentient Bean (8-10p)
Groove Town Assault – Barrelhouse South
Friday 20th
Shovels & Rope – Savannah Music Festival
Eric Culberson (Sav’h blues) – Barrelhouse South
Jeremy Riddle & Friends – Molly MacPherson’s
Lullwater (Athens alternative rock), BigBigXtraFace (Sav’h hard rock), Falling In (Sav’h grunge) – Jinx
Voodoo Fix (Los Angeles rock & roll) – Congress Street Social Club
Wood & Steel (Sav’h Americana) – Paddy O’Shea’s
Saturday 21st
Bay Uno, Dare Dukes – Sentient Bean ($5, 8p)
Alex Culbreth, Rocket 350, Jimmy & The Teasers, Dusty Booze & The Baby Haters – Jinx
C Powers, Plaza Files, Lotion In The Basket – Hang Fire
Droppin’ Dimes (Savannah rock) – Paddy O’Shea’s
Great Barrier Reefs – Congress Street Social Club
Nick Moss Band (Chicago rock), The Fustics (NC Americana) – Barrelhouse South
Skiples – BarFood
Sins Of Godless Men, Kennedy Curse, Room Full Of Strangers, Landmines, Spray Tan – Guild Hall (all ages, 6:30p)
Crushed Out – Sentient Bean
Monday 23rd
Black Pussy (Portland psychedelic rock), Bully Pulpit (Charleston rock) – Jinx
Doomsquad, Phedre, Faery Teeth, Xerome – Hang Fire
Tuesday 24th
Clouds & Satellites (Savannah rock) – Foxy Loxy (7p)
Wednesday 25th
Natalie Prass, Ryley Walker – Hang Fire
From our friends in Velvet Caravan:
The Austin Chronicle says, in part:
The quintet’s varied lineage contributes to its eclectic sound, as the group weaves thick threads of Latin and gypsy music into acoustic swing jazz. Last year’s “Acoustic In Nature” documents the group’s compositional whimsy and ferocious technique.
photo by Jon Waits
Diarrhea Planet topped Paste Magazine’s list of the The 25 Best Live Acts of 2014. If the band’s show at The Jinx on the final night of Savannah Stopover is any indication, Diarrhea Planet will be picking up similar accolades in 2015 and for a long time to come.
I don’t know if I’d say the recent show in Savannah started “a riot” — that’s how Pigeons and Planes described it — but the crowd in front of the stage was roiling, exuberant mess (in a good way).
My fellow hissing lawns blogger and photographer was around on the side, and I was stuck stage right, but we both got plenty of shots that we liked. So here’s a huge gallery of one of the festival’s highlights (lots more after the jump):
Matthew E. White will be on Letterman on Monday, March 16 and then heads on to SXSW. His brand new album Fresh Blood, which was released a few days ago, has been getting rave reviews. From the stage at Trinity United Methodist Church for Savannah Stopover, White noted a couple of times that none of us knew the songs yet since the album had not yet been released. I restrained myself from raising my hand to point out that the fantastic new record was already streaming at NPR. After a few plays of Fresh Blood, there was no way I was going to miss White’s show.
White has roots in jazz, but one gets the impression he could play any style he wants to play. The low key frontman and his excellent band had dozens of folks dancing in the aisle before the end of the show, and I think we’re all looking forward to White’s return to Savannah with J. Roddy Walston & The Business on May 29th at The Jinx.
