Sound Bites Issue #20.05 :: 01/31/2007 - 02/06/2007 Sound Bites Eric Skelton, Tin Cup Prophette, The Decade | Wednesday
Sugar Daddy — Call me a softie, but damn if I don’t love the combination of rock ‘n’ roll and altruism. And while Sugar Daddy might suffer from a lack of original songs, the sextet more than makes up for it with a bevy of cover material by rock ‘n’ roll monoliths such as The Beatles, Van Morrison, The Band, The Rolling Stones, Buffalo Springfield and the like. And damn if they don’t do it for the right reasons: Sugar Daddy formed in 2005 with the express purpose of playing a benefit for A.C. Moore Elementary. Tonight’s show is a benefit for the Adopt-a-Guardsman program, which provides supplies and support for Palmetto State guardsmen and their families. It’s an appropriate cause, too — Sugar Daddy bassist (and state Rep. James Smith) is a guardsman whose unit has been called into service. P. Wall
Jillian’s: 7 p.m., $3; 779-7789.
Thursday
Frank Peters — “If there’s anybody who can save the rap game, in an industry full of phoney rappers it’s f#!kin Frank Peters!” says Howard Letterman of Underground Sound Chambers. OK, we’ll admit that we swiped that from Peters’ Embassy Entertainment Group homepage, but whomever Mr. Letterman is, he’s not entirely off-base. Peters, who drops his new album, Before the Deal tonight, has a smooth, easygoing flow that meshes well with Black Album-era Jay-Z beats. With the right kind of support, why couldn’t this Boston-by-way-of-Portugal rapper make it big? P. Wall
Headliners: 8 p.m., $10; 796-2333, headlinerscolumbia.com.
Tin Cup Prophette —Tin Cup Prophette is passing through Columbia on its way back to Athens after a couple of regional dates with Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. Celebrated in Flagpole as the alternative weekly’s third-favorite local release of 2006, the hazy musings of Amanda Kapousouz sound a bit like deranged lullabies capable of inspiring dreams or nightmares. There’s a touch of Portishead in the pairing of drum loops and string arrangements, but Tin Cup Prophette is decidedly less British and more Southern Gothic. Built around the songwriting of James Ponce, headliner About Zoe began as an acoustic project, which explains the simple and direct song structures. Ponce calls dibs on the influences of Leonard Cohen, Fiona Apple, Bruce Cockburn, Concrete Blonde and, strangely, Beethoven, but the closest reference point I can hear is that of a decaffeinated Urge Overkill. These two acts make for strange bedfellows, to be sure, but if there’s a venue in Columbia that can pull it off, it’s Art Bar. K. Langston
Art Bar: 10 p.m., $3; 929-0198, artbarsc.com.
Friday
Gospel Jubilee — And on the seventh day, the Lord rested. The rest of us — the devout among us, anyway — took that as a cue to raise our voices and say, “Hey, Lord. Thanks for, you know, making the world. It’s pretty rad.” Sure, that’s dumbing it down a bit, but very few genres exude pure joy like gospel music, and this year’s South Carolina Gospel Jubilee promises to be a wingding of biblical proportions. Headliners Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs came late to the gospel game (around since the late ‘60s, the group only started recording in the ‘90s), but they’ve quickly made up ground with several Billboard Gospel chartburners. P. Wall
Township Auditorium: 6:30 p.m., $30.50 ($25.50 advance); 576-2350, thetownship.org.
Loch Ness Johnny — This popular local export has been about as difficult to spot these days as its namesake Nessie (singer Donald Merckle and drummer Andrew Hoose have been busy with American Gun), but I can assure you no camera tricks or rigged special effects will be afoot when Johnny brings its rock ‘n’ reel to Columbia’s beloved brew pub. For the uninitiated, Loch Ness Johnny beefs up the songs of Celtic and Appalachian traditions with a rowdy bar-band approach that’ll have you jigging and swigging in no time. K. Langston
Hunter-Gatherer: 11 p.m., $3; 748-0540.
Eric Skelton — I mean no disrespect to Jammin Java, as I absolutely adore the subterranean enclave of coffee and culture. But if there were any justice in this world, Mr. Skelton would be playing much larger halls to a legion of fawning fangirls and heart-sleeved fellows. Nevertheless, Skelton will be celebrating the release of One More Smile, Fake as the Night is Blue in the cozy confines of Jammin Java. One More Smile is Skelton’s most fully realized effort yet, and a damn fine display of his keen songwriting. The lush arrangements and broad scope almost betray his singer-songwriter roots, but it’s those roots that give these songs the depth and character that is sorely lacking in a greater musical landscape that is more transfixed on style rather than substance. Skelton is the real deal. Take notes. Local chanteuse Hannah Miller opens. K. Langston
Jammin Java: 9 p.m., $10; 254-2582, jamminjava.net.
Saturday
The Decade — Purists might sneer and snicker, but there’s just something about modern pop-punk megastars such as Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory that connects with today’s young whippersnappers more than proto-pop-punk purveyors The Buzzcocks and The Jam. So Columbia youngsters The Decade are more Simple Plan than The Shapes. So what? The Decade’s adherence to the tried-and-true formula of one part churning guitars, one part memorable hooks and a heaping helping of earnest vocals brings them to the crest of the Capital City’s burgeoning emo-tinged pop-punk wave. Opener Maladroit used to be The Maladroit Mafia, but the group is shedding its two-tone skank for a more progressive sound. Mark Roberts & the Twenty-Somethings, Hello Tomorrow and The Little League All-Stars open. P. Wall
New Brookland Tavern: 5 p.m., $5 ($8 under 21); 796-4113, newbrooklandtavern.com.
The Lettermen — Talk about longevity — The Lettermen’s first single for Capitol, “The Way You Look Tonight,” dropped in 1961, and the group hasn’t looked back since. Though Tony Butala is the only original member of the trio — which formed at Brigham Young University in 1958 — the emphasis on smooth, three-part vocal harmony has remained The Lettermen’s ethos. (Which really can’t be easy — Butala has performed with 12 other vocalists over the years.) P. Wall
Newberry Opera House: 3 & 8 p.m., $37.50; 276-6264, newberryoperahouse.com.
Chris Proctor — The Unitarian Coffeehouse series continues what has to be its most eclectic season ever with two fascinating performers: Asheville’s Chris Proctor is a fingerstyle guitarist with roots in folk, jazz, pop, classical and world music. His technique has been compared to Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges, which is pretty auspicious company for any acoustic guitarist. Ayala Asherov Kalus is an Israeli singer-songwriter whose “Along the Sea” was recorded by Ofra Haza. She has studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, but thankfully she hasn’t become entirely commercialized or even Americanized yet — her own style is mellow, jazzy and piano-driven, like a combination of Norah Jones and Astrud Gilberto. K. Oliver
United Universalist Fellowship Coffeehouse: 7:30 p.m., $12 ($10 advance); 1-888-849-4224 ext. 4, chaliceweb.org/uufc.
Why Johnny Kills — There are some bands that are impossible simply for the sake of being impossible, but I give these guys more credit than that. It might be arcane, but I believe there’s a method to their psycho-fusion experimentalist madness. Besides, music shouldn’t always be safe and easy. In fact, I’d say it’s oftentimes too safe and easy, so kudos to Why Johnny Kills for taking a dump in the swimming pool. Opening are post-millennial garage rock band The Cogburns and local upstart rockers The Unawares. K. Langston
Art Bar: 10 p.m., $3; 929-0198, artbarsc.com. | |
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