| | Issue #21.02 :: 01/09/2008 - 01/15/2008 | Shawty Lo, Mike Ferris and Hannah Miller
Plus: Damn the Sun, The Unawares and More
| BY FREE TIMES WRITERS
| Wednesday
The Pennyroyals — Sure, The Pennyroyals are pretty cool. After all, the New York City quartet’s Velvet Revolver-cum-All Time Low alterna-rock vibe’s gotten them featured on Fearless TV alongside sonic bedmates Paramore and Sound the Alarm. (The band also features ex-members of expats Chasing August.) But you’ll pardon me if I’m slightly more excited about Sumter’s Castalia, who sound exactly what Rainer Maria would have sounded like if Rainer Maria had signed to SST circa 1987 — lilting, loping melodies that veer to thrashing emotional catharsis at the drop of a hat. Castalia’s reclaiming emo for the kids who never forgot Rites of Spring and Sunny Day Real Estate. It’s a good thing. Threeve opens. P. Wall
New Brookland Tavern: $5 ($8 under 21); 791-4413, newbrooklandtavern.com.
Thursday
The Unawares — With the successful launch of their six-song EP, Tooth Dip, back in November at Hunter-Gatherer, Columbia’s The Unawares have proven that their recorded output can be just as weirdly charismatic as their live shows. The band’s bare-bones approach, which mixes Minutemen-style bursts of free-form melody and a decidedly retro ethos, makes inventive use of its limited three-piece set-up. Bassist James Wallace might play an incomprehensible amount of notes, but as he masterfully covers that fretboard like he’s playing a life or death game of Whack-a-Mole, he provides unique rhythmic support for John Watkins’ shards of spitfire guitar. It’s experimental garage-rock for the ADHD-afflicted. The diverse bill at New Brookland Tavern also includes Thank God, Satanized, Capillary Action and Motormouth Mabel. E. Greenwood
New Brookland Tavern: 8 p.m., $6; 791-4413,
newbrooklandtavern.com.
Friday
Mike Mewborne — For better or worse, we can thank Peter Criss for making the world safe for songwriting drummers (better: Dave Grohl; worse: Phil Collins) when in 1976 his “Beth” became KISS’ first Top 10 and gold-certified single. Leading up to his debut, Long Division, Mewborne here had lent his time-keeping skills to a handful of Columbia bands, including Tigerbot Hesh and Perelandra. I find it telling that the songs streaming from his MySpace page have sparse percussion; perhaps it’s akin to how car mechanics rarely feel like working on their own cars in their spare time. Instead, his songs are faithful to influences such as Pedro the Lion and Sufjan Stevens, where your soul and a six-string are the main ingredients. Opening are Daniel Rose and Tim McHugh. K. Foster
The Watershed: 8:30 p.m., $5; 957-1887,
watershedbooks.net.
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| Shawty Lo |
Shawty Lo — There’s something in the water in Buckhead — the Atlanta suburb’s produced a slew of hit hip-poppers in recent memory, including T.I., Young Dro and Dem Franchise Boyz. Not to get lost in the shuffle is Shawty Lo, and if you don’t recognize his name, you’ll recognize his former group D4L, who were responsible for the “Laffy Taffy” single that sparked the recent rise in Southern snap music. And while hip-hop cognoscenti the likes of Nas and Ghostface Killah claim that emcees like Shawty Lo are killing hip-hop, Nas and Ghost aren’t getting nubile young women up and bouncing at the club, are they? So fellas, if you get some action during “Dey Know” tonight, thank Shawty Lo. P. Wall
Level: 11 p.m., $25 ($20 advance); 765-0911.
Your Chance to Die — Sure, religion and rock music often mix as well as church and state. Yet there’s Your Chance to Die, who, according to its MySpace page, is “always showing the world what Jesus really wants them to know ... and doing our best not to be perfect, but to be the best representation of who He really is.” So the tried and true themes of tough-guy dudecore are replaced with a reverence for Christ, but Your Chance to Die’s apocalyptic metalcore is brutal enough to bang the heads even the staunchest of Satanists. Dig vocalist Missi Avila, whose badass, brutal wail recalls Walls of Jericho’s Candace Kucsulain. P. Wall
New Brookland Tavern: 6 p.m., $5 ($8 under 21); 791-4413, newbrooklandtavern.com.
Saturday
Jason Ajemian — Jason Ajemian’s resume is as impressive as the day is long; the Chicago-based bassist has studied with Rufus Reid and has played world-renowned festivals with the likes of Ken Vandermark and Bill Dixon as well as with several of his own groups, which include Dragons 1976, The Exploding Star Orchestra, Mandarin Movie and Triage. His most interesting projects, though, are his unaccompanied ones, particularly Playing You to Sleep, which, according to Ajemian, “create[s] spontaneous lullabies out of the quietest sounds of the bass” that are immersed in multiple layers, peaking and volleying with electronic manipulation and improvisational fervor. P. Wall
University of South Carolina School of Music Recital Hall: 8 p.m., $5; 777-4280.
Saturday
Damn. The Sun — A vampire’s last words, Damn. The Sun has been scarce of late, but the band promises to have some new songs to share at this performance before they retreat back into the shadows for a spell. My spider senses tell me an honest-to-goodness record might be in the band’s future. (Then again, I don’t trust spiders.) Opening is another female-led rock band, The Gadgets. Comprised of Eva Moore, Stan Gardner and Jason “Don’t Call Me Kirby” Puckett, The Gadgets say they write pop songs with “things left out” and list the likes of Hüsker Dü, The Muffs, The Cramps and Blondie as influences. Go go gadget indie rock! Elder punk statesmen F13 headline; The Johnny Mac and Cheese Experience opens. K. Foster
Art Bar: 10 p.m., $3; 929-0198, artbarsc.com.
The Downcide — So if you swing by Headliners tonight to catch the hefty metalcore of the Downcide and see some video cameras roving around the yawning showspace, don’t freak out — the government’s not out to identify metalheads as terrorist threats. (Well, not yet at least.) The Downcide’s simply setting up an extensive camera crew — three stationary cams and three rovers — to film the show, which will appear on an upcoming Downcide DVD. In other Downcide news, the band’ll be debuting Aaron Dunn, who handles the low-end for Moment of Truth, as its new bass player. Havoc Din opens. P. Wall
Headliners: 9 p.m., $7; 796-2333,
headlinerscolumbia.com.
The Dreaded Paranoids — With badass beats, Game Boy bleeps and blips and rhymes about Dungeons and Dragons, Mario and Magic the Gathering, The Dreaded Paranoids do dirty, hilarious geek-hop as good if not better than guys the likes of MC Chris and Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg. For non-gamers, there’re songs such as “Raped on MySpace,” selected lyrics of which read, “My top eight is a space that you can’t penetrate / It’s like a Hollywood bitch that you wish you could date.” As this is their CD release show, make sure to bring some extra cash and chuckle all the way back to your subdivision. Da Camp, Yukos The Crude, and Society of Daggers open. T. Baker
New Brookland Tavern: 7 p.m., $5 ($7 under 21); 791-4413, newbrooklandtavern.com.
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| Hannah Miller |
Hannah Miller — This show marks the release of Columbia singer-songwriter Hannah Miller’s first full-length disc, Into the Black, a surprising fact given that she seems to have been around for a while. “I feel like I’m just getting started for real,” Miller says. “I finally feel like I’ve come into my own sound.” Until now, Miller has played mostly solo acoustic material, as one can hear on her previous release, 2006’s Storms of Summer EP. The expanded sonic palette, Miller says, is a result of recording with producer Mitch Dane (Jars of Clay, Caedmon’s Call) in Nashville. “He picked up on my best voice and helped me find it,” Miller says. “We tore up some of the songs and reworked them, but every time, they came out better.” One of the most striking tunes on the new disc, “In So Deep,” is a jazzy romp with a tongue-twisting chorus that despite its upbeat tempo still manages to land squarely in her favorite subject matter, sad love songs. “I just like to write sad songs, Miller says. “It’s easier than writing happy ones.” K. Oliver
Five Points Pub: 6 p.m., $5; 253-7888,
myspace.com/5pointspub.
Sunday
Mike Farris — After battling drug and alcohol addictions for nigh on two decades (including a near-fatal overdose before his 21st birthday), the former Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelie has sobered up, straightened out and devoted his life to the Lord. Indeed, Salvation in Light was one of the most talked-about gospel albums of the past year, both in (CCM Magazine) and out (Billboard, Paste, No Depression) of the Contemporary Christian scene. Salvation in Lights plays like a traveling tent revival, resonating with the energy and passion of saved grace. P. Wall
Northeast Presbyterian Church: 6 p.m., free; 788-5298, nepresbyterian.org.
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| Mike Farris |
Tuesday
Shallow Palace — It’s one thing to have an eclectic taste in music, but Shallow Palace is all over the effing map with a laundry list of influences ranging from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and The Who to The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die and The (International) Noise Conspiracy. I’d say it’s the work of the latter bands that influence the angst-ridden songs streaming from the group’s MySpace page. (Either that or someone handed them a Rage Against the Machine CD when they were young and told them it was The Beatles.) Opening are the Winter Sounds, Ski Club, the Mel Washington Band and Grayson Venters. K. Foster
New Brookland Tavern: 7 p.m., $5 ($7 under 21); 791-4413, newbrooklandtavern.com. | |
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