It was a glorious Wednesday night at 5 Points Pub. Cara Salimando started the evening out with a quiet bang with her performance. Her set was simple, and that’s exactly the way it should have been. Her voice is airy and beautiful; all it needs is a piano or a ukulele to back it up and I feel like anything more would have lessened the specialness of it, at least in this particular venue. Some standout songs are “Dust,” “Commonwealth,” “Dream,” and my personal favorite, “The Way We Are.” I feel like she was letting us read her diary, it all felt very personal and intimate. Cara’s one of those rare birds that lays it all on the keys, does is well and doesn’t sound like a whiny damsel with a broken heart. Not only is she a fantastic musician, she did a great job of communicating with the audience and making us feel like we were all best buds. She played amazingly as it was, but knowing that she had a split finger being held together by super glue and was performing on next to no sleep made us all appreciate her just a bit more. “Commonwealth” was the last tune in her set, a quiet number that left a big impression. It was obvious that the song moved many of us, and I was kind of sad to see her leave the stage, but I’m sure there will be many more opportunities to see her play in the future.

William’s set up was simple and very homey: two beautiful guitars, a couple of tables, and a lamp. A lamp. I felt like I was getting ready to watch a show in my own living room rather than at a venue. I’m not going to lie, when he first hopped on stage and began playing the beginning chord to “Pour Yourself A Drink,” my first thought other than “Ooo, the hair” was “Wow, he’s not as tall as I thought he’d be.” Anyway, he continued playing the same chord, saying he wouldn’t stop unless we all moved closer to the stage, so of course we did. That’s the great thing about knowing how to play an instrument well—it gives you power. After the opening song he went on to play an unreleased song that “actually already is kind of released thanks to the Internet,” called “You And I Against The World,” a romantic ballad that literally had my heart melting and pooling on the floor around my feet. After taking a huge dose of “Grandpa’s cough medicine,” he played a cover of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero,” as well as the very pop/alt tunes from his most recent release Walk The Talk— “Compromising Me,” “Girl You Shoulda Been a Drummer,” “You Never Give Up,” and “Oh, Love!” the last of which I especially enjoyed. William’s solo music is a force in and of itself; there are so many different aspects to it that work together to deliver the best possible sound to our eager ears.

Then came the old The Academy Is… favorites like “Classifieds” and “Down and Out.” Even though he didn’t mention the band by name, it was nevertheless amazing to hear him play these songs; there are many bands that have broken up and feel that it’s some sort of taboo to perform those songs on their own. The fact that William chose to perform these songs kind of gave us some weird unofficial confirmation that the band came to an end on peaceful terms.

I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting to come next but it most certainly wasn’t Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” booming on the monitors while William tuned his guitar and adjusted his harmonica holder. Yes, we were all Rick Roll’d by William Beckett, but I honestly didn’t mind. In the words of the man doing the rolling, “Seriously, how could you be mad about being Rick Roll’d?” After the silliness ended he brought Cara back to the stage to back him up on Ryan Adams’ “Come Pick Me Up.” This cover made me mentally sigh and say “Ah,” it was the perfect song for them to sing together. I thought the show had peaked with this song, but oh no, it did not. As soon as William said, “I was surprised that someone asked me to play this song…. It’s called ‘After The Last Midtown Show,’” I had to hold my breath. Suffice to say that song is very special to me…I wasn’t expecting him to play it at all since he hadn’t at any of his recent shows. It was a very emotional five minutes, to say the least. He closed the set with “Great Nights,” a very fitting song off of his upcoming EP about going out with a friend and seeing an entirely different side to them that you didn’t necessarily want to see. Before playing the song he explained the logic behind staggering the releases of his EPs in such a way that we didn’t have to wait months upon months for a full length record when we could just get four songs every three months, “leaving a trail of bread crumbs” to a full album’s worth of songs.

I thought I had an idea of how great William’s voice is, but until I heard him live, as in the sound waves going directly from his mouth to my ear, I didn’t truly appreciate how amazing his voice actually is. He has so much talent, energy, and dare I say swagger, it’s impossible not to be entranced with his performance. He connected with his audience in such a way that isn’t possible in larger venues. He embraced the intimacy of the venue rather than shying away from it whereas many other musicians might have been intimidating by how personal the space felt. William sang incredibly and made us all feel as if we were a part of something special. If you have an opportunity to see him on the last few dates of this tour or even on his stretch of shows in July with Relient K and Hellogoodbye, definitely take it.

Check out William Beckett’s Facebook for more tour details.

Win Free Tickets

While the event Saturday is free, the kickoff Friday night featuring Midtown Dickens is a special ticketed event. Tickets are available at their website. We will also be giving 5 tickets away. All you have to do is share the event on Facebook and tag the SceneSC Facebook page. We’ll keep track of you and pick the winners early next week.

The Columbia Museum of Arts Craft Bar Happy Hour, where you can show your crafty creative side, is growing into the inaugural Craft Bar Happy Weekend. The first weekend of June, The Columbia Museum of Art will turn into an all day craft market bringing together artists from across the Southeast to show off their handmade goods.

To kickoff the event in style, Craft Bar Happy Weekend will have a special preview night Friday June 1, from 6-9 where audience members get first dibs on crafts in the handmade market. There will also be a special performance from Durham indie-folk band Midtown Dickens.

Midtown Dickens new album Home has them doing anything but staying at home. The band has a national tour lined up playing select dates with high profile bands including Neko Case, Blitzen Trapper, Bowerbirds, and South Carolina’s own Shovels & Rope.

The new album plucks its way through banjo and guitar lines, reminiscing on childhood and visions of the North Carolina countryside. There is a realness in the lyrics and the vocals that make Midtown Dickens both endearing and believable. On Home Kym Register and Catherine Edgerton  effortlessly jump from singing minor songs like “Apple Tree” to the more quirky “Crocodile Mile”, a reminiscent song about the great slip and slide, and “Volcanoes (Covered in Snow).” Midtown Dickens has a knack for making simple beautiful.

Modern Man in Clemson, February 2012

Last night, Greenville shoegaze(y) act Modern Man kicked off a mini-tour across the Palmetto State at the Radio Room. This weekend they’ll be playing in Columbia, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston. Dates & details are posted below.

The band self-released its second LP, Eyes No, earlier this year. It’s available in various disc formats at shows (along with sweet tees) and as a Name Your Price (NYP) download via bandcamp.

Their set last night didn’t get started until about 1:00 am, but the band was on point throughout. The crowd was a decent size for a Wednesday, but in my opinion Modern Man is worthy of a bigger audience.

For those in the capital city tonight, it’ll be a tough decision between a great lineup at New Brookland and MM at Conundrum. It’s always good to have options, though.

Wednesday, May 23 @ Radio Room – Greenville, SC w/ Last Remaining Pinnacle, Knives and Daggers
Thursday, May 24 @ Conundrum – Columbia, SC w/ Last Remaining Pinnacle
Friday, May 25 @ Soundhole – Myrtle Beach, SC w/ Last Remaining Pinnacle, M is We, Cement Stars
Saturday, May 26 @ Tin Roof – Charleston, SC w/ Last Remaining Pinnacle, bully pulpit

I don’t have a list of my top five favorite bands with South Carolina connections. If I did, though, Washed Out would probably be one of them. It blows me away how much notoriety Ernest Greene’s bedroom recording project has garnered him in the last three years or so. ”He’s so hot! I love him!” my friend Remy told me. Unprecedented attention for a former USC library employee.

Washed Out, (c) Andrew Harris

Ernest Greene bathed in the angelic haze of the spotlight as he delivered the gospel of chillwave to a packed house. He spent most of the night off to the side, while his wife took center stage, playing keys. (At least she looked like his wife. I think her name is Blair. Blair, the mystery girl on the cover of Life of Leisure.) The bassist and drummer were back in the shadows, nearly invisible.

Washed Out crowd at the Music Farm, (c) Andrew Harris

On the LP Within and Without, the sounds of Washed Out remind me of the warm sunlight that finds its way through a tree’s leaves, into the coolness of the shade. Greene’s vocals swirl around and seem to evaporate away. But there is melancholy in the music, too. The band’s appearance on stage made that impression well.

With his hair disheveled and shaggy, and the way he had his dark shirt buttoned up to the collar, Greene looked reminiscent of Robert Smith of The Cure. His wife’s hair was up, and she wore a white collared shirt underneath a black vest. A gender neutral outfit, like she worked at a restaurant too expensive to put prices on the menu. Conscious or not, I saw these wardrobe decisions as a subtle nod to New Wave, a movement that  has inspired a lot of chillwave music.

At the Music Farm last Thursday, Washed Out led off with a couple of songs from older material; stuff I hadn’t listened to very closely. But “Amor Fati,” the third song in the set, I recognized (as did everyone else). Greene and co. played a few more tunes from Within and Without and a few more things that were unfamiliar to me.

Initially, I intended to copy down every song in the set. It didn’t take long to give that up in favor of letting myself enjoy Ernest Greene’s voice pulsing through massive speakers. But in the middle of the crowd, not many low frequencies made it to me.  Ernest and Blair seemed over-emphasized in the mix. A prejudice similar to their prominence under the stage lights.

Washed Out, (c) Andrew Harris

From where I stood, I could see how the humid Charleston air had put curls in Blair’s hair. But I couldn’t see sweat on Ernest Greene’s face, or get a good look at his expressions when he would sing with his eyes closed. I couldn’t get close enough to capture any of that on film.

Washed Out would really be better in a smaller setting, where the melodies would be softer and the rhythms less muddy. Given the size of the venue, though, there was chemistry among the band that made the experience seem a lot more intimate than it was. I felt it most when Ernest joined Blair during the middle of the set, and the presumed man and wife stood back to back at center stage, playing privately written songs to a crowd of strangers.

It wasn’t just the the band’s wardrobe that reflected the heavy influence that New Wave has had on Greene and the genre he helped create. It seems like Washed Out is drifting away from the “bro, let’s chill” vibe of chillwave toward a sound that suggests a chill in the air and calls for blue lights and dark clothes.

They played two songs for an encore; which two, I don’t really know. The song used in the Portlandia intro might have been one of them. By that point I had had a couple of beers and I was busy trying to work my way to the front for photos. (Side note: if anyone knows a photography major who was at the show, thank her for snapping a few frames for me. I couldn’t catch her name. I think it started with a J.)

I didn’t walk into the Music Farm until shortly after 10:00 pm, but it was 10:30 before the opening act, Airbird, started serving trancy dance/electronica to the hungry masses. A solo project of Joel Ford (Ford and Lopatin), the group’s live lineup consisted of Ford handling bass/laptop duties and a heady Kenny Powers look-alike on the drums.

Airbird, (c) Andrew Harris

Tight drum beats underneath frenetic electronic drones made Airbird a complementary appetizer for Washed Out. At one point, I couldn’t tell if a looping sample was calling out for “freedom” or “Freebird.” I didn’t really mind, though. It sounded good.

Airbird is touring with Washed Out this month in support of their upcoming EP, Trust, set for release on May 29 on Mexican Summer. (Nerd Alert: Before Washed Out was with Sub Pop, the Life of Leisure EP was released on the same label.)

Between sets everyone took a break to visit each other or the bathroom or the bar or the patio for a smoke. I realized that I’d never been to a show full of so many people dressed so f@#$%ing fresh. Everyone there was someone who has good taste. But the ones on stage, they were the ones who know how to make what tastes good.

The Sea Wolf Mutiny
Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun
Octopus Jones
Forest Tourist

Price: $5 Over 21 / $8 Under 21
Genre: Indie / Rock / Alternative

Coming up on the one year anniversary of the release of their first album The Last Season, The Sea Wolf Mutiny are still tweaking their live set and growing as a band. Over the last couple of months they’ve added another guitarist in Phil Windsor (Ghosts of the Great Highway) and a new drummer in Michael Crawford (Calculator, Nick Bays.) For a band with songs as dynamic as theirs, these additions have taken their live show to a new level.

For someone like me that goes to a lot of in town shows, one thing that’s always fun to do is going to see a band outside of their element in another town. Recently I had the opportunity to see The Sea Wolf Mutiny play in Rock Hill, for a large crowd of people who didn’t know them. A band from Columbia, with skeletons on their shoes and an odd-looking piano, the crowd didn’t know what to expect. They opened with “Fear and Trembling” in a dark retired courtroom. A song that sounds like the theme song for the Ghost of Christmas Past opened the crowds ears and caught their attention like the snap of fingers. From here on lead singer and pianist Bobby Hatfield had the crowd in control. He runs out, he becomes one clapping with them and makes them feel his excitement.  A year ago The Sea Wolf Mutiny wasn’t there yet with their live show. Now they have something special on their hands.

Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun Clemson Spring Fest

Atlanta-based Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun open with their synth heavy hook driven rock n roll. Their latest album Wildfire stays on the dark side of pop, with the intense electronic parts translating to a heavy live show.

Octopus Jones and Forest Tourist open. These bands are the light.

*This is my first show review so please be patient with me as I hone my reporting*

“I don’t think I have ever gone to a concert where people became so emotional over a band’s music”- Jai Jones

My friend Jai had the pleasure of attending the show with me at The Music Farm. Jai and I have gotten a chance to attend several shows together recently and I think this one blew Jai’s mind on a small-scale. The bigger scale was blown by Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne Tour but that’s another show review all together.

The show started off with Imaginary Cites. I confess I do not know much about this band but I enjoyed what they were getting at. They played a great set that sounded tight and polished. The only way I could describe them is a She & Him song, with the smarts of the band Rilo Kiley. The one song I did know was a cover of the song “Mexico” by Cake. I don’t think anyone in the room knew the song but they did a great job of putting their spin on it. I will be checking this band out more and I think you should as well.

The second band of the evening was Buried Beds. I mentioned on twitter they sounded what I thought pretty ghosts would sound like and I don’t think there is any other way to describe them. Besides making me a fan, the thing that amazed me about this band is they all played some part of the drum. Through out the set they would sync up and beat on a drum near them and they were amazing at that. The highlights from their great set for me were “Widows Cup”, “Wolf Confessor”, and the finally, “1000 Acres”, that is a part of their film/EP Small Stories. You can watch the film here.

The final band that played the evening was MewithoutYOU. I don’t think you will ever meet someone at a MewithoutYou show that says “I really hope they don’t play anything from “A to B Life” during their set tonight!” Everyone seems to be a fan from when they started. You have the kids who loved them when they would tour with Norma Jean and play hardcore shows and then you have the fans that have grown with MewithoutYOU. That’s what I like about the band. Every time they release an album you are going to see some sort of growth along with some sort of alienation of older fans who want them to go back to the way they were. I don’t think we will see that with these guys and once you accept that you can enjoy them. They have only gotten better with age and you can see that. They played through their set with songs spanning from every release including their newest “Ten Stories”. Their set was almost flawless besides the kids in the front row stealing Aaron’s tambourine as he set it down to do many of his instrument changes. MewithoutYou is a band that you must see at least once in your life to understand Jai’s statement from earlier. The set highlights for me included:  Elephant at the Dock, January 1978, O’ Porcupine, and Paper Hanger.

This was a great show and I really enjoyed getting a chance to go. I think if you get a chance you should check out all of the bands that played the bill if they come to a a venue near you.

More show photos.

For years Charlotte based band Campbell was on again off again, constantly modifying their sound and increasing the complexity of their live show. Now, Campbell is gone and Flagship has filled their void. Created from the ashes of Campbell, members merged with Charlotte solo artist Drake Margolnick to form Flagship.

Their first release titled Blackbush-EP came out May 8, 2012, but they seem to already be in the mainstream fast track. They are currently signed to Bright Antenna record label out of Oakland, which is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. WMG has power and a network of taste-makers that include blogs and other media outlets that they reach out to for coverage. Flagship is also being booked by Paradigm, so touring and guarantees are taken care of. Next thing we know they’ll be coupled with an opening slot on one of the agency’s many national bands. Add in a management team and a major player in the publicity world, Flagship has a crew working behind them that could loft them to a national level within the next couple of months.

Now that you see that they seem to be on a track to national relevance, let’s chat about their sound and their EP. The Blackbush EP is dark and ethereal. Beautiful layers of instrumentation with Margolnick’s smooth bassy voice sitting on top. Their sound edges on popular bands of today like We are Augustines and Gaslight Anthem with less grit to the vocals and sans the working class Americana touch. The EP is theatrical, with swelling emotional sections, that are both beautiful and tasteful. Some of the best music of its’ type that I’ve heard come out of this area in a long while.

Wednesday, May 23rd

5 Points Pub

Doors at 7PM, Show at 8PM

$8 Advanced ticketing

Door price: $10 for 21+, $12 for under 21

When I tell people over the age of twenty or twenty-one that I’m a fan of The Academy Is… I typically get a judgmental stare and a confused frown. This is usually for one of two reasons: either they’ve never heard of the band or they have a younger sibling around my age. It’s true—this band plucked the heartstrings of many a teenage girl in their heyday, including mine. I remember completely jamming to their first studio release Almost There and being slightly disappointed in but still pleased with Santi. You can imagine our heartbreak when, in October of 2011, we heard the news of the fate that eventually befalls all of our favorite bands… TAI had broken up. My friends and I put “After The Last Midtown Show” on repeat and continued about the day with slouches where our spines used to be. But from the melodramatic ashes rose a sensationalized phoenix, and that beautiful, flaming bird is coming to 5 Points Pub on Wednesday. That’s right, ladies and gents. William Beckett is coming to Columbia.

The former front man is making a stop with special guest Cara Salimando in our very own capital on his Walk The Talk Tour in support of his brand spankin’ new EP of the same name, the sound of which is step up from TAI’s in that it’s obviously aimed at a bit of an older age group. I personally love the EP as a new, modern release whereas I still love and listen to TAI because they were apart of the soundtrack to my adolescence. I’ve grown with their music, I feel like, and Monsieur Beckett’s new release seems like the culminating result of all that maturing.

Walk The Talk EP isn’t all that’s up Beckett’s sleeve for this year. He has two other releases lined up for the coming months, as well as a tour through Japan and Southeast Asia in June. The buzz surrounding his shows and the response to his newer songs as well as some old TAI favorites has all been positive. I’m very much looking forward to seeing him perform at 5 Points Pub this Wednesday. Everyone come join me and we’ll skip down memory lane together while holding hands and sobbing into our TAI shirts.

Treasure Fest II

Charlotte, NC

May 18/19

Treasure Fest is coming to the Plaza Midwood neighborhood of Charlotte this weekend featuring more than 60 bands spread out over 8 venues and two days. The festival hosts a wide array of genres outside of the mainstream, with most of the bands coming from across the Southeast and a couple from even farther.

My friend Geoff lives in the heart of Plaza Midwood behind Fuel Pizza and two blocks from Snug Harbor. He hates grungy people who look different because he swears it is these people who litter in his yard. I think I have to agree with him. Somehow the Prius hippies and the music hipsters have gotten lumped in together into one big alt pile and really they shouldn’t all get along. Then you have alt people throwing trash in my friend Geoff’s yard after I’ve been trying for years to diversify his taste in music. I was making progress until lousy people who litter and might happen to have tattoos or forget to wash their hair for a week (year) throws their local bagel wrapper in Geoff’s yard. The point is, don’t judge people by the way they look, and don’t EVER litter you lazy bastard.

I doubt Geoff will be attending any of these shows, but here are some of the bands we wouldn’t miss at Treasure Fest.

Richard Parker

As heavy as Richard Parker gets, they always keep it melodic. One of Charlotte’s gems formed out of their thriving DIY music community. All hail Lunchbox Records.

Junior Astronomers

We are now three years removed from Junior Astronomers first EP I Had Plans For Us and things are finally starting to roll. A new album in the works, a new label to support it, and an ever-growing adoring fan base that has their back. Home town shows are where they thrive.

 Signals Midwest

It’s random that three of our must see bands are on the Tiny Engines roster. What can we say? Those guys know how to pick them. Signals Midwest are based out of Cleveland, Ohio and are sprouted from punk rock, yet played with some intelligence. Yes, and some Midwest flair.

The Weeks

When it comes to Southern Grunge The Weeks are helping carry the flag. A lot of the bands playing Treasure Fest place little importance on their lyrics, The Weeks make up for their short comings.

Red Collar

Ryan Adams once sang “I started this damn country band, because punk rock is too hard to sing.”  While punk rock might be physically harder to sing, Red Collar makes its’ home in the area between punk and rootsy rock n roll. The Durham group has tons of heart, and a live show that bares it.

Hectorina

Dylan Gilbert spent years trademarking his name around the Southeast. Now Gilbert and his over easy breakfast machine sidekicks have to make a Hectorina a household name. This project is a lot different though, more experimental, more instrumental, and a future rock opera.

Restorations

Philly post rock outfit Restorations are the survivors of years of busting ass in the music industry. While their latest self titled release plays to everyone, the Deep Elm Records lovers of Charlotte might appreciate these warriors a little bit more.