By Constable Hezekiah J Thundersnort
Inspector of Scenes, Wearer of Band Shirts, Liker of First Albums Better
First things first, chuckleheads: I am a native of Savannah, born and bred on the Southside.
As a 20th-century graduate of Windsor Forest High and one of its most ardent “Let’s-TP-the-School!” enthusiasts, I’ve seen decades of transformation in this city. I was here when downtown was ghost town. When Broughton Street was mostly empty buildings. When the best venues in town were Congress St. Station and Velvet Elvis — the place where, on Halloween weekend in 1993, Five Eight played the best show I’ve ever seen in my life.
Also, full disclosure: I’m now a quinquagenarian music addict — a Gen X dad from the coolest music era of all time, thankyouverymuch, and Right Reverend Constable Esquire of “We Live Among You,” a budding magazine, whose words you now read, for weirdos in the cultural lowlands of Southeast Georgia.
Because I’m older than thou, I’ve known Savannah for years and the closest thing we had to a “scene” was when local alternative band City of Lindas got played on the radio. That was it. That was the scene. It would be more than a decade until Baroness, Black Tusk and Kylesa exploded from the underground.
So you can imagine my elation and surprise when I popped into Savannah on a random Friday to see a punk-rock show, and it blew the dad-gum doors off.
“Is there something brewing in Old Blighty?” I asked myself.
Naturellement, it was time to polish the badge, pull out the notebook and activate the noggin. It’s time for an in-depth investigation by…
THE SCENE POLICE!
WEEEEEEWOOOOWEEEEWOOOWEEEEWOOOO!!
Evidence Log
- Last night, at approximately 1900 hours, The Sentient Bean — a coffee shop usually frequented by tattooed hipsters, daylight entrepreneurs and the crunchy granola set — hosted a three-bill of local bands.
- More amazingly, they didn’t bring in the stereotypical acoustic balladeers, the ones that wear the Amish, flat-brim hats and do witty-yet-ironic, bleeding-heart covers of songs like “Gangnam Style” while the shop sells medium-grind-fair-trade-Ethiopian-pour-overs.
- Where most scenes tend to revolve around a specific type of music — see the metal boom of the early aughts — these bands were anything but homogenous.
The Lineup
CHARLIE’S POOLHOUSE, “indie pop friends from Statesboro,” played their first show in Savannah on this bill. And while they certainly leaned into pop more than the other bands, they skewed emo, combining plaintive vocals and nimble, chiming lead guitars with distorted rhythm guitars, heavy bass and a drummer (Jacob Televski who also plays in local band Just Rats) who swapped jazzy syncopation and stick-breaking rock with little effort.
In a surprise turn late in the set, the band brought on a cellist who helped them play a stirring ballad with all the feels. Currently, the oldest member of this band is about 20, which is astounding for the kind of music they’re making already. Keep an eye out for more shows from these kids.
FEMME REAPER, making their debut at The Bean show, played a grungy but melodic brand of punk rock. Ominous keyboard undertones bent the sound toward ‘70s metal, but the Riot Girl vocals blasted through dirge with fuzzy distortion. And aside from killer, crushingly loud songs, this band looked like the coolest band you’ve ever seen.
The lead singer looked exactly like Baby Spice…if Baby Spice had smoked their voice into a growl and grew up on the Sex Pistols instead of Robbie Williams; the bassist looked like Lenny Kravitz’s lovechild, throwing their long, knotted locks through the air like they were underwater; the keyboard player slayed in all-black, all-leather pants, boots, frilled cowboy vest and trenchcoat; the drummer was topless and tattooed, playing simple and primal; and the guitarist could’ve been a member of Hall and Oates in a past life.
I’ve yet to see their band photo, but I can already tell you it’s epic.
Their set ran short because they’ve yet to write more than a few songs, but the crowd was just begging them to play the songs again. You’ll want to catch them before everyone else finds out how cool they are.
FARSEEK is a veteran band from Columbus, Ohio, now based in Statesboro, Georgia. The Bean show was the first of their current tour, which will take them down to Florida, into the midwest and back home again. While they bill themselves as a midwest emo band, the description doesn’t paint the full picture. Sure, the lead singer bleats the vocal affectations of his emo compatriots, and the angular, dissonant melodies bring to mind Cursive or American Football, but this band also boasts moody electronics like Death Cab and throws a bombastic trumpet into the mix for kicks and grins. And just as a side note, the drummer for this band — wherever he is — is currently having more fun than you are.
Contemplation and Conclusions
As a seasoned investigator, I’m fully aware the simple playing of music does not a scene make. What does make a scene? I’m so glad you asked, my beautiful little scamps.
Hast this congregation read their scene lore? Has thou read Mark Yarm, who wrote “Everybody Loves Our Town” about the grunge scene in Seattle? Hast thou read “Cool Town” by Grace Elizabeth Hale, which recounts the Athens, Georgia, boom of the ’80s? “Please Kill Me” by Legs McNeil? “Meet Me in the Bathroom” by Lizzy Goodman? Yours truly has, dear congregation, and here are a few things I’ve learned.
To be rad, a scene needs:
- TALENTED MUSICIANS: I mean. Der. Of course.
- INFLUX OF TALENT: A stream of creative young people from, say, a university or an art school. The number of visual artists who became rock stars is staggering.
- DIY ETHOS: When locals start organizing shows, recording their music and helping each other out, cool things are gonna happen.
- VENUES TO PLAY: This must include all-ages venues. Bar vibes are different than house show vibes. And kids want to see live music. Don’t shut them out!
- COMPETITIVE LOVE: Bands are always competing, but competition doesn’t mean contempt. When bands support each other, support local music and see the bigger picture, things happen.
BLEEEBOOOPBOPBEEPPEWPEWPEWBOPBOOM — that’s the sound of the Thundersnort Objective Scene Summation and Electronic Rubric (TOSSER) booting up. Believe me, it’s worth the wait…
It doesn’t take a supercomputer to know that Savannah is going to become a significant hub for punk rock and alternative music of all stripes.
Imagine the glorious day of skipping the trip to Atlanta and instead trotting downtown to see bands that rip. That the lonesome punks living in small towns in Southeast Georgia would hear tell of this community of weirdos and find their freak fraternity less than a couple hours away.
I scoured Instagram for videos and photos of the show. I figured the bands on the bill would post photos and videos, thanking the venues and the fellow bands on the bill…which they did.
Quelle agréable surprise to also find that several other local bands were there as well — members of Girlfriend from Hell, Just Rats, Sissy Fists, Small Talk and others took photos and video and hyped their fellow scenesters on social media. At the show, the same crowd bought CDs, t-shirts and stickers to support the other bands.
That right there is beautiful, my little freak nuggets. Brings a tear to my eye, it does.
Here’s to the freaks in Southeast Georgia…wherever you are. There’s a scene here ready to welcome you.
Aw, dangit…somebody give me a hug!