Connoisseurs of the Lesser Things - Adam Lee + Matt Woods at The Mill

As Charleston braced itself against the bitter cold on Saturday night, bar flies and music fans were kept aglow as Adam Lee and Matt Woods lit up The Mill with their honky tonk, outlaw tunes, kicking off their two-week Connoisseurs of the Lesser Things tour.
 

Armed with an acoustic guitar and a coal black Carl Perkins pompadour, Kansas City crooner Adam Lee opened the night. As lead singer for the Missouri band Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company, this solo performance was a stripped-down showcase of Lee's stunning voice, a beautiful baritone rivaling the likes of Don Williams and Bill Medley, and surely causing Orbison to stir in his grave. In fact, the only thing deeper than Lee's melancholic voice may have been his stare, which was often cast towards a distant point buried somewhere among the crowd. Dressed in pegged jeans and a fitted cuff-sleeve button down, and resonating with an understanding of Dust Bowl Americana that would have made Woody Guthrie proud, there was an authenticity to Lee's presence that is often lost on so many musicians throughout the retro crooner circuit. Playing in support of his recently released self-titled EP, Lee sang with a fervency and affectation for the travelling life - road weary and worn, but not worn down. With his voice effortlessly navigating the classic country landscape, and dipping low into the depths of heartache, his was a commanding set that left a palpable buzz in the air and set the bar high for tour mate, Matt Woods.
 

Having recently wrapped a 3-month trek in support of his latest release, The Matt Woods Manifesto (Lonely Ones Records), the Connoisseurs tour is a departure from Woods' full band performances, which often include a revolving door of independent East Tennessee musicians. But a humble reverence for life's hard times and the gritty fortitude needed to persevere are just a few of the qualities that help to set this Manifesto maverick apart from his country chorots. He is a seasoned performer with a penchant for storytelling that's on par with the moodiest of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, while employing an enthusiastic guitar style and a threadbare voice that howls with honesty. Spinning tales of the rusted American Dream, the hauntings of bad decisions, and the ever-elusive promise of a better tomorrow, Woods' sound is one of gutsy, straight-forward, solid country music. Swinging from rowdy roadhouse to soulful vagabond in the blink of a whiskey-red eye, Woods delivered a powerful performance that was a favorable complement to the stylings of Lee, who took to the mic for a second time to wrap up the night.
 

Selling CDs and stickers out of a dusty suitcase, this pair of country rock troubadours easily won over the crowd and earned a swath of new supporters and fans in Charleston. Check out their websites, linked below, for free music downloads and to get the rest of the Connoisseurs of the Lesser Things tour dates.
 

Adam Lee's website: www.AdamLeeBand.com

Adam Lee on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AdamLeeBand

Matt Woods' website: www.TheRealMattWoods.com
Matt Woods on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MattWoodsMusic
 

 

 

 

 

Matt Woods

 

 

Adam Lee 

 

Locked and Loaded - The Royal Tinfoil are returning to the Pour House

Charleston's one and only, The Royal Tinfoil, bring their moonshine-soaked gypsy blues back to the Pour House this Saturday, Nov. 17th, for their first big show since wrapping a successful tour over the summer. The months between the end of that tour and now have been anything but low-key for the band, as most of the members play in other acts around town or have their own side projects, but the Tinfoil is revved up and ready to shake some souls. Armed with a stockpile of new tunes and a bloodied-knuckle fistful of demon-exorcising energy, this is guaranteed to be one hell of a show.

Sharing the bill is Atlanta's own The Whiskey Gentry, love child of Lauren Staley (lead vox + guitar) and Jason Morrow (lead guitar + vox). Sounding like bluegrass that's overdosed on Adderall, this band plays with all the excitement and fury of a good punk show, married with the daring melody and all the finger pickin' goodness of a classic country act. But this isn't your average hipster alt-country outfit - The Whiskey Gentry is good ol' foot stompin', sweat flinging Appalachian rock at its finest, and I'm psyched to welcome them to our town!

The Royal Tinfoil, "Stalker vs. Stalker" @ Charleston's Pour House

 

 

The Whiskey Gentry, "Eula Mae" @ Atlanta's Five Spot

Charleston Pour House - 1977 Maybank Hwy., phone: 571.4343
Doors - 9p
Cover - $8 adv, $10 dos

The Royal Tinfoil @ Bandcamp: www.RoyalTinfoil.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheRoyalTinfoil
Twitter: @TheRoyalTinfoil

The Whiskey Gentry Website: www.TheWhiskeyGentry.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheWhiskeyGentry
Twitter: @WhiskeyGentry


.pr.

2012 Charleston City Paper Music Award Winners

The Charleston City Paper put on an awesome show last night at the Pour House to celebrate our local music community, and to honor the winners of this year's City Paper Music Awards. From jam bands to hip-hop, the Holy City has the music scene covered!

Rock Band of the Year - Crowfield

Song of the Year - "Birmingham", Shovels & Rope

Singer of the Year - Elise Testone

Guitarist of the Year - Wallace Mullinax

Horn Player of the Year - Charlton Singleton

Bassist of the Year - Ben Wells

Drummer of the Year - Quentin Baxter

Pianist of the Year - Whitt Algar

DJ of the Year - DJ Moo Moo

Electronic Artist of the Year - Rocky Horror

Multi-instrumentalist of the Year - Joel Hamilton

Jazz Band of the Year - Flat Foot Floozies

Country Band of the Year - Shovels & Rope

Metal Band of the Year - Bully Pulpit

Punk Band of the Year - The 33's

Jam Band of the Year - Sol Driven Train

Funk/Soul Band of the Year - Wadata

Hip-Hop Artist of the Year - Dirty Dave Da Fly Guy

Blues Band of the Year - Sarah Cole and the Hawkes

Singer-Songwriter of the Year - Cary Ann Hearst

Up-and-Coming Artist of the Year - The Local Honeys

Experimental Artist of the Year - Mechanical River

Album of the Year - O' Be Joyful, Shovels & Rope; Olly Oxen Free, Dangermuffin


.pr.

The Local Honeys - Punk Rock Patsy Cline

Charleston-based "cowgirl punk" quarter The Local Honeys kicked off a local musicians showcase at The Mill last week, playing to a moderate crowd at Park Circle's favorite rock spot.

Opening with the 1940s Gene Autry classic "I'm an Old Cowhand", it quickly becomes clear that The Local Honeys are unlike any other band that you are going to find around town. Ukelele player Sarah Bandy is acccompanied by Brad Edmandson on the upright bass (a dying art, in intself) and Camela Guevara behind the drum kit. Completing the lineup is guitarist and singer Rachel Kate Gillon, formerly with local royalty and Metal/Punk Band of the Year (2011, Charleston City Paper), The Shaniqua Brown.

This new venture is a clear departure from Gillon's previous band, yet she approaches this project with the same tenacity and devotion that she has always given. Her throaty, torch song voice lends well to tunes like "Hell is Your Home", and is a daring compliment to the thinner, less controlled - yet heartfelt and honest - vocal stylings of Bandy. Using objects like serving ramekins and a rain stick filled with spent shotgun shells, The Local Honeys do a bang up job using Bandy's twangy ukelele as the lead instrument, delivering a charming characteristic to the band's modest wallflower presence.

Cutting through The Mill's infamous smoke and above the din of muffled bar talk, Gillon and Bandy giggle between songs and talk with the crowd. Discussing everything from what makes the rain stick work as a shaker to the discovery of watermelon seeds in King Tut's tomb, The Local Honeys clearly enjoy one another's company, as well as what they are capable of as a musical collective. Songs like the impassioned murder ballad "Caleb Meyer" lushly embrace the days of the Dust Bowl era and show off Gillon's bold voice. Playing a bright mash up of original tunes sprinkled with old country staples, theirs is a sound that combines the best of Patsy Cline's forlorn hopefulness with the brashness of Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison", sugarcoated with a hefty dose of Charleston punk rock.

The band played for a solid hour before taking a break, during which Gillon took to the mic with her acoustic guitar for a few solo tunes. "I wished I was smarter, I wished I was stronger, I wished I loved Jesus,*" she sang, aching like a relationship that's been dragged through hell but still holds out for better days. Bandy soon rejoined Gillon for a spot-on rendition of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" that would have made even Cass Elliot blush, followed by the harmonic and country retro original, "Honeysuckle Rose".

With the softly plucked upright providing an air of authenticity and Gillon's voice sliding from harmonic swooning to low down and dirty growls, The Local Honeys are a solid and sweet addition to the Charleston music community.

Facebook: The Local Honeys
* Patty Griffin, "Top of the World"


.pr.