Don Henley

For some folks, Don Henley represents everything that was good and right about California culture in the 1970s and ‘80s. The eternally tan, haute cuisine-eating, fine wine-swilling money man.

To those listeners, Henley rarely does any wrong. His increasingly schmaltzy ballads and occasional forays into ecological politics help maintain a certain image that he has carefully honed through years of laying low in the press and high on the hog.

It’s those consumers who don’t balk at paying upwards of $300 for tickets to see he and his bandmates in The Eagles reunite time and time again, and it’s that diehard fanbase that will likely turn out for this outdoor show on tony Hilton Head.

However, there has been for years a fairly strong backlash to Henley’s public persona as well as his increasingly detached MOR AOR.

True, Henley’s music seems to appeal mostly to people who deep down want to live like Don Henley (as is the case with his kindred spirit Jimmy Buffet’s fans), replete with serving bowls full of Devil’s Dandruff and centerfolds on speed dial.

But, despite his limited vocal range (admittedly something of an acquired taste), he never ceases to hire the finest backing musicians money can buy, and the atmospheric production on his ‘80s hits is still impressive to this day.

And, it’s worth noting that as tickets to this general admission show cost only $27.50, including a $1 donation to a charity of Don’s choice, the average fan can afford to see this chart-topping star in the flesh without giving up a pound of their own.

At press time, tickets were still available and can be purchased online at www.hightidecompany.com. Sun., Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn Plantation (Hilton Head).

Darkest Hour, Circle Takes The Square, Arcasia Red

For one of the final ALL-AGES shows at this downtown venue before it closes at the end of this month, Tim Walls’ Coastal Rock Productions is bringing in headliners Darkest Hour, a Victory Records act who’s living their dream by gigging with Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slayer, Hatebreed and others on the 2004 Ozzfest Tour. It’s a rare off-night for them, and an impressive booking.

Arcasia Red is a recent addition to the area DIY scene, around for less than a year. Self-defined as “post-hardcore,” you’ll hear hints of modern metal and melodic emo in their sound.

Finally, Circle Takes The Square are back for a rare hometown show (they’ll hit The Jinx on Saturday), and they may just give Darkest Hour a run for their money.

A potent and envelope-pushing hardcore group that takes what they want from the world of emo and leaves the rest, their male-female vocal tradeoffs and moody, screaming passages have drawn comparisons to both Fugazi and Nausea.

They’ve received high praise in Rolling Stone (from David Fricke no less), and have toured the U.K. If you weren’t aware of them, don’t kick yourself – this group has made the ultra-underground their hang since forming in 2001. However, with their new full-length CD and growing notoriety, they may prove to be the biggest export from the Savannah music scene since… well, since. Wed., 8 pm, Teaser’s Café – ALL AGES.

 

First Friday For Folk

This time around, the lineup for The Savannah Folk Music Society’s coffeehouse-style show includes The Shivers, a husband-and-wife duo from Virginia that incorporates old-time country (like The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers), bluegrass music and homespun comedy routines in the vein of Burns & Allen and – my own personal favorites– The Bickersons. It also marks the return of Metter’s Jean-Paul & Dominique Carton, playing a mixture of French, Canadian, Cajun and Appalachian tunes on guitar, fiddle, mandolin and banjo.

The Shivers’ cousin, “Georgia” Kyle Shiver, a singer/songwriter who cites Doc Watson, Blind Willie McTell, and Merle Haggard as key influences, makes his First Friday debut. He’s worked with Grammy-nominated Shawn Mullins. This show is free with a suggested donation of $2, which does not go to the artists. They’re paid through album sales, so if you enjoy the show, buy one and help support talented musicians. Fri., 7:30 pm, Wesleyan United Methodist Church (429 Abercorn St.).

 

The Veraflames

A couple of weeks ago I recommended a show by The Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love at the new club 912.

Well, after we went to press, their grand opening was postponed (sorry if you tried to make the show), and now, they’re kicking things off on the 4th, with local rock legends The Veraflames.

This great party band has gone through more than a few incarnations over the past few decades, and occasionally dabbled in original material. However, they’re best known as one of the tightest (and most entertaining) old-fashioned rock cover bands around.

While longtime bassist Frank Andrews has been replaced by Scott Kinsey, the core unit of singing guitarists Thad and Skip are still on board, as is the gifted drummer Jesse Jordan. Their setlist remains rooted in the classic British Invasion sides of The Stones, The Beatles and The Kinks, but they’re also known to throw in some obscure John Hiatt or Bob Dylan numbers as well.

After all these years, Skip says, “it seems like what we used to call ‘rock and roll’ is now called ‘country’ or ‘folk’.” However, regardless of the label, The Veraflames play it like they wrote it themselves, which means they know these tunes inside and out, and are free to take license with them as they see fit. It’s the highest compliment I can give.

As if to prove that age ain’t nothin’ but a number, Skip’s son’s band The Round Table opens the show for them with an original set of chiming, melodic indie-rock. Hopefully this show will bode well for this new live music room. Sat., 9 pm, 912 (formerly Aprés – above Il Pasticcio) .

CrÜxshadows

Sponsored by the AASU Sci-Fi and Fantasy Club, this major concert event brings together two well-received Goth bands for an evening of ethereal rock.

Headliner CrÜxshadows are using this date to kick off their national tour in support of their latest releases, Fortress in Flames and Telemetry. While the group has never been critically adored, their popular success in the Darkwave genre speaks volumes for their fanbase. Since their debut in Florida in the early ‘90s, they have played hundreds of shows across North America, as well as abroad in such far-flung locales as Norway, the U.K., Poland, The Czech Republic, Italy, Spain and France, drawing as many as 15,000 fans to their appearances at outdoor European festivals.

They’ve released a handful of albums, some of which have set sales records for online Goth distribution, and their music appeals to fans of new wave, electronica and electro-alternative metal. They incorporate electric violin with distorted guitars, keyboards and programmed rhythm tracks, and have shared bills with The Cure, Bjork, Clan of Xymox, and more.

Opening the show will be up-and-coming goth band phoenix/NEBULIN, which blends harsh industrial noise with intense dance music. They claim to offer “an alternative perspective of the world, which at times is a meridian between blind rage and gentle insightfulness.”

Advance student tickets are $10, General Admission is $15 or $20 at the door. All proceeds help to to sponsor campus activities and send students to writer’s conventions. Tues., 9:30 pm, Armstrong Atlantic University’s Fine Arts Auditorium.

This article appears in Sep 1-8, 2004.