Bottles & Cans
This offbeat quartet play so frequently around town that it’s easy to take them for granted. However, their full-bore sets of radically re-arranged Delta blues, Americana, psychedelic rock and Basement Tapes-era Dylan are never anything less than quite entertaining, and often more like breathtaking and minorly revelatory. For the month of May, they’ll hold court on Wednesday nights at this funky bar which caters to packed karaoke crowds on the weekends, but often goes deserted otherwise. If you’ve never experienced either, this makes for a great opportunity to sample both a great local band and an underrated watering hole. Wed., 9 pm, Bay Street Blues.
Doug Carn & Jimmy McGriff
Savannah’s most serious venue for touring jazz artists throws down with 2 nights of swirling organ-based grooves. Carn is a Fla.-based keyboardist and vocalist who lived for a time in savannah, and is a worldwide cult figure for his tenure on the esoteric and pioneering Black Jazz record label of the ‘70s. McGriff is one of the last true living legends of the Hammond B-3 organ — a man so bad to the bone that the mere mention of his surname conjures up all sorts of wonderful associations among diehard jazz fans. This small dessert bar and art gallery is only a block away from Jazz’d Tapas Bar where Lipbone Redding appears Saturday (see Music Feature), and if you’re like me, you’ll make plans to catch some of that show either before or after one of McGriff’s sets, for a full evening of wonderful music. $10 cover per set for Carn, $15 per set for McGriff. Fri. (Carn’s Quartet) & Sat. (McGriff’s Quartet), 9 pm, 10:30 pm, midnight. Fri. - Sat., 9 pm, 10:30 pm, midnight, Kokopelli’s Jazz Club.
Michael Glabicki
Captivating and charismatic singer/songwriter and guitarist who came to prominence in the ‘90s as the frontman of the ground-breaking alt.rock/world-beat act Rusted Root. Note: due to a typo, this show was inadvertently listed in our last issue as taking place this Wednesday. The correct date is: Fri.,Wild Wing Café.
Junkyard Angel
Free show by a regional group (whose members hail from Savannah and Athens) plays reverent interpretations of soulful classic rock-style tunes based around country and blues. Their vibe is a mixture of Rolling Stones posturing and The Drive-By Truckers’ studied red clay grit. Featuring members of Stewart & Winfield. Sat., 1 pm, Bonna Bella Yacht Club.
KIX-96 Birthday Bash
In case you hadn’t heard, Mr. “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” himself, Trace Adkins, will return to a town that’s always been good to him for an arena show next week. The Louisiana native who’s enjoyed several Top 10 hits since bursting on the scene in the mid-’90s will be joined by Rincon’s own hometown hero, C & W superstar Billy Currington and rising sensation Luke Bryan, an aspiring artist who normally plays pizza joints and county fairs, and whose hokey, cornball odes to binge-drinking, truck driving and raising cotton are either laughably insincere or even more laughably legit. Call 651-6556 or go to www.savannahcivic.com for tickets. Thurs., May 17, 7:30 pm, Savannah Civic Center.
Polyrhythm Workshop
Held in association with the Black Men’s Gathering 2, this hands-on demonstration and class by Fullbright Senior Specialist and noted author (and Savannah native) David Pleasant is based around his recently published manual: African American Root Patterns: A Gullah-Geechee Inspired Riddimic Exercise Book. Using a variety of drums, cymbals, tambourines and maracas (as well as his entire body and voice), he puts on an instructive show that Time Out New York called “wall-to-wall music-gospel, hip-hop, drumming-African flavored dance.” Pleasant has worked with such noted musicians as Erykah Badu, Paul Simon, Cecil Taylor and Jack De Johnette. For more info, visit www.blackmensgathering.org. Sat., 9 am, Baha’i Unity Center (2414 Waters Ave.).
The Tennessee Rounders
Chattanooga-based honky-tonk act whose indie albums tackle everything from outlaw country declarations to tear-in-your-beer weepers to haunting murder ballads. A truly above-average example of this genre. Sat., 10 pm, The Jinx.
Sharon Van Etten
Hushed and ethereal post-modern acoustic low-fi anti-folk that’s one part Cat Power, one part Mazzy Star and one part mysterious Greenwich Village ‘60s legend Karen Dalton. Last time this singing N.J. guitarist’s tour brought her to this room, I’m told it was a captivating performance that held the crowd in rapt attention. Sat., 8 pm, The Sentient Bean - ALL-AGES.
