THE SAINT CECILIA
FRI & SAT, JUL 3 & 4 | 9 PM | BARRELHOUSE SOUTH
If the sound of The Saint Cecilia is any indication, the narrowing of rock genres into atomized styles has not made its way to Central America. Not that you’d know the band is from Costa Rica. But you know plain old rock and roll when you hear it, and they are damn good at it.
There’s no trace of an accent in the singing, and the songs could be recently unearthed covers from early Rolling Stones, T. Rex, or Mott the Hoople. There’s swagger and flash, strong harmonies, and fantastic production value on the singles you can hear on Bandcamp.
Let me repeat, this band is from Costa Rica. The more you listen, the less it makes sense and the better it gets. Another twist, the lead guitarist and bass player are French. So it’s all very international and very American at the same time.
The Saint Cecilia broke out in the States playing Austin City Limits in 2024. They didn’t become an instant hipster-worship fad, thankfully. But they made enough of a mark to continue touring outside their home country, to the benefit of all. Props to Barrelhouse South for snagging such an interesting show.
INTRACOASTAL PLAYBOYS + ANDERS THOMSEN TRIO + JALEN REYES BAND + DUSTIN PRICE AND THE GOOD FER NOTHINS
SAT JUL 4 | 3–9 PM | LINCOLN PARK PROMENADE
Marvel at awesome coincidences as the region’s finest country cover band and the greatest country on the planet both celebrate a birthday on July 4. The USA is 250, but the Playboys are only 5. In dog years, they’re about where they seem in real life, like they’ve been at it for a few decades and are just hitting their stride.
All dolled up in flashy, cocaine-and-pills-fueled mid-‘70s country suits, you can bet on delivery of classics from George Jones, Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Paycheck, with some surprises like Tony Orlando & Dawn and Billy Swan. The band is overloaded with talent, at least six of them sing lead vocals, and they’re such pros you won’t see a drop of sweat in the punishing July heat.
The July Funtime Freedom Fest, now in its fifth year, happens in the back-alley area behind both Moodright’s/Over Yonder and Lone Wolf Lounge. A slew of Savannah stalwarts are joining the Playboys for a full day of music and an ocean of distinctly Mexican sponsor beers and tequilas to liberate you from the oppressive tyranny of sobriety.
The first sentence of the US Constitution states quite clearly you must find your edge between a killer buzz and devastating heatstroke and ride it on a bald eagle into a red, white, and blue rainbow of steel guitar oblivion. Don’t let the Founding Fathers down.
THE AUGUSTA COWPUNK COLLECTIVE + THE DSLs
FRI JUL 3 | 9 PM | THE WORMHOLE
You’re probably sure as can be that cowpunk and the Metallica “black album” have no connection whatsoever. It does.
When Carlsbad, CA, post-punk band The Dils broke up, leaders Chip and Tony Kinman formed Rank and File, which might be the first actual cowpunk band. They brought rebellious energy into roots and country rock as far back as 1981. The year prior, the final Dils release was recorded in Vancouver and produced by Bob Rock.
Yes, the same guy who produced the zillion-selling eponymous Metallica album. That combination of future arena rock maestro and a small subgenre that somehow persists nearly half a century later might be more unexpected than the elements of cowpunk itself.
The Augusta Cowpunk Collective keeps it alive and thriving in the Southeast by sticking to the original formula. Punk simplicity and attitude combined with an outlaw country vibe and roots rock songwriting. It’s not that different than early Replacements and Uncle Tupelo, with a more direct line to first-wave bands like Jason and the Scorchers, Lone Justice, and The Beat Farmers.
If you like a bit of twang in your punk, you’ll like the Collective. Charleston’s indie-punk rockers DSLs, aka Disco Stick Lips, kick it off with their two-man jams. Think of a fuzzier, less-refined Fury in Few and you get the idea.
MORE BAD NEWS
LAST WEEK | TOO SOON AFTER THE OTHER BAD NEWS | THERE IS NO GOOD TIME
On the heels of the passing of Xuluprophet’s Oisin Daly and drummer Tanner Hamilton’s injury, only a week went by until more terrible news broke.
Local musician Eric “Big E” Moore, bassist and leader of A Nickel Bag of Funk and Voodoo Soup, passed away on June 21. He was a master of his instrument and lit up every room he was in, performing or not.
Savannah guitarist Kevin Rose remembered his friend on IG: “Larger than life. This is how Big E will be remembered. Everything he did was XL, from his virtuosic bass playing, his smile, the way he could make you feel like you could rise to his ability when you shared the stage with him, and the way he could make you laugh with an effortless observation or comment. Savannah is so much better because of him, in every sense, he brought so much joy to the world he touched, of course he’d have to leave too soon.”
In the underground heavy music scene, Robert “Bobby” Ciardullo also passed away suddenly and too young. Bobby worked at The Portal Arcade, which has hosted dozens of hardcore punk and metal shows over the last year.
He loved the bar he worked at, loved the bands that played, and took care of the customers and artists alike.
Management of The Portal posted the following: “I have not met someone that could truly connect with people in the way he was so naturally able. He is cherished by so many, and will be so deeply missed beyond words.”
A benefit is being planned with details to come soon.
If the universe is reminding the Savannah live music scene of how nothing is guaranteed, we get it. It can stop now. We have it good for a small city, with a wildly inordinate ratio of musicians and supporters who keep the live music flame raging like an inferno. That fire has endured mighty headwinds the last few weeks, but has not flickered out.
With devastating losses recently, the only response is to see more shows, play more music, and wring every last bit of joy out of life while we have it.
HIVE MIND w/ALLEN AUCOIN
SAT JUL 4 | 7:30 PM | BROUGHTON STREET BOWL & BREW
Take Five doesn’t get to cover much EDM now that Elan is closed, but there are enough jamtronica bands that come through town that the topic isn’t unknown in these parts.
Perpetual Groove uses some electronics, and Papadosio played Savannah in the last year. Undoubtedly, the blend of jam band music and electronic trance and dance has become prominent in its own right.
Origins date back to the innovations of Philly fusion act The Disco Biscuits. They put the sound on the map and endure three decades later. Drummer Allen Aucoin, born in Georgia and trained at Berklee, sat on the Disco Biscuits stool for 20 years.
His current collaboration with Hive Mind continues to add dance club grooves and electronic textures to the broader jam band sound. Expect synth-heavy builds, open-ended jams, and enough live drumming authority to keep the machines subordinate to humans for one more night. That catastrophe may be inevitable, but not on Allen’s watch.
By Frank Ricci