ZZ TOP + CHEAP TRICK
FRI OCT 9 | 7 PM | VYSTAR PAVILION
“The show must go on.” Those were the wishes of the late, great ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill when he gave his blessing to Elwood Francis to take over the thunderbroom as health issues arose.
Billy Gibbons honored his 50+ year partner’s wishes. Francis, who had been the band’s guitar tech for 30 years, has filled in admirably. After drummer Frank Beard passed this summer, former Annie Dukes drummer Michael Monahan took over and has performed the Texas shuffle like a pro.
That leaves only Gibbons from the classic trio, but after 57 years of ZZ Top, the fact that all three lasted more than 50 is astounding. Over that time, few bands could play rocking Texas blues while experimenting with electronics, studio tricks, and flat-out weirdness and succeed for so long. Their catalog is so ridiculous, they could play a week of shows, not repeat a song, and satisfy every crowd.
Opening act Cheap Trick formed in 1973, making the grand total 110 years of rock and roll on this bill from only two bands. After three moderately successful studio albums, the live record boom fueled by Peter Frampton and KISS helped 1979’s Cheap Trick at Budokan make them huge. It went triple platinum, and the live version of I Want You to Want Me was a Top 10 single.
The sudden popularity also made Surrender from 1978’s Heaven Tonight a classic rock radio staple. Ten years later, they had a resurgence with hit singles The Flame and Don’t Be Cruel. They never stopped touring and recording, maintaining their signature mix of rock and roll, power pop, and ballads.
Three original members are still in the band, with guitarist Rick Nielsen’s son now on drums and Robin Zander’s son as an additional touring guitarist. For an alleged opening act, the band has more history and hits than most headliners.
DUSTIN PRICE “MONSTER MOVIE” LISTENING PARTY
THU OCT 8 | 6 PM | PINKIE MASTERS
Rules are made to be broken, and if you have a good enough reason, there’s no need to spaz out over a music column rule. Not to mention Take Five has been dying for an excuse to cover something at one of the best bars in the known universe.
Now in the ninth year of a three-day visit to Savannah from his home in Birmingham, Alabama, one gets the feeling Dustin Price may just stick around for a while. And why shouldn’t he? The immensely talented singer, songwriter, and guitarist’s latest, Monster Movie, features a full cast of some of Savannah’s most gifted musicians. Dylan Puckett, Jalen Reyes, and Andrew Sovine back him up, and the nine songs were produced by Blake Tallent. The result is something legitimately special, worthy of a party.
Musically, Monster Movie lives somewhere in the broad roots-rock territory occupied by Alejandro Escovedo and The Replacements, though without much of the latter’s punk edge. It’s smart, guitar-driven rock built on strong songs and interesting structures. The arrangements never feel predictable, but there’s a familiarity that lends itself to multiple listens. Price’s greatest weapon may be his voice.
Pinkie Masters owner and Intracoastal Playboys member Matt Garappolo put it perfectly when he said Price sounds like he has “five voices.” Across the record, he shifts tone and character enough to make the description feel almost literal. This listening party for Monster Movie comes with beer and shot specials to help lubricate the happy receptors inside your earholes. If you’re going to break a rule, this is a pretty damn good reason.
DRIVIN N CRYIN
FRI OCT 9 | 8 PM | BROUGHTON STREET BOWL & BREW
Atlanta gave the world Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, and Chick-fil-A, so the city definitely knows a thing or two about building things that last. The same can be said for Drivin N Cryin. Formed in 1985, the band has now been at it for more than 40 years, outlasting R.E.M. as an active concern while Kevn Kinney and Tim Nielsen continue to carry the torch.
Savannah got a recent reminder of Kinney’s talent and staying power when he appeared at Victory North’s Georgia On My Mind show earlier this year. This time, he’s bringing the whole band, and that matters. Straight to Hell, Honeysuckle Blue, and Fly Me Courageous all work well in Kinney’s solo sets, but they hit differently with the full weight of Drivin N Cryin behind them.
Longevity alone is no great achievement if nobody still cares. Drivin N Cryin has lasted because the songs continue to resonate with three generations of fans. Their catalog moves comfortably between roots rock, hard rock, country, folk, and power pop without ever sounding like half-assed genre-hopping.
They manage to pull them off with aplomb. Plenty of bands from the mid-’80s cling to relevancy on nostalgia alone. Drivin N Cryin survives because the songs still hold up.
SEX MEX + CANDY TRUCK + PIXEL CHIX
SAT OCT 10 | 6 PM | LONE WOLF LOUNGE LOT
If good things come in pairs, this show and the Dustin Price party are proof. They are at two of the city’s best bars, both start at 6 PM, and each is most definitely worth your time. For a bonus two-fer, this is the second week in a row that Savannah is treated to a rich, creamy helping of eggy punk.
Perhaps a harbinger for Mischief Night at the end of the month when eggs should be flying through the sky all night long, or did that joyous vandalism end with Gen X? We’ll see if the trend continues.
Anyway, to be fair, Sex Mex isn’t strictly egg-punk. Still, the Casio-like synths, twitchy rhythms, and nerdy energy give it an ovum-adjacent vibe. Mastermind Clark Gray of San Antonio originally wanted to be a sound tech and then turned his teenage obsession into a one-man band. Elements of garage rock and power pop carry the short songs, making them infectiously fun and catchy, with hooks galore, like a digital version of the Ramones.
Candy Truck brings the skate-punk side, describing itself as what might happen if The Hives, Buzzcocks, and FIDLAR had a baby. The band could also be the grandchildren of Jodie Foster’s Army, with a harder edge. The four-piece has the speed, hooks, and scruff to justify either. Pixel Chix have come a long way from their origins. Their old-school synth-infused punk rock is performed with noticeably more confidence, ability, and command.
Note: This is an outdoor show in the lot outside Lone Wolf, between the bar and the Moodright’s/Over Yonder complex, so getting yourself well-oiled shouldn’t be a problem.
JEREMY SHORT + MARC RIDGE & THE REVELERS
SAT OCT 10 | 7:30 PM | BROUGHTON STREET BOWL & BREW
It is inarguable that Jeremy Short is the innovator of Appalachian Space Funk because no one else has had the cojones to even try. You might ask, “Well, what nut would?”
It’s a fair question, but Short would reply, “Hold my whiskey” and show you how it’s done. Then he’d play a few of his songs, melt your face with world-class slide guitar, and deliver an Eastern Kentucky mélange of Southern soul, psychedelic rock, blues, country, and Appalachian roots.
Not every song checks all the boxes; that could get messy. Feelin’ Fine rocks with a strong groove, Until We’re Done gives you the psychedelic blues, Midnight Train to Glasgow heads for outer space, and (Falling Into A) Trance brings funk to the mountaintop. Short has entertained massive crowds at Bonnaroo, FloydFest, and Healing Appalachia, so seeing him in an intimate setting with bowling pins crashing in the background is something you may never get an opportunity to experience again.
Sticking closer to the earth, as well as planet Earth, is co-headliner Marc Ridge & the Revelers. Nestled in the flattest part of Indiana, the band’s home in Lafayette is 300 miles from the smallest foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. That contrast holds true to the music as well. No space, no funk, no Appalachia, but his band still complements what Jeremy Short does quite well.
Subdued, bluesy, and sparse, Ridge lets his deeply soulful voice shine. Where Short stretches boundaries into orbit, Ridge strips it down. Together, they cover plenty of terrain without trampling each other.
By Frank Ricci