BECK COVERS | Beck to the Future
Fri. Feb 13
9 p.m.
$10/adv., $12/door
Pour House
Beck’s musical career began in the mid-’80s. Since then, his humble beginnings as a Delta blues boy playing on a city bus has shape-shifted time and time again, from electro-pop royalty to mellow-country crooner to anything and everything. Anyone attempting to cover the Beck spectrum is in for a difficult task. Fortunately, some of Charleston’s finest musicians are up for the challenge. Members of Sexbruise?, The Jordan Igoe Band, Runaway Gin, Gaslight Street, Funkness Monster, and more have come together to replicate the roller coaster that is Beck’s musical career. “We’re playing a diverse selection of Beck songs,” says Runaway Gin’s Andrew Greenberg. “The songs have been chosen to showcase the breadth of the catalog as well as appeal to the masses by including most of the big hits. We are definitely celebrating the whole spectrum of Beck.” The Grammy Award-winning artist’s ability to take on almost any musical genre has created a fanbase just as diverse as his talent. “It’s strange how he can do almost anything stylistically and have it come across as unforced and authentic,” says Greenberg. “In that way he is also similar to The Beatles, and it is a big part of why he has such massive mainstream and critical appeal.” —J. Chapa FRIDAY
FUNK | Elise Testone
w/ SLANGUAGE
Sat. Feb. 14
8 p.m.
$18.50/adv., $20/door
Charleston Music Hall
Former Charlestonian and American Idol finalist Elise Testone may have recently moved to New York, but she’ll be back for one night to prove the Holy City still has her heart. On Valentine’s Day, Testone will bring her fellow Manhattan musicians and a whole lotta love to the Charleston Music Hall. “The show will consist of mostly original funk, rock tunes with a handful of classic covers,” she tells us. Testone’s been busy recording a new album with her former SLANGUAGE bandmate and guitarist Adam Fallen, who will perform with Testone once again as SLANGUAGE on Saturday. Another bonus is the sweetheart-inspired set design planned for the night, which has been dubbed For the Love of Funkin’. “Christian Hannon will illuminate the night with his 3D visual performance,” Testone says. “He’ll build a giant mosaic-style heart and control the lighting of the heart with his computer and projector, which will alter with the sounds and feeling of the music.” —Kelly Rae Smith SATURDAY
OLD-TIME JAZZ | The Honey Chasers
w/ Redleg Husky and Cary Hudson
Fri. Feb. 13
6 p.m.
Free
Palmetto Brewing
The Honey Chasers’ Meade Richter and Cameron Owens met in Boone, N.C. where they played music together in high school, but it wasn’t until they enrolled in East Tennessee State University’s Old Time and Country Music Program that they really found their niche. The pair soon met guitarist Jeff Ingersoll, recruited upright bassist Zach Smith from their hometown, and formed a quartet. Performing originals as well as covers from acts like David Grisman, Old and in the Way, and Bill Monroe, The Honey Chasers’s sound is a mix of bluegrass, string jazz, and Americana. Richter’s electric fiddle makes the band’s sound extra unique. “Since we play with an electric instrument, we all have to come up with our own ways to plug in our acoustic instruments to match the volume and sound of the electric violin,” Owens says. “This has really helped us while playing for larger and louder crowds, whereas we can interact on stage more since we are plugged in and we can play as loud as the crowd wants us.” The Honey Chasers’ recent self-titled release is full of originals, including “Postman,” a song about Owens’ father, a professional musician who toured a lot. —Kelly Rae Smith FRIDAY
FOLK | Avi Jacob
w/ Billie Fountain
Sat. Feb. 14
9 p.m.
Free
King Dusko
Local folkie Avi Jacob released a beautifully raw collection of folk songs last year with So Hard to Reach You, and since then he’s written and recorded a brand new track. He’ll release a video Thurs. Feb. 12 for his new single “Cannonball,” which was recorded and mixed by Charleston producer Wolfgang Ryan Zimmerman. “Working with him was sick,” Jacob says. The track includes Jacob on vocals and guitar, Zimmerman on drums, Elliot A. Smith on keys, and Matthew Alexander on bass. Jacob says the song is about a local chick whose identity he’s keeping under wraps. “‘Cannonball’ is a metaphor I came up with about someone who fucks up everything in their path or who fucks up the people they are close to by lying and manipulating,” he says. Shot by 1027 Films around Savannah and Charleston, the video also features local puppeteer Will Schutze’s Mr. Bonetangles. —Kelly Rae Smith SATURDAY
Stay cool. Support City Paper.
City Paper has been bringing the best news, food, arts, music and event coverage to the Holy City since 1997. Support our continued efforts to highlight the best of Charleston with a one-time donation or become a member of the City Paper Club.