Vaudeville Jazz | Revue Nouveau
w/ The Resonant Rogues and Carnavalesque
Sat. Apr. 25
8 p.m.
$8
The Sparrow
Led by vocalists and instrumentalists Sparrow and Keith J. Smith, the folk and gypsy-jazz group Resonant Rogues will add a little carnival-like spice to their performance this coming weekend. Creating a retro sound with vocal harmonies, a fiddle, an upright bass, accordion, and more, the Asheville-based band is currently promoting Here & Gone Again — a collection of old-fashioned originals released earlier this month. But what’s different with this show is the addition of burlesque and acrobalance, brought to you by Charleston’s Carnivalesque. “I just love vaudeville, and I very much enjoy getting to showcase my range of skills,” Sparrow says. “I have a background in circus and theater and am also a professional dancer, so it’s fun to get to pull all of that together in our show.” Some of the backstage happenings are just as entertaining for the performers. “It’s always funny when we are on tour and take a break at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and start practicing our acrobatic swing dance routine to stretch our legs,” Sparrow says. “The look on people’s faces is pretty hilarious.” —Sarah Eastwood SATURDAY
Chamber Folk | Timbre
w/ Mechanical River
Sun. April 26
8 p.m.
$10
Charleston Music Hall
Before she performed on Jack White’s 2014 album Lazaretto, Nashville-based vocalist/harpist Timbre Cierpke spent 10 years writing music while on the road, playing and collaborating with bands like mewithoutYou and O’Brother. Her debut double-disc LP, Sun and Moon, released on April 7, is an imaginative exploration of the blend between modern and symphonic sounds, with the sun exploring the subject of friendship with the help of her band and the moon depicting the darkness and mystery of classical music. “I’ve always felt like there’s a deep, intrinsic connection between [the] two musical worlds,” says Cierpke. “Playing with bands is energetic and passionate [whereas] classical music has depth, like a broad palette of color.” Right from the offset of Sun’s intro, “Sunrise,” the eclectic mix of brash percussion and elegant harp strings is triumphant, yet brooding and melancholic. This mood continues into Moon, highlighted by the emphasis on the occasionally haunting and elegaic harp, accentuated by Cierpke’s beautiful vocals. The entire experience is remarkable, moving listeners as the light fades to dark. —Viraj Naik SUNDAY
Retro Swing | The Two Man Gentleman Band
Sun. April 26
10 p.m.
$10/adv., $12/door
The Pour House
Retro-swing duo The Two Man Gentleman Band started out 10 years ago in New York City, where Andy Bean (vocalist, guitarist, and banjoist) and Fuller Condon (upright bassist) often took their witty, old-time tunes to the streets of Manhattan. But the ability to make a good hatful of money wasn’t the only advantage to busking. “You get good faster that way, because people do stop and listen,” says Bean. Since then, The Two Man Gentleman Band have earned a devoted core following, released nine albums — including last year’s Enthusiastic Attempts at Hot Jazz & Swing Band Favorites — and toured all over the world opening for the likes of Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. These days, the two are busy with other projects: Bean lives in Los Angeles and spends many 70-hour weeks playing banjo for the Disney series, Wander Over Yonder, while Condon has found his niche right here in Charleston. After playing around town over the years and getting connected with like-minded musicians like The V-Tones’ Noodle McDoodle, Condon decided to take up residence at Folly Beach. But there are a few other reasons the Lowcountry seemed an attractive alternative to the Big Apple: “warm weather, near a good city, the beach, no noise, and no filth,” he says. Condon can be found around the Holy City playing with guys like Dallas Baker, Brad Edwardson, The Hungry Monks, The Rusty Hook Ramblers, and, of course, McDoodle. The Two Man Gentleman Band will be fresh from Merlefest by the time they reach The Pour House, their last show of the spring. —Kelly Rae Smith SUNDAY
Noise-Punk | Sweatlands
w/ Hungry Girl and Dumb Doctors
Thurs. April 23
8 p.m.
$5
Tin Roof
Mustafa Walker was known around the Charleston music scene years ago as a member of bands Oicho Kabu and Know Nothing Party, but then he moved away to Connecticut for grad school. Upon his return to the Holy City, Walker formed the bootstrap noise-punk outfit Sweatlands last year with Thomas Berkau (guitar and vocals), David Petitpain (bass), Myles Walsh (synthesizer), and Anthony Dargan (drums). “I’ve learned everything I know about playing in bands through the bands I played in Charleston,” guitarist and frontman Walker says. Sweatlands infuses post-hardcore vocals and Mixolydian riffs with an emphasis on d-beats (a central drum pattern popularized in the ’80s) with loads of audio feedback — as evidenced on their debut Sebastian’s World of Gates. The five-song EP was released digitally in 2014 and contains tunes like the fast-paced anthem “Welsh of Lunches.” “We want the sound to be something you can get inside of and explore,” Walker explains. “Our songs aren’t complicated in terms of the relationship that each part or the pieces of those parts have to one another. They are complex through the relationships between the individual elements that each person is contributing at any given time.” The band cites a variety of inspiration — ranging from Fugazi and Queens of the Stone Age to Tom Petty and The Allman Brothers — to put together their post-punk sound, which we’ll see more of with Sweatland’s 10-inch vinyl split later this year with feminist-alt group Southern Femisphere. “We’ve seen our share of amazing music come out of this town,” Walker adds. “We’re just hoping to contribute.” —Kristen Milford THURSDAY
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