POST-PUNK | Feeding Fingers
Thurs. Mar. 1
9 p.m.
$5
Tin Roof
You can always tell a lot about a band by doing a side-by-side comparison of their first album and latest release. With Feeding Fingers, the differences are fun to spot. It’s all subtle — you know it’s the same band — but it’s an audible growth and it makes you want to give their whole discography a quick once-over. Elements of post-punk, darkwave, electronica, and goth permeate throughout. It always sounds like Feeding Fingers, but pinpointing the minutia in the music is the tricky part. “We sort of started out when I was a kid more like a post-punk kind of thing,” says Feeding Fingers mastermind Justin Curfman. “At this point, we’re almost like a progressive world-music band.” He’s not kidding, as the intro track for the band’s 2016 LP Attend kicks off with zen chimes that sound like they came from the East. Feeding Fingers doesn’t often get bogged down in their own ethno-musicology, though. A typical set for them filters any fringe influence they have through a thick layer of post-punk fog. “I think, for me, it’s best to branch out,” says Curfman. Feeding Fingers’ latest album was 2018’s Do Owe Harm, and went deep into music theory by experimenting with microtonality. Despite that description, we swear that it’s an entertaining listen. Feeding Fingers will perform at Oblivion, Tin Roof’s monthly goth dance party. —Heath Ellison THURSDAY
Hip-Hop | Merlot Moments
w/ Langston Hughes III, Kalaani & Nndigo Sol, The Selektahs
Sat. March 3
6 p.m.
$35
Redux Contemporary Art Center
Langston Hughes III, the group that brought us contemporary head-nod music, is doing its part to elevate the local hip-hop culture, bringing the genre into area art galleries with Merlot Moments, which celebrates art, wine, and classic hip-hop. Everyone’s glass is half full with this particular edition as the Hughes crew extends a head nod to local soul food institutions like Bertha’s Kitchen, Dave’s Carryout, and Hannibal’s Kitchen, and serves up “soul food elevated” by Chef JA, owner of Lillie Ollie. The night also features art from Elva Lovoz (Washington D.C.), Whitney Warden (Atlanta), Alexandria Searles (New York), Javet Blunt (S.C.), and Martin Askem (U.K.) in addition to wine from Deepwater Vineyard. And, of course, music is the main course: expect sounds from the DJ duo the Selektahs, plus neo-soul-reggae-funk-R&B from Kalaani and Nndigo Sol and golden-era hip-hop by host Langston Hughes III. A portion of proceeds will go to the Medi Community Research Center, which helps social service organizations develop a culture of collaboration through education and technology. We’ll cheers to that. —Kelly Rae Smith saturDAY
Variety | #PowerToPuertoRico
w/ DJ Tuff Girl,
MC Halo,
Jeff Mosier & the Local Benefactors,
Quis KingSoul, Buddy Bambahda,
Laren Bevins Cahill,
Gino Castillo
Sun. Mar. 4
2 p.m.
Free/Donations Accepted
The Bend
Local Pulse is a website dedicated to grassroots and community events in the Charleston area. Occasionally, they’ll also put on killer shows that support charity efforts, like #PowerToPuertoRico. “[The charity] is an all-Charleston, local-based initiative of people just working together,” says Local Pulse creator Willis Tant. The hashtag is meant to promote donations and awareness of the continuing humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, following the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria. While there is no entry fee to see the lineup of artists, which includes joyous rapper Quis KingSoul and folk songwriter Lauren Bivens Cahill, donations are encouraged. Donations can come in the form essential items, like first-aid-kits, sleeping bags, and canned non-perishable food items. As the header shows, Tant’s performer choices for the event are a wide swath of artists. She was “sort of reaching out to a variety,” says Tant. “Part of the Local Pulse’s mission is to preserve, diversify, and sustain. So we really try to work on making all of our events have that diversity.” Punk and rave record spinner DJ Tuff Girl, Latin Jazz performer Gino Castillo, and rapper Buddy Bambahda are all set to perform. —Heath Ellison SUNDAY
Indie | Fleet Foxes
w/ Natalie Prass
Tues. March 6
8 p.m.
$38-$49
North Charleston Performing Arts Center
If you didn’t get on the Fleet Foxes train back in 2008-ish, it’s not too late. The pastoral indie group got a ton of hype back then with the release of their self-titled sophomore LP but haven’t put out a lick of music in six long years until 2017’s Crack-Up, a relief to Beach Boys-cum-mountain man musician-lovers everywhere. And now the guys, with magic-like harmonies for days and days, are bringing their catalog to Charleston along with singer-songwriter Natalie Prass. And the closest Charleston has gotten to the stunning work of Prass was that time her ex Ryan Adams performed her song “My Baby Don’t Understand Me” at the PAC, a nice but relatively unsatisfying tease for anyone who knows the places its creator can take the song. In short, the music from these artists is as beautifully layered and lush as it gets, and you’d be doing yourself a great favor to ensure you catch all of it. —Kelly Rae Smith Tuesday
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