SOUL POP | JOHNNYSWIM
Fri. May 16
8 p.m.
$15/adv., $18.50/door
Charleston Music Hall
Note: Johnny Delaware will not perform as the opening act due to illness
Husband-and-wife Latin folk-and-blues duo Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano of JOHNNYSWIM have a growing pile of stories about how they decided on a band name. One tale is that the title came from the scene in Jaws where a character named Johnny is swimming away from the shark and his friend shouts “Swim, Johnny, swim!” from the pier. Another rendition suggests the name came from Sudano’s dead childhood goldfish Johnny, whom she tried to summon back to life by yelling, “Johnny, swim!” The latest rendition, dubbed as the “true story” during a City Paper interview with Ramirez, is that the band name was taken from a metal song. “The truth is we’ve waited a long time to tell the truth about our band name. We’ve deflected for years, but it’s time we come clean. There was this metal band that I used to absolutely love growing up called Cannibal Lecture. They had a song about a guy drowning, and the chorus was ‘Swim, Johnny, swim!’” says Ramirez. “There it is … the ugly truth,” says Ramirez. Why do we get the feeling that this might be another one of the pair’s stories? Regardless of the name’s true origin, JOHNNYSWIM has had much success with their first full-length disc Diamonds, a shift from their inaugural self-titled 2008 EP. “Now our sound reflects a lot more what we’ve spent our time listening to and loving, not just what other people say we should or shouldn’t be,” says Ramirez. —Kalyn Oyer FRIDAY
POP ROCK | Lucius
w/ Tegan and Sara, The Courtneys
Wed. May 14
7:45 p.m.
$25-$27
Music Farm
By all accounts, 2013 was a banner year for Brooklyn-based quintet Lucius. First, Paste got people hip to this band by naming them one of the 25 best bands they heard at SXSW. Then, upon the release of Lucius’ debut full-length record Wildewoman in October, not only did they receive their fair share of buzz, but the album also landed on both NPR and Paste’s best of 2013 lists. Not a bad way to kickstart the ol’ career. So what is it about this band that has tongues wagging? Well for starters, there’s the way that Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig’s voices coalesce into something heavenly on the rolling acoustic folk-pop title track, and the sexy, echoing pop number “Turn it Around” is as catchy as any Grace Potter song. And while “Until We Get There” is the kind of sun-drenched indie pop that college radio loves, “Nothing Ordinary” proves they can also go sideways on you and deliver funky rock while Wolfe and Laessig trade in their typically rich harmonies in favor of something more akin to unhinged sirens. If you are not familiar with the band, Wildewoman makes for a damn fine introduction. —Brian Palmer WEDNESDAY
PSYCH SURF | Daikaiju
w/ The Royal Tinfoil
Wed. May 14
10 p.m.
$5
Tin Roof
Landing an interview with a group of Godzilla-influenced psychedelic surf-punk rockers who thrive on dramatics can be difficult. So it was with utter delight that the City Paper received some very in-character updates from Alabama-based Daikaiju. Known on the live circuit for their Kabuki masks and mesmeric thrashing, the band had this to say about their upcoming show: “DAIKAIJU SPECIAL ATTACK TO CREATE MAXIMUM GOLDEN SHOWER OF DELIGHT!!!” Daikaiju (Japanese for “giant monster”) has toured extensively enough over the past decade to garner a devout following, first, throughout the South before they showed the world what a quartet of surf-rock instrumentalists can really do. Daikiju was recently named by Time Out Beijing as the Best Show by a Foreign Touring Act. Their spring U.S. tour will celebrate the release of the single “Spiral Serpent Strike,” which appeared in February on the international surf compilation Monsters of Surf. —Kelly Rae Smith WEDNESDAY
FOLK ROCK | Felice Brothers
Sun. May 18
9:30 p.m.
$15
Pour House
The Felice Brothers — Ian, Simone, and James — began playing as a salve for boredom and general indolence. There wasn’t much else they enjoyed. The band’s vibrant country/folk music reflects their Catskills, N.Y. upbringing, and it’s delivered with ragged, heartfelt abandon. Before Mumford & Sons, some thought these siblings might take Americana to the mainstream. But they blinked at the success and acclaim 2008’s self-titled album and 2009’s Yonder is the Clock brought them and chafed at the “folk” label. (That year their brother Simone left the band to pursue a solo career.) The brothers followed with 2011’s heavier, odder synth-laden rock album Celebration, Florida — zigzagging when they should’ve stayed the course. Three more years later, they’re about to release their fifth album, Favorite Waitress, which revisits the old-timey-tinged roots music that first gained them attention, recording with producer Mike Mogis (M. Ward, Pete Yorn) in Conor Oberst’s Omaha, Neb. studio. The new LP captures their rollicking live spirit, which sets off solemn and powerful moments like “Constituents,” where Ian offers in his Dylan-esque twang: “I will see you when I take my rest on the lunatic express.” —Chris Parker SUNDAY
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