Sat., Sept. 6.
Americana is a tricky label — and often a cop-out for describing any act with an acoustic guitar or a southern drawl. But for Greensboro’s Holy Ghost Tent Revival it really is the only apt descriptor. Disregard the geographical connection to like-minded tar-heels The Avett Brothers and Squirrel Nut Zippers — the band’s very name evokes images of century-old American confliction wherein religious piety meets raucous party. Musically, we hear elements of the entire lexicon of American popular music. Vaudeville ragtime, rife with swinging horns, doo-wop backing vocals, and the qualities of Golden Age pop. String-band folk and bluegrass collide with rock ’n’ roll abandon. Where the canon of popular music converges in Holy Ghost’s songs, we get not only a sound that is as all-encompassing as a tent revival, but one that is undeniably, and singularly “Americana.” —Bryan Reed (photo by Stratton Lawrence)$8, www.myspace.com/hgtr.
The Pour House
1977 Maybank Hwy., (James Island)
(843) 571-4343
http://www.charlestonpourhouse.com
Charleston City Paper
American Aquarium w/ Buzzround
As the title of its most recent album, The Bible and The Bottle, might indicate, American Aquarium trades mostly in country tropes both tried and true. Which, for a Raleigh band, is hardly surprise. North Carolina’s capital is, after all, the birthplace of alt-country legends Two Dollar Pistols and Whiskeytown. But American Aquarium is far from a mere tribute to hometown heroes. Frontman B.J. Barham’s whiskey-scorched voice, pained and scratchy, turns a piano-pounding roadhouse romp like “Clark Avenue” into a fully-convincing picture of a world where women are “sexy as sin” and the only cure is a good stiff drink. “When I’m sober, I pray to Jesus,” sings Barham. “When I’m drunk, that’s when I talk to God.” At the same time, though, a steel-guitar shuffle like “Down Under” is an equally compelling depiction of brokenhearted discontent run through a versatile band with an equally versatile voice behind the wheel. —Bryan Reed
$5, www.myspace.com/americanaquarium.
1977 Maybank Hwy., (James Island)
(843) 571-4343
http://www.charlestonpourhouse.com
Charleston City Paper
American Aquarium w/ Buzzround
As the title of its most recent album, The Bible and The Bottle, might indicate, American Aquarium trades mostly in country tropes both tried and true. Which, for a Raleigh band, is hardly surprise. North Carolina’s capital is, after all, the birthplace of alt-country legends Two Dollar Pistols and Whiskeytown. But American Aquarium is far from a mere tribute to hometown heroes. Frontman B.J. Barham’s whiskey-scorched voice, pained and scratchy, turns a piano-pounding roadhouse romp like “Clark Avenue” into a fully-convincing picture of a world where women are “sexy as sin” and the only cure is a good stiff drink. “When I’m sober, I pray to Jesus,” sings Barham. “When I’m drunk, that’s when I talk to God.” At the same time, though, a steel-guitar shuffle like “Down Under” is an equally compelling depiction of brokenhearted discontent run through a versatile band with an equally versatile voice behind the wheel. —Bryan Reed
$5, www.myspace.com/americanaquarium.
The Tin Roof
1117 Magnolia Road, Charleston (West Ashley), SC 29407
(843) 571-0775
http://www.myspace.com/westashleytinroof
Charleston City Paper
1117 Magnolia Road, Charleston (West Ashley), SC 29407
(843) 571-0775
http://www.myspace.com/westashleytinroof
Charleston City Paper
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