SCHISM – TOOL TRIBUTE @ VICTORY NORTH
SAT JUN 1 | 8 PM
Few bands polarize metalheads like Tool. The online discourse has been a bit silly, with a totalitarian POV from the faithful. Tool fans REALLY LOVE Tool and hate the haters. The haters are self-explanatory. The rest of us who neither passionately love nor hate them have a good time watching the beef play out because…why does it matter? There is a stark split between the group’s phenomenal debut EP, “Opiate,” and the rest of their work. Raw, brutal and angry, “Opiate” has a dynamic energy many levels above the more cerebral and brooding sounds of their five studio albums released over 26 years, from 1993’s “Undertow” to 2019’s “Fear Inoculum.” With a modest output — quality over quantity, as fans will attest — the touring vacuum probably made a tribute band inevitable. One thing all can agree on is that Tool music is relatively complex, so the skill level has to be very high. Schism started in 2001 and has been touring for more than 20 years, so no worries there. And TC5 loves tribute bands for blazing the trail back to live music after the lockdown, so this show is highly recommended for all the right reasons.
DIRTY, NASTY, DRAG BINGO BRUNCH @ BARRELHOUSE SOUTH
SUN JUN 2 | 12:30 PM
Barrelhouse South is moving their free Sunday night bingo to a Sunday Bruch bingo with a massive helping of decadence smothered in sexy grime. First Sunday of the month is now Dirty, Nasty, Drag Bingo and, whattaya know, this Sunday starts Pride Month. As the A-Team’s Hannibal Smith often said, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Hosting the festivities is La. J Deveraux (pictured), Connect Savannah’s 2024 Best Drag Queen winner. If that weren’t enough, and it never is, she’s bringing D Luca Valentine and Wynter Cumming to annihilate the runway and send your jaw barreling to the floor. To satisfy the appetite, Orale Tacos is cooking up appropriately spicy selections and, of course, the “Dirty, Nasty Cock-tail menu” will have generous mimosa specials.
CANDLELIGHT: BEST OF HIP-HOP ON STRINGS @ VICTORY NORTH
THU MAY 30 | 6:30 & 9 PM
The Candlelight series from the NY-based Listeto music and management company has been running Fever, a series of themed concerts featuring a string quartet rocking the crowd (gently) to artists like Queen and Taylor Swift, as well as music styles like neo-soul and movie soundtracks. Now, they are bravely tackling hip-hop. String music interpretation of highly rhythmic music is a tall order, but they have yet to fail on a goal. Another interesting juxtaposition is music born from the streets in such a high-brow, sophisticated setting. The tentative set list spans the genre well, from old-school medleys of Dr. Dre, Eminem, 2Pac, Outkast and Lauren Hill/Fugees hits. Contemporary performers like Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar and Drake are also represented. How genres are mashed today and how these songs you may know are sonically presented make for a show so unique, they're doing it twice.
BEN FOLDS @ DISTRICT LIVE
THU JUN 6 | 8 PM
Early notice is warranted for a performer as prominent as Ben Folds. His route to pop stardom started in Greensboro, NC, where he grew up and learned to play piano at age 9. By high school, he was also in bands playing drums and bass, learning songs by listening. Percussion got him a music scholarship at U. of Miami, but it didn’t work out. He played in a few bands back in NC that didn’t do much either, and he moved to Nashville with a publishing deal that didn’t go as planned. Next, on to New Jersey to pursue acting in NYC. He thought he was done with music, but he moved back to NC and formed the Ben Folds Five, a trio. The dam broke with the 1997 alternative hit “Brick,” a poignant and very personal account of how he and his high school girlfriend dealt with her abortion. It was more serious than most of his work, and the debut album “Whatever and Ever Amen” received stunning reviews. Since then, the nerdy persona and risky experiments with a cappella and symphonies have only cemented his fan base. He called Ben Folds Five “punk rock for sissies,” but he has a wild man side, as evidenced by his five marriages ending in divorce. He disbanded the Five and began his “solo” career in 2001, releasing ten studio albums between the two.
SAPPHIRE BULLETS OF PURE LOVE @ COACH’S CORNER
SAT JUN 1 | 7 PM
To clarify any confusion, SBOPL is named after the 24-second instrumental track released by the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1973, not the 1990 They Might Be Giants song. How relieved you must be to finally know? Anyway, this group is nothing like either of those two. The 13-piece soul and R&B big band leans on the immense power of the Bonaventure Horns (pictured), allowing them to tackle work from James Brown to Tom Jones and the vast space in between. Playing in a band this large works because they’ve all been friends for years, having fun, and not trying to break out or do anything more than give a live crowd music they can dance to. After more than 30 years of treating Savannah, mission accomplished and still kicking.
