GENERAL OGLETHORPE & THE PANHANDLERS
FREE CANDY
At 10 p.m. Saturday, June 25
Tantra Lounge, 8 Broughton St. Free
The mischievous popsters in General O have been laying tracks for a new album; meanwhile, the band’s singing, songwriting frontperson Devin Smith has directed a video for “Red Hot,” one of the standout tracks on last year’s debut Whistle the Dirges, and tonight’s show is also an excuse to screen said video for the very first time. The always-enchanting, bop-rocking Free Candy opens with their sinewy sweets.
"FRIENDS OF CHIEF" BENEFIT
Noon-10 p.m. Sunday, June 26
Coach's Corner, 3016 E. Victory Drive
So much attention is paid to the young bands in town, the ones that pepper the downtown clubs constantly and appeal, for the most part, to the college-age crowd. This is a good thing, as that's where most of the innovation is, and the youthful energy. And anything that starts someone on a lifelong passion for live music is worth celebrating - and worth writing stories and Noteworthy columns about.
The other side of things, as in every college town, is the local, non-collegiate, hometown musicians. Many of the guys who regularly rock in Savannah are natives (like Greg Williams or Eric Culberson, for example) or have been doing it here for a long, long time - they've seen the trends come and the trends go, but never packed up and chased their dreams out of town. Or if they did, they came back to stay. And kept on rockin.'
Singer, songwriter and guitarist "Chief" Dennis Hinely grew up on the east side and has been in many bands over the years, including the Homewreckers, and a later incarnation of the JoJa Band - Savannah's biggest ‘70s southern-rock aggregate.
Anyway, Chief's been ill recently, and like so many musicians he doesn't have health insurance. His longtime buddy Gordon Perry, and the owners of Coach's Corner (where many of the city's longtime musicians can always find a gig) have organized this Sunday benefit, with a lot of his homegrown musician pals and/or longtime supporters.
Here's the schedule (subject to last-minute change): Noon: Georgia Kyle; 1 p..m.: Jason Courtenay; 1:50 p.m.: High Velocity; 2:45 p.m.: Jimmy Wolling Band; 3:35 p.m.: The Magic Rocks; 4:25 p.m.: Bluesonics; 5:10 p.m.: Greg Williams Band; 6 p.m.: Bucky & Barry; 6:50 p.m.: Thomas Claxton; 7:40 p.m.: Chuck Courtenay Band; 8:40 p.m.: The Looters; 9:30 p.m.: G.E. Perry & Strange Brew. Plus special guests!
CHECK IT OUT
The Savannah punk/pop trio Fur Elise opens for Columbia’s post hardcore Sent By Ravens (along with Wild Zero) Thursday, June 23 at the Rock House in Tybee. The fabulous Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun is at the Wormhole Friday (24th), along with Atlanta's killer trio Jungol and Savannah's electronica wizard Paul Goerner (aka Magic Places)… Saturday at the Wormhole, it’s a Savannah Pagan Pride Day celebration, with a Midsummer Night’s Dream theme. They’re crowning a King and Queen of the Fairies, there’s elaborate fairy face painting planned, a DJ, a go-go dancer and … well, let’s debauch, shall we?...Jonathan Murphy is a busy guy – along with the Canebrakes and Burning Mansions, he has another band called Jon Lee’s Apparitions, playing Isaac’s on Drayton Saturday the 25th …. The Atlanta band Bloodline, playing a wide range of classic rock covers (Styx to Motley Crue) takes the stages at Pour Larry's on the 25th ....
