Published on January 21st, 2013 | by Ballard Lesemann

Gallery: January Gig Pics (Part 1)

From the woodsy fields of Awendaw to the crowded bars of West Ashley and James Island, Metronome Charleston has attended and enjoyed more than few fine concerts around the Lowcountry this month. We managed to snap a few shots at the standout shows so far this month.

Aaron Firetag’s Third Annual Birthday Bash at the Pour House on Jan. 8 featured mandolinist Aaron Firetag jamming with a handful of bands, including the country ensemble Lost Highway (pictured).

Local pop/rock/jam quartet the Outervention — singer/guitarist Jeff Kozelski, guitarist Ian Grimshaw, drummer Alan Brisendine, and bassist Tom Eden — included some Talking Heads, Zep, and Bowie in their sets at the West Ashley Home Team BBQ. Shonuff’s Madison Ruckel even joined the band on stage for a few ticklish jams.

Big crowds showed up at the Sewee Outpost for the Sewee Association’s Music and Oysters for Wildlife Concert, an annual oyster roast/fundraiser and music festival in Awendaw held on Jan. 12. Local players Doug Jones, Danielle Howle, Firework Show, the Red Dog Ramblers, and Ed Hunnicutt shared the stage. We enjoyed the cute and surprisingly rockin’ set by Nashville-based country singer Maggie Rose and her band (pictured).

The low-volume (nearly unplugged) sets from Florida-based garage/rockabilly trio Looka! Looka! Looka! at the Tattooed Moose on Jan. 15 were a blast.

The opening night of the Charleston Comedy Festival (Jan. 16) featured Wyatt Cenac (of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) at the Charleston Music Hall. We hung out at the festival’s home base at Theatre 99 and caught several sets by local improvisors and performers, including Organized Chaos, Cats Hugging Cats, Doppelganger (see the clip of Lee Lewis and Jason Cooper making up a song on the spot below), and the rednecky Neckprov.

Local Clint Fore (a.k.a. Clint 4) and his trio delivered a beautiful, all-instrumental set at the Tin Roof on Jan. 16, opening for instrumental quartet La Calle. Fore played guitar in the first set and the tube in the second set.

Brave Baby’s CD release show (for their new album Forty Bells, via Hearts & Plugs) drew a huge crowd at the Pour House on Jan. 17. The local quintet shared the stage with Elim Bolt (who played very early in the evening) and North Carolina trio Octopus Jones. Frontman Keon Masters handled the enthusiastically giddy audience like a pro rock star (see clip below).

L.A.-based singer-songwriter Kevin Sandbloom (pictured) performed an intensely soulful acoustic/loop pedal set on Jan. 19 at an intimate house show in West Ashley hosted by Doug Walters (of Torture Town, the Fairy God Muthas). Atlanta-based singer, songwriter, and bandleader James Hall (the Futura Bold, the Pleasure Club, Mary My Hope) closed the show.

Later that evening, the Hed Shop Boys and other local rock bands took turns jamming at Art’s Bar & Grill in Mt. Pleasant as part of a fundraiser for Lisha Frits, wife of proprietor Kent Frits. The Frits family is dealing with a teetering stack of medical bills from Lisha’s battle with heart disease. The roster at Art’s featured Sarah Cole and Jesse Prichard, Kurly Wolf, Gracious Day, Donnie Polk, Sgt. Submarine, the Hed Shop Boys, and Spunjwurthi.

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Tags: Aaron Firetag, Art's Bar & Grill, Brave Baby, Charleston, Charleston Comedy Festival, Clint Fore, Gallery, Guilt Ridden Troubadour, Kevin Sandbloom, La Calle, Octopus Jones, Photos, The Pour House, The Tin Roof, Theatre 99

About the Author

Ballard Lesemann is a musician and writer. Born and raised in Charleston, S.C., he spent years playing in bands and working for Flagpole Magazine in the bustling music town of Athens, Ga. He returned to his hometown and served more than seven years as the Charleston City Paper's music editor. He's better at drumming than he is at playing guitar.

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