‘23HIGHLIGHTS
2023. The year everything changed.
The inauguaral DDF.
The shifting in focus and purpose.
In the early times of Dog Days, those first couple of seasons when shows started occurring post pandemic.. it felt like Savannah was exploding with passion and inspiration, all centered in the music community. Dog Days was kind of the epicenter of these happenings; we were re-writing the history of this town, that we were waking up dormant beasts, fairweather fans, and disillusioned musicians to get up and get going. Bands were started with new fervor, intensity, and musicianship, it challenged musicians in this town to get their shit together and people to pay attention. With a little branding (thanks Drew), taste, booking, and promotional pedigree, Dog Days had the attention.
But things have shifted, Dog Days was always one idea but not the whole thing. And artists, fans, other promoters, have created a multi-layered community with different scenes, identities and safe spaces. So what was I to do? Where did i fit in? I could book fervently as i once did- at one point I was doing 3-4 shows a month for what felt like years. I could try and control things, try and book shows for everybody and take a cut and be like the music scene mob boss. But what purpose would that serve?
From my time being the talent buyer at El Rocko, I always pictured getting that big band to come through and surprise people. To catch that big fish, to leave people in awe that i could get it done.. But also to get people in, sell tickets, keep the business floating. I’ve always been obsessed with the energy of a live show; that’s my favorite place to be on a planet earth. In an audience.. feeling the rhythm, being amazed by the sound and fury of the music. I’ve always chased that curious passion of discovering bands. The internet was an endless source of information; i discovered Purevolume as a 12 year old, that I could hear bands demos from all over the world, and that there were people out there in little local scenes that weren’t quite Senses Fail or The Early November, or whatever Alternative Press covered.
I would spend hours listening to emo, punk, screamo, hardcore, grindcore you name it. I would illegally download it all and burn albums, make CD comps. But it wasn’t just emo, it was every artist that ever existed. Who was Jimi Hendrix? Kings of Leon, ooh what’s this live bootleg from Hammerstein Ballroom? That Afroman song about smoking pot is cool, lets download every song he’s ever put out. And so on and so forth. If it music were food, i would have been morbidly obese. 600 lb type of fat kid.
Why am i rambling about this? Because for me, this constant dig for buried treasure, has never stopped. Its my obesession. And I am making it my career to bring findings this beautiful city i call home. Its something Im good at. And with my small experiences playing in bands, working at bars, and touring, i get the concept of how to treat the musicians right, and how to make the shows right. So why do it all the time when I can have a blowout where they all come at once?
I’ll never forget the feeling. You know you book the fest and you have this kind of imaginary agreement that everyone is gonna come. Sign on the dotted line. Send out some production schedules. tell people where to be and what time. but all of a sudden.. it starts happening. People start moving. Bands start touring. And on your little phone you can see, everyone is getting closer. You get tagged in stories of people in vans driving straight from NYC “on our way to DDF!!”. You see footage of friends in Nashville and Athens seeing a band thats slated to play the fest in the next couple of days. The world is literally moving differently because of a seed you planted. A crazy cosmic reaction.
But anyways. Here are five of my favorite Dog Days shows I witnessed in 2023.
Image by Tom CartmelSNOOPER SNOOPER SNOOPER
The peak DDF moment and one seized by a band at a height of their artistic and visionary powers. Just like the forefathers of proto-punk DEVO, The music and the message of the show are aligned. Pure theatre- full of props, audio interludes of soul songs, synchronized choreography, paper mache, matching costumes (workout sweats), fake weights, whistles, and all the elements that occupy the Snooper ideaology; some bizarre freak punk detailing capitalism’s drive to improve, to buy, to exercise, that accepting this technology and this “culture” is the answer to the absurd (it’s not”, also see “Shiny Happy People”). Enough of what it’s ‘about’- the crowd was alive and hanging on every moment. Lead by Blair Tramel (who also makes their videos/visual media), she grins and bounces, darting snappy one liners as the band shreds angular dance-y punk. Moshing and pure chaos ensued. Truly electric and one of the best performances I’ve witnessed. Period.
Images by Tom Cartmel, Mel Mercer (bottom gallery), anything on an iPhone is me.
might be my favorite video ever
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CINDY FUCKING LEE
image from the internet“The bewildering, enchanting, and haunting world created from the mystique of a “Motown” singer, starved in the shadows. ‘60s girl groups sing of love and heartbreak, but Lee’s framing of these emotions through feedback, distortion, and abrasive guitar parts makes these emotions feel more.. tremendous. Like the very balance of life and death is weighed. Summoned from a place that feels like David Lynch’s ‘Black Lodge’, here are a few moments captured.”
I wrote this to promote the show but could have not been prepared for what ensued. It’s hard to put into words the beauty in which Patrick/Cindy performs. The glittering dress, the makeup, and the songs… heartbreaking. Many ballads of love lost. The set is made up different moments. Some to tracks where Cindy just sings, then picks up a guitar to play over. All the tracks, btw, are so nuanced- familiar and distinct. Others with her backing/opening band Freak Heat Waves (which were much more beat forward and funky) and some just pure instrumentals, one with zero tracks and was an astounding classical number, an ode to Spanish finger picking and her distinct treble-y distorted Fender. But along with all that, never have I seen someone play guitar so uniquely and masterfully. Her palm would often stretch 6 frets to hit a weird chord, with such ease.
Afterwards, it looked like half the crowd and been through something traumatic, like a car crash or a near death experience: eyes were red and wide open. A friend said, “I never want to listen to her again unless its live. It’s too pure of a spectacle… it would ruin it for me.” And that being said, not one song she played is on streaming services. Below, I have collected many long form videos of footage from the show. Indulge.
instrumental spanish “classical” number
deep deep unreleased cut “i dont wanna fall in love again”
freak heat wave x cindy jam featuring steffan’s kid dancin.
“i can’t go on living without you” with bizarro guitar at the end
cindy using famous ‘pete drake and his talking steel guitar’ riff as a loop
———————————————BAR BAND OF THE YEAR… SAM EVIAN???
Jeff Healey in RoadhouseNot something that I thought would ever come out of my mouth. The Endless Summer Special was cooked from out of nowhere: 4 amazing bands, some playing Hopscotch up in Raleigh, and others just in the neighborhood, all wanted to play Savannah the same weekend. And ole Sam Evian wanted the Saturday night slot at Rocko. And most people know that around 1130pm on Saturdays, the college rush starts to bleed in. And even though the kids in Savannah for the most part are there at Rocko to dance and get nasty, it’s important to try and capture their attention so they get to know the Dog Days brand and also have a show that keeps them entertained and spending money for the bar. And sometimes, you gotta just book something that you know will entertain, you feel me? Nothing too experimental. Sam Evian, the soft rock daddy of indie rock, a critical darling, but intimate music. He whispers over brass melodies and reserved acoustic guitar on record. Pastoral vibes. But his most streamed song- “Right Down The Line”- a Dire Straits cover. And the new record carried this dad rock sentiment. Would this work at Rocko? Would they eat him alive? He has a decent fan base, but the last thing i want is an artist to have a bad time on that stage at the mercy of a bunch of rude college goers and drunkards. Sometimes you gotta play it safe at Rocko- but i took a chance.
And you wouldn’t believe the crowd. About 100 eager fans awaiting Sam’s set and… what felt like a 1000 insane and crazy night clubbers- line around the block, horde of cigarette smokers - an army of youngsters. Loud, oblivious, cackling, taking photos, shouting over on another. It was maybe a worst case scenario. They were ready to put him on a spicket like damn hog. But Sam and his band, they didn’t give two shits! They kicked if off and their set had meat on its bones. Shreddy licks, groovey parts, incredible pop songs. Alive and funky. Swagger for days. And with his innocent charm and boyish good looks, Sam Evian made everyone in that room respect and acknowledge him. He had the courage to play slow numbers, knowing full well that he can whip out a damn saxophone and solo for 5 minutes. He played instruments all over the stage and stretched the set to its limit. And with his point proven, now the crowd were at his mercy. You want to hear that beat drop? How about i finish the set with a solo piano rendition of “Still Crazy After All These Years”? And so he did. Forever immortalized in Dog Days Hall of Fame. The night Sam Evian pursued his bar band dreams.
sax solo sheeesh
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MIS AMIGOS… PRISON AFFAIR
the corner of rocko swooon (image by @savannahshowphotos)There is not many reasons to trust people in this world. People are foul, devious, demented creatures. I have an increasing amount of experiences to have lost some faith in humanity (we all have), to be unsure of my fellow neighbor, of their motives and their genuine-ness. When you have something, when you create an idea like a business or brand or band, you have your admirers and you have your fans but also people with un-noble means. Looking for ways to fuck you over. To rip you off. Wolf in sheep’s clothing: they mean to help but they just want a piece of the action for themselves. The music world has a bit of gatekeeping because of this- people are untrustworthy, unreliable, mentally unstable, drug addicts, you name it and if you are affiliated with an abuser, with crooked business man, with a psychopath, you are cooked. Done forever. Who cares about your passion, the plug has been pulled.
The beauty of Dog Days and the Barcelona boys of Prison Affair is we created trust. “What if you came to Savannah for a fest and then i helped book you a tour ?” With never meeting or even speaking in person, we managed to pull off something incredibly special. . Full US tour booked by me and some other independent guys and an insane summer run with Snooper and Sick Thoughts. And what an absolute pleasure to introduce these Spaniard to what the South is about.
You learn that there are people are trying to be lifers at this. Aside from fun and the party and the rock and roll, having your shit together gives you more credibility than anything else. Bands are perfectionists these days. People do this shit with serious attention and intention. We all want to do this forever and the people you choose to do this with are special and rare and feels so good when people are all belonging to that same drive, that same ethos. Happy to make the small things smooth so that the show can be as badass as possible.
charlotte, nc. shot by todd’s youtube channel
My cohort, Thomas Mole, went with the band to manage the tour and drive the boys through the swamps of America. Some photos below and perhaps some longer form documentation of the experience on the way ;).
