For the last show of the opening night of the 2013 Savannah Stopover, there was a kind of jubilation at The Jinx.
Mac DeMarco was the reason.
DeMarco looks a little older than 22, but his expressions and demeanor make him seem younger — maybe it’s the gap-toothed smile, maybe the wide eyes, maybe the speed with which he goes from laconically addressing the crowd to tearing into his guitar.
There weren’t any of the legendary stage antics last Thursday in Savannah — just all four band members doing a bit of crowd surfing near the end of the set. It was a great way to finish a stellar evening of music, with DeMarco taking the packed bar through the catchy, unpredictable tunes that have made him a rising star among a certain set of music lovers.
Consequence of Sound was on hand for the show and said in part:
He’s a masterful band leader, his goofiness is just enough to be charming while also placing an emotional distance between himself and the crowd. And without making too much of a big deal about it, the crowd ate it all up like nachos or cheap beer, even if DeMarco’s hooks and songwriting were overlooked in favor of his gimmicks and the song’s inherent danceability.
Dominick Mastrangelo got some great pics for BrooklynVegan. I pretty much stayed in one spot stage right — it’s the easiest place close near the stage to stand without getting pushed around by people going to and from the bar or the bathroom. And that angle gives some exceptional views of The Jinx decor . . . which somehow seemed especially fitting for the kind-of-campy set.
And I shot one video — “Annie” — with my newish Nikon D7000. I don’t really know what I’m doing with it yet, and the mic here definitely didn’t pick up as much vocal as I was hearing in the room. As I noted in a post a few days ago, I see a lot of crappy barroom videos, so a few more out there in the aether can’t hurt too much.
Here’s one of Geoff L. Johnson’s great shots embedded from the Stopover’s Facebook page, but the rest of the pics are mine.
