I recapped the entire event in my glowing Unplugged column last week in Do in the Savannah Morning News, so here I’m just going to make some random observations and attach an album of the photos that I’d say are my favorites from the weekend.

But first, a taste of Paste’s writeup:

Canadian Mac DeMarco was one of [the highlights], posturing like a crazed frontman and mixing 80s metal covers into his original material, inciting moshing, screaming and stagediving from a packed crowd at The Jinx. Brooklynâ€s Christopher Paul Stelling had a more intimate show, arriving just seconds before his set but still managing to beguile those in attendance. His awe-inspiring guitar fingering and arresting voice, which was simultaneously smooth and guttural, was worth the trip alone. But the crown jewel of the festival for me, and likely for most, was seeing of Montreal play beneath a makeshift band shell in Forsyth Park on a warm, star-filled spring night.

Of Montreal is from Athens, Ga. just a few hours away, but this was their first time playing a set in Savannah. Based on the enthusiastic—borderline chaotic—response from the crowd, I think theyâ€ll be back. A heavily danceable set had everyone, from diehard fans and local families to curious passersby, moving with the music.

For the record, here are the acts that I saw — anywhere from a single song to the entire set:

Thursday:
The Last Bison, Ben Sollee, William Tyler, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Chelsea Light Moving featuring Thurston Moore, Delicate Steve, Naomi Punk, Mac DeMarco

Friday:
Sam Sniper, Filligar, Heyrocco, this mountain, PUJOL, of Montreal, Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, The Suzan, Country Mice, BRAIDS

Saturday: this mountain, Field Report, Blessed Feathers, The Wild Feathers, Autumn Owls, Little Tybee, Bear Fight!, Royal Canoe, Fine Peduncle, Filligar, Dent May, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Jonathan Toubin’s Soul Clap & Dance Off

Sunday at the VIP and band brunch: Jamison Murphy, Lovely Locks

And there are so many more I wish I had seen.The venues this year were well chosen for their proximity, but I still couldn’t be as many places at once as I would have liked.

I took pictures — at least one or two — of each of the bands I saw, but a few of the venues were really not suitable for quality photography unless you’re sporting some super pricy equipment (and maybe not even then). I’m in love with the fact that Hang Fire has music again, but there no lights on the band. None. B&D Burgers’ stages — both inside and out — are poorly lit, and the stages at Congress Street Social Club are only a little better. Taco Abajo has enough light, but the cartoonish backdrop and structural pillars are problematic. I hope the lighting is something the venues themselves might address sooner rather than later — they certainly won’t see many appealing shots of bands at their venues if they don’t address the lighting problems. More importantly, I think the average music lover prefers venues that have more light on the band than on the audience . . .

Of course, the Savannah Stopover is all about the music, not the lighting, and one of my few complaints would be that we need even more music. Few folks turned out for early Saturday afternoon shows a year ago, so it made sense to wait and start the music this year at 4 p.m.. But I think crowds will eventually support sets from noon or 1 p.m. onward. And I hope that next year we’ll see Friday and Saturday night sets that run right up till last call. With all the venues seeming to run more or less on schedule — a rare feat in Savannah — I sort of ran out of music before I ran out of energy on the last two nights.

I also haven’t quite wrapped my head around the fact that so many young Savannahians in the Stopover’s target demographic don’t seem to quite know what the festival is yet. The Savannah Music Festival has had some similar issues. But it’s hard to blame the festivals. Both the Savannah Morning News and Connect Savannah had extensive coverage in advance of the Stopover; the Stopover has a robust social media game; people like me with literally thousands of social media contacts were routinely posting about it. But on the Friday afternoon that of Montreal was scheduled to play in Forsyth, a Facebook friend of mine — a young, intelligent, gay college student who would obviously be interested in that performance — updated his status with shock and surprise about the show. How did he miss that crucial news for so many weeks? How can people like him be reached? Will it just take a few more years to get the festival ingrained in the local culture?

By the way, rather than rely on my press connection, I bought a VIP pass for the event — just $120 — which included a significant number of free drinks, plus access to the Stopover recording sessions at Dollhouse Productions, to the artists’ lounge above The Sparetime, and to the final brunch on Sunday afternoon at one of the best party houses in town.

What. A. Bargain.

If the Stopover is ever forced to restrict photography as some festivals have been, I might need to go for the press credentials, but I’m happy to support such an amazing event and I prefer the freedom that comes with paying my own way.

I’ve already done separate posts about some of the acts that I caught: Mac DeMarco, The Suzan, Chelsea Light Moving, Filligar, Little Tybee, and The Last Bison. But there were plenty of others that excited me.

Among the standouts that I was seeing for the first time were Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Field Report, William Tyler, Filligar, and The Suzan.

I’ve seen both this mountain and Heyrocco multiple times, but they never cease to impress.

I’m going to post a much larger collection of photos to the Savannah Unplugged Facebook page in a day or two, so please like that page if you want to see that update and others.

So here are some of my favorite shots from the 2013 Savannah Stopover. Click for larger versions or open using Cooliris. If you hover over a pic, you can see the act and the location.

For these and more pics — many of dubious quality — click here for a Facebook album.

Now based in Atlanta, the band has some deep roots here in Savannah and along the coast — Little Tybee is one of Georgia’s barrier islands.

That connection brought a big and varied crowd to the venue. The strings of lights above provided a bit of light, but mostly I was picking up streetlights, which give the pics a yellow hue. Dominick Mastrangelo, shooting for BrooklynVegan, decided to desaturate his excellent shots, but I kind of like the effect with the color.

It’s easy for bands to get a little lost on the outdoor stage at Congress Street Social Club — there’s typically a lot of chatter from regulars who treat musicians as background music. But there was no ignoring Little Tybee, stellar players who meld seamlessly into an ensemble.

From the band’s website:

It has been a crazy two years since our last release and we are really excited to finally announce the release of Little Tybeeâ€s third studio album, For Distant Viewing on April 9, 2013 via Paper Garden Records.

We have traveled through multiple countries with joy and trepidation constantly challenging the direction of our smiles. We have lived, learned and embraced the value of the ‘band on the road†lifestyle and with that acceptance, we have matured creatively, emotionally, existentially and musically in more ways than we could ever have imagined. We realize that our dreams are propelled solely by the love and support you, our fans, have for our creations. We are truly honored to be the soundtrack to the chosen moments of your lives. We create for you, and because of you, and now we will do our very best to play our music to you wherever you may be.

Here’s “For Distant Viewing”, the title track on the band’s upcoming album (set for release on Paper Garden Records on April 9):

Then there’s Little Tybee.

The band might have all sorts of sordid desires on the side, but the years traveling the world seem to have brought a deeper and deeper appreciation of the world’s wonders.

That’s at least the impression I have after seeing the beautiful, delicately wrought video of the title track from the upcoming album For Distant Viewing.

The previous albums Humorous to Bees and Building a Bomb attracted rave reviews and established the band’s rich chamber pop sound — although “pop” feels a little wrong there.

From the band’s website:

It has been a crazy two years since our last release and we are really excited to finally announce the release of Little Tybeeâ€s third studio album, For Distant Viewing on April 9, 2013 via Paper Garden Records.

We have traveled through multiple countries with joy and trepidation constantly challenging the direction of our smiles. We have lived, learned and embraced the value of the ‘band on the road†lifestyle and with that acceptance, we have matured creatively, emotionally, existentially and musically in more ways than we could ever have imagined. We realize that our dreams are propelled solely by the love and support you, our fans, have for our creations. We are truly honored to be the soundtrack to the chosen moments of your lives. We create for you, and because of you, and now we will do our very best to play our music to you wherever you may be.

From Savannah Stopover:

As the name implies, Little Tybee hail from coastal Georgia, and have a solid following throughout the lowcountry. While their sound is a bit too eclectic to classify, theyâ€ve been compared to such bands as Grizzly Bear, Dr. Dog, Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens and The Morning Benders. Theyâ€ve been mainstays of SXSW since 2011, and have toured with such acts as Kishi Bashi, Sondre Lerche, GIVERS, Man Man, Reptar and The Love Language.

Given the ties that the band members have to Savannah, it’s no surprise that I’ve seen them innumerable times here. But I didn’t catch them at either the 2011 or 2012 Stopover, so was glad to see that they’re playing an early gig with very little other competition for attendees’ attention. According the current schedule, Little Tybee will be playing at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at the Congress Street Social Club.

Here’s “For Distant Viewing”:

This isn’t the first time Little Tybee has created a video that seems to mesh the lyrics so beautifully with natural imagery. Check out this stunning vid for “I Wonder Which House the Fish Will Live In”:

Little Tybee – “I Wonder Which House The Fish Will Live In” from Little Tybee on Vimeo.

Click here to see the Savannah Stopover previews I’ve posted so far. I’ll have more there by the time the festival rolls around.

Little Tybee – “Boxcar Fair” from Little Tybee on Vimeo.

Boxcar Fair follows a wandering explorer who stumbles upon a magical fair in the middle of a desert. The piece was created by Brock Scott and artist Tom Haney for the band Little Tybee. The entire video was shot in one take with no cuts or edits.

Directed By: Brock Scott and Tom Haney
Director of Photography: Andrew Kornylak
Original Score, “Boxcar Fair”, Arranged, Performed, and Recorded by: Little Tybee, Mixed by: Pat Brooks
Puppeteers: Raymond Carr, Amy Rush, Mauree Culberson, Lee Bryan
Label: Paper Garden Records
Made in Atlanta, GA

www.tomhaney.com
www.littletybee.net

Contact: littletybee@gmail.com

For more Little Tybee videos, you can check out the band’s Vimeo channel.