Atlantaâ€s garage ballroom / punk tango masters Christ, Lord bring their fantastic live show back to Savannah for a live performance on Dollhouseâ€s main stage. Faun and Pan Flute open and later lend their whimsical stylings to the Christ, Lord set for what is destined to be an unforgettable night of entertainment.

Christ, Lordâ€s set will be recorded and taped as part of an ongoing Savannah Stopover Sessions at Dollhouse Studios recorded series to be made available online via bandcamp. Local superhero heartthrobs Triathalon will close the night. Doors at 8pm.

Superhero heartthrobs?

Anyway, Christ, Lord is a really interesting band. A few tunes plus a few pics from a gig last fall at The Sentient Bean:

A few pics from the Bean, click for larger versions:

I’ve written a lot about Triathalon over the last year — a standout local act. During the recent Savannah Stopover Triathalon released a 3-song EP recorded at Dollhouse, and just recently they released a self-recorded 3-song EP. Here are both of them:

The surf-soul-rock band recently completed a 3-song EP at the newish Dollhouse Productions here in Savannah — Triathalon’s Stopover gig will also be a release party for that EP.

Here’s “All the Time” from that upcoming release:

Check out Jason Kendall’s great Savannah Morning News piece, New Triathalon single ‘All the Time’ proves Savannah band is real deal.

Here’s Triathalon’s previous EP Relationchips, which is definitely a little grittier and garage-ier than the new single. In part, that’s because of the lo-fi recording, but there’s also an artistic choice here. I hope the band hits that sweet spot — with solid production values but not so much polish as to lose the raw energy of the live shows and of this early EP.

Triathalon is currently comprised of Adam Intrator on lead vocals, Hunter Jayne on guitar, Michael Younker on bass, and Chad Chilton on drums. (Michael is studying out of the country right now, so look for a fill-in bassist. Hunter is also part of Stopover band Wet Socks, which I’ll try to preview in a day or two.)

Triathalon plays at 11 p.m. at Hang Fire on Saturday, March 9. Click here for the full Savannah Stopover schedule.

In the days leading up to the Stopover, I’m posting quite a number of short previews like this. So far I’ve previewed Stop Light Observations, Mac DeMarco, Little Tybee, Eric Britt, Heyrocco, Roadkill Ghost Choir, this mountain, and of Montreal.

Click here for all my Savannah Stopover previews.

And here come a bunch of pics, in no particular order, of Triathalon taken at various spots around town — last year’s Stopover, a No Control show, Fashion’s Night Out, in drag for a special event at Marc by Marc Jacobs, and opening for Dan Deacon at the Dollhouse:

The inaugural piece: The MusicFile: Sorting out the top 10 Southern songs of 2012.

The top five are:
1.“Birmingham” by Shovels and Rope
2. “I Found You” by Alabama Shakes
3. “Numb” by Gary Clark Jr.
4. “Am I That Lonely Tonight” by Justin Townes Earle
5. “Gospel” by The Whigs

But you can click on through to the column for more on those and the rest of the top 10.

The MusicFile’s best new Savannah bands of 2012 (not all are truly brand new, but largely fresh to the scene):

Adam Intrator of Triathalon

The column has links to SMN interviews with numbers 1 through 4.

The MusicFile also has a post with their top 20.

And if you just want to listen, here are The MusicFile’s top 20 songs from the South in 2012:

It was not a good night for Savannah’s music scene cynics.

Dan Deacon has played Savannah before, but I’d never caught him. As he began, he recounted a gig at The Jinx when a fan knocked over his entire digital kit, bringing the set to a quick conclusion.

Accidents like that must be one of the hazards of playing on the floor, at the same level as the audience. But as a great show produced by Safe//Sound and Dollhouse Productions on Monday proved, the positives vastly outnumber the negatives.

If there’s anything more engaging than the layers of the witch doctor Deacon’s music, it’s watching him work the crowd.

The crowd did whatever Deacon asked — they pointed, kneeled, stepped back, divided into teams, even exited the back of the building and came back in the front after creating a long bridge of extended arms and united hands.

Deacon was like that wacky camp counselor, gone all psychedelic.

After his lengthy set, Deacon personalized fans’ souvenir tickets and posed for photos for as long as he was wanted.

Deacon was preceded by Grand Buffet, an energetic and often-satirical rap duo from Pittsburgh that revved up the crowd.

The flat out great local band Triathalon kicked the evening off with its occasionally soulful garage surf rock.

There were a few minor technical issues, including too much bass and drums in Triathalon’s mix and an uncooperative speaker in Dan Deacon’s set, but the vast majority of the crowd didn’t even notice those.

I took pictures. First you’ll see a few of Triathalon, then Grand Buffet, then Dan Deacon.

Click for larger versions.

Savannah-area bands may be scheduled for daytime gigs or for an evening lineup alongside touring acts.

Bands should apply through this page at Sonicbids. There’s a $5 fee.

Interested touring acts who haven’t already been in touch with the Stopover can apply via that page too.

The Savannah Stopover was just founded in 2011, so next year will be only the third incarnation. It seems certain that the event will attract increasing media attention and more visitors from outside the immediate Savannah area. Of Montreal’s free March 8th performance in Forsyth Park itself seems likely to attract dozens of out-of-town fans.

So, while there are no guarantees, local bands could find some new fans and expand their reach if they appear in the official Stopover lineup. It’s certainly good fodder for a press kit.

Triathalon (at left at the former Locos) was one of the local bands that played the 2011 Savannah Stopover. (Triathalon will be opening for Grand Buffet and Dan Deacon on Monday, Dec. 8.)

Dan Deacon has more than 33,000 fans on Facebook, but his web presence is a little hard to get a handle on. I hate to say it, but the best background on him can probably be found on Wikipedia.

Photo by Shawn Brackbill

This will be Deaconâ€s third visit to Savannah. He is currently supporting his new album America (Domino Records) that debuted on August 28th. America has been described by the New York Times as “a dark love letter of sorts to the country”. Rolling Stone states that “his music and sound-scapes depict the beauty and poetic nature of his homeland”.

With this new body of work, Deacon explores all dimensions of instrumentation, melding acoustic and synthetic tones, pop and classical scores, and experimenting with a host of players on a variety of instruments. In short, Deacon has honed his take on the sound of “America”, uniting disparate elements to create a cohesive message: “The future surrounds us. Let us begin”. Relevant to the recent election, Deaconâ€s visit to Savannah is very good timing indeed.

Here’s “True Thrush”:

Check out the Facebook event invite. Tickets are available at Graveface Records and via the Safe//Sound blog.

Click here for Grand Buffet’s Facebook page. They’re a hip hop duo from Pittsburgh.

And Triathalon, one of Savannah’s best young bands:

Triathalon at Fashion’s Night Out on Broughton Street

In conjunction with illustrator and album artist William Schaff’s book-signing of From Black Sheep Boys to Bill Collectors, Triathalon and The Casket Girls performed short, relatively quiet sets at Marc by Marc Jacobs on Broughton Street late Thursday afternoon.

The event also served as a great promotion for Graveface Fest on Saturday, October 27th, featuring Black Moth Super Rainbow, CUSSES, and lots of other bands.

The performances — and a raffle of some pretty cool stuff — brought a steady stream of folks into the store, which is wonderfully spacious and airy, with great light and great views out onto Broughton and Montgomery streets.

Triathalon was up first, and they decided to perform in drag. Really bad drag, as you can see in the photos. Their surf rock sound worked just fine in their stripped down, quiet delivery.

The Casket Girls are part of Graveface Fest on Saturday — Ryan Graveface can be seen in the pics below playing keys. Twins Phaedra & Elsa Greene are the lead singers. Click here for more on The Casket Girls.

Out of the ordinary events like this seem to put everyone in a good mood. It set a perfect stage for my evening, which included a long outdoor dinner at Trader Louie’s and a great show at The Sparetime with Heyrocco and Deep Search (photos to come).

In the photos below, you can see Mangue Banzima at work with four guys on the sidewalk — he’s the photographer and blogger for Qui Style in Savannah, which captures fashion on the street.

The festival gets rolling in a big way on Saturday, October 27, with Silver Linings Playbook at Trustees Theater at 7:30 p.m., and then a slew of films on Sunday at both Trustees and the Lucas. Highlights include Hairspray at 2:30, Flight with Denzel Washington at 7, and Violet & Daisy at 9:30, followed by a Q&A with director Geoffrey Fletcher and actor James Gandolfini. (The film clocks in at just over two hours, so that’s going to be a pretty late night.)

And it’s Halloween weekend.

The 31st isn’t until Wednesday of next week, but parties abound — Halloween is a big deal in Savannah.

There will be plenty of costumed folks wandering downtown, especially on Congress Street near where The Jinx hosts the reappearance of psychedelic rockers GAM and the annual blood wrestling. It’s always a decadent time. Click here for more.

And there’s plenty more music on Saturday with Savannah’s first Graveface Fest, featuring Black Moth Super Rainbow, CUSSES, and a slew of other acts.

Click here for my post with clips of all the Graveface Fest performers. Savannah Morning News has coverage here and Connect Savannah here.

I honestly don’t know which acts I’ll end up catching on Saturday night, but I’m planning to start my music weekend on Thursday evening with in-store acoustic sets by up-and-coming Savannah bands Triathalon and The Casket Girls at Marc Jacobs on Broughton Street during the book signing for illustrator and album artist William Schaff‘s new book From Black Sheep Boys to Bill Collectors. That 5-7 p.m. event has been organized by Graveface Fest and will be the last chance to buy discounted tickets for Saturday.

There’s also tons of good music around town on Friday, but I’ll likely end up at Les Racquet at Live Wire Music Hall. Click here for pics and clips.

Sunday also features not one but two food festivals. I will definitely have lunch at the 24th annual Shalom Y’all Jewish Food Festival, so I’m not sure if I’ll make it to Daffin Park for the Savannah Food Day Festival. (Temple Mickve Israel has had the Jewish food fest on that Sunday for many years, so I hope that next year the organizers of the newer Food Day will find an alternate weekend — or at least an alternate day.)

I could go on and on about all the other events lined up for the weekend.

Just a note to those hoping to launch new ventures on the weekend closest to Halloween and to those hoping to get exhaustive press coverage even though they’re up against a huge array of other offerings: there are 51 other weekends during the year that you might want to consider.