Baroness and Earthling at The Jinx – photos

I was wrong. I’d been annoyed and sometimes even correcting people who referred to Baroness as a Savannah band. None of the members have lived in Savannah for several years. Was the band associated with the city? Absolutely. But to call them a Savannah band when they lived, wrote, and recorded in Philadelphia or, well, pretty much anywhere other than here seemed a slight disservice to our thriving music scene and the many amazing bands in it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Baroness. The Blue album release was one of the first shows that really got me interested in the scene again. And when a couple dozen of us made the drive to Charleston’s Music Farm for a show supporting Yellow and Green, the band put us all on “The List”. It really doesn’t get cooler than that. John and Pete talked to us at length after the show, too. Again, super cool, but I see the guys from Black Tusk at The Jinx. Savannah band. Members of Kylesa checking out a new band at Hang Fire. Savannah band. Wet Socks or Crazy Bag Lady or Niche or….well, you get the idea. Savannah bands.

But in the back of my mind, some doubts. John Baizley at the memorial for Athon. “If I Forget Thee, Lowcountry” from the Green album. Prints of Baizley’s amazing art for auction at Statts Fest.

After Saturday night’s blazing show at The Jinx, there is not even the slightest doubt in my mind that Baroness is a Savannah band. The love of both the venue and the city was palpable in the blistering performance and the praise spoken from the stage. And then the announcement that all the proceeds from the show would benefit Jake Trout, a local battling stage 4 cancer. Ughh, I could not have been more wrong. Baroness is not only a Savannah band, they may be the embodiment of Savannah, weathering tragedy and hardship with both grace and beauty.

Oh, the show? AMAZING. The rhythm section is now fully integrated, the crushing parts of the songs are just that, and the slower passages are flat out beautiful. The set was drawn almost exclusively from Blue, Yellow, Green, and the forthcoming Purple, the lone exception being “ISAK” from Red. The only bummer of the night? That Purple wasn’t available yet at the merch table, as it comes out this Friday on the band’s own Abraxan record label. I, for one, can’t wait.

Earthling opened with some really great, old school thrash that would be a super strong headliner on any other night. Definitely worth checking out.

I pushed the shutter button on my camera a lot over the course of the night. Here’s the results, with tons more after the jump. (Click here for another post with photos by Petee and Bill.)

Earthling

Baroness