A Cold Night at Royal with Daddy’s Beemer, Late Night TV, MJ Lenderman, and Wednesday
This past Wednesday, January 30th, Charleston’s music scene found themselves huddled inside The Royal American, wearing their warmest denim jackets to see Daddy’s Beemer, Late Night TV, MJ Lenderman, and Wednesday. The city was so cold that night that Royal kept their garage door closed to keep the heat in. With a solid turnout for such a frigid mid-week evening, concertgoers enjoyed a show that combined diverse sounds, charismatic bands, and plenty of Daddy’s Beemer stage antics.
Read a review of the show below, and find at the end a photo gallery from the night. All photos by Alex Wiley. Follow her on Instagram @coyotephotoandfilm and check out her website here.
MJ Lenderman & Wednesday
These solo acts combined their talents and traveled from Asheville to perform as a duo and warm the city with a soothing sound and pink hair. MJ Lenderman and Wednesday carried a sound that was consistently mellow and dreamlike, and each took turns singing lead. Combining melodic harmonies, an electric guitar, and a variety of other instruments, the two put on a show that was softer and more peaceful than the two rock bands that followed.
Stream the EP they released together in 2018 below.
Late Night TV
Late Night TV, a relatively new Charleston-based band, brought catchy lyrics and melodies, cool announcements, and a few unanswered questions when they took the stage. About midway through the set, bassist Holden Curran grabbed the mic to announce the presence of a special guest in the room, his father, Thomas Curran. Mr. Curran will be backpacking across the United States for the next nine months to raise money and awareness for kids fighting cancer (more information at: www.movingonwest.com), and Holden will join him for part of that journey. This led them to mention that it would be one of Holden and guitarist Bow Smith’s final shows with Late Night TV, which left everyone wondering what would be next for the band. With their debut EP reportedly coming out soon, it is difficult to think of this new band losing two key members.
Listen to Late Night TV’s debut single “Ulysses” below.
Daddy’s Beemer
Former Clemson band, Daddy’s Beemer made their way from their new home of Charlotte to put on another really fun show at The Royal American, in their own carefree and comfortable way. The band seemed unphased by the lack of their usual drummer, Dan, who reportedly had to work that night. Brandon Gallagher (from Apricot Blush) sat in with the Beems instead, and that had a fun impact on the set. Brandon was more aggressive with his drums than they had planned for, so the kick drum was bouncing all over the stage until Holden from Late Night TV came to the rescue with some rocks from the parking lot.
With highlights being an unexpected and surprisingly awesome cover of Frank Ocean’s “Self Control” and a few unreleased tracks (one of them had a bass solo), the show made you feel like you were entering the inside jokes of three, really cool, best friends. Daddy’s Beemer proved again their versatility as a band with this one. Even when Brady’s guitar cut out and they were presented with way too much downtime, Wesley entertained the audience with jokes and kept us all interested.
Listen to their 2018 EP, Pucker below, which ranked at #11 on our Best SC Albums of 2018 list.
See a full photo gallery from the night below. All photos by Alex Wiley.
