In the River City, when the summer sun dips below the horizon, the nightlife ignites, pulsing with a rhythm all its own, a rocking vibe that captures the city’s true spirit. Our on-the-ground lensman, Jody Adams, has been out there, guitar pick in one hand, camera in...
Strange Matter's Eric Smith feels uncomfortable with the relative obscurity of today's Richmond punk scene. "It's tough to find out about shows these days," he says. "When I was growing up in Richmond in the mid-90s, there were places for teenaged kids who knew nothing about the local scene to go and learn about it." He cites shows held in the...
Deftones and Baroness September 1 at The National The National is a beautiful theater. Despite its being a relatively new venue here in Richmond, the elegant design of its luxury boxes and overhanging balcony harks back to a time when architects attempted to make audiences comfortable. It thankfully avoids the airplane-hangar ambience of many...
Suzi Analogue - NNXTAPE (suzianalogue.bandcamp.com) Representing Philly’s hip hop underground, Klip Mode’s Suzi Analogue might as well change her name to Uzi Analogue, because on her latest release she kills it on a scale of mass proportions. The PA songstress is gaining recognition from NYC to Tokyo, and one listen to her new album leaves no...
Young Livers, Mouthbreather, All Teeth, Real Talk, and Sundials Tuesday, August 31 at Gallery 5 I want to talk about Young Livers. I originally wasn’t going to write about this show because my own band played it, but after seeing Young Livers’ set, I really wanted to talk about them. Andrew told me the writer who was supposed to cover the show...
Funeral Pyre - Vultures At Dawn (Prosthetic) Funeral Pyre aren't breaking new ground--throat-shredding screams; fast, somewhat melodic double-picking mixed with gothic dirge riffs; and dark, warlike imagery are all standard elements within the black metal genre. However, they craft an excellent album from these elements, making their relative...
A particularly psychedelicized lovers collaboration, Moon Duo pump out endless twilight biker-rock riffs, punctuated by interstellar space echo and a repetitive, romping White Light White Heat drum-machine pulse. Like the Spacemen 3 motorized by Neu!, with the electric fuzz and fucked distorted organ sounds of the aforementioned Velvet...
Electro Richmond duo BBopNRoksteday have released their first mixtape. You might have caught their set at WEIRD a few weeks ago or at the surprise RVA issue release party. Give it a listen and keep a look out. 1. Electrixx- Tetris 2. Mike & Charlie- I Get Live (Bird Peterson Remix) Calvertron- Funky Jam (Cold Blank Remix) 3. Hiroki Esashika-...
The Diamond Center, Climbers, and Tungs August 26 at Strange Matter Strange Matter--the most recent reincarnation of Richmond’s revered punk rock venue, 929 W. Grace St--was swimming in a sea of psychedelic bliss last Thursday night. The Diamond Center, Tungs, and Climbers performed for a sizable crowd, who were there to hear some of the most...
Hey, my name’s Chris Terry. My friends call me “C.T.” Here are a few hip-hop and soul songs I’ve been hyped on this summer. I made a YouTube playlist so you can rock it while you read. 1. Am I A Good Man? – Them Two From the incredibly solid rare soul comp, Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label. Wonderful warm, up-front sound and...
