On Thursday, December 19th, The Well, located at 900 W. Franklin St, had one of its last shows, featuring Spacemonster, Antiphons, Lobo Marino, Spandrel, and Zac Hryciak & the Jungle Beat. The crowd at this show was a pretty decent size, which displays there is a considerable folk music following in Richmond.
On Thursday, December 19th, The Well, located at 900 W. Franklin St, had one of its last shows, featuring Spacemonster, Antiphons, Lobo Marino, Spandrel, and Zac Hryciak & the Jungle Beat. The crowd at this show was a pretty decent size, which displays there is a considerable folk music following in Richmond.
Having missed the first band (Spacemonster), the first set I saw was Antiphons. Antiphons describe themselves on their bandcamp as “folk, experimental, and Appalachian.” The band was a four piece that utilized elements such as slide guitar. The vocals were of a slower pace, with some elements that sound more modern, closer to bands like TV on the Radio, in songs like “Billowing, Bellowing.”
Between sets, Lobo Marino was playing in a back room, which was really more of a hallway. The band is a male/female duo, using instruments such as a piano accordion, drum, bells, and what appeared to essentially be a copper vase. On their website, they have a video delineating their concept for their newest album, which can be watched here. This band travels a lot, which they describe in detail on their website, so their sound has a lot of layers too it (some being world music). Most of their songs were in English, but at some points the language wasn’t discernable–some guttural howls and moans issued from the vocalist’s mouth. The smaller room actually worked to the band’s advantage, because there wasn’t an issue of over-talking in this space.
The next band to play was Spandrel, which I was really stoked about, having seen them about a week prior at Ipanema. Spandrel is a four piece band with folk roots, as well as influences from music of the 1960s and Radiohead. The band can have a spacey sound–it seemed appropriate that the bathroom of this venue was plastered in clippings of mountains, raccoons, stars, and cacti, because these are some of the images evoked by Spandrel’s music. I have also heard the band do such covers as Animal Collective’s “Leaf House” and Leonard Cohen’s “Winter Lady”–the former was a sing-along at this show. While the Ipanema show they played was quiet and intimate, this show was a bit larger and louder, which added to the energy of the band’s performance. Singer/guitarist Kurt Bailey’s vocals blow me away. This was only their fourth show with their current four piece lineup, so I expect some great things in the future for this band.
The last band to play was Zac Hryciak & the Jungle Beat. This band was a four piece which included instruments such as a fiddle and an organ. They had a lot of energy; the crowd was getting into the turned-up volume of the overall set, and the heavy basslines. The sound wasn’t super Southern despite the use of a fiddle, but some parts sounding like a modern age square dance. Other elements of their music sounded like Talking Heads or Ben Folds.
Sadly, the Well is no longer with us. However, some of these bands have upcoming shows to keep an eye out for, including Spandrel and Antiphons at Gallery 5’s First Friday event on January 3, and Spandrel on January 11th at Strange Matter.
