FEATURE SHOW
Friday, October 30, 5 PM
Return Of The Living Dead Bands VII, feat. local musicians performing their interpretations of Bad Religion, Candlemass, Death Piggy, Killing Joke, The Minutemen, L7, Nirvana @ Strange Matter – Free!
Halloween has come around once again, and what just might be the greatest Richmond Halloween tradition of all (other than our beloved Halloweek, of course) is back for a seventh year!
FEATURE SHOW
Friday, October 30, 5 PM
Return Of The Living Dead Bands VII, feat. local musicians performing their interpretations of Bad Religion, Candlemass, Death Piggy, Killing Joke, The Minutemen, L7, Nirvana @ Strange Matter – Free!
Halloween has come around once again, and what just might be the greatest Richmond Halloween tradition of all (other than our beloved Halloweek, of course) is back for a seventh year! Return Of The Living Dead Bands, the one Halloween tribute show to rule them all, will take place at Strange Matter once again on the Friday night before Halloween, and all the freaks, ghouls, goblins, and hipster kids in ironic costumes you need the tumblr iPhone app to figure out will all be there. Don’t you want to be there too?
You will when you see the fine slate of tribute acts lined up for this evening of stellar entertainment. From Halloween mainstays–like local soundmen extraordinaire James Seretis and Bryan Walthall, who bring you the Minutemen for yet another year–to exciting new acts–members of several great local bands coming together to perform a killer set of Killing Joke songs (which was planned before the upcoming local date by the real Killing Joke was announced, so no one get upset), this show is gonna rule. Everyone’s been practicing hard (word has it the dudes doing Death Piggy have particularly put a ton of work into paying proper tribute to the legendary Dave Brockie’s first band), and all of it should be a blast, from bands you know every song by to bands whose work you might have previously been unfamiliar with (though really, if you don’t have that first Candlemass album, you need to fix that).
As always, admission to the event is free, though the Fan Free Clinic will be doing a canned food drive at the show, and your donations of canned foods and/or cash will be gratefully accepted. So put on your costume, grab some cans out of the pantry, and get ready to rock out this Friday night at Strange Matter!
Wednesday, October 28, 9 PM
Sam Reed Syndicate, Tennison @ Balliceaux – $5
Jellowstone does it again, y’all. The Sam Reed Syndicate laid down some excellent funk/soul stylings on their debut album, This Is Love, which came out on the aforementioned RVA label earlier this year. Now singer Sam Reed and producer DJ Harrison will be coming together for a collaborative set of tunes from that album at Balliceaux tonight! We’ve heard enough from the Jellowstone Records crew over the past year and a half now to know that anything coming from that stable is unimpeachable–plus, if you’ve been listening to This Is Love on a frequent basis since it came out (as you should have been), you know how excellent its smooth, soulful sound really is.
And if all that ain’t enough for you, DJ Harrison will also be doing a double set by also performing with Tennison, his banging hip hop collaboration with Tennishu, aka Marcus Tenney of No BS! Brass. These guys just dropped a mini-album called Crack Music, which is apparently gonna be out on cassette at some point–but the best way to hear their sound is now and forever live. So whether you’re more into the funky sounds or the raw beats and lyrics, you’ve got a lot to look forward to at Balliceaux tonight.
Thursday, October 29, 7 PM
Government Issue, War On Women, Omega Boys, Park Sparrows @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Oh wow, I’m so stoked about this show. Government Issue have been a part of my life since my childhood, back when they were just about to break up for the first time. When I was a young stupid teenager, my friends and I used to drive around blasting our dubbed copies of classic GI releases like Legless Bull and Boycott Stabb on our car cassette players. As one of the first bands released by groundbreaking DC hardcore label Dischord Records, GI started out with all the piss, vinegar, speed n’ fury of the best bands from that era–with an added dose of gleeful irritation from vocalist/founder/only constant member John Stabb (who loved to rerecord his personal anthem, “Sheer Terror,” over and over again).
By the mid-80s, as the other members of the original DC bands were starting up more melodic projects, later to be called the first wave of emo(core), Government Issue were still going strong, and heading in more of a melodic direction themselves. Some hate this later, more Husker Du-ish material, but I personally celebrate the band’s entire catalog; therefore, I know I’ll be pleased to see their performance at the Camel this Thursday, regardless of whether they dish out fast angry hardcore, catchy introspective punk, or some hybrid mix of the two. Government Issue’s current drummer is Evan Tanner of War On Women, so that band will also be along to lay down some thrashy, crusty hardcore. With opening sets from local old-school hardcore badasses Omega Boys and brand new supergroup Park Sparrows (featuring members of Strike Anywhere, Count Me Out, Freeman, Scarlet, and many more), this show is guaranteed to be awesome.
Friday, October 30, 10 PM
Goo?, Clair Morgan, Sungazer @ En Su Boca – $5 donation
If what you really need on Friday night is a late-night party full of tacos and original music from excellent local bands, En Su Boca should definitely be your destination. Brand new local rockers Goo? (yes, with a question mark) are bringing us a headlining set of kickass post-hardcore alt-rock at this event, and it’s gonna be a ton of fun. Featuring members of Field Day, Flechette, and The Catalyst, these guys are well-known around town, but you haven’t heard them quite like this, and from all recorded evidence, it sounds like their new songs are a total blast.
Clair Morgan’s also prepared to bring you an excellent performance, and it’ll be interesting to see that whole band fit themselves into the relatively close confines of a taco bar (though if it turns out Clair’s doing this set solo, or with a stripped down version of the band, I suppose things will go much easier). Sungazer may or may not have named themselves as a pun on the fact that most people’s instinct will be to call their music “shoegaze,” but regardless, these languid yet loud and heavy tunes will certainly bring back pleasant memories of Creation Records, as well as slowcore all-stars like Codiene, or Low at their heaviest. This whole show will be an enjoyable exploration into some unusual local sounds; learn what these groups have to offer, and grab some tacos while you’re at it (I recommend the carne asada).
Saturday, October 31, 9 PM
Scalpel, Human Infection, Psychotic Defilement, Vomit Stain, Crucial Rip @ 25 Watt – $7 ($5 if you wear a costume)
No holiday is more death metal-friendly than Halloween, and therefore it’s fitting that local death metal torchbearers Between Two Beers Promotions are throwing a super-gory Halloween bash in Shockoe Bottom this Saturday night. The headliners for this bloody celebration will be Boston bashers Scalpel, who bring the deep vocals and raging riffs to keep you headbanging. Roanoke’s Human Infection will also be in town to beat you down with their ripping death-thrash sound.
Then there’s RVA’s own Psychotic Defilement, whose chunky midtempo death sound makes clear exactly why they use the word “slam” in all their promo materials. Get ready to mosh! With B2B mainstays Vomit Stain and Crucial Rip opening this whole thing up, we know by now exactly what we’re getting–and the headbangers of the world should definitely be delighted! Wearing a costume to this show will save you $2 on admission, so we should be seeing something other than a sea of black t-shirts at this show–let’s hope. Meanwhile, a sea of banging heads is guaranteed either way.
Sunday, November 1, 9 PM
Creepoid, Plain Scrap, Sea Of Storms, California Death @ Strange Matter – $8 (order tickets here: https://creepoid.eventbrite.com/)
OK, so Creepoid’s been to our lovely city a few times this year, and maybe by now you think it’s not that big a deal. If you think that, though, I’ve got to figure you haven’t caught any of their previous local shows–which is something you should fix ASAP. If you have seen them on one of their other recent trips through RVA, you know they’re absolutely worth a return engagement, as everything from their sensory-overload light show to their outstanding slow-burn noise-gaze jams is an absolute delight. Still out there on the road bringing the news of latest album Cemetery Highrise Slum to the masses, these guys are just getting better and better, and if you haven’t opened your mind to the psychedelic delights their music has to offer, you need to buy a ticket to this show ASAP.
In the bargain, you’ll also get a set from excellent local post-hardcore trio Sea Of Storms, who are also still on the road letting the world know about one of this year’s underrated classics–in this case, it’s their debut full-length, Dead Weight, which we’ve told you all about in these pages already. Fellow locals Plain Scrap and California Death will start the whole thing off with some garage/psych jams. Be there!
Monday, November 2, 7 PM
The Sheepdogs (Photo by Matt Barnes), Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, California Death, MyWay @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
I really want to make some “wild n’ wooly” type jokes about this show, due mostly to the name of the headlining band. But of course, I’ve immediately gone too meta with it, and now we’ll have to play this whole thing pretty straight. The Sheepdogs are a Canadian quartet who hail from the relatively obscure city of Saskatoon, and have a bit of that midwestern-countryside sound you’d expect from bands who grew up multiple thousands of miles south of them (apparently the Canadian midwest is just as countrified as the American midwest, though, so who knows). What I can tell you for sure is that these guys have a stoner-ish attack that, totally ignoring geography, one might describe as “Southern-fried.” Fans of Natural Child are gonna be stoked on their set at The Camel this Monday, is what I’m saying.
Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown are coming from a very similar place, at least musically, though their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee seemingly couldn’t be more different from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (in reality, I’ll bet they have more in common than you’d think). Bryant dishes out some loud and proud slide guitar over catchy rock n’ roll riffs with a hint of twang and a modern twist. California Death is one of your openers on this show, and I swear the fact that I’m sending you to see them twice in two days is a total coincidence. Funky local bluesmen MyWay will kick things off, starting off an evening of excellent rockin’ tunes in fine fashion. Get down with it.
Tuesday, November 3, 9 PM
Mean Jeans, The Ar-Kaics, Bummer’s Eve, Cherry Pits @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets here: https://meanjeans.eventbrite.com/)
Garage punk is pretty great, y’all. The snottiness and raw energy of the noisiest hardcore bands, combined with the melodic tunefulness of the greatest rock n’ roll from years past to create a perfect melange of catchy yet crude sound–really, it’s all I want from life a lot of the time. Mean Jeans have what I need, and they’ll be bringing it to RVA next Tuesday. They’ll be joined by some other locals who are just as good at firing up the old-school rock sound with plenty of punk rock vim and vigor.
The Ar-Kaics have been gaining fame around the country with a series of old-school 45s and an amazing self-titled LP–it’s time their RVA hometown woke up to how great they are. Bummer’s Eve are from Ohio, but they’ve been around here long enough that everyone should recognize what they’ve got to offer–and how awesome it is. The Cherry Pits dish out some excellent power-pop with just enough of the punk spirit to keep it real–and you’d expect no less considering their ex-member pedigree. This show is gonna be a dance party for the ages; the only question that remains is whether you’ll do the twist or pogo like a maniac. Either one would be appropriate as long as you don’t stand still.
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Should I be posting about your show? Make sure I know it’s happening–email me: andrew@rvamag.com
