FEATURE SHOW
Monday, November 30, 4:30 PM
The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Foxing, This Town Needs Guns, Brightside @ The Camel – $14 in advance/$17 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I know what you’re thinking–“Drew, every single time TWIABP comes to town, you tell us to go see them!” And you’re absolutely right. But do you know why I do that? Because you should go see TWIABP every single time they come to town!
FEATURE SHOW
Monday, November 30, 4:30 PM
The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Foxing, This Town Needs Guns, Brightside @ The Camel – $14 in advance/$17 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I know what you’re thinking–“Drew, every single time TWIABP comes to town, you tell us to go see them!” And you’re absolutely right. But do you know why I do that? Because you should go see TWIABP every single time they come to town! For one thing, this 7-to-9 piece emo band has so many different aspects to their sound, and so many different ways to present it all to you, that you very well might get a totally different experience from one tour to the next. And for another thing, they’re just so goddamn good!
They proved that all over again with their recently released second album, Harmlessness, out now on Epitaph Records. Drifting across a musical landscape that stretches from acoustic folk to prog-metal, with detours through post-rock, pop-punk, and all sorts of other genre cul-de-sacs, Harmlessness is the best thing this band has done yet. It’ll be great to hear all these new tunes in a live setting (personally I can’t wait for “January 10, 2014”), and there are sure to be some fan favorites from past releases mixed in there to sweeten the pot.
To top it all off, we’ll also get some great opening acts in the bargain! Foxing were always awesome, but their brand new album Dealer shows off their talent with gorgeous melodies like nothing they’ve ever done before. For the math-rock side of things, UK string-tanglers This Town Needs Guns (who’ve apparently shortened their name to TTNG to disassociate themselves from all the mass shootings that have been happening in recent years, which is understandable) will be in the house to thrill all the fans of Tera Melos, or Houdan The Mystic. Pittsburgh emo kids Brightside, who record for TWIABP’s Broken World Media label, will open things up with some delightful tuneage. I don’t care how many times you’ve seen TWIABP–see them again! You’ll thank me later.
Wednesday, November 25, 8 PM
Fear Of Music, Jordan Tarrant, Adam Eubank @ The Broadberry – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and depending on your plans for the holiday, you may have several different things going on the night before. But if you’re in town Wednesday night, and you were thinking of doing something responsible like hitting the sack early to prepare for a long drive in the morning, well, I’ve got an idea that’s better than that. Tonight at The Broadberry, local Talking Heads tribute act will continue what’s become somewhat of a tradition by hitting the stage for a set of classic tunes by one of the originators of punk, postpunk, disco-punk, and whatever else you want to credit them with.
All the little babies who are cute as buttons will be staying up late to live a wild, wild life at the Broadberry tonight–and if you’re smart, you may find yourself dancing with them! And just to sweeten the pot, local singer-songwriters Jordan Tarrant and Adam Eubank will also be on-hand, contributing warm-up sets to get you in the mood? It certainly should. Come join members of Bio Ritmo, Lady God, DJ Williams Projekt and more as they bring to life all the classic, fun, and actually pretty bizarre tunes you’ve come to know and love from David Byrne and co! It’ll be a lot more fun than hanging out with your in-laws on a night when there isn’t even football on, that’s for sure.
Thursday, November 26, 9 PM
Goldrush, Lady God @ The Camel – $5 ($3 w/canned food donation)
You know, I can make a lot of jokes about how weird and boring the whole “get together with the family” thing that happens every year around this time can be. But in truth, those of us who have the opportunity to do so are pretty lucky. Perhaps it’s something we should be “thankful” for? Oh, I’m not gonna touch that old cliche… but I will say that, whether you’re someone who’s just had a delicious meal in the company of 15 relatives or someone who’s alone for the holiday and needs people to hang out with, you should definitely make your way down to The Camel once the Cowboys game is over–and bring a can of food with you! Goldrush is throwing a Thanksgiving party to benefit folks having trouble finding food during this cold and difficult time of year, and your donation can save you money off the door price. What more reason do you need?
There are plenty of them, though, because this isn’t just an ordinary Goldrush show. Not that those aren’t awesome–the band’s mixture of classical instrumentation and power-pop tunesmithery is always delightful. But this time around, they’re doing something special. From the flyer and Prabir’s well-known love of this band, you may not be too surprised to hear it, but Goldrush is doing a Beatles covers set on this fine evening. They’ll be joined by a series of musical guests as well, including members of local faves like Hot Dolphin, Avers, Kings, and more! Lady God will bring a substantial helping of their psychedelic rock n’ roll to the proceedings as well, so this whole shindig is sure to be a blast! Don’t let the food coma get the best of you–wrap up your holiday with a blast of musical fun at the Camel!
Friday, November 27, 8 PM
The Dads Tribute/CD Release Show @ The Canal Club – $10 (order tickets HERE)
No, we’re not talking here about Dads, the emo revival band who last came through town eight months or so ago. This is THE Dads, and they’re a page out of Richmond punk rock history. In fact, we’re talking some pretty deep history, because they were before my time and I’m gonna be 40 in a couple months. The Dads were the first band the late, great Bryan Harvey rose to prominence as part of. People today probably remember him better for his work in House Of Freaks, but older Richmond heads talk about The Dads with a reverence that is impossible to miss. As Mark Brown, guitarist for fellow long-gone RVA new wave legends the Good Guys, said recently, The Dads “raised the bar for every band in town” when they hit the scene 35 years ago.
Unfortunately, as we all know too well, Bryan Harvey’s not here to celebrate the band’s 35th anniversary with us. Neither is former Dads sound guy/road manager Victor Benshoff; nor is Peter Bell of the post-Dads band Ten Ten and The Rage, who passed away earlier this year. But a lot of other Richmond musicians from those days are still around, and they’ll all be getting together at The Canal Club this Friday night to bring the music of that early pre-hardcore Richmond punk rock/new wave scene back to life. They’ll also be celebrating the long-awaited release of The Dads’ second album, Redemption–a collection of unreleased tunes from the band’s 80s heyday. I may have been around for a while, but I don’t know too much about what those days were like; we could all do with a little history lesson from time to time, though, right? There’s one waiting for you this Friday night at the Canal Club–and it’s gonna be a rockin’ good time. Don’t miss it.
Saturday, November 28, 9 PM
Thanksgathering, feat. Gritty City Records, The Search, Big Lo, Roxxi Red, Reppa Ton @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The long Thanksgiving weekend rolls on, and if you need a change from the punk rock, new wave, and power-pop that’s been on the menu thus far, fear not–there’s a nice big serving of hip hop coming up for you at Strange Matter this Saturday night. The annual Thanksgathering is another local music tradition that’s evolved over the past few years, and this Saturday will see the fifth annual celebration of this hip hop twist on the most delicious time of year. This episode stars everyone’s favorite hard-partying RVA hip hop degenerates. That’s right, Gritty City Records are back to take over the stage with beats, blunts, and cheap booze, plus plenty of fine beats and dope rhymes. Since we put the boys in our print magazine earlier this year, they’ve continued their prolific workrate, with new releases from Johnny Ciggs, Skweeky Watahfawls, Ben FM, Fan Ran, and more. You can expect to see all of those dudes hitting the stage Saturday night, making your Thanksgiving weekend one to remember!
There’s plenty of other great hip hop planned for the evening as well. For one thing, a set from The Search, the latest project from the man previously known as Toxsick–which sounds tough as hell based on the debut single that dropped last week. Florida rapper/producer Big Lo will also be in town with some cinematic beats and smooth rhymes for you all. RVA singer Roxxi Red and local emcee Reppa Ton will round out a bill full of fly sounds to keep you dancing all night. And you need to dance–after all, you’re gonna gain five pounds from Thanksgiving dinner, right? Or maybe that’s just me…
Sunday, November 29, 9 PM
Sacred Teachers, Cherry Pits, DJ Tippytoes, DJ Lil Hotrod @ Bandito’s – Free!
Sunday night, the local garage-rock scene is taking over the back room at Bandito’s for a proper shindig–and as with many shows on this holiday weekend, this one is for a good cause! The bands on the bill will be donating the proceeds of the evening to their pal Joshua Johnson, of Greensboro’s Wahya’s. A few weeks ago, Josh fell 30 feet into a river and damn near drowned. He’s got broken bones but no permanent damage, thank god. However, the man’s got a lot of medical bills to cover, and no way to make the money to pay them until he’s finished recovering (which will be a while). It sucks that anyone even has to worry about this kind of shit, but when the chips are down, the scene should take care of its own, so this rockin’ gig is happening to help Josh. If you want to pitch in on your own, donate to his recovery fund here.
And hey, regardless of what scratch you can find to help this guy out with, you should still come party with the great bands on this bill! Sacred Teachers had been kinda off the radar for a while, but Boney Loner and the crew are back as of a few months ago. They’ve got a new tape full of lo-fi rock n’ roll jams, Sacred Teachers At Time Castle, and they’re making up for lost time with some great local and out-of-town gigs. The price is definitely right for this one, so come see these guys get wild and crazy! They’ll be joined by garage-pop geniuses The Cherry Pits, plus two great DJ sets from DJ Tippytoes (Liza Jane of Nervous Ticks) and DJ Lil Hotrod (Patti from The Ar-Kaics). All in all, you can expect an evening full of rockin’ rollin’ tunes–and you’ll be under the same roof as the best nachos in town (someday I’ll write about a Bandito’s show without mentioning how much I love their food–today is not that day)! What’s to complain about there? NOTHING!
Monday, November 30, 5 PM
Gag, Barge, Hard Stripes, Schiavi, Red Vision @ Strange Matter – $10 ($8 with toy donation)
Do you need some raging hardcore noise to cleanse your soul of a long weekend full of awkward encounters with relatives? If so, you’re in luck, because over at Strange Matter this Monday evening, shit is about to pop off. Olympia, Washington maniacs Gag will be coming to town, bringing with them their LP on Iron Lung Records (which is so new you can’t even stream it on Bandcamp yet). These dudes are all about the feedback, reverb, and general messthetics of the more twisted end of today’s hardcore zeitgeist–it’s almost like they dig No Trend and early Butthole Surfers more than they dig SSD or Negative Approach. You know what? I can get into that.
I can also get into a double-shot of rage from Jean-Pierre Olivos and friends. JP’s playing two sets on this evening, and I’m sure a lot of boot-wearing RVA hardcore kids are fanning themselves in eager anticipation. Not only will we get a fastcore explosion from Barge, who one assumes will be playing a whole bunch of new songs from that long-rumored LP on Grave Mistake; we’ll also get a set from Hard Stripes, who’ll be moshing it up with some vaguely oi-inflected two-step-worthy tunes from their EP on Triple B. The evening will begin with sets from some new local bands–Schiavi, who’ve got some ripping yet catcy punk/HC tunes for ya, and Red Vision, about whom I know almost nothing, other than the fact that their demo’s downright belligerent. Wear your steel-toed Docs to this one–forecast calls for serious mosh.
Tuesday, December 1, 6 PM
Creations, Reap And Sow, Divebomb, Mediator, Venomspitter @ The Canal Club – $10 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
But wait, you thought the last show was moshy! You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Creations are coming through The Canal Club on their farewell tour, and a whole lot of deathcore fans are gonna be taking advantage of their last chance to downtuned breakdown-laden gems like “The Wolf The Clothes” and “Chosen Generation.” These kickboxing maniacs are at least more likely to be wearing sneakers in the pit–for what that’s worth. I would recommend that you stand slightly off to the side so you can duck the flying body parts. But dude, if you’re down with deathcore, you’re gonna need to check this one out.
Fredericksburg band Reap And Sow, who were going by Endeavor for a while until someone let them know about the legendary New Jersey band, are also on the bill. And regardless of whether their name had to be changed to avoid a faux pas, these guys are not lacking in the chops department. Their mixture of melodic resonances and punchy metallic hardcore brings to mind bands like Shai Hulud and Misery Signals, and the overall result is something you’ll want to both dance hard and feel feelings to. Or maybe that is, once again, just me. Anyway, Ohio HC crew Divebomb will also be along for the ride, and local support from NC’s Mediator and RVA up-and-comers Venomspitter will get the evening started off right. So head to the Canal Club this Tuesday night ready to get down with it–or to duck when the extremities start flying. Either way, the music will rule.
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Should I be posting about your show? Make sure I know it’s happening–email me: andrew@rvamag.com
