I am having one of those weeks where I fall absolutely head over heels in love with music and listening to these bands has done absolute wonders.
Seeing Palmyra last week has me back on the grass (the blue kind) which could not line up better with the upcoming Brown’s Island Beer Fest. I am doing a bit of reminiscing at the Camel with bands I have come to see many times, and lastly seeing the one and only Keanu Reeves is fulfilling something in me from when I was 14 and first saw Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at Griffin@rvamag.com.
The National | Wednesday, August 14th
Dogstar, Archer Oh
The California based emotional power pop trio Dogstar will be at the National on Wednesday. You may recognize one member from other bands or a few small indie movies he had roles in, Keanu Reeves is on bass with Robert Mailhouse and Bret Domrose on drums and guitar respectively. The group found some pretty decent success in the 90’s, including opening up for Bowie himself, before dismantling in the early 2000’s. As humans we have no choice but to find the silver lining in our dark moments, to find a sound when all you hear is static. With the break in routine that Covid suffered us all, the band found themselves playing around again, resulting in 2023’s album Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees . It has all the positivity and soul of the late 90’s sound but I do not find it to be dated whatsoever.
Archer Oh, another California based guitar group, will be opening it up. The word that I found to be inherently connected with these guys is personal. Their sound is a cousin of Mac Demarco and Summer Salt, with a bit of nostalgia that turns your corners into a smile. It almost has the swing of that sort of 50’s beach sound. Very calming and relaxing group. I think they can bridge the size of The National and make it feel like an intimate show, not an easy task at that venue but I have confidence.
Brown’s Island | Saturday, August 10th
Greensky Bluegrass, Kitchen Dwellers, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Sicard Hollow, Kind Hearted Strangers
I think less open minded people will throw around the claim that America has no culture, but this lineup is my response to that claim. The Michigan based unit Greensky Bluegrass is bringing an absolutely infectious banjo. The type to get you stomping, the type to get you clapping. The vocals, lower and coming from a place of seeking, waltz with the four string across a familiar ground where you “forget everything else.”
Kitchen Dwellers are fresh off of their new album Seven Devils, an incredibly rich and interesting record that finds each song reflecting a deadly sin. This concept provides a really widespread sound with subject material that is bound to find relation. Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country definitely comes from a place of tradition, with Merle Haggard coming to mind when listening, but maintaining an incredibly modern and awake feeling. A balance of the simplicity and peace of the idyllic past but the excitement and energy of the future. Sicard Hollow are rockers with violins. It is all the instrumentation that you would expect of a bluegrass fest, but with the attitude and approach of some real rebels.
Lastly we have Kind Hearted Strangers, which almost takes the opposite approach as Sicard Hollow. Armed with electrics and a country mindset. The sound is bouncy and authentic with an abundance of adrenaline.
The Camel | Friday August 9th
Ten Pound Snail with Backup Kid and Circle the Drain
A fresh 18 year old, alone and new to Richmond, I stumbled into the Camel in search of live music. The openers were indie bands, and that is about as much as I remember until Ten Pound Snail took the stage. They were dynamic and interesting, with an impressive surge of sound. Yes they are indie but they are definitely rock as well. All of a sudden I was not an anxious freshman, I was part of the crowd of young people dancing to the thumping bass and tic-tac drums, to the longing guitar and the charismatic singing. Since then they have put out a steady stream of releases with an increasing amount of fuel in each one. Their newest single Come and Kill Me shows a more intense edge than we have seen before and I have to imagine it translates very well live. This is a band to keep an eye on, you never know what they will pull next.
The support for this show are two bands that I have been lucky enough to share a stage with. Circle the Drain is certainly hard to pin down on the genre map. One second they are slow, next they are speeding. One second they are emotional, next they are joking around on the mic. Through all of this they have intelligent instrumentation with strong vocals. Back Up Kid is a pretty good sum of modern indie rock. They occupy a space in my mind between The Slaps and The Frights. The vocals are gentle and honest, and the guitars do a great job of supporting them between respectively harder and softer moments.
New Tunes:
better than u by Deathcat
We have all been waiting for it and finally Deathcat has put out some tunes. Better than u has all the bounce of a live Deathcat show with the emotional complexity that recorded vocals provide. I have been on a big kick of the Breeders lately which corresponds well with this new single. I love the format of a slower first verse that gets you emotionally attached followed by an energetic second verse and chorus that provide the physicality of the song.
