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Feeling The Weight: An Interview With Jonathan Russell of The Head And The Heart

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My great uncle used to fall asleep with his eyes open. If you didn’t already know Albert, you might’ve thought he was dead — shot or poisoned like some pale stiff in an old black and white movie. On your hands and knees looking around for shell casings or a bottle of arsenic until you heard him snore. I never met Albert because he’d fallen asleep for good, long before I was born, but there were stories and photos. I generally spend a lot of time alone, mostly chain-smoking cigarettes and overanalyzing the past. Sometimes I sit still for so long, I wonder if I look dead or asleep, just like Albert. Then, I wonder if I am actually one of the two and haven’t realized it yet. 

If you close your eyes and recall the last two years, maybe you can relate. Maybe not. 

Some people close their eyes during car accidents because they want to hide from the pain, forfeit sight to fear. I might not have closed my eyes during the pandemic, but I was still asleep at the wheel driving through it. Maybe even before. None of this did me any good, just protected me from reality. A lot of defense mechanisms get us nowhere. Life can do that. 

Jonathan Russell of The Head and The Heart seemed to touch on something similar in “Hurts (But It Goes Away)” from the band’s new album Every Shade of Blue. Russell sings, “Coming back together / Different but the same / I know that I’m not the only one / Who feels the weight of it.” That sentiment seems to be all over Every Shade of Blue. Not heavy handed. Not self-righteous hipster wisdom. Not a finger pointed at anyone but the person Jon sees in the mirror and the people looking in the mirror with him. Seems like the entire band is pointing at the same reflection.

We all came back from the pandemic with something missing. Maybe it was years. Maybe it was loved ones. Maybe it was a piece of ourselves. Maybe it was the wool over our eyes.

It’s good to see people getting back together. 

Released on April 29th, Every Shade of Blue is the fifth album by The Head and The Heart and their third release for Warner Bros/Reprise. They played the single “Virginia (Wind In The Night)” live on the Tonight Show in March, and the single “Hurts (But It Goes Away)” May 5th on Jimmy Kimmel. The Head and The Heart begin their US headlining tour in support of their new album this month in St. Petersburg, Florida. They will be making stops at the Hangout Music Fest in Alabama, the Ladder To The Moon festival in New Mexico, and a SOLD OUT September 15th date at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

When I got on the phone with Jon last week, I didn’t really know what to ask him. Most of the time these days it feels like I’ve forgotten how to talk to people. Speaking on the phone is awkward now. The ringer stays on silent. We all came back missing something from the pandemic. I pretended Jon and I were sitting on one of the benches in Jefferson Park in Church Hill instead of being separated by 2,630 miles. We both call this city home. I used to go to that park to sit when I had something to think about. We’ve all done a lot of pretending the last bunch of years. It’s good to be in a familiar headspace when you’re going to start a conversation with a stranger about his new record and the weight of all of it.

Ryan Kent: How do you think the head and the heart of the United States has changed since the pandemic? It seems like you were using the single, “Virginia (Wind In The Night),” as kind of a metaphor for that. Or at least that’s what I was thinking when I was listening to it.

Jonathan Russell: Well, it’s funny. I mean, I feel like that definitely, intentionally left that open for interpretation, because not everyone’s from Virginia. So, you know, the moment you get too specific, some people start tuning out, think it’s not really relevant to them. So, personally, it’s about a place for myself in terms of that song — this is almost a two-question part here. But in terms of the “Virginia (Wind In The Night)” song itself — yeah, I guess I see what you’re saying. I agree. There are some layers and some symbolic references to it. But really, I guess, the literal sense of me seeing it and feeling it was me coming and going from Richmond, Virginia over the years — from, basically, 2004 until now. Seeing myself almost as a reflection — like, one place as a reference point as my life changes, in terms of my personality, my personal growth, my actual work. When I left Richmond the first time, I was a busboy. So, to come back [as] a professional musician was quite a mindfuck. But yeah, the song “Virginia,” to me, was my way of tracking time, and time changing, and yourself. 

I find it interesting to use a place almost like a mirror. Where you can have the perception of who you are, and who you’ve turned into. [I’m] 37 now. Instead of writing songs about missing home and leaving home, you start becoming a little more self-reflective. And not to mention, just personal age, on top of what the last few years were like. So, to go back to your initial question: “How do you feel the state of the head and the heart is in the United States?” [laughs] It’s interesting. Actually, last night I was talking to someone. Everyone was going through this sense of isolation, this sense of panic, fear, anxiety. Learning how to cope, learning how to stabilize yourself. Not really being able to rely on anything, necessarily, other than your own ability to cope and move through the world, and decide how you want to do that. In a strange way, it almost recalibrated humanity, you know what I mean? 

That sounds like a pretty heavy statement, and I don’t even know what I mean [laughs]. Like I said, this was a conversation I was having last night, so it’s not like some fully [formed] concept yet. But in a strange way, after feeling relatively disconnected from society, I feel like… maybe I’m just searching for that silver lining of what just happened the last few years — as I tend to do, even in my songwriting. I think there was something that touched everyone and acts as a calibration system for all of us. So, what that means exactly? Who fucking knows? [laughs]

RK: Has it influenced the rest of the record, along with the departure of [founding member] Josiah Johnson?

JR: Well, in terms of the Josiah Johnson thing — I feel that’s like when you’re leaving a town, and you can see more than one street. And then the further you get away, you just see the one that’s behind you. Josiah Johnson is a cross street, and that’s no longer in the rearview mirror. I mean, we’re homies, but his story is his story. And our story is our story. I see very few intersections anymore — other than our friendship, which is beautiful. In terms of how the last couple of years would have shaped the music, I think, in kind of a microcosm way, what we chose to do as a band was to take advantage of the physical isolation and realize what it was allowing us and giving us, for the first time maybe ever, was the ability to have real conversations as a band, as a family, as a polygamous marriage, or however you want to look at it. It was the first time that we hadn’t had to walk into some sort of really intense situation following a conversation. Normally, we’re all together, and the last thing you want to do is have somebody on the verge of a breakdown. [Then] it’s an interview, and then it’s TV, or then it’s a concert, and it’s a meet and greet, or it’s radio, or whatever it is. You always just have to put a band-aid on it. And we did that for 10 years. 

So, we brought in a therapist and a specialist. Somebody to be like a referee for us and create a safe space. And as much as I am really burned out on having to be on camera for a zoom call, that did allow this — little subtle, unintentional things. You can read people’s body language. People listen better. There’s a vast personality difference in this band. People will talk over people, and some people care about that, and some people don’t. But bringing in someone to work with us and work on our communication skills, essentially put the focus on mental health, in that regard. The last few years gave us a framework to do that. But I think it’s the work we’ve done on our personal relationships with one another that had the biggest impact on our music. People are respecting each other and listening to one another and trusting each other. So, to circle back to your initial question on the greater state of the United States or just the world, anything we learned as a band, it’s about communication, and feeling respected, and feeling like there’s a trust in the room. You don’t have to agree with everything everyone thinks or says, just give them the fucking space. Give them the floor. 

RK: You should feel comfortable being able to do that in your place.

JR: If there’s anything I’ve noticed from the six people that I’ve known for 12 years — that’s easier said than done. I mean, it’s an even a larger conversation, going into strangers, having that type of trust with total strangers. There’s a lot of rebuilding to do. There’s a lot of communication. There’s a lot of love that needs to be spread around. Not to get all hippie on it, but what good is doing the opposite? It’s just not working for us. So yeah, I feel like I do enjoy the tendency to zoom out and zoom back in. But I don’t want to pretend to be able to speak on all of these things. I guess I can only really speak to what the six of us went through in [these] last few years. If there’s anything I can take from that, this was a band that was ready to say, “this might be our last one.” If we can come back from that and make one of the most vulnerable and bold records we’ve ever made — other than our first one, because we didn’t even know one another — to me, that gives me hope.

RK: Each album by The Head and The Heart has increased its lean towards pop instrumentation. Even more so with Every Shade of Blue. Was that a conscious thing, or was that just an evolution of the band?

JR: I think maybe both. I started collaborating with different writers, with different producers, in my off time. I think maybe I was just in a place where Living Mirage, the previous record, was, so… I think it had to happen. I was reading an interview that I did three years ago, around that record, and it blows my mind how heavy I was. How heavy my thoughts were. So, it doesn’t surprise me that we made a record that’s kind of a deep purple. Heavy colors [are] attached to that record in my mind. So, once that was out of my system, I was looking for a lime green and a yellow, like a bright orange. I ended up working with Jesse Shatkin, who I met in Los Angeles. [He] does a lot of pop, and we just had fun when we were in together. “Tiebreaker” [from Every Shade of Blue] was one of the first songs I ever did with him, and it was just so light and fun, but also compelling in a way, sonically. I think I use this phrase somewhere else, but honestly, it just hits it on the head. He kind of champions my freak flag a little bit. 

That song “Tiebreaker” is pretty unusual, at least from a band who started out with an acoustic-guitar folk message. To me, that was so much fun. There’s so many types, there’s some angles to everyone’s personality. And if you’re fortunate enough, as we are, to have a fifth record, eventually you’re going to start seeing more and more of these individuals. And a song like “Tiebreaker” — working with a producer like Jesse Shatkin just really added this new layer of trust and confidence into a personality of mine that I wasn’t necessarily always exposing to people, unless it was just for fun. Behind closed doors, just having fun with shit. I think for the longest time I was really drawn to more of a serious tone. At least that’s maybe why I was using songwriting. I needed to get some heavier, serious topics off my shoulders. You know, coming as a pendulum. Reacting to being in quite a heavy state during Living Mirage — it just felt really nice to… not keep it light, there’s still real topics on this record, [but] kind of what you were saying initially, pop can kind of make you feel good.

RK: Looking at each album, over time it’s like looking at a version of yourself, and you have an opinion of each record, which will evolve as you evolve. With that being said, how do you think your opinion of Every Shade of Blue will evolve over time?

JR: Yeah, that’s a great question, and great insight you have there. I guess where we’re at now is kind of its infancy, in terms of being introduced into the world. Other people can now touch it and listen to it and critique it, both in good and bad ways. Which I think is fair, and as it should be done. To me, it feels like a stamp in time of the band’s relationship. Whereas I really feel like, for a while, I was always sort of thinking of records in terms of my relationship with myself. This is the first record where I’m hearing it and viewing it, and the imagery it gives me are memories of this group having breakthrough moments. Yes. It feels like a group. 

RK: Now, it’s everybody’s success. 

JR: Yes! We played a really small but beautiful acoustic set last night here in Los Angeles, at this place called the Winston House. It was just really half the band doing the acoustic set. If you watch in your present, with those around you — this whole ride, this whole life experience, this whole putting a smile on someone’s face and making them feel good or whatever… It’s like, just be present with those around you. Let their beauty and their pain and their excitement and their nervousness, let that go through you too. This is maybe a weird way of getting to something we had already mentioned, but it being about the group just feels like you don’t have to be the sole provider, or the only person in charge who is making sure shit works. I feel like we are unraveling something that you and I have already said, so maybe I’ll just leave it at that. 

RK: It’s like a new comfort level that you have. I would think being able to do that is almost like stretching completely, to your full potential. In your head, when you were making Every Shade of Blue, did you feel like you were making a great record? Like you hear artists say, “I knew that was a hit when I wrote it.” And they’re not being arrogant, they just had that feeling. Did you have that feeling at all when you were writing and recording this?

JR: Yeah, well, you know… what’s funny is, I feel like in the inception stage of certain songs, I definitely feel that way, from time to time. I think because of the void in which this record was being made. By that, I mean the last few years. It was almost scary to feel that way and then have, like, a vast silence come back to you. I’ve never questioned my own barometer so heavily, and I think maybe through that process, I let go of trying to decide whether something is really good or not.

RK: Yeah, I understand. You quit questioning and, like I said, you kind of stretched, and were just like, “this is good.” The Head and The Heart are playing in Richmond at the Altria on September 17th, which is two days before my 40th birthday. You said you’re 37 years old, and you’ve written five records. Toured all over the place. You’ve done a lot of stuff in 37 years. Weird question here: not like any of these have been fucking normal or anything, but what advice would you give to a 40-year-old? 

JR: [laughing] Oh god. I don’t know. Is the younger supposed to be giving advice to the elder? I’m not sure. 

RK: I mean, we can all take advice [laughing].

JR: I don’t mean to call you an elder [laughing].

RK: We can all take advice from everybody, especially on life experience. I dunno, man. I’m gonna be 40. So…

JR: Right. Start exercising again. [laughing]

RK: Great answer! 

JR: [laughing] In all honesty, man, I’ve realized the difference [from] 34 coming off the road, and 37 going back out feels like a different body. And a different mind. I think I took for granted somewhat good genetics, and I’ve always been somewhat athletic. I grew up skateboarding. But it’s time to get fucking real. Especially if I want to go out and feel young, and feel healthy, and feel excited. And able to bend down, smash the fucking pedal and jump back up and seeing like… bro, it’s time to get back out there, man [laughing]. I’m trying to stick to this. I started working with someone to help guide me getting back into it. And it’s honestly, it’s been, like, a week and a half, and it’s very noticeable. So, my advice: take physical health a lot more seriously than you did when you’re 30 or 35 or whatever, you know? Yeah, that’s where I’m at.

RK: I’ve been trying to drink more water. I used to do push-ups. I’m like, “Yeah, I’m gonna do them tomorrow.” And tomorrow comes and I just don’t do anything, so thanks for the reminder. [laughing]

JR: Dude, I’ve even started doing the lady push-ups. I don’t give a shit. I just started doing them. I’m sure at some point, I’ll be able to get back to doing real push-ups, but like, whatever it takes to not feel like you can’t do it. Just eliminate that shit.

RK: It’s only gonna get better if you do it, I guess.  

JR: Yeah. I just normally have a lot of anxiety around doing stuff like this, for the record. I just kind of stew. But there’s been something like an unlock or a release from just doing, like, 30 to 45 minutes of stretching, cardio, whatever it is. Just low impact stuff, because my knees are kind of jacked now from running. But yeah, it just calms you down.

RK: [laughing] I’ll take that advice.

JR: And hopefully, we’ll see you at the Altria Theater, man.  A birthday gift. I mean, I would love to do that for you.

RK: Jesus. That would be great. Thank you very much for that.

JR: Of course, I really enjoyed this interview. It’s like… sneaky, left of center questions. They don’t come out sounding wild or pretentious, but you’ve got a sneaky ability to stay off the obvious.

RK: Man, I didn’t want to ask you the same shit. I wanted it to be like we’re sitting next to each other somewhere, and we got on some weird topics. So, thanks for that, Jon. Mind if I ask you one more? 

JR: Yeah, for sure. 

RK: You were mentioning different shades [before]. I remember reading this interview about Liz Phair, when she was writing Exile In Guyville. Somebody said [Liz Phair] wanted one of these songs to sound [like the color] brown. I never forgot that, because I’d never thought of a sound as a color before. So, to bring it back to Richmond, what’s the color you think of when you think of Richmond?

JR: One color… [pauses] That’s tough. I mean, if we’re talking about the James River — brown [laughing]. I think I have to come at it from a different angle for a minute. What I noticed when I was living in San Francisco for six years and kept my apartment in Church Hill the whole time — and that’s what I’m back into now. Whenever I’ve come back to my apartment, my songs seem to be piano based and more mid-tempo, and I don’t know if that’s just because I needed to contrast from the way I was writing in SF, which was more upbeat and sporadic. To me, Richmond is somewhat grounding, and I’m calmer. I love the fact that I can hear a fucking leaf being blown down the street. The dryness. That kind of like [makes crunching sounds]. That’s what I love about being in Richmond, especially in the east side of it. As often as I used color to describe sound, that place to me is more like a tempo thing. And the tempo, to me, feels calm and mid-tempo, which I love.

The Head And The Heart comes to Richmond’s Altria Theater on Saturday, September 17, with special guests Shakey Graves. Tickets are on sale now at the Altria’s website. The Head And The Heart’s new album, Every Shade Of Blue, is available on vinyl and CD from the band’s website, and can be found on all streaming platforms.

Photos via The Head And The Heart/Facebook

Comedy Comfort Food

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When Steve Martin and Martin Short came to the Altria Theater on October 22, they proved that comedy doesn’t have to be edgy to be extremely funny.

“You can start by wiping that fucking dumbass smile off your rosy fucking cheeks. And you can give me a fucking automobile – a fucking Datsun, a fucking Toyota, a fucking Mustang, a fucking Buick. Four fucking wheels and a seat.”

Steve Martin said this and more to Edie McClurg in an expletive-rich scene from 1987’s Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. 

I only remember hearing “fuck” once at the Altria Theater on October 22nd and Martin Short said it. There were probably a handful of “fucks” said that night, but I just remember the one. And the one was “motherfucker.”

It’s safe to say there’s much edgier comedy out there now. You know the names. You can recite what they’ve said or pull it up on your phone. I think the audience on the 22nd was fine with sitting right dead in the center. 

I wonder what fans of strictly edgy comedy are like when choosing a restaurant. Do they consistently look for traditional meals reimagined? Are they only enticed by boundary pushing menus? On and on about how their palates were given makeovers and their most recent dining experiences have – shut up. 

Sometimes people just want to eat something they can ignore that still tastes good. It doesn’t always need to be an adventure. Something eaten comfortably, without much consideration, so the diner can focus on whatever else. For instance, talking to the person across from them. Maybe stare out the window at the sidewalk. Or give their phone more attention. Maybe take a picture of their food.

Realizing later: Damn, that was good.

When it aired in 2018, Rolling Stone called Steve Martin and Martin Short’s Netflix special, An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life, “comfort food.” The duo definitely looked like macaroni and cheese at the Altria Theater during The Funniest Show In Town At The Moment. I think the nearly 3,600 people in attendance would probably agree.

It was nice to see Steve Martin and Martin Short again. We’ve lost lots of people these last two years. Some of their faces we’ve seen on TV for decades. 

From my seat way back in Section C, Steve Martin looked more-or-less like his Father of the Bride character, “George Banks.” The kinda smug upper-middle-class retiree who looks older since the last time you saw him but doesn’t seem older. Martin Short looked like the less-flamboyant identical American cousin of “Franck Eggelhoffer,” and it’s hard to believe 26 years have passed since the last of those films was released. 

Both wore suits (Short accessorizing his with a colorfully striped, matching tie and sock combo, while Martin’s remained dutifully conservative) and those Father characters didn’t seem too terribly far off the mark from who you could imagine them being in real life. They’ve looked the same for 40 years. 

A tight-ass and a cartoon. Each now in their 70’s. 

Prior to Steve Martin walking out alone on stage to applause, a highlight montage of each performer’s career played on a projector screen that was much too small for the Altria stage. Regardless, it was a welcome reminder of just how long these two people have been present in American living rooms. The audience cheered at specific segments. Martin and Aykroyd’s “We’re Just Two Wild And Crazy Guys” from SNL was one of them. Short’s Ed Grimley was another. This went on for five or ten minutes.

“Just play your hits” Steve Martin said, following with, “We don’t have any.”

This set the tone for the evening. The comedy was very Mom and Dad. I went with my mother, and she laughed the entire time, so there you go. Even though the comedians didn’t revisit old material (no fake arrows and no Jiminy Glick), it did seem like a Sunday drive through familiar country. Not exactly a nostalgia show, but also not shying away from being one either. 

Photo by Ryan Kent

Martin and Short were seated in black leather chairs for light conversation. Topics segueing into other funny bits, sometimes with piano accompaniment by Jeff Babko. Each insulting the other throughout. 

Steve Martin talked about his morning in Richmond, mentioning the Moore Street Café. He said there was a man on the sidewalk singing incoherently. When the two made eye contact the man abruptly stopped singing and said, “Hello, Steve Martin.” 

Three male audience members were chosen at random to come onstage. Donning sombreros, they played a Three Amigos inspired game which looked part “Macarena” and part Vaudeville. Both of which will elicit blank stares from anyone born after 1998, or still alive from the 1920’s.

A portion of the show was dedicated to individual routines. Steve Martin chose to impress the audience with his mastery of the banjo, mostly backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers. One song being the aptly titled, comedy classic, “Banjo.”

Martin released a bluegrass album with the band in 2011 called Rare Bird Alert which was nominated for a Grammy. The previous year the Steep Canyon Rangers had won the same award for their (minus Steve) album Nobody Knows You. They collaborated again with Martin in 2013 (and singer Edie Brickell) for the record Love Has Come For You and once more (minus Edie) for 2017’s The Long-Awaited Album. 

Short’s routine had less formality. Singing and flailing about on top of the piano while badly impersonating a female lounge singer. He also removed his clothing until only a nude body suit remained. At one point, cradled by Babko, Short pretended to be a set of bagpipes skirling away at Amazing Grace. The audience loved it.

Martin and Short came together again quickly roasting celebrities whose photos appeared on the projection screen. 

“Jeff Besos is the richest thumb in the world.”

“Madonna: Let’s see how many times 27 can go into 63.”

“Mark Zuckerberg is so white he makes you look like a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.”

“Kim Jong-un looks like the bouncer at a lesbian bar.”

My mother laughs loud. You can normally pick her out of a crowd if something hits her funny, and that doesn’t take much. The people in the rows across the aisle were laughing just as hard as she was. The people around us were too. All of them seemed to be in roughly the same age group as my mother. After the show, she said she enjoyed listening to the man behind her laugh.

Ryan’s mom had a great time at the show. Photo by Ryan Kent.

“We’re not going to live forever,” Steve Martin said into the microphone at one point, and for the first time during the evening, the elephant in the room emerged. What Martin had said was true, and it stung. Of course, they read each other’s eulogies after that, Babko’s piano accompaniment sounding much like the sonatas played during those god-awful animal rescue commercials. 

Martin saying of Short, “He fought so hard staying alive, while I was pulling the plug.”

Short saying of Martin, “You bland, overrated, white-haired son of a bitch. I know Steve is looking down on us all now, because he was always looking down on everyone.”

A while back, a friend pointed out to me that people over 65 have a difficult time finding employment because of their age. Deemed a health risk or out of touch with the current trends in corporate professionalism, or lacking the basics to new operating systems. These justifications appear to be upheld by lawmakers, or at the very least ignored by them. Yet our country is largely run by a group of rich white Americans well into their septuagenarian years. 

I thought about this driving my mother home from the show. She’s a 67-year-old retired Naval secretary who can’t find work. Not even a few hours a week. Most days are spent calling her family. Reminiscing about how things used to be and how good the music and movies were. How she misses the simplicity of those days and how she feels out of touch with the country she was born in. Where has all the time gone? The people?

Not exactly a nostalgia show, but also not shying away from being one either. 

I wonder if Steve Martin and Martin Short ever have these conversations. I wonder if they feel out of touch. It was 1995 only a few years ago, right? Did they, one day, wake up in their seventies?

They’re not gonna live forever.

Hearing my mother laugh and the man behind us laugh and all the other people laugh at the Altria Theater was good to experience. We’re lucky that Steve Martin and Martin Short are still walking out on these stages. Still funny. I’m glad the audience was able to witness something like this. A reminder of who and what is still here.

It was raining enough to use the windshield wipers. Mom turned off the report about President Biden speaking earlier that day in Baltimore. She slipped her new Rare Bird Alert disc into the CD player and played the last song. It was a live bluegrass version of “King Tut.”

“Your grandfather loved this,” she said. 

Most things are just not as simple as comfort food. 

A Week Of Culinary Black Excellence

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The fourth annual Richmond Black Restaurant Experience shows that in a city gaining a reputation as a food destination, black restaurants and black culture are an essential factor.

As the first week of March approaches, black restaurant owners and cooks all over Richmond prepare for the fourth annual Richmond Black Restaurant Experience, a week-long celebration of black excellence in the culinary world. Established by Amy Wentz, Shemica Bowen, and Kelli Lemon, RBRE was founded on the premise of giving black minority restaurateurs the same exposure other Richmond restaurants have been given in recent years. 

“There was just a need for the black culinary industry in Richmond, that has a presence amongst [the black community],” Lemon said, “but wasn’t getting the national exposure, as Richmond was starting to make all these lists for being this foodie town.”

Over the past couple of years, several lists from publications like Bon Appetit, Insider, and Yelp have named Richmond as an up and coming destination for food lovers. With the national spotlight on the city, many restaurants have made the most of this attention by being involved in the city’s several food festivals. 

According to the founders of Richmond Black Restaurant Experience, Richmond Restaurant Week — a twice-yearly event that has been known to be very competitive and exclusive — has had a lack of representation for black restaurant owners. So they decided to create that representation themselves.

“We didn’t wait to be asked to be sat at the table, we just built the table,” Lemon said. “We just decided that we don’t have to wait to celebrate our culture.”

The goal of RBRE, Lemon said, is to introduce all of Richmond to black culinary ownership through a “celebration of cuisine.”

“We just want to make sure that when we are looking at Richmond as a whole, [black restaurants] are not left out of that whole,” said Lemon.

Over the past four years, RBRE has showcased over 20 restaurants, food trucks, and caterers each year, and has partnered with several non-profit organizations aimed to help the black community in Richmond.

This year RBRE, which has several sponsors including Dominion Energy, the City of Richmond, and the Virginia Lottery, will feature 35 different restaurants, food trucks, and caterers, including Mama J’s, Soul Taco, Southern Kitchen, and Chef MaMusu’s Africanne on Main. For a full list of participants, visit vablackrestaurantexperience.com.

RBRE will also be partnering with the Urban League of Greater Richmond Young Professionals (ULGRYP) as their non-profit beneficiary. In the past the RBRE has partnered with several food related organizations, but this year they decided on the ULGRYP because of their many initiatives that promote philanthropy and community engagement among young people of color, while also uplifting and finding the resources needed to support these individuals.

Although the main attraction to this week’s festivities is the food, Lemon also said that the goal is to focus on ALL artists of color in Richmond. According to Lemon, this week is about the complete black Richmond experience, not just the food.

“One of the things that we felt was missing this week was the art component,” Lemon said. “We look at food as art, but then there’s also music and fashion, hence these other activities planned.”

This year’s Richmond Black Restaurant Experience begins on Sunday, March 1 and lasts for eight days. The full schedule is as follows:

  • Sunday, March 1: Mobile Soul Sunday- Food Truck Fest at Kanawha Plaza, 12-5pm (Get tickets HERE)
  • Monday, March 2 thru Wednesday, March 4: Restaurant Focus- just eat, go to black owned restaurants and enjoy yourselves
  • Thursday, March 5: Afrikana Film Festival- Film Screening of Boss at Black History Museum and Cultural Center (‘dinner and a movie’), 7-9pm
  • Friday, March 6: Ready to Give- “Basement sweaty” dance party in the ‘Rabbit Hole’ at Vagabond
  • Saturday, March 7: ART for the Soul- Fashion, art and music showcase with culinary delights at Studio Two Three, 5-10pm (Get tickets HERE)
  • Sunday, March 8: Stick a Fork in It! – Chef demos and cooking contest put on by Richmond chefs and caterers at the Altria Theater, 12-5pm (Get tickets HERE)

All revenue from ticketed events like Mobile Soul, Ready to Give, Art for the Soul and Stick a Fork in It! will go to Urban League of Greater Richmond. As far as the restaurants themselves, check their social media pages for any food and drink specials offered throughout the week.

In the past, RBRE has been accused of being racist for having the word ‘black’ in the title. Lemon responded by saying that they don’t mind getting slammed for putting that word if it means people are now able to learn about something new and get out of their comfort zone.

“We created something because no one else would let us in,” Lemon said. “So people can be exposed to something different and start a conversation.”

Lemon, who is also the owner of Urban Hang Suite, a social cafe located at 304 E Broad St, acknowledges that there’s a lack of communication between the diverse groups of people in Richmond, which is why she built the cafe; to start that conversation.

With its controversial history, Lemon refers to Richmond as a tale of two cities; there’s Richmond and there’s RVA. Richmond is the food deserts, lack of affordable housing, lack of public transportation, high crime, and poor education. And then there’s RVA: the James River, craft beer, great food, and a good place to start your business. Lemon says that because of the city’s long history of division and segregation, these two places don’t know each other.

“Black Richmond knows, feels and is ready to take back our heritage,” Lemon said. “White Richmond wants us to forget about it; ‘The past is the past; we’re not that anymore’.”

Although black Richmond is still struggling in terms of opportunity, Lemon said that events like RBRE are letting the world know that, “Yeah, Richmond has a very horrible history, but what has come out of it is pride, leadership and a sense of belonging.”

At the end of the day, Lemon just wants people from all races and all areas of the city to come out and enjoy the vibes and atmosphere.

“Grab your family, grab your friend, grab your coworker, and go experience this with someone,” said Lemon. “There are a lot of different options, and we took care of everyone’s dietary needs.”

Appreciation of local culture in all its forms is Richmond Black Restaurant Experience’s ultimate goal, Lemon said.

“We just want people to think outside the box and celebrate a culture that in Richmond is truly vibrant.”

Photos courtesy Richmond Black Restaurant Experience

VA Shows You Must See This Week: February 19 – February 25

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FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, February 20, 7 PM
Bracewar, Division Of Mind, Combust, Mutually Assured Destruction, Guardrails @ The Camel – $15
There’s a lot going on in the Richmond music scene these days, within all sorts of different genres. And that’s wonderful! But if you want to talk about the styles of music that have a fertile, longstanding tradition in this town, you probably can’t do better than bringing up the Richmond hardcore scene. Going back to the dawn of the 80s and extending all the way to today, Richmond has been a town in which hardcore thrives, and this show at The Camel on Thursday night is the proof that this continues to be true in 2020.

At the top of the bill is Bracewar, one of those Richmond hardcore elder-statesman bands who moved into “plays a few shows a year but is otherwise inactive” mode at least seven years ago, but did thrill us all by releasing their first new material in almost a decade in the form of 2018 EP Colossal. They’ve maintained a slightly higher profile since then, but a Richmond Bracewar show is still a relative rarity, and if you delight in their signature brand of powerful breakdowns peppered with moments of high-speed thrashing, you’ll certainly want to catch this one.

Beyond Bracewar, this bill mostly focuses on current all-stars of Richmond’s straightforward hardcore scene, most predominantly Division Of Mind. This group’s recent self-titled LP on Triple B Records demonstrates that, while they are very skilled at the mosh, they have quite a bit more going on, and are worth your time and attention even if you don’t still find diving into an energetic pit to be the best way to spend a band’s set. Combust are actually from New York, but released a 12-inch EP on RVA’s own Edgewood Records last year, and will bring an energetic and welcome NYHC attack to the Camel’s stage. Plus, there’s Mutually Assured Destruction, who are taking heavy hardcore in an adventurous direction that doubtless owes a bit to Life Of Agony and Twitching Tongues, and the first show ever from Guardrails, who will kick this one off with a ton of pissed-off energy. Carry on the tradition, Richmond — be at this show.

Wednesday, February 19, 9 PM
Lifters, Weird Tears, Neat Sweep @ Fuzzy Cactus – $6
Punk rock has been enshrined in pop culture as music with something important to say, and I think that’s great, but one thing punk rock has always had room for, one that gets de-emphasized when we focus on The Clash and forget about the Ramones, is pure no-frills rock n’ roll melody. Durham’s Lifters might not qualify for punk rock if you’re expecting some sort of sophisticated political critique to emerge from their catchy tunes, but if you’re conversant with the genre’s history, the connection is undeniable. And that’s as it should be.

Tonight, if you’re looking for some catchy, fun tunes, played with plenty of energy but not that much polish, and reminding you of great groups like Radioactivity, Teengenerate, or the aforementioned Ramones, you’re going to want to point your feet toward Brookland Park’s own Fuzzy Cactus. There, Lifters and local melodic punk stalwarts Weird Tears and Neat Sweep are going to sweep you off your feet and get you caught up in the toe-tapping joys of punk rock. It all happens tonight; plan your evening accordingly.

Thursday, February 20, 9 PM
Excitable Boys, Daniel Case, The Dolphins @ Fuzzy Cactus – $7
It’s always interesting when you know enough about a band to care what they have to offer, but have no idea what they actually sound like. Such is the case with Excitable Boys, a band seemingly named for Warren Zevon’s most famous album, and made up of three different musicians one usually wouldn’t expect to see grouped together. In this case, those musicians include country-folk singer-songwriter Benjamin Shepherd, former Southside Stranglers guitarist Kevin Guild, and Irish-by-way-of-New-York indie-folk artist Cal Folger Day — who isn’t even a boy, putting a lie to the bandname in a far more entertaining fashion than the millions of all-male “girls” bands.

Anyway, that’s certainly an intriguing trio to bring together in one musical combo… but what exactly do you get when you mix an Irish indie-folk troubadour, a punk rock guitarist, and an Americana singer-songwriter? There’s only one way I know of to find out, and that’s to show up at Fuzzy Cactus this Thursday night and see what happens when the three of them take the stage together. It’s sure to be interesting; perhaps even, dare I say… exciting! (Sorry, y’all, but I couldn’t resist.)

Friday, February 21, 7:30 PM
Yamato Drummers present: Jhonetsu — Passion @ Altria Theater – $35 – $43 (order tickets HERE)
It’s not often that an opportunity for something truly unusual comes across our desk here at RVA Must-See Shows headquarters, so when something like this shows up in the local live music environment, we’ve got to make the most of it. Therefore, I encourage you to suck it up, deal with the higher-than-average ticket prices that accompany any night spent at the Altria, and go see Wadaiko Yamato, aka Yamato Drummers, this Friday night.

This group hails from Nara, Japan, a city once known as Yamato, and plays the sort of ensemble drumming native to Japan that’s known in the West as taiko. Wadaiko Yamato are a group made up of around a dozen different drummers, who explore the possibilities of percussion through polyrhythmic dynamics and highly choreographed theatrical dance performances. If you recognize the deep, transformative power of the beat that lies at the heart of music, you’re sure to be captivated and energized by what Wadaiko Yamato bring to the stage. It’s not the kind of thing you’ll see every weekend, either — that’s for sure. Make seeing this one a priority.

Saturday, February 22, 7 PM
Enforced, Alfred, Louderhead, Brain Tourniquet, Serqet @ Gallery 5 – $10
The war on drugs has been a highly damaging initiative of the US government over the past half-century or so. While it has failed to make a significant dent in the use and trafficking of mind-altering substances, it has allowed for a massive increase in the percentage of the US population that is incarcerated, a phenomenon that’s had a disproportionate effect on African Americans and low-income, marginalized folks across the country. This is why it’s heartening to see the first tentative steps being made here in Virginia to move beyond carceral methods of dealing with drug use and trafficking and toward decriminalization and harm reduction initiatives that grass-roots activist groups have been pushing for years.

This Saturday’s event at Gallery 5 will offer you the opportunity to both support these efforts and become part of them yourself… as well as hearing some great music, of course. The evening will begin with a free naloxone training session, then move on to music from Richmond leading lights like dark metallic hardcore ragers Enforced and psychedelic hip hop lyricist Alfred. There’ll also be a performance from Louderhead, who I am guessing is a Motorhead tribute band (always fun). And of course, DC power-violence freaks Brain Tourniquet and local goth-punk heroes Serqet will be in the house as well. The music will be great, the cause is just as great… get involved in this one.

Sunday, February 23, 9 PM
Catfest 4, feat. Cadillac Cat, Young Apollo, Gemi Jhay, Ley Cash, Pyrex Pedro, Civonnee, Balu, Delow, Cassius Kay, Qash, Skyy With 2 Y’s, Lowlifeball, Rasul, Don Chase, Ceo, Dee16Hunna, Mia Money, Lxrd Sleeza, Kaywan, Rascal Grimez, Tyrone Leake Jr., Moochiee @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to keep up with the Richmond hip hop scene, and that’s not just because there’s a ton going on in this city. It’s also because hip hop is one music scene that doesn’t seem to have much use for the non-social-media internet, so information is at a premium, and google searches can only do so much. That said, I have been hearing the name Cadillac Cat for a while, so the fact that this jam-packed Sunday evening at The Camel is his fourth annual Catfest isn’t that much of a surprise.

If you also know the name Cadillac Cat, it’s probably because he’s produced a variety of material for Noah-O, including their 2017 full-length collab, Face/Off. These days, he’s working on a project called God Status, and if the video for first track “Free Shine” is any indication, this is going to be a hard-as-fuck street-level attack full of pounding beats and braggadocious flows. Expect something similar from his headlining set at this event. As for the 20-plus other artists performing, expect a crash course in an entire segment of the mid-Atlantic hip hop scene, one that’s sure to teach you a whole lot of shit you can’t learn from the internet.

Monday, February 24, 8 PM
Halfcast, Linden Row, Afib, Madison Turner @ The Camel – Free!
These free “Industry Night” shows the Camel has been throwing lately are intended to give all the people who work difficult shifts in the world of food service every weekend an opportunity to celebrate the end of their week’s busiest time. However, they also help out the Richmond live music preview industrial complex, an industry that I’m pretty sure consists entirely of me. So I’m really glad these exist, as they are sometimes the only thing remotely worth paying attention to on a Monday night — and that’s definitely true this week.

This week’s event offers a pretty strong local lineup, especially for a show that will cost you zero dollars to attend. That lineup is topped by Halfcast, a local trio who mix a chops-conscious metallic approach with alt-rock sensibilities to create crunchy melodic gold. Then there’s Linden Row, an alt-rock combo with plenty of energy and the same sort of mischievous surf-punk feel that shines through prime Pixies material; their set is sure to be a blast. I haven’t heard Afib, but they feature Truman drummer Dylan Anderson stepping out from behind the kit to pick up a guitar and play some indie/emo tunes, and that’s certainly an intriguing concept to me. And of course, Madison Turner, who’ll be playing her alt-punk-indie-folk tunes accompanied by a full band at this gig, is always worth seeing. So show up on time and catch it all. The price is more than fair.

Tuesday, February 25, 7 PM
GARZA, Jouwala Collective @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance/$25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Do you like to dance? If you do and you’ve spent any time at all in the state of Virginia, you’re sure to be familiar with the work of Rob Garza, better known as one half of the legendary DC duo Thievery Corporation. Thievery Corporation has been active for over two decades and show no signs of slowing down; indeed, they recently announced a new LP coming in the spring. However, Garza’s creative mind is always restless, and so he has brought us GARZA, a project initially born from his desire to write music for other people.

In the end, he couldn’t bear to give the music he’d come up with away, and it was released late last year on an EP entitled Where The Moon Hides, which finds Garza collaborating with vocalists Seann Bowe and EMELINE to create some lovely, immersive electronic melodies that increase the pop quotient of Garza’s Thievery Corporation work without losing that pulse that always keeps your feet moving. GARZA will utilize a whole ensemble of singers and live instruments to wonderfully recreate these tunes in a live setting at the Broadberry this Tuesday night. Be sure to wear your dancing shoes for this one.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, February 20, 7 PM
Summer Salt, Okey Dokey, Breakup Shoes, Berries @ Elevation27 (Virginia Beach) – $17 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Groundhog or no groundhog, the fact remains that summer is far away at the moment. Therefore, it’s an especially welcome breath of fresh air that brings Summer Salt to Virginia Beach’s Elevation27 this Thursday night. This Austin Texas group mixes the sweet beach pop of Brian Wilson and the Brazilian bossa nova of artists like Gilberto Gil and Joao Gilberto into a base that is fundamentally indie-pop in nature. The result is the sort of lovely sound that’s sure to please fans of both Paul Simon’s Graceland and Animal Collective’s Feels.

In other words, it’s the perfect late-week listen for a Virginia locked in the late-winter doldrums. And it’s sure to bring a smile to your face even if you do have to don your heavy coat to walk from the club back to the car at the end of the night. The evening will also feature performances from catchy psychedelic indie group Okey Dokey, who hail from Nashville, and some electro-pop sounds from Arizona’s Breakup Shoes. Plus, VA Beach’s own Berries will kick off the evening with some charming indie-pop of their own. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Sunday, February 23, 7 PM
Tommy Stinson, Dashdown @ Hive Collective (Norfolk) – $25 – $100 (order tickets HERE)
Wrap up your weekend by spending an intimate evening in the company of Tommy Stinson and his acoustic guitar at Norfolk art gallery the Hive Collective. If you’re not familiar with Tommy Stinson by name, his time as bass player in The Replacements, Guns N’ Roses, and Soul Asylum should certainly let you know why he matters. But what really makes it a good idea for you to go see the man perform solo is the strength of his material as singer and songwriter, both under his own name and as the frontman for Bash And Pop.

That quartet, which released one excellent LP called Friday Night Is Killing Me in the wake of The Replacements’ early-90s breakup, then went their separate ways, got back together a few years ago for a long-awaited, much-belated follow-up called Anything Could Happen, which proved that they still had the spark that made their earlier work so wonderful. Stinson’s relatively recent solo LP, 2011’s One Man Mutiny, was just as great and heartfelt, and you can expect to see the sort of sloppy, sincere talent that’s always been the hallmark of his work on display at this intimate performance, so I highly recommend you get there.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

Top Photo by Gabe Becerra/Twitter

Wicked at Altria Theater

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WICKED, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.” From the first electrifying note to the final breathtaking moment, WICKED—the untold true story of the Witches of Oz—transfixes audiences with its wildly inventive story that USA Today cheers is “a complete triumph! An original musical that will make you laugh, cry, and think.”

BUY TICKETS

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 26 – December 31

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, December 28, 10 PM
The Return of Sp***** Ed and the Sh****** @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
This week’s show column is entirely focused on that weird end-of-year week between Christmas and New Year’s Day — that week we all are so sure will be a total loss that plenty of businesses shut down entirely until the new year rolls around. We’re still here, though, and while this whole week might feel like a goofy, lackadaisical lead-up to the big New Year’s Eve throwdown, make no mistake, there are some interesting things afoot around town.

One of the most interesting is this reunion show taking place at Cary Street Cafe on Saturday night. And it’s a great example of the way that, every once in a while, something from the recent past will spring to mind in a manner that reminds you how long ago the past actually was. This reunion of a local bluegrass band that was a Richmond music staple less than a decade ago is just such a reminder, in that they were both a really fun band that drew a following with a very original approach to what can be an extremely conservative music form… and a band whose efforts to be goofy led them to an extremely insensitive and inappropriate name.

In fact, the band once known as Special Ed And The Shortbus not only changed their name in 2012 to The Hot Seats, they are using stars to disguise that name in all promotion for this show that will reunite one of the band’s earliest and goofiest lineups to recreate their early-00s days as Cary Street Cafe’s Wednesday night house band. Their name has certainly not aged well, but their music and antics are still as entertaining and fun as they always were, so if you miss the days of their onstage hijinks even as you recognize that their name is culturally unacceptable in these modern times, you should definitely head down to Cary Street Cafe this Saturday night and catch the one-time return of Sp***** Ed and the Sh******… minus 11 letters.

Thursday, December 26, 7:30 PM
The Hip Hop Nutcracker, feat. Kurtis Blow @ Altria Theater – $37 – 67 (order tickets HERE)
People sing that old song without understanding its meaning all the time, but Christmas is technically a 12 day celebration that doesn’t end until nearly a week into January. Therefore, the fact that the Hip Hop Nutcracker won’t reach the Altria Theatre until tonight isn’t inappropriate at all. Tonight, there’s no reason for you not to shake off the food coma from yesterday’s dinner and celebrate the second day of Christmas with two turtle doves and a whole lot of great hip hop dancing set to Tchaikovsky’s classic Nutcracker Suite.

For the real old-school heads, there’s a bigtime bonus to this show as well — Kurtis Blow will be in the house. Blow is so old school, he released one of the first rap records ever; what’s more, it was a Christmas single, so Blow’s connection to this holiday has lasted his entire career. Before the official Nutcracker kicks off, Blow will begin the evening with a short solo set, and if, like me, you’re old enough to remember the days when “Basketball” and “The Breaks” were jams that always got the party started right, you’ll definitely want to be here and see Kurtis Blow strut his stuff.

Friday, December 27, 8 PM
Seraph, Spiral Fracture, Alcindor @ Wonderland – $10
It’s been five years since Richmond deathcore warriors Seraph released their mini-album, Embrace Your Demise, and they’ve been through a hell of a lot since then. At one point, a member’s overseas military deployment led to a lengthy hiatus; at another point, a member passed away unexpectedly. Most recently, one of their founding members has battled cancer; this Wonderland performance marks the first time he’s been healthy enough to play a show in nearly a year.

However, you have to admire any band with the tenacity to endure through all the tough times that have come Seraph’s way and keep going strong. Not only are they returning to action in the live arena once again, they’ve been working on new music that will eventually take the form of a long-awaited followup to Embrace Your Demise. If you love punishing, brutal death/metal/core, it’s hard not to be stoked about that. Celebrate Seraph’s return to action this Friday night at Wonderland, and enjoy two other Virginia heavy hitters — Spiral Fracture and Alcindor — in the bargain. Nothing about this will not rule.

Saturday, December 28, 9 PM
The Trongone Band, The Vegabonds, Lord Nelson @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
As we have previously discussed, the holidays are prime time for jam bands. Their music has a spiritual kinship with those laid-back evenings we all associate with holiday times, when there’s no specific agenday, punctuality isn’t a factor, and the main things people are interested in are relaxing, having fun, and seeing where the night takes them. What musical ensemble could be more apropos to take us on that sort of journey than a jam band?

Where the loose arrangement of prog, folk, and Southern rock that makes up the jam-band universe is concerned, Richmond’s own Trongone Band and their compatriots for this evening, Tennessee’s Vegabonds, are concerned, they’re significantly closer to the Southern-rock axis. And there’s nothing wrong with that — the Trongone Band’s soulful, Muscle Shoals-influenced take on prime Allman/My Morning Jacket sounds is a whole lot of fun, and the Vegabonds’ slightly tougher Drive-By Truckers-ish approach is certainly welcome anytime. If you need a fun way to spend your post-Christmas/pre-New Years weekend, these two bands have just what you’re looking for.

Sunday, December 29, 9 PM
Plaque Marks, Prayer Group, Copperhead @ Wonderland – $10
The holidays don’t usually see a lot of touring bands coming through, but that just makes the few who buck the trend and hit the road all the more welcome. Philadelphia’s Plaque Marks is battling the post-Christmas traffic full of tired families on the way back from Grandma’s house this weekend to bring Richmond a heaping helping of noise for dinner, and it’s sure to be a treat.

So far, this quartet featuring members of Fight Amp, Creepoid, and others has only brought us one EP, 2017’s Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship. That EP’s sludgy, abrasive mix of anti-social punk and Jesus Lizard-style noise-rock is, however, enough reason on its own to head to Wonderland and catch these freaks. And by now, there’s no way they don’t have a few new songs with which to spice things up as well. Local metallic faves Prayer Group and newcomers Faucet, who feature members of Fat Spirit, Gumming, Among The Rocks And Roots, and more, will give us a full evening worthy of the beautiful punishment Plaque Marks dishes out.

Monday, December 30, 7 PM
Tauk, Jouwala Collective @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance/$18 at the door (order tickets HERE)
New Year’s Eve is the very next night, but that’s no excuse to spend your Monday evening holed up at home, bored out of your skull. And that’s doubly true in light of the fact that Tauk is coming to town. This New York-based instrumental combo has some excellent sounds to deliver to this city, sounds that are sure to expand our minds and get us thinking way outside the box — regardless of whether that box has a bow on top.

On last year’s Shapeshifter II: Outbreak, Tauk mingled guitars with synths and danceable beats to create a genre hybrid with appeal for post-rock nerds, jazz cats, and funk heads alike. The album was spawned by the group’s thoughts on the rise of artificial intelligence, but rest assured, no computer could come up with the riffs Tauk lays down. Get a glimpse for yourself, up close and personal at the Broadberry, and prepare for your New Year’s Eve with a thought-provoking night spent somewhere other than your couch.

Tuesday, December 31, 7:30 PM
NYE 1979, feat. Tinnarose as Blondie, High Voltage as AC/DC, Sleepwalkers as The Rolling Stones, Loud Night as Motorhead, Deli Kings as The Ramones, Prabir as Elvis Costello @ Fuzzy Cactus – $30 in advance/$40 day of show (order tickets HERE)
As we’ve discussed many times, punk rockers and metalheads often see holidays as an excuse to bust out some tribute bands. This celebration at Fuzzy Cactus is the first time I’ve seen this Halloween tradition extended to New Year’s Eve, though, so congrats to Fuzzy Cactus for breaking new ground in the punk-holiday-tribute game.

What’s even better about this show is that it has a unifying concept for its evening of tributes, bringing us an evening full of the sounds of 1979. It’s not just first-wave punk bands, either; with indie-folk crew Tinnarose bringing the sounds of Blondie to life, rock n’ rollers Sleepwalkers invoking the Rolling Stones, indie mainstay Prabir bringing the sounds of Elvis Costello, and more, this is an evening that will cover a lot of musical ground, even as it reminds us all that things were actually pretty great 40 years ago.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, December 27, 7 PM
Demons, Song of Praise, Invaluable, Nervous System @ Taphouse Grill (Norfolk) – Price TBA
Punks and jam bands don’t have a monopoly on the holidays. Noise-rock bands can certainly bring the heat at Christmastime just as easily, and that’s exactly what Norfolk’s Demons are choosing to do with their post-holiday throwdown at Norfolk’s own Taphouse Grill. If you haven’t caught on with what Demons, the post-Mae project of singer-guitarist Zach Gehring, are up to just yet, you really should fix that.

In recent years, this quartet has followed up their abrasive 2017 debut LP, Embrace Wolf, with a pair of hard-hitting EPs showing their political side. Made In The USA and the “Uglier Americans” single show that it’s not just musical influence that they take from intelligent post-hardcore bands like Fugazi and Quicksand. The resulting sound is raw and furious, with an undeniable undercurrent of melody that keeps things catchy and memorable. This is one party you’re going to want to show up for — especially since Demons have invited a few other equally talented Tidewater bands to join in.

Tuesday, December 31, 9 PM
Organ Trail, No/Mas, Cybernetic Warkrab, Bloat @ RiffHouse Pub (Chesapeake) – $5
OK, so picture this: It’s New Year’s Eve. There are more parties happening than you can shake a stick at (that’s a phrase my mother says, I have no idea what it means). All of them are full of champagne toasts, photobooths, and assorted other gimcracks and geegaws. You, on the other hand, don’t feel like dealing with a bunch of ballyhoo — you really just want to rock. Well, I know where you need to go.

Your destination is deep in the land of Tidewater, in the municipality known as Chesapeake, where RiffHouse Pub is bringing us the sort of no-frills affair that is so refreshing on the most overhyped party night of the year. Pennsylvania’s Organ Trail and DC’s No/Mas will be on hand to blast you with some gore-soaked death metal (the former) and hyperspeed grind (the latter), along with some local ragers from Cybernetic Warkrab and Bloat. There will be a toast at midnight, but it’ll be with PBR, because you don’t need all that frou-frou bullshit and neither do any of these bands. Leave the novelty glasses at home; bring your steel-toed boots for this one.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

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