Bandito's Archives

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 4 – December 10

Marilyn Drew Necci | December 4, 2019

Topics: A Will Away, Astral Void, Bandito's, Bent Knee, Black Flake, Black Liver, Boogaloo's, Buck Gooter, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Charlie's American Cafe, Dad, Death Angel, Deathtrap, Dorthia Cottrell, Downhaul, Elvzig, Every King & Commoner, Exmortus, Fuzzy Cactus, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Good Cretins, Gull, Hell Fire, High Voltage, Infinite Xmas, Insignificant Other, Jenna Kole, Kadavar, Karen Estrella, Krampusnacht, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, Madison Turner, Mister Earthbound, Nonfiction, Punks For Presents, Rock You Like A Candy Cane, Ruby The Hatchet, Scott "Wino" Weinrich, shows you must see, Sinn, Sled Boys, Sled Dynamite, Small Talks, Smashing Presents, Snow Control, Spiral Fracture, Sunsleeper, Thank You Scientist, The Canal Club, The Embalmers, The Emma Garell Band, The Golden Pony, The Nine 22's, The Tea Club, Those Weird Neighbors, Tiara, Viktoria Ashley, Woman Crush Wednesdays

FEATURED SHOWS
Friday, December 6, 8 PM
Punks For Presents Night 1, feat. Elvzig, Smashing Presents, High Voltage, Rock You Like A Candy Cane @ Bandito’s — Donations requested
Saturday, December 7, 8 PM
Punks For Presents Night 2 Pt 1, feat. Good Cretins, Black Flake, Sled Boys @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10 requested donation
Saturday, December 7, 8 PM
Punks For Presents Night 2 Pt. 2, feat. Snow Control, Sled Dynamite @ Boogaloos – Donations requested
Last week, we discussed the fact that Thanksgiving is the holiday for jam bands. This week we have to tackle the fact that, as holidays go, Thanksgiving is an exception — the rule for live music around holidays is that there will be punk and metal bands doing tribute sets. It used to be just a Halloween thing, but it’s spread to a variety of other holidays, and through the generous work of Punks For Presents, the punk-and-metal-tribute holiday show has been a fixture of Richmond for around a decade now.

Punks For Presents ensures that our celebrations of this, the most materialistic of holidays, do not overlook the less fortunate. At all of these shows, the group will be collecting donations of toys and cash to be given to the Children’s Hospital of Richmond, so we can be sure that the sick and disadvantaged kids of the area have a good Christmas too. It’s a great cause, and you can be a part of that effort by spending your weekend rocking out at three tribute shows taking place at three different clubs on two nights, which is a pretty good exchange when you think about it.

Start off on Friday over at Bandito’s, where members of Hewolf are presenting a Christmas-themed take on the works of the almighty Danzig, accompanied by equally holiday-themed tributes to Smashing Pumpkins, AC/DC, and the Scorpions, all brought to you by some of the most beloved and talented musicians Richmond has to offer. Then spend your Saturday on Brookland Park Boulevard, where across-the-street neighbors Fuzzy Cactus and Boogaloos will present two shows in one, with bands staggering set times so you can troop across the street to catch the next band as soon as the last one is done! Long-running Ramones tribute act Good Cretins top the bill over at Fuzzy Cactus, with tributes to Black Flag and Dead Boys sharing the stage there as tributes to Bad Religion and Kid Dynamite rock the house across the way at Boogaloos! The block is rocking for a great cause — make sure you’re there to enjoy and support it.

Wednesday, December 4, 6 PM
Woman Crush Wednesdays December showcase, feat. Jenna Kole, Tiara, The Emma Garell Band, Viktoria Ashley @ Lickinghole Creek Shockoe Bottom – Free!
The problem of male dominance at shows, and the need to counteract it by booking shows focusing on female artists, has long been a relevant topic in the worlds of punk and hardcore. However, we’re clearly seeing real progress in the music world as a whole, because the desire to make space for female musicians has spread locally to encompass the indie-folk/singer-songwriter scene as well. That’s what the monthly Woman Crush Wednesday showcases coming to the stage at Lickinghole Creek’s Shockoe Bottom location are all about, and as a woman who loves all genres of music, I couldn’t be happier to see it happening.

This month’s showcase takes place tonight, and the bill is headed up by Jenna Kole, bringing her quietly intriguing folk-rock sounds from the countryside into the heart of the city. She’ll be joined by the female half of local indie-soul duo Tiara & Andrew, presenting a solo set full of smooth, intriguing vibes. The Emma Garell Band will show off their catchy, energetic tuneage and get the room moving, and Viktoria Ashley will open things up with a solo set to get everyone in the mood. It should be a lovely evening of sounds brought to you by women who are too often relegated to the background while men strut their stuff. And if that’s not crushworthy, I don’t know what is.

Thursday, December 5, 6 PM
Death Angel, Exmortus, Hell Fire, Spiral Fracture, SiNN, Deathtrap @ The Canal Club – $18 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been over 35 years since five Filipino-American cousins, all of whom were then teenagers, came together to form one of the earliest and most important bands of the original thrash wave. Death Angel may not be quite as well-known today as the much-vaunted Big Four, but their first three albums made a huge impact on the west coast thrash-metal movement of the 80s, combining galloping speed and guitar pyrotechnics with youthful energy and a wry lyrical approach that shows through in classic tunes like “Bored.”

Three decades later, and Death Angel aren’t as young as they once were (though for a band with a 35-year career, their average age being right about 50 is still noteworthy). But they’re still going strong, dishing out the speed-thrash riffage with intensity and vigor on their ninth album, Humanicide, released earlier this year. Rest assured, Death Angel will rock you right out of your socks at The Canal Club this Thursday night, mixing excellent new jams with time-tested classics in order to create a perfect recipe for maximum headbangs. You’re not going to want to miss it.

Friday, December 6, 7 PM
RVA Krampusnacht “Yuletide Monsters,” feat. Infinite Xmas, Those Weird Neighbors, The Nine 22’s, The Embalmers @ Gallery 5 – Free!
Ah, Krampusnacht. This celebration of Santa Claus’s devilish counterpart, complete with horns and hooves, has become a strong tradition of Richmond’s holiday season, and Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without it. The traditional Carytown Krampus walk will take place this Saturday night, but you’ll be able to get in the mood the night before by spending First Friday at Gallery 5 for their annual “Yuletide Monsters” throwdown.

Music is just part of what you’ll find when you head down to Jackson Ward this Friday night, but there are some noteworthy sounds on offer at Gallery 5 this fine evening, headed up by Infinite Xmas, a project featuring an ambient take on traditional holiday tunes from Lobo Marino’s Laney Sullivan. This will certainly be a new twist on the often-overplayed music of this holiday season. Local performing arts mainstays Mark Slomski and Madame Onca will also bring you a set by their vaudevillian musical duo, Those Weird Neighbors, which should be a true holiday treat, and we’ll hear garage-punk and surf-psych sounds from The Nine 22’s and The Embalmers, respectively. Plus there’s way more artistic and performing action happening, including a wild n’ crazy variety show hosted by Ego Von Hubris, a photo booth run by the Red Vein Army, a dance party featuring ANIMAL’s fearless leader, DJ Dirt Thurston, and of course a fantastic group art exhibition with contributions from over 20 noteworthy local creators. Missing this one may actually endanger your immortal soul. Don’t take that risk.

Saturday, December 7, 6 PM
Thank You Scientist, Bent Knee, The Tea Club @ The Canal Club – $18 (order tickets HERE)
Prog-rock is a much-mocked genre of music, but the main thing people have always mocked about it is its overwhelming solemnity, which tends to come off as humorless pretentiousness. By contrast, prog-rock as a strictly musical genre can be quite enjoyable, especially when a band approaches it with sense of humor at the forefront. That’s the sort of approach Thank You Scientist has always taken — as the above photo of the group in matching bathrobes should make clear. Which is why, regardless of your opinion of bloated prog-rock monstrosities like Yes’s Tales Of Topographic Oceans, you should still make some time for Thank You Scientist in your life.

Their new LP, Terraformer, mixes complex jazz-fusion aspects, driven by the band’s saxophone, trumpet, and electric violin players, with a virtuosic approach to melodic rock riffs that call to mind groups like Circa Survive or Coheed And Cambria. It’s catchy, it’s dynamic, and it’s a whole lot of fun. So whether you want to engage in an in-depth study of complex chord structures or just dance around with a goofy grin on your face, Thank You Scientist will have you covered when they hit the Canal Club stage this Saturday night. Be there.

Sunday, December 8, 7 PM
Kadavar, Ruby The Hatchet, Mister Earthbound, Astral Void @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $15 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Thanksgiving’s over, but for Kadavar, the pilgrim hats are a year-round thing. This German band, who’ve been cranking out witchy, psychedelic proto-metal for nigh on a decade now, take an occult-driven approach to groove-laden doom metal. When you think “occult metal,” it’s easy to assume you’re getting Slayer’s Show No Mercy or that first Hellraiser movie, but on their new LP, For The Dead Travel Fast, Kadavar are much closer to Black Widow’s Sacrifice and the original Wickerman. The spookiness of the European countryside is not to be denied, y’all.

Kadavar come to town in the company of Ruby The Hatchet, who hail from a closer proximity (specifically the city of Philadelphia), but still have a strongly witchy doom vibe. These guys strike a really good balance between 70s and 80s pop-culture occult metal on their latest LP, Planetary Space Child, which sounds like an early Blue Oyster Cult record blasting from the tape deck of a Trans Am headed to Camp Crystal Lake, if you know what I mean. With Mister Earthbound and Astral Void rounding out this particular bill, this one will be a real treat for all you denim-vested rock n’ rollers with quartz pendants around your necks. Get with it.

Monday, December 9, 6 PM
A Will Away, Small Talks, Sunsleeper, Black Liver @ The Canal Club – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You don’t necessarily need something all that challenging to brighten up your Monday night. After all, we’ve all got a long work week ahead of us, and no one’s really got their Christmas shopping done, no matter what they tell you. So here’s an easy way to bring some lovely sounds into your Monday night — head down to the Canal Club and enjoy a set from Connecticut’s A Will Away.

The quartet describe their sound as “80s pop-rock on acid,” and that might be fair, but just as fair would be to say that their latest EP, the just-released Soup, is a fun slice of catchy tuneage that stands directly on that thin line between power-pop and pop-punk. Which side of the line it leans towards depends on the song, but all of them are a blast to listen to, and this group’s sure to provide a charming end to a day that might need a bit more charm by the time it’s over. South Carolinians Small Talks are slightly more emotionally focused, but still have that killer pop sensibility that will bring a smile to your face even when they’re singing about forlorn topics. Between the two, these bands can brighten up the rainiest and coldest of Mondays. And this Monday might be one of them. Plan to spend it at this show.

Tuesday, December 10, 6 PM
Insignificant Other, dad, Madison Turner @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
It’s always nice to have a reason to head to Garden Grove — and when you’re a sober girl like me, the brews are never enough. But they’ve subtly carved out a niche for themselves in the local music scene by becoming an extremely reliable source for poppy punky musical fun, and that’s something we can never have too much of around here. This time around, it’s a Close By Air production featuring Florida/Alabama queer pop-punk trio Insignificant Other, and you can certainly expect to get some smiles out of this Tuesday night bill.

I’m So Glad I Feel This Way About You! is the name of Insignificant Other’s newest LP, and it’s a ton of fun, from the both witty and extremely real lyrics about the difficulties of interpersonal relationships to the bouncy, scrappy sound, complete with handclaps, of the super-catchy tunes. Expect a good bit more of that sort of thing when Insignificant Other takes the Garden Grove stage. You can also expect some powerful grunge-punk angst from Richmonders dad, and some speedy acoustic punk tunes full of heart and honesty from Madison Turner. Everything about this one’s gonna be great.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Wednesday, December 4, 7 PM
Downhaul, Nonfiction, Every King & Commoner, Karen Estrella @ Charlie’s American Cafe (Norfolk) – $5
Down in Norfolk, there’s a non-local show featuring a local band on tour that I want to bring to your attention, and I assure you, it’s worth it. Whether you’ve caught up with Downhaul around Richmond, where they’ve spent the past couple years working hard to prove their talent, or you’re still wondering exactly what’s up with this band whose name shows up on a lot of local flyers, anytime is a good time to see what Downhaul is up to. They’ve just released a four-song cassette entitled Tornado Season, and it’s a great demonstration of their Smoking Popes-meets-Hop Along take on melodic, emotional alt-rock. Would calling it “post-pop-punk” make sense to anyone? I have no idea, but it seems appropriate nonetheless.

This current tour for Downhaul pairs them up with Philly’s Nonfiction, a group who are slightly more straightforward in their alt-rock approach, but are sure to appeal to anyone who enjoys sounds in the general emo/indie/pop-punk realm, at least if their latest EP, Same Pain, is any indication. Norfolk locals Every King & Commoner and Karen Estrella round out this bill, making it well worth your time whether you’re a curious Tidewater head seeing what’s up with these regional delights or a Richmonder who knows that a Downhaul set is worth your time even if it involves a 90-minute drive. You’ve got the gas money, right? So use it.

Thursday, December 5, 7 PM
Scott “Wino” Weinrich, Dorthia Cottrell, Buck Gooter, Gull @ The Golden Pony (Harrisonburg) – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Sometimes doom metal powerhouses are just as intense without all the volume. This double-headlining bill featuring two legendary frontpeople of the doom world — Scott “Wino” Weinrich of The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, and more; and Dorthia Cottrell of the almighty Windhand — is here to act as proof positive of that fact. Both of these performers have had some artistic success with solo ventures in recent years. While it’s been several years since Wino released a new acoustic venture, 2010’s Adrift is a powerful testament to the strength his music can have even without amplification.

Dorthia Cottrell had a solo release of her own a few years ago, and that self-titled LP on Forcefield demonstrated that the memorable vocals that made Windhand a standout are still attention-grabbing and hypnotic even if they’re laid over an ambient acoustic soundscape rather than a succession of towering riffs. So if you’ve ever had any doubt that heaviness can be achieved without an excess of volume, head for Harrisonburg and this Thursday night and learn what you’ve been missing from two masters of the craft.

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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 Drew Sim Photography, via Facebook

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: November 27 – December 3

Marilyn Drew Necci | November 26, 2019

Topics: 500$Fine, Agnostic Front, Arms Bizarre, Bandito's, Broken Chains Of Segregation, Bureau, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Cary Street Cafe, Foxing, Fun Size, Funky Monks, J. Roddy Walston & The Business, Keller Williams, Knuckle Hed, Lindsay Lou, Lobby Boy, Manchester Orchestra, Mutually Assured Destruction, NFK Nightmares, Oso Oso, Pat Keefe, Phelics, Raise Hell Over The Summer, shows you must see, Slapshot, smartmouth brewing, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Keels, The National, The NorVa, The Shack Band, Thin Pigeon, Tobacco Company Club, Uphill Down

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, November 30, 7 PM
St. Edwards Reunion Show, feat. Fun Size (Photo by Joey Wharton), Broken Chains Of Segregation, Uphill Down, Knuckle Hed, 500$Fine, Phelics @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $10 (order tickets HERE)
We’re used to believing that in the age of the internet, everything lives forever. Of course, if you had a Geocities site 20 years ago or a MySpace account 10 years ago, you know that isn’t true, but still. What about stuff from before the internet, though? How much history that still exists within living memory is totally unknown to everyone that wasn’t there at the time? To be more specific: how many of my readers under the age of 35 have any idea that the basement cafeteria of a Catholic school in Chesterfield County was once one of the more consistent music venues in the Richmond area?

I know, it sounds crazy! And yet, for a time in the late 90s, St. Edwards Epiphany School on Huguenot Road acted as a gateway for an entire generation of suburban high schoolers to get into the music scene. It seemed like a safe place to drop your curious 12 year old — because it very much was — and everyone from teenage pop-punk bands to downtown stalwarts played there on at least a semi-regular basis.

Of course, for the most part, you can’t hear any of the bands that were St. Edwards regulars anymore — at least, not the way they were heard at the time. Their primitive 4-track demo cassettes may have been digitized at some point, but the recording technology 18 year olds had access to at the time wasn’t the greatest, and almost none of these bands left behind recordings that captured the immediacy and joy of seeing them live. Therefore, we can all be grateful that, this Saturday night, half a dozen of the most memorable veterans of St. Edwards’ basement stage will be back together once again, doing a set for old times’ sake down at Capital Ale House.

Fun Size is still around today, so you may have caught their catchy, emotional pop-punk sound at one point or another. But 500$Fine’s bassist, Patrick Daly, tragically died at the age of 16, so this performance, with Bradley Lile of fellow St. Edwards stalwarts Cloud 13 filling Patrick’s spot on bass, will be their first in over two decades. Their fiery, political take on reggae-influenced melodic punk made them Chesterfield’s own high-school Clash for a couple of years. If you’ve never seen them before, you need to fix that. Descendents-style melodic punks Uphill Down will also be returning to action for the first time in a very long time, and a lot of us are itching for our chance to sing along with “Time Bomb” once again.

I’m way over on word count for this section, but I just can’t stop until I mention the Rage Against The Machine-meets-Quicksand midtempo political hardcore stylings of Broken Chains Of Segregation — the only band on this bill I never got to see the first time around (though I did see post-BCS act Conscience, so I’m not a total poser). We also can’t forget Knuckle Hed’s classic snotty pop-punk sound — show up to find out if frontman Brooks Cullum is still as wild onstage as he used to be — and Amelia County’s own Phelics, the emo boys from the country with the catchy tunes about life in the sticks. I know most of you weren’t there the first time, and have no reason to care about all these bands you’ve never heard of, but nonetheless, this is a one-time look back at an important chapter in Richmond music history, and you’d be a fool to pass up an opportunity to see so many of the bands that did the work to get us here today.

Wednesday, November 27, 10 PM
The Shack Band‘s Ninth Annual Gravy Ball @ Tobacco Company Club – $10
Thanksgiving is a great time of year to be a fan of jam bands. I don’t know what it is about this holiday — maybe it’s association with good times, good food, and good friends — but it brings out the best in all our local jam-rockers, and The Shack Band is no exception. For almost a decade now, they’ve been bringing out their sax-driven melodic jams for a super-fun pre-Thanksgiving throwdown known as the Gravy Ball. For year nine of the Gravy Ball, they’ve taken over the basement of the Tobacco Company to bring you two full sets of catchy tunes with plenty of sauce. So spice things up on the last night before the big family meal — you’ll be glad you did.

Thursday, November 28, 10 PM
Funky Monks @ Cary Street Cafe – Free!
Thanksgiving Day is like Christmas Day, in that it’s hard to find live music in which to partake. Most people are visiting family or gathering with a big crew of friends. But if all your peeps are out of town and you’ve got nowhere to go and no one to chill with, Cary Street Cafe has got you covered this year, because the Funky Monks will be doing one of their classic tributes to the Red Hot Chili Peppers — the pre-2006 stuff, when they were still good. This group takes things back to the good ol’ days by reuniting two of the three Santamaria Brothers, Andres and Gabe, who will delight you with live performances of all those Blood Sugar Sex Magik classics. Don’t spend Thanksgiving alone — bring your tube sock down to Cary Street Cafe and get funky with the monks.

Friday, November 29, 8 PM
Keller Williams’ Thanksforgrassgiving, feat. Keller Williams & The Keels, Lindsay Lou @ The National – $23 (order tickets HERE)
So bluegrass isn’t jam-band music, but in this day and age it’s about the closest you can get, at least culturally, so it’s no surprise that another big Thanksgiving throwdown taking place in Richmond this week is bluegrass-centered. Keller Williams has been making music with bluegrass as a foundation for over 25 years now, and he’ll be celebrating his mix of that classic Kentucky folk music and farther-reaching influences like reggae, jazz, and psychedelia with his Thanksforgrassgiving show on Friday night at The National.

For this show, Williams will be playing with Keller & The Keels, his trio with Larry and Jenny Keel, spotlighting their brand-new third album, Speed. This one’s a fun one, as it features bluegrass-style interpretations of popular tunes by such diverse artists as Weezer, Fiona Apple, and The Presidents Of The United States Of America. It should be a blast to see Williams and the Keels up there doing pedal-to-the-metal bluegrass versions of “Hash Pipe” and “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” and if your family Thanksgiving is as tough on your nerves as mine often can be, a little unmitigated fun will be a huge relief.

Saturday, November 30, 8 PM
J. Roddy Walston & The Business @ The National – $20.50 in advance/$23 at the door (order tickets HERE)
This was a tough choice, y’all. For a holiday week, there’s a ton going on this Saturday — Sammi Lanzetta and Tyler Meacham both have record release parties, Cattle Decapitation and Atheist are at the Canal Club, and there’s a big emo-friendsgiving thing happening at the Broadberry. But I felt like I would be doing you a disservice if I sent you anywhere but back to the National this Saturday night to see J. Roddy Walston & the Business one last time.

Yeah, that’s right — I said “one last time.” The group has been open on social media about the fact that this performance will be their last for the foreseeable future. They might play together again at some point in the future, but right now there are no plans for such a thing. So if you loved the piano-driven heartland rock of 2013’s Essential Tremors, featuring classic banger “Heavy Bells,” or their excellent 2017 follow-up, Destroyers Of The Soft Life — or if you’re just one of the fortunate ones who knows that this group puts on an absolutely hellacious live show — you’re going to want to make it out to The National on Saturday. Because if you don’t catch them now, odds are that you’ll never have another chance.

Sunday, December 1, 9 PM
Lobby Boy, Bureau, Thin Pigeon @ Bandito’s – Free!
No matter what time of year it is, the free Sunday night shows at Bandito’s are always a treat. This weekend in particular, we’ll all probably be sick of turkey by Sunday night, so a plate of delicious nachos or tacos will be just what the doctor ordered. And of course, you’ll get some great sounds from up-and-coming Virginia bands in the side room that secretly has the best live sound of any small venue in this city. I’m serious.

What will you be listening to this fine Sunday night? Well, for starters, you get a set from Harrisonburg indie group Lobby Boy, who just released a lovely new EP called Lore! (yes, with the exclamation point) earlier this month. It mixes upbeat guitar melodies and postpunk-style synth textures with some excellent melodic vocals and catchy choruses that’ll get your feet moving. Locals Bureau have a bit of a twee pop vibe about them, which should have the Citrus City-loving indie kids in this town smiling. RVA’s own Thin Pigeon will add a dose of driving postpunk goth energy to the bill, just to bring the lights down a bit. This one will be a fine end to a fine holiday weekend.

Monday, December 2, 8 PM
Pat Keefe & Friends @ The Camel – Free!
It always takes a while to get back into the swing of things after a long holiday weekend, which is probably why your best bet on this Cyber Monday is a relatively low-key affair. Head on down to The Camel after your dreary first day back at work to chill with Dalton Dash leader Pat Keefe, who’ll join together with some friends — including members of Dalton Dash and other rad local combos — to bust out some Dash-style upbeat acoustic tunes and get a smile spreading across your face. It’s not gonna be a super-big deal, but it’ll be a lovely way to spend an evening — and it’s hard to have a problem with that, right?

Tuesday, December 3, 7 PM
Agnostic Front, Slapshot, Mutually Assured Destruction @ The Canal Club – $18 (order tickets HERE)
You hardcore heads are going to need to be back in the swing of things by Tuesday, for sure, because an absolute stunner of a bill is heading your way and you’re going to want to be at peak energy for this one. The one and only Agnostic Front are coming to town, and they’re going to play their groundbreaking first album, Victim In Pain, from front to back. Agnostic Front are given credit for pioneering the crossover thrash sound later in the 80s, but Victim In Pain was their original statement of purpose. When it was released in 1984, it defined the classic NYHC sound, and remains a fundamental building block of hardcore to this very day. Tracks like “Blind Justice,” “Your Mistake,” “Last Warning,” and the immortal title track are unparalleled classics, and I guarantee that the entire Canal Club will be on their feet and moshing for all of them.

Amazingly enough considering the history of inter-city beef, Agnostic Front will be accompanied on this tour by near-equally groundbreaking Boston hardcore stalwarts Slapshot, whose 1986 debut Back On The Map defined the sound of that city’s hardcore scene as surely as Agnostic Front had done in New York two years earlier. Expect legendary tracks like “Chip On My Shoulder,” “Hang Up Your Boots,” and “No Friend Of Mine” to get the place going almost as crazy as Agnostic Front will an hour later. And considering that brand new Richmond band Mutually Assured Destruction, featuring former members of Breakaway, Down To Nothing, and Holy Land, is opening this one up, it’s gonna be a night of urgent sounds from beginning to end. Be prepared, y’all — this one’s gonna be off the chain.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, November 29, 2 PM
Dark Arts Fest 2019, feat. Arms Bizarre, NFK Nightmares, Raise Hell Over The Summer @ Smartmouth Brewing (Norfolk) – Free!
We all expect that Black Friday will be a nightmare, right? There’s no way anyone hasn’t gotten to that point yet. But what if I told you that there is a place you can go this Friday where you can have a good time, get some shopping done away from the feeding frenzy of sale-hunting Walmart haunters, and hear some great music in the bargain? Is that something you might be interested in? Yeah, I thought it might be. Smartmouth Brewing is just a short drive down I-64 for all the Richmond denizens, and is right in the heart of Norfolk. It’ll be a great destination for all your Christmas shopping needs this Friday, as their 2019 Dark Arts Festival brings us the opportunity to patronize unique artisans and partake of some lovely art throughout the afternoon.

Then starting at 6 PM, it gives us some excellent musical delights as well! Three Norfolk combos will dispense aural treats for your ears from the stage, beginning with Arms Bizarre, whose heavy yet inviting sounds split the difference between psychedelic doom and fuzzy shoegaze. NFK Nightmares bring more of a catchy punk style to your Friday evening, to get you dancing and burning off those Thanksgiving calories. And Raise Hell Over The Summer will raise hell on Black Friday with some rockin’ tunes to kick off the evening. It’s gonna be a great time — and you can’t say that about anything else you might do on Black Friday, so plan your trip to Smartmouth Brewing now.

Saturday, November 30, 8 PM
Manchester Orchestra, Foxing, oso oso @ The NorVA (Norfolk) – $25 in advance/$29 at the door (order tickets HERE)
As melodramatic, emotional indie rock goes, Manchester Orchestra have certainly established themselves as leading lights of the genre. However, ten years ago, they were still hungry young kids looking to make their mark on the world. The mark they made came in the form of a classic album called Mean Everything To Nothing, which took their sound from their promising earlier records to another level entirely, and gave a generation of emo kids the kind of melodramatic rallying cry that every coming-of-age cohort of kids needs.

Now, ten years later, Manchester Orchestra are going on tour to celebrate a decade since that album’s release. Some things have changed in the interim, from details of sound to intricacies of lineup, but Andy Hull and co. still have that fire in their guts that made them so powerful at the time of Mean Everything To Nothing’s release — something they demonstrated most recently on 2017’s A Black Mile To The Surface — and you can expect both old and new tunes to be delivered with mind-blowing power and urgency on this night.

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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]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond