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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: March 23 – March 29

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, March 25, 7 PM
Test Pattern 01, feat. DeForrest Brown, Madison Moore @ VCU Institute For Contemporary Art – Free!
Spring is officially here, folks, and not only that, but cases are down and community transmission is at a relative low here in the Richmond area. Now, while we all contemplate the possibility that we might truly be seeing the final stages of the pandemic (knock on wood), is a good time to get out of the house and out of your head. One intriguing way to do so is to head over to VCU’s Institute For Contemporary Art and take in the first live performance they’ve hosted in their auditorium for quite a while. And this one, the first of ICA’s new Test Pattern series, is a good one to start with. It is both a cerebral exploration of “vibrational technologies” and a deep dive into the roots of Detroit techno. And rest assured, there will be a whole lot of beats in the offing.

Under the name Speaker Music, DeForrest Brown Jr. creates rhythmic electronic music with a base in the history of Black American beats and percussion, calling on influences like jazz great Rashied Ali and hip hop producer Metro Boomin in his most recent release, last year’s Soul-Making Theodicy EP. The abstract, experimental beats that Brown creates in his work as Speaker Music can get pretty abstract at times, but they’re always grounded in a political consciousness and a focus on “the links between the Black experience in industrialized labor systems and Black innovation in electronic music,” to quote his bio.

At ICA, Brown will join up with VCU Queer Studies professor Madison Moore for a presentation that focuses on the history of Detroit techno, a form of music that clearly matters to Brown based on his work representing the Make Techno Black Again movement. That presentation will take the form of a musical performance exploring the aforementioned “vibrational technologies” — and I must admit, I’m really not sure what that even means, but I’m certainly intrigued. After the performance by Brown and Moore, philosopher Alexander Weheliye will speak with the performers in order to get deeper into exactly what the music they’re creating is saying to us all. Pay attention.

Wednesday, March 23, 6 PM
Polaris, Like Moths To Flames, Alpha Wolf, Invent Animate, Vilified @ The Canal Club – $18 in advance, $20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
If you, like me, are Of A Certain Age, you hear the name Polaris and you think of the Miracle Legion side project that attained ephemeral fame in the mid-90s with their theme song for The Adventures Of Pete And Pete. However, this is a different Polaris — and even though I have eternal love for anything Mark Mulcahy-related, I’m intrigued by this Polaris too. That’s mainly because they hail from Sydney, Australia, and I’m going through a bit of an Australia phase lately (ask me about Australian stock-car racing next time you see me). But the music has a lot to offer, regardless of where this band comes from, especially if, like me, you enjoy melodic, emotional metalcore.

The five-piece Polaris released The Death Of Me a month before the pandemic hit, and while Australia managed to use their relative geographic isolation to avoid the majority of COVID’s worst effects, the borders were all but closed for two years, and this is the first opportunity Polaris have gotten to support their by-now-not-all-that-new album on international stages. Luckily, it still sounds as great as it did the day it came out. Elements of the heavier end of early 00s metalcore — think Shadows Fall or Killswitch Engage — mingle with an undertone of melodic emotion a la Underoath or A Static Lullaby. The result is intense, energetic, and sure to connect with audiences all over the world, even here in Richmond. So come out to the Canal Club tonight and find out for yourself — you won’t regret it.

Thursday, March 24, 7 PM
Extinction A.D., Rhythm Of Fear, Blood Ritual, Love Gun, Blazing Tomb @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Long Island’s Extinction A.D. have an interesting public presence, and I say that because, if you check the PR hype, you’ll find this band largely represented as a crossover thrash-metal sort of group. However, if you look into their history, check out their band photos, and (most importantly) listen to their music, you might just come to the conclusion I quickly arrived at: this band is secretly a hardcore band. They’re a very heavy and metallic one, to be sure, but where their approach, their song structure, and a lot of their riffs are concerned, they’re closer to Hatebreed than Slayer. And clearly the hardcore scene knows this: their show at The Camel this Thursday night sees them headlining over a number of local hardcore bands who are sure to bring the mosh and get the whole room raging in preparation for Extinction A.D.’s set.

And let me say — regardless of how you categorize their music, you’re going to want to mosh when Extinction A.D. start playing. Their freshly released third LP, Culture Of Violence, furthers their established metallic hardcore sound and if anything takes things to the next level, simultaneously evoking hardcore’s heaviest recent exponents — think Harm’s Way — and classic politically-informed 80s crossover thrash, a la Sacred Reich or mid-period DRI. It all adds up to some true hard-hitting brutality, and I for one am here for it. You should be too — though if you’re still a bit iffy in these (barely) post-COVID times about diving into a raging mosh pit, you’ll want to stand back. This one’s gonna go hard.

Friday, March 25, 7 PM
Ellevator, Ben Butterworth, E. 33rd @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $10 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This Friday night will be the perfect time to break up the heaviness (of life… what did you think I was talking about?) with some lovely Canadian pop music, and Ellevator are here to bring you exactly that. They’ve just recently played SXSW down in Austin, which I suppose means that traditional excuse for springtime tours is fully back in action, and Richmond is certainly benefiting from it here, as this trio from Ontario have a truly lovely sound that will be explored in full by their upcoming debut LP, The Words You Spoke Still Move Me, on Arts & Crafts Records.

That LP won’t be out til May, but Ellevator have allowed a few songs from it to go floating around the internet ether for a while now, and based on previews, it’s likely that this show will be one for the ages. Frontwoman Nabi-Sue Bersche has a strong voice and uses it to give voice to some powerful, affecting lyrics, which sit perfectly overtop of a pop sound that incorporates a small touch of the 80s-retro vibe that’s everywhere lately. Thankfully Ellevator are not content to be a mere nostalgia act, and layer those keyboard-driven pop vibes with a fair amount of alt-rock bite and intense energy that feels at least somewhat emo-derived to me. The result is one part Eisley, one part R.E.M., and a dollop of Jimmy Eat World. Or something like that, I don’t know. Band-by-band comparisons don’t really capture it; the point is, this is really good music. And being in the same room while these three talented musicians bring it to life is a great way for you to spend your Friday night.

Saturday, March 26, 7 PM
Shred Flintstone, Blunt, Cassidy Snider and the Wranglers, Wallpaper @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Between the goofy name and the photo on their bandcamp depicting the majority of the band members wearing overalls, I was expecting some post-hippie jam vibes from Shred Flintstone. And I gotta tell ya, if I’d been right, you’d likely be reading a recommendation for a different show entirely. Thankfully, I stayed open-minded long enough to listen to Shred Flintstone’s latest LP, 2021’s Unlimited Power. Boy, this is a great slab of hard-rockin’ guitar music. And that’s what you’ll get — at top volume, no less — when Shred Flintstone hits Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall this Saturday night.

If you wondered why I called it “guitar music” in the last paragraph, it’s because Shred Flintstone’s music is hard to categorize beyond that vague term. At times, it feels more like garage rock, at others it’s closer to postpunk, or even noise-rock. There’s definitely a sense of humor to be found within it, as seen on song titles like “Friend Of A Friend Of The Devil” and the band-name-joke-recycling “Shred Durst.” And you can tell these guys are up for jamming hard on any big, powerful riff, no matter how over the top it is. At times, that makes me think of the band Red Fang. But I think Shred Flintstone are ultimately ill-served by any one-to-one comparison. These guys are weird, in the best possible way. And they rock hard as hell. If that’s not something that appeals to you, I honestly have no idea why you’re still reading this column.

Sunday, March 27, 7 PM
Omen Stones, Weed Coughin, Faith In Jane, Small Bones @ Another Round Bar And Grill – $10
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time in the salt mines of music journalism, it’s that you can’t please everybody. When I did a whole bunch of jazz coverage last week, I got comments giving me crap for the fact that these columns usually feature a lot of heavy metal music (clearly I have NOT learned yet that reading the comments is always a bad idea). That made me hesitate a couple times when picking shows this week. “Am I picking too much metal?” I thought. “Maybe I should feature an 80s retro synthwave band here instead.” In the end, I decided I was overthinking it. It’s like with fantasy football: when in doubt, play your best players. Pick your best shows.

Here’s one of the undisputed best shows of this week, and it’s on a Sunday night out in Lakeside. Maybe you’ll need to grab a ride north of the city to catch this one, but I assure you it’s worth it, because some truly great metal is getting unleashed at this one. Of course, Omen Stones are your headliners for a reason; featuring members of Richmond heavy hitters like Druglord, Parasytic, and Tel, their 2019 self-titled debut was a real monster. But that was three years ago — do they have more tunes yet? Only one way to find out. And even if the answer’s no, learning will be a very fun way to headbang your Sunday night blues away. Maryland’s Weed Coughin, who lead with the riffage and throw one hell of a musical good time on their brand new full-length debut, Other Worldly, will be a crucial addition to this heavy evening. Their fellow Marylanders Faith In Jane will bring some powerful doom grooves of their own to the table, and Richmond’s Small Bones will get this one started with a hard-rockin’ opening set. Don’t overthink it, y’all — just come headbang.

Monday, March 28, 6:30 PM
John Hollenbeck’s GEORGE, Scott Clark’s Dawn & Dusk @ Spacebomb Studio – $20 in advance, $25 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Just to prove I haven’t entirely left the RVA jazz scene behind, here’s a great Monday night jazz show for all of you for whom last week’s double dose wasn’t enough. This one focuses on the latest project from Canadian drum great John Hollenbeck, who formed GEORGE during the pandemic with three talented players from a variety of backgrounds: avant-garde jazz flute and sax player Anna Webber; saxophonist, rockabilly bandleader, and real-life Treme character Aurora Nealand; and microtonal-synth genius/electro-pop producer Chiquita Magic. Right now, all GEORGE have released is one song, recorded remotely during the pandemic, but their debut LP, Letters to George, is coming from Flexatonic Records in a couple of months, and their performance at Spacebomb will act as an essential preview of coming attractions.

The evening will also feature a performance from local percussion genius Scott Clark’s latest combo, Dawn & Dusk. This sextet brings together several of the players from Adam Hopkins’ School Work — not just Clark and Hopkins but also trumpeter Bob Miller and saxophonist JC Kuhl — along with pianist Michael McNeill and vocalist Laura Ann Singh, in order to do something entirely new and unforeseen. Truly, I have no idea what it’ll sound like, but with this level of talent coming to the table, I’m ready to listen to anything Scott and his latest combo want to put in front of me. So yes, it’s always a good time to get your jazz vibe on, and Spacebomb is the place to do it this Monday night. You know how to roll.

Tuesday, March 29, 7 PM
Andy Shauf, Helena Deland @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Once again, folks, it’s time to head over to Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall, in order to appreciate the music of an unconventional songwriter who often uses his music to cut through the extraneous crap of daily life and get to the heart of the matter. Andy Shauf comes from Canada, and his quietly intense acoustic songs have a real literary feel; in 2016, he released The Party, an album that examined different characters and incidents that all came together at a single party. 2020’s The Neon Skyline sat with some regulars at a bar, learning what those people were about through overheard conversations and attempts at flirtation with one another.

On Shauf’s Wilds, released last fall, his literary elements are more self-contained, creating narratives song by song rather than spreading a unified story across an entire album, but the moods and memorable turns of phrase come across no less clearly for all that. Musically, there are elements of everything from The Beatles to Shauf’s fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Destroyer, plus some Mountain Goats and a variety of other things in the mix besides. The overall feel is simultaneously challenging and comforting, enveloping the listener in an intense virtual world. That world will take over Richmond Music Hall this Tuesday night; you should spend at least a few hours living in it.

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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]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: November 17 – November 23

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, November 20, 6:30 PM
The Fall Of Troy, Strawberry Girls, Kaonashi, Satyr @ The Canal Club – $25 in advance, $30 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Most music in the world fits into nice, neat categories. And that can be fine a lot of the time; whether you’re into indie, pop-punk, or vaporwave, it can be nice to hear about a new artist and know just from a one or two word description whether they are relevant to your interests or not. But what’s really great is when a band comes along who don’t have a nice, neat relationship with any one genre, who challenges your expectations no matter what angle you approach them from — but also provides sounds that are accessible from any one of a variety of musical backgrounds.

The Fall Of Troy is definitely in the latter category, and they’ve been demonstrating that about themselves for nearly 20 years now. For many fans, including me, the introduction was Doppelganger, their 2005 sophomore album and first for Equal Vision Records. On that album, songs like “Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles” and “We Better Learn To Hotwire A Uterus” showed off not only an off-kilter sense of wit but a relentless creative energy, throwing riff after riff at you in a madcap combination of emo melodies, math-rock guitar shredding, hardcore punk velocity, and thrashing breakdowns. It was hard to believe that only three people were responsible for all this incredible noise, but it was true.

Now those same three people are back on the road, celebrating the landmark achievement in their career that Doppelganger became by playing the album in its entirety on every night of this tour — including this Saturday night at the Canal Club. So whether you’re a longtime Fall Of Troy fan who’s always longed to see them play “Macaulay Culkin” live in its full eight-minute glory, or an intrigued listener ready for a dose of intriguing weirdness that is both melodic and heavy, you really ought to score yourself a ticket and get ready to rage at this one.

Wednesday, November 17, 6 PM
Vended, Omerta, Hazing Over, Mikau @ The Canal Club – $13 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There are many things in this world that make me feel old; with good reason, too — I’ll be 46 in about two months. But the fact that nu-metal’s second generation is upon us was still not something I was prepared for. I’m being very literal about this: Vended isn’t just another Iowa band with a huge dose of Slipknot in their musical DNA. They literally have Slipknot in their DNA: singer Griffin Taylor and drummer Simon Crahan are the actual sons of Slipknot members Corey Taylor and Shawn “Clown” Crahan. That’s probably got more to do with the massive dose of press Vended’s early singles have received than anything else, but I must say: if you’re a fan of Slipknot, and of the more musically serious and actually heavy side of the original nu-metal wave, you’re going to find a lot to bang your head about when Vended hit the stage. Regardless of who their dads are.

The rest of this show offers quite a bit more for the modern young thrasher to get stoked about. Texas band Omerta are co-headlining this bill, and they mix that same sort of Slipknot-style heaviness with a strong hip hop influence that sees them going for a full-on rapcore approach at times. And yeah, that gets a little goofy at points on their debut EP, Hyperviolence, but in the end, it’s a lot of fucking fun, and even if you’d be embarrassed to blast some of their songs on your car stereo while you drove through Carytown, you will almost certainly have a ton of fun moshing around to Omerta at the Canal Club. This evening also features a bonus appearance by brutal Pittsburgh metallers Hazing Over, who evolved out of the heavy-screamo ensemble Shin Guard and floored everybody earlier this year with the release of their first EP, Pestilence. If you fuck with what Vein is doing with the whole “screamo-influenced metal brutality” thing, Hazing Over are sure to light your fire. So yeah — show up early to this one.

Thursday, November 18, 8 PM
Benjamin Butterworth & The Purgatory Emporium Band, The Inflatables, Captain Grandpa, Ben & The Bajas @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
If you’ve been around the Richmond music scene for a while, you’ve probably encountered Ben Butterworth. He’s been making music in RVA for over a decade, and in addition to his occasional solo gigs, he’s playing in bands of all types, from bluegrass to psychedelic surf rock. However, this month marks the very first time that he has released a solo album. Purgatory Emporium came out back on the 5th, but Ben is getting a big crew together at The Camel this Thursday night to have a formal celebration of the album’s birthing into the world. It’s certainly something you should be there for.

Butterworth’s new album mixes touches of soul, Americana, country, and classic rock into a powerful gumbo of musical greatness. And during his headlining set at The Camel, he’ll be joined by many of the excellent Richmond musicians who backed him in the studio, including members of No BS! Brass Band, Jackass Flats, The Southern Belles, and more. But that’s not all — this evening is not only a celebration of Ben’s new album a veritable festival of everything he’s brought to Richmond’s music scene over the past decade. To that end, the evening will begin with a showcase of several projects Ben has been involved with in the past. The Inflatables, Captain Grandpa, and Ben & The Bajas will all show off different sides of this talented musician and songwriter, and all around great guy. It’s sure to be a fun time for all, especially if you’ve missed the one-big-family nature of Richmond’s music scene over the past 18 months of hiding in our houses. Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Photo by Dave Parrish

Friday, November 19, 7:30 PM
Railgun, Almost Gone, Asylum 213, Outerloop @ Another Round Bar And Grill – $5
Punk rock trio Railgun have been around Richmond for a few years now, and they’re steadily getting better as they go along. They demonstrated that with the six-song EP they released during the pandemic, Seishin No Tatakai. If that one missed you, what with everything else that was going on in the summer of 2020, well, you’re not alone, but it’s past time you rectify that oversight. What’s more, you should come spend your Friday night with Railgun at Another Round, because as good as these funk-soul-influenced uptempo punk numbers sound through your headphones, they’re that much better live, in person, and at full volume.

Railgun aren’t just the top-billed group on this lineup, they’ve also been put in charge of booking the other bands, so they’ve brought in a bunch of friends from around the state, to provide what they’re promising as “sick riffs, belting screams, and awkward moments in-between songs!” Sounds like some classic DIY show excellence to me. Almost Gone are melodic rockers with a tendency toward mid-period Green Day or something of that sort. Asylum 213 sound like they’re going to be goth or metal or something, but instead they’re melodic, guitar-driven indie/shoegaze. Which is all good by me. Fairfax rockers Outerloop round things out, for an evening that’s sure to be a lot of good-rocking fun. Get into it.

Saturday, November 20, 6:30 PM
John Hiatt & Jerry Douglas Band @ The Beacon Theatre – $45-60 (order tickets HERE)
Throughout the time I’ve been paying attention to music, John Hiatt has been widely regarded as an underrated genius of American songwriting. I first formed this impression back in the late 80s, when “Slow Turning” was his new single. Songs like “Perfectly Good Guitar,” “Have A Little Faith In Me,” and “Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder” have maintained his reputation over the decades, but he’s never really broken through in the mainstream. These days, he’s approaching his 70th birthday, and his latest record, Leftover Feelings, finds him teaming up with the Jerry Douglas Band to do an acoustic album with a country/bluegrass roots sound. But he’s still John Hiatt, so he’s still writing brilliant tunes that shine through no matter what genre you might file them under.

No matter how you come to Hiatt’s show with the Jerry Douglas Band at the Beacon in Hopewell this Saturday night, you really can’t lose. Whether you’ve followed his career for decades through the many twists and turns he’s experienced, or if you’re just a person who loves good music and wonders what you might have missed with this guy, you’re sure to get a night of music that lifts your spirit and enriches your soul. Douglas, who plays lap steel and resonator guitar with surehanded brilliance, has made over a dozen solo albums, but is better known for his work with big names like Ray Charles, Paul Simon, and Elvis Costello, as well as having played on the legendary O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack. His collaboration with John Hiatt is just another example of his brilliant taste. Come experience what these geniuses are able to create when they team up; you’re sure to appreciate it.

Sunday, November 21, 7 PM
Woman Crush Wednesdays (On Sunday), feat. Cerulean, Eliza Whitmire, Anterra, hosted by Bri Bevan @ The Camel – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Since I got back to this whole show-column racket, I’ve been looking around for examples of small-scale, more DIY-style shows happening, and I’ve gotta tell ya: they’ve been kinda thin on the ground. I have to wonder if concerns about the lingering effects of COVID aren’t holding people back from some of the more informal sorts of shows that used to be a pretty big part of the local music scene. I don’t blame anyone if so — god knows I’m not going out in public on a nightly basis yet myself — but it is unfortunate for the scene as a whole, because those shows were really important to keeping the soil of the Richmond music scene fertile and enriching.

With all that in mind, I’m glad to see local singer-songwriter Bri Bevan bringing back her ongoing series, Woman Crush Wednesdays, even if she has had to move it to Sunday this time around. This series has brought me my first awareness of quite a few local musicians over the last few years, and this latest edition has awakened me to the pleasing sounds of Cerulean, a project that may or may not be named after an album by a Pennsylvania indie-rock band I liked in the early 90s (let’s be real, though, probably not). On the recordings I’ve heard, Cerulean layers gorgeous vocal harmonies overtop of pleasantly minimal acoustic guitar in a manner that will almost certainly sound great ringing through the Camel’s performance room. Fellow singer-songwriters Eliza Whitmire and Anterra round out a bill that should be an understated and excellent way to end a weekend of noise and fury.

Monday, November 22, 7 PM
Twin Tribes, Lunacy, True Body @ Fallout – $10 in advance, $15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Glad to see Fallout is still out here bringing us the best in underground goth sounds. You can count on the fetish club in town to be up on the latest sounds from the black eyeliner set, and this week, they’re coming through once again by bringing us a set of moody postpunk synth-pop courtesy of Texas duo Twin Tribes. Their latest LP, Altars, features a selection of previous Twin Tribes songs remixed by a variety of electronic heavy hitters, but of course this duo will be bringing their original sound to life onstage at Fallout, complete with chiming guitars, pounding programmed beats, and spooky synth washes. It’ll be a properly moody good time; honestly, if the fog machine isn’t getting heavy use during their set, it’s a missed opportunity.

Pennsylvania’s Lunacy are also on this bill. Currently touring behind “Dust,” an advance single for the LP they’re planning to release in February, these guys demonstrate a severe sound of the sort that makes me think of early 90s Teutonic scowlers like Front 242. Meanwhile, the aforementioned soon-to-be-released LP will be coming on Oliver from A Place To Bury Strangers’ new label, so you know it’s got domestic pedigree as well. This group is one to watch, so come watch them at Fallout this Monday night. Tidewater diehards True Body round out a bill full of doom and gloom — in the best way possible. Of course.

Tuesday, November 23, 7 PM
Undeath, Dreams Of Atrocity @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Another thing that felt slightly lacking in my initial return to the show column grind was truly heavy music. This week has flipped the script back in the other direction with that, and while I don’t know how the masses feel about that, I am truly stoked to be able to send you guys off in the direction of so many heavy-as-hell nights of thrash fury. Here’s one more before we complete the week — a Tuesday night of headbanging phantasmagoria at The Camel, starring Rochester NY deathgrinders Undeath.

These guys don’t appear to be zombies based on their promo photos, but I will say that their 2020 LP, Lesions Of A Different Kind, provides an excellent soundtrack for a zombie-killing rampage (even if that rampage is only happening in a video game. Well, and let’s be honest — I hope that’s the only place it’s happening). These guys have it all: intense growling vocals, brutal rumbling breakdowns, high-speed blastbeat riffage, technical shredding… everything you could possibly want from a death metal band, they’ll hit you with all of it, at top volume, at the Camel this Tuesday night. Show up, raise your fist, bang your head, and get lost in the glory of true metal brutality.

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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]

Richmond’s Big Heart Collective Shows Heart With Their Charity Live Album

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An off-the-cuff pre-pandemic live recording from Big Heart Collective, a fun side project featuring some of Richmond’s most talented rockers, has become a fundraiser and statement in support of Black lives.

For the better part of 2020, musicians around the world have been in a forced state of hibernation. Most are unable to go play shows, and many have zero access to a studio. However, 2020 has also been a time of political chaos, and the resulting spark of inspiration from these issues has motivated many artists to release whatever content they can in spite of the quarantine.

Big Heart Collective is one of these bands, and while their recently-released live album — An Evening at Cary St. Cafe — was recorded before the George Floyd protests, it’s release was still inspired by the historic event.

“It was something where I wanted to help out in whatever facet I can,” said BHC founding member Raphaël Katchinoff. “And the only way I could think of was to put a record out and then use that money to donate to causes that were worthwhile.”

The album itself is admittedly nothing too elaborate. For the most part, Big Heart Collective is a side project for all of its members. Katchinoff (Drums), Andrew Carper (Bass), Nick Michon (Guitar), Andrew Sisk (Percussion), Andrew Rapisarda (Guitar), and Tommy Booker (Keys) all play and record with other bands, including Palm Palm, The Southern Belles, The Deli Kings, and many more.

Recording this live album was not even the last music-related activity many of them did before quarantine. Katchinoff was on tour when the pandemic hit, with a band that was supposed to play South by Southwest. Unfortunately, their performance was cancelled.

Raphael Katchinoff and Andrew Carper of Big Heart Collective performing at Cary St. Cafe. Photo by Ashley Travis.

Members of the Big Heart Collective did not even originally plan on recording their set at Cary St. Cafe that night. However, their opening act, Ben Butterworth, has a habit of recording many of his live performances. That night in February, once he’d recorded his own set, he continued recording, and captured BHC’s performance as well.   

Big Heart Collective has had a steady gig at Cary St. Cafe since their origins. Katchinoff founded the group in 2017 as a way to get back into professional music after a long break from the art. The band’s first gig came on Thanksgiving night; Katchinoff assembled a lineup at the last minute. After that, Big Heart Collective became a monthly presence at Cary St. Cafe throughout 2018 and 2019.

Unfortunately, the band’s monthly live shows at the cafe have been completely postponed until the end of COVID quarantine. For now, all of BHC that is available to the public is their album.

But that’s okay, because An Evening At Cary St. Cafe‘s status as a live album by a side project makes it perfect for a charity event. It is a way to put out music during an artistic lull without straining the listener’s pocket, while simultaneously making a positive impact on the world.

Raphael Katchinoff, Nicky Michon, Andrew Sisk, and Nate Cowing of Big Heart Collective work it out at Cary St. Cafe. Photo by Ashley Travis.

“I was on the ropes about putting it out, because it’s not that great quality and it’s not our own songs,” said Katchinoff. “I would never put something out that has covers and then take money from that… The only thing I could think, to feel like it was worth putting out, was to see if I could use any funds people donated to go to organizations that I thought would stand up for the direction of what should be right in this country.”

Like many projects available for streaming on Bandcamp, BHC’s album is technically free to listen. However people may choose to donate as much as they want on the album page. 100 percent of the proceeds for the donations will go to the NAACP and Southern Poverty Law Center, two organizations that work against bigotry and fight for the rights of marginalized groups, particularly African Americans.

Top Photo: Big Heart Collective (Raphaël Katchinoff, Andrew Carper, Nicky Michon, Corey Wells, and Tommy Booker). Photo by Ashley Travis.

VA Shows You Must See This Week: November 13 – November 19

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, November 16, 6 PM
High On Fire (Photo by CE Kelco), Power Trip, Devil Master, Creeping Death @ The Broadberry – $25 in advance/$30 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This week, Richmond is visited by the band that started it all: High On Fire, the kings of apocalyptic doom metal ever since guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike bailed on Sleep to start his own musical engine of brutality. That was over 20 years ago, and High On Fire are still going strong today, releasing their eighth album, Electric Messiah, last year and following it up this year with a killer EP called Bat Salad. That EP pays tribute to Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, and Bad Brains — three seminal bands whose influence can clearly be felt in High On Fire’s roaring musical rampage.

For the uninitiated, High On Fire’s sound can be explained to some extent by the fact that 2018 LP Electric Messiah was inspired by comparisons Matt Pike always gets to Lemmy. His gravelly bark certainly isn’t too far from that of the late, great Motorhead majordomo, but musically, High On Fire explore a variety of directions, some of which are more comparable to the speed-loving London trio, while others move in more of a spaced-out astral epic direction. While the former material is always the real catnip for me (is this because I don’t smoke weed? Widespread polling makes it seem like this might just be the case), the longer, slower epics are always fan favorites, mixing the foreboding astral-plane wanderings of Neurosis with the more straightforward old-school doom vibes of my favorite Wino project, Spirit Caravan.

Basically, High On Fire offers the perfect opportunity for all you sleeveless-denim scuzzballs to achieve cannabis-infused headbang nirvana. And on this jaunt through our local atmosphere, they’re accompanied by legendary Texas thrashcore veterans Power Trip, who arose from the hardcore scene a decade ago to engage in a top-notch reincarnation of classic 80s thrash that was just a little too evil to find itself within the notoriously goofy world of “crossover.” So much the better — these guys are capable of all the string-bending leads, propulsive circle-pit tempos, and terrifying vocal exhortations of the best thrash, with a decidedly dark undercurrent that almost reaches the level of early Scandinavian black metal. These two masterful metallic combos will also be joined on this trip through RVA by Philadelphia blackened-punk mayhem creators Devil Master and early-Metallica-loving Texas death metallers Creeping Death. It’s a bonanza for your scorched ears, a circle-pit demon’s delight. Be sure to partake.

Wednesday, November 13, 8 PM
Halshug, Mind Dweller, Loud Night @ Fuzzy Cactus – $8
Southern Lord has been the prime stadium crust label for a while now, and Denmark’s Halshug are just the latest example of that trend. You may not know what I mean when I use the phrase “stadium crust” to describe a band, but you can probably guess based on context clues — filthy hardcore punk that just sounds like its creators are all wearing leather jackets, made by punks who’ve clearly got Disrupt and Tragedy in their DNA but are shooting the moon with a big, loud sound that seems engineered to headline California Jam alongside Sabotage-era Black Sabbath.

While we can’t say that 30,000 kids would pack out the Nissan Pavilion (or Jiffy Lube Live, or whatever that place is called now) to see Halshug, it seems a sure thing that their loud, proud rage will fill the confines of Fuzzy Cactus with arena-worthy riff pyrotechnics tonight. That’s something you won’t want to miss, especially with Raleigh rockin’-punk powerhouse Mind Dweller on the bill as well, doing that classic Black Flag-meets-Ted Nugent sound that Annihilation Time made its name on. The bill is rounded out with the inclusion of local rippers Loud Night, who’ve got their own spin on that exact point where Motorhead meets Discharge, complete with a rollicking thrash vibe that’s sure to make the old-school metalheads smile and raise their studded-bracelet-bedecked fists.

Thursday, November 14, 8 PM
Monolord, Blackwater Holylight, Mister Earthbound @ The Camel – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the glut of doom metal that has overtaken the heaviest of genres in the past decade or so — sometimes it feels like it’s just slow grooves all the way down, and that can cause us to go from headbanging to nodding off. But it is still, in 2019, possible to do doom metal right, and Sweden’s Monolord are just the latest combo to prove exactly that with their new LP on Relapse Records, No Comfort. As with a lot of bands who achieve success in a world of a million soundalike Sabbath/Wino worshippers, Monolord do this by moving away from the 70s proto-metal influences to concentrate on late 60s psychedelia and classic Southern sludge.

No Comfort feels like the record Eyehategod would have made if they’d been contemporaries of Charles Manson rather than some of the foremost metalheads to develop an edgy fascination with that mass-murdering cult-leading scumbag at the dawn of the 90s. And while I love those first couple Eyehategod records, No Comfort‘s relatively unusual approach to moody sludge is like a breath of fresh air compared to the millionth band ripping off the genre’s godfathers. Monolord arrive in Richmond accompanied by Portland’s Blackwater Holylight, who show absolute mastery of witchy psychedelic foreboding on their 2018 self-titled debut LP. Light a candle for this set — it’ll be appropriate.

Friday, November 15, 9 PM
SNAFU, Eradicant, Idol Womb @ Wonderland – $5
This is probably only a warning I have to give to my fellow olds, but: don’t get it twisted, this is not an appearance by legendary Canadian skate-punk band SNFU. Hailing from just across the Canadian border in Detroit and featuring an extra letter in their acronym band-name, SNAFU are just as speedy and intense as their almost-homophone Canadian counterparts, but have a ton more metal in their sound, straddling the border between metal-thrashing crossover-core and outright skate-obsessed thrash-grind.

They haven’t released anything new since 2015’s heaping helping of speedy noise, Present Day Plague, but they are apparently in the process of preparing to record a new album, their first in four years. So you can expect them to have a ton of new tuneage for you when they show up at Wonderland this Friday night. This show, which serves as a birthday bash for Wonderland owner Chad Painter and a warmup for the Wonderland Quinceanera celebration that’s coming up just before New Years, will also feature two new Richmond ragers — Eradicant, who play death metal and feature members of 3:33; and Idol Womb, who are more of a black-death mix (metal, not plague), and feature members of Cruelsifix. Get ready to rock out!

Saturday, November 16, 7 PM
Robyn Hitchcock @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $25 (order tickets HERE)
Robyn Hitchcock is an absolute legend. This British singer-songwriter has been at the forefront of psychedelic pop for over four decades now, starting out as the frontman for psychedelic postpunk band The Soft Boys in the late 70s, and beginning his solo career in 1981. Since then, he’s released 21 studio albums and a ton of live albums and outtake collections documenting his prolific muse. He veers back and forth between solo acoustic albums with a sort of witchy-English-backwoods psych-folk vibe and full-band outings with backing bands The Egyptians and The Venus 3 (which features members of REM), aiding his creation of impeccable alt-pop gems. In indie circles, he’s considered a godfather of the sound, and has worked with XTC, The Decemberists, and Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel.

With all that in mind, the fact that I can’t even tell you whether Hitchcock is bringing a full band with him for his appearance this Saturday night at Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall shouldn’t even matter to you. His last full-length album, 2017’s Robyn Hitchcock, featured a full band and a bushel of delightful melancholy pop tunes with the subtlest of punk undercurrents — but that was two years ago, and the ever-creative Mr. Hitchcock may have moved on to something else by now. Considering how excellent he’s been at every phase of his career, from The Soft Boys’ immortal 1980 single “I Wanna Destroy You” to his outstanding 1990 solo outing, Eye, and from career-defining 1984 masterwork I Often Dream Of Trains to 2006 late-career highlight Ole! Tarantula, featuring the Venus 3… well, there’s no reason to think whatever he wishes to share with us will be anything other than great. Get over to Cap Ale and groove on this one.

Sunday, November 17, 9 PM
Timmy’s Organism, Cruzer, The Wilful Boys @ Fuzzy Cactus – $7 in advance/$9 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Garage rock can sometimes be the rawest, rootsiest expression of the original rock n’ roll spirit as possible, but Timmy’s Organism isn’t that kind of group. Instead, this project from longtime garage innovator Timmy Vulgar (formerly of the Epitonix, Clone Defects, and more) has a bit of an off-kilter, sidewise approach to the garage thing. On their 2018 LP, Survival Of The Fiendish, Timmy’s Organism veer from song to song between the Stones circa Exile On Main Street’s dankest basement sessions, the Replacements at their most plastered, and a loose, antisocial version of the MC5’s soul-inspired full-throttle rock n’ roll attack. It’s wild, it’s crazy, it’s a ton of fun, and it’s sure to get things all stirred up when Vulgar and co. arrive at Fuzzy Cactus this Sunday night.

They’ll be joined in their rock n’ roll assault on Richmond by The Wilful Boys, an NYC quartet fronted by Australian singing drummer Steven Fisher. Something about the way Aussie bands approach no-frills rock n’ roll is unbridled in a manner you’ll never see on this side of the international dateline, and with a half-Aussie lineup including Fisher, The Wilful Boys bring that Cosmic Psychos-esque approach to bear in an enjoyably brutal fashion. They’ll pair perfectly with the northern hemisphere wildmen of Timmy’s Organism, and local surf-punk fun-starters Cruzer will open this one up with the perfect mix of beach-blanket fun and out-of-control bonfire parties. Get stoked for this one.

Monday, November 18, 8 PM
Comedy & Western Showcase, feat. Sarah White & The New Band, Miss JR Rose, Ben Butterworth, Ben Nelson, David Marie-Garland, LE Zarling, Kate Carroll, Bennie Blonkoe Perry, hosted by Herschel Stratego @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I don’t know what possessed someone to create a showcase like this, but I’ve gotta admire their creativity. It certainly would never occur to me to combine standup comedy performances with country music, but considering the mutual variety-show roots of both disciplines, it actually makes a ton of sense. And it gives those of us who are more musically inclined an opportunity to feast our ears on some of the modern country sounds being created right here in VA, which doesn’t ever seem to happen often enough. So liven up your Monday night with this one.

Specifically, enjoy a performance from Virginia singer-songwriter Sarah White, whose 2018 LP High Flyer mixes heartland rock sounds with some classic country approaches and instrumentations to create a result that fans of No Depression-style alt-country are sure to enjoy. Miss J.R. Rose is someone I don’t know a lot about, but her classic country ballads seem like a perfect old-school note to add to this many-flavored stew. And of course Ben Butterworth is a local musical mainstay, though I don’t know as much about his fellow Ben, Nelson. The comedy half of this evening’s entertainment is on lock with some of the best local comedians to ply their trade in this city over the past decade on the bill. And of course, Herschel Stratego will deliver his own unique and inimitable skills as the host. This one’s sure to be a blast. Don’t miss out.

Tuesday, November 19, 7:30 PM
The Goo Goo Dolls, Beach Slang @ Carpenter Theatre – $38 – $73 (order tickets HERE)
I know what some of my longtime readers are probably thinking right now: “The Goo Goo Dolls? This is Drew’s ultimate troll move on all of us.” And I’ll grant that sometimes I have way too much fun in this column engaging in — how should I put this? — “subversion of your expectations.” But y’all, I am not fucking with you in the slightest bit on this recommendation. The Goo Goo Dolls are awesome. I will admit that their last few albums have seen time catching up on these guys, turning them from the best matured-ex-punks-turned-heartland-rockers since The Replacements to a group that’s a bit too Matchbox 20-ish in their balladry these days. But that’s OK, because you don’t have to buy their brand new album (which is called Miracle Pill and is their 12th overall) to enjoy the hell out of their live performances.

And for real, I’ve seen video of them performing in the past year, and they’re still rad! Bassist Robby Takac still bounds all around the stage doing jump-kicks, Johnny Rzeznik still plays electric guitar for most of the set, and they’re still playing legit great tunes from decades past, like “Big Machine,” “January Friend,” and “Broadway.” Granted, there’ll be a few lite-rock radio chestnuts to sit through (I never did fuck with “Iris”), but to make up for those, you get an opening set from legit punk band Beach Slang, who are about to release their fourth album, The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City, and still have the high-energy drive that made classic early-90s Goo Goo Dolls albums like Superstar Carwash and A Boy Named Goo so great. As for the headliners, chances are the Goos are gonna show their age at a couple points during their set, but where their best moments are concerned, you’re still not gonna find anything better.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, November 14, 6 PM
Vital Remains, Serpentshrine, Sadistikum, Appalling, Rotten @ RiffHouse Pub (Chesapeake) – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Death metal mainstays Vital Remains have been bringing us some of the most punishing riffs in the game for 30 full years now, and they’re on tour right now to celebrate. Having formed in the late 80s, established themselves as one of the foremost groups in the genre with 1998’s Forever Underground, and gone on to collaborate with the almighty Glen Benton of Deicide on Dechristianize and Icons Of Evil — two of the best death metal albums the 21st century has seen thus far — Vital Remains definitely have a lot to celebrate on this tour.

Now, I will grant you that they haven’t released an album since Icons Of Evil in 2007, and that at this point both Benton and longtime drummer/lead guitarist Dave Suzuki have left the band. However, Tony Lazaro is still fielding a lineup of powerful metal players — including latest vocalist Scott Eames of Thy Antichrist. In addition to the full catalog of raging hits that the band has to draw from, he’s supposedly got multiple albums worth of new material in the can and waiting to be recorded. Maybe if this anniversary tour is successful enough, Vital Remains will finally break their 12-year drought and grace us with a new album. But even if they don’t, you’ll get to see them decimate RiffHouse Pub with an unrelenting metal onslaught. And that’s certainly good enough reason to go to this one.

Friday, November 15, 7 PM
Ghostemane, Candy, Horus The Astroneer, Parv0 @ The NorVA (Norfolk) – $23 (order tickets HERE)
I gotta tell ya, I find Ghostemane pretty fascinating. Purely on a visual level, he looks like a goth kid who likes metal a whole lot. But he’s at least ostensibly a rapper — though hardly a straight-up old-school rapper, in light of his connections to $uicideboy$ and Lil Peep. He also used to play in hardcore and metal bands, and has been known to take current hardcore bands out with him on tour (note that Richmond hardcore up-and-comers Candy are playing with him on this NorVA bill). All of this speaks to a pretty wide-ranging set of influences that drive Ghostemane, and you can hear all of those influences on the highly prolific (20 releases in the past five years) rapper’s discography.

Sometimes he croons like Trent Reznor at his most emotionally fraught moments. At other times, his stuff sounds almost like Slipknot and Ministry jamming on solely electronic instruments. Sometimes it sounds like the sort of hazy, downbeat hip hop you’d expect from a $uicideboy$ affiliate. And his latest EP, Hiadica, isn’t even hip hop at all — it’s a straight up metallic hardcore record, full of throaty screams, blastbeats, and breakdowns. Whether you’re into the weirder end of the modern hip hop scene, brutal hardcore, or some combination of the two, Ghostemane’s NorVA performance is sure to have something to delight you.

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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

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 1/22-1/28

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FEATURE SHOW
Saturday, January 25, 9 PM
Waxahatchee, All Dogs, Cayetana, Little Master @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance (get tickets here: waxahatchee.eventbrite.com)
Though she’s only been making music for a few years, Katie Crutchfield’s had a remarkable career thus far.
[Read more…] about RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 1/22-1/28