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VA Shows You Must See This Week: January 2 – January 7

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, January 4, 9 PM
Djanuary, feat. Stu Kindle, Sweet Potatoes Music, The Pop-Up Duo, Lil Jimmy & The Robinsons @ The Dark Room – $5
Well folks, it’s 2020. We made it through another holiday season — and another decade — alive, and it’s time to get our bearings and ease into yet another year here in Trump’s America. And what better way to get a non-stressful start on the 20’s (finally, a decade with an abbreviation that makes sense!) than with a week heavy with the wonderful sounds of jazz?

That’s what we’ve got for you this week, and at the top of the list is Djanuary, a year-beginning celebration of legendary Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt masterminded by local ukulele strummer Stu Kindle. Reinhardt was one of the first guitarists and first Europeans to exert a strong influence on jazz, a feat made that much more remarkable by the fact that he only had the use of three fingers on his left hand due to an injury he sustained in a fire at the beginning of his career. Reinhardt’s integration of Romani folk music, and focus on stringed instruments rather horns and woodwinds, helped kickstart an entire genre known as “gypsy jazz.”

You can hear a strong influence from Reinhardt’s approach on Stu Kindle’s own agile, speedy ukulele technique, which makes it eminently appropriate that he’s the Richmond musician spearheading this entire evening. He’ll be joined in this evening-long tribute to Django Reinhardt by a variety of local talents including jazz combo Sweet Potatoes Music, the acoustic jazz-folk of Pop-Up Duo, and swinging acoustic string band Lil Jimmy and the Robinsons (which also features Kindle on ukulele). It won’t be loud, it won’t be heavy, but rest assured, Djanuary at The Dark Room definitely will be hot.

Thursday, January 2, 7 PM
Plastic Nancy, Hollywood Cemetery, Big Fundamental, Cleophus James @ Poor Boys – $5
I can’t imagine anyone isn’t glad to see Poor Boys and PRSMCAT carrying on the banner of Locals Only in this post-Strange Matter era — and it’s even better when it results in a rock-solid bill like this one. Plastic Nancy top the bill with some pretty outstanding psych-pop alt-rock that hit a new high on recent single “Think Of Now.” I for one can’t wait to see what their next batch of tunes sounds like — and chances are we’ll get at least a little bit of a preview tonight!

Hollywood Cemetery are a newer group from right here in the river city, but they’ve certainly got their sound locked down tight if recent EP Sweet Dreams is any indication; I never would have thought the mixture of catchy emo pop and Interpol-style postpunk drama would be anywhere near this much fun, but I’m happy to stand corrected. Alt-rockers Big Fundamental and soulful postpunks Cleophus James (old-person points for you if you know the reference) round out a killer bill of talented Richmond groups you should be paying attention to in the new decade.

Friday, January 3, 7 PM
Opin (Photo by Joey Wharton), ADAR, Velocity 128, Bri Bevan @ Gallery 5 – Free!
Gallery 5 turns 15 this year (as does RVA Mag — watch this space), and they’re showing no signs of slowing down as they roll into 2020 with an awesome art show featuring custom-made toys. That alone should make turning up at their free First Friday event a no-brainer, but the musicians they’ll have on hand only make it that much more essential. Opin, the post-White Laces group featuring members of Magnus Lush, Night Idea, and Navi, among others, is currently gearing up to release the long-awaited follow-up to their 2017 self-titled debut.

New single “No. 3” finds Opin in powerful form, with driving rock rhythms, multi-layered synths, and an incredible vocal melody overtop of it all. Can’t wait for more where that came from. This show will also feature DC retro synthwave duo Velocity 128, turning the whole place into the dancefloor from an 80s crime movie, as well as a performance by Charlottesville jazz-soul-rock hybrid ADAR. Local singer-songwriter Bri Bevan rounds out an excellent bill you’re sure to enjoy — get there.

Saturday, January 4, 10 PM
The Gilberts, Black Plastic, Lounge Lizzard @ City Dogs – Free!
It’s rare for too many bands to be touring around the holiday times, so this early into a new year, you’ve got to expect a lot of locally-focused shows. Fortunately for us, Richmond has a wonderful music scene that in no way, shape, or form has any need of out-of-town bands to make for excellent live musical experiences. For example, this Saturday, we’ve got this outstanding three-band local bill happening at City Dogs, the Main Street hotspot that was, in the early days of the 21st century, home to one of the best live venues in the city — the glorious chaos that was Nara Sushi.

City Dogs may or may not get as wild on this Saturday night as Nara used to back in its prime, but the music is certainly worthy of excitement regardless of how crazy y’all get out there in the crowd. Local quintet The Gilberts dish out indie-pop tunes with a shambling punk spirit. Black Plastic raves up with some driving alternative rock tuneage. And then there’s Lounge Lizzard, whose vocalist, Sera Stavroula, will be celebrating a birthday this evening — they’ll rise to the occasion with a big dose of their raging metallic punk sound. It all adds up to an evening you’re sure to enjoy, especially in light of the lack of cover charge. Use your cash to grab some chili dogs instead! Just be sure you don’t take them into the pit — that’s always a sloppy proposition.

Sunday, January 5, 8 PM
Brydge/Williams/Kartari @ Cary Street Cafe – Free!
Get ready for the first full work week of the new year — and the first non-holiday week since back in the first half of December — with this evening of fine jazz sounds over at Cary Street Cafe. Bassist Chris Brydge has worked with a lot of local jazz talents around town, including JC Kuhl, Fred Hibbard, and quite a few others. He usually does so in the company of drummer Emre Kartari, his rhythm-section partner in crime. And this evening finds the two of them together once again, this time working with saxophonist Eddie Williams.

This same lineup has performed gigs under the name The Eddie Williams Trio as well, so will the equal billing for the three indicate a different instrumental priority in this performance? The improvisational nature of jazz as a musical style all but guarantees we won’t know until the three musicians take the stage, but regardless of how it all plays out, we can certainly expect some outstanding bebop sounds from this trio of instrumental talents. Just what we all need so we can face the boss on Monday, right?

Monday, January 6, 8 PM
Zack Mexico, Landon Elliott, The Flavor Project, Manzara @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
North Carolina group Zack Mexico have an intriguing approach to the art of creating psychedelic indie music, and you can tell the second they start setting up their gear. Beginning as a quartet, the group has expanded significantly in their decade together, most prominently with the addition of a second drummer. Seeing two full kits up there onstage is always powerful, and this band’s laid-back, tuneful approach does indeed carry a lot of power, even as it is often wielded with a subtle grace.

This is part of why Richmond singer-songwriter Landon Elliott is such a good match for Zack Mexico, musically. Elliott’s recently-released LP, Domino, shows off strong songcraft, making judicious use of 80s-style production and instrumentation at times while always first and foremost serving the gorgeous, introspective pop songs Elliott creates with a natural ease. It will be a treat to see this multi-layered sound come to life on the Camel’s stage this Monday night. The Flavor Project and Manzara will round out this eclectic bill with injections of funky Latin hip hop and dark, heavy postpunk. It’s sure to be a good time.

Tuesday, January 7, 8 PM
Dexter Moses & Marcus Tenney @ The Dark Room – $5
This Tuesday brings more jazz to the Dark Room, in the form of a meeting between two talented local saxophonists. Dexter Moses is the younger of the two, a blazing jazz talent who is still too young to order a beer at the HofGarden bar (at least for a few more weeks), but has been making a name for himself around town since his high school days. His skills at sax are worthy of a player twice his age.

Marcus Tenney isn’t quite there yet — his 2019 LP Triple Trey was a celebration of his having reached 33 years of age — but anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention to the local jazz, funk, and hip hop scenes is sure to know that he’s got a ton of talent in his own right, whether he’s showing it off in Butcher Brown, No BS! Brass Band, hip hop duo Tennison, or as the leader of his own jazz quartet. What sort of fireworks will ensue when the veteran comes together with the young gun in a fiery sax duo on the stage of the Dark Room? Something you’ll definitely want to see.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Saturday, January 4, 5 PM
True Body, You’re Jovian, Gone, Carnival Bird @ Smartmouth Brewing (Norfolk) – Free!
Down Norfolk way, Smartmouth Brewing’s warehouse seems to be about the closest thing they’ve got to Richmond’s wonderful Hardywood — a place predominantly concerned with creating craft beer (which I know the kids all love), which also brings the area some excellent free musical performances on a somewhat regular basis (now this is what I’M here for). They’re kicking off the year with exactly that sort of thing this Saturday as they bring us all a live performance by Norfolk gothic-postpunk ensemble True Body.

True Body haven’t given us a new helping of their dark, dramatic, synth-driven sound since the 2017 “Over It”/”Tourists” single, and that was three years ago now, so catching them live has become a must. Plus, they’re joined on this bill by fellow Norfolkers You’re Jovian, whose shoegazey indie-rock sound is always a hazy delight. There’s also a band called Gone on this bill, and all I can tell you for sure is that they’re not the same Gone featuring ex-members of Black Flag. But we do have a bit more information about Virginia Beach’s Carnival Bird, an indie-electro-pop duo featuring members of Radflux and Berries who will return to the stage at this event for the first time in over a year. So yeah, all of this is definitely worth being present for — especially since it won’t cost you anything to get in.

Sunday, January 5, 6 PM
Watersdeep, Route 29, Old Old, Good Grief @ Flipside Lounge (Fredericksburg) – $5
I freely admit that I don’t know as much about Fredericksburg’s music scene as I’d like to, but I’m always trying to learn, so I’m glad to have discovered a new F-burg venue to keep an eye on — Flipside Lounge, which is starting the new year off right by presenting this bill of catchy emo-punk groups from throughout the Old Dominion (should I be capitalizing those letters? Shrug). Watersdeep, at the top of the bill, are technically from DC, but close enough, right?

The Watersdeep boys refer to their sound as “sadboi pop-punk,” and if you enjoy bands like Saves The Day, Taking Back Sunday, and Knuckle Puck as much as I do, you’re sure to get a charge out of this band’s energetic, intense sound. Route 29, who coincidentally enough hail from my own hometown of Warrenton, have more of an indie feel, but still draw on emotional undercurrents that give their music a welcome resonance. Blacksburg’s Old Old are tough to google for, but reward the tenacious internet searcher with both a tough side and a sweet sensitivity. The entire evening kicks off with some fine power pop from Good Grief. Taken as a whole, it’s more than worth the hour’s drive up 95.

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Top Photo: Django Reinhardt in 1946, by William P. Gottlieb, Public Domain, via Wikimedia/Library of Congress

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): drew@gayrva.com

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: July 24 – July 30

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Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, July 27, 2 PM
Cobra Cabana Presents Ride The Snake, feat. Enforced, BBQT, Toxic Moxie, High Voltage @ Cobra Cabana – Donations to RRFP
If there’s one thing this past week has told us, it’s that summer is most definitely here. And that definitely makes it the right time for riding in the streets — which is exactly what’ll be going on at Cobra Cabana’s afternoon gathering this Saturday, known as Ride The Snake. Jim Morrison memorably used that phrase to refer to ingesting psychedelic drugs in the desert, but Cobra Cabana are being a bit more literal in their use of it, as this afternoon is based around a motorcycle rally that they’re throwing to benefit Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project.

If you’re down for some motorcycle rally action, the group ride will depart from Cobra Cabana’s Carver location just after noon. But if you’re like me and just want to see some wicked bikes and hear some killer tunes, swing by about 2 PM. The motorcycle show starts then, giving you plenty of time to check out some glorious two-wheeled machines before the music gets rolling at 3. And what music it will be! Headlining the show will be up-and-coming Richmond ragers Enforced, whose new LP At The Walls is certain to confirm their status as blackened-thrashcore heirs apparent. Get ready for headbangs aplenty from this set.

Texas band BBQT is also on the bill, and if you dig that sharp, metallic glam rock sound immortalized by bands like the Runaways, you’re sure to get stoked for this band’s over-the-top swaggering attack. Of course, Richmond party machine Toxic Moxie are also on the bill with some disco-punk jams to get you smiling and bouncing. The bill is rounded out by local AC/DC tribute band High Voltage, who are sure to get things kicked off with a bang. It’s all to benefit a great cause, so bring your dollars for RRFP, bring your summertime party spirit, and — if you’ve got one in the garage — bring your bike for the motorcycle rally. This is going to be the best hot Saturday fun of the entire summer, and you’re not going to want to miss it.

Wednesday, July 24, 8 PM
Abinnet Berhanu & Hebret Musica @ Vagabond – Free!
In a city like this, it’s easy to let the punk and the electro and the indie and the metal obsess you to the extent that you forget about the hotbeds of sound from other genres that are just as vital here in Richmond as the scenes people more readily identify with this city. That’s why I’m thankful for the weekly jazz nights at Vagabond and various other venues around town — always offering a reminder that Richmond’s jazz scene is active, creative, and producing awesome new music at a rate just as prolific as the local indie and punk scenes.

The latest excellent export from Richmond’s jazz scene is the self-titled debut album by Hebret Musica, a quintet led by drummer and Richmond jazz mainstay Abinnet Berhanu. The group, whose name means “Community Music” in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, draws from Berhanu’s Ethiopian background to add a multi-national flavor to Hebret Musica’s classic hard-bop sound, which should bring smiles to the faces of any fans of Modern Jazz Quartet or Giant Steps-era John Coltrane — and I know y’all are out there. This show at Vagabond marks the official release of Hebret Musica’s debut album, after which they will hit the road and spend the weekend in DC. We might not see them back in Richmond again anytime soon, and this group has some incredible sounds to deliver to your waiting ears. So catch them while they’re here — head to Vagabond tonight.

Thursday, July 25, 6 PM
TWRP, The Protomen @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance/$25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This should be a fun gig. Canada’s TWRP, whose name stands for Tupper Ware Remix Party, have always had a colorful and amusing presentation, performing in costumes and hiding their true identities behind their catchy prog-rock sound and spacetime-traveling backstory. Only two weeks ago, TWRP released their second LP, Return To Wherever — a nice reference to legendary 70s jazz-fusion group Return To Forever — and that LP furthers their bouncy, jazzy, danceable yet rocking prog sound. Seeing them crank out these tunes in full costume is sure to be a blast.

The Protomen are an equally fun group, with a much longer history that ties closely into a classic Nintendo video game that many of us remember from our childhoods: Mega Man. Indeed, The Protomen have been writing concept albums based on the worlds of those 8-bit video games for about 15 years now, and setting their heavily story-oriented lyrics to music mixing progressive rock with the work of film-soundtrack composers like Ennio Morricone to create albums just as musically entertaining as they are narratively gripping. While they haven’t released an album on their own since 2015’s The Cover Up, they did appear on TWRP’s 2018 track “Phantom Racer,” so this tour pairing seems somewhat inevitable… and certain to maximize the awesomeness of both performances. Get stoked for this one, it’s gonna be out of this world.

Friday, July 26, 7 PM
Gauche, Post Pink, Continuation @ Gallery 5 – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s easy to associate punk rock with speed, volume, and rage, but back when it began as a musical movement, punk was still wide open. In the early days, all sorts of different sounds ended up in the mix, and some of them were quite fun, funky, and danceable. DC punk rockers Gauche, who feature members of Priests, Downtown Boys, and quite a few other notable groups out of the nation’s capital in recent years, hark back to that time on their brand-new LP, A People’s History Of Gauche.

From the forceful vocal attack and atonal chord structures to the pointed lyrics dealing with capitalism and colonialism, there’s no way to deny that this group’s music is punk as fuck. But the bouncy grooves that keep you moving throughout draw influence from the more adventurous groups of punk’s early days — everyone from The Slits to The Bush Tetras to The Bags, and beyond. The result is a sound that’s cathartic and full of inspired outrage, but also a whole ton of fun. And we could all use more of that.

Saturday, July 27, 6 PM
City Of Caterpillar, Oozing Meat, Continuation @ Studio Two Three – $10
Richmond Y2K-era screamo legends City Of Caterpillar blew minds all over the globe when they announced their reunion shows back in 2017; it wasn’t quite as big news as the Avail reunion, but damn close to it, and their Richmond dates sold out quickly. As far as anyone could tell back then, the reunion was a one-time thing, but it was accompanied by the release of one new recording — their legendary live track “Driving Spain Up A Wall,” finally laid down in the studio 15 years after their original breakup.

Now, in 2019 amid rumors of yet more new material to come, City Of Caterpillar has reunited once again, this time to perform at Toronto’s New Friends Fest on the first weekend in August. At first, the only other gigs they had scheduled were hours north of Richmond, but fortunately for us, they did manage to schedule a last-minute performance this Saturday night at Studio Two Three. The ad hoc nature of the show means that there are no advance tickets available — you’ll just have to show up at the Scott’s Addition art space with your cash in your hand and hope you get in. But for one more chance to see City Of Caterpillar explode out of their trademark melodic post-rock interludes into cathartic punk noise… how could it not be worth it?

Sunday, July 28, 10 PM
Prayer Group, Slump, Twin Drugs @ Bandito’s – Free!
This weekend is full of massive heavy noise, and Sunday night is perhaps the most massive of all, as Richmond sludge lords Prayer Group celebrate the release of their latest EP, Eudean, with a free show at Bandito’s. The new EP finds Prayer Group at their harrowing, churning heaviest, blasting us all with leaden grooves that roll right over you and leave no room for anything but headbangs.

The bass rumbles and thuds, drums pound, vocals howl in your face, and the noise of the guitar scrapes your eardrums raw in the best possible way. Don’t go into this one unprepared, but do expect to be blown away by what you find. And do expect some excellent sets from psychedelic hardcore freaks Slump and hazy shoegaze-psych maniacs Twin Drugs. Plus there are the nachos… always, always the nachos. End your weekend with this rager — it’s the right thing to do.

Monday, July 29, 7 PM
Big Fundamental, Little River Creek Police, Billy Bacci, Jeremy White @ The Camel – Free!
Big Fundamental is a loud rock n’ roll trio from right here in Richmond, who got together recently from somewhat surprising roots — solo singer-songwriters and free jazz freaks, coming together to rock out in that classic post-Nirvana 90s alt-rock style isn’t exactly a predictable occurrence. But when it results in some really good sounds, I’m sure none of us are wont to complain. Right?

Big Fundamental just released their first LP, which has the affirming title of You Belong Here, and is, according to singer-guitarist Stu Ruiz, about “the hard work of finding optimism.” It’s certainly true that that’s a difficult search in the era we’re all living through, but Big Fundamental’s catchy grunge riffs and steady-rolling pace throughout this album promise to bring smiles to all our faces, at least for a little while. Come join them this Monday night and shake off the beginning-of-the-workweek blues.

Tuesday, July 30, 9 PM
Drunk Mums, Friendship Commanders, Kid Is Qual @ Wonderland – $10
If you are wise in the ways of punk rock, you can probably guess that a band called Drunk Mums is primarily made up of young dudes. And if you know what’s up with Australia, learning that Drunk Mums are from the land down under is probably all you need to hear to know that they’ll rock you hard in a straightforward, no-frills style. If you know your international punk well enough to be stoked on bands like The Lime Spiders and Cosmic Psychos, Drunk Mums are sure to make you real happy. They’ll also make the more US-oriented among us who dig bands like the Marked Men and the Riverboat Gamblers smile.

Friendship Commanders are also on this bill, and while this Tennessee band have come a lot less far than Drunk Mums have, they’re still not exactly around here every week. Their heavy yet upbeat grunge-punk sounds wonderful on last year’s Bill, an LP I’m assuming is not named after my old roommate who never washed his dishes. This duo rocks really hard on recording, and are sure to get the crowd at Wonderland moving about. On-again off-again bass-oriented Richmond mainstay Kid Is Qual will return once again for an opening gig on this one, and it’s sure to rumble you in all the right ways. Get stoked for this one.

Elsewhere Around the State:

Saturday, July 27, 8 PM
Fed Ash, Hearse, The Panic Broadcast, Sanguis @ Bricks Restaurant & Pub (Staunton) – Free!
I’m well aware that music happens in quite a few different locales around this state. However, this might be the first time word of a show in Staunton, up there were I-64 and I-81 meet, has reached my ears. But I’m always up for new places to see awesome music in a live environment, so I’m glad to know about it. This Saturday night, if you happen to be up that way, you can catch a pretty great metal show full of blazing blast beats and harsh sludge over at Bricks Restaurant. And if you are up that way, you should definitely do that.

New York grinders Fed Ash are topping the bill, and their recent split LP with fellow grindcore maniacs Landfill shows that they like it fast, furious, and full of low-end rage. However, they can also crank down the tempo and shatter your mind with occasional blasts of crawling sludge, and are sure to do so during this performance. They’re accompanied on this bill by fellow New Yorkers Hearse, who also like to switch back and forth between blasting speed and harsh doom, but tend to focus more on the slow n’ heavy end of things. The result is sure to inspire mass amounts of slow-motion headbangs — and we always advocate for those around here. The bill will be rounded out by two western VA metal bands, Waynesboro groovers The Panic Broadcast and Charlottesville doom-drone crew Sanguis. Should be awesome.

Tuesday, July 30, 6 PM
Korn, Alice In Chains, Underoath, Ho99o9 @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (Virginia Beach) – $20 – $335 (order tickets HERE)
Nu metal was a punch line for a long time. However, recent years have shown that a whole new generation of kids who came of age in the early ’10s see bands like Korn in a whole different light than those of us who thought they were too cheesy and commercial back in the 90s. And really, Korn has stood the test of time well enough to hush us all up. Head came to his senses and rejoined the band a few years back, and 2019 finds them on the verge of releasing their 13th (!) album, The Nothing.

Advance single “You’ll Never Find Me” is cooler and heavier than you’d ever expect from these nu-metal torchbearers 25 years after their self-titled debut. So maybe it’s time for all of us to admit that Korn really do have something to offer that we should be paying attention to. Plus, they’re coming to town with Alice In Chains, who, believe it or not, have now been around longer and released just as many albums with current singer William DuVall (formerly of 80s hardcore band Neon Christ) than they ever were with Layne Staley. And I’m sure they still play all the songs you love from back then too, so hey… why examine it too closely? Let’s just go to the amphitheater and rock out.

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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): drew@gayrva.com

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 26 – January 1

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Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, December 28, 7 PM
The Grand Finale, feat. Illa Styles, Kyle The Ghost, Big B, Yung Sums, June Elizabeth, Tyrone Leake Jr, Coffee Black @ Gallery 5 – $7 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
If you’re anything like me, your first thought upon seeing that they’ve titled this Gallery 5 hip hop show “The Grand Finale” is, “Oh god, please tell me they’re not going away too.” Thankfully, as far as I can tell, there’s no cause for alarm — if this show is the grand finale to anything, it’s 2018, not Gallery 5. And at the end of a year that saw AGM’s ruling triumvirate (Nickelus F, Radio B, Michael Millions) dominate the hip hop game here in Richmond, this excellent showcase is here to let all of us know that RVA’s hip hop scene has a lot more than that going on.

There’s a wide variety of sounds from all around the city and state on this lineup, but you can’t be blamed if Illa Styles’ name is the one that jumps out at you. He’s not necessarily at the top of the bill, but his 2018 EP theBalance makes clear exactly why all of us should be listening to him. It’s a masterful slice of life from a veteran MC who gives us gritty, focused lyrical flow overtop of incredible multilayered beats that make the rhymes hit that much harder. It’s the most assured statement yet from a man who’s recording career goes back most of a decade and is already full of strong and powerful statements.

Another strong artist on this bill is Kyle The Ghost, who comes heading up the freeway from Newport News to team up with Richmond rapper Big B (and no, that’s not the reggae-rap guy from the West Coast). The two of them recently laid down an excellent collaborative track over a Haze Banks beat called “Passion,” which showcases both of their lyrical talents and can’t-miss flow. Between Big B’s 81 Dreaming and Kyle The Ghost’s Rebirth, both of them have also released solo projects this year that show they are more than capable of standing on their own. And then there’s also Yung Sums, who’s been making a name for himself around town as a battle rapper but also showed himself to have studio skills aplenty on his recently-released album Black Friday. There are quite a few more artists on this bill too, and if you want to have an amazing last weekend of 2018, seeing all of them send the year out on a high note is an unbeatable way to do it.

Wednesday, December 26, 8 PM
Mitchell Evan, Tyler Meacham, Pistol Sister, Rebekah Rafferty and The Wakes @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
The Christmas holiday is officially over (sorta… though really, this is only day two of the “12 days of Christmas” you’ve been hearing about all your life), but we all know that the whole week between Christmas and New Years is kind of a rabbit hole everybody falls down. We won’t really be out of it until the New Year celebrations are over and the kids are back in school, so for now, just enjoy the ride and relax. Mitchell Evan is at the Camel tonight to help you do so, bringing you the debut of his latest solo album, Nostalgia. And this laid-back songwriter has the perfect sort of music to keep you in the right mood for this lost holiday week.

Nostalgia isn’t out yet, so none of us will hear it in all its glory until tonight at the Camel, but Mitchell Evan has released two singles from it thus far, and both give reason aplenty to expect this to be an excellent album. “Las Cruces,” which brings us the title lyric of sorts — “It’s a hell of a drug, nostalgia” (and ain’t that the truth) — has a melancholy alt-country sound that gets under your skin in the best possible way, while “Timpani Hits” has a more orchestral feel that might just have you thinking of Damien Rice. Both of these tunes are beautiful, and there’s plenty more where that came from, so come down to the Camel tonight and get the first taste of Nostalgia. Opening sets from local pop starlet Tyler Meacham and the MacKenzie Roark-led group Pistol Sister, plus an “after-party set” by Rebekah Rafferty and the Wakes, sweeten this pot considerably. Dip into it.

Thursday, December 27, 8 PM
The Vegabonds, Kendall Street Company, The Dirty Grass Players @ The Broadberry – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
“Southern rock” probably evokes a certain mental image in all of our minds, one derived from childhoods hearing Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet songs on the car radio while driving around in the tiny backseats of our dads’ pickup trucks. OK, so maybe that’s only some of us, but it’s OK, because Southern rock has grown and changed since those days, and in this post-millennial post-Drive By Truckers era, things are quite a bit different. The Vegabonds are a prime example, with their mixture of guitar crunch, church-y organ hums, driving tempos, and high-lonesome vocal hooks adding up to something that’s sure to appeal to fans from all over the good ol’ US of A and beyond.

Right now we’re talking about Richmond, though, and this town is pretty close to Nashville in a geographical sense, so chances are there are quite a few of us more than ready to embrace the down-home heaviness of The Vegabonds, who are about to release their fifth album, simply entitled V, once the year turns. Get a sneak preview of that record tomorrow night at the Broadberry, and catch a set from VA’s own Kendall Street Company in the bargain. This group mingles Americana sounds with the sort of granola jams all y’all who mark the LOCKN Festival dates on your calendar the second they’re announced each year are gonna flip for. With Baltimore bluegrass pickers The Dirty Grass Players opening up, this is gonna be a night to remember.

Friday, December 28, 8 PM
Plastic Nancy, Big Fundamental @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free?
This Friday night, get some psychedelic grooves into your soul over at Garden Grove Brewing. This free show will apparently feature two sets each from Richmond groups Plastic Nancy and Big Fundamental, and considering that the show gives all the appearance of being free, this sounds like quite a bargain, if you ask me. Plastic Nancy have a pretty noisy, almost punk take on the whole hazy psych sound as displayed on a recently released single that apparently heralds a whole LP of this fuzzy, buzzy stuff. Sounds like a party.

Big Fundamental are more laid-back and rollicking on their Basement Demos, released earlier this year, but things definitely stay loud and distorted throughout. It’s clear that both of these groups will twist your head right around, and you’ll love every minute of it — especially in the pleasant surroundings Garden Grove always provides. Where pre-New Years’ weekend treats are concerned, this one is a home run.

Saturday, December 29, 8 PM
Thorp Jenson, JR Wolf @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
If it’s gonna be that kind of week, we may as well lean into it, right? That’s what local Americana singer-songwriter Thorp Jenson and the duo of scene mainstays Angelica Garcia and Russell Lacy, collectively known as JR Wolf, will be doing at the Camel this Saturday night, and you can’t go wrong by joining them. What will specifically be going on is Thorp and his band pulling together a tribute to the Grateful Dead at the dawn of the 70s, that era which produced classic studio albums Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty as well as classic live albums Europe 72 and the Skull And Roses record (which, yes, is officially self-titled).

For a band that made a half-century’s worth of reputation on their head-expanding psychedelic epics, this was a time at which they were focusing pretty strongly on folk and country influences, bringing their more free-flowing tendencies to bear on classic American tunes complete with polished vocal harmonies — and that’s probably the perfect material for Thorp Jenson to focus on with this tribute set, as it largely mirrors his own focus as a songwriter. Whether you’re a Thorp-head or a Deadhead, this one is sure to please you. And while we can’t tell you much about what it sounds like when Angelica Garcia and Russell Lacy combine powers like the Wonder Twins to form JR Wolf, we’re sure based on their mutually powerful track records that you’re going to find the results intriguing and delightful. Come chill.

Sunday, December 30, 10 PM
Hallelujah, Deathbirds Surf Club, Delicate Whip @ Bandito’s – Free!
It seemed unlikely that we could get through this whole week without some ugly punk noise, and now it’s become a certainty that we can’t. Oh, but who would want to? Especially when we have the opportunity to spend a Sunday night in the company of these killer Richmond outfits for the low, low price of zero dollars! Hallelujah, who made quite an impression on the RVA noise-rock scene in the early years of the 21st century with their harsh interjections of sound, have been back in action as a trio for a while now, and showed on last year’s self-titled full-length that they’ve still got the goods. Get ready to have your hair blown back — if you’ve got any left.

Deathbirds Surf Club have been an intriguing proposition from the word go, bringing a straightforward 60s-retro surf sound to the modern RVA punk scene in the same way that the Fresh-O-Matics did 20 years ago. However, instead of evoking the hard-charging guitar heroics of Dick Dale, the Deathbirds go for lovelorn sincerity with a strummy pop sound that’s on the fresh-faced Beach Boys end of things — with some Wavves-type modern indie damage thrown in to spice things up. It’s a unique proposition, for sure, and one that’s always worth catching. The moody sludge of local newcomers Delicate Whip kicks the whole thing off in fine fashion, and if you’ve invested wisely, you’ll have a big plate of tacos in front of you before they start.

Monday, December 31, 8 PM
Piranha Rama, Chance Fischer, Dr. Millionaire, Ghost Piss, Dazeases @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s probably not too early to ask… what are you doing New Years Eve? Some would say you’re best off ordering a pizza, staying in, and going to bed early. We certainly don’t recommend spending your afternoon driving up to NYC to stand in the freezing cold in Times Square, but despite the cynics, there are still good times to be had on New Years Eve here in RVA. And if some great local music in a variety of sounds and styles is your thing, Gallery 5 is definitely the place to be. Not only will there be champagne toasts and a photobooth (as well as “glitter” and “tears,” if the facebook event page is to be believed — and chances are it’s correct), there will be an amazing variety of excellent musical performers, all of whom at least originate here in our own river city.

You know what’s up with Piranha Rama by now, right? This conglomeration of Richmond musical all-stars has been plying their trade around town for the past year in fine fashion, bringing us a unique and lushly instrumented take on lounge-inflected retro-surf indie pop. Or something like that. Their self-titled LP is a real treat, and if you haven’t tasted it yet, this will be a great opportunity for you to make 2019 a better year than 2018 by getting familiar. That’s not even to mention the outstanding double-dose of RVA hip hop we’ll get on this bill from a couple of Richmond’s champion rhymers, Chance Fischer and Dr. Millionaire. Both of them are set to slay, so be prepared. And then there’s the double-dose of ambient electronic unease from moody divas Ghost Piss and Dazeases. Really, what more can you ask for? I mean, yes, you can ask for a really outstanding 2019, but that’s kinda beyond the capacity of a live music preview column, so this excellent show will have to do.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Thursday, December 27, 7 PM
Ancient Torture Techniques, Amara, MSD, Nervous System, Berkowitz @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $5
One totally lovely element of the Hampton Roads musical scene’s 2018 has been the return to full-time action of Ancient Torture Techniques, a power-violence ensemble best known on these RVA streets for their decade-ago split with bygone locals Street Pizza. They’re back, and while they still don’t have a Bandcamp page, they do have a quiver full of Spazz-meets-Slayer blastbeat-fueled mayhem to deal out on us all. You can show your gratitude with headbangs.

They’re joined on this bill by a smorgasbord of heavy grinders representing the current crop of this sort of high-speed devastation in the commonwealth. Newport News shredders Amara have a wall of harsh fuzz noise for you, pushing all the needles into the red with their grinding metallic riffage. Richmond’s MSD (no clue what it stands for, put your best guesses in the comments) go for a more straight-up death metal approach, while Norfolk’s Nervous System find the line where grindcore meets hardcore and hit it for all it’s worth. And of course, Berkowitz represents with some lo-end death-grind to kick it all off. Be prepared to thrash.

Monday, December 31, 7 PM
GWAR, Against The Grain, Stonecutters @ The NorVA – $20.50 in advance/$23 at the door (order tickets HERE)
New Years Eve in the Norfolk area is looking quite a bit like a lot of Richmond metalheads’ dream of a brutal year-ending party here at home. That’s because GWAR is taking over the NorVA for New Years Eve, and if you don’t love the idea of ending 2018 soaked in (fake) blood, I don’t know what to even tell you. It’s a bummer this isn’t happening closer to home, we agree — but hey, GWAR were just here at The National in November. So rather than pointing fingers at the NorVA for poaching our favorite alien overlords, let’s all just order our tickets now, gas up the Jeep, and leave early to beat the tunnel traffic, shall we?

GWAR’s turn toward a more KISS/Nugent-style vibe on most recent LP The Blood Of Gods will make their furor even more apropos for a night of celebration, and also means they’ll be able to match up perfectly with Detroit’s Against the Grain, whose triumphant throwback-thrash approach is your ticket to nonstop headbangs. Kentuckians Stonecutters kick things off with some more powerful 80s thrash stomp, as exemplified on their brand new LP, Carved In Time. Overall, this is a night of absolutely stupendous metal in the offing, so take this opportunity to send 2018 out with a (head)bang! But seriously — pick a DD ahead of time, we don’t want y’all wrecking into the bay on your way back to town.

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Top Photo by Alyk Visions

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): drew@gayrva.com [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

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