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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: May 4 – May 10

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FEATURED SHOW
Wednesday, May 4, 8 PM
Indie Pop Night at Black Iris, feat. Hotspit (Photo by @2hevns), Winkler, Ten Pound Snail, Frames @ Black Iris – $8 in advance, $10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Something nice I’ve noticed as the live music scene here in Richmond has thawed and reawakened after the eighteen-month virtual freeze of the pandemic is the increased role being taken in bringing live music to our town by two different important local entities: Black Iris, and Baripete Productions. I’ve particularly noted the things the Arts District-based social club and the up-and-coming promotion outfit have been working together on. For a few months toward the beginning of this year, Baripete were running weekly jazz nights on Wednesdays at Black Iris as part of a series called “Doors At Eight.” Since then, in addition to the growth of the Brambly After Dark series of concerts at Brambly Park and a few noteable presentations at The Hofheimer’s multiple live rooms, Baripete’s brought several other events to Black Iris, of which this Indie Pop Night is just the latest.

And while the jazz fans who loved Doors At Eight might be a little bummed that this event has such a different theme genre, those of us who adore the many melodic indie bands making gorgeous tunes around the Richmond area are in luck with this evening. Hotspit is at the top of the bill, and they’ve really taken some big steps over the last couple of years. The latest is demonstrated by “Wane Mouth,” the single the band released a couple months ago as their first new music in the wake of 2021 debut album CC. It’s both more concise and more directly focused on the beautiful melodies at its center than any of the songs on CC were, and it shows that Hotspit are reaching a new level with their craft — a level that will immerse you in memorably lovely sounds.

Three more bands grace this bill in addition to Hotspit, though, and all have considerable charms. Let’s start with the one from out of town: Winkler are a jangly, acoustic-focused Boston combo who demonstrate an old-fashioned folky charm on new single “Mona.” It definitely leaves you wanting more, and they’ll be bringing plenty more to Black Iris tonight. As for Ten Pound Snail, their Red House Painters-ish slowcore sound is infectious, and a little bird tells me they’re getting ready at some point in the relatively near future to release a fresh batch of excellent tunes to all of us eager listeners. Get a preview of what they’ve got in store at this show. And hey — make sure you show up right on time at 8 o’clock sharp for this one, because missing a second of the opening set that incredibly talented emo-pop group Frames opens the evening with is a crime against music. Be there or get locked up. Hey, I don’t make the rules.

Wednesday, May 4, 9 PM
Pardoner (Photo by Chloe Mullowney), Blunt @ Fuzzy Cactus – $7
Alternately, you might wish to head to Northside and spend your Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you… I know, it’s terrible) evening at Richmond’s 21st century home of rock n’ roll, Fuzzy Cactus, where the talented San Francisco-based group Pardoner will be unleashing an evening full of excellent indie rock riffs. And like, look people — nostalgia is a curse. Pop culture is so doused in it circa 2022 that I wish it had physical form, so I could pick it up and wring the nostalgia out of it like a wet washrag. But nonetheless, when I hear people talking about Pardoner having a nostalgic sound that harks back to the early-90s days of underground alternative rock on their latest LP, Came Down Different, well… I can’t deny that I get what they mean.

But let’s reframe this, folks. When I listen to Pardoner, I hear a band capable of energetic indie rock that pulls from sources as diverse as early 80s UK postpunk, the psychedelic garage rock revival led by their fellow San Franciscans Thee Oh Sees, the Americana-infused jangle-pop of early REM, and, yeah OK, the many feedback-laced melodic guitar rockers from college towns like Boston and Chapel Hill who infused the indie scene of the early 90s. Why can’t what these guys are doing today just constitute another wave of this evergreen sound? I for one think it does — every time I’ve put on Came Down Different over the past couple days, I’ve quickly forgotten that I was doing a “research listen.” This band is more than good enough to be a band that you don’t just indulge for extramusical reasons. And they’ll certainly present a show that’s way more than good enough to get you through another year of unnecessary lightsaber references.

Thursday, May 5, 7 PM
The Chisel, Dark Thoughts, Quarantine, Public Acid @ Studio Two Three – $15
Another big change in the post-pandemic world of local live music is that I’ve found I can’t just source all my information about upcoming shows on Facebook anymore. Which is great, because I hate Facebook (I’m a Twitter girl, at least for now). However, these days, I’m finding the place I have to go — and do a fair amount of hunting while I’m there — is Instagram. I can deal with Instagram, but I much more oriented toward words than pictures, so it doesn’t come the most naturally to me. Thankfully, the more time I spend on there, the more often I find amazing shows like this one, featuring great underground bands tearing it up at venues that are a little off the beaten path. Many times, the most truly memorable live music events take place in circumstances like that one.

But even if such high-flown reasoning isn’t likely to draw you out to some random punk show, rest assured you should make time for this one. UK punk rockers The Chisel have blown a lot of minds in the punk and hardcore world over the past year or so, first with a series of killer singles, then with their incredible LP of last November, Retaliation. I hear people talk when they listen to this band about oi! and other such micro-genres, but I’m not gonna get into the weeds with all that, because to me, The Chisel is just a straight-up old-school punk band with a ton of energy, fury, and that patented British snarl all the best late-70s UK bands excelled at, coupled with some great rock n’ roll riffs that stand outside any particular momentary movement. Whether you dig Blitz, 9 Shocks Terror, the New York Dolls, the Back From The Grave comps, or some combination of all of them, you’ll find something to love in the music of The Chisel. And you should really be there for what’s sure to be one of the better shows to come to RVA this season. Regardless of what social media you did or did not find out about it from.

Friday, May 6, 7 PM
Suppression, Kontusion, Left Cross @ Cobra Cabana – $5
Here’s an absolutely mind-blowing fact — Suppression have been a band for three full decades. Formed by bassist/vocalist Jason Hodges back when he was a teenage grindcore nerd living in Roanoke, they spent most of their first decade as a quintet with constantly shifting lineups, of which Jason was the only constant member. When he moved to Richmond at the dawn of the 21st century, the lineup settled into its present incarnation, with the illustrious Ryan Parrish (also of Darkest Hour, Iron Reagan, and a million other bands) on drums and Jason handling everything else (so: bass, vocals, and a million distortion pedals and noise machines).

They’ve been through a ton of evolutions in just the time since the duo of Jason and Ryan became the band’s permanent lineup, and in recent years they’ve returned to a sloppier and even more noisy and primitive version of the grind/metal/noise/core sound they were making during their Roanoke days in the mid-90s. 2021 digital compilation Oblivion Rats collects all the noise they made between 2015 and 2018. It includes two full-length albums and six split EPs, and runs to 99 tracks, many of which are run-together medleys featuring three or more songs. So yeah, this is a bunch of blurry, distorted noise, of the sort that makes most of what “power violence” seem downright slow and accessible. 30 years later, well into their 40s, Suppression are still making the kind of noise that will not only alienate your parents, but probably your kids too. And if that isn’t a commendable achievement, I don’t know what is. Go celebrate it with them at Cobra Cabana this Friday night. Do it for posterity.

Saturday, May 7, 8 PM
The Great Beforetimes, Abby Huston, Tess Fisher, Rebekah Rafferty & The Wakes @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
The Great Beforetimes are a minimalist acoustic trio that brings together singer-songwriter Aern Stapel and artist Ceili Galante with guitarist Taimir Gore, whose name is more familiar to me from post-rock band Kristeva and Black Liquid’s new metal band, Armagideon Time. It was definitely that unusual combo of people involved in this project first caught my attention, but I wouldn’t have stuck around long enough to write about them if it weren’t for the sincerely intriguing sound they create on their brand-new self-titled LP, the release of which this Saturday night show at The Camel is intended to celebrate. With a percussion-less sound fundamentally oriented around banjo, there’s a temptation to write them off as old-time music, or Americana, or whatever.

But if you actually spend some time with the music of The Great Beforetimes, you’ll soon realize that they have far less in common with scratchy old 78s recorded in Southwest Virginia hotels 100 years ago than they do with psych-folk rangers like Devendra Banhart, the early works of grandiose weirdo singer-songwrite Sufjan Stevens, or even Richmond hometown hero Josh Small. Like the music of all of these artists, The Great Beforetimes’ music steps outside of any studied, formalistic appreciation of the music of a bygone culture to connect with us all in the here and now. This band uses banjo, acoustic guitar, and voices raised in harmony to create songs that actually reach us all the way here in our digital-as-fuck 21st century world and make real deep connections that’ll have you placing these tunes into “new favorite tracks” playlists right alongside Lizzo or Wet Leg or Drug Church or whatever else you’re digging so far in 2022. There’s no contradiction here. Great music exists outside time. That said, this show takes place in a very defined chronological moment, and I encourage you to spend the hours between 8 pm and midnight this Saturday night at The Camel appreciating every gorgeous, unique moment of it.

Sunday, May 8, 7 PM
Soul Glo, Listless, Dumb Waiter @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Speaking of music we’re adding to playlists featuring our faves of 2022 thus far, it’s highly apropos that Soul Glo are bringing their frantic, chaotic brand of hardcore to Richmond at The Camel this Sunday night. Because their new LP, Diaspora Problems, is — at least for me — the most fully realized expression of what it is that they do that’s come into the world thus far. And I mean, I loved Soul Glo even back when I first heard them back in 2016. Nonetheless, Diaspora Problems seems to me to bring all of the elements of what they do into perfect proportion to create an absolute hardcore classic. The song structures are chaotic and unpredictable without being confusing or alienating. The guitars are noisy and harsh, but the choruses are so catchy and memorable that you’ll be singing along with the best of them after only one listen — even when that means you’ll catch yourself mumbling, “Who gon’ beat my ass? Who the fuck gon’ beat my ass?” under your breath while washing dishes.

That’s the other thing about Soul Glo that stands out from moment one — the larger than life personality of vocalist Pierce Jordan, who screams, rages, and rants a thousand miles a minute throughout this album, showing off a verbosity that I, a person who writes this long-ass column once a week, can’t help be impressed with. Soul Glo’s lyrics bring a realness that gets much closer to what it’s actually like to be alive than 99% of lyricists ever even attempt, as well as a strong political consciousness that isn’t going to let any of us off the hook for any of our day to day bullshit. Specifically, they focus quite a bit from an intensely personal perspective on the struggle of marginalized Black people in the United States in the year 2022, something a lot of white people like me (and maybe you?) have let ourselves mostly forget about now that the monuments are down. Soul Glo’s an incredible band pushing the boundaries of what hardcore and punk rock can be, and they’re sure to blow your mind musically. But the lyrics and the statements they make with their music are just as important, and that if anything is why you should make The Camel your destination this Sunday night.

Monday, May 9, 7 PM
Chris Acker, Jackson Lynch, Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers, Brady Heck @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I know, I’ve said it many times before, but I’m always so thankful that The Camel bothers to book shows on Monday night, a night when many other local venues are generally dark and shuttered. This time around, though, they aren’t just bringing us a charming little locals-only bill; instead, they’re hosting touring singer-songwriters Chris Acker and Jackson Lynch. Acker hails from Seattle, while Lynch was born in Ireland and raised in New York, but the city that appears to unite the two of them is New Orleans, where both have spent quite a bit of time during their careers. They’re currently on tour together, both in support of recently released full-lengths that show off their respective powers.

Where Acker is concerned, the LP in question is Odd, Ordinary & Otherwise, his third, released last year and featuring an impressive collection of tunes that make abundantly clear why people compare this dude to the legendary John Prine. It’s the voice, yes — they do sound similar. But it’s also the strength of the songwriting, the way Acker is skilled at capturing all the tiny events that make up the lives of ordinary people and setting them to beautiful, bittersweet tunes. As for Lynch, his new LP is All By My Ownsome, his first full-length release. It mixes covers of century-old tunes by pre-war blues legends like Lonnie Johnson and Josh White with Lynch originals that show how deeply indebted Lynch is to the old-time blues and folk traditions, but also display how creative he is and how much personality he brings to his music. Both Acker and Lynch will be well worth your time to see, and the fact that local purveyors of Americana sounds like Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers and Brady Heck are also on the bill only sweetens an already delicious cup of musical iced tea. Drink up.

Tuesday, May 10, 6:30 PM
Higher Power, Earth To Heaven, Reflect, Torment @ The HofGarden – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I like a lot of different kinds of music, but I’ve never pretended to be anything other than a hardcore kid at heart, so whenever a really great hardcore band comes through town, I try my best to get them into this here show column. You’ve seen some evidence of that already in this edition (see the Soul Glo blurb above), and here’s another example. Higher Power hail from Leeds, over in the UK, and while the UK’s hardly been a hotbed of hardcore greatness over the decades, I don’t think there’s anyone who will deny that this band is in the top tier of hardcore right now. And that’s got a lot to do with the intensely musical nature of their work.

Past generations of hardcore bands have embraced the slogan coined by fellow UK HC band Discharge: noise not music. But Higher Power is doing a lot more than just making harsh, angry noise. On 2020 album 27 Miles Underwater, Higher Power demonstrate influence from groundbreaking bands of the past 30 years, from Quicksand and Snapcase to Glassjaw and Turnstile. And the result is memorable, full of catchy singalong choruses without losing an ounce of the energy we all come to hardcore for. Higher Power might not be exactly what anyone in 1982 or 1996 thought hardcore would sound like today, but it’s pretty goddamn great, and isn’t that what ultimately matters? Spoiler: yes, it is.

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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: 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: January 12 – January 18

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, January 14, 6:30 PM
Dwight Yoakam, Reid Haughton @ The National – $45-$52.50 (order tickets HERE)
Every week I start the column with it, and every week I say it’s for the last time. Let’s stop kidding ourselves. I’m gonna bring up COVID to start this one, and it’s not the last time. If you’re fully vaxxed AND boosted, you might be OK to go to shows these days, maybe even without a mask… but I’m not a doctor, nothing’s for certain, and one of the reasons that I have fewer and fewer shows to pick from for this column every week is because some people don’t want to take chances. The fact that this column exists is NOT me telling you to take chances. All I’m saying is, I’m bringing up eight shows, that are happening in this city over the next week. Are they REALLY must-see in the current public health environment? That’s up to you to determine.

But look, Dwight Yoakam is coming to the National this Friday night, and that’s something you really should see if you feel safe enough to attend. The man’s been acting as an antidote to safe, sterile, overproduced country music for damn near 40 years now, and he’s honestly not getting any younger, so if you haven’t made it out to see Dwight Yoakam at any point in the past, now might really be the time. After all, he’s got a career chock full of classics, starting back in 1986 with “Honky Tonk Man” and including such career highlights as his duet with Buck Owens on “Streets Of Bakersfield,” heartbreak classics like “Ain’t That Only Yet” and “It Only Hurts When I Cry,” and his covers of legendary tunes like Elvis’ “Little Sister” and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” He’s bound to break some of them out at some point this Friday night, and it’s going to be awesome when he does.

Unlike a lot of other artists rapidly approaching the 40th anniversary of their first album, Dwight Yoakam has remained creatively vital and at the peak of his powers for decades now. And let’s be real: when it comes to live music in these COVID times, veteran artists like him are gonna pick their targets carefully. He might not be back to Richmond for a long while now. So — assuming you feel healthy enough to make it — you really don’t want to miss this show. Break out your boots and cowboy hat, because if there was ever a right time to do it up proper, this is it.

Wednesday, January 12, 8 PM
Destructo Disk, Teen Mortgage, Baby Bugs, Lips @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Midweek is a good time to punk it out at The Camel, and two energetic bands from the northern part of the state are coming down to the capital city to give us a wonderful opportunity for high fives and stage dives. Destructo Disk hail from Winchester, of all places — hardly what I’d ever think of as punk rock city, amirite? And yet, on recent singles like “Punk Rock Die” and “Breakfast In Space,” they show an assured grasp on the melody, irreverence, and spunk that all come together to create the best punk rock. Even if you can skate, you should enjoy the music of this power-punk trio.

Teen Mortgage hail from two (or 27, depending on the weather) hours up 95 in Washington DC, and their tougher two-piece sound makes a great contrast with the more fun-loving vibes of Destructo Disk. On their latest EP, Smoked, Teen Mortage channel the dark punk of bands like The Wipers and Ex-Cult and mix it with the anthemic power of Japandroids to make a can’t-miss racket that’s sure to win over the entire room. Richmond newcomers Baby Bugs have a driving punk sound that reminds me at times of 90s legends Veruca Salt, and opener Lips is a total mystery to me — I’m pretty sure it’s not the band from New Zealand that showed up when I tried really hard to google a musical artist called Lips, but beyond that I have no idea. Whatever. It’s a punk rock show. That should be all you need to know.

Thursday, January 13, 8 PM
Ethan Jewell, Mae Krell, Ryan Kent @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
I must admit, I had no idea about youthful internet sensation Ethan Jewell until this show made it into my upcoming-show masterlist, but I’m apparently one of the last to find out about him; this 19-year-old poet has millions of followers on TikTok, and is rapidly parlaying that into a musical career, though his works might not be exactly what you expect. Because here’s the thing: Ethan Jewell doesn’t even attempt to sing. He recites poetry over moody, melodic musical backgrounds, and if that makes you think of some of Jack Kerouac’s recorded works, well, you’re not entirely on the wrong track.

Really, though, I’d compare Ethan Jewell to some more clearly 21st century works: for example, there’s Arkansas alt-rock project Listener, based around the spoken vocals of poet Dan Smith. More famously, there’s Between Bodies, the LP The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die made with poet Chris Zizzamia handling the majority of the vocals. If you dug those projects, chances are you’ll find a lot to like in what Ethan Jewell is doing. NYC-based singer-songwriter Mae Krell is also bringing some beautiful, heartfelt sounds to this event. The whole thing will kick off with a performance by Ryan Kent, who you may know as, um, a staff writer for RVA Mag, or as the vocalist for local metal bands like Murdersome and Gritter. However, he’ll be appearing on this bill in his guise as a poet, and with a spoken word album of his very own coming later this year, now’s the perfect time to see what Ryan’s up to on that front. Get to it.

Friday, January 14, 9 PM
Blunt, Colin Phils, Rest Ashore, Midlife Pilot @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Ah yes, Richmond indie. It survives, it thrives, no matter how much it has to push through. And bands like Blunt and Colin Phils keep coming back stronger year after year to prove exactly that. After a few years of releasing occasional singles on Bandcamp, Blunt finally brought us a proper EP this past year with Luxe, a four-song collection of their catchy, jangly tunes. I can’t help but think of Interpol at times while listening to this EP, but what I really like about it is the scrappy, underdog energy the band brings to it, giving it a DIY feel that is incredibly endearing. I’m sure their performance of these and other tunes at The Camel Friday night will be similarly endearing.

Then, of course, there’s Colin Phils, who’ve been a mainstay on the local scene for long enough that you almost forget they originally hailed from Korea. If you’re aware of their association with local math-rock luminaries like Houdan The Mystic, that should give you some idea of what this band is up to… but really, if you’ve gotten this far without hearing their last full-length release, 2020’s Trust/Fall, you’re blowing it, and there’s just no other way to put it. You can, of course, earn some points back by coming out to see them this Friday, and ceasing to resist their melodically complex but always danceable tunes. As for New Jersey’s Rest Ashore, they engage in a little bit of that math-rock guitar tangling on their 2021 album Psychogore, but their grasp of catchy choruses and driving pop crescendos is straight-up emo revival if you ask me. And yes, that’s a good thing. A very very very good thing. As is this entire show, really. Show up and see for yourself.

Saturday, January 15, 7 PM
The Connells, Jphono1 @ The National – $22.50 (order tickets HERE)
Listen, I know what you’re gonna say. “Drew, you’ve sent us to see The Connells before, and every time you’ve done so, you’ve just ranted about how much you loved them back when you were in high school in the early 90s, and how excited you were to see them play songs from 30 years ago.” And it’s all true! I’m not even gonna argue it. At this point, even damn-near-46-year-old me would find it a bit difficult to rationalize going to see The Connells again based on songs they’ve played in this town many many times before — even if those songs are stone classics of American alternative rock (because, I mean… they ARE).

But here’s the really wonderful amazing thing: for the first time in two decades, The Connells made a brand new album in 2021. Called Steadman’s Wake, it’s an album that befits the Connells’ status as veterans of the mid-Atlantic indie scene; indeed, its pensive title track references the opioid epidemic and the Unite The Right riot in Charlottesville. However, songs like “Stars” bring out that classic wistful tone that marked the best Connells songs of decades past, while opener “Really Great” shows that this band still can bring the energetic bounce that we all love to see. I know it’s the hip move to head for the bar when a new song gets broken out at a show like this, but this time around, it must be said — the real reason to see The Connells, even after nearly 40 years, is what they’ve been up to lately.

Sunday, January 16, 7 PM
Free Throw, Bad Luck, Camp Trash @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $16 in advance, $20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Sunday night marks the end of the weekend, another evening of dreading the return to work, or school, or whatever bummer shit makes your Mondays suck. But why not chase those pre-Monday blues away this Sunday night by heading to the lengthily named Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House and checking out a killer performance from Nashville, Tennessee band Free Throw. These guys have been bringing that lovelorn emo excellence for quite a while now. Last year saw the release of their fourth album, Piecing It Together, and while it might not pushed the band’s sound into new terrain, that’s not really a problem when you can dish out the catchy emotional pop-punk sound with the kind of quality and consistency these guys bring to the table.

Basically, if listening to bands like Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, and The Story So Far makes you feel all the feels, Free Throw’s set this Sunday night is sure to put a smile on your face. And just to make the evening even sweeter, Free Throw are bringing a couple of other touring bands with them to chase those looming Monday blues away before they ever get here in the first place. Bad Luck, from New York, trade the most overt emo elements of Free Throw’s sound for a rawer punk edge, and even introduce a tiny bit of Lemonheads bounce into the whole equation, while Florida’s Camp Trash bring in harmony vocals and jangly guitars that they might just have picked up from Angel Dust. The result is sure to be an evening of fine sounds with enough of an emotional hangover to send you to work the next morning with a smile on your face, for once.

Monday, January 17, 7 PM
Dan Whitaker, Mackenzie Roark, Brady Heck @ The Camel – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Let’s go a completely different route for this Monday night, a night on which you just might need to drown your sorrows at the friendly bar over at The Camel. It’s the perfect night to do it, because veteran Chicago singer-songwriter Dan Whitaker will be in the house, touring behind his latest album, One More Story Told. The longtime frontman for Dan Whitaker and the Shinebenders has gone out on his own for his latest album, on which he takes a more stripped-down, acoustic approach toward songs that he’s created throughout his lengthy career. The result is some downcast country-style Americana, avoiding the unfortunate schmaltz of Nashville’s most excessive 70s ballads in favor of the same sorts of bare-bones arrangements that Johnny Cash utilized toward the end of his life to such amazing effect on his American Recordings series of albums.

If that’s the kind of thing that’ll put the tear into your beer (in the happiest sense of the phrase) on Monday night, then you should also appreciate the music we’ll be getting from the two local openers. Mackenzie Roark’s solo work, which generally just features her voice and hollow-body electric guitar, brings the lovelorn mood and honky-tonk twang that’s sure to set your heart alight. And of course, Brady Heck is a hardworking local fella who has showed off his chops most recently on “Saddle Blanket,” a stripped-down alt-country single he released a few months ago featuring guest vocals from Mackenzie Roark and Deau Eyes’ Ali Thibodeau, at least one of whom we know will be in the house for this performance. Is there a team-up in the offing? You won’t know unless you’re there.

Tuesday, January 18, 7 PM
Aura, Novacaine, Rest Aside, 3Peace, Disposed @ The Camel – $5 in advance, $7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Well, it’s official: time really is a flat circle. Thirty years after the whole post-Rage Against The Machine boom in rap-metal, Richmond newcomers Aura have combined a post-deathcore triple-guitar chug attack with some straight-up hip hop vocals to create a sound that lands somewhere between Whitechapel and Downset. And look, I know a lot of people clowned the early-90s era of rap-metal pretty much as soon as it ended, but there’s a reason that sound was so big for a few years there: it had a lot of undeniable power. As someone who was around for this the first time, I’m still unironically stoked when that Downset song everyone always mocks comes on.

So yes, I for one do welcome our new rap-metal overlords. I’m not entirely sure whether Aura is just the first flickerings of a coming new wave; after all, fellow post-deathcore Richmonders Rest Aside are definitely coming from more of a Job For A Cowboy/Killswitch Engage-influenced place, complete with a fair dose of melody in their guitars (which works well — keep that coming, guys). But if these two bands are a good example of how the future looks in Richmond’s young metalcore scene, then I definitely see a dose of the past running through it. Not that I’m complaining; I loved all that stuff the first time around. Let’s rock with it again.

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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]

VA Shows You Must See This Week: July 17 – July 23

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, July 20, 11 AM
RVA Bluegrass & Brews Festival, feat. Adam Dawson, Amanda Beason, Charlie and Darlings, The Come Hears, Corey Axt, K.F.C., Matt Monta, Ol’ Riles Band, Tony Farris & Jon Green, Wes & Rebecca @ AlterNatives Boutique – Free!
It’s hot, y’all. In fact, it’s damn hot. And while, in our modern times, the most effective way to beat the heat is to sit inside in the air conditioning all day (a tactic that, to avoid misconceptions, I am a huge fan of), the traditional Southern way to beat the heat is to spend a lot of time outside, in the shade, drinking cold drinks and listening to good music. It’s that classic Southern tradition that Carytown’s AlterNatives Boutique will be honoring this Saturday with their all-day RVA Bluegrass & Brews festival. The event will, according to AlterNatives management, “honor the values of mountain people with homegrown music, brews, and Southern cuisine.” Sounds good to me.

Where the food is concerned, multiple food trucks from the area will be on the scene, and Legend, COTU, Starr Hill, Hardywood, and more will be on hand to provide the brew. And what about the music? Well, that’s the best part, as nearly a dozen bluegrass acts, mostly from the local area, will be keeping us smiling and our toes tapping. The evening will feature the Come Hears, a loose-knit collective of local bluegrass musicians who came together from open jams at Cary Street Cafe and therefore have tunes by everyone from the Grateful Dead to Merle Haggard in their repertoire.

There’ll also be two sets from up-and-coming locals Ol’ Riles Band, who’ll be celebrating the release of their newest album. Ohio’s Matt Monta will make another of his frequent recent appearances in the River City, and Charlie And Darlings will represent the younger generation of local old-time music players. There are a ton more artists on the bill too, but we’re running out of space to discuss them all, and we still need to mention the Highland Support Project, a local non-profit with a multi-decade history who work to help break the cycles of poverty in mountainous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere. This event is free, but will nonetheless be raising money to benefit the Highland Support Project’s important work. The forecast says it’ll be 100 degrees this Saturday, so beat the heat with some great music, food, and brews at AlterNatives.

Wednesday, July 17, 7 PM
Wailin’ Storms, Unmaker, Manzara @ Gallery 5 – $7 (order tickets HERE)
It’s rare that any band in the world manages to name themselves as appropriately as Wailin’ Storms have. This noisy postpunk group has exactly the sort of loud, heavy, dark, and ominous sound that the phrase “Wailin’ Storms” evokes in your mind. For a group to have such a strong grasp of what they’re doing that they manage to perfectly describe their sound with the name they give their band is impressive in its own right. But the sort of massive foreboding punk rock noise they generated on their most recent LP, 2017’s Sick City, is even more impressive.

Therefore you can be sure that, when Wailin’ Storms take the Gallery 5 stage tonight, this North Carolina quartet will call forth the full fury of a class 5 gale. Their sound somehow manages to mix the dark-as-midnight garage fury of Ex-Cult with the fire-and-brimstone revival-preacher punk of Gun Club and the terrifying gothic horror of first-LP Bauhaus. The result is absolutely incredible — and if you’re into it, you’ll find that the metallic postpunk of Unmaker and the dark moodiness of Manzara make them the perfect local openers. The sun may be baking everyone outside, but tonight in Gallery 5, the perfect musical storm will be brewing. Dive into the eye.

Thursday, July 18, 9 PM
Landmines, Talk Me Off, Xed Out @ Bandito’s – Free!
This one hits me on a personal level, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. A little over a decade ago, Landmines were one of the best punk rock bands in Richmond, and I was a huge, huge fan. Their two LPs were full of furious rage, expertly coupled with indelible melodies and powerful lyrics about the important issues, both personal and political, that we all grapple with every day of our lives. A while after their excellent second LP, Commerce And Marx, was released in 2011, Landmines split up, and though there was a brief reformation in 2014, they haven’t taken the stage in something like four years now. The former members are all still making music in excellent bands like Sea Of Storms, Tied To A Bear, and Park Sparrows, but none of their current projects quite scratch that same itch the way Landmines always did.

Therefore I am very stoked to be able to tell you all that Landmines are finally taking the stage once again! It’ll happen at Bandito’s, and the fact that it’s happening there on something other than a Sunday night lets you know how special it is. With members spread all over the country these days, it’ll be great just to see them all in one place again. And of course, every song they ever recorded was outstanding, so this is going to be a set chock-full of hard-hitting melodic punk classics. The fact that snotty RVA punks Talk Me Off are also on the bill, along with Xed Out — a new project from some longtime vets of the Richmond punk scene — only sweetens the pot that much further. Get to Bandito’s, order some nachos, and let’s all get ready to sing along.

Friday, July 19, 9 PM
Un, Wormwitch, Shy Low, Colin Phils @ Wonderland – $10
In this life, you will find many reasons to be sad. For me most recently, it’s been the loss of something like a thousand dollars after an automotive breakdown four hours from home (and no, the car still isn’t fixed). For you, it might be something more tragic, like heartbreak or the loss of a close friend. Some might say that the best way to deal with emotions stemming from life’s bad breaks is to escape from it all with happy, upbeat music. But Seattle’s Un understand that, when things are really dark, nothing other than downbeat, gloomy music will really strike a chord with you.

For the past several years, Un have been creating note-perfect soundtracks for devastation. Their most recent full-length effort, 2018’s Sentiment, finds them combining haunting minor-key melodies with head-crushing slow-motion sludge riffs and unrelentingly bleak low-end vocals. And while that might sound like an incredibly gloomy thing to listen to, it has some healing elements that, despite paradoxical elements, are no less present. Un may rattle foundations when they take the Wonderland stage Friday night, but it’ll be in pursuit of a catharsis that will help you face the morning that always arrives too soon. Journey into the darkness of Shockoe Bottom this Friday night; you’ll find restoration awaiting you.

Saturday, July 20, 8 PM
Tiger Castle, Midlife Pilot, Cleophus James, Vegan Llamas @ Mojo’s – $5
It’s always a fun time down at Mojo’s, and this Saturday night will be no exception. Not only will delicious Philly cheesesteaks be on the menu like always, but Philadelphia’s Tiger Castle will be on the bill, spreading joy and happiness through loud, upbeat rock n’ roll with a definite post-Nirvana 90s feel. Which is to say, these guys capture that same dynamic created by mixing loud, distorted guitars with catchy pop melodies and a sort of loose, slacker approach to the whole thing.

That might sound like faint praise, but as someone who loved both Pavement and Superchunk back in the day, I see it as nothing but a positive thing. One listen to Tiger Castle’s new LP, Pineapple Slasher, and I fully expect you to be converted. Or you could just come on out to Mojo’s this Saturday night and enjoy a killer set from these traveling guitar-slingers, along with musical treats from local mainstays Midlife Pilot and Vegan Llamas, both of whom are just as adept at that whole 90s-style distorted yet melodic rock n’ roll. Newcomers Cleophus James are a bit of a wild card, but considering you’ll get the other three excellent bands on this bill for a mere $5 — already a screaming deal — you can think of their set as a free bonus.

Sunday, July 21, 6 PM
Madison Turner, Decide By Friday, Dead Selves, Spartan Jet-Plex @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
It’s always great to spice up your weekend with a free show that brings you a ton of local talent as well as a taste of what’s happening outside the city. Bandito’s has been a pretty consistent venue for exactly these sorts of shows, and in recent months, Garden Grove has become just as much of a clutch player where these kinds of chill-yet-awesome shows take place. This Sunday brings one such show to Garden Grove, and it’s very much worth your time.

Madison Turner has become a local mainstay, with her sound that blends angst-ridden folk-punk with 90s-style alt-rock to glorious effect, most recently on excellent 2018 LP, A Comprehensive Guide To Burning Out. She’ll be taking the stage at this one at the head of a four-piece band, which means things are gonna get rockin’, and you’re not gonna want to miss it. Decide By Friday will bring their brilliantly difficult to categorize sound, as epitomized on excellent 2018 EP Sankofa, to the stage, and the strange yet hypnotic ambient balladry of Spartan Jet-Plex will round out the trio of locals. Atlanta’s Dead Selves join the bill with some catchy yet emotionally resonant melodic punk, sure to soothe your soul as you prepare to start your work week. Enjoy this one — you’ve earned it.

Monday, July 22, 9 PM
Dead To A Dying World, Lair, Horse Culture @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
This burning hot week in Richmond is the perfect time to introduce all of you who are as yet unfamiliar to the majestic power of Dead To A Dying World, an epic, metallic force of nature in the form of a band featuring seven full-time members churning up huge, towering soundscapes of apocalyptic proportions. If you find Neurosis, Sunn 0))), Mogwai, and Mussourgsky’s “Night On Bald Mountain” equally captivating, this is the band for you, and they prove it with flair and finesse on brand-new LP Elegy, which sees them shifting back and forth between ambient moments full of ominous portent, and outright skull-crushing epic brutality.

This won’t just be a performance, it will be an experience, one far more memorable and life-altering than a three-hour superhero movie full of universe-ranging battles between gods and godlike humans. Why? Because that’s all make-believe, but Dead To A Dying World are 100 percent real. Just like the terrifying, captivating, and inescapable force we know as “life.” Of which this show is guaranteed to be a highlight. Don’t miss it.

Tuesday, July 23, 9 PM
Mephiskapheles, AdGRod, Blunt @ Wonderland – $10
Wow — this is a real blast from the past. Back in the late 90s, when ska ruled the roost and it seemed like every punk band had to have at least one song based around upstrokes, Mephiskapheles stood out in a crowded field, separate from the thousands of Save Ferris and Voodoo Glow Skulls clones, due to their frank embrace of the diabolical power of Satan. That’s right, it’s not just a clever name — from their very beginnings in the early 90s on to their eventual drifting apart in the early days of the 21st century. The ska boom-times had begun to wane, and the members slowly moved on.

However, two decades beyond the time of Mephiskapheles’ greatest fame, a new generation has discovered the joys of skanking all night in black-and-white checked pants, and the stage has been set for a ska revival. Mephiskapheles has been back and playing shows for several years now, their playfully devilish streak intact, and even released a self-titled EP a few years ago that found them at the top of their game as ever, especially on metallic reggae tunes like “Satan Stole My Weed” and “Snakes In The Garden.” Look — I know some of you still have porkpie hats and creepers buried in the back of your closets. What better opportunity than this one will you have to break them out once again? Exactly. Make it happen, cap’n.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, July 19, 8 PM
J. Marinelli, Tucker Riggleman & the Cheap Dates @ Pale Fire Tap Room (Harrisonburg) – $5
Here’s a surprising and exciting face from long ago to delight those like me who were heavily involved in the emo scene 25 or so years ago. J. Marinelli once played guitar in Samuel, without a doubt the most unjustly forgotten band of that whole mid-90s Jade Tree Records scene that brought the world The Promise Ring and Texas Is The Reason. The sad denouement of Samuel in no way quieted the punk rock fire in J. Marinelli’s heart, though, and for the past decade or so, he’s been recording and performing as a one-man band, keeping the beat with his feet as he dishes out driving guitar riffs and sings joyous anthems of personal resistance.

Of course, as with any one-man band, Marinelli’s got a definite roots-rock influence mixed into his sound, but on 2017 LP Stray Volts, he pulls just as much from old-time folk, good ol’ punk rock, and even a little bit of mountain holler. It all adds up to a lot of fun, and that’s what you’ll have if you journey out to Harrisonburg’s Pale Fire Tap Room this Friday night. J. Marinelli will be joined on the bill by Tucker Riggleman and his band, the Cheap Dates, who’ll be laying down some of the same twangy, rollicking rock n’ roll they brought to us all earlier this year with their Time Machine EP. It’s going to be a ton of fun — don’t miss it.

Saturday, July 20, 7:30 PM
Sierra Ferrell @ The Golden Pony (Harrisonburg) – $10
I have no idea who Sierra Ferrell is bringing with her to The Golden Pony this Saturday night. Backing group? Opening act? It might happen, or it might not — I really can’t tell you. But even if it’s just her up there onstage all by herself for three hours, you should check it out regardless. This young lady from Nashville, Tennessee is a flawless songwriter who clearly works in an old-time milieu but has no easily-defined genre. Is she a folk singer? A country barroom queen? A swinging pop spitfire? The answer is: yes, and she’s a whole lot more than all that too.

On her new album, Washington By The Sea, Sierra Ferrell works with a five-piece band, but within a minimalist, acoustic framework that keeps her voice and acoustic guitar the undisputable star of the show. Occasional touches from fiddle, dobro, bass, and pedal steel bring layered depth to her sound, but rest assured, Ferrell’s songs stand on their own, with a driving pace and a distinctive lyrical approach that only gains ground when those words are sung in her uniquely captivating voice. Honestly, nothing I can say here will give you the full idea of what you’re in for at The Golden Pony Saturday night — you need to be there and see for yourself. Whether there’s an opening act or not.

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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 via Highland Support Project

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: May 15 – May 21

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FEATURED SHOW
Monday, May 20, 7 PM
Cursive, Mewithoutyou, The Appleseed Cast @ The Broadberry – $22 in advance/$25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This show is an absolute bonanza for people who were crazy about emo fifteen years ago. I shouldn’t even have to tell you that I’m one of those people. Back in 2004, Cursive, a band closely associated with the Omaha scene that also produced Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Saddle Creek Records, had just topped off a string of killer emotionally-driven alt-rock albums with the instant classic The Ugly Organ. MewithoutYou had just released their stunning sophomore LP, Catch Us For The Foxes, which introduced a wider audience to frontman Aaron Weiss’s strangely moving story-songs. And The Appleseed Cast had both blown everyone away and helped to push the genre forward with a trio of amazing albums: Mare Vitalis, the two-volume Low Level Owl series, and the moving, unforgettable Two Conversations.

But look — this Monday night triple-header at The Broadberry is far from a pure nostalgia act. Oh, I’m sure the groups on this bill will play some old tunes you know and love, but all of them remain active, powerful creative forces to this day. Last year, Cursive reunited with original drummer Clint Schnase after a decade, released their first album in six years, and brought in cellist Megan Seibe to recapture the sound they’d had on previous high-water marks Burst And Bloom and The Ugly Organ. Vitriola turns out to be every bit as great as those emo classics, and should be more than capable of capturing the full attention of fans who currently plan to hit the bar during the new songs. (Yo, don’t be that guy. For real.)

MewithoutYou remains a powerful creative force fifteen years later as well. On 2018’s dual releases, an LP and an EP (both untitled), Aaron Weiss engaged in matter-of-fact examination of his own struggles with mental illness and the way it mirrors the mental illness in his ancestry and that of disparate historical figures, including European royalty from centuries past. And amazingly enough, the music behind this emotional travelogue is some of the best of the band’s career thus far. Meanwhile, it’s been six years since the last full LP of Appleseed Cast material, 2013’s Illumination Ritual, but Christopher Crisci and company released a new single, “Asking The Fire For Medicine,” in January, and it apparently heralds a new LP that seems sure to follow their recent pattern of atmospheric, melodic, progressive post-hardcore. Will they bust out some other new ones at The Broadberry? The prospect alone makes this one worth the trip.

Wednesday, May 15, 8 PM
Charming Disaster, Left-Handed Smoke Shifters @ Fallout – $7 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
A simple way to describe Charming Disaster, who come to Richmond from their hometown of Brooklyn this very night, is as a gothic-folk duo. However, if such a descriptor conjures up thoughts of Comus, Current 93, or Simon Finn for you, then it’s been a bit misleading. There’s much more of the carnival folk traditions of old Europe in Charming Disaster’s music, and even as they bring a decided noir sensibility to their memorable ballads, there’s a clear sense of humor running throughout, letting you know that this, um, charming duo have a lot to offer besides pain and sadness.

Their brand new album, Spells & Rituals, doesn’t get an official release until June 7, so chances are you will not have an opportunity to pick up a copy for yourself at the show. But you will get a delightful preview of the excellent sounds on offer — just enough to whet your appetite for your very own pre-order. Opening sounds will be provided by Left-Handed Smoke Shifters, a band named after an old campfire joke and bringing together the talents of local bellydancing sensation Madame Onca and singer/vaudeville host extraordinaire Mark Slomski. It’s always nice to see what these two are up to, so don’t miss this one!

Thursday, May 16, 9 PM
BAT, Witchtrial, Under Attack @ Bandito’s – Free!
If you love metal, hardcore, and/or general headbanging madness, Bandito’s is the place you should be this Thursday night. This free show will serve as a record release party for not one, not two, but ALL THREE bands on this bill! BAT are your headliners, and it’s a fitting spot on the bill for a trio featuring current or former members of Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse, and DRI. This old-school thrash band has been inducing serious fist-pumping headbanging good times around Richmond and beyond for years now, and on this night, they’re releasing their second LP, Axestacy.

Axestacy takes things to the next level for BAT; it’s full of the kind of incredible riffs and ridiculous lyrics that fans of early Exodus or Dark Angel are sure to appreciate. They’ll probably also appreciate the new LP from Witchtrial; this DC band is releasing their first full-length on VA’s own Beach Impediment Records, and have a lot of links to the world of hardcore — but the music on their self-titled LP is pure thrash. With a roaring attack sure to remind you of prime German thrash, fans of Sodom and Kreator are definitely going to want to pay attention to this one. Not to be left out, Richmond’s own Under Attack are releasing a new tape full of speedy, no-frills hardcore on the Vinyl Conflict label, and if you dig pedal-to-the-metal ‘core action, you’re gonna want a copy of this. Since this show is free, you’ll be in prime financial position to pick up releases from all three of these ragers. But wait til after the set; you don’t want your brand new records getting messed up in the pit!

Friday, May 17, 8 PM
Perturbator, GOST, True Body @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance/$25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
For those of you who were stoked to see Fallout on the list this week, only to be let down that it wasn’t an industrial show I’m sending you to there — take heart! For the industrial sound can be found in all sorts of places around town, if you know where to look. Take Perturbator’s arrival at The Broadberry this Friday night. People talk a lot with respect to Perturbator about spooky synth soundtracks to 70s and 80s Italian horror movies, and listen, there is a fair bit of that in Perturbator’s sound. But the group’s most recent LP, 2017’s New Model, is going to be even more familiar to fans of Skinny Puppy or Front 242 than it will be to fans of Goblin or Tangerine Dream.

Seriously, regardless of whatever you’ve heard thrown around about “retrosynth,” all you coldwave, postpunk, and industrial fans owe it to yourselves to listen to Perturbator. Because even if the hipsters don’t know how to contextualize this stuff, the goth kids are sure to understand. This is prime stomping-around-a-foggy-dancefloor-in-black-Docs music — black fingernails are definitely a plus. Just to further drive the point home, GOST is on this bill as well, bringing you the exact sort of industrial electro-pound that you know and crave. True Body will start the evening with some moody postpunk from right here in VA. Get the leather pants out, y’all.

Saturday, May 18, 5 PM
Spooky Cool, Outer Spaces, Opin, Julie Karr @ Hardywood – Free!
When you can give your band a name that actually describes your band, you’re really onto something good. Take Spooky Cool, for example; this Richmond band’s name may not tell you what genre they play or how many people are in the band, but it does offer you two specific bits of info: they’re spooky, and they’re cool. That’s enough to make a lot of people curious. And then when you actually hear this band’s hybrid math-prog alt-indie sound, you realize that the name hasn’t steered you wrong. There’s a definite spooky vibe to what this group is up to on their first EP, Every Thing Ever. And it’s definitely cool as hell.

Then there’s Outer Spaces, a band I’ve been excited about for quite a while now. This latest project of incredibly talented Baltimore singer-songwriter Cara Beth Satalino hasn’t released an LP since 2016’s A Shedding Snake, but is returning in a big way over the next month or so — first with a brand-new two-song EP on Saddle Creek, then with a new LP, Glazing Globe, scheduled for release next month. As a longtime fan, I couldn’t be more stoked, and the songs that have been released thus far from these two projects sound excellent, despite their genesis in anxiety, self-doubt, and the end of a long-term relationship. Hey, we’ve all been there, right? Sometimes making art is the best way out. Outer Spaces has made some great music in the past, and there’s no reason to think that’ll change now. Do yourself a favor and go see both of these groups. After all, the price is right.

Sunday, May 19, 7 PM
HIRS, Coherence, NØ MAN, .gif From God @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The most confrontational queer grindcore band ever finally comes to Richmond and I for one couldn’t be more stoked. HIRS grabbed some relatively mainstream attention in 2018 with the release of Friends, Lovers, Favorites, their first full-length of new material — relatively speaking, that is; its 20 songs still blow by in under 15 minutes. They’ve hardly rested on their laurels since then, cranking out several EPs in the past year or so, as well as a split LP of Nirvana covers with celebrated New Orleans sludge masters Thou.

When HIRS arrive in Richmond, you can expect the confrontational spirit embodied in past EP titles like Trans Girl Takeover, You Can’t Kill Us, and How To Stop Street Harassment, as well as the harsh, raging grind sound of their breakthrough LP, to hit you like a ton of bricks. It won’t just be lightspeed velocity, either — this group knows how to bring the most headcrushingly powerful of breakdowns as well. Basically, this is the heaviest band you’ll see in Richmond anytime this year, and you’re going to thoroughly enjoy having your head knocked off by them. Trust me.

Monday, May 20, 7 PM
Dehd, Blunt, Plastic Nancy @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $10 (order tickets HERE)
A few years ago, that whole droney jangly post-Velvet Underground sound was in the ascent in the indie world, and I was digging it. More recently, it seems like everyone’s on that synthesized bedroom-pop tip, which I guess is also cool, but I’m glad to see Dehd out here proving that the jangle-drone sound is not, um, dead. This Chicago band’s new LP, Water, shows that there are many possibilities for musical greatness embedded within the basic no-frills rock n’ roll package. By channeling VU and The Cramps through a more modern sound that reminds me of Parquet Courts, Beach Fossils, and the like, Dehd has created some serious gold soundz. Yes, with a Z.

Dehd will be joined on this bill by a couple of RVA newcomers with a lot to offer. Blunt takes a sludgy approach to dark garage punk sounds, while Plastic Nancy cranks out some psychedelic punk rock fun. This whole show is gonna rock like crazy, and in 2019, that can’t always be guaranteed. Treasure it when you find it.

Tuesday, May 21, 7 PM
Blessed, Unmaker, Serqet @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Some serious goth vibes going on around Richmond this week, although this Tuesday night show at The Camel only bears a passing resemblance to the other two shows this week that have led me to use that term. Specifically, Blessed play a gloomy, metallic form of postpunk that veers from morose to anxious on their debut LP, Salt, released earlier this spring. The results this Vancouver band are able to generate are transfixing in the extreme, and their reputation for live greatness only makes this show at The Camel feel that much more of an essential part of your midweek.

The fact that Richmond’s own Unmaker are on the bill as well only makes this an even more essential evening of sounds. This group shows off their more intense version of goth-metal awesomeness on debut full-length Firmament, an album that’s turned a lot of heads locally and nationally since its release six months ago. Mixing this powerful blend of Killing Joke-style rage with Blessed’s more deliberate approach will make for a heady musical brew, and adding the gothic peace-punk vibes of Serqet to the mixture is only going to take things to an even higher level. Get on board with this one.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, May 16, 7:30 PM
The Struts @ The NorVA – $22.50 in advance/$25.50 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The Struts are one of the more fascinating discoveries the mainstream rock world has yielded in recent years. This British band has a fashion sense that seems equally derived from Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, and the Sex Pistols, but musically, they land somewhere in the area of a 21st-century update on Queen. This group clearly comes from a modern time in which the backlash against the 80s hair-metal era has faded from youthful memory; rather than playing their glammed-out, swaggering rock n’ roll for over-the-top laughs the way The Darkness did, The Struts are 100 percent serious about their desire for world domination.

Which might be totally obnoxious if they didn’t have the songs to pull it off. Singles like “Could’ve Been Me,” “Kiss This,” and their collaboration with Kesha, “Body Talks,” are proven arena-rock anthems, and they’re sure to get the NorVA popping on Thursday night. Once you’ve seen The Struts blow the roof off the joint, all your doubts will be cleared away, leaving only the desire to rock! The Struts will definitely help you with that, though after the night that awaits you, you may feel the need to call in to work Friday morning. But hey, why not? That’s the rock n’ roll thing to do.

Sunday, May 19, 6 PM
Enforced, Copperhead, Flatline, Semtex, Bato @ West Beach Tavern – $10
I love the way a lot of tough-guy hardcore is metal as fuck these days. I mean, granted, I still don’t like to get up front at the shows (who enjoys having to keep your back to the band just so you can dodge flying fists and feet?), but the music sure is a lot better when I go to them, and that makes us middle-aged ladies standing in the back of the room real happy. Enforced have shown their crossover-thrash chops off both on tape and in the live environment for a while now, and with their At The Walls LP soon to drop, they’re about to take it to the next level. Get on board now.

Both Richmond’s own Enforced and fellow RVA thrash-masters Copperhead will be heading down to VB for this end-of-weekend rager at West Beach Tavern, and both will bring the sort of aggressive hardcore attack that, if you close your eyes (or even if you keep them open, considering how many longhairs there are in hardcore bands these days) you’ll likely mistake for straight-up metal. Which rules. They’ll be joined on this bill by three Hampton Roads-based ensembles; Flatline and Semtex bring a more straightforward Agnostic Front/Negative Approach-style HC attack, while Bato verge on fastcore with their speedy beats and energetic sound. The pit should be going hard from beginning to end at this one; I’ll be sure to stand back.

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

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