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VA Shows You Must See This Week: June 5 – June 11

Marilyn Drew Necci | June 5, 2019

Topics: Angel Dust, Asylum 213, Bandito's, Berries, Big Gorgeous, Broken Beaches, Brown's Island, Cardinal, Cary Street Cafe, Charlie's American Cafe, Colder Planets, Colin Phils, Comrades, Cuzco, Dave Watkins, Deli Kings, Doll Baby, Dumb Waiter, Eaves, evolv, F.R.E.E., feat. MAP Quintet, Firehouse Theatre, Founding Fathers, friday cheers, gallery 5, Gel, Ghost Piss, Glitterer, Gouge Away, Gull, Gumming, Honor Code, ING, Invalids, Kore Rozzik, Ladada, Larrabee/Millner Duo, Mingus Awareness Project, Nervous System, New Turks, Nita Strauss, Piranha Rama, POST RVA Fest, Post Sixty Five, Raging Nathans, Raise Hell Over The Summer, Retrosphere, ROC KANDI, Saint Mingus, shows you must see, shy low, Smoke Break, Spooky Cool, Street Weapon, Talk Me Off, THE BBC, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Teskey Brothers, The War And Treaty, Toast, Truth Cult, Unity Fight, way shape or form

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, June 8, 7 PM
New Turks (Photo by Sarmistha Talukdar), Gumming, Deli Kings, Ghost Piss, F.R.E.E., ing @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)

The arrival of Raw Mom Presents on the Richmond live music scene has made me really happy, mainly because it allows my old pal Rivanna Youngpool to put her personal stamp on some of the shows she puts on at Gallery 5. Years ago, when we were roommates, Rivanna worked hard to make the shows she booked in our living room safe, welcoming, and fun, and to keep the emphasis on community and friendship. Now that she’s booking at a real venue, it’s nice to see her keeping the vibe alive with an awesome all-local show to celebrate her birthday.

As befitting any birthday party, this one is full of friends, and the headliners in particular are two long-lost friends you’ll all want to see. Heavy bass-drum duo New Turks rocked the hell out of Richmond during their four years of existence, but Ethan and Lou stopped making music together back in 2015, and other than one reunion gig a year later, they haven’t done a thing since. But just for old times’ sake, they will be returning for one night only this Saturday night to headline this show, and that’s a birthday gift not just for Rivanna but for the whole city. You won’t want to miss this one, because who knows if — not when, IF — they’ll ever do it again.

The fun doesn’t stop there, as this gig features a highly varied lineup sure to keep your attention throughout the night. Deli Kings have got that Southern-style garage rock on lock, and Ing keep things eclectic and melodic with some charming lo-fi pop. Former Richmonder and eternal friend River Allen will be back in town for the evening with her haunting electro-ambient project, Ghost Piss, and I can’t seem to figure anything out about F.R.E.E. except that they are neither a reformed version of Have Heart nor that British band who sang “All Right Now.” But with the rest of the bill looking so great, this one is worth taking a chance on. Plus, advance tickets are literally 50% cheaper than the price at the door, so mark your calendar, make your plans, and hit that ticket link now!

Wednesday, June 5, 9 PM
Founding Fathers, Big Gorgeous, Asylum 213 @ Cary Street Cafe – $10

I’ve heard a lot of synth-based bands over the years, and one thing I can say for sure is that the studio recordings by the majority of them give you no idea what the band could possibly sound like live. That’s why it’s always refreshing to run across a band that is both synth-heavy and manages to sound on its records like an actual band playing their songs as a unit. Ohio band Founding Fathers, who place the emphasis on synthesizers and programmed beats but also incorporate guitars and live drums into their sound, totally pull this off on their 2018 LP, Mating Rites, and that’s a big part of why I think you should go see them tonight at Cary Street Cafe.

The music reminds me somewhat of Future Islands, another synth-based band that works particularly well as a live act, and there are also hints of upbeat early-00s bands like Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand in there. It all adds up to a rocking band that’ll keep you dancing throughout the evening — and the world could definitely use more of those, so come out tonight and get familiar with the Founding Fathers. While you’re at it, check out the ridiculously fun synth-metal antics of California’s Big Gorgeous, who’ll give you even more reason to dance around with a big grin on your face. This one’s gonna rule.

Thursday, June 6, 9 PM
Raging Nathans, Smoke Break, Talk Me Off @ Bandito’s – Free!

Raging Nathans are a band out of time. This band from Dayton Ohio, who are probably tired of hearing about Guided By Voices, have a sound that is in its own way just as anachronistic as that of GBV themselves — only instead of harking back to some alternate-universe lo-fi garage-psych past, Raging Nathans will make any of you old-timers who were there the first time around think of pop-punk’s mid-90s heyday. Post-y2k pop-punk tends to follow in the gruffer footsteps of bands like Hot Water Music and Dillinger Four, but on last year’s Cheap Fame LP, Raging Nathans bypass all that for some good old Lookout!/Fat Wreck sounds that, while I wasn’t looking, seemingly became part of a bygone era.

This Bandito’s show is the perfect opportunity for all of us to bring that era back, at least in our own hearts. The fact that the Raging Nathans have released splits with both The Parasites and Jon Cougar Concentration Camp in the past year should let you know that they’re on board. And they’ll have you pogoing up a storm when they hit the stage on Thursday night. They’ll be joined by one of Richmond’s great slacker melodic-punk bands, Smoke Break, who may not play another show for six months, so you better get there. And of course, Talk Me Off opens up with a snottier brand of punk, mostly without the pop, to remind us all of our angry teenage days. It’s gonna be a whole lot of fun.

Friday, June 7, 6 PM
The War And Treaty, The Teskey Brothers @ Friday Cheers at Brown’s Island – $10 (order tickets HERE)

Usually you can expect the bands who play Friday Cheers to be pretty familiar, so I was surprised to see a name I didn’t know on the schedule this week: The War And Treaty. I’m glad I dug in, though, because this musical group is one of the most interesting that’s come to my attention recently. Specifically, The War And Treaty is a husband-and-wife duo, Michael and Tanya Trotter, who sing together while Michael plays piano and a variety of other musicians add color and depth to their exuberant, soulful songs.

The result, born from Michael’s difficult experiences growing up impoverished and joining the military just in time for the Iraq war, is a sound that taps into blues, R&B, folk, gospel, country, and a ton of other American sounds. On their debut album, Healing Tide, Michael and Tanya sing together to chase away the darkness and create a musical force more powerful than any trauma. They pull it off flawlessly, and they’re sure to uplift all of Brown’s Island this Friday night when they take that Friday Cheers stage and make this whole city their own. Be there ready to sing along — this kind of healing is exactly what we all need.

Saturday, June 8, 3 PM
POST RVA Fest, feat. Comrades, Invalids, Gull, Shy Low, Colin Phils, Dumb Waiter, evolv, Spooky Cool, Cuzco, Post Sixty Five, Eaves, Cardinal, Way Shape Or Form, Dave Watkins, Colder Planets @ The Broadberry – $12 – $18 (order tickets HERE)

Here’s an impressive effort that’s starting out the right way. Spearheaded by Richmond-via-Korea band Colin Phils, the first ever POST RVA Fest will take over the Broadberry for a full nine hours of music this Saturday. Rather than going too big and biting off more than they can chew (something I know all about), the organizers of POST RVA Fest have mostly stuck with local groups in pulling together this 15-band showcase sure to appeal to anyone who digs epic instrumental post-rock, jazzy technical math-rock, melodic progressive metal, complex guitar-driven indie, and everything in-between — which covers a good deal more ground than you might expect.

Just look at this bill, which is topped by peripatetic former locals Comrades, a heavy trio who combine metalcore, post-rock, emo, indie, and a whole bunch of other genres into their unique, driving sound. New Jersey’s Invalids, by contrast, dish out hyperspeed math-rock with emphasis on guitar and drum pyrotechnics that’ll have the gear nerds in the audience watching very closely. There are a ton of other amazing bands, mostly from the Richmond area, on the bill, from Gull’s indescribable one-man sonic creations and Cardinal’s gorgeously complex indie-math-rock to Dumb Waiter’s freaky instrumental jazz-metal and Shy Low’s Mogwai-style moving instrumental epics. There’s so much here, for such a cheap ticket price, and if it all comes together perfectly, it may just be able to draw a loose, disparate group of musically similar local musicians into an actual scene. What could be a greater goal for a show than that? Get your ticket and be a part of it. You won’t be sorry.

Sunday, June 9, 7:30 PM
Mingus Awareness Project, feat. MAP Quintet, Larrabee/Millner Duo, Saint Mingus @ Firehouse Theatre – $15 in advance/$20 day of show/$10 for students (order tickets HERE)

This Sunday, if you want to both support a great cause and hear some amazing music you won’t hear anywhere else, then the only place you need to go is Firehouse Theatre. There, you’ll find local jazz-rock drum legend Brian Jones putting on the 12th edition of his yearly Mingus Awareness Project concerts, which exist to bring attention and support to the cause of curing ALS, the deadly incurable disease that took the life of bass legend Charles Mingus back in 1979. And as part of this charitable goal, Jones will be joining together with a variety of confederates from around the Richmond jazz scene to pay unique tribute to the phenomenal masterpieces of the one and only Mingus.

This time around, those tributes will take three forms, beginning with the MAP Quintet, which matches Jones up with his longtime collaborator, saxophonist JC Kuhl, as well as Virginia jazz powerhouses John D’earth on trumpet, Mike Hawkins on bass, and Calvin Brown (aka Calvin Presents) on piano. Then we’ll get a performance from the electric-guitar duo of Adam Larrabee and Jamal Millner, as well as a quintet known as Saint Mingus, which will match Jones with Richmond jazz ambassador Reggie Pace as well as Suzi Fischer (The Big Payback), Giustino Riccio (Bio Ritmo), and Stefan Demetriadis (No BS! Brass). Such an incredibly talented conglomeration of musicians is sure to do justice to Charles Mingus’s incredible compositions, and you’re going to want to be there to see them do it. Donating to a good cause is just the icing on the cake.

Monday, June 10, 7 PM
Angel Dust, Gouge Away, Glitterer, Truth Cult @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)

One thing I’ve learned from my years in the hardcore scene is that, as long as you put a few years into playing hardcore music, the kids will follow you to whatever new thing you do, regardless of how it sounds. Angel Dust is a perfect case in point: while this band features members of Trapped Under Ice, Turnstile, and Mindset, you’d be totally incorrect to expect anything hard or heavy from their brand-new album, Pretty Buff. Instead, this album finds the quintet of tough boys showing their sensitive side and, indeed, getting downright upbeat. And that’s not to mention the predominantly-acoustic guitar sound.

All told, Angel Dust’s upbeat sound has led to comparisons with groups like the Lemonheads or early Green Day. But despite all that, it’s done nothing to chase the hardcore faithful away — and one listen to Pretty Buff is enough to see why. These guys are every bit as good at lovelorn melodies as they are at hard n’ heavy mosh-pit anthems. So why not celebrate all of it equally? Join all the HC kids Monday night in doing exactly that at The Camel. And while you’re at it, enjoy what’s sure to be an incredible set from raging hardcore-punk quartet Gouge Away, who will deliver every bit of vitriol you might have expected from Angel Dust and then some. The bill will also feature Title Fight frontman Ned Russin’s electronic side project, Glitterer, and the killer up-and-coming sounds of Baltimore’s Truth Cult, a decidedly Swiz-ish group featuring members of Give, Red Death, and more. Every second of this is sure to be outstanding.

Tuesday, June 11, 6 PM
Nita Strauss, Kore Rozzik, THE BBC, Roc Kandi, Retrosphere @ The Canal Club – $17 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)

Maybe it’s only because I came up in the late 80s era of hair metal’s world domination (OK, yeah, that’s probably it), but I just love some really ridiculous over the top metal shredding. And as much as I enjoy this kind of thing from veteran masters of the field — Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, you know the ones — it makes me way happier to see someone younger carrying on the tradition. And a woman, at that! Nita Strauss first grabbed attention with her string-bending star turn in all-female Iron Maiden tribute act The Iron Maidens, but she’s since graduated to all sorts of original work, from joining Alice Cooper’s touring band to scoring video games like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

Now she’s gone out on her own, releasing her debut solo album, Controlled Chaos, last year and hitting the road on a headlining tour to support it. Keeping with the tradition of shredders past such as Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, Strauss forgoes vocals for this album’s anthems, instead using her multilayered melodic leads as color and giving the album’s many headbanging riffs more than sufficient texture to keep you smiling and thrashing along. You can do that exact thing at the Canal Club Tuesday night when Strauss’s headlining set caps off a night full of shred-tastic adventures. Notorious NYC metal maniacs Kore Rozzik will provide plenty of those, along with several killer locals. Get ready for some serious thrash, y’all — because it’s happening.

Elsewhere around the state:

Friday, June 7, 7 PM
Gel, Honor Code, Nervous System, Street Weapon, Unity Fight @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $5

For all you diehards who might be feeling a little deprived by Angel Dust’s relentlessly upbeat post-hardcore melodies, rest assured we’ve still got plenty of straight-ahead no-frills hardcore for ya, and — unsurprisingly enough — it’s happening this Friday night in Norfolk. Gel, a recently formed New Jersey band who have only a demo to their name, are coming to town to tear it up. The demo’s five songs blow by incredibly fast, and are full of sloppy, out-of-control hardcore riffage with a decidedly maniacal edge. This band seems like a prime candidate for an absolutely explosive live performance, and you’re gonna want to be there to see it go down.

Down in the Hampton Roads area, Honor Code are sure to draw just as much attention as the New Jersey headliners — after all, this is their first show in nearly two years. Does that mean this 82-style old school VBHC combo has returned to full time action? Maybe, maybe not, but it does mean you’ll have one more chance to circle pit to their legendarily primitive hardcore tuneage — and that’s sure to be a blast. The show will also feature local NFKHC up-and-comers Nervous System, as well as brand-new VB bands Street Weapon and Unity Fight, both of whom have names that sound suspiciously randomly generated. However, we can guarantee that both are entirely made up of real flesh-and-blood humans. Pure organic hardcore, coming right up.

Saturday, June 8, 5 PM
LAVA Presents GRILLED OUT, feat. Ladada, Berries, Piranha Rama, Broken Beaches, Doll Baby, Raise Hell Over The Summer @ Toast – $10 in advance/$14 day of show (order tickets HERE)

Memorial Day has come and gone, and at least in Virginia, that means summer has arrived, y’all. And what better way to spend a sunny summer evening than grillin’ out and chillin’ out with some great tunes? This weekend, LAVA Presents has you covered on both of those scores, as their Saturday evening GRILLED OUT fest will find the Tidewater-area promotional crew hanging out in the Toast parking lot, joined by Handsome Biscuit burgers, Smartmouth Beer, and a whole conglomeration of excellent Virginia musicians.

Ladada are at the top of the bill, and this Norfolk indie group has just the tunes you need for a summer afternoon cookout — they even put a guy floating down a river with a red solo cup in hand on the cover of their recent LP, Heaven On The Rocks, so you know they’ve got the right idea. The day will also feature delicious indie-pop sounds from VB group Berries, excellently named New York indie-rockers Raise Hell Over The Summer, and some rad RVA sounds from local faves Piranha Rama and Doll Baby. You Richmonders might want to get a crew and roll down with a carful — especially since the tickets are cheaper if you buy them at the group rate! Grab some burgers, rock out to some tunes, and enjoy the summer — it’ll be gone before you know it.

—-

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | April 17, 2019

Topics: Bantustans, Battlemaster, Beeline, Bogues, Brick, Broken Beaches, Corridor, Cris Jacobs, Crumb, Delta Sleep, Doll Baby, Earthling, From Overseas, gallery 5, Han Gan, High Voltage, Hikes, Horse Culture, Hot Spit, Hotspit, Jeremy Enigk, LA Guns, Lance Bangs, Landon Elliott, Red Death, Shormey, shows you must see, Sinister Purpose, Slump, Snake Mountain Revival, Strawberry Moon, Tavernier, The Beacon Theatre, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Do-Nothings, The Golden Pony, Toast, Tomo Nakayama, Toward Space, Venus Milo, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, April 20, 8 PM
Battlemaster (Photo by David Morton), Sinister Purpose, Horse Culture, Doll Baby, Shormey @ Gallery 5 – $6 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)

This year 420 falls on a weekend, and for quite a few of y’all out there, that’s a particular cause for celebration. I may not choose to partake in the herbal sacraments, but I like music and munchies as much as the next girl, so I can certainly appreciate a good 420 party — and Gallery 5 is throwing a great one this Saturday. My old roommate, who handled all the booking back when I lived at a show house, has moved up in the world, and is booking at Gallery 5 these days (remember that the next time someone tells you you’re wasting your time with all this DIY crap and it’ll never amount to anything), and she’s pulled together a show that reminds me of the great holiday shows we used to throw in our living room, not so long ago. Boy, a lot can change in three years, huh?

At the top of the bill, heading up Gallery 5’s 420 festivities for the third year in a row, is the almighty Battlemaster. Richmond’s death-thrash terrors may not be the most active of bands — it’s been four years since the release of their last LP — but their onstage energy is nothing to scoff at. Rest assured, when these maniacs start dishing out the riffs, blastbeats, and tortured screams, you’re gonna be headbanging at full speed just like everyone else in the room. Rockin’ rollin’ hardcore maniacs Sinister Purpose, who somehow manage to sound like Motorhead, Negative Approach, and the New Bomb Turks at the same time, are equally prepared to lay you out with their fierce sounds.

Horse Culture are also on the bill, presenting their multi-layered take on blackened shoegaze sludge. But it’s not all heaviness — the show will also feature a set of heartfelt melody and passionate emotion from Richmond faves Doll Baby, and Tidewater favorite Shormey will be joining in with some gorgeous electro-indie sounds. Plus, in a move that takes me back to the house-show days, this event will feature a table full of munchies to ease your 420 cravings, along with a photo spot and some fun temporary tattoos! Gotta keep shows interesting, right? What’s more, I really must advise you to buy your tickets in advance — if you wait to pay at the door, the price doubles. If that’s not an incentive, I don’t know what is.

Wednesday, April 17, 7 PM
Delta Sleep, Bogues, Hikes, Venus Milo @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance/$17 day of show (order tickets HERE)

There are those who will tell you that UK band Delta Sleep are math-rock, but if you ask me, that’s a bit of a misnomer. While they do incorporate the sort of delicate melodic complexity that has become a hallmark of post-Y2K math rock (replacing the harsh atonal noise that was the genre’s signature in the 90s), this band demonstrates on last year’s Ghost City that what really matters to them is creating music that moves you. They pull that off with aplomb and panache on their latest LP, and they’re sure to do the same when they hit the stage at the Canal Club tonight.

Nashville’s Bogues join Delta Sleep on this trip to Richmond, and while they’ve got an excellent sound in their own right, there’s definitely some daylight between the two out-of-towners. A solo-oriented project that sometimes takes the form of frontman AJ Gruenewald strumming an electric guitar and singing his heart out, Bogues have a strong melodic feel and a definite emotional orientation that’s likely to remind you of Julien Baker or Into It. Over It. in solo form. Texas band Hikes, who have a bit of the twinkly emo revival about them but are by no means easily slotted into a simple flavor-of-the-month genre, will also be on the bill to delight fans of tangled guitar leads, while relatively new locals Venus Milo kick the whole thing off.

Thursday, April 18, 7 PM
LA Guns @ Beacon Theatre – $22-30 (order tickets HERE)

One of the classic Sunset Strip glam metal bands of that genre’s 80s heyday, LA Guns have quite a storied history. Early lineups featured everyone from a pre-Guns n’ Roses Axl Rose (indeed, that’s where the “guns” half of his signature group’s name came from) to Weirdos/Germs drummer Nickey Beat, while more recent years saw longtime singer Phil Lewis and founding guitarist Tracii Guns leading two different versions of the group on competing US tours. Eep. Thankfully, the two buried the hatchet several years ago, and now lead a unified version of LA Guns once again (…though apparently the band’s longtime drummer now has a competing version with a bunch of randos he hired. It never ends, apparently).

Guns and Lewis will be coming to Hopewell’s Beacon Theatre, a venue that has quietly become the most reliable place in Virginia at which to see still-touring glam metal greats of decades past. I don’t know about y’all, but I for one am IN. A chance to hear classics like “Sex Action,” “Never Enough,” and “Rip And Tear,” along with the immortal power ballad “The Ballad Of Jayne,” of course — who could pass that up? These guys may not be as young and gorgeous as they once were, but the riffs are still straight fire, and that’s what should really matter, right? Head down to Hopewell this Thursday night, and let’s rock.

Friday, April 19, 8 PM
Cris Jacobs, Landon Elliott, Tavernier @ The Broadberry – $15 (order tickets HERE)

Singer-songwriter Cris Jacobs might be a relatively new name to some of you, but he’s been around for quite a while, getting his start in the early 00s fronting a Baltimore band called The Bridge. He’s been a solo artist for a while now, and his brand new album, Color Where You Are, features Richmond musicians Todd Herrington (Big Payback/Mekong Xpress) and Dusty Ray Simmons (DJ Williams Projekt/Fear Of Music) making up the rhythm section. And anybody who can recruit local talents like these to make up the core of his backing band, not only in the studio but on tour as well, is assuredly worth paying attention to.

Jacobs does a great job of laying out his sound on Color Where You Are, an album he wrote in the few spare moments he could find between his day job as a touring musician and his home life as a husband and father. The result is full of the hum and buzz of day to day life, a heartfelt album featuring touches of country, folk, and heartland rock all mingling together in a classically American sound. It’s the opposite of a stressful listen, and hearing Jacobs and his band bring the album to life at The Broadberry this Friday night is sure to ease your mind and help you put your cares aside. Don’t let the work week wear you out — come have some fun this Friday night with Cris Jacobs and his band. You’ll never regret it.

Saturday, April 20, 9 PM
Toward Space, Snake Mountain Revival, High Voltage @ Wonderland – $5

In the days since Slaughterama went away, I’ve been less than completely aware of what the dirt bike scene is like around Richmond. But there’s one thing I know that hasn’t changed in the years since I was up on all that — dirt bike kids are crazy. They do insane things frequently; it’s their idea of fun. And while I’ve never been the type to join in that kind of high-stakes broken-bone-risk action, I’ve always known how fun it is to watch. So the fact that FBM Bikes and DIG BMX will be holding the latest installment of their DIY World Championships at semi-secret bike/skate spot the Lost Bowl this Saturday lets me know that lots of fun will be had.

I can’t tell you where the Lost Bowl is, so #askapunk, but I can tell you that everyone will be headed straight for the bottom for the afterparty. I speak of Shockoe Bottom, of course, and the punkest bar in town, Wonderland. There, sets from (post-)teenage garage punk maniacs Toward Space and Virginia Beach-based psych-noise trio Snake Mountain Revival are set to get everyone flipping out. Plus, the evening will start with a (you guessed it) AC/DC tribute set from High Voltage, who based on their name are sure to go heavy on the Bon Scott era — as one should. So whether you make it to the Lost Bowl to see the crazy dirt bike action or not, you’re well advised to coast your dirt bike downhill to the Bottom and rock out with the BMX kids. Because as many of us know by now, BMX kids throw some incredible parties.

Sunday, April 21, 9 PM
HotSpit, Beeline, The Do-Nothings, Strawberry Moon @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)

Y’all, is HotSpit one word or two? I’ve certainly written it as both, and looking around facebook, I see I’m not the only one. Right now I’m going with the one-word-featuring-mid-word-capital-letter thing, but I’m sure in a few months I’ll have a much better understanding of what is correct. For you see, while HotSpit are a relatively new local band without too much history to draw on, I’m sure we’ll all be hearing a lot more about them in the next few months. Their demo shows a promising shoegaze quartet with strong vocal melodies and ringing guitars flexing their muscles and launching a distinctive and memorable sound.

So yeah, certainly the kind of band worth taking a Sunday night flyer on. HotSpit will be joined at The Camel by a few other local up-and-comers, first and foremost of which is Beeline. I hadn’t even heard this band’s name before now, but I’m glad they’ve been brought to my attention, as their demo shows off a catchy 90s-style jangly indie-rock sound that has significant charms. I’m already looking forward to more from these guys. The Do-Nothings, yet another new-to-me band, feature members of Recluse Raccoon playing some weird, shambling rock n’ roll that’s straight out of a basement somewhere in town. It’s hard to get a handle on, but it has its charms — as, of course, does Strawberry Moon, probably the most seasoned indie-pop group here, kicking off a fine bill that’s sure to please you, assuming you like catchy songs — and I’m not ashamed to say I do.

Monday, April 22, 7 PM
Jeremy Enigk, Tomo Nakayama @ The Canal Club – $16 (order tickets HERE)

Jeremy Enigk is a tough guy to figure out. Were he not so incredibly talented, people might have just given up trying to figure out what he’s up to. But as the frontman and chief songwriter for Sunny Day Real Estate, Enigk crafted some truly classic albums, the first of which, 1993’s Diary, has sometimes been credited with launching the emo genre (it didn’t really, but its importance can’t really be overstated). However, Enigk has broken up Sunny Day Real Estate, and post-SDRE band The Fire Theft, at least three separate times. It seems he’s ultimately most comfortable in the solo environment, and it’s as a solo artist that he returns to Richmond this Monday night for the first time in quite a while.

Enigk is currently touring behind his crowdfunded 2017 album Ghosts, his first release in nearly a decade. Fans quickly realized that his long period out of the spotlight had in no way diminished his songwriting powers, and indeed, Ghosts finds Enigk at the top of his game, his acoustic solo chops just as powerful in their own way as his louder electric sound was at the head of SDRE. The melancholy introspection and angst-ridden beauty of Enigk’s classic solo debut, Return Of The Frog Queen, shows through in abundance on Ghosts. The subdued, mostly-acoustic backing band provides a perfect canvas for Enigk’s gorgeous vocals and incredibly powerful guitar melodies. Enigk will come to town with a full band backing him up, and it’s easy to imagine the sound of Ghosts filling The Canal Club with gorgeous, vibrant sound. But why imagine it when you can be there? Get your tickets yesterday.

Tuesday, April 23, 7 PM
Crumb, Corridor, Lance Bangs, Slump @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)

Psychedelic indie-rockers Crumb first came to my attention through the attentions of Citrus City Records, who released the cassette version of their self-titled debut EP, so it’s no surprise that the show-promotion arm of Citrus City, Underground Orchard, brings them to RVA once again this Tuesday night. Crumb, who hail from NYC these days, are preparing for the release of their debut LP, Jinx, which based on advance singles certainly seems like a deeper delve into the groovy, soulful take on indie-psych bounce that Crumb have made their stock in trade from day one. That’s certainly an appealing prospect.

They’ll be joined on their latest passage through RVA by Francophone Montreal group Corridor, who’ve demonstrated a Television/Parquet Courts-like facility for guitar-driven rock/punk/indie songcraft on releases like their 2017 full-length, Supermercado. Their toe-tapping melodies and popwise song construction also makes me think of late 80s/early 90s UK indie-pop groups like The Dentists or Heavenly, but I might be showing my age with references like that (as usual). Regardless, this two-band package packs enough of a soul-pop-indie-psych punch to keep you smiling throughout — and local support from slack alt-rockers Lance Bangs and psych-noise-core freaks Slump is a significant bonus.

Elsewhere around the state:

Friday, April 19, 7 PM
Bantustans, Han Gan, Broken Beaches, From Overseas @ Toast (Norfolk) – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)

Things are gonna get interesting at Norfolk’s Toast this Friday night, and I don’t mean that in a Top Five sort of way either. For starters, dual-drummer quartet Bantustans is at the top of the bill, and when they’re in the house, it’s always gonna be an unusual situation. While the group hasn’t released anything officially since 2016, they’ve recently been playing material from an upcoming album due for release sometime this year. And as with previous material, they continue to interweave complex guitar lines with even more complex multi-layered percussion to create instrumentals so intense and dynamic they have absolutely no need of vocals.

DC’s Han Gan will provide all the vocals you need, though, as Norfolk hometown boy Brian Nicewander, of storied 90s Norfolk post-hardcore group Words A Game, comes to town at the head of an energetic, Fugazi-esque trio with political energy and musical power to spare. If the group’s excellent 2018 debut, The City Of Magnificent Intentions, is any indication, this will be a proud homecoming indeed. Tidewater hometowners Broken Beaches, who have a heavy-grunge shoegaze vibe about them, and ambient guitar solo project From Overseas open this one up to get y’all going.

Saturday, April 20, 8 PM
Earthling, Red Death, Brick @ The Golden Pony (Harrisonburg) – $7

Harrisonburg metal heroes Earthling are celebrating 10 years of existence this weekend at their hometown venue, the Golden Pony. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but then, that’s life, isn’t it? It’s already been two years since the last Earthling full-length, Spinning In The Void, launched forth from Richmond’s own Forcefield Records, full of epic brutality and blackened psychedelic rage, so the fact that this band released their first demo all the way back in 2009 isn’t that shocking in retrospect.

It is, however, a cause for celebration, and Earthling will be celebrating at the Golden Pony this Saturday night. They’ll be joined by the almighty Red Death, who have connections to both DC and RVA, and who just signed to Century Media records a couple months ago. Their 2017 LP, Formidable Darkness, has the crossover thrash-core chops to make such a signing eminently apropos, and it seems likely that you’ll be seeing Red Death in much bigger venues in another six months or so. So join them at The Golden Pony now, and thrash to your heart’s content before you’ve got to compete with 1000 other hessians for your floor space. Harrisonburg hardcore crew Brick kick this whole thing off, and they’re gonna kick it HARD. Show up on time to this one, and get ready to go off.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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