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Things We Miss: Local Food!

R. Anthony Harris | April 7, 2020

Topics: Capital Ale House, coronavirus, covid 19, Don't Look Back Triple, Dont Look Back, Ellwood thompson's, en su boca, Good Eats, Hot Chick, Lunch/Supper, PBR, richmond, richmond food, RVA, sticky rice, ZZQ

As more places have to close and we have to stay inside, its easy to forget what we are missing. Enjoy this sample of Richmond eats to get your mouth watering and looking forward to better days.

This pile of delicious meats from ZZQ BBQ 🙁

ZZQ BBQ

Brunch with friends and these golden little egg nuggets at Lunch.Supper

Lunch Supper

This holy trinity of Richmond taco joints — En Su Boca (which is still open for takeout and delivery)…

En Su Boca

…Don’t Look Back Triple….

Don't Look Back Tacos

… and this delicious looking thing from Soul Taco (also still open for takeout and delivery).

Soul Taco

These giant ass pretzels from Capital Ale House…

Capital Ale House

… and this sushi legend from Sticky Rice,

Sticky Rice

Or this most ridiculous chicken sandwich from Hot Chick (open for takeout and delivery)…

Hot Chick

For the healthy people out there — this beautifully plate of goodness from Ellwood Thompson’s…

Ellwood Thompson's

… and top it off with a melty scoop on a brownie from PBR (still open for takeout and growler fills).

Pizza Beer Richmond

Some of these place are still open! So support them if you can.

Just wistful thinking on a lonely but lovely day in Richmond, VA. Stay safe out there and hopefully we will be back to enjoying stuff together soon. Fuck off COVID-19.

Daniel Donato at Richmond Music Hall on 3/13

Ashley Sasscer | March 10, 2020

Topics: Capital Ale House, live music, live show, Richmond Music Hall, Things to do in Richmond

His strident voice and explorative songwriting carry his music into new territory, offering bold ideas to his fan base while staying true to what drew them to him in the first place: a palpable love of music delivered through excelled craft. With one eye on the night’s gig and another on the ages, Donato is continuing his journey down country music’s long and winding road, leaving no stone unturned.

TICKETS $12 AT THE DOOR

Howlin Rain: High Energy Cosmic Hippie Music

Seth Clabough | February 28, 2020

Topics: Brown's Island, Capital Ale House, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Ethan Miller, events in richmond va, events near me this weekend, events richmond va, Fender Jaguar, Howlin' Rain, music, psychedelic rock, richmond events, Richmond Music Hall, richmond va, richmond va bands, rock music, RVA, shows this week richmond, Stone's Throw Down in RVA, The Alligator Bride, things to do in richmond va, things to do richmond va, Under The Wheels

California psychedelic rockers Howlin Rain bring their Hendrix/Dead-flavored throwback jams to Richmond Music Hall At Capital Ale House tonight. Frontman Ethan Miller explains what goes into the band’s cosmic musical creations.

On Friday, February 28, Howlin Rain will bring their own unique brand of psychedelic rock to Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House. The acclaimed underground Oakland, CA-based band is touring behind a new live album series, Under The Wheels, while also continuing to push their latest studio recording, The Alligator Bride.

According to front man Ethan Miller, RVA show-goers should expect to hear ramped up “60s and 70s rock” infused with a bit of “Hendrix and The Grateful Dead.” On the phone, Miller — who’s also a member of Heron Oblivion and Feral Ohms, as well as running his own label, Silver Current Records — comes across as thoughtful and friendly, speaking in a slow raspy tone that reflects his California hippie roots. “You’ll see people making music the old-fashioned way,” he promises of the show with a laugh, “sweating blood up on that stage.”

For Miller and Howlin Rain, Friday’s show will mark a return to the city following last year’s performance at Stone Brewing’s Stone’s Throw Down in RVA festival on Brown’s Island. Miller had not been to Richmond before, but the experience last year and his discovery of the city itself was enough to have Howlin Rain looking forward to returning.

“I’ve traveled the whole world, really, and enjoy the thrill of discovery,” Miller explains. “Richmond is a place that is steeped in history. [Last year] I remember walking around Richmond going to record stores and getting coffee
and you’re walking by these major historical sites at every turn. That was a thrill and fascinating; the people in Richmond were really laid back and the city itself was really quite striking.”

For Miller, whose recent tour stretch saw him playing 22 shows in 19 days, travel and music go hand in hand. One of his earliest memories of rock music was traveling an hour and a half outside of his rustic Eureka, CA hometown with his dad to cut and haul firewood off the mountain of a family friend.

“We’d drive out in my Dad’s little white Toyota pickup before dawn,” Miller recalls, “and he’d be playing music on the cassette player and banging away on the steering wheel singing
 Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler;’ Crosby, Stills and Nash, the first album.” I ask Miller what makes that experience so memorable and he pauses a moment before answering: “The smell of his coffee in his cup,” he says, “and him banging on the steering wheel and singing along, and us going to do stuff that’s pretty exciting for a little boy
 you know, chainsaws going, wood flying, us stacking it up.”

Photo by Life Wide Open Photography, via Howlin Rain/Facebook

Miller, who has a deep interest in philosophy and literature, has spent the decades since pursuing the experience of creating and experiencing music. I ask him if he sees any similarities between the acts of felling trees and gathering firewood, and pursuing and producing music.

“I don’t know,” he says, considering the connection. “When you’re gathering firewood, you are kind of monster and master of your environment, and there’s a little bit of destructive triumph, I suppose, as an artist. Like times where you thought the music had you, but you end up doing it and capturing it, and completing the song or the album.”

Ultimately, though, Miller feels that his work as a musician and record label owner is more similar to the act of “creating beautiful photographs
 knowing how to capture a moment and present it in the right way, without disturbing its natural essence.” He compares coming across an intriguing musical idea to coming upon something inspiring or unique in nature.  The best music,” he says, “gets made when something worked so naturally all I had to do was not threaten the thing off
 and I could capture it and present it.” 

In addition to his bandmates, when he takes the stage at Richmond Music Hall on Friday, Miller will be accompanied by a significant co-creator in his efforts to produce and capture the music he shares with audiences: his beloved 1964 Fender Jaguar, originally a robin’s-egg blue that has long since “discolored to a rare seafoam green.” Miller purchased it in 1998 out of an airstream trailer of “really vintage stuff” behind Steve’s Music World in Santa Cruz, and it has been with him ever since.

Miller extols the attributes of the Jaguar’s “great tremolo system.” “Most guitars that stay in tune,” Miller says, “don’t have a radical action, and the ones that do have a radical action don’t stay in tune worth a shit. The Jaguar stays in tune even after taking a total beating doing diabolical whammy bar stuff.”

Howlin Rain at Stone’s Throw Down In RVA. Photo via Howlin Rain/Facebook

It took Miller two months of saving tips from delivering pizzas to accumulate the $1,400 needed to buy it. Since then, on the road, he’s had people offer him a lot of money, even one memorable offer of $6,000 just a few months after he bought it.

“It doesn’t matter what it’s worth,” Miller says. “It’s my life guitar… The reason I bought it is because I felt I’m better with it. It helps me go beyond my abilities. It’s got something it wants to do, too, and if you’re in the zone, it starts having a little bit of a life of its own.”

These days Miller has moved on from that white pickup of his childhood to the band’s Dodge Grand Caravan, with stowaway seats where they can load up their merchandise. When the band rolls into town on Friday, the audience will get to see Howlin Rain and Miller on stage going, with the help of his Jaguar, beyond their abilities.

“If you like high energy rock and roll shows and cosmic hippie music with a Hendrix buzz,” he says, “then I think you’ll love it. If you hate all that stuff,” he adds with a laugh, “then just come and check it out anyways.”

After the show, Miller and his bandmates will climb in the Dodge Caravan and pull off for “the next of many cities and tour stops” to come. The post-show drive to the next venue can be many hours long. “Sometimes the band goes quiet,” Miller says, looking at their phones and resting their ears. Often, though, he says they’ll “listen to music,” and Miller does more than his fair share of driving.

Howlin Rain at Stone’s Throw Down In RVA. Photo via Howlin Rain/Facebook

It’s not hard to imagine those dark hours of driving between venues: Music playing in the white van, the smell of coffee to keep the driver awake, Miller tapping the steering wheel as he and Howlin Rain move out yet again to another distant place — toward all those mountains and trees, all those cities and music that await.

Howlin Rain will be at Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House, located downtown at 619 E. Main St, tonight starting at 7 PM. Admission is $15 at the door. For more info, click here.

Top Photo by Erik Jankstrom, via Howlin Rain/Facebook

First Place Tour: The Brook & The Bluff at Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House

Ashley Sasscer | February 16, 2020

Topics: Capital Ale House, Concert, music, Richmond Music Hall, Things to do in Richmond

Established in Birmingham, AL, The Brook & The Bluff is a four-piece band that consists of front man Joseph Settine, drummer John Canada, guitarist Alec Bolton and bassist Fred Lankford.
The Brook & The Bluff have quickly become recognized for their evocative blend of instrumental talent and vocal harmony. These elements are readily apparent in the band’s debut track, “Masks.” Having initially gained momentum via Spotify, the song has helped spur the band forward in their musical pursuits.

BUY TICKETS

Kulick with Broke Royals and I VK at Richmond Music Hall @ Capital Ale House

Ashley Sasscer | February 16, 2020

Topics: Capital Ale House, Live, music, Things to do in Richmond

In all of his songs, Kulick shows his rare ability to turn everyday pain into music that’s undeniably life-affirming. Revealing his refined alt-rock sensibilities, each track also spotlights the sharp songcraft and tight musicality he’s carefully honed since first learning to play drums and guitar back in the town of Tamaqua. Along with recording in his closet and eventually self-producing a full-length album, he co-founded a long- running band called Story of Another in high school, and later studied audio engineering at the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

BUY TICKETS

That 1 Guy at Richmond Music Hall on 2/5

Joe Vanderhoff | January 24, 2019

Topics: Cap Ale, Capital Ale House, jam, live music, richmond, That 1 Guy

Broadberry Entertainment Group Presents

THAT 1 GUY

With an extensive and amazing track record of unique and imaginative performances featuringhis curious instrument and copious amounts of originality, Mike Silverman aka That1Guy has set himself apart as a true one-of-a-kind talent that rivals any other artist currently in the entertainment industry.

January 2015. Along with his pioneering main instrument, The Magic Pipe, a monstrosity of metal, strings, and electronics, facilitates the dynamic live creation of music and magic in ways only That1Guy can conjure, expect to see magic as well now integrated into the already clever performance. With this addition of incorporating magic seamlessly into his live shows, he has legitimately achieved an all inclusive audio/visual performance unlike anything experienced before. “So much of my music has miraculous qualities to it because itÊŒs hard to tell whatÊŒs going on. There are lots of slights of hand and sonic misdirection. It feels like I was meant to do magic”

Feb 5 at Richmond Music Hall
Doors at 8, Show at 9
$15
On sale NOW!

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