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The Hustle Season Podcast: LIVE at The Firehouse Theatre 5.2.19

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RVA Magazine is proud to showcase The Hustle Season Podcast every Saturday afternoon. Produced at La Cocina Studio in Richmond, VA; homegrown musicians Kelli Strawbridge, Reggie Pace, James Seretis (La Cocina’s engineer) & Gabriel Santamaria bring their irreverent, outspoken and at times thoughtful opinions to the masses. Focusing on pop culture and politics both locally, nationally, sometimes otherworldly – join in as the guys try to figure out what’s going on this week. 

Now available for the first time, this is the recording from our debut live podcast @ the Firehouse Theatre in RVA with friend of the show, rapper/culture connoisseur Chance Fischer. This was an amazing time, a lot of the show was dedicated to Nicholas Cage for some reason, plus the Hustle boys played two songs with Chance, “Shotgun” & Gabe’s composition “Your Body is Calling”. Sax fiend Chris Sclafani also added some spice to the jam sesh.
Click the link to attend our next live show @ the Firehouse Theatre Tues. September 24th w/ special guest Mike Bickett: http://bit.ly/2lP8HBR
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @thehustleseason

VA Shows You Must See This Week: February 6 – February 12

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, February 9, 8 PM
Three Sheets To The Wind presents the 8th Annual Love Boat Luau @ The Broadberry – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Valentine’s Day is a difficult, fraught holiday. And I say that as a happily married woman — imagine what the single people are all going through out there. Of course, a lot of you don’t have to imagine, those of you who haven’t held hands with a human you adore in some lengthy period of time, or are struggling to even get the person you dig to even have the “what are we, exactly?” conversation. When you’re in situations like that, it can feel like the best plan is to cancel the 14th of February entirely.

But take heart, singletons everywhere, because Three Sheets To The Wind is here to help you blow away your troubles with a tremendously entertaining blast of yacht rock awesomeness! Their eighth annual Love Boat Luau has become quite the tradition here in RVA, as the now-ten-years-strong yacht rock tribute act brings to hilarious life a quasi-parodic celebration of the extravagant excesses of the 70s and 80s soft rock music scene.

So get to the Broadberry Saturday night, and give yourself a pick-me-up sure to carry you through the entire Valentine’s week. Three Sheets will be doing two big sets of classics by artists like Toto, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, and many more — and maybe you’ll even meet someone cute on the dance floor! Remember, they don’t wear that sailor suit every day… this is a special occasion. Word has it you can expect this event to sell out, so get your tickets now!

Wednesday, February 6, 8 PM
Anna Webber Trio, feat. Scott Clark and Adam Hopkins @ Vagabond – Free!
There was a point where I couldn’t get through a week of this column without writing about metal. These days, though, it seems that the hot RVA genre I can’t go a week without mentioning is jazz! It’s not a development I would have expected, but I definitely love it. And of course, Vagabond’s Jazz Wednesdays are a big part of what’s making it all happen — so keep up the good work over there, y’all.

This week’s Jazz Wednesday programming brings New York-based saxophonist Anna Webber to town — she’ll be joining up with two Richmond-based musicians of superior talent, in the form of drummer Scott Clark and bassist Adam Hopkins, to delight all comers. Webber’s just-released album Clockwise shows her talent in complex, unpredictable arrangements that work together in brilliant harmony with flurries of hot and heavy soloing. Of course, according to Hopkins, the trio won’t be playing any Clockwise material (makes sense — the album was recorded with a septet), but considering the talent of all involved, they’re sure to blow your mind with whatever they choose to perform. Don’t miss out on this one, y’all.

Thursday, February 7, 7 PM
Patrick Bates, The Trillions, Continuation @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
If you’re a regular reader, you know we covered a Patrick Bates show within this very column only a month ago. We don’t typically return to the same artist that frequently, but in this case, exceptions must be made. Bates, who hasn’t released a new record since 2015’s Feathers And Pearls, will be using this show to celebrate the release of his brand-new EP, Salad Days, by DC label Verses Records. Technically, it won’t even be out yet — it comes out the first week of March — but you’re sure to get a live preview of what’s in store for you, and based on the two songs we’ve already heard, it’s sure to be pretty great.

Really, the live performance is what this release is all about for Patrick Bates. Recorded over the course of nearly a decade by the songwriter and a rhythm section made up of some very talented friends, Salad Days does a good bit more than previous Bates releases to show exactly what the songwriter can create with a full-band backing in a live environment. And let me tell you, the hypnotic post-hardcore melodies this guy has in store for you are sure to delight whether you’re hearing them live or on a record. So go to this show, get stoked for Salad Days, and if there are advance copies available (we’re not promising anything), pick one up. You won’t regret it.

Friday, February 8, 8 PM
Teen Death, Dad, Sea Of Storms, Small Bones @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$8 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Hey, here’s a name that always makes us happy to type: Teen Death. This local Richmond punk band doesn’t do all that much all that often — they’ve played a couple times in the last year or so, but we’re going on four years since they last released an EP that was less than three minutes long. This set may just be a good chance to hear this band play the excellent tunes you know so well — but really, what’s wrong with that? The way Teen Death simultaneously channel 90s alt-rock legends like Nirvana, The Toadies, and (early, good) Weezer even as they’re dishing out some grungy pop-punk riffage makes any opportunity to see them live more than worthwhile.

It’s also noteworthy that Teen Death are joined on this gig by Dad, a New York band that shares their name with a Richmond queercore band who’ve played Gallery 5 a time or two — so don’t get mixed up. This Dad shares some musical elements with Teen Death, though recent single “Road Soda” makes clear that Dad’s sound is rooted in frustration, anger, and noisy heaviness to a much greater extent than that of Teen Death. As their bandcamp page will tell you, they aren’t mad, they’re just… disappointed. But you won’t be disappointed by this show, especially with local post-hardcore veterans Sea Of Storms and entertaining newcomers Small Bones on the bill. Let’s rock.

Saturday, February 9, 9 PM
Cane, Got My Own Sound, Chance Fischer @ The HofGarden – $15 in advance/$20 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The HofGarden’s been making things pretty interesting in recent months — for an upscale multi-story venue that seems like the kind of place where rich business types would hang out, they’ve had some surprisingly strong talent performing in their multiple venues. That stays true this Saturday night as hip hop comes to the Hof in the form of Cane and GMOS (Got My Own Sound). This NoVA collaboration between a lyric-spitting rapper and a top-level jazz-fusion group is excellent at living in the liminal space between those two genres; they give us an outstanding aural vision of what that can sound like on their brand new EP, Out Of Love, for which this Richmond performance will act as a release party.

Cane and GMOS will be joined by one of Richmond’s most talented MCs in the form of Chance Fischer, who will also be kicking high-quality rhymes over music from a live band. Any fans of local hip hop are sure to know that this will be an excellent listen. And of course, the fact that in addition to the musical performances a whiskey-tasting will be taking place at this event should be no surprise for anyone who read our Chance Fischer profile from last year — the man knows his whiskey. Whether you partake in the booze or you’re just there for the music, though, this evening is sure to be worth every penny.

Sunday, February 10, 7 PM
The Hague, Ghoul Trouble, Kensey, Bonjinski @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Portland, Oregon’s The Hague are coming to town, and not to try anyone for war crimes, either (god, how many times have they heard a variation on that joke? Sorry guys). This melodic post-hardcore… OK, emo band are currently riding the wave of not one, not two, but THREE new releases since the start of 2019. And that’s probably a good thing for them, considering that a van wreck a week or so ago has forced them to finish their tour in a rented vehicle with very little on-hand cash.

So hey, show up to this one and pick up a record, huh? Between split EPs with Beach Party and Sun Valley Gun Club, and a brand new four-song cassette, these guys have quite a bit to offer. And musically, the same is true, as they’ve got crunchy guitars, killer chorus melodies, and an introspective mood that’s sure to connect with all comers. They’re joined on this bill by some rad locals, too, including punk-rock newcomers Ghoul Trouble, who I actually haven’t heard, but definitely have a rad logo. You’ll also get a set from energetic noise-grunge group Bonjinski and indie newcomers Kensey, all of which should be excellent. Don’t miss this one.

Monday, February 11, 8 PM
Harry Jay, Miette Hope, Cypress, The Ledgesleepers @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You don’t really hear people talking about neo-soul too much anymore these days, do you? It’s kind of a shame; that subgenre produced some really great music for a while, including the excellent work of Richmond’s own D’Angelo. But it seems like it might be coming back — not only did some of the songs on Kenneka Cook’s last album remind me more than a little bit of Jill Scott, Boston artist Harry Jay is coming to Richmond this coming Monday night to show us that there’s still plenty to be done with the sound of that mostly-dissipated musical movement.

There’s not much Harry Jay can’t do: not only is he a tremendous singer, he also plays guitar and piano with tremendous talent, and writes incredible songs with plenty of feeling and heart. He’ll be bringing all of this to The Camel’s stage, letting us all know that a young artist early in his career can still have a lot to offer. Jay is joined on this bill by Brooklyn singer-songwriter Miette Hope, who integrates soul influences of her own into a more alt-rock-inspired sound that draws influence from artists like Fiona Apple and Jeff Buckley. Indie-folk singer songwriter Cypress will round out the bill, along with a set from brand new RVA band the Ledgesleepers, just to ensure that you get a full evening of top-notch music.

Tuesday, February 12, 8 PM
Alex Jonestown Massacre, Mickey And Mallory, Rising Revolution, Heavy Mistress @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$8 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OK so I’ve seen the Alex Jonestown Massacre name on a lot of bills around this town over the past year or so, but I must admit: I haven’t really dug into what this band is all about until now. Their name updates the sort of wry reference Anton Newcombe made to psychedelic pioneer and original Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, and updates it for the Trump era. In case you didn’t figure it out yet (it took me a while), it’s a reference to Infowars blowhard Alex Jones, a reference made explicit in the lyrics and imagery on the group’s debut album, Fear Of A Flat Planet. And really, ya gotta love it.

Musically, Alex Jonestown Massacre are the same sort of catchy, erudite punk rock that Titus Andronicus specialized in during their early years, with a big dose of Against Me mixed in. And this makes them a good fit to top a bill with touring Baltimore group Mickey And Mallory, whose Natural Born Killers-referencing name gives a hint of the wry, self-effacing intelligence at the heart of their rockin’ melodic punk. Brand new album You’re A Nightmare provides more than enough reason to think that seeing this band live will be a worthwhile investment of your Tuesday night. Get on it.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, February 8, 8 PM
Arms Bizarre, Prayer Group, Guilt Wave @ Taphouse Grill – $5
Down in Norfolk, they like to rock. And this Friday night, NFK’s Taphouse Grill will present a show totally worthy of the late, lamented Strange Matter (RIP, we’ll mourn you til we join you), featuring a trio of Virginia bands that all totally rock. Hard. Arms Bizarre, who are based in Virginia Beach and therefore pretty much local to the area, have a sludgy, heavy sound that is nonetheless interlaced throughout with downcast, melancholy melody, keeping them from ever falling into predictable stoner-rock monotony. Their 2017 album, Bizarre Family Drama, is a hidden gem that should be thrown into glorious light in the live setting.

Prayer Group, who occupies the middle slot, should be much more familiar to my usual Richmond readers, as this rollicking crew of noise-rockers have been laying Jesus Lizard-ish manic rage on us all for years now. One thing’s for sure: Norfolk’s in for a treat with this one. And the same is true of the set from Guilt Wave, which will round this evening off with some epic metal roaring fury of the sort that Mastodon unleashed in their earliest years, and fans of early Neurosis are also guaranteed to love. Let’s fucking rock.

Saturday, February 9, 9 PM
Brook Pridemore, Uglyography, Dead Love Alive @ Taphouse Grill – $5
It’s really tough to tell what you’re getting with Brook Pridemore if you try to go by the hype surrounding his work. Is it alt-country? Indie rock? Grunge? Punk? Well, the answer is sorta “all of the above, plus more,” and sorta “not even any of that,” so once again, the media (aka me) is no help. Just listen to his album Metal Is My Only Friend, which came out late last fall. You’ll hear reasons for lumping Pridemore into a variety of genres from song to song, but it’s the overall feeling of his music that matters most.

Specifically, this guy and his rotating collection of backing musicians (potentially none of which will make the trip down from New York for this show) flawlessly evoke feelings of ennui and alienation that all of us are intimately familiar with in these late-capitalist dystopia days. It’s sad, it’s sweet, it longs for something better… haven’t we all been there? So go to the Taphouse Grill (for the second day in a row) and find a connection with the music of Brook Pridemore. Uncategorizable Tidewater legends Uglyography and Norfolk rock n’ rollers Dead Love Alive will round this one out with some lovely sounds.

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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] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

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

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

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

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

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Top Photo by Alyk Visions

Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, December 7, 9:30 PM
Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin performs Suspiria @ The Byrd Theatre – $35 (order tickets HERE)
This is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime event, and you pretty much need to be there if you have any interest at all in horror movies, spooky European prog rock of the 70s, or both. Here’s the deal: the Italian prog group Goblin did quite a few soundtracks for horror movies back in the 70s and 80s, including several for legendary Italian horror director Dario Argento. In 1977, they did what is probably their most famous work in the score for Argento’s most famous film, Suspiria. Now, in a weird tie-in to the 2018 remake of the film, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin are on tour performing the Suspiria score live along with the film. This Friday night, they’ll be doing so at The Byrd Theatre. How cool is that?

Goblin has been made up of many people over the years, and at this point in history, there are several active or dormant projects that have used variations on the name in the past decade or so. Claudio Simonetti, the group’s longtime keyboardist, is currently leading a trio featuring the members of his late-90s/early-00s metal band, Daemonia, and that’s the version of Goblin that will be coming to the Byrd. Anyone who’s seen Suspiria or soundtracked an awesome Halloween party with the soundtrack album will recognize the essential role Simonetti’s keyboards play in the film’s music; basically, if there were to be one original member of Goblin involved in this performance, you’d want it to be Claudio Simonetti.

Basically, this is the closest any of us will get to seeing the original Goblin play this music. And better yet, the group will follow its performance along with the film by another set of music drawing from the highlights of Simonetti’s lengthy career, which has included film scores for dozens of classic horror flicks (Deep Red, Dawn Of the Dead, Demons, Nightmare Beach, The House of Witchcraft… so many more). And if that tantalizes you, here’s the best part of all: you’ll get to see Argento’s original Suspiria on the big screen. Who can pass that up? Not you, if you’re smart.

Wednesday, December 5, 7:30 PM
Generation Axe Tour, feat. Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Tosin Abasi @ The National – $39.50 in advance/$43 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The 90s have been the nostalgia decade of choice for a while now, and somehow we got there as a culture without ever dealing with that late 80s era of leather pants, hairspray, and wild shreddy guitars that everyone remembers now as “hair metal.” There was a lot to that era, y’all, and a lot of it was great. From 80s power metal that got wrongly lumped in (Iron Maiden, anyone?) to the true classics of the glam generation (Shout At The Devil is one of the best metal albums of that decade — yeah, I said it), we’ve chosen to leave a lot of great things out of the cultural narrative. I guess this is what people mean when they say “guilty pleasures,” huh?

Generation Axe comes to The National to let us all know that it’s time to stop feeling guilty about all the shred-heavy guitarists with feathered hair and lightning-speed arpeggios whose tablatures we all studied obsessively in the back pages of Guitar World while we were supposed to be finishing our algebra homework. The king of the shred, Steve Vai, who is known not only for his epic instrumental solo albums (and “solo” is indeed the word) but his time in Whitesnake, David Lee Roth’s solo band, and many more, got this whole project together, recruiting fellow instrumental shred king Yngwie Malmsteen (it’s pronounced “ING-vay,” and in the time it took you to read this parenthetical aside he’s played at least 800 notes), Ozzy/Black Label Society legend Zakk Wylde, former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, and Animals As Leaders, um, leader Tosin Abasi to form a five-guitar monster of razor-sharp licks and tour the world. At the National, you’ll see everything from spotlight sets by each of these five guitarists to duets and collaborations between three or even all five string-benders to wow you with hours and hours of shred-thrash fireworks. It’s going to be so goddamn amazing you’ll surely want to dig through mom’s attic over Christmas until you dig out your dusty old Ibanez and books of guitar tabs. Get fired up.

Thursday, December 6, 7 PM
The Ar-Kaics, Christi, Piranha Rama, Weird Tears @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Strange Matter’s long goodbye continues this week, and we’ll be sending you there quite a bit before we wrap up this column. This is because, even in their final throes, this best of all Richmond venues continues to pack the place each night with brilliance. This particular garage-psych focused bill is centered around 60s revivalists The Ar-Kaics, who’ve spent the last several years wowing us with the charm of their many 45 RPM singles, recapturing the fuzzed-out glory of the Nuggets era. After a couple years away from the spotlight, they’ve returned in a big way with In This Time, their second full-length. On it, they mix the primitive charm of their garage-rock roots with some increased melodic elements that make these tunes catchier than ever.

Rejoicing at the return of the Ar-Kaics is a big reason to come to this show; however, it’s not the only one, as local power-pop legends Christi are returning to live performance after a year and a half away from the stage. I would say this makes sense, since longtime Ar-Kaics drummer Patty Conway was also in Christi, but by the time Christi broke up she wasn’t in that band anymore — and at this point, it seems like she might have left the Ar-Kaics as well. So this could all be a big coincidence. Either way, the double-dose of old-school rock n’ roll with some killer vocal harmonies overtop is coming for you, and it’s going to rule, so you really should just be at this show no matter what. Local up-and-coming garage-pop group Piranha Rama and the ever-mysterious Weird Tears will get this show rolling in fine fashion.

Friday, December 7, 8 PM
Sleep, Weather Warlock @ The National – $21.50 in advance/$25 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Where doom metal, or “stoner metal,” or whatever you want to call it, is concerned, Sleep are pretty much the north star. Having evolved out of apocalyptic crust band Asbestos Death at the dawn of the 90s, Sleep went on to define the stoner-doom genre with their 1992 classic, Sleep’s Holy Mountain, before either attaining doom godhead or flying too close to the sun (depending on your point of view) with the long-delayed legend of an album, Dopesmoker (which consisted of one 74-minute song. I know, right?). However, while record companies were less than stoked at the idea of marketing a one-song double LP, leading the group to disband, their legend grew in their absence — fueled by the biker-metal heroics of guitarist Matt Pike’s post-Sleep project, High On Fire, and the epic drone of bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros’s Om, which has incorporated elements from Tibetan Buddhist chants into their moody darkness.

After receiving rapturous responses to a series of reunion tours, Sleep became a fully functioning band again about five years ago, recruiting Neurosis’s Jason Roeder to replace retired original drummer Chris Hakius. This year, they followed up two excellent post-reunion singles with their first full-length album in over 20 years, The Sciences. What is obvious from the first listen is that this group hasn’t lost a single step over the intervening years, mixing the biker-doom headbanging of High On Fire into Om’s droning low-end hum to create newborn classics like the Egyptian pyramid-Black Sabbath pun reference in “Giza Butler,” or the 21st century stoner anthem “Marijuananaut’s Theme.” They’ll bring all of this to us at mind-shearing volume and with soul-pulverizing power when they take the stage at The National, and all of you stoner warriors of the astral plane are going to want to touch down and experience it firsthand.

Saturday, December 8, 12 noon
Dry Spell, Mensroom, Cloak/Dagger, Nosebleed, Haircut, Sinister Purpose, Butt, Deviant @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
These days, it seems, hardcore bands never really die — they just go dormant for longer and longer periods, only returning to play a show on occasions momentous enough to resurrect them from their suspended animation. Strange Matter’s closing is definitely a momentous occasion, and one way you can tell is that this noontime Saturday show is headed up by not one, not two, but THREE mostly-dormant hardcore bands that have returned to action for the first time in at least a year (OK yes, Cloak/Dagger played a few shows nine months ago. Point stands).

Dry Spell’s big period of activity is about a decade in the rearview now, and their midtempo rockin’-hardcore rage sounds fresher than ever when you revisit it in 2018, so this set bringing together members from up and down the East Coast to perform together once again should be a real blast. Mensroom disappeared from the Richmond musical landscape about three years ago now, so the new jacks may not remember them, but any young punks who love the psychedelic-sludge take on hardcore that Slump has been dishing out for the past couple years are definitely gonna want to catch their set (being billed as a “reunion/last show”), as these guys were doing that sort of thing before Slump ever got going. As for Cloak/Dagger, these rip-roaring maniacs have made some killer sounds by finding the line between garage-punk and hardcore and staking out a position just to the “hardcore” side of that line. Get ready for some raw rock n’ roll power when these guys take the stage. And be sure to set your alarm, because if you’re not there right at noon, you’re sure to miss some of the many excellent openers — and that would be a very bad move.

Sunday, December 9, 7 PM
Cloud Nothings, The Courtneys, Russ Waterhouse @ Strange Matter – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Cloud Nothings may not be coming to Richmond specifically to celebrate the life and legacy of Strange Matter, but that’s no reason to skip this show — it’s gonna be every bit as good as everything else that has become a part of the Strange Matter Closing Series. Cloud Nothings are an incredible band from Cleveland, who have built themselves quite a reputation by simply putting their heads down and continuing to crank out excellent no-frills tuneage that both rocks hard as hell and has the ability to stick firmly into your head all day.

Where a lot of other rock bands have fallen into the pattern of taking three years or more between records, Cloud Nothings have stayed prolific, releasing five full-length albums and one collaborative album with Wavves since 2011. Their two most recent albums, Life Without Sound and Last Burning Building, both came out within the last year and a half, and both bring us excellently written songs with fire and passion, landing somewhere between prime mid-period Replacements and the best work of legendary UK punk rockers Leatherface. If anything, Cloud Nothings just seem to get better as they go on, and that’s reason enough to catch them whenever they come through town. Rest assured, they’ll blow you away. Excellent support from Canada’s The Courtneys, who bring us their shambling indie-pop brilliance under the auspices of legendary New Zealand record label Flying Nun, only sweetens the pot — as does a solo set from Blues Control’s Russ Waterhouse to kick it all off. Get with this one.

Monday, December 10, 6 PM
Cult Leader, Primitive Weapons, God Mother, Asylum, Shark Eyes @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I read a novel from 30 years ago this past week, and at one point, a character referenced “heavy metal.” The term, once ubiquitous in my own musical vocabulary, struck me as archaic to an almost amusing extent. When I pondered why it felt that way these days, I realized that it’s mostly because, while we still use both words separately to talk about certain types of music, we pretty much never use them together. There’s metal music, there’s heavy music, but instead of combining to become “heavy metal,” they really seem like two completely separate genres today.

I bring all this up to point out that Cult Leader, who released their second album, A Patient Man, less than a month ago, are definitely on the “heavy” side of that divide. A Patient Man is a crushing listen, full of volcanic riffs that feel less like discrete breakdowns than a continual overpowering onslaught of low-end rumble and harsh, roaring noise. The fact that this quartet hails from Salt Lake City, Utah, makes their sheer brutality a bit more understandable — it’s got to be hard to grow up in such a repressive social environment. All that repressed tension’s gotta come out somewhere. The way it comes out might not be metal, exactly, but it’s certainly heavy. The same is definitely true of tourmates Primitive Weapons, who hail from Brooklyn, and God Mother, who come to us from Sweden. Apparently heaviness can emanate from anywhere. Let’s all go soak it up.

Tuesday, December 11, 6 PM
Strange Matter’s Final Hip Hop Show, feat. Black Liquid, Nickelus F, Mutant Academy, Moon, Michael Millions, Chance Fischer, Dr. Millionaire, Cole Hicks, Octavion X, PT Burnem, Young Flexico, Grayscale, Cakes, Reppa Ton, Fuggin Doe, Cha$e Royale, Goad Gatsby, Big Dev, Van Silke, 1NF1N1T8, Lovesick, Dogfuck, God Goldin, Frankenstein Reyes, Skinnyy Hendrixx, Skuzii, Chris Haskins, Rack Squaresoft; music by DJ Bandolero, DJ Banga, Hip Hop Henry @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
All these Strange Matter closing shows have been jampacked with local talent, which means that when you’re going to a hardcore or metal show, you might see 10 or 12 bands instead of the usual four or five. But what happens when a hip hop show goes mega? After all, a regular hip hop show can easily feature 10 rappers, and Black Liquid’s long-running monthly Face Melt Friday nights at Strange Matter rarely featured less than 20. So what does a really epic hip hop show look like? Well, if this bill is any indication, it looks like at least 30 rappers and several different DJs holding down an entire evening full of awesomeness. And I think we’d all have to say that’s outstanding.

RVA’s hip hop world often looks like at least half a dozen parallel worlds, many of which don’t intersect frequently by any means. However, if there’s one thing Black Liquid has always tried to do with his Face Melt Fridays, it’s to bring the entire scene together under one roof, so everyone can appreciate each other’s talent. The same thing is true of this show, which pulls together everyone from local legend Nickelus F and hot up-and-coming talents Mutant Academy to local veterans like Dr. Millionaire and Chance Fischer and Face Melt Friday mainstays like Goad Gatsby. Plus, there’s a lot of lesser-known talent lurking around the lower reaches of this bill — bizarre names like Dogfuck and 1NF1N1T8 come with solid track records. And of course, with Black Liquid presiding over it all, the vibe is gonna be like the Face Melt Friday to end all Face Melt Fridays… regardless of the fact that it’s actually happening on a Tuesday. So hey, don’t sleep on this one. There won’t be another.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, December 7, 7 PM
Boxford, Invaluable, Accident Prone, Scotty And the Steiners, Eric & Aviana, I Fight Vampires @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $5
I love pop-punk. I’ve never hidden that, never tried to play it down… I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it. It makes me smile and it rules and more people should try to understand its charms. But I’ll tell the truth — I’m very aware of how navel-gazing the whole genre can be, and how male-dominated… to the point where some otherwise-great bands are self-centered enough to take a downright douchey approach to some otherwise incredible hooks. It’s a bummer.

Thank god for bands like Virginia Beach’s Boxford, who actually seem to care about the world outside their own rooms. This show is a release party for their latest EP, Facade, a three-song collection that focuses on the sort of mental health struggles that too many pop-punk fans can relate to (yes, including me. No shame). And for their record release show, they’re doing more than just singing about it, turning the entire show into a collaborative fundraiser with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, who will be on hand to talk to attendees between bands about ways we can all lend a hand to the struggle within our communities for greater mental health. This is important stuff, and I don’t want to trivialize it by saying that it comes with a legitimately great soundtrack. But it must be mentioned that Boxford’s Facade is an excellent record, and openers like Invaluable and Accident Prone have quite a bit to offer as well. This will be a fun show with a very serious purpose. And that’s just about perfect.

Saturday, December 8, 6 PM
Blind Justice, Paper Trail, Red Vision, Watchdogs, Combust, Flatline, Semtex @ 37th And Zen – $12
An alert for Central Virginia’s hardcore kids: if you can find a fast enough ride, you can fill your entire Saturday this week with incredible hardcore sounds. Not only do we have an excellent slate of hardcore bands here in RVA with a noon kickoff time, the excellent Jersey-shore hardcore band Blind Justice will be headlining a killer bill featuring multiple Richmond bands at Norfolk’s 37th and Zen that night. Travel time between the two is just 90 minutes if you’ve got a lead foot… and if the tunnel doesn’t screw you over. It’s worth a shot, right?

This is especially true in light of Blind Justice’s latest LP, No Matter The Cost, which dropped this summer and knocked everyone out. The energetic approach this band takes to their music, and particularly vocalist Mike Botti’s ridiculously intense vocals, are a recipe for bowling you over in a live environment. These guys are sure to get the pit moving with a vengeance when they hit the stage at 37th and Zen. Richmond bands Red Vision and Watchdogs are also on the bill, and both bands are celebrating their brand new releases. Red Vision brings us their hard-as-hell new full-length, Stake Your Claim, while Watchdogs give us a dark, metallic new EP called Sanguinary. They both rule, and I’m sure these sets will be ones to watch. A whole bunch of other bands, including Virginia Beach mainstays Paper Trail, are on hand to sweeten the pot on this killer. Gas up your tank before the Strange Matter show, because you’re gonna want to catch this one too, and you’ll have no time to waste.

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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] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: July 25 – July 31

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, July 28, 12 PM
Vasen One-Year Anniversary Party, feat. Bio Ritmo, Black Alley, The Bush League, Chance Fischer, Illiterate Light, Toxic Moxie @ Vasen Brewing Company – $5 – 30 (order tickets HERE)
You know, when I used to live in Scott’s Addition, it was dead on the weekends — and really even on weekdays once 5 PM rolled around. I used to go for walks down its empty industrial streets in the evenings and marvel at the solitude I was able to achieve in the middle of a hustling city. What a difference a decade makes, huh? These days, Scott’s Addition is the hot neighborhood in town, with a thriving scene of breweries, arcade bars, and all that other fun stuff. One of the recently arrived mainstays of that area is Vasen Brewing Company, and they’re planning an all-day party this weekend to celebrate their one-year anniversary that is sure to have Scott’s Addition jumping all day!

This isn’t just a music thing, either — the party brings together a whole bunch of other breweries in the area, all of which will be on the scene to serve you, as will be plenty of food trucks. Presentations with an environmental-conservation theme from groups like GroundworkRVA as well as the James River Park System will take place at various points, and you’ll have the opportunity for a variety of entertaining activities, from fly-casting lessons to miniature golf! There’s a ton to do at this event.

But of course, here at RVA Must-See Shows the main thing we care about is the music, and there’ll be a ton of this too. Vasen have brought together talented artists from all over the Virginia area to give you an eclectic trip through multiple genres. Local salsa mainstays Bio Ritmo are headlining the musical portion of the festivities, and they’ll be joined by DC-area modern soul group Black Alley. Richmond’s underrated electric-blues veterans The Bush League will be on hand to lay down some heavy grooves in the tradition of Howlin’ Wolf and Junior Kimbrough, while Chance Fischer will let loose his A-plus lyrical flow on some killer hip hop beats. You’ll even get the energetic alt-rock of Illiterate Light and the disco-punk bounce of Toxic Moxie in the bargain. What more could you ask for? Best of all, for non-drinkers like myself, the cheapest option for this day of fun in the sun is the designated driver’s ticket — only $5! For once you’ll be rewarded for not joining your friends in partaking of the demon alcohol. And by a brewery, no less! I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.

Wednesday, July 25, 9 PM
Marcus Tenney Quartet @ Vagabond – Free!
It flies a bit under the radar, at least locally, but there’s a really strong jazz scene bubbling just under the surface in this town, if you know where to look. And these days, the place to look is often Vagabond, the spot where illustrious soul-jazz quintet Butcher Brown recorded a real stunner of a live album released just this past year. And it’s no real surprise, therefore, to find Butcher Brown’s Marcus Tenney returning to that spot to celebrate the release of his latest set as bandleader, Moment. This new release, out today on local label American Paradox (home of Kenneka Cook and Sid Kingsley, among others), is Tenney’s first at the head of a quartet. However, the group is merely an expansion of his prior trio, which was responsible for the excellent As You See It half a decade ago.

The Marcus Tenney Quartet is like a lot of other jazz ensembles from this particularly prolific corner of the scene — in that, other than keyboardist Calvin Brown, all of its members are also in Butcher Brown. This is a familiar situation for veterans of the similarly incestuous punk, metal, and screamo scenes, and it happens for the same reason with jazz groups as it does for the more heavily-inclined of the music world. Different people have different things they want to express. You can’t get all of them into the same band and still have a cohesive band identity. So you start another group, as Tenney has here to lay down some traditional bop jazz that would be right at home in the clubs Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins were playing 60 or so years ago. The smooth sounds of Moment are currently only audible in 30-second preview clips on Amazon, but they’ll delight far more fully when given room to stretch out tonight at Vagabond. The show is free, but that only frees up some cash for you to pick up a copy of the Marcus Tenney Quartet’s new release for yourself.

Thursday, July 26, 7 PM
Jigsaw Youth, Cyber Twin, Weird Tears @ Gallery 5 – $5
This one’s gonna be a great big bunch of noisy fun. Your headliners, Jigsaw Youth, are a trio of teenage girls with a ton of rage to get out, as they did on with aplomb on their 2017 debut LP, America’s Sweethearts. While the band’s name betrays an obvious debt to Bikini Kill, there’s a grungier sound at work in this trio’s music, making them closer to the melodically-infused alt-rock snarl of L7 and 7 Year Bitch than any straight-up riot grrrl vibes. What’s more, there’s an obvious sense of humor leavening the rage here too — clearly visible on songs like “Aunt Jenny’s Got My Back” and “But You’re Not Dave Grohl :(” (yes, the emoticon is part of the title).

Jigsaw Youth are joined on this bill by Harrisonburg’s Cyber Twin, a still youthful but not quite teenage crew led by singer-guitarist Mike Flaig, who you’d be forgiven for mistaking at first listen for a young Billie Joe Armstrong. Cyber Twin have a definite Green Day feel, though they come at it from an unusual angle and as a result end up sounding far more original than you’d expect a clearly Green Day-inspired band to sound. They’re really worth a closer look, which you can give them at Gallery 5 tomorrow night. And of course, you can catch the opening set from mysterious locals Weird Tears as well — I know they’ve got members of Bad Magic, Cherry Pits, and Unmaker, but that doesn’t really tell me much. We’ll all find out when they take the stage, won’t we?

Friday, July 27, 9 PM
Gritter, Percussor, Descendency @ Wonderland – $5
Damn — this is the end of an era. I first saw Gritter a decade ago, back when they were still called Rube, and they’ve been on the Richmond scene ever since, cranking out dark, powerful metal riffs in the vein of classic work by Pantera and Lamb Of God, among others. They’ve released four albums over the course of their decade as a band, but member shakeups and financial setbacks have prevented them from ever going as far as they liked; they expressed their frustrations in the title of last year’s full-length, Nobody Cares. But now Gritter are calling it quits, playing their last show ever at Wonderland this Friday night — and if Richmond really doesn’t care, this whole city is blowing it in a big way. Go enjoy their existence while you still can; god knows we’ll all be worse off without them in this city.

Gritter isn’t the only reason to come out to Wonderland Friday night, though — they’re joined on this show by two killer death metal groups from up the Eastern Seaboard, and all you headbangers would be fools to miss either of them. Philadelphia’s Percussor have their roots in the Northeast death metal scene of the 90s, and carry on that tradition perfectly on 2017’s Remnants Of Horror. This album’s classic brutal death metal attack is delivered with venomous rage — as song titles like “Rejoicing Your Death” and “Fuck Your Opinion” make extremely clear. The bill is rounded out by Delaware’s Descendency, who have the sort of thrashing yet somehow groovy rage that reminds me of early-90s experiments in the genre by Pro-Pain, John Bush-era Anthrax, and Biohazard. These guys will get you moving for sure — show up on time and ready to mosh!

Saturday, July 28, 8 PM
Agents Of Good Roots, Regan @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
When you think of Virginia alternative bands who got signed to major labels in the post-Nirvana feeding frenzy of the 90s, Agents Of Good Roots probably aren’t the first name that pops to mind (though, like the guy you’re thinking of, Agents Of Good Roots did have a saxophone player). However, this Richmond band certainly had a good run back in those days; their 1998 major-label debut, One By One, spawned a minor hit, “Come On,” and was certainly a fun listen. It remains one, even now, but Agents Of Good Roots have long since disbanded.

These days, sax player JC Kuhl and drummer Brian Jones remain active in the jazz scene around Richmond. However, last year’s reunion show, a tribute to their deceased manager, Jeff Peskin, was the first time in over a decade that Agents of Good Roots graced a Richmond stage. Fortunately, they had enough fun that they’ve decided to keep playing, and they’ll come to The Broadberry once again this weekend to give us all a great set encompassing their career highlights. From the bouncing rock n’ roll of their big hit, “Come On,” to the funky reggae tunes and smooth-swinging ballads that dotted their albums, this band has a lot of great songs to bring to you once again, and you’re sure to find yourself “Smiling Up The Frown” once again when they hit the stage this Saturday night. Whether you loved them in the 90s or just discovered them last year, you should definitely grab this opportunity to go see Agents Of Good Roots. After all, who knows how many more times they’ll do this?

Sunday, July 29, 6 PM
The Native Howl, The Gasoline Gypsies, Vegan Llamas @ The Canal Club – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You know, if I hadn’t heard it, I never would have believed it was a thing, but it’s all true: The Native Howl are a Michigan band who use instruments typical to the bluegrass genre (mainly banjos and acoustic guitars) to make thrash metal music that veers from Iron Maiden-ish triumphant power to straight-up black metal riffage. Of course, there’s still a fair bit of bluegrass styling in there — though some of that seems more due to the fact that even some of Iron Maiden’s more melodic riffs would have a down-home feel if you played them on banjos. This strange convergence of metal and country sounds has been on the rise for years now; groups like Huntsmen and Liberteer have shown unexpected ways in which these two wildly different sounds can coexist, and I suppose The Native Howl is just the latest example of that unlikely union.

The group is just about to release their fourth LP, Out Of The Garden And Into The Darkness, and preview single “Into The Darkness” manages to combine the spooky feel of foreboding mid-20th century country ballads with the ominous riffage of Scandinavian metal. No matter which side of the line between these two genres feels more at home to you, you’re sure to be thrown by your first listen to The Native Howl. But stick with it for a while, and you might be surprised to discover how much you enjoy what you’re hearing. They’ll come to town with fellow Michigan residents The Gasoline Gypsies, who might want to reconsider that band name but are definitely on the right track when it comes to music; their catchy blend of blues, Southern rock, and country sounds manages to be equally reminiscent of the Allman Brothers and Blind Melon, and that’s definitely not a bad thing. This show will be a fun way to wrap up your weekend — even if you don’t know what to make of it at first.

Monday, July 30, 8 PM
Zeke, US Bastards, Loud Night @ Strange Matter – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Oh damn, this is gonna be a wild one. Zeke is a wild n’ crazy punk band who got their start in the 90s. At the time, they were a bit of an anomaly; despite writing riffs with the rollicking rock n’ roll spirit of classic garage punk, they played so fast that their tempos were closer to hardcore than anything else. On albums like Flat Tracker, they left other punk bands in the dust; the only band that could come close to hanging with them was The Dwarves. Lyrically, they were preoccupied by concerns relating to racing; the title of their 2007 EP, Lords Of The Highway, told the story.

After that EP’s release, Zeke dropped out of sight for a while, but they’re back in 2018 with their first new release in over a decade, Hellbender. This album shows that from lyrical preoccupations to typical tempo, Zeke hasn’t lost a step during their time away. Songs like “Two Lane Blacktop,” “Ride On,” and “Redline” find this band still singing about fast cars at a pedal-to-the-metal tempo sure to appeal to fans of legendary hardcore bands like 9 Shocks Terror and Career Suicide, even as it draws in the New Bomb Turks and Reverend Horton Heat fans who don’t mind having their hair blown back by sheer speed. Local openers US Bastards and Loud Night know how to crank up the speed, power, and fury, and will be the perfect appetizer for the knuckle sandwich Zeke’s gonna feed you.

Tuesday, July 31, 7 PM
Charmer, Stars Hollow, Downhaul, Two Cars @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
As a supposed music scholar, it’s a little embarrassing for me to admit this… but I didn’t realize that Richmond-based thrash quartet Charmer wasn’t the only band with that name. What’s more, when I realized that the non-Richmond Charmer (who, in case you haven’t guessed, are the band with that name headlining this show) were an emo band signed to No Sleep Records, I was even more ashamed. I love stuff like this! How did I miss these guys? I’m making up for that now — their brand-new self-titled debut album has been knocking me out ever since I found out about it, and its mixture of tangled Algernon Cadwallader-style guitar leads and the pensive moods of prime Hotelier material has won me over in a big way. (Don’t worry, RVA Charmer, I still love you too!)

Charmer are coming through town with Stars Hollow, and this equally emotional trio from Ames, IA have an emo sound as well. However, excellent recent EP Happy Again displays a nervier, more energetic take on the genre, stirring some of the anxieties given evocative expression by bands like Snowing and Joyce Manor. And as tightly wound as this EP sounds, blasting it through headphones offers a comforting catharsis that really needs to be appreciated in a live environment. These two groups are sure to bring an incredible show to Gallery 5 Tuesday night, and they’ll be ably abetted by local up-and-comers Downhaul and newbies Two Cars, both of whom have emo-ish vibes of their own to offer.

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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] [and yeah, in case you’re wondering, more awesomeness from my cracked and bleeding fingertips is available at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Hip Hop Fight Club

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When the Ultimate Rap League brought their Survivor Series to Richmond this past January, it marked the first time that a national battle rap group established a platform for the talented emcees of my hometown.

The group, known as SMACK/URL, has an international following for their battles, which they usually host in New York City and Los Angeles. Their venue for this event was The Top, promoter EJ Lewter’s club in Shockoe Bottom, and it was packed with rap fans of all ages for the battle, which was streamed live over Pay-Per-View for the folks at home.

Originally printed in RVA #32 Spring 2018, you can check out the issue HERE or pick it up around Richmond now. 

When I stopped in to catch the action on Jan. 20, Lewter introduced me to Smack White, the owner of URL. “It’s my pleasure,” White said of hosting a battle in Richmond. “Richmond has been the city that’s been supporting me throughout my whole career, [from] the DVD era all the way to the battle rap culture. We got like 15-16 years of support from the city of Richmond so I wanted to come back and show the city some love.”

Battle rap has a place right at the heart of hip hop, said Radio B, a Richmond artist and one of the owners of the local Southpaw Battle Coalition.

It is the true sport of hip hop, and the original essence of rap. It’s really high-level lyricism — rap, spoken word, stand-up comedy, and debate, all rolled into one.

If battle rap is the sport of hip hop, Survivor Series DMV is the major leagues of emcee sparring. This event brought out almost all of battle rap’s heavy hitters in the region; Baltimore’s Tay Roc, soon-to-be top-tier performers Chess of New York City, T-Top from North Carolina, and arguably the most exciting newcomer to URL, Nu Jerzey Twork, who has performed in RVA and moved up the ranks in Northern Virginia’s Showtime Battle Arena.

The DMV area is home to a lot of talent, but often overlooked, White said. “I don’t think they get enough light. That’s why I’m here, to show the city some love and to establish a presence in the city. Hopefully, this can be one of many events that I do out here.”

Some of the DMV-area artists included the Goonies Crew, comprised of Twork, League of Champions-member Ryda, Richmond’s own Jakkboy Maine, Young X from Portsmouth, and one of the most anticipated rappers, veteran battle emcee and Black Money Mobb head Moon.

Middle: Moon

Originally from Paterson NJ, Moon has been a Richmond resident since the ‘90s. He has an impressive resume for a rapper, including a feature in MTV’s Fight Klub and a famous rumored battle between him, Wu-Tang’s RZA, and Juice Crew member Craig G.

When I asked him if really happened, he answered, “I got a $30,000 watch from it.” Battle rap is about building legends, and Moon has legends for everybody in the club.

He’s one of the top performers in the Survivor Series, and the word survivor suits him well; the night before the battle, a fire consumed his Southside home. Just like my question about the battle, it didn’t phase him.

After the battle, I met up with Moon outside his temporary apartment to talk battle rap and RVA in general. “It’s a different time of battle rap from what I come from. What I come from, we didn’t even write your battle raps. When you battled somebody, you ran up on they ass,” he said, comparing the calculated approach in today’s game to the more free-form early bouts.

“Back in the day, it was, ‘Let’s bet some money,’ or just bragging rights for your ‘hood. You didn’t have time to prepare for a nigga, you didn’t know his grandmother… It wasn’t about how much information you had on the nigga. You had to be nice, you had to be lyrical.”

One factor that makes Moon a rising star in the battle world is his honest approach to rapping; he still sticks to his rhyming principles. “That’s the difference,” he said. “I respect what they do now. I’ve had to grow into some of the things they do. But I don’t change what the fuck I do, because that’s what makes me me.”

He’s one of the older battlers active on the scene today — something he doesn’t try to hide onstage — and he’s fiercely loyal to the Richmond music scene. Whether it’s a Southpaw Battle or League of Champions (LOC) battle around town, you’ll find Moon and some of his Mobb brothers in attendance. He’s a hardened veteran of the scene, and he’s not afraid of any challenge. He referenced two house fires he’s survived when he joked, “I’ve survived some wilder shit than [a battle].”

As a touring battle rapper who’s been on MTV, Pay-Per-View, and had recent bouts in Ohio and New York City, Moon described the impact Richmond hip hop has had on him. “Richmond Virginia brought me back to life, man. I had really left battle rap, rap period, alone. I wasn’t really doing rap like that, but I was dibbling and dabbling.”

In particular, he credits a few local folks with his return. “Shout out to Rocstagis, LOC, that’s where it all started. Me and Bravo had the city on fire, you can go look at our first battle. We actually brought battle rap back, me and Bravo. That brought my career back.”

Battle rap might be new to some, but hip hop has always had a competitive edge. Everybody talks about who has the best crew or DJ, but it all comes down to skill. This was established in the early days of hip hop, when Coke La Rock and Keith Cowboy became celebrities for their skill with the mic.

There have been hundreds of rap battles on tapes and TV recently, but they’re the tip of an iceberg. Most battles are face to face, held wherever, from the street outside a concert to a quick confrontation in a studio. It’s rare that these get recorded, and they’re almost never caught on video, especially in the early days. But those that are watched 20 to 30 years later and the winners are still subject to debate.

One of the most legendary crew battles caught on tape was between the Cold Crush Brothers and the Fantastic Romantic Five, recorded live in 1981 at the Harlem World Battle of the Heavyweights. The audio is all over YouTube, where commentators argue over who should have won.

For emcees, the most famous is probably one of the earliest recorded, a battle between Chief Rocker Busy Bee and Kool Moe Dee from the Treacherous Three, also taped in 1981. For many hip hop fans, this was the first time we heard one rapper go after another face to face on the same stage.

Since then, the battle has been the proving ground for many up and coming rappers, but many of their early matches have become legends, passed on only by word of mouth. No tape exists showing the DMX versus Jay-Z battle in the early 90s, but every serious emcee has heard the tale.

The new wave of rap aggression in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s brought high profile rappers like Nas, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Beanie Sigel, and Jadakiss into rap beefs with each other, and the conflicts drove a spike in sales from consumers wanting to hear more battle rap.

As a college-aged hip-hop fan, I came of age with Fight Klub battles on MTV2, and seeing RVA’s own Nickelus F as the Hall of Fame champion on 106th & Park’s Freestyle Friday. These battles kept it clean for TV, but there were rawer, uncensored battles which we picked up from the neighborhood DVD seller. Floor-to-floor and door-to-door, they’d deliver the latest movies, albums, and plenty of rap battles recorded on DVD for an underground audience of diehard fans.

This is where Queens, NY native Troy Mitchell, alias Smack White, made his debut. His pre-YouTube-era series SMACK (Streets Music Art Culture Knowledge) was a touring show that visited different cities to show street life from the perspectives of local hip-hop royalty and more. In 2003, those videos first introduced me to Big Meech and Black Mafia Family (BMF), with club scenes and even a segment where Bleu DaVinci and the crew hang out in a Miami hotel lobby with the city’s mayor.

The local culture was fascinating, but not the main attraction. Somewhere in the middle of the DVD would be a battle or two. Sometimes they were set up at the park, sometimes a clothing store or a project hallway in NYC. These weren’t the battles in movies like 8 Mile or The Shelter. There were no beats, no backing tracks, no famous actors. They’re just two rappers, mostly unknown outside their city limits, standing across from each other, ready for lyrical war.

Early DVDs showed a three or six-round battle, but as the series progressed, you’d see a lot more trash talk between rappers, some who weren’t even in the battle. The conflicts sparked anticipation, and we all looked forward to the next SMACK DVD as the battles and conflicts took center stage.

Still pre-YouTube, we’d meet up outside Foster Hall at Virginia State University, and argue over whether Murda Mook beat Jae Millz or vice-versa. Every emcee wanted to make it to a SMACK DVD; this inspired White’s creation of the Ultimate Rap League, which took off immediately.

Today, URL’s artist roster features the best rappers from all over the country, from different leagues in every region, and they all head up to New York City or Los Angeles to battle.

As battle rap has grown, other leagues have sprung up, especially here in Richmond. The two prominent leagues in the city now are the long-standing League of Champions, owned by Sonny Kolfax, and the upstart, Radio B and Bravo’s Southpaw Battle Coalition, who count Chance Fischer as a member.

Left: Smack White

During the photoshoot, I sat down with Kolfax to talk battle rap and what it’s like to be live on stage during the battle. “You can’t buy [the feeling] nowhere,” he said. “It’s so easy to have a concert and people rock with the music, the lyrics don’t necessarily have to be there. But when you’re battling, there is no music. Everything you say counts. If you on stage and there’s no music and you’re giving everything to your opponent and the crowd is rocking with you, that energy transfer is a high almost.”

He noted Richmond’s place in the history of battle rap, and the impact of SMACK coming down I-95.  “You look at the DMV area and you look at the URL and it’s heavy here now, it’s prominent…and people never realize that those guys started out here,” he said. “Ryda came up through LOC, Jakkboy Maine’s first battle was on SRL [the Southern Rap League].”

Kolfax noted that it’s just getting bigger here. “The growth that I’ve seen in the scene from 2014 to present has been tremendous,” he said. “Because now battle rap is almost synonymous with hip hop in the city. When I started out battle rap wasn’t that big, like, ‘You’re a battle rapper? OK’.”

Kolfax thought URL’s battle was a good sign for the city. “It’s a blessing to see where it’s at now, because this is only a precursor to what can happen — and we showed the city what can happen.”

But more important, he said, will be Richmond capitalizing on the newfound attention from the rest of the battle world. “Don’t think just because Smack came that’s the end of battle rap,” he said. “No, we still have leagues out here. Pack our events now. Because URL already took notice, now it’s up to us. Even if you never been to a battle rap event, [you’re] just a fan of music, check it out.”

Gigi Broadway, from Kolfax’s LOC, shared his sentiments regarding hip-hop in RVA and battle rap in general. “Battle rap in this region is exploding,” she said. “URL is invested in the battlers here, and are always looking for talent out here. The music scene is really growing as well. The industry hasn’t quite set their eyes here yet like battle rap has, but it’s definitely turning in our direction.”

Broadway gave shoutouts to some local talent that’s been in the news lately. “Artists like Michael Millions, Mutant Academy, Noah O, and more have gotten a lot of national coverage last year, so it’s coming. I would say now is the time to get involved, because they are looking at how the city responds to and supports the artists. The time is now,” she said. “Once battle rap becomes more mainstream here, it will open the door for RVA to get more respect in the hip hop culture in general.”

Every person I spoke to about the future of battle rap and hip-hop in Richmond agreed; the time is now. When the #1 battle league in the world shows you this type of love, it’s time for the whole city to take notice of the crews, the leagues, and the venues like Lewter’s The Top.

Battle rap may have started underground, but it’s driven hip hop for decades, and with this type of buzz, it’s time for the form to take its place at the front of the scene.

Photos by Branden Wilson. Art Direction by Natalie Jackson

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond