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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: June 8 – June 14

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, June 10, 7 PM
Tyler Meacham, Dead Billionaires, Anna Leonard @ Gallery 5 – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Putting out records in the streaming age is weird. Let’s take Tyler Meacham’s debut album, Into The Fray, for an example. You’ve been able to buy the CD and mp3 versions on Bandcamp since February, and streaming’s been full steam ahead since that same time. Hell, I’ve streamed it on Apple Music a few times myself (don’t get it twisted, I still kinda hate all streaming services, but my wife says it comes with our phone plan, so… I mean, if I’m already paying for it… [this has gotta be the most middle-aged thing I’ve ever written in a show column, which is really saying something]). But this Gallery 5 show on Friday, which caps off Tyler’s two-week East Coast tour, is still a record release show. Because at this show, the vinyl finally comes out.

That’s what’s important to us all now, right? CDs are quickly losing relevance. Cassettes are strictly for nerds (proof: I own thousands of them). Buying mp3s is cool as a gesture of support, but you can get em for free if you want to, and a lot of people do. Streaming is like throwing a penny — one single penny — in a busker’s instrument case. But vinyl is the last remaining real deal. If you have an album on vinyl, it’s because you laid down some actual coin of the realm. And nothing beats that warm crackle when you drop the needle onto it, that big, glossy picture sleeve with easily readable liner notes. By releasing Into The Fray on vinyl, Tyler Meacham has arrived.

Honestly, she deserves no less. There’s a tendency in some circles to think of local musicians as off-brand versions of nationally known musicians, but sometimes even total philistines have to admit that that girl from just down the street really does have world-class talent, even if you do see her at the coffee shop at least once a month. The last time Richmond realized a world-class talent was in our midst, it was Lucy Dacus. Maybe Tyler Meacham’s new album won’t catapult her to the level of fame Lucy’s achieved, but if it doesn’t, it won’t be because she’s not as good. Into The Fray mixes pop-style production touches into a sound that is fundamentally based in rock, folk, and Americana sounds. It’s full of memorable hooks and emotional choruses. Those who’ve been going to see Tyler Meacham locally for a while know she brings her A game for live performances, too. As good as her new record sounds through your car speakers, it’ll sound way better to hear her perform these songs live at Gallery 5 this Friday night. Do yourself a favor and be there. Do I even need to tell you to bring cash for a vinyl copy of Into The Fray? By now, I think you should know.

Wednesday, June 8, 7 PM
Destroy Boys, Scowl, Destructo Disk @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $16 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
As Kim Gordon, formerly of Sonic Youth, once said, “Girls created punk rock. Not England. Not New York. Girls.” She was being somewhat metaphorical to make a point, but it was a good one: in our day to day society, it’s girls who really have the most reasons to lash out against the establishment. That was true in the mid-70s when The Runaways first came out, and god knows it’s true today when Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health has just come out. The fact that a punk band called Destroy Boys is playing in Richmond on this very night just seems appropriate, in light of everything else that’s going on in the world.

The fact that the sociopolitical environment for girls and women in the United States is kinda toxic right now isn’t the only reason to go rock out to this Sacramento-based punk band, though. Their 2021 LP, Open Mouth Open Heart, offers plenty of reasons that are entirely musical in nature, the first being that this band is no one-trick pony. While raging blasts of melodic punk that resemble White Lung or Be Your Own Pet definitely make up a healthy portion of their repertoire, they’re able to bust out a variety of different genres, from lovelorn ballads to upbeat alt-rock numbers, without ever diminishing in quality even slightly. So whether you’re feeling frustrated about the state of the world today or just wanting to dance around to a really great rock band, Destroy Boys at Richmond Music Hall is the hot ticket for you tonight.

Thursday, June 9, 9 PM
Mel Machete, Comino, Material Boy @ Fuzzy Cactus – $8 in advance, $10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
If you’re a true rock n’ roll warrior, your weekend starts on Thursday. And the first night of your rock n’ roll weekend this week should definitely be spent at Fuzzy Cactus, where a killer mini-tour featuring two mid-Atlantic rippers is rolling through town to blow your hair back. Mel Machete should be familiar to any musically inclined Richmonders by now — this five-piece is pure 100% rock swagger and punk stomp, and the two songs they’ve released into the world at this point show off that fact with aplomb. If you’re down with Sheer Mag, The Dead Boys, or even early Cheap Trick, you’re gonna love Mel Machete — so get ready to rock.

And then keep it going for Comino, who hail from the Carolinas and also have exactly two songs available in the world. If there was any justice in this world, both of these bands would be touring together supporting one 45-RPM single apiece, but pressing plants take years and charge way too much these days, so it’s really not practical. Whatever — if I can admit I listen to streaming services now, you can too. And you can go stream Comino’s two songs wherever you do such things. You should do it; they rip. Soundwise, they’re a little tougher and thicker than Mel Machete — maybe hinting at a rollicking Candy Snatchers or New Bomb Turks-style approach. It all adds up to a perfect touring partner for our local rock n’ roll heroes, and a wonderful way to kick off your three-day rock n’ roll weekend. Get there.

Friday, June 10, 6 PM
Stand Atlantic, With Confidence, 7ru7h, No Love For The Middle Child @ The Canal Club – $20 in advance, $23 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Y’all know me by now, which means that you know I’m an OG emo girl from way, way back. Therefore, when one of my younger friends started talking to me last weekend about how excited he was to go see Stand Atlantic when they come to town Friday night, I felt a little embarrassed that I had no idea who he was talking about. Then I gave their music a listen, and felt really embarrassed. After all, if anyone was going to know about a band who had managed to bring back the sound of early Paramore, before the Farro brothers quit and Hayley decided she just wanted to make pop records, it should have been me. And yet, here I was getting schooled by a guy who’s almost young enough to be my son. It made me feel about a million years old.

I got over it quick. Mainly because Stand Atlantic is so much fun to listen to that it’s hard to feel anything other than euphoric when you’re playing one of their records. The new one, f.e.a.r., brings some pop production touches into the mix, pulling the band slightly afield of their straight up mall-emo/pop-punk foundations, but these songs are still absolute rippers that you will not be able to sit still for. The snarky lyrics full of f-bombs and snarky takedowns like “I don’t have time for all your fake bitch energy” (from “Pity Party”) brings that same rebellious teenage energy that makes so many pop-punk bands so much fun to listen to. Really, everything about Stand Atlantic screams “these guys will be an absolute blast to see live,” and considering that they’re from all the way in Australia, who knows when they’ll be able to make it back to the USA. If you’re gonna go see ’em — and you should — now’s the time.

Saturday, June 11, 4 PM
POST-RVA Fest, feat. Night Idea, Fight Cloud, Colin Phils, Blunt, Hotspit, Youth League, Closet Space, Takyon @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Sometimes a show comes along and you’re like “I’ve certainly heard and seen all these bands before,” and yet you still know you’ve gotta be there, because it’s going to be such a goddamn good time. If you’re into math-rock, post-rock, post-hardcore, emo, alternative rock or pretty much any genre that at least sometimes involves people with guitars creating complicated melodies you can’t help but tap your feet to, then this show is a must attend. While not every Richmond-based band who makes the nebulous kind of music we’re talking about is on this bill, it’s certainly more than enough to keep any Richmond-based fan of the genre very satisfied.

In particular, it’s lovely to see Night Idea at the top of this bill. These guys have been around for a long time, of course, but in recent years, they’ve been largely inactive. Their last album came out five years ago, and while they occasionally play live, it’s not all that easy to catch up with ’em these days. This show is, of course, your perfect opportunity. The rest of the bill amounts to an embarrassment of riches, with local math-rock legends Fight Cloud, major RVA post-rock boosters Colin Phils, and atmospheric emo-shoegaze geniuses Hotspit delivering guaranteed doses of brillance, even as more up-and-coming talents like Takyon and Closet Space do their best to prove themselves in front of an audience pretty much guaranteed to be receptive. As shows go, you know exactly what you’re getting from this one. But when what you’re getting is this good, there’s absolutely no reason to feel anything but glad about it.

Sunday, June 12, 9 PM
Cumgirl8, Shawnis And The Shimmers, Beef @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
I remember reading about the first Lollapalooza lineup at the breakfast table in my parents’ copy of USA Today, back in 1991, and tripping out at the fact that the newspaper had censored the Butthole Surfers’ name to “BH Surfers.” Over 30 years later, I imagine NYC’s Cumgirl8 has been the victim of similar misguided attempts at repression. The liner notes for their synth-driven new single, “Dumb Bitch” mention the “puritans, TERFs, and homophobes” who’ve attempted to keep them off social media. That’s an unfortunate reality of our modern times — while racist assholes scream about “free speech” from the platforms of billionaires to widespread applause, noise-punk weirdos creating unorthodox artistic presentations get shouted down as evil. I know the 90s are back, but is the satanic panic back too? Once was more than enough.

Anyway, let me climb down off my soapbox and explain why a band with a name as admittedly intense as Cumgirl8 deserves your time and attention regardless of how freaky they decide to get. For one thing, their live shows really are as freaky as the hype might lead you to believe; they’ve been called a “punk band of sex positive superheroes” by Vice, and the fact that members of the group have backgrounds in modeling, dance, and experimental art should prime you for an active stage performance that will be completely free of dull or predictable moments. What’s more, they’ve got a strong musical sound that’ll work for anyone who digs the nervous tension generated by postpunk bands like the Bush Tetras or the dark, driving punk of Ex-Cult. Where boundary-pushing, artistically-fueled rock n’ roll is concerned, Cumgirl8 is the real deal. The fact that they’re joined on this bill by a similarly transgressive and artistic project like Shawnis And The Shimmers only seals the deal. You gotta make it out to this one.

Monday, June 13, 7 PM
The Curls, Asylum 213, Dolphin Group, Debrider @ The Camel – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Leave it to The Camel to ensure that, on a Monday night that could easily be a wicked comedown from a summer weekend full of joyful hijinks, there’s still some good rock n’ roll fun to be had within the borders of the river city. This night sees Richmond receiving a visit from Chicago band The Curls, whose brand new LP, Smothered And Covered, not only evokes the best part of every Waffle House visit — ordering a triple hash browns with seven or eight toppings on it — but also delivers a heaping helping of fun-filled synth-driven alt-rock tunes that bring a slight flavor of disco to proceedings that are closer, on the whole, to peak-era Talking Heads. It’s a blast to hear, and it’s sure to be an even bigger blast when this band hits the stage to chase away your case of Monday night blahs.

Hailing from significantly farther south — Chattanooga, Tennessee, to be specific — Dolphin Group bring a similar synth-driven sound to the proceedings, delivering the same sort of bouncy bops they laid down on last fall’s self-titled LP to a Richmond audience in dire need of a pick-me-up to keep us all going for the rest of the week. The local groups on this bill, Asylum 213 and Debrider, will also dabble at least intermittently with synth and disco vibes, but on the whole have a darker, more hypnotic feel that will provide an intriguing contrast to the out-of-town bounce. On the whole, it’s a recipe for yet another Monday survived with all senses intact and the will to live secured for yet another work week. And don’t we all need that?

Tuesday, June 14, 7 PM
Black Matter Device, Circuit Circuit, Armagideon Time, Terror Cell @ The Dark Room – $10
OK, now we’re talking my kind of chaos. Black Matter Device deliver the exact type of metallic hardcore that I am most often listening to when I’m sitting around with headphones on, tuning out the world. It’s hard to sit still when you listen to their new LP, Autonomous Weapons, which combines frantic blasting hardcore, surprisingly groovy interludes, and unbelievably chaotic metal breakdowns into a weapon of ferocious noise awesomeness. Fortunately, at the Dark Room, you won’t have to — you can get up and freak out with the rest of the maniacs who know how to appreciate this stuff.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee natives Circuit Circuit are on pretty much the same page with Black Matter Device; their self-titled 2021 EP is an absolute rager that uses more distorting effects but just as much metal and hardcore chaos to create a whirlwind that should also translate into massive waves of energy in a live environment. Then there’s Armagideon Time, who has got to be the most intriguing metallic hardcore band this city has produced in the post-pandemic era. Haven’t you ever wanted to hear one of the city’s most talented rappers scream and spit rhymes overtop of killer chugging riffage? That’s what this band offers. How can you turn that down? Really, this show’s got everything you could possibly want from it and more, all on hand for you. Make it happen.

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

Top Photo by Andre Mags

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: April 13 – April 19

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FEATURED SHOW
Monday, April 18, 7 PM
Circle Jerks, 7 Seconds, Negative Approach @ The Broadberry – $35 in advance (order tickets HERE)
Richmond is in for a veritable bonanza of amazing live shows this week, and it all centers around this amazing triple bill of first-wave hardcore bands, all of whom are ready, willing, and able to run rings around millennials half their age and leave The Broadberry in a smoldering heap. It’ll be a blast. You need to be there. But on the off chance you didn’t get handed mixtapes with all three of these bands on them when you were in ninth grade (status quo for teenage punks when I was in high school — which was admittedly over a quarter-century ago) and actually need an explanation, let’s discuss the bands on this bill.

First and foremost, the legendary Circle Jerks. This pioneering California hardcore quartet was formed by Keith Morris (Black Flag/OFF!) and guitarist Greg Hetson (Redd Kross/Bad Religion), who are still at it over 40 years after their classic debut LP, Group Sex, redefined punk rock in terms of speed and energy, helping to define the then-nascent genre of hardcore. In 2022, they’re on tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary reissue of their second LP, 1982’s Wild In The Streets, which just came out on new label Trust Records in a dramatically expanded version. You should definitely order your own copy of that one, but also make sure you show up for this show, because unbelievably, even at the age of 66, Keith Morris is still the energetic maniac we all saw for the first time in 1980 LA punk documentary Decline Of Western Civilization — and you better believe the music still rules. Come ready to skank.

And show up on time, because speaking of amazingly well-preserved frontmen, Negative Approach leader John Brannon is still an absolute hardcore psycho beast, and he and the rest of his band will be bringing their pioneering Detroit hardcore rage to the Broadberry stage to blow all of us away at the start of this show. Not to be outdone, brothers Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth are back together yet again at the head of their legendary melodic hardcore group, 7 Seconds, whose sound an old friend of mine once described as “the aggression of Minor Threat with the hooks of the Misfits” — I can’t argue with that. The point is this: all three of these bands have been incredible and highly worth your time for every second of the past 40-plus years, and they still will be this Monday night. If you don’t already have your ticket, you know what to do.

Wednesday, April 13, 7 PM
Guerilla Toss, Toxic Moxie @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $14 in advance, $16 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Long running postpunk group Guerilla Toss has been through a whole bunch of changes recently, and they’ve put all of them on display on their brand new album, Famously Alive (their first for the legendary Sub Pop label), which was just released into the world at large a few weeks ago. If you dug the driving, off-kilter funk weirdness and hyperkinetic velocity of previous Guerilla Toss releases, rest assured, the band is still going to make you want to dance like a maniac when they take the Richmond Music Hall stage. There’s a decidedly brighter vibe to their new album, which is truly wild since the songs on it were put together in isolation during the pandemic. Hey, stressful situations inspire different things in everybody.

At this point, though, Guerilla Toss are itching to get back into the world and share the music they’ve created with all of us. And considering how much we all are still recovering from a year and a half without any live music of any kind, what they’re bringing to RVA is exactly what this city needs. Better yet, they’re joined on this bill by Toxic Moxie, who should by now need no introduction to the Richmond music faithful. On the off chance you’re new here, though, let me explain: Toxic Moxie bring a melodic, nigh-psychedelic vibe to songs that are fundamentally constructed at the point where disco groove and punk rock bash come together. Honestly, it’s not too different from what Guerilla Toss does, guaranteeing that these two great sounds will sound even greater together. Make it happen, cap’n.

Thursday, April 14, 7 PM
Pom Pom Squad, Chloe Lilac, Lobby Boy @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 in advance, $17 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There’s a real renaissance in melodic punk rock happening these days, and I for one am here for it. And honestly, the best examples of the genre’s recent peaks I can think of are all coming from women. Take Pom Pom Squad’s Mia Berrin, for example, who starts the debut full-length from her poppy, punky project with a song talking about wanting to marry “the scariest girl on the cheerleading team.” Who can’t relate to that one? More importantly, who isn’t totally rocked to death by the many excellent songs on Pom Pom Squad’s Death Of A Cheerleader? Look, if you aren’t, you should probably check your pulse. That’s all I’m saying.

Who am I kidding? I’m gonna say more, and we all know it. The first thing I’m gonna say is that Pom Pom Squad rule more than enough to be the sole reason you come out to Richmond Music Hall on a Thursday night. The second thing I’m gonna say is that the opening acts on this bill constitute one heck of a bonus, with New York’s Chloe Lilac bringing some excellent pop music of her own into the mix. She’s got the biting wit of prime-era Courtney Love mixed with the emotional electro-pop sound of Sky Ferreira at her best, and she’s gonna make you feel some feels when she hits the stage, that’s for sure. Harrisonburg’s Lobby Boy, who only a couple weeks ago released an excellent debut full-length, Pretty Songs/Pursuit Of Personhood, will bring their catchy, vaguely retro indie-electro sound to the river city once more. As openers go, they’re a real treat. So yeah: show up on time for this one. It’s in your best interest.

Friday, April 15, 7 PM
Man On Man, Trapcry, Kuni @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $14 in advance, $16 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Over two years after we all locked down for the first time, the ongoing effects of the pandemic on the music world keep showing up, and they’re less predictable all the time. For example, who would have guessed back in April 2020 when all the yuppies on social media were tweeting about their sourdough starter that the pandemic would eventually result in all of us getting to enjoy a new band from Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum and his boyfriend Joey Holman? Probably nobody, but it happened, and it’s the best thing to happen to queer-themed alternative rock in a long damn time.

Man On Man, who make no apologies for the homoerotic content of their music, released their self-titled debut album last summer. Singles like “Daddy” and “It’s So Fun (To Be Gay)” first grab your attention with their titles and lyrics, which make this band the obvious 21st century heirs apparent to groundbreaking 90s punk rockers Pansy Division. However, it’s the sounds created by Man On Man are what will keep you coming back over and over to this truly excellent album of melodic indie tunes. Whether you’re someone looking for more LGBTQ representation in indie music or just a huge Faith No More fan excited for some new music by one of your faves, Man On Man’s performance at Richmond Music Hall this Friday night is sure to delight you. Be there.

Saturday, April 16, 8 PM
The Pack AD, Ten Pound Snail, Celler Dwellers @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There’s something about the genre of garage rock that makes it the perfect sound for a bassless rock duo to sink their teeth into. From The White Stripes to The Black Keys, there’s a noble tradition of guitar-drum duos rockin’ hard in the garage-rock domain. Canadians The Pack AD have been carving out their own lane within that tradition for over fifteen years now, and, as is traditional for bands in this genre, they manage to work up a particularly heavy groove without adding any bass guitar to the mix. It’s impressive, especially in light of the fact that they’ve kept it up for eight albums without breaking up (a la The White Stripes) or turning into a basic-ass radio rock band (The Black Keys).

The last time we heard new music from The Pack AD was just about two years ago, when they released their killer eighth album, It Was Fun While It Lasted, which showed off a perfect road-trip aesthetic (song titles include “Gas Station Food” and “Check Engine Light”) just in time for all of us to spend a year and a half in lockdown. Now they’re making up for lost time, bringing their heavy rockin’ sound south of the border to rock The Camel and get everybody moving their feet. So yeah, spend your Saturday night with The Pack AD. That Sunday morning bangover will be 100% worth it.

Sunday, April 17, 7 PM
Juan Wauters @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been many years since I last wrote about Uruguay-born, NYC-based punk troubadour Juan Wauters, but he’s returning to RVA this Sunday with a whole new spin on his long-running solo project. For 2021’s Real Life Situations, Wauters fought back against the isolation of the pandemic times we were all living through back then, focusing on collaboration and pulling together a variety of talented folks to work with him on different songs from the album — Mac DeMarco, Air Waves, Cola Boyy, and a whole bunch more. This focus on integrating a variety of different voices worked well with his overall mission on Real Life Situations: at a time when circumstances beyond our control were making a whole lot of choices for all of us, Wauters decided to make an album about the way some of the best options and possibilities in life come about when we surrender control and take things as they come.

Musically speaking, the radio is the best metaphor for all of this, and Wauters’ latest album is a lot like listening to a radio on a crowded street corner, mixing tunes in a variety of genres — everything from catchy acoustic punk to traditional Latin American musical forms — with random voices, snatches from newscasts, street sounds, and all kinds of other stuff. The obvious question is: how will all of this translate to the live environment on Sunday night at The Camel? I admit I have no idea, but part of the thrill in catching Wauters on Sunday night will be in finding out. After all, it’s sure to be interesting, and it’s almost definitely going to be unpredictable. So get on Juan Wauters’ level, and take it as it comes. It’s sure to be the most unusual night you’ve had in a while, and who doesn’t need more of that?

Monday, April 18, 7 PM
Digital Hell, Ducttape Jesus, Raneshounds, Hunting Dog @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Mysterious, prolific, experimental, electronic — all of these adjectives and more can be applied to the youthful Richmond collective known as Digital Hell. The music they make is bizarre and somewhat unprecedented, simultaneously based in hip hop and extreme noise. They mix programmed beats and atonal screeching into off-kilter grooves over which they drop rhymes and talk shit with the best of them, along with frequent collaborators like Ducttape Jesus.

Recently, Digital Hell and Ducttape Jesus collaborated for an EP entitled KNC, and it’s that EP they’ll be coming together to celebrate at The Camel. The sounds they’ll be bringing to the stage on that evening are unusual and hard to predict or categorize, but if you like seeing musicians push the limits of multiple genres at once, this is a show you should make sure you get to. Beat-producing wunderkind Raneshounds and experimental electronic project Hunting Dog kick this one off. Come out and broaden your musical horizons.

Tuesday, April 19, 7 PM
Delta Sleep, It Looks Sad, Gender Roles, Colin Phils @ The Canal Club – $16 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
When you’re a fan of the wide world of post-hardcore music, it’s easy to ignore the rest of the world and just focus on America. After all, a ton of great bands on that genre spectrum come from right here in the United States. You don’t necessarily need to look outside our borders to find great examples of emo, math rock, screamo, post-rock, and other affiliated genres. That said, you’re really blowing it if you don’t — there are many great bands doing this sort of thing that come from far-flung corners of the world, and if you sleep on them, you might just miss out on some of the best music being played today.

If you’re wondering whether I’m telling you all this just to get you to pay attention to Kent, UK’s Delta Sleep, well, OK, I admit it, you’ve figured me out. Delta Sleep’s fourth album, Spring Island, came out last year, and it is full of amazing tunes that should absolutely appeal to anyone who appreciates the music of Tera Melos, The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, and pretty much anything inbetween. They’re coming to the Canal Club on Tuesday night, and I mostly have no idea who with; their fellow UK band Gender Roles apparently broke up acrimoniously just before the tour started, and North Carolinians It Looks Sad cancelled their participation in this tour due to lingering concerns over COVID. As far as I know, Richmond’s own Colin Phils will be on the bill, and they rule, so that’s good at least. But here’s what’s most important: Delta Sleep is gonna play, and they’re gonna be awesome. That’s reason enough to be there, even if all the openers bail out. Don’t blow this one.

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

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: March 30 – April 5

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, April 2, 2 PM
WRIR‘s Party For the Rest Of Us, feat. Colin Phils, Ant The Symbol, Gritty City Records, Prabir Trio, Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers, The Wimps, Holy River @ Hardywood Park Craft Brewery – Free!
Y’all, it’s been 17 years since WRIR, the community-run, non-profit, low power station at 97.3 on your FM dial, started broadcasting from its studio up above The Camel on Broad St. And for those of us of a Certain Age, the obvious reaction is “Wow, time flies.” Meanwhile, I assume pretty much everyone in the local music scene under 30 feels like WRIR’s just kinda always been there. It’s an understandable reaction, considering how young y’all were when it started broadcasting. On a radio dial that is more than ever full of the same songs you’ve heard a million times before inbetween what feels like 45 minutes of advertising per hour, WRIR is a breath of fresh air, bringing us all community info, a finger on the pulse of the local culture, and music you’ve generally never heard before — often from right here in Virginia.

However! It’s important that none of us here in Richmond ever start to take WRIR for granted. This non-commercial station survives and thrives only through the valiant efforts of many volunteers, as well as all the donations they can scare up. That’s what WRIR’s Party For the Rest Of Us is about: bringing the Richmond community a really great event, full of music and fun, in return for all of our support to keep them going for another year. In previous years, this annual event has generally been coupled with a request for donations. This year, they’re advertising it as free, but you should still bring a few bucks to help them out — or drop those buckaroos into the virtual tip jar you can find over at wrir.org.

In exchange for your contribution (or even for your lack of one — which is OK, because between high heating bills and gas pump sticker shock, lord knows a lot of us don’t have a dime to spare right now), you get an amazing afternoon at Hardywood, full of outstanding musical talents from the Central Virginia area. There are too many to get to even if I hadn’t spent most of my space talking about how great WRIR is, but let’s go for a lightning round: Colin Phils bring delectable post-rock goodness, Ant The Symbol and Gritty City Records represent the finest in RVA hip hop, Prabir Trio and The Wimps show us all how great indie rock can be even in 2022, Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers dish out yet another helping of their buzzworthy Americana, and last but not least, there is the uncategorizable psychedelic folk atmospherics of Holy River. A truly formidable lineup that’ll be the perfect soundtrack as you while away your afternoon hanging out with the fine folks at Hardywood. What more could you ask for? Another great year of wonderfully unpredictable non-commercial community-run radio, you say? Well, you know what to do.

Wednesday, March 30, 6:30 PM
Drug Church, One Step Closer, Soul Blind, Lurk @ The Broadberry – $16 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This one’s exciting. Drug Church, who hail from upstate New York, play an incredibly catchy brand of post-hardcore, and feature as frontman one of the current hardcore scene’s most colorful and fascinating veterans, just released their fourth album, Hygiene. Even if you, like me, already loved this band, you’re bound to be impressed with the quantum leap they’ve taken with this brand new release. In particular, the aforementioned frontman, Patrick Kindlon, has stepped up his game. His unique vocal style might not have been for everyone in the past, but he’s managed to bring significantly more melody to his approach on this album without losing an ounce of the frenetic urgency that’s always made him such a riveting frontman.

So yeah, what I’m saying is this: if you don’t have plans tonight, you gotta get over to the Broadberry and catch Drug Church. And if you do have plans, you probably should just break them and bring whoever it is you were gonna chill with to the show with you. The newest Drug Church material is so much fun, even your grandma will probably dig it. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that Drug Church are coming through accompanied by One Step Closer, whose intense, powerful, yet always subtly melodic take on hardcore will excite fans of Turning Point, Fiddlehead, Praise, and a whole ton of other classic bands. The lineup is rounded out by the grungified post-hardcore of Soul Blind and the chunky alt-rock of Lurk. This one’s gonna be a solid gold banger from beginning to end. Get there.

Thursday, March 31, 7 PM
The Warhawks, The Octavias, Sincerely Iris, Wallpaper @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
Do you like to rock? Who doesn’t, am I right? Those of us who do are certainly delighted to see the return of the semi-regular free rock shows at Garden Grove Brewing, a place that became a good under-the-radar spot to see some killer bands in the year or so before the pandemic destroyed live music as we knew it. Not every venue that used to be a solid bet for good music in the pre-pandemic days has made it back, but it’s good to see a few lately that I wasn’t hearing from back when I first restarted the column — especially this one.

Thursday night at Garden Grove will be a real rock n’ roll ripper, so get stoked! New Jersey’s The Warhawks are the out-of-town guest on this bill, and they’re touring right now in support of This Ain’t Art, a new six-song EP that brings us all plenty of loud guitars and moody vocals in the classic tradition of everything from Jesus And Mary Chain to the Black Keys before they jumped the shark. They’ll get the room rocking when they take the stage and crank up their amps, as will local garage-rock duo The Octavias, who more than make up in noise and fury what they lack in low-end amplification. Todd Murray’s prolific solo project, Sincerely Iris, who play what Murray calls “road trip music,” will add a more emotional flavor to the evening while keeping toes tapping. Meanwhile, slowcore newcomers Wallpaper will enrapture us all by evoking Mark Kozelek before he jumped the shark. Show up for this one — you won’t regret it. And hey… the price is right.

Friday, April 1, 7 PM
Flight Club, Keep Flying, Nancy Raygun, Shotclock, Plastic Flamingos @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Pop-punk is supposed to be fun, and this show is definitely going to live up to that billing. I know, I know, local guitar-slingers Flight Club want everyone to stop thinking of them as pop-punk; they even released a single called “High Roller” a while back that did its best to convince us all that they went post-Killers disco-hipster rock. Thankfully, the rest of their new album, Until The Sun Drowns, shows that this RVA quintet has retained their flawless melodic sense and driving punk energy, and it’s a very safe bet that all of this will carry over to this Richmond Music Hall double bill.

Sharing headlining duties is New Jersey quintet Keep Flying, who somehow manage to be an upbeat poppy punk band with a horn player without turning into a ska band. Instead, said horn player adds saxophone melodies that do a great job augmenting the skate-punk leads, then contributes to the band’s multi-vocalist round robin. It sounds like a crazy idea, but it ends up totally working. If you can get into Knuckle Puck, Four Year Strong, or State Champs, you’re sure to enjoy what Keep Flying brings to the table for this show. This stacked bill also features a variety of openers, including North Carolina pop-punk goofballs Plastic Flamingos, Richmond alt-rockers Nancy Raygun, and local newcomers Shotclock. Be there.

Saturday, April 2, 7 PM
Spoken To: An Evening Of Spoken Word and Poetry, feat. Ryan Kent, Black Liquid, Denise Walters, Summer Storms, S. Preston Duncan @ Gallery 5 – Free?
Poetic and musical forms have always been closely linked, from Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan’s lyrics getting published as poetry to Jack Kerouac legendarily setting his writings to jazz accompaniment. And don’t even get me started on hip hop. For that reason, I have no qualms recommending that all of you spend your Saturday night at Gallery 5 taking in the non-musical sounds of Spoken To, an evening of spoken word and poetry. After all, the label up there at the top says “shows you must see,” right? It doesn’t say a damn thing about music.

Regardless, there’s music running through the words of Ryan Kent, a local poet who has also spent years singing in several different Richmond-based metal bands. However, he’s also published multiple poetry collections, and is currently preparing a spoken word LP for release. So yeah — where spoken word is concerned, Ryan knows what he’s doing. The same can be said of Richmond rapper Black Liquid, who has certainly written plenty of poetry set to hip hop beats over the years. Seeing what he comes up with when he doesn’t have a backing track will be fascinating. Story quilter Denise Walters, who is a member of the Nottoway Tribe, will bring us tales told through cloth as well as words. The lineup is rounded out by witch poet Summer Storms and poet/pyrography practitioner S. Preston Duncan. All have plenty to offer. Be there to appreciate their gifts.

Sunday, April 3, 7 PM
Daisychain, The Background Action, Death Plumes @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Sunday nights can be tough. Everyone’s gotten their ya-ya’s out on Friday and Saturday, and the weekend is coming to an end, so for many people, Sunday night is a night to head home early. However, true rock n’ roll heads know that some of the best underground sounds can be found on nights when there’s not all that much going on — because touring bands have always got a hole in their schedule to fill. Luckily, The Camel is there to take them in, and those of us who are truly dedicated to music as life get to be there and hear great new bands before everyone else has necessarily caught on.

All of this is a long way of getting to the point, which is that Chicago’s Daisychain are truly essential listening. This band of relatively young people pull from multiple prior generations of Windy City guitar legends, mixing everything from the classic electric blues of Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy to the 70s-influenced grunge-rock of 90s legends Urge Overkill. There’s even a little bit of Janis Joplin and Heart mixed in here, coming out through the angelic voices of singers Sophia Williams and Nickole Regala. I know you might be tempted to head home early Sunday night, but take a disco nap and head back out to catch Daisychain at The Camel instead. I promise you won’t regret it.

Monday, April 4, 7 PM
Soft Kill, Alien Boy, Topographies, True Body @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
All Richmond live music heads need to give thanks to whatever deity they do or don’t believe in for The Camel. The only venue in this city who truly seems to share our belief that music doesn’t need a night off, we can always count on the Camel to have a show queued up for us on Monday night, when we’re in desperate need of some solid sounds to blow away the mental residue of another depressing Monday back at work. And it’s almost always a really good show, too — witness this excellent bill that brings us two killer touring bands for the price of one.

Soft Kill is the first; their 2020 LP, Dead Kids, RIP City, does a great job of mixing sharply ringing postpunk guitars with driving dance beats and synth textures, all in a decidedly noir-ish mode that leads one to imagine the Cure with the energy of first-LP Bauhaus. Whether you’re into dark, driving rock n’ roll or moody, gloomy goth, these guys have something you’ll like. As for co-headliners Alien Boy, this Portland quartet were already on my radar due to their excellent 2021 LP, Don’t Know What I Am, which is still growing on me six months later. Driving, melodic punk with a moody gothic undertone is what they bring to the table, in a manner that lands somewhere between Wax Idols and Veruca Salt. That’s enough to win me over right there. San Francisco gothic industrial group Topographies and Virginia’s own postpunk veterans True Body round this one out with aplomb. Shake off the Mondays with this one.

Tuesday, April 5, 7 PM
Escape From The Zoo, Crazy And The Brains, Chupaskabra @ Richmond Music Hall At Capital Ale House – $15 in advance, $20 day of show (Order tickets HERE)
I have a confession to make, y’all: I wasn’t necessarily all that on-board for the whole ska-punk thing back in the 90s. And if I’m even more honest, I really think I missed something by skipping out on all that stuff at the time. Today, I look back at stuff like Operation Ivy and Voodoo Glow Skulls, and I think: dang, those kids sure seem like they were having a lot of fun. Luckily for all of us who missed out — and for everyone who got it when it was originally going on — the whole ska-punk thing is experiencing a major revival right now. And Fat Wreck Chords signees Escape From The Zoo are at the forefront of all that.

Led by Jesse Sendejas of Houston folk-punk group Days N’ Daze and his mandolin-strumming wife Veronica, Escape From The Zoo take all that catchy, upbeat strumming that was the best part of the whole folk-punk thing and mix it with the electrified punk energy of the good bands of the 90s ska-punk revival: the ones that realized you have to lead with the punk and the speed, and just let everything else work itself out. That’s what Escape From The Zoo does on their brand new LP, Countin’ Cards, and that’s what’s gonna win you over when they take the stage Tuesday night at Capital Ale House. Xylophone-driven dance-punk veterans Crazy And The Brains and local ska-punk up-and-comers Chupaskabra round out this bill, and will do more than their fair share to increase the fun quotient and bring your Tuesday night to bright, glorious life. Get ready.

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

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: January 12 – January 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: December 1 – December 7

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, December 4, 7 PM
Colin Phils, Houdan The Mystic, The Late Virginia Summers, Shapes In The Water @ Black Iris – $6 (order tickets HERE)
It sure is nice to see local music surviving and thriving in our post(?)-pandemic world. Live music shutting down completely for a year caused a lot of chaos for a lot of bands in this world, and while huge artists like Radiohead or Green Day or whoever could just live off all the money they’ve banked, a lot of times the loss of steady work for smaller bands led to breakups and indefinite hiatuses proliferating across the scene. Therefore, we can all be thankful that a quartet of veteran Virginia indie bands will be returning to form and bringing us all the sounds we love this Saturday night at Black Iris.

Colin Phils in particular was dealt a cruel blow by the pandemic; having released their latest LP, Trust Fall, at almost exactly the same time as the first big COVID shutdown hit us all back in March 2020, they were robbed the opportunity to travel around the country and the world showing off their latest work to both fans and new listeners. Since things came back online, they’ve been making up for lost time, touring around the East Coast and appearing live in a variety of places. And, by the way, with a variety of lineups. The photo accompanying this article documents the band’s lineup at the time Trust Fall was released, but I really can’t say for sure who (besides band mainstays Ben Tiner and Benjamin Mauch) will take the stage Saturday night. Rest assured, they’ll deliver you an unforgettable performance of some top-quality indie/math-rock/emo tunes regardless.

Colin Phils isn’t the only band making this Black Iris show worth your time, though; there’s also their former split partners Houdan The Mystic, a long-running local trio whose smooth, intricate math-rock sounds have been fascinating for screamo nerds, stoner indie heads, and everyone in-between for damn near a decade now. They may not have released anything since their aforementioned 2017 split with Colin Phils, but they just don’t like to rush. Rest assured, their music will still be right on time. The Late Virginia Summers, who hail from Lynchburg, have been enriching the VA indie scene with their synth-infused take on instrumental post-rock for over a decade now, and demonstrate that they’ve still got a lot to say on brand new release Beauty In The Ghost; expect them to show off some tunes from the new record on this night. Finally, Shapes In The Water released their debut LP only two years ago, but 3/4 of the band have a significantly longer history under the name From Fragile Seeds, and their new EP, Acedia, shows that their brand of intricate, post-rockified emo remains vital and is, if anything, getting better all the time.

Wednesday, December 1, 8 PM
The Octavias, Safari Room, Colpa Mia @ The Camel – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
A lot has happened for a lot of Richmond bands while the pandemic had us all holed up in our rooms. One example is the duo formerly known as Grem Smiley, who — like Colin Phils — released a record only weeks before the pandemic made live music a thing of the past for over a year. After their Canvas LP lost its chance to soar, the band went into a long woodshedding period that saw their former name go by the wayside in favor of the (indisputably improved) name The Octavias. They’ve only released two songs under that name so far, but the rollicking rock n’ roll bash that they unleash on debut single “Sometimes” is certainly enough to whet one’s appetite for a full set from these rippers.

That’s what we’ll get at The Camel tonight, but it’s not all we’ll get; Nashville’s Safari Room are coming through town as well, and their more melodic approach is sure to act as an intriguing contrast to the rave-ups of The Octavias. Apparently people have compared them to all sorts of groups in the past, and most of those comparisons seem way off to me, so let me avoid that pitfall and just tell you that their delicate, arpeggiated guitar lines and soaring vocal melodies occasionally give way to powerful crescendos that make the whole thing feel ecstatic. Locals Colpa Mia will be rounding out the bill with their catchy indie pop tunes, so you’ll get a solid dose of excellence from this one. Get with it.

Thursday, December 2, 7 PM
Lenne, The Impurity @ Another Round Bar And Grill – Free!
Over the past few years, Another Round has made itself the indisputable local home of unreconstructed metal, untainted by hipsters and retaining its pure original state — as raging music for frustrated working class headbangers. And don’t get me wrong, the hipster stuff has its place, but sometimes its nice not to have to try and pick up on the influences of bands who worship an obscure death metal demo released in 1987 by a band from Argentina who never toured and were only together for six months, or whatever. When Lenne and The Impurity play a free show at Another Round this Thursday night, you won’t have to worry about any of that.

Instead, what you’ll need to know is that Lenne is a project featuring members of Sevendust and The Infinite Staircase, among others, dealing out some heavy rockin’ metal with a strong blues influence. The melodic vocals follow in a similar vein to the band members’ previous projects, but rest assured, the whole thing still hits hard as hell. Tourmates The Impurity, who hail from Buffalo, NY, have a similar sound, but are definitely willing to do some growling and screaming at times. All of it’s gonna bowl you over, and if you want to bang your head, you’ll have plenty of opportunities. Plus, the price is right. Make it happen.

Friday, December 3, 9 PM
Smirk, Hard Copy, Magic Wand @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This Friday night, Fuzzy Cactus will bring you a heaping helping of the exact kind of sounds you expect from this town’s proudest “rock n’ roll bar”: some raw, primitive, quirky garage rock. Smirk is a California band that’s actually a one-man project by Nick Vicario, whose name you may know if you’re nerdy enough to be aware of groups like Crisis Man and Public Eye. Richmond’s own Feel It Records handled the release of Smirk’s LP, a vinyl release from earlier this year that combined both of the project’s earlier cassette releases. Only a couple of months ago, Smirk followed up this release with a new one entitled EP (I sense a theme here), featuring seven new songs that are pretty much all off-kilter basement pop gems.

So yeah, you’ll definitely want to catch Smirk when they come through town dispensing their offbeat anthems, even if I can’t actually tell you what form they’ll take live — a pickup backing band? One guy doing everything? Prominent use of drum machines? I have no idea, but it’s worth finding out! The music’s sure to be fun regardless. Along for the ride on this one are Hard Copy, a quartet with a postpunk vibe and snarky political lyrics featuring members of Fat Spirit, New Turks, and Young Adult Fiction, among others. Their EP from this spring is a lot of fun; one would think this set would be too. Fun local punks Magic Wand will round out a bill full of great tunes at the most rock n’ roll bar in town.

Saturday, December 4, 6 PM
Holy Roller, Devil’s Coattails, Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10 (order tickets HERE)
OK, so I just told you all about how rock n’ roll Fuzzy Cactus is in the last blurb, but never let it be said that they’re afraid to throw the occasional change-up. That’s what comes from this show starring headliners Holy Roller, who originally evolved out of Virginia quartet Big Mama Shakes a few years back. These days, Holy Roller have expanded to a six-piece, which pairs vocalist Brady Heck’s deep, soulful baritone with the unmistakable voice of talented Richmond singer-songwriter Rebekah Rafferty. The result, combined with the band’s Southern-rock tinges and subtle gospel flavorings, is a sound that fans of everything from Matthew E. White to Drive-By Truckers to Counting Crows should be able to appreciate.

Devil’s Coattails are also on the bill, and this ensemble goes even further outside the typical confines of “rock n’ roll” with their take on rootsy country sounds. Featuring members of The Dharma Bombs, Blush Face, the Pistol Sisters, and more, this six-piece — featuring two vocalists with some great interplay — lay down the kind of honky-tonk sounds you just can’t find in the world of mainstream country anymore. Plus, it’s got that freewheeling outlaw spirit. So in the end, it’s actually perfect for Fuzzy Cactus. As is Cassidy Snider, a homegrown blues singer with a soulful country vibe, who’ll be bringing her band The Wranglers along to kick this one off in fine fashion. So hey, make it a Fuzzy Cactus weekend, and on Saturday night, you’ll get to catch both kinds of music — country AND western.

Sunday, December 5, 7 PM
Nickelus F, Radio B, Michael Millions, NameBrand @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance, $25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Do the talented MCs and producers who make up the crew known as Association of Great Minds even need any sort of introduction anymore? At least here in Richmond, I would hope not. However, I’ve got a couple of paragraphs to fill, so we’re gonna go ahead and talk about the greatness of the four men bringing the latest edition of their “Flag On The Moon” to The Broadberry this Sunday night. Nickelus F is probably the first among equals here, as he’s been making his name with top-level rhymes and excellent beats for something like 15 years now. His last big high-profile release, Stuck, came out on Vinyl Conflict back in 2018, but he’s still making great tunes — and probably hoarding at least some of them away from public eyes, as was true of the two Gold Mine compilations he released in 2019. Here’s the thing — it’s all great. And whatever he does onstage Sunday night, whether it’s a Nick F classic or some shit you’ve never heard before, it’s going to be top-quality and unmissable. So don’t blow it.

Let me not take anything away from Radio B, though. Out of all of these artists, he’s the one who put out a new full-length most recently, with his fall 2020 release All Art Ain’t Pretty — a record with a cinematic approach and philosophical lyrics that are clearly influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests that took place in Richmond last year. Hearing these songs live will be worth the price of admission to this event on its own, so make sure you’re there. And of course, you’re gonna want to be on time, as Michael Millions and NameBrand, who are actually brothers as well as artists in their own right, will be performing as well. Michael’s last major project, Hard To Be King, is still blowing my mind damn near four years later (calling it now: I’m gonna be jamming “Blacksugar” on a regular basis for the rest of my damn life). As for NameBrand, his 2019 EP Grace is a soulful collection of instrumentals that makes a perfect soundtrack for those afternoons when you’re doing some deep thinking — and whatever he lays down at this show will surely do a great job of bringing you into the mindset AGM are out to create. Tap in.

Monday, December 6, 6:30 PM
Can’t Swim, Fanfare, Frames, Drop The Girl @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I know how it goes; after a weekend of live musical awesomeness, it can be difficult to keep the energy up for heading back out on Monday night. But you sleep on Can’t Swim at your own peril; this emotional rock band from New Jersey bring both melody and power to the equation that creates their brand new third LP, Change Of Plans. The result isn’t easily slotted into one genre or another, but you can hear all kinds of awesome things happening on it: chunky hardcore, melodic emo, pensive indie, driving rock, and even a tiny dose of metal cropping up at certain points.

The result is awesome on record, and it’s sure to be equally so in the live environment. So don’t miss out on this set — and don’t miss out on the trio of Richmond-based openers, all of whom have their own brand of catchy tuneage to present. Fanfare get downright pop-punky at times, but there’s some grit under there to keep things from getting too pretty or anything. As far as Frames goes, when you hear the name you might think of the band led by the Scottish guy from the movie Once, but that’s THE Frames. This Richmond band brings a heart-on-sleeve approach full of melody and yearning emotion, as documented very well on their 2019 EP Cursed. What have they got going on in these post-pandemic days? You’ll have to show up to find out. And openers Drop The Girl are a couple of charmingly goofy boys from Gloucester whose big pop-punk EP, Happy Again, was another March 2020 release that got totally outshined by the pandemic. Which is sad, because these guys are not just great fun, but actually great. Show up early and catch em all, Pokemon-style.

Tuesday, December 7, 7 PM
Wingtips, S Y Z Y G Y X, Jaguardini @ Fallout – $10 in advance, $15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s Tuesday night at Fallout, so just like any other night at Fallout, the plan is to get gothed-up, wear tons of black, and dance all night to some wonderfully moody sounds. This time around, those moody tunes will be provided primarily by Wingtips, a band whose name is probably not supposed to make me think of shoes, but, well, there you are. Upon first listen to their new LP, Cutting Room Floor, and you’ll be thinking that a more appropriate name for them would have been “Black 20-hole Docs,” but the deeper you dig, the more you’ll find the heart of a dance-pop band beating within the atmosphere Wingtips creates.

I must say, I feel like Wingtips would have been just as happy opening for the Pet Shop Boys in 1985 as they would have been opening for Sisters Of Mercy in 1990, and if you’re the type of person who’d have been happy to be in the crowd at both of those shows (I am), you’ll definitely dig what Wingtips are doing. And you will dance. Oh yes… you will dance. Washington DC’s S Y Z Y G Y X (no, I don’t know how you pronounce it) has a more definitively dark, cold mood at work in their music, which adds a perfect contrast to the sound of the evening. And Harrisonburg dark-waves Jaguardini will get things kicked off with an infusion of cold synth grandeur. Perfect.

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

Top Photo: Colin Phils by Andre Mags Photography

Post-Rock As A Second Language

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Colin Phils formed in South Korea and released an album while living in China, but over the past four years, they’ve made Richmond their home. Now they’re releasing Trust/Fall, their first full album as an RVA band.

Richmond rockers Colin Phils, who will release their new album, Trust/Fall, later this month, have been performing and releasing music in Richmond for the past four years. But, their origins actually reach back a long time ago, to a country far, far away.

The band had its humble beginnings in 2013, when all three members of the band were working in South Korea, teaching English as a second language. While the group was initially formed by guitarist and vocalist Ben Tiner and two others, over time Tiner replaced them with the band’s current lineup: married couple Ben and Karyn Mauch (on drums and synth/vocals, respectively). Oddly enough, while all three worked teaching English, Karyn was the only one who majored in the language during college.

“All you really need to teach English in a foreign country is you need to get a certificate. We all got that in the first month,” said Tiner. “It’s easy money, they pay for housing. It’s kind of an ideal job to get after college.”

The band stayed in Korea until 2015. During that time, they made their first album Right at Home. However, they all quickly found that Korea offered no room for personal or professional growth. At that point, they moved to China, where they crafted their second album, e,r,som,sa. Eventually, in 2016, they moved to Richmond, and have been making music in the river city ever since.

Since they’ve been here, they’ve had firsthand experience with the differences between making music in Asia and in America.

“The biggest difference [between East and West] is that far less people come to our shows in America,” said Tiner.

“Yeah, but in America there are so many more bands and musicians, and the China scene is still young,” Karyn added. “When we play here, even though there’s fewer people, we’ll be playing with four bands every night who are all REALLY good… Whereas in China, it’ll be just two bands a night. And you may enjoy it, you may not.”

The band’s sounds have progressed over the years, moving from an early sound that they described as being much closer to folk, with a much more devil-may-care approach to writing and recording. 

“The first album was recorded in one weekend,” said Tiner. “We got in a studio…and just recorded the whole thing at once. Which would be a crazy thing to do now.”

Since then, the band has moved towards a post-rock sound, utilizing loops and odd time signatures to construct their songs. They take no breaks from touring to write new music, instead sprinkling new tracks into their sets over time, until they’ve come up with enough to fashion into an album. Their recording style has also evolved; now their approach is much more traditional, recording and rerecording specific parts over a long period of time until they’ve refined the whole song as much as they can.

“I don’t think we’re very rigid,” said Karyn. “I think if we feel like something needs to be changed, we’ll change it. We’ll add something, we’ll take away something.”

This process has been helped along for their newest album by Mitch Clem, an Engineer at Go West Recording Studio.

“We’ve definitely altered stuff in the studio based off of his recommendations,” said Tiner. “And that’s the benefit of having somebody you trust in the studio to offer advice.”

Though the band has released a split LP, Star Charts, with fellow Richmond band Houdan The Mystic, Trust/Fall will be their first full album since they arrived in RVA. The album will be released on March 20 by Post.Recordings, and the band will celebrate its release with a performance at Gallery 5 on Saturday, March 21. The event begins at 7 PM and will also feature performances by Night Idea, Dumb Waiter, and Calvin Presents. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite for $7 in advance — or, for $12, you can get both a ticket and a copy of Trust/Fall on CD. For more info, click here.