Division Of Mind Archives - RVA Mag

RVA Mag

Richmond, VA Culture & Politics Since 2005

Menu

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: May 18 – May 24

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Big Takeover, Vol. 1
Day 1: Friday, May 20, 7 PM
Genocide Pact, No/Mas, Mutually Assured Destruction, Restraining Order, The Fight, Restless Spirit @ The Camel – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Day 2: Saturday, May 21, 1 PM
Terrorizer, Mindforce, Division Of Mind, Dead Heat, Judiciary, End It, BIB, High Command, Downfall, Spy, C4, Gel, Final Gasp, Armor, Protocol, Vomit Forth, Kontaminate, Never Again, Killing Pace @ The Broadberry – $65 (order tickets HERE)
There were a lot of casualties of the pandemic, and I don’t just mean the million Americans (and millions more outside of America) who died. Bands broke up, venues went away, restaurants closed down. And in the midst of all that, Richmond’s long-running annual hardcore festival, United Blood, decided to end their run. This was definitely the end of an era. The great thing about the hardcore scene, though, is that anytime one era ends, someone else starts up a new one. Just like that song Lambchop used to sing (and is presumably still singing, somewhere), hardcore doesn’t end.

This weekend marks the launch of the new era in Richmond hardcore fests: the first annual Big Takeover. And it’s jam-packed with heavy music. I’m not even covering it all here; for one thing, there’s a pre-show Thursday night at a bike shop out on Williamsburg Road. For another, there’s a Friday night after-show at some warehouse (that one’s strictly an “ask a punk” situation). But the two shows listed above, Friday night at The Camel and all day Saturday at The Broadberry, are the big ones. If you can only make it to two, put the priority on these two.

As for what you’ll see there, there’s so much to talk about I have no idea how I’m gonna get through it all. With that in mind, floor it! In a move that will let you know where hardcore is as a genre right now, both nights are headlined by death metal bands. DC ragers Genocide Pact cap off Friday night’s mayhem, while legendary Los Angeles grinders Terrorizer (featuring legendary Morbid Angel drummer Pete Sandoval) provide the climax of Saturday’s festivities. Friday night also features Richmond crossover up-and-comers Mutually Assured Destruction and hyperactive Massachusetts maniacs Restraining Order, among others. Highlights of Saturday’s ridiculously stacked bill include metal-thrashing hardcore powerhouse Mindforce, Richmond dark hardcore veterans Division Of Mind, the bizarrely psychedelic hardcore punk of Nebraska’s BIB, and hardcore’s #1 buffalo chicken fans, C4. But look, we’ve barely scratched the surface — there’s so much to love at these shows. If you are into hardcore at all, you gotta go. Oh, and by the way, there have been a ton of social media posts over the last week about “low ticket warnings” or “almost sold out” about these two shows, but as of 11 am Wednesday, tickets for both shows were still available. So hop to it, punk.

Wednesday, May 18, 7:30 PM
Brian Jones’ Kaleidoscopic Haze, Noah Campbell Trio @ Artspace – $20
I’ve noticed a surprising boom in intriguing jazz shows around Richmond as we all work our way back from the pandemic’s extended shutdown. And while I don’t actually know if this is a big new movement within the Richmond jazz scene or if it’s just that I’ve developed a better network of tipsters for local jazz stuff, I’m grateful for it either way. Because otherwise, I might totally miss this midweek show by a trio of RVA jazz heavyweights, and that would truly be a tragedy.

Brian Jones’ Kaleidoscopic Haze is a trio put together by legendary Richmond jazz drummer Brian Jones back in the days before the pandemic, which also features guitarist Trey Pollard and bassist Adam Hopkins. They laid down an album’s worth of tracks at Spacebomb back in 2019 sometime, and it actually came out in January of 2021, but with no shows happening back then, it’s taken until now for them to come together for a proper album release show. The sound of this particular combo is highly atmospheric and somewhat avant-garde, but constructed around a tight melodic sense and strong fundamentals that produce highly enjoyable results. It’s certainly the type of thing that will make for a fascinating live performance. But don’t just take my word for it — go to the show and find out for yourself! After all, what good is a boom in live jazz if you’re not there to experience it?

Thursday, May 19, 7 PM
Gusher, Weird Tears, Bonjinski @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This one is bittersweet. For while it marks the first show since the pandemic for two-thirds of the bands on this bill, and a record release celebration for at least one of them, it also marks the last show ever for those same bands. That’s incredibly unfortunate, but we can at least take comfort in the fact that we get to see them one last time. Plus, at the top of the bill: Gusher, the one band on this lineup who isn’t playing their last show. We’ll get to appreciate their synth-infused grunge-punk brilliance for quite a while after this — which is no reason to miss them Thursday night.

It’s definitely the last opportunity any of us will get to catch Weird Tears, though, and that’s a damn shame, because this swinging melodic punk band with hints of 50s rock n’ roll has always been a ton of fun. And you can keep listening to their excellent pre-pandemic tape release (I’m sure I will), but this will be the last time you can dance to their tunes in person. Missing that chance would be a truly terrible decision. Bonjinski is also breaking up after this performance, but we can at least take comfort in the record this jangly alt-rockin’ trio has been working on since back before the pandemic hit has finally made it into the world. Get yourself a copy, and get out on the dance floor one last time.

Friday, May 20, 6 PM
Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Macseal, Insignificant Other, California Cousins, Flight Club @ The Broadberry – $18 (order tickets HERE)
I’ve been digging Prince Daddy & The Hyena for quite a while now, and it’s nice to have an excuse to write about them here, as they blow into RVA on a Friday night to spread the word about their new self-titled album. The follow-up to 2019’s Cosmic Thrill Seekers — the album that got me onto the Prince Daddy train — the new album takes what they were doing before to the next level. The band is more emo, more alt-rock, and more punk, all at once. One thing that makes the band’s new work more accessible than ever, though, is that vocalist Kory Gregory, who had the kind of intense voice on previous albums that people either really love or really hate, has toned down the harshest, shrillest aspects of his vocal approach. There’s real melody here now!

How that will come across live, of course, is anyone’s guess. And I have to admit, I’m the kind of emo nerd who really hopes he’s still willing to hit those throat-shredding semi-screamed high notes. But regardless of whether Prince Daddy & The Hyena focus on their slightly smoothed-out new material or dip heavily into the early shit they made their name on, this show is bound to be great. Get ready for a lot of dancing and screaming along. Also, while they’re pretty far down on the bill, I’ve gotta mention how stoked I am that California Cousins, who are actually from New York, are playing this show as well. These guys (actually from New York) have a chunkier emo sound that will work equally for fans of Joyce Manor and Soul Blind, and they’ve got a new album called Secret Footage out in a few weeks, for which this set is sure to act as a tantalizing preview. Make sure you show up on time for that one.

Saturday, May 21, 8 PM
Rough Age, Gnawing, Work Wear @ Fuzzy Cactus – $5
I could say something like “the theme of this week’s column is the after-effects of the pandemic,” and I probably wouldn’t be wrong, but that’s mainly because all of us are going to be dealing with the after-effects of the pandemic in every aspect of our lives for years to come. So maybe it’s trite to even mention it? I don’t know. What I do know is that Rough Age got started during that brief pre-pandemic part of 2020 that we’ve all sorta forgotten even happened, and now that two years have passed, a lot of changes have happened for this Richmond band during their time out of the public eye. For one thing, half the band has departed; the two former members of RVA indie-rockers Lightfields who got the whole thing started are now joined by music-making machine James Hoffer (Buzzard Dust, Charmer, a million other bands) on bass and multi-instrumental talent Robert Lindstedt (Fat Spirit) on guitar. For another, they’ve put together a brand new EP, entitled Blank Eyes, for which this show will act as a record release celebration.

The new Rough Age EP shows off their strengths as a band, from the muscular twin-guitar attack that certainly evokes quite a few of their 90s alt-rock heroes to the driving rhythm section that brings an undeniable punk rock undercurrent to the proceedings. All of this is bound to hit even harder once they unleash these songs in a live environment, so you’re definitely well advised to be at Fuzzy Cactus this Saturday night so you can be there when it happens. You’ll also get to catch a set from Gnawing, whose jangly grunge-punk sound mixes early Uncle Tupelo vibes with a solid dose of Screaming Trees thrown in. They’re always great, but you should know that by now. Charlottesville’s Work Wear, a new trio I’m just discovering now, round out this bill. Their new EP, Charger, features three indie-rock tunes that slowly build at a relaxed pace, all of which stretch past the seven-minute mark. Safe to call these guys “slowcore”? Yeah, I think so. They’ll be an intriguing contrast on this bill, that’s for sure.

Sunday, May 22, 6 PM
Julie Karr, Richmond Vampire, Muck, Curriculum @ Studio Two Three – Donations encouraged
For years and years, it’s seemed like the Christian right has been whittling away at our right to legal abortion. It’s been such a steady drumbeat for the past several decades that sometimes reproductive rights supporters like me could get a little numbed to it all. Now, though, they’ve won a real, substantive victory. It seems clear that the Supreme Court will, in the next month or so, officially strike down Roe v. Wade, thereby erasing the right to abortion in over half of the states in the USA. Looks like it’s time for all of us to wake up, shake up, and get the blood flowing once again.

I don’t pretend to know everything we can do to protect our rights where this issue is concerned, but I do know there are quite a few groups working their tails off to make sure the things we can do get done. One of those groups is the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project, and this Sunday evening show at Studio Two Three is a benefit for them. Even if you don’t have time to volunteer, or the energy to repeatedly call your elected representatives, you can at least come out to this show and make a hefty donation. In return, you’ll get some excellent musical sounds in a variety of genres, from Julie Karr’s moody, entrancing indie-blues tunes to Richmond Vampire’s speedy, snotty hardcore punk. Local newcomers Muck are nowhere on the internet, so I have no idea what they sound like, but people say they’re good; meanwhile, Curriculum will make their live debut at this show, but the practice-space demo they’ve got up online leads me to expect good things. Come to this one to support a great and extremely important cause; stay for the plentiful amounts of killer tuneage.

Monday, May 23, 7:30 PM
Sylvan Esso, Benet @ The National – $32.50 in advance, $35 day of show (order tickets HERE)
North Carolinians Sylvan Esso are an interesting phenomenon. You can look them up and read about their history, find out how singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn formed the duo after stints in Appalachian folk group Mountain Man and jam-folk ensemble Megafaun, respectively, and you’ll expect one thing. But as soon as you listen to them, you’ll find that what you have on hand with Sylvan Esso is a completely different proposition. This isn’t folk or jam-band music, by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, Sylvan Esso produce the sort of indie-electro tunes that you’d expect to appeal equally to fans of Bjork, Portishead, and fka Twigs.

All of that being said, a clear flavor left over from the old-time roots and psychedelic offshoots of their former projects shines through on recent Sylvan Esso singles like “Frequency” — which manages to generate an undeniable dance groove despite a total abscence of conventional beat — and “Ferris Wheel” — which intriguingly pairs a minimalist melody with a bedrock of rumbling low-end synths. These songs are actually nearly two years old now; Sylvan Esso, like everyone else, had to put touring for the album they released in September 2020 on hold for a year and a half. But they’ll still hit just as hard through the National’s powerful PA stacks on Monday night as they would have if we could all have enjoyed them live two autumns ago. So hey — show up and dance. You know you want to.

Tuesday, May 24, 8 PM
BoDeans @ Tin Pan – $55 – $61.50 (order tickets HERE)
There was this period of time back in the 80s, before Nirvana happened and dragged the underground rock scene straight into the spotlight, when the occasional sincerely alternative band would break just enough above the waterline to get a minor amount of mainstream success, but not really enough to become a truly big band. The Connells would be one example of a band like this; another would be The Del Fuegos. And a third would be Wisconsin’s own BoDeans, who I used to hear every once in a while on XL102 when I was in middle school in the late 80s, and who I always liked, but never heard as much of as I might have liked.

Today, BoDeans are probably best remembered for having contributed their song “Closer To Free” as the theme for so-90s-it-hurts teen drama Party Of Five, but they’re far from one-hit wonders. Singles like “Only Love” and “You Don’t Get Much” remain underrated heartland-rock classics over three decades after their original release, while 2017’s Thirteen (their 13th album, natch) still contains a clutch of excellent tunes. In light of all that, going to see BoDeans on Tuesday at Tin Pan is certainly a good idea. It’s a great opportunity to get familiar with a long-running group that never quite got their due. Don’t let it slip by.

—-

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: Mindforce at United Blood preshow, 2017. Photo via Mindforce/Twitter

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: April 20 – April 26

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, April 22, 8 PM
Book Of Wyrms (Photo by Joey Wharton), Night Goat, Foehammer @ Wonderland – $10
There are a lot of underrated bands at work in Richmond’s music scene these days, but I think stoner-metal quartet Book Of Wyrms deserves special recognition within that cohort as a band that has never let the hometown love they haven’t gotten slow them down. Forming back in 2015, a time when doom metal was at a relatively low ebb in the wake of the genre’s having reached hipster saturation point in the early 10’s, Book Of Wyrms blazed their own trail, building up a cult following within the world of metal and sticking with what they knew they did best, regardless of which way the trend-wind blew, for seven years.

In 2021, Book Of Wyrms released their third album, Occult New Age, on Desert Records — an album that didn’t get much local attention until it showed up on the short list for the Newlin Music Prize a few months ago. Having not caught up with what they were doing in a few years, I was duly impressed by its expansion of the sonic territory laid out by these headbangers. They’ve certainly not let their fundamental grounding in the primeval riffage of Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Hawkwind stop them from upping the tempo and bringing in more modern textures — notably synthesizers, which are generally used to create abstract layers of space noise and heightened atmosphere on an album that really benefits from their inclusion. And of course, the riffs that stand as the bedrock of the entire sound remain absolutely top-notch.

At Wonderland this Friday night, Book Of Wyrms will be celebrating the long-awaited vinyl release of Occult New Age (when you hear that pressing plants take a year to fulfill orders for vinyl, that’s not an exaggeration) with a show that’s sure to be full of pounding riffs, soaring vocal crescendos, and volcanic amplifier rumble. Their efforts to shake the foundations of Shockoe Bottom will be joined by Ohio noise-rockers Night Goat and VA-based Khanate-style apocalyptic dirge-metal merchants Foehammer. If you haven’t seen Book Of Wyrms live before now, there’s no shame in that — but if you miss this show and continue to wallow in your ignorance of their excellence, that’s an extremely shameful decision. Don’t blow it.

Wednesday, April 20, 8 PM
Greet Death, Infant Island, Downhaul @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $10 (order tickets HERE)
If you know what’s up, you surely recognize that Michigan quartet Greet Death take their name from an Explosions In The Sky song. Therefore, it probably wasn’t a surprise, if you tuned in to what they were doing a few years ago, to find a band with a decidedly shoegaze-influenced approach to their melodic, emotional songs. On their first two albums, they derived some of their power from how loud their guitars got even in the midst of the catchy choruses they wrote. However, the pandemic has clearly changed some things. Over the past six months or so, Greet Death has taken the first steps toward following up 2019’s New Hell, releasing four stand-alone singles with a decidedly less noisy and at times downright acoustic feel. It’s almost as if they stripped away the shoegaze noise to reveal an indie-folk band with atonal tendencies, like Wilco circa Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or something.

Now, that’s not a complaint — personally, I think the new Greet Death singles are all brilliant, especially “Panic Song,” which still retains some of the fuzzy guitars we came to know and love from previous Greet Death releases. Even at their softest, though, the latest music from Greet Death carries forward the band’s facility with pop hooks and indelible choruses. At the end of the day, the best part of previous Greet Death material was the tunes that got stuck in your head all day. Rest assured, they still have plenty of those. And traditionally everything is louder in the live environment, so if you want to hear the new Greet Death tunes at their loudest and most raucous, the time and place to do so is tonight at Richmond Music Hall. You’ll fortunately get to catch a set from Fredericksburg screamonsters Infant Island as well, and while this excellent quartet brought us not one but two LPs back in 2020, I’m definitely hoping some new material is in the offing at this show. Only one way to find out.

Thursday, April 21, 6 PM
Smino, Kaash Paige, Kidz At Play @ Bon Secours Training Center – $25-35 for students, $35-45 for general public (order tickets HERE)
Y’all, I try to keep up. I really do. But the fact is, I’m 46 years old, and I don’t necessarily always know what the kids are listening to. Therefore, it might be a little more understandable when you hear that I didn’t really know about Smino until only a couple of weeks ago. Nevertheless, once I heard he was coming to town, I knew I needed to write about it. Because where modern sounds in hip hop music are concerned, Smino’s music strikes me as near the top of the heap. MCs who seem to croon over their beats as often as they rap have become quite common in the past several years, but the results they get from this technique are mixed, at best. After all, just because you can spit killer rhymes with a perfect cadence doesn’t mean you can hit a note worth a damn.

Smino can, though. If you need evidence, look no further than his two most recent singles, “Rice N Gravy” and “I Deserve,” both of which came out in 2021 and both of which have been in heavy rotation for me lately. Both of them mix melodic grooves and R&B-style sung choruses with quick, assured rhyme flows that burrow into your brain and don’t let go. These two singles are supposedly the first two singles from Smino’s forthcoming third LP, Luv 4 Rent, but whenever I google things like “Luv 4 Rent release date” what I get is Reddit threads speculating that it’s coming out in February of 2022. That clearly didn’t happen. So I can’t tell you when the new Smino album comes out, I’m afraid. All I can do is send you to Bon Secours Training Center to see Smino live and in the flesh. If there’s one thing I can tell you, it’s that the music at this show will keep you dancing.

Friday, April 22, 9 PM
Vinyl Conflict Presents: Ekulu, Division Of Mind, Richmond Vampire, DJ Hip Hop Henry @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
Here’s a welcome sight: a straight-up hardcore show at Fuzzy Cactus. It’s not that odd, really; Fuzzy’s all about the raging punk circle-pit action, as you know if you follow this space. However, the introduction of Ekulu and Division of Mind into this space might just be the outright heaviest core action this place has seen yet. And I love everything about it. Ekulu may hail from New York, but they have some strong connections to Richmond, with at least one member having also done time in RVA’s own Candy. Regardless of where they’re from, though, it only takes one listen to their debut full-length, 2021’s Unscrew My Head, to see that these guys are on some next-level shit. Personally, the album’s title reminds me more than anything of the late-80s Suicidal Tendencies single “Trip At the Brain,” and that’s appropriate since Ekulu have successfully reincarnated the same crossover thrash sound that created such an amazing musical movement back in the late 80s and early 90s. On Unscrew My Head, I hear echoes of everything from Suicidal Tendencies and Anthrax to the Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front, all of it delivered with a vicious aggressiveness that makes extremely clear that this is not music for the faint of heart.

Richmonders Division Of Mind, who co-headline this bill, made this same thing clear about themselves on their self-titled debut LP, released back in 2019. The territory these guys patrol is decidedly darker and heavier, even slightly noisier, but what DOM has in common with Ekulu is a similarly aggressive, confrontational sound that’s sure to wake you up if you’re dozing off in the back of the club between bands. I realize that to some readers, these descriptions might not be all that inviting. However, if you’re the sort of person who walks through every day feeling assailed by the millions of ways in which modern American life is a depressing, alienating shitshow, this is the show for you. You’ve got some frustrations to let out, and these are the bands to help you do so.

Saturday, April 23, 7 PM
Blake Layman, Dogwood Tales, Wifipassword @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $12 (order tickets HERE)
When I saw the notice for this show, I didn’t recognize the name Blake Layman. However, in the process of giving things a listen in order to decide which shows to pick for this column, his single “Unhistoric Acts” grabbed my attention and made me want to dig deeper. Layman’s music is quiet, delicate, and focused on melody; and his warm, pleasant vocal tones and undeniable guitar-playing talent are obvious as soon as you pay attention. The fact that he turns out to be the bassist for Frames, the Richmond quartet whose 2021 LP, Every Room, was probably the biggest pleasant surprise of the Newlin Music Prize shortlist for me (more on that in the next blurb), helped me understand how it’s possible that this singer-songwriter dude I’ve never heard of is releasing music this good without me hearing it before now.

Layman’s new LP, the release of which he is celebrating with this Richmond Music Hall show, is called Goodness Littered. And to be fair, it’s been out a while — the digital release was last summer. But, you know, something something pandemic. Indeed, this show is a rescheduled version of a January show he postponed during the Omicron wave. So is the music we’ll be getting here worth all of the waiting we’ve had to do to receive it? My magic 8 ball says “It is decidedly so,” and I couldn’t agree more. Layman and his band, which features close relatives and members of Frames, will recreate the delicately beautiful sounds of Goodness Littered live on stage, and we’ll all be the beneficiaries. Assuming, of course, that we show up. You know what you must do.

Sunday, April 24, 7 PM
Good Morning, Packs, Frames @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $18 (order tickets HERE)
I think I discovered Australian duo Good Morning through one of my nerdiest middle-aged loves: the KEXP Song Of the Day podcast. I can’t be sure at this point, but what I do know for sure is that hearing one of their songs sent me hunting for their 2021 album Barnyard, which I loved as soon as I heard. This indie-folk group manages to simultaneously evoke groups like Okkervil River or Iron And Wine, and others like Parquet Courts or The Velvet Underground. Even as they strum their acoustic guitars overtop shuffling minimalist drumbeats, even as they sing sweetly in the manner of fellow Aussies The Go-Betweens, they bring an undeniable slacker-rock drone to the proceedings. The mix is perfect for disaffected rockers who want to mellow out a little before they go crazy, and for folky types who wish Camper Van Beethoven would make another album already.

Meanwhile, from Canada (specifically Toronto) comes Packs, the quartet led by singer-songwriter Madeline Link, who started the project on her own but has definitely been aided by the project swelling into a quartet. The ramshackle jangle-pop of 2021 LP Take The Cake can at times evoke everything from Courtney Barnett to Courtney Love, but what unites it all is the flawless melodic sense Link brings to the group, which always keeps listeners tapping their toes. The third band on this bill is Richmond’s own Frames, who I mentioned above, and whose relatively under-the-radar status here in Richmond is baffling to me now that I’ve heard last year’s Every Room. This album’s evocative emo-pop tunes are sure to come alive in glittering detail at this Richmond Music Hall performance, and it would be a damn shame if you weren’t there to see it. So come to this show, and make sure you show up on time. There’s no better way to wrap up your late April weekend.

Monday, April 25, 7:30 PM
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Photo by Grywnn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia) @ The National – $25 in advance, $30 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’m thankful that Godspeed You! Black Emperor have become a musical institution these days. Back in 2003 when they went on hiatus after Yanqui UXO, it was hard not to think of how much more they had in the tank, how much more amazing, uncategorizable, almost indescribable music they could surely have left us with. And of course, they’ve proved that suspicion correct on the four albums they’ve released since their 2011 return, beginning with 2012’s ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! and showing up most recently with last year’s G_d’s Pee At State’s End! The uninitiated among you may wonder what this band’s about; the rest of you are now about to snicker under your breath at my forthcoming attempt, which will surely be ham-fisted, at describing and categorizing a band I’ve already admitted are indescribable and uncategorizable. Nevertheless, here’s a valiant attempt.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor are, if nothing else, anarchist both in musical and political intent. Their strong left-wing consciousness comes through clearly in their music despite its almost complete lack of lyrics and vocals. They act as a huge collective featuring ten or so members, who augment the standard rock instrumentation of guitars and drums with everything from violins and French horns to tape loops and film projections. Their sonic foundations are in hardcore punk, but their epic, often 20-plus-minute compositions operate more like classical symphonies building slowly into entrancing grooves that seem particularly appealing to post-rockers who love Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky. But there’s something there that has a strong chance of appealing to just about any music fan, whether they’re into Mahler, John Coltrane, Talking Heads, or Black Flag. Or even if they don’t like any of that stuff. What I’m saying is: if you care about music at all, in any form, seeing Godspeed You! Black Emperor is something you should do at least once in your life. Why not this Monday night? After all, who knows when they’ll make it to town again?

Tuesday, April 26, 7 PM
The Story So Far, Joyce Manor, Mom Jeans, Microwave @ The National – $50 (or… more?) (order tickets HERE)
OK, for this show, I need to start out by saying that I’m not really sure what’s up with tickets. It sure appears that tickets aren’t available at face value anymore. However, the ticket vendor who sells tickets for The National will still absolutely sell you a ticket for this show; when I checked last night, it looked like you could get one for about $50. Which is steep, especially for bands that you could once have seen for $10 at a VFW hall — or maybe for $5 at the gone-but-not-forgotten Bike Lot right here in RVA. Whatever — this is apparently the price you’ll have to pay to see them now, but considering that’s still only $13 or so per band, and all four of these bands are brilliant, I think there’s a good argument that it’s worth it regardless.

The Story So Far are our headliners, and they’re the sort of band whose melodic emo-punk means so much to its fans that they can all tell you a story about which song or album helped them through which hard time they were going through when they first heard it. For me, it’s “Empty Space,” which got me through a really terrible Christmas in 2013, but anything this band has ever done has that sort of power. As for Joyce Manor, this frenetic punk band have survived multiple disappearances and overjoyed their many fans this year with the sudden appearance of their sixth album and first in four years, 40 Oz To Fresno (yes, that’s a Sublime joke). Indie-punk quartet Mom Jeans also just dropped their first LP in four years, Sweet Tooth, and it’s got the same strong melodic sense this band’s always had, but with a more profound musical depth that sees them taking their sound to a whole new level. Microwave are the heaviest of these four bands, but the emotional resonance of their music is easily matched with the others on this bill. Overall, this gig is an embarrassment of riches, and is well worth what it takes to get you there — even if that is fifty bucks.

—-

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

VA’s Can’t-See Shows This Week: March 18 – March 24

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hey there, folks, it’s that time of the week when we normally let you know all the best goings-on in the live music scene here in Richmond and around the state for the next week! As you may have realized, though, the current COVID-19 outbreak and the many social and legal restrictions placed on large gatherings have almost entirely shut down the live music scene here in Virginia. There may be a few things still going on, but we wouldn’t feel very responsible advocating for you to go see them. What’s a show-loving girl to do?

Well, for this week’s column, I decided to have compassion for those of you who have either joined me in the wonderful world of working at home (welcome to the club — isn’t it fun doing your job in your pajamas?) or, more unfortunately, found yourselves without any work while your place of business is temporarily shut down. I may not be able to send you to any clubs to see awesome bands light up your evening with their killer sounds… but I can offer you ten great performances by Richmond bands, all available for your viewing pleasure right here on the internet. You can space them out one (or two) per day as with the usual column, or binge them all tonight — the choice is yours! Crank the volume on your headphones for this one.

Lamb Of God at Hellfest Open Air, Clisson, France, June 23, 2019

We’ll start with what we all certainly hope is a preview of coming attractions — a full set by Lamb Of God, complete with multiple cameras and top-quality audio. Richmond’s veteran metal faves are planning as of now to release their latest LP, Lamb Of God, on May 8, and follow it up with a full US tour, featuring June dates at Jiffy Lube Live in NoVA and Veterans United Amphitheater in Virginia Beach. Will all that still happen in light of COVID-19? We can hope… and in the meantime, we can take comfort in this one-hour preview of what Lamb Of God’s latest lineup, now featuring former Prong drummer Art Cruz in place of retiring OG Chris Adler, has in store for us.

Division Of Mind at FYA Fest, Tampa, Florida, Jan 5, 2020

Taking things to a bit more of an underground level, here we have a room-destroying performance by Richmond hardcore ragers Division Of Mind, at Florida’s FYA Fest back at the beginning of this year. Guttural vocals, chugging guitars, brutal breakdowns, and an equally brutal mosh pit are what this video is all about. Better yet, despite the circumstances, it still features multiple camera angles and a great sound mix. Division Of Mind don’t have a social media presence (right on, I wish I didn’t), so I don’t know what’s up with them at this moment, but I’m sure they’d appreciate you grabbing a copy of their recent self-titled LP on Triple B Records if you haven’t already.

No BS! Brass Band at The Broadberry, April 17, 2014

Let’s take things in a more upbeat direction, shall we? This six-year-old live performance by No BS! Brass Band isn’t the most recent live footage online by this group, but there’s no substitute for seeing this Richmond favorite right here at home. And since at this moment, we have no way of knowing whether their gig planned for April 3 at The Broadberry is still going to happen or not, we may as well enjoy their music from home right now. Push the coffee table back and dance, y’all. And consider buying some merch from them, if you have the scratch — they will really appreciate the support. (Needless to say, that goes for all the bands on this list.)

Avail at House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, September 5, 2019

Did you miss all the Avail reunion sets last year? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. And if you’re not planning to head to Punk Rock Bowling or Furnace Fest later this year, you might especially appreciate this audience recording of their set in Asbury Park last summer. This is one of the few videos I’ve picked that doesn’t have pro audio, so the sound isn’t perfect, but what is perfect is that evocation of what it felt like to be crammed up against the stage (always my favorite spot), singing along and avoiding the moshers… and the sweat flying off Beau Beau’s head. We can’t be there now, but it’s a lovely reminder.

Nickelus F and Ohbliv at Brewer’s Cafe, November 27, 2019

Want to chill with some fine hip hop? Check this Brewer’s Cafe session from last fall, featuring two of Richmond hip hop’s leading lights of the 21st century. Nickelus F is on the mic, spitting some of the best rhymes you’ll find anywhere in the world, while Ohbliv keeps the beats flowing on the decks. They’re behind the Brewer’s counter, and they aren’t serving up any hot drinks, but Brewer’s Cafe is still open for carryout and delivery today, and both Sweet Petey and Ohbliv have plenty of great tunes available over on Bandcamp for your listening pleasure (links above). They’d all appreciate your business during this trying time, I can assure you.

Palm Palm at River City Roll, September 1, 2019

If you know how awesome J. Roddy Walston & The Business were as a live act, you really need to catch Palm Palm, Walston’s new band with members of The Trillions, The Southern Belles, and the Milkstains. These folks had the misfortune of having their spring tour fall apart while they were on it earlier this month; they had to skip the last half of their dates and head home because all the other shows were cancelled. Fortunately for us, their set from last summer at River City Roll is online in its entirety, featuring high-quality audio and a very active single camera capturing the event from all kinds of angles. If you dig this, hit up Palm Palm online to support them by buying a t-shirt. After losing quite a few tour dates, they sure could use the help.

Windhand at Elsewhere, Brooklyn, NY, November 2, 2018

Windhand is another Richmond band who had a tour fall apart on them this month; indeed, this very night, they were supposed to be in Harrisonburg playing The Golden Pony. Now that show, and the rest of their March tour dates, are cancelled, and the only place we can see them is on YouTube. Luckily for us, this incredible live performance was captured by Revolver Magazine in high-quality audio by multiple cameras back in 2018, and we can enjoy it to our heart’s content now. With their tour having been cancelled, Windhand have been selling leftover tour merch on their BigCartel page — go grab some records and t-shirts if you’ve got the scratch.

.gif From God at Wonderland, July 5, 2019

Here’s what will doubtless be the messiest live video you’ll see this week — .gif From God laying waste to Wonderland last summer, in their inimitable fashion. This video is washed out and chaotic, full of flying hair and overdriven guitar chugs, and if you don’t know these songs going in, you might at times struggle to make out what’s going on. But that’s what .gif From God are all about, and if you ask me, it’s part of their charm — a delightful wall of chaos. No word as yet on the status of .gif From God’s April tour, but if you don’t have a copy of their latest LP, approximation_of_a_human, now is absolutely the time to get one. And if you do, you should donate to their Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project fundraising team — a good cause is still a good cause, even during a quarantine.

Bio Ritmo at Rio Loco Festival, Toulouse, France, June 19, 2015

And now for something completely different — a high-energy salsa infusion from long-running local band/party machine Bio Ritmo. This was filmed several years ago and far from home, but don’t get it twisted — this impeccably-documented performance is still muy caliente and well worth your time. Bio Ritmo haven’t performed locally since back around Christmas and don’t have anything in particular coming up, so why not stock up on their impressive back catalog over at their Bandcamp? Guaranteed to heat up your living room even if your space heater’s broken.

Good Day RVA Live Sessions Playlist, feat. Benjamin Shepherd, McKinley Dixon and Friends, Sports Bar, Doll Baby, The Wimps, Spooky Cool, Antiphons, Dumb Waiter, Clair Morgan aka New Lions, Dave Watkins, Lobo Marino, Navi, The Trillions, Andrew Alli & Josh Small, White Laces, Nelly Kate, Houdan The Mystic, Black Girls aka Rikki Shay

Who’s up for a lightning round? Good Day RVA have got the mother of all live sessions for you here with a mega-playlist featuring all of the sessions they’ve filmed over their entire career, which has been going on for… damn near 10 years now. Wow, time flies, huh? These videos feature a who’s who of Richmond’s best musicians, captured at various evocative sites around Richmond and ensuring that the city itself is just as much of their videos as the excellent bands involved. Maybe you’ve missed some of these over the years and need a reminder, or maybe you saw them all when they came out and would just enjoy a playlist full of great Richmond sights and sounds with which to warm your heart while you’re stuck in the house. Either way, this will go down smooth and warm your heart and soul. Guaranteed.

Must-See Shows will be back next week. Whether we return with actual live shows around town, or more video picks to get us through another week of quarantine, only time will tell… but I’m not getting my hopes up. See you then!

Bracewar, Division Of Mind, Combust, Mutually Assured Destruction, Guardrails @ The Camel

|

Topics: , , , ,

There’s a lot going on in the Richmond music scene these days, within all sorts of different genres. And that’s wonderful! But if you want to talk about the styles of music that have a fertile, longstanding tradition in this town, you probably can’t do better than bringing up the Richmond hardcore scene. Going back to the dawn of the 80s and extending all the way to today, Richmond has been a town in which hardcore thrives, and this show at The Camel on Thursday night is the proof that this continues to be true in 2020.

At the top of the bill is Bracewar, one of those Richmond hardcore elder-statesman bands who moved into “plays a few shows a year but is otherwise inactive” mode at least seven years ago, but did thrill us all by releasing their first new material in almost a decade in the form of 2018 EP Colossal. They’ve maintained a slightly higher profile since then, but a Richmond Bracewar show is still a relative rarity, and if you delight in their signature brand of powerful breakdowns peppered with moments of high-speed thrashing, you’ll certainly want to catch this one.

Beyond Bracewar, this bill mostly focuses on current all-stars of Richmond’s straightforward hardcore scene, most predominantly Division Of Mind. This group’s recent self-titled LP on Triple B Records demonstrates that, while they are very skilled at the mosh, they have quite a bit more going on, and are worth your time and attention even if you don’t still find diving into an energetic pit to be the best way to spend a band’s set. Combust are actually from New York, but released a 12-inch EP on RVA’s own Edgewood Records last year, and will bring an energetic and welcome NYHC attack to the Camel’s stage. Plus, there’s Mutually Assured Destruction, who are taking heavy hardcore in an adventurous direction that doubtless owes a bit to Life Of Agony and Twitching Tongues, and the first show ever from Guardrails, who will kick this one off with a ton of pissed-off energy. Carry on the tradition, Richmond — be at this show.

BUY TICKETS

VA Shows You Must See This Week: February 19 – February 25

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, February 20, 7 PM
Bracewar, Division Of Mind, Combust, Mutually Assured Destruction, Guardrails @ The Camel – $15
There’s a lot going on in the Richmond music scene these days, within all sorts of different genres. And that’s wonderful! But if you want to talk about the styles of music that have a fertile, longstanding tradition in this town, you probably can’t do better than bringing up the Richmond hardcore scene. Going back to the dawn of the 80s and extending all the way to today, Richmond has been a town in which hardcore thrives, and this show at The Camel on Thursday night is the proof that this continues to be true in 2020.

At the top of the bill is Bracewar, one of those Richmond hardcore elder-statesman bands who moved into “plays a few shows a year but is otherwise inactive” mode at least seven years ago, but did thrill us all by releasing their first new material in almost a decade in the form of 2018 EP Colossal. They’ve maintained a slightly higher profile since then, but a Richmond Bracewar show is still a relative rarity, and if you delight in their signature brand of powerful breakdowns peppered with moments of high-speed thrashing, you’ll certainly want to catch this one.

Beyond Bracewar, this bill mostly focuses on current all-stars of Richmond’s straightforward hardcore scene, most predominantly Division Of Mind. This group’s recent self-titled LP on Triple B Records demonstrates that, while they are very skilled at the mosh, they have quite a bit more going on, and are worth your time and attention even if you don’t still find diving into an energetic pit to be the best way to spend a band’s set. Combust are actually from New York, but released a 12-inch EP on RVA’s own Edgewood Records last year, and will bring an energetic and welcome NYHC attack to the Camel’s stage. Plus, there’s Mutually Assured Destruction, who are taking heavy hardcore in an adventurous direction that doubtless owes a bit to Life Of Agony and Twitching Tongues, and the first show ever from Guardrails, who will kick this one off with a ton of pissed-off energy. Carry on the tradition, Richmond — be at this show.

Wednesday, February 19, 9 PM
Lifters, Weird Tears, Neat Sweep @ Fuzzy Cactus – $6
Punk rock has been enshrined in pop culture as music with something important to say, and I think that’s great, but one thing punk rock has always had room for, one that gets de-emphasized when we focus on The Clash and forget about the Ramones, is pure no-frills rock n’ roll melody. Durham’s Lifters might not qualify for punk rock if you’re expecting some sort of sophisticated political critique to emerge from their catchy tunes, but if you’re conversant with the genre’s history, the connection is undeniable. And that’s as it should be.

Tonight, if you’re looking for some catchy, fun tunes, played with plenty of energy but not that much polish, and reminding you of great groups like Radioactivity, Teengenerate, or the aforementioned Ramones, you’re going to want to point your feet toward Brookland Park’s own Fuzzy Cactus. There, Lifters and local melodic punk stalwarts Weird Tears and Neat Sweep are going to sweep you off your feet and get you caught up in the toe-tapping joys of punk rock. It all happens tonight; plan your evening accordingly.

Thursday, February 20, 9 PM
Excitable Boys, Daniel Case, The Dolphins @ Fuzzy Cactus – $7
It’s always interesting when you know enough about a band to care what they have to offer, but have no idea what they actually sound like. Such is the case with Excitable Boys, a band seemingly named for Warren Zevon’s most famous album, and made up of three different musicians one usually wouldn’t expect to see grouped together. In this case, those musicians include country-folk singer-songwriter Benjamin Shepherd, former Southside Stranglers guitarist Kevin Guild, and Irish-by-way-of-New-York indie-folk artist Cal Folger Day — who isn’t even a boy, putting a lie to the bandname in a far more entertaining fashion than the millions of all-male “girls” bands.

Anyway, that’s certainly an intriguing trio to bring together in one musical combo… but what exactly do you get when you mix an Irish indie-folk troubadour, a punk rock guitarist, and an Americana singer-songwriter? There’s only one way I know of to find out, and that’s to show up at Fuzzy Cactus this Thursday night and see what happens when the three of them take the stage together. It’s sure to be interesting; perhaps even, dare I say… exciting! (Sorry, y’all, but I couldn’t resist.)

Friday, February 21, 7:30 PM
Yamato Drummers present: Jhonetsu — Passion @ Altria Theater – $35 – $43 (order tickets HERE)
It’s not often that an opportunity for something truly unusual comes across our desk here at RVA Must-See Shows headquarters, so when something like this shows up in the local live music environment, we’ve got to make the most of it. Therefore, I encourage you to suck it up, deal with the higher-than-average ticket prices that accompany any night spent at the Altria, and go see Wadaiko Yamato, aka Yamato Drummers, this Friday night.

This group hails from Nara, Japan, a city once known as Yamato, and plays the sort of ensemble drumming native to Japan that’s known in the West as taiko. Wadaiko Yamato are a group made up of around a dozen different drummers, who explore the possibilities of percussion through polyrhythmic dynamics and highly choreographed theatrical dance performances. If you recognize the deep, transformative power of the beat that lies at the heart of music, you’re sure to be captivated and energized by what Wadaiko Yamato bring to the stage. It’s not the kind of thing you’ll see every weekend, either — that’s for sure. Make seeing this one a priority.

Saturday, February 22, 7 PM
Enforced, Alfred, Louderhead, Brain Tourniquet, Serqet @ Gallery 5 – $10
The war on drugs has been a highly damaging initiative of the US government over the past half-century or so. While it has failed to make a significant dent in the use and trafficking of mind-altering substances, it has allowed for a massive increase in the percentage of the US population that is incarcerated, a phenomenon that’s had a disproportionate effect on African Americans and low-income, marginalized folks across the country. This is why it’s heartening to see the first tentative steps being made here in Virginia to move beyond carceral methods of dealing with drug use and trafficking and toward decriminalization and harm reduction initiatives that grass-roots activist groups have been pushing for years.

This Saturday’s event at Gallery 5 will offer you the opportunity to both support these efforts and become part of them yourself… as well as hearing some great music, of course. The evening will begin with a free naloxone training session, then move on to music from Richmond leading lights like dark metallic hardcore ragers Enforced and psychedelic hip hop lyricist Alfred. There’ll also be a performance from Louderhead, who I am guessing is a Motorhead tribute band (always fun). And of course, DC power-violence freaks Brain Tourniquet and local goth-punk heroes Serqet will be in the house as well. The music will be great, the cause is just as great… get involved in this one.

Sunday, February 23, 9 PM
Catfest 4, feat. Cadillac Cat, Young Apollo, Gemi Jhay, Ley Cash, Pyrex Pedro, Civonnee, Balu, Delow, Cassius Kay, Qash, Skyy With 2 Y’s, Lowlifeball, Rasul, Don Chase, Ceo, Dee16Hunna, Mia Money, Lxrd Sleeza, Kaywan, Rascal Grimez, Tyrone Leake Jr., Moochiee @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to keep up with the Richmond hip hop scene, and that’s not just because there’s a ton going on in this city. It’s also because hip hop is one music scene that doesn’t seem to have much use for the non-social-media internet, so information is at a premium, and google searches can only do so much. That said, I have been hearing the name Cadillac Cat for a while, so the fact that this jam-packed Sunday evening at The Camel is his fourth annual Catfest isn’t that much of a surprise.

If you also know the name Cadillac Cat, it’s probably because he’s produced a variety of material for Noah-O, including their 2017 full-length collab, Face/Off. These days, he’s working on a project called God Status, and if the video for first track “Free Shine” is any indication, this is going to be a hard-as-fuck street-level attack full of pounding beats and braggadocious flows. Expect something similar from his headlining set at this event. As for the 20-plus other artists performing, expect a crash course in an entire segment of the mid-Atlantic hip hop scene, one that’s sure to teach you a whole lot of shit you can’t learn from the internet.

Monday, February 24, 8 PM
Halfcast, Linden Row, Afib, Madison Turner @ The Camel – Free!
These free “Industry Night” shows the Camel has been throwing lately are intended to give all the people who work difficult shifts in the world of food service every weekend an opportunity to celebrate the end of their week’s busiest time. However, they also help out the Richmond live music preview industrial complex, an industry that I’m pretty sure consists entirely of me. So I’m really glad these exist, as they are sometimes the only thing remotely worth paying attention to on a Monday night — and that’s definitely true this week.

This week’s event offers a pretty strong local lineup, especially for a show that will cost you zero dollars to attend. That lineup is topped by Halfcast, a local trio who mix a chops-conscious metallic approach with alt-rock sensibilities to create crunchy melodic gold. Then there’s Linden Row, an alt-rock combo with plenty of energy and the same sort of mischievous surf-punk feel that shines through prime Pixies material; their set is sure to be a blast. I haven’t heard Afib, but they feature Truman drummer Dylan Anderson stepping out from behind the kit to pick up a guitar and play some indie/emo tunes, and that’s certainly an intriguing concept to me. And of course, Madison Turner, who’ll be playing her alt-punk-indie-folk tunes accompanied by a full band at this gig, is always worth seeing. So show up on time and catch it all. The price is more than fair.

Tuesday, February 25, 7 PM
GARZA, Jouwala Collective @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance/$25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Do you like to dance? If you do and you’ve spent any time at all in the state of Virginia, you’re sure to be familiar with the work of Rob Garza, better known as one half of the legendary DC duo Thievery Corporation. Thievery Corporation has been active for over two decades and show no signs of slowing down; indeed, they recently announced a new LP coming in the spring. However, Garza’s creative mind is always restless, and so he has brought us GARZA, a project initially born from his desire to write music for other people.

In the end, he couldn’t bear to give the music he’d come up with away, and it was released late last year on an EP entitled Where The Moon Hides, which finds Garza collaborating with vocalists Seann Bowe and EMELINE to create some lovely, immersive electronic melodies that increase the pop quotient of Garza’s Thievery Corporation work without losing that pulse that always keeps your feet moving. GARZA will utilize a whole ensemble of singers and live instruments to wonderfully recreate these tunes in a live setting at the Broadberry this Tuesday night. Be sure to wear your dancing shoes for this one.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, February 20, 7 PM
Summer Salt, Okey Dokey, Breakup Shoes, Berries @ Elevation27 (Virginia Beach) – $17 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Groundhog or no groundhog, the fact remains that summer is far away at the moment. Therefore, it’s an especially welcome breath of fresh air that brings Summer Salt to Virginia Beach’s Elevation27 this Thursday night. This Austin Texas group mixes the sweet beach pop of Brian Wilson and the Brazilian bossa nova of artists like Gilberto Gil and Joao Gilberto into a base that is fundamentally indie-pop in nature. The result is the sort of lovely sound that’s sure to please fans of both Paul Simon’s Graceland and Animal Collective’s Feels.

In other words, it’s the perfect late-week listen for a Virginia locked in the late-winter doldrums. And it’s sure to bring a smile to your face even if you do have to don your heavy coat to walk from the club back to the car at the end of the night. The evening will also feature performances from catchy psychedelic indie group Okey Dokey, who hail from Nashville, and some electro-pop sounds from Arizona’s Breakup Shoes. Plus, VA Beach’s own Berries will kick off the evening with some charming indie-pop of their own. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Sunday, February 23, 7 PM
Tommy Stinson, Dashdown @ Hive Collective (Norfolk) – $25 – $100 (order tickets HERE)
Wrap up your weekend by spending an intimate evening in the company of Tommy Stinson and his acoustic guitar at Norfolk art gallery the Hive Collective. If you’re not familiar with Tommy Stinson by name, his time as bass player in The Replacements, Guns N’ Roses, and Soul Asylum should certainly let you know why he matters. But what really makes it a good idea for you to go see the man perform solo is the strength of his material as singer and songwriter, both under his own name and as the frontman for Bash And Pop.

That quartet, which released one excellent LP called Friday Night Is Killing Me in the wake of The Replacements’ early-90s breakup, then went their separate ways, got back together a few years ago for a long-awaited, much-belated follow-up called Anything Could Happen, which proved that they still had the spark that made their earlier work so wonderful. Stinson’s relatively recent solo LP, 2011’s One Man Mutiny, was just as great and heartfelt, and you can expect to see the sort of sloppy, sincere talent that’s always been the hallmark of his work on display at this intimate performance, so I highly recommend you get there.

—-

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 Gabe Becerra/Twitter

VA Shows You Must See This Week: October 3 – October 9

|

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, October 5, 6 PM
Bracewar, Cold World, Shark Attack, Day By Day, Victim, Division Of Mind, Mindforce, Downfall, Antagonize @ The Canal Club – $20 (order tickets HERE)
It might be a surprise for the uninitiated to hear this, but hardcore is basically dance music — and hardcore bands know it. So many of them have “Intro” songs they play when they first hit the stage, and big mosh breakdowns that they end their sets with, most of which are introduced by a singer screaming, “Last chance to dance!” I rest my case. Richmond’s Bracewar is one of those bands, and in fact, I’ve often heard other hardcore kids talk about how their “Intro” (from their 2007 Juggernaut LP) is their best or most popular song. It makes a weird sort of sense — for a typically fast-as-hell band, the intro offers a perfect chance to get the kids all fired up before launching into a million-miles-an-hour rager.

Bracewar were super active about a decade ago, but the members have gotten older, and they’ve focused less on the band in recent years, playing the occasional local show but mostly not doing much. However, it appears all that is changing — they’ve got a brand new EP, Colossal, coming out on Triple B Records this week. It’s only three songs, but it’s their first new material in a decade, so we can cut ’em some slack. What’s really interesting is that they’ve got a new intro song on this one, entitled “Introduction.” Will this far more metallic take on the set-starting dance call get the kids moving as much as the old intro did? On Friday at the Canal Club, you’ll probably have a chance to find out.

You’ll also get a chance to see a TON of other rad hardcore bands from the past two decades, giving you a great view on what’s been happening in the world of hardcore since the millennium turned. Well-respected veterans Cold World will be sharing headliner status with Bracewar and bringing their brutal riffs with a slight tinge of hip-hop flavor to keep the dancefloor moving. And of course we can’t forget about Shark Attack, the short-lived but legendary northeast hardcore band that blew everyone’s minds back in 2001 with two incredible EPs, then dipped out leaving everyone wanting more. Their discography LP finally came out this year, complete with some unreleased tracks, and now they’re coming to Richmond to knock everybody on their asses once again. There are quite a few other excellent bands on this bill, from current ragers like RVA’s own Division Of Mind and Florida’s Day By Day to reincarnated VA Beach warriors Victim and the brand-new project from legendary Bane frontman Aaron Bedard, Antagonize. Practice your moves, kids — you’ve got a lot of dancing to do.

Wednesday, October 3, 7 PM
Thrice, The Bronx @ The National – $24.50 in advance/$29.50 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard not to love Thrice. They’ve been around forever, and despite many sonic evolutions they’ve been through, they’ve consistently remained great. From the ridiculously metallic skate-punk of their earliest work to the progressive, emotionally-driven sound of their Alchemy Index tetralogy to the work they’ve released since their brief hiatus earlier in the decade, everything has been enjoyable in its own way, and on its own merits.

It’s still true, too — their recently-released tenth album, Palms, mixes a variety of different sounds from all eras of their work to create a moving and powerful example of a band carving their own path. I guess you could call it post-hardcore, but even that rather nebulous genre term falls woefully short of describing this band’s capabilities — capabilities they demonstrate every time they step onto a stage. Tonight at the National will be no exception, and the fact that they’ve got irreverent melodic punk rippers The Bronx (speaking of groups who’ve remained consistently great for multiple decades) on tour with them only sweetens the deal. Prepare yourself — this one’s gonna be an experience.

Thursday, October 4, 8 PM
Rotten Mangos, Benjamin Shepherd, Saw Black @ Strange Matter – $7
Psychedelic rock n’ roll is a style of music that’s been around for a long time, but when it’s done right, it still rules. And there’s nowhere they do it as right as they do in Austin, Texas. From the band that started it all, the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, to current phenomena like Golden Dawn Arkestra, Austin is the place to go when you’re looking for wild, crazy psych to blow your mind.

Alternatively, you can let it come to you — and that’s what’s happening at Strange Matter Thursday night. Rotten Mangos, an all-star Austin psych crew featuring members of The Black Angels, former Richmonders The Diamond Center, and a whole lot more, will be rolling through with some pop-infused psych n’ roll that’ll open up your third eye and let the sun shine in. You’ll get a not entirely dissimilar experience from the local singer-songwriters opening up the show — Benjamin Shepherd brings a folky touch to his songs, but he’s not without some side trips into drug-fueled weirdness. Saw Black’s material is both more countrified and spacier; it’s not that predictable, especially on his excellent recent LP, Water Tower, but it’s always fun. This is a show to get your toes tapping even as your mind drifts through the astral plane. Who doesn’t love that?

Friday, October 5, 8 PM
Ragana, Haircut, Listless, Tavishi @ Strange Matter – $7
Things are getting spooky this Friday night at Strange Matter. Ragana is hitting town for the first time in several years, and this California group, only a two-piece, creates a powerful, all-encompassing ambience with their sound, one that’s sure to have a deep psychological effect on the denizens of Grace Street this weekend. The fact that Ragana’s most recent release is a split LP with New Orleans sludge-doom veterans Thou entitled Let Our Names Be Forgotten certainly gives you some idea of what to expect from their performance on Friday.

But it would be unfair to write Ragana off as just another doom metal band. They certainly have their share of loud, crushing moments that roll over you in slow motion like waves… or maybe a steamroller. But they also integrate quiet melodies and ominous atmosphere into their sound, significantly increasing the witchiness quotient of their music while also offering something more than the unremitting punishment dealt out by the typical doom band. For this reason, it makes sense that they’re sharing a bill with three Richmond bands who span a significant musical breadth. Listless’s crust/grind queercore, Tavishi’s harrowing electronic soundscapes, and Haircut’s angry punk noise all have elements in common with Ragana and each other, but every performer on this bill will offer their own unique take on the anguish that plagues us all as we walk through this difficult life.

Saturday, October 6, 7 PM
The Wedding Funeral @ Garden Grove Brewing & Winery – $?
This is a weird one, y’all. The Wedding Funeral is a project brought into the world by Darren Deicide and Ethel Lynn Oxide, a romantically-involved duo of musicians with widely divergent backgrounds. Deicide, an honest-to-god priest of the Church Of Satan, has been playing Robert Johnson-style acoustic blues for years now, while Oxide has a background in choral singing and the voice of an angel. The two of them have come together to create The Wedding Funeral, a sort of noir-folk project that uses rootsy blues-style instrumentation to jump all around the musical map, from pastoral British folk sounds to deep South blues to bizarre noise interludes.

At least, that’s how it seems from listening to the 30-second samples of their as-yet-unreleased debut album, You Are Cordially Disinvited, which they will be premiering for all comers at Garden Grove this Saturday night. Those samples are the entirety of the music they have available anywhere on the internet — their debut EP, Beneath The Floor Boards (Covered In Feces) (how’s that for a title), has been scrubbed from the World Wide Web in the interest of moving on to exciting new sounds, which is an understandable policy, if a frustrating one for a music journalist with a minimum of time on her hands. But I can tell you that you’ll learn a good bit more about what The Weddding Funeral have to offer if you make the trip down to Garden Grove, and in light of how unusual this band truly is, I definitely think it’s worth it.

Sunday, October 7, 8 PM
White Denim, Rotem @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
This one’s gonna be a lot of fun. White Denim, another excellent Austin, Texas band, have been around for about a decade, and in that time, they’ve been traversing a similar trajectory to that of another deep-South rock n’ roll group, The Black Keys. Starting out with a primitive garage-rock stomp that came out sort of like a janglier White Stripes and moving over the past decade into a thicker, funkier take on post-garage rockin’ that is downright impossible to deny.

Discovering their 2016 LP, Stiff, when I heard multiple songs from it at Sheetz (those of you who’ve known me for a while know how stoked I am about the music they play at Sheetz and really about Sheetz in general — don’t @ me, Wawa nerds), I fell in love with their ability to write incredible tunes that made you wanna get up and dance wherever you were when you heard them, but also rocked hard and had real staying power. And the fact that this excellent band is finally, after a decade of touring existence, bringing their live show to the river city has got to be the best news I’ve heard all week. So take my advice: go to this show, and bring your dancing shoes. Don’t worry if you know nothing about this band — just be yourself, and try to have a good time. You’re sure to succeed.

Monday, October 8, 7 PM
Culture Abuse, Gouge Away, Praise, Deviant, DJ Devolved @ Gallery 5 – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
A double-shot of punk rock awesomeness from two of the best bands on the scene today, both of which just put out new LPs that took their already-outstanding sound to an even higher level? Yeah, this one definitely falls into the category of a no-brainer. Both of these bands have a ton of cachet in the hardcore punk world, and for that reason you might expect their music to be on the harsher end of things — but if you like catchy melodies and strong, memorable choruses, you’re in for a pleasant surprise, because both of these bands have a ton of songcraft skills and melodic dexterity to wow you with.

Californians Culture Abuse split the difference between driving punk-damaged power-pop groups like Neon Piss and straight-up goodtime rockers like The Strokes, and on their brand new Bay Dream LP, this approach yields a bumper crop of toe-tappers that are guaranteed to make you smile. Gouge Away are a bit more fired up; on their just-released Burnt Sugar LP, their harsh vocals and driving riffs land somewhere between melodic hardcore a la White Lung and post-hardcore noise-rock along the lines of Circus Lupus or early Rye Coalition (everyone who even got those references knows I’m over 40 now). As if this bill wasn’t stacked enough, Baltimore melodic, emotional hardcore group Praise are also here to get you fired up, and transgressive up-and-coming local hardcore crew Deviant get things started in fine fashion. Get stoked for this one.

Tuesday, October 9, 8 PM
Marbled Eye, Dark Web, Slump, True Body, Smut @ Strange Matter – $8 (order tickets HERE)
There’s no particular reason why the genre descriptor “postpunk” needs to mean anything in particular, beyond the fact that a band has taken formative influence from punk rock and brought it with them to a sound beyond that genre’s borders. But let’s be real — when I say that Marbled Eye is postpunk, you know what I mean. You expect the moody vibe, the wiry undistorted guitars, the melodic basslines and deadpan vocals. And you get all of that here. No doubt about it.

But it only takes one listen to Marbled Eye’s debut LP, Leisure, which just came out this week, to realize that this band has a fresh take on this style, one that takes them far beyond the Joy Division clones and Chameleons riff-stealers who’ve been part of the underground musical landscape for quite a while now. Remember how cool that postpunk style sounded over a decade ago, back when no one was really doing it? Marbled Eye still sound that cool. And if that isn’t proof of their standout talent, I don’t know what is. Fellow out-of-towners Dark Web and Smut, along with local mainstays Slump and True Body, provide excellent support to make this bill a top-quality musical evening from beginning to end.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, October 5, 8 PM
Carriage, Nemesis, Catalyst @ Shaka’s – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s tough to try to talk to people about 80s metal who weren’t there for that whole era, because they figure you’re talking about one of two things — either Slayer-style thrash (which, don’t get me wrong, rules) or teased-hair glam metal in the style of Poison and Motley Crue (which, don’t get me wrong, also rules — haters to the left). But there was a whole other wave of heavy, powerful underground metal from that time that people today don’t even think about, and it’s that sound that Carriage evokes today.

Their new LP, Visions, is full of the kinds of flourishes that the kids used to call “power metal,” from the kind of  high-pitched yowls that Mercyful Fate’s King Diamond made de rigeur for a while there to the epic progressive riffs that bands like Candlemass took from prog-rock giants like Rush and King Crimson. Carriage has all of this going on and more, and their sound is genetically engineered to get you banging your head. This release party for their Visions LP should be full of more denim jackets and flying hair than you can shake an air guitar at, and if you have any love at all for the days of high-flying, triumphant metal, you’re gonna want to get in the mix at Shaka’s Friday night.

Saturday, October 6, 9 PM
Uglyography, Human Services, Unk Al @ Taphouse Grill – $5
The fact that Richmond has long been a hub for the musically unique and downright bizarre should never blind us to the fact that crazy stuff comes out of the Tidewater area on a regular basis as well. This show is a great example of that exact fact, and it all starts with Hamptonites Uglyography, who have been wielding their goofy, uncategorizable sound for over a decade now. They themselves call it “quirkadelic rock,” and if you imagine an alternate universe where Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention, Devo, They Might Be Giants, and 90s noise-rockers Alice Donut were all the same band, you’ve sorta got a general idea of what they’re up to.

But the reality is certainly going to be even crazier than you expect — Uglyography demonstrates just this fact on recent LP Evil Rays, which features ridiculously catchy tunes like “Neighborhood Watch” and “We Want You To Click Play,” then amidst all of the mania delivers a heartfelt ballad like “Imperfect For You.” They’re a group that must be seen to be believed, which is exactly why the Taphouse Grill is an eminently worthwhile destination for all you musical explorers of the new and unusual this Saturday night. They’ll be joined by the heavier but just-as-bizarre Human Services, who also hail from the Hampton area. Plus there will be an opening set from Unk Al, aka The Real Unk Al, aka Unk Al and the Amazingly Mediocre, a strange yet enjoyable bluegrass troupe that hails from Chesapeake. Open your mind and dive in.

—-

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