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GELD (Australia), Terrorist, Fried Egg, Future Terror at Flora

Joe Vanderhoff | June 20, 2018

Topics: Flora, Fried Egg, Future Terror, GELD, must see shows, Terrorist

FRIDAY JUNE 22nd at Flora

GELD (Psychedelic D-Beat hardcore from Australia with a fantastic new LP out now on IRON LUNG RECORDS and another 7″ coming soon on Australia’s NO PATIENCE RECORDS! Featuring ex members of KROMOSOM and SOMA COMA.)
https://geld.bandcamp.com/

TERRORIST (Nuke York hardcore punk madness featuring personnel from LA MISMA, L.O.T.I.O.N., INFERNOH, POX, and many many more. New record coming soon on TOXIC STATE RECORDS.)
https://terroristpunknyc.bandcamp.com/

FRIED EGG (Central Virginia punk darlings)
https://friedeggva.bandcamp.com/

FUTURE TERROR (Local hardcore punk freakers!!!)
https://futureterror.bandcamp.com/releases

9:30 PM DOORS / 10:00 PM NOISE / $8 to see the groups LIVE.

Another Beach Impediment Hardcore Concert Event (A.B.I.H.C.E.)

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | June 20, 2018

Topics: Battlemaster, Black Plastic, Body Void, Cary St. Cafe, Contour, Daily Planet, Debt Neglector, Deli Kings, deviant, Flora, Fried Egg, Future Terror, GELD, Gump, Horse Culture, Ladygod, Lipid, Little Saint, Long Arms, McKinley Dixon & Friends, Minimum Balance, Mortuary Drape, Park Sparrows, result of choice, Shormey, shows you must see, Sound Of Music, Squid., strange matter, Talk Me Off, Tel, Terrorist, The Camel, Toward Space, Venus Throw, Voarm, Volahn, Warpark, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, June 23, 6 PM
Rock N’ Roll Benefit for Daily Planet, feat. Toward Space, Ladygod, Long Arms, Venus Throw, Minimum Balance @ Sound Of Music – $10 donation
Music isn’t all fun and games. Often, it helps us get through our toughest moments, when we’re struggling with some of the most intense emotional experiences of our lives. That’s why, as often as live shows are a respite from our daily struggles, they also frequently help us tackle the most pressing issues affecting us as a community. Which brings us to this Saturday’s Rock N’ Roll Benefit for Daily Planet at Sound Of Music Studios. Put together by Toward Space bassist Seyla Hossaini, this show stands both as a memorial to a close friend and relative who passed away due to an overdose, and a benefit for the Daily Planet, which provides treatment options for those who struggle with substance abuse, including those with limited finances and no insurance.

Those who attend this show will be providing valuable support to this organization, which provides essential health care of the sort that too many of us may find ourselves needing at some point in the future. Those who attend this show will also get rocked to the heavens by a group of excellent rock n’ roll bands from the RVA area. Despite the seriousness of the show’s reason for being, there’s still going to be a lot of fun to be had. This all starts with Toward Space, the organizers and headliners of this whole shebang. This youthful garage-rock trio has been working on a full-length for quite a while now, most recently in the studio with Ladygod’s Skye Handler, and the limited amount of tunes they’ve already released are enough to knock this whole city on its ear. Suffice to say, they’re gonna rock your ass when they take the stage.

Speaking of Ladygod, this eclectic, psychedelic group of rock n’ roll troubadours will be on this show as well, giving us selections from their fascinatingly weird and bizarrely catchy 2017 debut LP, Rock N’ Roll Kaliphate. Long Arms will be here as well; James Menefee’s songwriting vehicle started off as an alt-country sort of thing, but by their 2017 LP Young Life had metamorphosed completely into a delivery system for Menefee’s killer Westerberg-esque rockin’ melodic tunes with a ton of heart. If you ask me, they’re better than ever. You really need to see all three of these bands, and for good measure, catch the sets from fellow RVA rockers Venus Throw and Minimum Balance as well. It’s for a good cause, and a great Saturday night out. What more could you ask for?

Wednesday, June 20, 9 PM
Debt Neglector, Park Sparrows, Talk Me Off @ Wonderland – $5
This one is gonna be a blast. Florida’s Debt Neglector might be a new name for RVA music fans, but when I tell you that members of this band used to be part of melodic punk mainstays New Mexican Disaster Squad, as well as Tony Foresta’s melodic punk side project, No Friends, it’s sure to perk your ears right up. And don’t worry, this band has not failed to bring the legacy of those past projects forward into 2018 — last year’s Atomicland full-length shows that their facility for melodic hooks, dirty guitars, and the sort of simultaneously catchy and gravelly vocals that make for the sweetest combination of acid and sugar has not faded in the slightest.

Debt Neglector are joined on this show by Park Sparrows, a local group with a similar sound and a similarly formidable pedigree — members of Landmines, Strike Anywhere, post-Avail group Freeman, and more. Park Sparrows just released a new EP, More Peace, and it is an excellent showcase of what these guys have to offer — a similar sort of melodic punk to that of Debt Neglector, but with both a more introspective feel and a witty, irreverent bite. It’s awesome, and they’ll surely be awesome live as well. Raging local hardcore punks Talk Me Off will kick off this short-and-sweet three-band bill, and it’s all happening at Wonderland, the perfect place to rock out on a Wednesday night with some catchy punk awesomeness. Don’t let the bike ride back from Shockoe Bottom dissuade you — this is gonna be worth it.

Thursday, June 21, 10 PM
PRIDE at Little Saint, feat. Result Of Choice, Deviant, Lipid @ Little Saint – Free!
It’s June, and while some of the more hetero-inclined among you may not take much notice, in the LGBTQ community, this is Pride Month, the time of year when we all stand up and let the rest of the world know that we’re here, we’re not going away, and we deserve the same respect and acceptance given to straight cisgender people. This show at Little Saint on Thursday night brings us a trio of hardcore bands doing exactly that, and the show is headlined by Florida’s Result Of Choice. Straight-up hardcore can sometimes get a little boring, but Result Of Choice do a lot to keep your attention, from their frantic riffing and speedy tempos to their vocalist’s intense  fury. They may be playing in a tiny restaurant, but this group is going to bring a huge dose of energy to their performance.

They’ll join two Richmond hardcore bands that wear their pride on their sleeve. Deviant have named themselves after the sort of things that LGBTQ people are often called by disapproving homophobes, and as someone who has always appreciated the way our community reclaimed the word “queer,” I approve. Deviant have a rougher, harsher sound than Result Of Choice, but a similar sort of driving energy and fury that feels angrier and darker. This promises to be intense. The show will begin with a set from Lipid, and I’ve learned more about this band since I last wrote about them. Featuring members of Kuni, Leather Daddy, and No Tomorrow, this band is proudly queer and punk as fuck, and should be a great way to kick off a concisely excellent show with an awesome theme and the perfect price over at Little Saint.

Friday, June 22, 9:30 PM
GELD, Terrorist, Fried Egg, Future Terror @ Flora – $8
Hardcore is apparently getting pretty insane in the land down under. GELD is a great example, hailing from Melbourne and featuring members of Kromosom and a couple other Aussie bands I don’t really know too well. I guess I’m missing out, though, because GELD are pure blistering mania and I want more. This band’s new EP on No Patience Records will rip your face off with riffs that sound like Negative Approach fed through a pile of noise and vocals that sound like a psychotic maniac in full-on meltdown. This band is hectic, and I’m sure they’ll be an imposing presence when they hit the Flora stage Friday night. You might wanna stand back.

GELD are joined on this bill by NYC hardcore crew Terrorist, who have a similarly harsh sound to GELD, though they do have a recognizably human vocalist. That’s not a strike against them, by the way. These guys hit hard and will knock you on your ass. As will Fried Egg, one of the more weirdly named hardcore bands to come out of Virginia — apparently there’s a limited-edition of their vinyl EP with a white and yellow pattern to make the record look like a literal fried egg. I approve. Anyway, these guys have a bizarre name, and their take on hardcore is kind of bizarre too, but it’s sure to draw you in, especially since they have such an energetic live attack. The whole thing will start out with some blown-out hardcore noise from local newcomers Future Terror — this one is sure to appeal to the Discharge fans among you. Kinda crazy to imagine all of this hectic noise happening in Flora’s back room, but it’s sure to be even crazier to see. You know what to do.

Saturday, June 23, 8 PM
McKinley Dixon & Friends, G.U.M.P., Contour, Shormey @ Strange Matter – $6 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I don’t even have to tell you about McKinley Dixon at this point, do I? A young man with a new approach to the rap game, who spits powerful lyrics with a strong political undercurrent, and both performs and records with a killer live band but also has been known to rhyme over powerful hip hop production, as well as taking the DIY-or-die approach to touring and spreading the message that originated with underground punk — how can you not love this guy? This show is a release party for his new Citrus City cassette, The Importance Of Self-Belief, a sort of positive answer to his powerful 2016 debut, Who Taught You To Hate Yourself? It is absolutely essential if you still drive a beater with a cassette deck in the car (the best way to live, in my middle-aged opinion), that you grab yourself a copy of this one and bump it when you’re cruising around town.

It is also essential that you be at this show to score yourself a copy, as the set from McKinley and Friends, while absolutely the #1 reason to be there, is far from the only live musical joy you will experience at Strange Matter on this fine evening. A trio of fine acts from around the Mid-Atlantic region are also on this bill, starting with DC’s G.U.M.P, who capture a similar sort of vibe to that of McKinley and Friends, though there’s clearly a strong influence from heavier sounds running through their music as well — think Rage Against The Machine with a more contemplative vibe. South Carolina’s Contour take things in a jazzier, more psychedelic direction with their hazy, multi-layered music. And Tidewater-area musician Shormey takes a unique approach to singing and songwriting, with electronic sounds mingling with R&B and indie pop in a surprising manner (sometimes including Mac DeMarco covers). This whole show will be an excellent musical experience of the sort you won’t get anywhere else. You really need to come out.

Sunday, June 24, 8 PM
Warpark, Squid., Deli Kings, Black Plastic @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This is a pretty hardcore/metal-heavy week, but we’ve still got a few for the indie-rockers among you, and this appearance by NYC’s Warpark should certainly get your juices flowing. Reconstituting themselves late last year from the ashes of The Lounge Act, Warpark are still a pretty new thing — their “Early Onset Regret” single is all they’ve released thus far. However, that song has such a promising sound that one could be forgiven for getting a little excited about it. It’s incredibly well-played, with layered guitars and melodic vocals that sometimes mingle in a manner reminiscent of sunshine indie groups like Grizzly Bear. However, Warpark knows how to kick on the distortion and floor us with the heaviness as well, and that’s certainly a big part of their appeal. Based on this one song, seeing what more they have in store at The Camel this Sunday night seems like it’s the move.

Squid., from Chicago, are also on this bill, and their Watersports LP (“Not about pee!” reads a disclaimer on their bandcamp page) shows them exploring an emotionally-driven sound that traces roots to both the “emo revival” of half a decade or so ago and the mellower post-Y2K sound of math-rock. It tends to stay quiet a lot of the time, but they know how to give their emotional sound a powerful weight through occasional applications of distortion — something I wouldn’t be surprised if they learned from old shoegaze records. I definitely approve. Local garage rockers Deli Kings and somewhat mysterious psych-rockers Black Plastic open up for a night of varied, yet consistently excellent, sounds.

Monday, June 25, 9 PM
Body Void, Tel, Horse Culture @ Cary St. Cafe – $7
OK, y’all, prepare yourself for some serious, unrelenting doom. In fact, what Body Void delivers is somewhere beyond doom, hitting the realm of crushing, terrifying slowness that marked the best work of Corrupted and Khanate. Body Void’s new LP, I Live In A Burning House, finds the group exploring similar terrain of torturously extended metallic horror. Other than the intro, only one song on the album is under 15 minutes in length, and the slowly-developing epics that Body Void deliver here build an enormous atmosphere that looms over the listener like hurricane stormclouds approaching ominously across a long expanse of placid ocean.

Then, with a sudden shriek of feedback, the storm breaks, and you’re pummeled by waves of distorted chords, pounding drums, and monstrous, otherworldly screams. And it does. Not. Stop. At least not until you’ve slo-mo headbanged yourself into a trance that, were this a horror movie, would make you the perfect victim for the vampires you can totally imagine sneaking up behind you. Don’t worry, that’s just the bartender. Go ahead and order another drink — this isn’t stopping anytime soon. And you don’t want it to, either.

Tuesday, June 26, 8 PM
Mortuary Drape, Volahn, Battlemaster, Voarm @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
This is one for the serious metal scholars. Mortuary Drape hail from Italy and trace their origins back to the mid-80s, when their brand of occult-influenced black/death metal was a new and groundbreaking sound for anyone to tackle. Their landmark debut full-length, All The Witches Dance, is up there with other mid-90s European metal classics, delivering nonstop brutality with a fascinating atmosphere incorporating spectral chanting and what certainly seem to be occult invocations. While the group today only retains one original member, vocalist Wildness Perversion, they have retained their incredible ability to flatten all comers with powerful black/death metal, as proven on 2014’s Spiritual Independence.

But if I’m to be real with y’all, I can’t deny that Volahn is the group I’m most excited about on this bill. Hailing from the American Southwest, Volahn are the founders of the Crepúsculo Negro (aka Black Twilight Circle) label. The bands on this label use their music to explore their roots in pre-colonial Latin America, and the native tribes that were ultimately overtaken by Spanish conquistadors. Volahn and other Crepúsculo Negro bands declare their independence from colonization through fierce European-inspired black metal, which incorporates tribal influences to take their sound to another level entirely.  You can hear the explosive results on Volahn’s 2015 LP, Aq’ab’al, which is certainly one of the better black metal releases of the last few years. And you can hear them more immediately by coming to Strange Matter on Tuesday night and letting Volahn work their magic upon you. Don’t miss it.

—-

Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [and yeah, in case you’re wondering, more awesomeness from my cracked and bleeding fingertips is available at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: May 16 – May 22

Marilyn Drew Necci | May 16, 2018

Topics: Abby Huston, American, American Pleasure Club, Appalling, Black Iris, Clever Girls, DJ OINuBi, Downhaul, Elephant Micah, Elizabeth Owens & The Live Bats, Empath, Fried Egg, gallery 5, Horse Culture, Iceage, Jason Molina, Keilan Creech, Lace, PILLORIAN, Restroy, shows you must see, Slump, Songs: Molina, Special Explosion, strange matter, The Camel, True Body, Voice Of Saturn, Yeni Nostalji

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, May 19, 7 PM
Iceage, Empath, True Body @ The Camel – $13 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Oh wow, Iceage is back! This mostly-teenage Danish group grabbed a good bit of attention back at the beginning of the decade with their gothic take on hardcore, and I for one was a big fan (which you’ll remember if you’ve been reading this site’s music coverage for a good long time — here’s a refresher for you newbies). Their 2014 third album, Plowing Into The Field Of Love, was a bit of a difficult transition, broadening their horizons in a manner that was somewhat awkward. But after four years, they have finally released another album, and Beyondless simultaneously pushes further into unclassifiable vaguely-postpunk weirdness and confirms that Iceage’s ability to cast a morose, nihilistic mood with their music remains undiminished.

So what will their live performances be like now? Will frontman Elias Ronnenfelt’s baleful stare and terse air of simultaneous aggression and detachment remain intact? There’s only one sure way to find out, and that’s by heading down to The Camel this Saturday night. In past performances here in Richmond, Iceage’s stage presence was energetic in an almost threatening manner, with the band always evoking a faint air of menace that matched their dark approach to hardcore sounds. These days, they’re far beyond the dark UK crust vibes of their earliest material, but fans of Antisect and Amebix will probably still find a good bit to enjoy in their live performance.

Indeed, if the openers on this bill are any indication, it seems that some aspects of the hardcore scene from the earlier part of this decade have found themselves growing in a similar direction to that of Iceage. Philadelphia’s Empath brings us a blown-out lo-fi pop sound that trades the occasional horn flourishes of the new Iceage album (believe it or not, it works!) for a fuzzy synth sound, which lies overtop of a dark, bashing take on indie-pop. Meanwhile, local post-hardcore group True Body has moved in an almost gothic-cabaret direction with their most recent single, “Over It,” and feature the sort of dramatic vocals that any fan of Elias Ronnenfelt — or, for that matter, Ian Curtis — is sure to appreciate. Wear your best all-black outfit to this one.

Wednesday, May 16, 8 PM
Lace, Fried Egg, Slump, Horse Culture @ Strange Matter – $8
From one band with a spooky, atmospheric take on hardcore to another — Lace is coming to Strange Matter tonight, and if this Texas band don’t actually have too much in common musically with Iceage, their dark, foreboding vibe and background in hardcore aggression certainly matches. Recent LP The Human Condition is a refreshing, excellent take on modern hardcore, integrating chaotic touches with gothic drama and postpunk experimentation to simultaneously bring to mind Dead And Gone, Swing Kids, and Ex-Cult. Whether you’re into garage rock wildness, hardcore fury, or the pure spirit of experimentation that keeps bands from falling into genre-based predictability, you’re going to find a lot to like about Lace.

The VA-based openers on this bill all descend from the venerable lineage of American hardcore, but all have different takes on the form. Fried Egg are raging hardcore rippers with a noise-rock edge, like Pissed Jeans doing Negative Approach covers — or vice versa. Slump (who apparently already dropped the “-oids” from last time I wrote about them) push things in a stretched-out, psychedelic direction with their lengthy post-hardcore space-noise epics. Horse Culture are full on sludge-noise, pounding and howling at a dirge-like pace and a volume that will cave your head in. This show will definitely not get predictable, and it will definitely not be quiet. Get stoked.

Thursday, May 17, 7:30 PM
Restroy, Voice Of Saturn @ Black Iris – $6-10
The increased presence of jazz in this column lately might lead some to think I am getting old — and you wouldn’t be wrong! But honestly, if you love a wide variety of music, you probably should be paying attention to jazz, and not just dusty old records you find in thrift stores, either! (Not that those aren’t often really good, but still.) New and intriguing things have been happening in the local jazz world recently, and Black Iris has been taking a big role in helping the word get out — which is an awesome and welcome contribution to the local scene, so keep it up, y’all!

This week, Black Iris is bringing us a performance from Restroy, a shifting ensemble led by Virginia bassist Christopher Dammann, which integrates acoustic jazz improvisation with electronic textures and experimental noise to create a surprising new hybrid which still beats with the unkillable heart of jazz tradition. Restroy for this performance finds Dammann teaming up with drummer extraordinaire Scott Clark — who we told you about in last week’s jazz-at-Black-Iris coverage — and a quartet of electronic musicians who will also add textures of piano, trumpet, and cello to the mix. The result will be hard to predict, tough to pin down, and impossible to forget. The evening will begin with a performance by mysterious local electronic combo The Voice Of Saturn, and will only get more intriguing from there. Don’t miss it.

Friday, May 18, 8 PM
Yeni Nostalji, DJ OINuBi, Keilan Creech @ Gallery 5 – $8 (order tickets HERE)
Yeni Nostalji’s record release show at Gallery 5 is guaranteed to be unlike anything else you’ll see this week. For one thing, Yeni Nostalji’s music is of a type that doesn’t exactly come through town on a weekly basis. Yeni Nostalji is a group that brings Turkish and American musicians together to create a hybrid pop sound equally influenced by Leonard Cohen and Dolly Parton and by European pop radio sounds of decades past. American-born vocalist Christina Gleixner fell in love with the sounds of Turkish music via singer Tanju Okan, and decided to sing in Turkish in Yeni Nostalji as a tribute to the inspiration she found in Turkish music. This soon led her to collaborations with musicians from around the globe, and the result is Yeni Nostalji’s self-titled debut album.

At Gallery 5 this Friday night, the group celebrates the release of this album on Philadelphia label Ropeadope — which RVA music heads may remember from their links with local label Jellowstone. It is unique in that it is likely the first album released by an American label with entirely Turkish lyrics. But it’s also unique in that it brings the deep, smooth sounds of Yeni Nostalji to life. That same thing will take place on the Gallery 5 stage this Friday night, and you should really be there; this group’s alluring, romantic sound will make you feel like you’ve just stepped into a European nightclub from half a century ago. It’s not something you’re likely to encounter again anytime soon, and honestly, you’d be a fool to miss it.

Saturday, May 19, 5 PM
Clever Girls, Elizabeth Owens & The Live Bats, Abby Huston @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This Saturday matinee gig is looking like a real treat, first and foremost because it’ll bring Vermont’s Clever Girls to town. Their 2017 EP, Loose Tooth, is a killer example of a sound I haven’t gotten tired of yet, and doubt I’ll ever lose my taste for. Their jangly guitars and energetic tempos combine with the killer vocal melodies of singer Diane Jean to ensure that these songs lodge in the pleasure centers of your brain and do not let go. Plus, they’ve got that same hint of midwestern twang that comes through in the work of fellow killers Hop Along, and that’s never a bad thing. Best of all, they aren’t yet another band using the word “girls” in their name but featuring only male members! Granted, only their vocalist is a woman, but still, I’ll take it. Progress!

We have two pretty great local acts opening this one up, too. Elizabeth Owens and their band, the Live Bats, have been generating a bit of buzz around the local scene recently, and their quietly beautiful music manages to simultaneously charm and unsettle with a vaguely ominous atmosphere that never fully dissipates. Recent EP Growing Pain has a lot to recommend it, from its glittering acoustic guitar melodies to the empathic lyrics bringing a caring emotional focus to open discussion of mental illness. Abby Huston is new to me, but the melodies present on recent EP Rich are a sure winner, offering a perfect enticement to get more familiar with what she brings to the table. Show up on time for this one.

Sunday, May 20, 8 PM
Songs: Molina – A Memorial Electric Co., Elephant Micah @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
It was a really sad thing when Jason Molina died so young, at only 39 years of age, in 2013. The singer-songwriter, who made incredible music under the names Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. as well as under his given name, delved into a deep well of emotional darkness that many related to, including myself. That darkness, which he was given to suppressing with alcohol, ultimately claimed him. However, during his abbreviated life, he brought us some incredible music, which combined folk, country, and loud rock n’ roll to produce quite a few classic albums, including Songs: Ohia’s Didn’t It Rain (2002) and Magnolia Electric Co.’s What Comes After The Blues (2005). In recent years, members of both of his backing bands have been working to keep Molina’s memory alive with semi-regular performances under the name Songs: Molina – A Memorial Electric Co.

That ensemble comes to Richmond this Sunday night, and whether you have memories of Molina’s legendary Virginia shows — at VCU with The Mountain Goats in 2003, on the steps of the Harrisonburg courthouse during MacRock many years ago — or you never had the pleasure of seeing him perform, this show has something to offer you. Elephant Micah leader Joe O’Connell will be joining the group to provide vocals and guitar in place of their departed frontman, and the show will begin with a separate set from Elephant Micah. Molina may be gone, but his music will live on for a long time to come.

Monday, May 21, 8 PM
American Pleasure Club, Special Explosion, Downhaul @ Strange Matter – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
American Pleasure Club is the latest name under which singer-songwriter Sam Ray and his backing band are performing, and while it’s certainly not the best name ever, it’s certainly better than their old name — Teen Suicide, which really might be the WORST band name ever. So hey, every little bit helps, right? Ray, who has also recorded under the names Joy Void and Ricky Eat Acid, among others, has a lot going on in his music, moving from grungy alt-rock tunes like “This Is Heaven & I’d Die For It” to strange screwed-n-chopped underwater R&B songs like “Let’s Move To The Desert” in relatively short stretches of time on A Whole Fucking Lifetime Of This, American Pleasure Club’s new LP.

How’s all this going to transfer to the live setting? You might well ask, but it seems safe to assume that the guitars will be making the trip, and they will be dishing out some rockin’ songs to get your feet moving at least at some points during the set. It might also get weird at other points, though, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. Seattle’s Special Explosion are on tour with American Pleasure Club, and they offer a fitting counterpoint to that band’s melange of unexpected genre juxtapositions on recent release To Infinity. They show equal facility with dance beats, twinkly emo-gaze guitars, and ethereal yet unforgettable vocal melodies. Locals Downhaul kick things off with some relatively straightforward emo-pop, but like the touring bands, they’re neither predictable nor forgettable, so arrive at the designated hour for best results from this show.

Tuesday, May 22, 8 PM
Pillorian, Appalling, American @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Black metal started out as a ferocious, blood-spattered beast of a genre, but once it had been around for a while, musicians around the world started recognizing the various possibilities the genre offered, and taking off in exploratory directions that were often quite surprising. Pillorian follows in the footsteps of one of those groundbreaking black metal acts, Agalloch, who explored the potential enriching elements that folk melodies and atmospheres brought to black metal. Former Agalloch frontman John Haughm formed Pillorian in the wake of Agalloch’s breakup, and the group’s debut LP, Obsidian Arc, saw the group ably continuing Agalloch’s legacy.

Part of the reason Haughm started Pillorian was to tour more often, and since the release of their first LP last year, they’ve remained on the road, touring the world and hitting the festival circuit. Now they’re heading to our little town of Richmond, which is only logical because as we all know, this place is metal as fuck. Openers Appalling and American offer a taste of what homegrown musicians are doing with the black metal template; the former takes it in a dark, crusty direction sure to appeal just as much to fans of dirty US hardcore bands like Tragedy as it will to the dyed-in-the-wool kvltists. Meanwhile, American — who kinda pulled a ninja move with such a generic-yet-unusual name — take things in more of an epic, rage-heavy direction on last year’s Violate And Control, a dark, pounding listen that’s sure to translate into serious brutality in the live setting. This one’s a headbanger’s paradise, so don’t sleep on it.

—-

Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [and yeah, in case you’re wondering, more awesomeness from my cracked and bleeding fingertips is available at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 1/20-1/26

Marilyn Drew Necci | January 20, 2016

Topics: Atta Girl, basmati, Blackball, Burn/Ward, Butterfly Closure, Buzzard Dust, Dazeases, Fat Spirit, Father Sunflower, Frankie Martinez, Fried Egg, Funeral Chic, gallery 5, Gemtone, Guy Blakeslee, Hardywood, I.C.E., Joy, Julie Karr, Karacell, Lady God, MAASK, Magnus Lush, Nosebleed, Passing Phases, Pete Curry, shows you must see, Sidewalk Chalk, strange matter, Tennison, The Ar-Kaics, The Camel, Ultra Flake, Venomspitter

FEATURE SHOW
Friday, January 22, 5 PM
Third Annual Bad Girl Revue, feat. Magnus Lush, Dazeases, Blackball, I.C.E., Ultra Flake, Nosebleed, Butterfly Closure, Atta Girl @ Strange Matter – $5

It’s a new year, so you know what that means–the Bad Girls Revue at Strange Matter has returned for its third annual throwdown! This event, an annual benefit for Girls Rock RVA featuring all female-fronted bands, gets more and more awesome every year, and this time they’ve really pulled out all the stops!
[Read more…] about RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 1/20-1/26

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