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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: April 6 – April 12

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

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, April 8, 7 PM
Andrew Alli & Josh Small, Mackenzie Roark, Woody Woodworth & The Piners @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance, $12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The pandemic’s been tough on music lovers, but some fans have had an easier time than others. After all, some artists were very active with the whole online-streaming thing, starting up weekly web appearances and such. And then, there were other artists, often of the “bedroom pop” and “solo producer” varieties, who had never really been big on live performance anyway. Those artists kept uploading to their soundcloud and bandcamp accounts like nothing had changed. However, if you were a fan of Josh Small, the pandemic just might have been pretty tough on you. After all, Small’s never been a very online sort of guy. His last attempt at a social media page was on facebook; it was maintained by someone else, and the last time it was posted to was in 2013. What’s more — and this is a real bummer — his last solo album was 2011’s Juke, which is over a decade old at this point.

No, the way to keep up on Josh Small has always been to find out where he’s playing and show up. That has often meant going to see Tim Barry, as Small’s been an accompanist for Barry on quite a few tours over the years. In more recent times, he’s teamed up with champion harmonica player and blues shouter Andrew Alli, who has brought him into the modern world a bit (the only remotely up-to-date info about Small these days is found on Alli’s website), and with whom he released a collaborative self-titled EP in 2018. The work the two of them create together is somewhat different from Small’s heartfelt emo-folk laments; for one thing, Alli generally takes lead vocals, unleashing his forceful tenor in a more traditional blues fashion that always makes me think of Muddy Waters in his acoustic moments. For another, Alli and Small’s tunes mix elements of Small’s folk background with Alli’s deep blues roots, resulting in a hybrid of classic Chicago blues with old-time folk earthiness.

So yeah, whether you’re coming to this show as a fan of Josh Small’s long history as a local hidden treasure, of Andrew Alli’s full-throated, joyous harp blasts, or strictly the combination of the two, you’re gonna get a real treat that’s been denied us all for the past two years. That’s the best reason I can think of to leave the house this weekend, and I’m including dollar tacos in that list. What’s even more awesome is that we’ll get a set of solo tunes from local country-folk singer Mackenzie Roark in the bargain, plus a set from Woody Woodworth and the Piners, a local Americana combo with a down-home honky-tonk feel that’ll sure sound nice echoing through Gallery 5. Speaking of which, isn’t it nice whenever we get shows at Gallery 5 these days? They’ve become understandably rare — you just can’t be too careful these days — but they always have been a treat, and they continue to be. Make sure you get your fill of this one.

Wednesday, April 6, 7 PM
Cliff And Ivy, Gothic Lizard, Widow Rings @ Fallout – $7 in advance, $10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Friends of mine back in the day used to make jokes about how American bands could never really pull off the grim harshness of Scandinavian metal bands. “Oh, where are they from, the frozen wastelands of Kansas?” And they were often correct in that assessment; American bands generally do not understand how grim it is up north. You can’t say that about Cliff And Ivy, though; this gothic duo hails from Anchorage, Alaska, which is actually farther north of the Equator than Oslo and Stockholm. These two know from frozen wastelands!

That being said, their music isn’t actually trying to be grim or foreboding at all. On 2021 EP Bring Us the Night, their approach is much more comparable to the spookiest of the first-wave punk and hardcore bands of the early 80s. If you’re a fan of The Damned, The Misfits/Samhain, TSOL, or the first Christian Death LP, the way Cliff And Ivy mix gloomy gothic atmosphere with an undeniably energetic and aggressive sound should be right up your alley. The evening will also feature sets from cryptic goth-industrial solo project Gothic Lizard and from moody synth-goth vibe merchants Widow Rings, meaning you’ll get a good primer in what’s going on in the local goth scene in the bargain. Who could complain about that?

Thursday, April 7, 10 PM
9th Ward Judy, Gsambo, Elkridge Chase @ Mainstage – $30 (order tickets HERE)
Around here, it seems like the main experience the music scene has with New Orleans bounce music comes from Big Freedia and the explicitly LGBTQ-oriented subgenre of sissy bounce. But have you ever contemplated the fact that there’s a whole world of… um, for lack of better description, hetero bounce? It’s true, it exists, and Nola’s own 9th Ward Judy is a leading exponent of that whole vibe circa 2022. Recent singles like “Shake Up Da Hoes” and “Throw That” make clear that she’s bringing that classic bounce sound — the one that makes you want to twerk until you pass out — and if you like to dance, she’s someone you need to check out.

It’s not just music, either — she’s a social media influencer, a workout queen, and a certified twerk champion. And while I don’t want to objectify anyone, it’s really hard to talk about 9th Ward Judy without talking about, um… rear-facing assets. Which is to say, she likes to shake her booty and she doesn’t really care what you think about it. So if you’re ready to get down and shake that ass, you need to show up on Thursday night at Mainstage — who seems to be bringing a lot of hip-hop related live shows to Richmond over the next few months, so shoutout to them — ready to do some serious twerking. Don’t forget to hydrate, y’all.

Friday, April 8, 8 PM
Essential Machine, Tanglewood Revival, Kingyoso @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
Free shows at Garden Grove are always a great thing, and when they bring us high quality content like this event, it’s hard to feel anything but blessed. Pennsylvania’s Essential Machine, who are headlining this show, are a true family band. Formed by life partners RJ and Karen Dietrich, the band is now a trio, rounded out by RJ and Karen’s 20-year-old son Robert. These days, if you hear that kind of thing about a band, you expect them to be gospel or something, but no, Essential Machine are a pretty classic post-punk alternative rock project that mix the melodic jangle of REM with the dark psychedelic vibes of The Dream Syndicate.

Essential Machine are currently on tour in advance of their new EP, Exponential Crisis, which comes out on Lemon Tree Records next month. I hunted high and low, but you can’t actually listen to any advance singles from the EP anywhere online yet. However, if 2019 full-length Wildfires is any indication of what they’ve got up their sleeve on their new release, you’re in for a treat. That said, they’ve been very upfront about the fact that the pandemic had a significant effect on their writing process. How did that show up in the finished tunes? You can wait for the EP’s mid-May release date to find out… but why wait when you can just roll up and see them at Garden Grove on Friday? After all, the price is right — and we both know you need something cool to do after a long week of work.

Saturday, April 9, 8 PM
Nancy Raygun (Photo by Jack Durham), Midnite Taxi, Roughshod, The Background Action, The Wearing Hands @ Black Iris – $7 in advance, $10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The post-pandemic era is giving rise to a new social order in the local music scene. While other venues fell by the wayside during lockdown, returning as places that do maybe one or two shows a month if they still do them at all, places like Black Iris have stepped up, more and more frequently augmenting the visual art they have on display in their gallery with musical performances by some of the city’s best artists. Meanwhile, the ecosystem of local bands has had a bit of a shakeup as well, and one name rising to the top more and more frequently in our brave new live-music world is that of Nancy Raygun, whose psychedelic approach to alt-rock results in memorable tunes and arresting live performances — exactly what the world needs in this enjoyment-starved era.

This show is a great place to start if you’re not familiar with the club or the headlining band in question, but even if you’re intimately acquainted with both, there’s a lot more to enjoy on this bill as well. Post-collegiate alt-rock combo Midnite Taxi have been making some minor waves here in Richmond lately, and what I hear on their recently released EP, Somehow, makes me think those waves won’t be so minor in another six months or so. Roughshod is a brand new rock n’ roll group from here in Richmond whose debut two-song single makes me excited to hear what else they’ve got to offer. Plus, I’m glad to see my old pal/former bandmate Austin Ruhf playing in a new project; when he’s involved, I always expect good things, and I haven’t been let down yet. Noise-punk maniacs The Background Action, who bring that sloppy early-Pussy-Galore vibe, will be a fun addition to this menagerie, as will West Virginia’s The Wearing Hands, who have a nice jangly indie sound to ease you into the evening. This one’s gonna be great; show up for it.

Sunday, April 10, 7 PM
Widowspeak, Anna Fox Rochinski, Elizabeth Owens @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Every once in a while when I’m working on figuring out every show happening around town in the next week (which, believe it or not, takes a while), I run across something that I’m really stoked about and had thus far completely missed. That’s what happened to me with this Widowspeak show; I had no idea this Brooklyn group were coming to town. And as soon as I found out they were, I was stoked. If anything, this is a good reflection on my experience with Widowspeak in general; I heard them for the first time earlier this year when I encountered the pre-release single for their latest LP, The Jacket. It’s great, a similarly subtle and atmospheric approach to indie rock that you can find in the work of everyone from alt-rock legends Mazzy Star to up-and-coming local heroes Hotspit.

Imagine my surprise when I dug a little deeper and realized that Widowspeak actually have five more albums before The Jacket, going back over a decade? It’s always a treat to discover a new-to-you musical talent with a deep back catalog, and I’m really enjoying the dive in. I’m sure I will not be the only one who will also enjoy Widowspeak’s arrival in town this Sunday at Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House (which is a great place saddled with the most trendy-new-subdivision sounding venue name ever, just sayin). Then there’s the bonus set we’ll be getting from fellow Brooklynite Anna Fox Rochinski, who’s freshly solo after a decade in the psych band Quilt. On her solo debut, Cherry, Rochinski mixes her psychedelic background with elements of dance pop and electro and comes out with something that makes me think of Beyonce collaborating with Stereolab. It’s not predictable, but it is awesome. Check it out.

Monday, April 11, 7:30 PM
Dre Person, Vintage, LVBXSH, akaLUTHER, Fuggin Doe, PT, Xenos The Stranger, BCMusic1st, Rel Lyfe, Ndefru @ Bingo Beer Co. – Free!
If what you seek is underground hip hop with a strong local flavor that mixes local legends with the most impressive of the young talent, Secret Bonus Level is who you need to be keeping up with. Noah Page and co. consistently book jam-packed hip hop bills full of talented artists of all ages and experience levels, and they always add up to a great evening of lyrical prowess and boom-bap bliss. This one, coming to Bingo Beer on a Monday night that’ll surely benefit from a pick-me-up, has the additional benefit of being free. Considering the amount of cash I’ve been laying out lately to gas up my car and pay the heat bill, any good time I can get without laying down the long green is very, very welcome.

If you’ve been following Richmond hip hop for a while, you’ll know some of these names. PT, a longtime RVA rap veteran who might be best known around here for his 2018 LP with Fan Ran, Airtight. BCMusic1st, who’s best known for his tireless work as a video director and documenter of the local scene but who has significant bars in his own right. Fuggin Doe, who raps hard and has little patience for posers. Ndefru, who just released a brand new single and has worked with talented local folks like Ohbliv and Sam Reed. The names you might not know are just as worthy of your time and attention, though, and with the price being right as we previously discussed, you can drop any extra dollars you do happen to have for CDs from the rappers on this bill who impressed you the most. The scene could use your support, but more importantly, you could use more great music in your life. If that’s what you want, Bingo Beer is the place to be on Monday night.

Tuesday, April 12, 7 PM
Slothrust (Photo by Lindsey Byrnes), Calva Louise @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 in advance, $17 day of show (order tickets HERE)
While I’ve never been able to figure out what they’re going for with their name, or even how to pronounce it, I can tell you one thing: Slothrust make really good music. The most recent example of their doing so is last year’s Parallel Timeline, an LP that saw these guitar-slinging indie rockers moderating their heavy approach, developed on previous releases, with an increased amount of quiet moments and melodic focus. Indeed, even at the album’s heaviest — loud, upbeat lead single “Once More For The Ocean,” the arresting quiet-loud dynamics of “The Next Curse” — melody is the main point, with Slothrust always winning you over through their ability to craft indelible tunes and get them stuck in your head all day.

The great thing about seeing them live will be seeing how much of the volume that was scaled back on their most recent LP comes back with a vengeance once they’re standing before a wall of amps onstage. Slothrust’s music hits hard, and it’ll hit even harder at full volume this Tuesday night at Capital Ale House. You’ll want to be there when it does. And you’ll definitely want to be there to get familiar with openers Calva Louise. This UK indie trio has some catchy, propulsive alt-rock classics to lay on you, and judging from how good they sound on last year’s Euphoric, you won’t be disappointed by their live sound. Get there for this one, you won’t be sorry.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): drew@gayrva.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): drew@gayrva.com

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: March 2 – March 8

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, March 5, 7 PM
Banding Together: A Benefit Concert For RPS Elementary School Music Programs, feat. No BS! Brass, Fear Of Music, Prabir Trio, Erin Lunsford, Landon Elliott, Buenas @ The Broadberry – $20-$100 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been a rough ol’ decade so far, folks, and 2022 is clearly trying to make sure no one thinks it’s calming down this year. Not only is there a terrible war in Ukraine courtesy of that despicable dictator Vladimir Putin, and not only is Texas literally attempting to put parents in jail for being supportive of their transgender children, but things are pretty dang rough right here in RVA, the most obvious example of that being the fire that gutted Fox Elementary School recently. Considering how much trouble Richmond Public Schools always has coming up with the funding necessary to give our local children a good public education, this is definitely not the sort of thing we as a city needed.

Luckily, a whole bunch of Richmond musicians feel exactly the same way, and they’re doing more than ranting about it on the internet somewhere; they’ve actually gotten together with local music education-focused nonprofit JAMinc to organize not one but two benefit concerts for Richmond Public Schools’ musical education programs, both of which take place at The Broadberry this Saturday. The more kid-friendly one takes place at 2 PM and features children’s hip hop group The Diggity Dudes, Jonathan The Juggler, and more. If you’ve got little ones in the house, you probably should take them out to this one, especially since kids 12 and under get in free. But RVA Mag is for the adults, so we’re officially recommending the grownup-oriented show at 7 PM, as it features an incredibly stacked lineup of local musical talent.

Topping the bill is No BS! Brass, a band who shouldn’t even need any introduction to Richmond music fans after all these years. However, on the off chance you pulled into town last week, I will tell you that this collection of horn players, percussionists, rappers, singers, and all around fun-loving troubadours incorporate everything from soul, funk, and classic jazz to hip hop, metal, and hardcore punk into their hype-as-hell tunes and incredibly energetic performances. They’re reason enough for you to be at this thing all by themselves, but the fact that talented local Talking Heads tribute act Fear Of Music, veteran power-popsters the Prabir Trio, excellent singer-songwriters Erin Lunsford and Landon Elliott, plus even more great acts will all be on this bill makes it easily worth the $20 price of admission. This is especially true when you contemplate the fact that every dime you pay will go toward Richmond Public Schools’ elementary music programs. And don’t worry — if you want to donate more, tickets with face values up to $100 are available in order to make your donation as easy as possible. Because as we all know, life’s hard enough right now.

Wednesday, March 2, 7 PM
Spirit Of The Beehive, Body Meat @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $14 in advance, $16 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Psychedelic ensemble Spirit Of The Beehive have been around for a while now, and you might think you’ve got them all figured out. But honestly, if you haven’t checked them out in the past year or so, you might get a big surprise when you show up at Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall tonight. For one thing, the band’s lineup has shifted considerably since the pandemic shut down live music for 18 or so months. Their most recent keyboardist switched to drums, and everyone else other than co-founders and lead vocalists Zack Schwartz and Rivka Ravede left. Last year’s Entertainment, Death LP was their first as a trio, and it foregrounds the experimental, electronic, and sonic-collage aspects of the group in new and fascinating ways that led Pitchfork to give Entertainment, Death a much-sought-after Best New Music designation.

One listen is enough to see why; the hypnotic, psychedelic space pop that’s always been a part of their sound has gotten even more unmoored from conventional reality, even as it has absorbed everything from vaporwave vibes to thrift-store “world music” cassette compilations, shoving it all in alongside their tendency toward abrupt sonic shifts and jarring blasts of noise that depart as quickly as they arrive. What’s left is the kind of head-swimmy dance groove that always makes for the best parties; you’re tapping your feet even though you don’t know the song, but you have no idea what the DJ will reach for next or even if they’ll let it play to the end. After a while, though, it starts to make perfect sense. So come down to Capital Ale House tonight and get on Spirit of the Beehive’s level, because rest assured, no matter how weird it seems from the outside, it’s got a lot to offer.

Thursday, March 3, 8 PM
Well Wisher, Strawberry Moon, Closet Space @ The Camel – $12 (order tickets HERE)
I’m always a sucker for some catchy guitar-driven indie tunes with an undeniable undercurrent of melodic punk, and therefore I can’t in any way resist this performance by New Jersey’s Well Wisher, coming to the Camel on Thursday night to get you spiritually prepared for what the weather people are saying will be an at least semi-warm late-winter weekend. Most recently, Well Wisher graced our cooped-up pandemic time with a series of acoustic singles that did what they could to brighten up the precarious summer of 2020. However, to get a sense of what this quartet is capable of when they’re at full strength, we’ve got to go back to their 2019 LP, This Is Fine, which was chock full of great tunes played on pretty dang loud guitars — the sort of sound that would please any lover of PS Eliot or Speedy Ortiz.

It’s likely that this full-strength melodic indie-punk-pop sound will be what Well Wisher bring to The Camel tomorrow night; however, I’ve got to say, even if things focus on the acoustic moods, it’ll still be great. These songs are more than capable of standing on their own. The same can be said of Strawberry Moon, who’ve been bringing the powerful voice and catchy tunes of Katie Bowles and co. to the RVA music world for several years now. All we’ve gotten since pre-pandemic days from them have been a few minimalist demos, but their Bandcamp page heralds a new LP coming this summer, and that’s sure to be a highlight of 2022 for the entire local music scene. In the meantime, see what sorts of new and old tunes they’re bringing out for this Thursday night shindig, and make sure you show up on time to hear what indie-rock newcomers Closet Space have to offer as well. You’ll be glad you did.

Friday, March 4, 8 PM
Phantom Handshakes, Night Idea, Hotspit, Young Scum @ The Dark Room – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Here’s a night of cool moods for a dark room in a historic old building in a hip local neighborhood. Yes, I am of course talking about the Hofheimer’s Dark Room, where a night of excellent local bands will be headlined by visitors from New York. Specifically, I’m talking about Phantom Handshakes, a duo that brings their gorgeous dream-pop tunes south of the Mason-Dixon line to grace all our ear canals. The mix of ambient synth beds, chiming guitars, bouncy programmed beats, and adorable vocals on their 2021 full-length, No More Summer Songs, is truly wondrous, and will surely shine even brighter when it comes to us all from inside a very dark room. Make sure you’re there to see this one glow.

But look, you’ve got a lot of other reasons to be there too, and all of them speak to the always-deep pool of musical talent that has been RVA’s excellent legacy for decades now. Night Idea, a name I haven’t heard in a long minute now, is bringing their melodic math-rockin’ sound back to a Richmond stage at The Dark Room on this fine evening, and what’s more, we’ll also get the first live appearance I’ve heard about in quite a while from incredible local power-pop quartet Young Scum. This is a real dynamic duo of Richmond music right here, and if you’ve been paying attention at all, you know you’ve got to be there when these bands share a stage (and if you don’t know, this is your urgent notice that you need to get familiar ASAP). Rounding out the bill is local buzz band Hotspit, whose lovely indie-shoegaze sounds are getting a warm reception both within and outside of RVA lately. Make sure you don’t miss a moment of this one, folks. It’ll be a night to remember.

Saturday, March 5, 7 PM
Coheed And Cambria, Sheer Mag @ The National – $40 (order tickets HERE)
I’m not as good at being an emo girl as I used to be, and I know this because every time I turn around lately, Coheed and Cambria have yet another new album out, and I’m finding myself once again playing catch-up. I still haven’t really gotten my head around 2015’s The Color Before The Sun, and that’s a seven-year-old album now! Meanwhile, the band has launched into yet another of their multi-album prog epics, in the form of Vaxis. Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures came into the world back in 2018, and Act II: A Window Of the Waking Mind is due out this May, with two advance singles having made it into the world thus far. Oh my goodness! I’ve got a lot of listening to do.

Luckily, at first blush, Coheed’s long-established reputation for metallic, progressive, and eminently melodic emo quality remains sterling — brand new single “Shoulders” shows that they’re still at the top of their game, literally 20 entire years after I saw them for the first time (oh my god, I’m so old). So yeah, all the new jams they’re breaking out for the first time on this tour are sure to knock everyone on their ass, and no doubt they’ll be busting out legendary fan faves like “A Favor House Atlantic” and “Here We Are Juggernaut” to get all us old heads singing along as well. Plus, get this: the opening act on this tour is none other than power-pop-garage-punk titans Sheer Mag, who might not quite be worth the full price of admission just to see them if you don’t dig Coheed (and… why, pray tell, would you not dig Coheed?), but they’re certainly going to provide an excellent bonus for all those in the know who show up on time. So hey, make sure you do that, OK?

Sunday, March 6, 7:30 PM
Summer Salt, Renata Zeiguer, Kate Stephenson @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $19.99 in advance, $23 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Winter’s been rough around here this year, speaking strictly in terms of temperature: like, I can’t remember the last time we got a heating bill as high as the one we were slapped with last month. For that reason alone, it’s good to hear that Texas pop duo Summer Salt are coming through town to wrap up all of our weekends with a lovely performance at Richmond Music Hall Sunday night. You see, where Summer Salt are concerned, the warm sunny sea breezes aren’t just implied by their name; they come through in their glowing, gorgeous pop tunes, to the point where you can almost feel that warm wind on your face when you listen to them. It’s a pleasant prospect, especially with the kind of winter we’ve had.

Summer Salt’s current tour is even more likely to bring the beach vibes; the band is touring in support of their upcoming album, The Juniper Songbook, which will be released mere days after their performance at Richmond Music Hall. It’s a collection of Summer Salt favorites re-interpreted in a more stripped-down, acoustic fashion. And in order to get everyone in the mood, their current tour features the same feel. So not only will we be getting a laid-back acoustic take on Summer Salt’s tunes at this show, we’ll also be getting similarly stripped-down performances from singer-songwriters Renata Zeiguer and Kate Stephenson, each of which has plenty to offer in their own right. Clearly you know what you must do: come down to Capital Ale House’s downtown location and enjoy the vibes this Sunday night.

Monday, March 7, 7 PM
Computer, ApathyFire, K!LL SCREEN @ Fallout – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This show at Fallout had me ready for some serious goth vibes, as I usually expect from any musical performance taking place at Richmond’s premier fetish bar. However, they threw me for a bit of a curve with this performance by Computer, a mysterious, prolific New York-based project whose work veers between ominous electronic sounds and outright harsh noise in a manner that’s likely to please fans of everything from Pharmakon to Author & Punisher.

Computer’s music seems less likely to inspire dancefloor action than Fallout’s usual fare, but their atonal sonic approach definitely seems at least somewhat appropriate for the moody atmosphere this place always has in abundance. Opener ApathyFire has plenty of additional noise with which to bewitch all comers, while the pounding techno of K!LL SCREEN should be able to at least start the evening with some dance beats before diving fully into the chaos. Jump in and ride the wave, folks.

Tuesday, March 8, 7 PM
Rick Maguire (of Pile), Allie Smith (of Blush Face), Brent McCormick (of The Wimps) @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’m guessing it’s the pandemic that did it, but lately we’ve been seeing a move toward more stripped-down, acoustic takes on bands’ and songwriters’ previous material. Indeed, it’s a phenomenon that already appears elsewhere in this very column. However, it takes on a whole different feel when it’s explored by someone like Pile’s Rick Maguire, who normally plays a loud, distorted guitar and hollers animatedly overtop of Pile’s pounding noise-rock anthems. He’s completely subverted that formula with his 2021 solo album, Songs Known Together, Alone. This album sees Maguire stripping Pile’s blasting tunes down to their core elements and converting them into songs full of ambient sound, singular emotion, and lyrics that take on a whole new meaning with the harsh pounding of his backing band stripped away.

It’s an interesting choice from a musician whose songs normally sound like they wouldn’t work at all without all the distortion and screaming noise. What Maguire proves on his new solo album is that you can just as easily love a quiet, bare-bones recreation of a Pile tune just as much as you loved the chaotic, raging original. His set at Gallery 5 on Tuesday is sure to bring that fact home in even more dramatic fashion — and what’s more, it’ll give Richmond heads a chance to see local talents Allie Smith of Blush Face and Brent McCormick of The Wimps do similar things with their own bands’ rockin’ tunes. The results are sure to be illuminating — so come down to Gallery 5 on Tuesday, and let the light shine upon your face.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): drew@gayrva.com

Painting The Streets Of Jackson Ward

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Where West Marshall meets Brook Road, a new pedestrian plaza is coming — and with local organizations like Gallery5, Venture Richmond, Big Secret, and more behind it, it’s set to brighten up the intersection through art. 

The already-colorful City of Richmond is about to get another rainbow upgrade, thanks to a grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative. After 200 cities applied for the grant, one of the sixteen $25,000 grants was jointly awarded to both Venture Richmond and City of Richmond Public Art Commission. The grant supports cities that use art to improve community safety, and creates further public engagement.

PHOTO: Site plan for the upcoming project funded by Bloomberg’s Asphalt Art Initiative in Richmond, via Venture Richmond.

Richmond’s newest project will include the intersection of West Marshall Street and Brook Road in the Arts District/Jackson Ward neighborhood. The grant will help fund a new pedestrian plaza, a parklet, and an intersection mural. The list of partners on the project is still growing, but so far includes the City of Richmond, Gallery5, Venture Richmond, Big Secret, ART 180, Vanderbilt Properties, and Walter Parks Architects. ART 180 is in charge of coordinating the public art components of the project, and Walter Parks Architects is responsible for providing in-kind design services.

“Collectively, these elements build upon the momentum of the neighborhood as the nexus of the Arts District, and enhance the route into Jackson Ward anchored by the Maggie Lena Walker Memorial Plaza a block away,” said Susan Glasser, Public Art Coordinator for the City of Richmond. “On a practical level, the project aspires to increase pedestrian traffic by enhancing safety and street life, to create a revitalized and beautified environment in an underutilized public space, and to promote civic engagement in the neighborhood.”

Venture Richmond is also donating $5,000 to the project that will come from the organization’s event Park(ing) Day design/build competition, hosted last September. Venture Richmond’s overall mission is to ensure that the City of Richmond focuses on enhanced vitality of Richmond, the downtown area, and Riverfront, along with enhancing property management services. Together with the city’s Public Art Commission, which invests in local artists to improve economic and cultural identity growth, the organization hopes to create a new destination from an existing intersection. It will not only brighten the busy section, but enhance its functionality.

PHOTO: Butterfly mural in Asheville, NC, by Sound Mind Creative. Photo by Justin Mitchell.

“It’s really exciting to see a lot of hard work by the community rewarded by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, to make changes to that intersection that make it safer and more attractive to the residents and businesses in the area,” said Max Hepp-Buchanan, Director of Riverfront and Downtown Placemaking for Venture Richmond. “In the age of Covid-19, it’s more important than ever that we design public spaces like this for people to safely gather and make social connections.”

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ main initiative is to invest in cities around the world, ensuring that there is a good focus on the arts, education, public health, and government innovation among other areas. In 2019, Michael R. Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Philanthropies — which includes all of his giving along with personal philanthropy, foundation, and Bloomberg Associates — donated $3.3 billion.

The City of Richmond is eager to hear what the public and Richmond locals want out of this project, and have made a survey for volunteers to record their opinions. The City hopes to start off its public engagement process with a bang, ensuring that the voices of locals are heard, and that the project will not impinge too much on the lives of those living around the intersection. Community members are highly encouraged to take the survey, if possible, so city officials can gather as much information as possible for a swift, smooth project timeline.

PHOTO: Underground at Ink Block in Boston, MA. Mural by Silvia López Chavez. Photo by @Rediovision.

Richmond’s newest project of the three conceptual elements hopes to further engage the community in local art, and will create a more functional intersection within the popular public intersection. 

To learn more about the initiative and follow updates, visit Venture Richmond’s website and take the community survey.

Ghost Of Pop 2019

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Ghost of Pop 2019 time! Kick off the holiday season right with a whole bunch of local bands, holiday vendors, holiday photo fun, drink specials, and all the magic that can be contained in a former firehouse turned art/music venue.

Doors 7pm / Music 8pm // ADV $5 / DOS $10

Palm Palm

Deli Kings

Prabir Trio

Saw Black

Aster
https://asterr.bandcamp.com/

+ DJ Julie all night!!

Tickets will go on sale Friday 11/15

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Love going to Gallery5? Never been to Gallery5 before? Either way, friendly reminder here:
Gallery5 is a 501c3 non profit arts organization devoted to engaging communities through the arts. Support our mission by making a donation at www.LongLiveGallery5.com

Want to Win $1,000? Check Out Gallery5 This Friday

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Springboard Collective is bringing their latest interactive art installation to Gallery 5 in the form of a game show with a thousand-dollar prize.

First Fridays in Richmond has always been a great time to visit some of the local galleries, socialize with friends, and enjoy some local art… but add a $1,000 giveaway and an interactive art exhibition, and First Fridays just got a lot more interesting. 

Gallery 5, an art gallery and music venue in Jackson Ward, will be hosting a special interactive art exhibition brought by Springboard Collective. 

Springboard Collective produces interactive, immersive exhibitions, and encourages their audience to get involved. Originating from New York, Danny Crump and Sarah Dahlinger are co-directors of the production. They’ve collaborated with many different artists for shows in New York, Philadelphia, and now Richmond. 

“Because Gallery 5 is also a music venue, we’re making it more of a performative installation, and the $1,000 competition is more of a show,” Crump said. “There will be a lot of sculptural installations as well.” 

Photo via Springboard Collective

The two have been involved in such exhibitions as Rinkworm, a week-long pop-up roller rink, and One Spa on a Time, a 60-hour spa resort installation at the Flux Factory in NYC. 

According to Crump, there can sometimes be more than 20 artists involved in one exhibition. “Many of our projects tend to have a performative aspect, both interactive and in a programmatic way,” Crump said. The way this works is that Springboard invite specific artists to create a show or a performance art piece within the context of their installations.  

The competition that takes center stage at this installation is in the form of a single-elimination bracket-style tournament, with 64 possible entries. Each participant has a 1-in-64 chance to win $1,000. It’s set to be part of the performative aspect of the installation, and will be geared like a game show, such as Legends of the Hidden Temple. 

“Playing with people’s expectations is a big part of the transformation of this space, and that helps to create an escape,” Crump said. 

Photo via Springboard Collective

According to Dahlinger, their projects tend to bring people out for a variety of different reasons — and though it is sometimes a risk to encourage so much audience participation in their work, everyone who attends is nonethless encouraged to engage at their own pace. 

“With this one, the core idea being a $1,000 competition, we’re hoping to stay cryptic with what that entails,” said Crump. “But we can say essentially that if you can play rock-paper-scissors, you can compete in this tournament.”

“For us, artistically and creatively, I think the gesture of giving away $1,000 is generous,” Dahlinger said. “A lot of our projects are really generous, and the spaces all get built from the ground up.” 

Photo via Springboard Collective

Dahlinger and Crump said they will be starting the setup of the installation this week as they come into Richmond. They’d like to invite people to come by Gallery 5, check out what they’re up to, and help out with the setup. 

Gallery 5 is located on 200 West Marshall St, and doors will open for Springboard Collective’s installation at 6pm on Friday, August 2. The competition will begin at 8pm, followed by an after-party and award ceremony at 9pm. For more info, click here.

Top Photo via Springboard Collective