Garden Grove Brewing

VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 14 – August 20

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 14, 2019

Topics: Annabelle Chairlegs, Archbishop, Armistead's Army, Atomic Mosquitos, Behemoth, Benderheads, Bermuda Triangles, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Cary Street Cafe, Deli Kings, Destruct, DJ Chrissie, Empath, Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Fuzzy Cactus, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Gojira, Insect Surfers, Knotfest, Ladada, Lipid, Mackenzie Roark, Mannequin Pussy, Mojo's, No Question, Serqet, shows you must see, Skizophrenia, Slipknot, smartmouth brewing, Suburban Living, T-Rextasy, The Camel, The Evening Attraction, The Mob, Toward Space, Under Attack, Vasaka, Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater, Volbeat, Volk, Weird Tears, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, August 18, 7 PM
The Mob, Serqet, Benderheads @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Classic UK punk takes many forms. Defiant yet melodic bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash are the most popular one, and made a huge imprint on the music scene for the next several decades. There’s also the rawer, angrier, melody-free political hardcore of bands like Discharge and Antisect, which led to long-running subgenres like crust and d-beat. But there’s another entire world of classic UK punk, one that is sometimes known as peace punk, or anarcho-punk, but is much harder to describe musically. It’s from that world that Somerset, England’s The Mob was born.

Associated with the loose-knit circle around anarchist punk band/label/collective Crass, The Mob were one of quite a few bands in that world who created their own original sound. Their most famous single, “No Doves Fly Here,” is almost gothic in its dirge-like gloomy sound, stretching on for nearly seven minutes and fully capturing the post-apocalyptic horror of war’s devastated aftermath. However, it’s their 1983 LP, Let The Tribe Increase, that is the peak expression of The Mob’s ominously gothic punk mood, one that connects them both to legendary 80s UK acts like Amebix and Zounds and modern Danish groups like Iceage and Lower.

The Mob disbanded in the mid-80s, but they’ve been back together in their original lineup for almost a decade now. However, this is the first time they’ve ever made it to Richmond, and you’d definitely be best advised to join with the punks who’ve been waiting to see them for the last four decades by heading to Gallery 5 this Sunday night. They’ll be joined by two Richmond punk powerhouses; their kindred spirits in postpunk crew Serqet and hardcore maniacs Benderheads. No matter how long you’ve been waiting, it’ll be worth it.

Wednesday, August 14, 9 PM
Skizophrenia, Vaaska, Under Attack, Destruct @ Mojo’s – $8-$10 donation
Japanese punk is definitely its own thing. It was born of influences carried across the oceans from the US and UK, but the effect of Japanese culture was formidable, and led to a completely different spin on hardcore punk — one that has spawned a rich cultural history over the past several decades. Skizophrenia are part of that history, and their output over the past decade and a half has made up for its relative sparseness with a fiery attack that stands as unique even within the sui generis world of Japanese punk. Which is why you should definitely make it out to Mojo’s to see them tonight.

Their raw, speedy sound manages to communicate energetic rage while not taking on any sort of heaviness or macho aggression. Instead, Skizophrenia plays a form of Japanese punk that is both melodic and fun, even as it retains the noisy, frantic elements that are so endemic to the punk rock of their native country. They’re coming through Richmond tonight in the company of Vaaska, a Texas band with whom they shared a split EP, and whose Spanish-Scandinavian crust-punk hybrid is fast and scorching in its own right. Richmond punk supergroup Under Attack and noise-core newcomers Destruct round out a bill that’s guaranteed to blow your mind.

Thursday, August 15, 9 PM
Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Weird Tears, Deli Kings @ Wonderland – $10
Frankie & the Witch Fingers sounds a lot more like a band from decades past than it does like the name of a modern band, but don’t let their throwback band name throw you off — this group has a very up-to-date take on the many genres they dip into over the course of their latest LP, ZAM, which was released back in March. Over its one-hour running time, you’ll catch everything from Blue Cheer-style proto-metal to guitar-driven acid funk to straight up rock n’ roll — all with a strong tendency toward psychedelia.

This group has had a prolific history thus far, releasing five LPs in the past seven years, and the creative energy it takes to churn out killer sounds at that kind of pace absolutely shows through in their frenetic live performances. When they hit the Wonderland stage tomorrow night, you’re going to have a lot of trouble standing still. And why would you want to? Dance the night away! You’ll also be able to enjoy the rock n’ roll sounds of Weird Tears and the psychedelic heavy-osity of Deli Kings as part of this evening, and that’s always a lovely bonus. What are you waiting for? Set the controls for Shockoe Bottom.

Friday, August 16, 8 PM
Volk, Mackenzie Roark, Toward Space @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
“Cowpunk” was a term you heard for a while in the 80s. It was applied to everyone from The Meat Puppets to Lone Justice back then, and while as a Southern girl myself I certainly got excited about this subgenre’s potential when I first heard about it, I was usually disappointed to find that the bands lumped into it were far more country than punk. 30 years later, though, Nashville’s Volk have come along to give me what I wanted from all those bands back then.

On their latest EP, Average American Band, this wild n’ crazy two-piece inverts the usual cowpunk formula and injects some of the rawest, most fire-spitting moments of the Bloodshot Records scene into a sound that’s got a lot more to do with the White Stripes and the Gun Club than anything you’d hear on an alt-country Pandora playlist. I love it, and you should too, especially if you love to get wild and crazy to the out-of-control garage rock sounds of local trio Toward Space, who are, by an amazing coincidence, also on this show! Singer/bandleader Mackenzie Roark is also on this bill, to inject just enough of that lovelorn country balladry into the evening for you honky-tonkers out there.

Saturday, August 17, 7:30 PM
Mannequin Pussy, Empath, T-Rextasy @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Damn, talk about taking things to the next level. Like a lot of Richmonders, I already liked Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy quite a bit; their frequent visits to the city over the past five years or so have seen them rise up from the basement and win the hearts of punk rockers all over town. But their latest LP, Patience, not only sees them signing to Epitaph Records but also finds them creating the strongest, most assured music of their career thus far.

On Patience, they’ve found a way to both crank up the bile-spitting punk intensity and delve into the kind of heart-wrenching melodies that make brilliant breakup songs like “Drunk II” and “Fear/+/Desire” into instant classics. It’s as if Live Through This-era Hole had collaborated with White Lung. So yeah, it’s awesome, and hearing it communicated at top volume as one of Mannequin Pussy’s incredible live performances is only gonna make the whole thing hit that much harder. They come to The Camel accompanied by upstart Philadelphia psych-punk band Empath and Brooklyn alt-poppers T-Rextasy, both of whom will up the ante on what’s already guaranteed to be an outstanding night of music. Don’t blow this one.

Sunday, August 18, 9 PM
Insect Surfers, Atomic Mosquitos, Armistead’s Army @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to stand out in the genre of instrumental surf rock, a land where many people seem most interested in slavish imitations of the legendary greats — Dick Dale, The Ventures, maybe Man Or Astro-Man for the more modern heads. But there are still quite a few bands out there in the surf world proudly walking their own path, and the Insect Surfers are definitely one of them. Getting their start fully 40 years ago, this group loves to refer to themselves as “Planet Earth’s longest-running modern surf band,” and show off the exact sort of interstellar sensibility that motto brings to mind on their many ripping tunes.

The Insect Surfers were directly influenced by the manic instrumental surf-guitar groups of the early 60s, but they took just as much inspiration from the early days of punk rock, which was getting started all around them in their own formative years. If you listen close, you can also hear a bit of the space-faring psychedelia of trippy early 70s groups like Hawkwind and 60s spaghetti western soundtracks mixed into recent material like 2017’s Datura Moon. All of this will add up to a night of awesomeness when these guys pull into The Camel; we guarantee that their tunes will keep you dancing all night long, just like those beach-blanket babes of yore.

Monday, August 19, 9 PM
Bermuda Triangles, No Question, Lipid, Archbishop @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
There are a lot of panicked rumors going on, but have no fear — things are still going strong over at Cary Street Cafe! And there’s no better proof than this latest edition of Slimehole’s weekly “Heavy Mondays.” For starters, it’s bringing us a killer set from borderline-indescribable percussion-focused trio Bermuda Triangles, who’ve been blasting Richmond with their unique form of postpunk space-dance jazz-funk for years now. These guys create the best bizarro-boogie soundtrack happening in Richmond right now, and you won’t want to miss this opportunity to get weird with it.

Plus, they’re playing in the company of Wisconsin noisemongers No Question, who blast out some dirty, grungy rage at hyperspeed on their 2018 self-titled EP. They’re prepared to do the same thing, live and in your face, at this gig, and you should definitely come prepared to be blown away. Local punk freaks Lipid are on the bill as well, which is always enjoyable, and this show will open with the debut performance by Archbishop, the latest assemblage of maniacs from past RVA terrors like Olde Shame, The Skin, and Memory Loss. There’s nothing about this one that’s not gonna rule.

Tuesday, August 20, 9 PM
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Annabelle Chairlegs, DJ Chrissie @ Fuzzy Cactus – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Of course we were all terrified about the future of Richmond live music last year when Strange Matter closed, but as has long been said, crisis creates opportunity, and as this city has warmed up over the course of 2019, we’ve seen more and more live music venues popping up all over! Fuzzy Cactus is the latest example, coming to Brookland Park Boulevard this weekend with some delicious fried chicken and a stage that’ll be full of rock n’ roll sounds on a weekly basis.

The first big show they’re bringing in takes place only a few days after they open up, as Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears pull into town. This Texas ensemble is based around the wild vocals and raging guitars of frontman Lewis, who’s sure to remind you of both Little Richard and James Brown. But it’s the extended ensemble he tours with, complete with horn section, that makes his performances hit so hard — somewhere between BB King and King Khan & the Shrines. They’ll christen the stage of the Fuzzy Cactus in outstanding fashion, and kick off the Brookland Park reign of what’s sure to be yet another great live music venue for Richmond to cherish.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Wednesday, August 14, 5:30 PM
Knotfest Roadshow, feat. Slipknot, Gojira, Volbeat, Behemoth @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (Virginia Beach) – $41-$250 (order tickets HERE)
Maybe this is just me, but I gotta tell y’all — I find it really hard to feel anything other than love for Slipknot. This crew of Iowa metal misfits with as many members as your average brass band blew everyone’s mind when they showed up in the late 90s with their crazy masks, abundance of percussion, and overflowing amounts of adolescent fury. From there, they just got heavier, shaking off their early nu-metal tinges in favor of brutal, anthemic breakdowns and even the occasional blastbeat. Since losing founding bassist Paul Gray back in 2010, they’ve struggled a bit, ultimately firing a couple of other longtime members in pursuit of the return to fighting form that is this year’s We Are Not Your Kind.

It’s that album they’re celebrating with this summer’s Knotfest Roadshow, and they’ll be bringing their patented brand of masked insanity to the Veterans United stage in VA Beach as part of that. Expect headbangs aplenty as they break out classics like “Disasterpiece,” “Spit It Out,” and “Duality” alongside some excellent tuneage from their new LP. Plus, they’ve got a murderer’s row of metallic excellence along as support, including French death-metallers Gojira, bizarre Danish metalbilly group Volbeat, and legendary Polish thrashers Behemoth. This one will be an absolute feast for anyone who loves metal — and trust me, once they hit the stage, Slipknot’s antics are sure to command your undivided attention.

Saturday, August 17, 5 PM
Suburban Living, Ladada, The Evening Attraction @ Smartmouth Brewing – Free!
Philadelphia indie-gaze crew Suburban Living had a pretty strong buzz a few years ago, but they’ve largely been quite on the release front for the past few years, so it’s a relief to see them rolling through the Commonwealth once again! This Saturday night finds them topping the bill at Smartmouth Brewing’s Norfolk warehouse, which has been throwing a series of free early-evening shows over the past several months. This summer-ending rocker is the last one on the schedule that we know of, so if you haven’t gone and checked the place out, now’s the time!

And of course it will be great to hear the sounds of Suburban Living, whose dreampop deliciousness was showed off to perfect effect on 2016’s Almost Paradise. Will they have some newer material to show off? Well, one never knows — but it’s certainly something to keep an eye out for. The same is true of the support set by Norfolk’s own Ladada, who’ve been at the top of the heap where Tidewater indie is concerned for a while now. And as a bonus, you’ll get a set from Chicago rock n’ rollers The Evening Attraction to kick things off with a bang. This is going to be a blast — gas up the whip.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Top Photo by Beau Patrick Coulon, via Facebook

VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 7 – August 13

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 7, 2019

Topics: Alcindor, Another Round Bar and Grill, Bad Motivator, Bandito's, Bashful, Body Of Light, Clementine, Crucial Rip, Drab Majesty, Faded Home, Funeral Proposals, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Gravebound, Hide, Jerome's Dream, Marshall Family Values, Matt and the Skeleton Crew, Nightcreature, Ostraca, Peabody's, Psychonaut, Queen Of Jeans, Scott Yoder, shows you must see, Site Of Suffering, Talk Me Off, The Broadberry, The Canal Club, The Lawrence Arms, The Magenta Shift, The Menzingers, The Sidekicks, Thin Pigeon, This Kills Me, Turbo Mansion, Twin Films, Under Broken Skies, Vein, Walkie Talkie, Watchdogs

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, August 9, 7 PM
Jerome’s Dream, Vein, Ostraca, Watchdogs @ Gallery 5 – $15 (order tickets HERE)
If you have paid any attention to the underground screamo scene over the past decade or so, you’re sure to have heard of Jerome’s Dream. Active in the late 90s and very early 00s, this New England-based trio were crucial in defining the faster, more chaotic end of the genre as it was codified at the dawn of the new millennium. Bassist Jeff Smith’s high-pitched screams and refusal to use a mic during shows set a template for an entire generation of bands, and the band’s frenetic, dynamic songwriting demonstrated the most effective way of making a basement full of kids with dyed-black hair writhe and scream spastically along.

Of course, having broken up in 2001, the height of Jerome’s Dream’s fame and influence came long after their demise. But they returned to action this year with a long-awaited crowdfunded album that constitutes their first release in 18 years. Is it as good as the old stuff? Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that opinions are sharply divided on that subject! Between Smith’s inability to recreate his trademark wail (he’d already ceased to do so on the band’s final pre-breakup EP, Presents), the significantly more metallic sound of the guitars on the new LP (entitled LP, of course), and the less frantic, more complex song structures, Jerome’s Dream have certainly undergone a noticeable evolution in their 18 years away from the spotlight.

But will the live show still rule now that the members are all pushing 40? Well, there’s only one way to find out, and that’s to show up at Gallery 5 Friday night and see what these guys have to offer. All the stoked young screamo kids in attendance are sure to provide plenty of high-pitched screams of their own, so you may not even miss Smith’s screech. And with youthful screamo apostates Vein — who, on last year’s Errorzone, patterned themselves more after Slipknot and Mudvayne than anything associated with the 7-letter S word (not that that’s a bad thing) — in tow, local vets Ostraca representing Richmond screamo, and mosh-lovers Watchdogs opening things up, this is sure to be a killer show even if Jerome’s Dream just stand still and play their instruments. And let’s be real, even that will still be cool.

Wednesday, August 7, 7 PM
Drab Majesty, Hide, Body Of Light @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The new romantics of the 80s aren’t so far gone, and these three Dais Records bands are coming to The Broadberry tonight to prove that. Drab Majesty are at the top of the bill, and there could be no other place for Deb Demure and Mona D, with their gothic-electro-postpunk beats, melodies, and life. Having just released their third LP, Modern Mirror, they’ll be taking over the Broadberry tonight to get all the eyeliner-bedecked dance floor warriors to move their feet in the dark.

Drab Majesty’s music definitely brings a nighttime ambience to the air, even if you’re listening to it at 11 AM on a sunny day, but there’s a surprising amount of melody built into what they’re doing as well, making for some killer tunes that’ll lock into your brainstem and refuse to let go. In a good way, of course. Chicago’s Hide, who are also on this bill, have not yet released their latest Dais Records LP, Hell Is Here, but the single preview track available is enough to let us all know that they’ll bring a decidedly angrier and more ominous vibe during their portion of the evening. If Drab Majesty will make you dance and sing along, Hide is going to make you stomp and scream. The bill will be rounded out by Body Of Light, whose brand new LP, Time To Kill, splits the difference between the other two bands on this bill with its pounding yet subtly melodic industrial approach. Dress in black for this one.

Thursday, August 8, 7 PM
Scott Yoder, Nightcreature, Thin Pigeon @ Gallery 5 – $7
A veteran of garage-rockers The Pharmacy and indie-folk singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson’s backing band, Seattle’s Scott Yoder has become quite the unique musical auteur over the past several years. His solo work mingles hints of retro psychedelia with the glamour of old Hollywood and the outright glam of Marc Bolan and David Bowie. Right now, he’s in the midst of releasing six different 7 inch singles over the course of this year, and on songs like “Silver Screen Starlet” and “Cloaked In Nite,” he’s brought a unique world to life in his music — a world he’ll bring to the Gallery 5 stage this Thursday night.

You’re not going to want to miss this one, and not just because Scott Yoder is gracing a local stage — he’ll meet his match in glamour and glitz when Richmond’s own Nightcreature take the stage. On their debut EP, On The Loose, released last fall, this powerful ensemble displayed plenty of garage grit and androgynous glam, all of which they’re sure to bring to the Gallery 5 stage on this lovely evening. Postpunk trio Thin Pigeon will open this one up with some elegant and memorable tunes of their own — expect glittering pop genius from one end to the other with this one.

Friday, August 9, 7 PM
Funeral Proposals, Marshall Family Values, Twin Films, Faded Home @ The Canal Club – $8 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Ohio’s Funeral Proposals have been together for a few years, so I suppose by this point someone’s already made the “they put the ‘fun’ in funeral” joke. I still want to make it myself, though, because this band’s music is undeniably fun, at least on their latest EP, 2018’s Blue Deluxe. On some tracks they get an upbeat alt-rock groove going, on others they’re more of a bouncy pop group, but the element all of their songs retain in common is a contagious joy — which is only enhanced by the occasional surf-music vibe that comes through.

A trio of local groups join Funeral Proposals at The Canal Club this Friday night to provide various fun sounds of their own. Marshall Family Values sounds like something a politician might talk about, but musically they are quite a bit more pleasant than that might make it seem, mixing wailing guitars and prominent keyboards into a tasty melodic rock sound. Twin Films get more hazy and psychedelic with their indie vibes, and bring quite a bit of gorgeous melody in the process. And Faded Home have a raw, ambient sound that’s sure to evoke some feels. All in all, an excellent way to spend your Friday night.

Saturday, August 10, 7 PM
Crucial Rip, Gravebound, Under Broken Skies, Alcindor, Site Of Suffering @ Another Round Bar and Grill – $8
There was a point when it felt like Richmond’s home for brutal metal was Shockoe Bottom, but in recent months, it’s started to seem like the RVA metal scene has moved out to Lakeside. Another Round in particular has become a central gathering place for all of this city’s headbangers, and this Saturday night of brutal mosh madness will demonstrate to all the doubters exactly why that’s an entirely positive development. Death metallers Crucial Rip, who’ve been one of the city’s leading lights of metal for years now, will be at the top of this bill, giving you a heaping helping of rumbling low-end power, complete with the kind of sick breakdowns that fans of extremely heavy hardcore will gravitate to just as quickly as the death-heads do.

But they’re not all this evening has to offer — oh, far from it! Gravebound are also RVA-based, but their sound is much more familiar to those who dig bands like Sworn In and Chelsea Grin. It’s metalcore, but it’s extremely heavy metalcore — the type that’s also sure to start at least a few mosh pits over the course of their set. With Fredericksburg brutality merchants Under Broken Skies on the bill, as well as newcomers Alcindor and Site Of Suffering, this show is going to be full of reasons to bang your head. And we could all use more of those.

Sunday, August 11, 7 PM
This Kills Me (photo by Brianna Spause), Turbo Mansion, Matt and the Skeleton Crew, Bad Motivator @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
Philadelphia’s This Kills Me are coming to Garden Grove this weekend, and that’s going to be a real treat for all of us — whether you know it yet or not. Earlier this year, they released The End, an 8-song project that’s either a mini-LP or a long EP. I’ve never been any good at figuring that sort of thing out, but I do know great melodic songwriting when I hear it. Folks, this is it.

I’m tempted to call This Kills Me a post-hardcore band, but if anything I think it may be more true to say post-pop-punk (which is too many hyphens — believe me, I know); their sound is sure to appeal to fans of classic late-90s bands like Farside and Gameface. Whether those references mean anything to you or not (and if you’re under 30, I’m betting you’re on the latter side of that one), you’ll certainly have a lovely time seeing this band at Garden Grove, especially since the bill features multiple excellent local bands, Turbo Mansion foremost among them. AND, on top of all that, it’s free! Who can argue with that?

Monday, August 12, 8 PM
The Lawrence Arms, Talk Me Off, Bashful @ Bandito’s – Free!
One absolute treat of a free show deserves another, right? For those of you out there who love modern pop-punk, the headline of this little blurb is all you really need to hear — I’m guessing you’re already making plans to queue up outside Bandito’s the second you get off work on Monday. But for those who don’t quite know the deal, here it is: The Lawrence Arms is one of the most important bands in the world of melodic, emotional punk rock since the turn of the millennium. Albums like 2003’s The Greatest Story Ever Told have long since proved this to all who’ve encountered them.

They’ve been around for two entire decades at this point, and have been a bit less active over the past ten years or so, but they’re working on a new album scheduled for next year, and they’re coming to RVA because they have a night off their current tour with Bad Religion and felt like sharing their many classic tunes with us all. Bandito’s shows are always free, so it’s strictly first-come first-served for this one. Luckily for us all, tacos are cheap during Bandito’s happy hour, so come early, grab dinner, and be ready for the show to get rolling by 8:45. It’s gonna be a great one.

Tuesday, August 13, 7 PM
Beres Hammond, DJ Inferno @ The National – $25 in advance/$30 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Not just a Clash song or a Sade album, lovers rock is an entire subgenre of reggae, one that exists in contrast to the heavy-dub sound and Rasta politics of famous Jamaican reggae exports like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Lovers rock mixes the classic reggae lilt with soulful vocals and a stronger emphasis on melodies and balladry. Beres Hammond started out as a Jamaican dancehall singer in the 80s, but established himself internationally with his 90s work, which cemented him as a top-tier lovers rock single and led him to work in the early 00s with everyone from Big Youth to Wyclef Jean.

Now it’s 2019, and Hammond is in the midst of an international tour behind Never Ending, his 20th album and first in over five years. Singles like “I’m Alive” and the title track have proved that his talent is as strong as ever, and he’ll be coming to The National this Tuesday night to charm reggae fans all over the metro area with his reggae balladry. Get ready for an evening of dancing with your baby to Beres Hammond’s smooth, sweet lovers rock. It may only be Tuesday night, but this high’s gonna carry you straight through to the weekend.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, August 9, 8 PM
The Menzingers, The Sidekicks, Queen Of Jeans @ Peabody’s (Virginia Beach) – $22 in advance/$25 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Here’s another one of the most important melodic, emotional punk rock bands to come along since the turn of the millennium. Two in one week? That’s pretty amazing, and if you’re a true fan, driving to Virginia Beach will seem like a small price to pay to catch Scranton pop-punk geniuses The Menzingers on their current tour. It’s been two years since their excellent fifth album, After The Party, and they’re currently preparing a sixth one, Hello Exile, for an October release.

That’s still a bit away, and so far, we’ve only heard one of the songs from it, but “Anna” is a gorgeous, heartrending banger that lets us all know the band who brought us angst-ridden classic “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore” still have all of their chops 100 percent intact. That’s reason enough to drive down for this one, but the fact that Ohio pop-punk/power-pop veterans The Sidekicks, as well as Philly indie/power-pop trio Queen Of Jeans, are also on the bill makes this one a downright can’t-miss event. So don’t miss it, punk!

Saturday, August 10, 8 PM
Psychonaut, The Magenta Shift, Walkie Talkie @ Clementine (Harrisonburg) – $7
It might be easy for Harrisonburg to slide right by the consciousness of a VA music fan from more populous cities closer to I-95, but paying even a little bit of attention will make it abundantly clear that the scene in the city of Macrock is jumping all year round, not just on that one spring weekend. Psychonaut are a Harrisonburg-based band bringing an excellent psychedelic sound to the city of JMU and beyond, if the rest of the state will only listen.

This show is a celebration of Mind — no, this isn’t some weird new-age workshop, Mind is the name of the new Psychonaut LP, and it’s an album full of dark, moody soundscapes that bring to mind Paisley Underground classics by Rain Parade and The Dream Syndicate, while also harking back to some of the deeper, more subtle bands of the post-Nirvana alt-rock revolution (though I’m gonna guess that neither they nor you, reader, have any memory of California trio Dada — but I promise they were good). The overall result is an album full of intriguing, multi-layered melodies and glittering guitars that pull you in deeper with every listen. To see Psychonaut bring this one to life onstage is sure to be the kind of treat that’s worth driving across the mountain for. Gas up the Jeep.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA ON TAP: Hemp, Hops & Events

Caley Sturgill | July 24, 2019

Topics: Ardent craft ales, beer, beer column, beer history tour, craft beer, Garden Grove Brewing, Hardywood, Intermission Beer Company, Isley Brewing Company, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, richbrau, RVA On Tap, Stone Brewing-Richmond, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, Triple Crossing Beer, Vasen Brewing Company

What’s happening, craft beer lovers of RVA?! Welcome to this week’s RVA On Tap, RVA Magazine’s weekly column for all your craft beer-related events, releases, festivals, and all the booze news your hearts desire.

If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing this week with beer releases and festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town — so hold on to your mugs!

Wasn’t it absolutely beautiful out yesterday? I wish every day in RVA could be 75 degrees and cloudy. For those of you who enjoy the heat, though, I’ve got you covered: Richmond’s packed with events this week to get you out of the house and into the sun all through the weekend, with more beers on tap than you can count.

Happy birthday, Väsen! These outdoor enthusiasts are turning two years old, and we’re stoked on their plans. This Saturday, they’re kicking off their anniversary festival with a block party all weekend long. And it ain’t no little get-together, either — they’ll have more than 25 bands out, plus breweries, cideries, and meaderies from all around to celebrate their second trip around the sun together.

They’ll also have food trucks and outdoor activities (in true Väsen fashion) that’ll make it “one of Scott’s Addition’s biggest bashes to date.” With three different levels of tickets, you can swing by for a few bands or come out for the whole thing with awesome drink deals and entertainment throughout the weekend. You’ll catch more than 20 breweries from around the state (including a few of my personal favorites, like Allagash, Hardywood, Trapezium, and Final Gravity, among others). It’ll definitely be one for the books, so if you’re looking for some new flavors in your life, now’s your time to shine.

Hardywood’s 4th Annual HeART and Soul Brew Fest is heading back to our favorite brewers this Saturday, with eight hours of urban art, dope entertainment, soul food, and craft beers to kick start your hearts.

There is a PET LAND (!!) from RACC, plus a VIP Experience from the Virginia Lottery coming out for this one. They’ve also got a Fun Zone with the VMFA — so make sure to bring the kiddos along — and art-lovers galore with the Studio Two Three Art Lounge and Made by RVA’s Creative Vendor Market.

Best of all, the Richmond Black Restaurant Experience group is coming out to provide the whole event with a food court on Ownby Lane, packed with awesome spots from all around the city. If you’re in the market for some good eats, Hardywood’s got you covered bigtime this weekend.

In more event news, Triple Crossing Beer is dropping cans in the nation’s capital this Saturday. If the excitement of Richmond’s events just isn’t enough this week, and you want to get out of town, this’ll be a really fun one to check out. They’ve got two different events happening together — one featuring cans, and one featuring drafts.

For cans at The Bruery Store, you’ll find Dawn Chorus Double IPA, a pineapple and peach-gummy ring beer made with Galaxy and Vic Secret hops. Salinity Gose with Lime will also make an appearance (with pink Himalayan sea salt, with lime zest and juice) along with DDH Falcon Smash IPA made with Falconers Flight, El Dorado and Mosaic hops, and lots of grapefruit and citrus pine character. The Grid DIPA is on the fruitier side, with passionfruit, guava, mango, and peaches (is there a better combination than that?). Bright Lights IPA is another summer brew, with ice cream throwbacks in its orange sherbert and melon. All Neon Like IPA, brewed with Galaxy and Vic Secret hops, leans more on the stone fruit and less on the bitterness than its sister in Dawn Chorus. Last, Night Call Double IPA is Denali-hop focused with deeply-tropical pulpy pineapple, candied citrus, and a bright, mango-like apricot softness.

If you’re more of a draft girl (like myself), you can catch brews at ChurchKey like Less Than Alone Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with flavors of vanilla — plus Tiny Pils, a 3.8% German Pilsner, Pathway Pilsner, Deep Dark Woods coconut Imperial Stout, Chroma Cerise Barrel-Aged Golden Sour aged on Montmorency Cherries, Bright Lights IPA, Falcon Smash IPA, The Grid Double IPA, and finally, Delta Oak, an aged Golden Sour which was dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin.

Now, after those mouthfuls and tongue-twisters, I think it’s pretty clear that Triple Crossing isn’t messing around with their D.C. Fest. For those of you who like to change it up, I think you’ve found your spot.

Triple Crossing also just dropped a new recipe over the weekend, a citrus-zest flavored beer called Waveform. This one has a golden sour base with fresh lime zest, so it’s great for a hot summer day (unlike yesterday, which in my opinion, was the best weather we’ve had in months). Blended with oak ferment and from multiple vessels in their wood cellar, Waveform is the newest to the above list of Triple Crossing’s perfectly-balanced recipes.

I don’t know about you guys, but I definitely know a lot of people who appreciate hemp. Lickinghole Creek is on board, too, and they’re throwing a party for it coming up this Saturday. The Virginia Hemp & Hops Festival is going down this weekend at our favorite farmhouse spot with fun for the whole family, like hayrides and slip ‘n slides to keep everyone stoked all day.

The Virginia Industrial Hemp Coalition is coming out, with speakers to talk about the hemp industry in the great Commonwealth in the afternoon. They’ve also got food from Gourmet Hemp Foods, plus live music and partners like Botanaway and First Necessity.

Over at Intermission Beer Company, 50 Years of Love rolls on. In a truly-tropical brew, they’re celebrating the campaign and a half-century of love in the Commonwealth with a new release.

Tropical Thunder IPA is dropping this Saturday at the brewery, and it’s everything we need this summer. With notes of tropical fruit hops, they went the extra mile and added in more flavor with batches of passionfruit, mango, and pineapple — made for a day at the river. It’s gluten-reduced and hits in at 7.2% ABV, so it’s a nice, easy drinker for those days when most IPAs feel too heavy.

In new-brew-news, Ardent Craft Ales is dropping their Berliner Weisse tomorrow night. This low-alcohol beer has a light body with high carbonation to bring out its clean, sour flavors — which are packed with lemon and citrus along with a special addition.

On top of the brew itself, according to Ardent, Berliner Weisse beers are traditionally served with a flavored syrup to spruce things up. For their variation, Ardent partnered up with Richmond’s ZZQ to cook up something new: a smoked pineapple and habanero syrup to give this Weisse a kick. You can only catch the syrup in the taproom, so be sure to swing by and get a taste of the best thing since hot sauce. I recently had the pleasure of tasting a mango habanero beer, and good lord, it was incredible (even for a white girl who’s usually a pretty big baby about spice). I’d definitely recommend you go give this one a try.

Overall, this one’s tart and refreshing, and its pale straw colors and cloudy, effervescent feel is the perfect release for this time of year.

Our favs out at Stone Brewing Richmond are throwing it back tomorrow for a #ThrowbackThursday Tapping. From their Mission Warehouse Series comes The Stone Mission Warehouse Sour, available at the brewery tomorrow in all its Mosaic dry-hop and Lambic style glory.

Stone’s also having Nicky Lee and The Wiz this Saturday from the afternoon to the early evening, so if you can’t make it on Thursday, be sure to drive out to their awesome East End spot for good brews and good jams over the weekend.

Three Notch’d RVA Collab House cooked up something awesome for the adults and not-so-awesome for the kids: Summer School! This New-England style IPA just dropped over the weekend for Tap That Friday, and it was made as a collab with the University of Richmond. College students are no strangers to summer school, so I can understand why they would hop on board to spend some of that classroom time brewing up something to take the edge off from all those exams and late-night study sessions in the middle of vacation season.

This one’s got heavy amounts of Citra hops, along with Amarillo and El Dorado to make sure it “aced the final exam.” If I were them, I’d want to be drinking at school, too.

Hey, Isley! Thanks for curing the too-hot-blues: with their new Summer Sipper, they’ve got one designed for the hottest heat to cool down in July. This Session Hazy IPA just dropped at the brewery and was dry-hopped five times throughout its production to carry the hop flavors of a stronger beer with a low 4.2% ABV. It was created with Jarrylo, Huell Melon, and El Dorado hops, and its bright colors suggest a fruity finish as well. It’s light, approachable, and thirst-quenching, to kick it in the sun no matter how much you love (or don’t love) this time of year.

The Brewing in Richmond History Tour is back this weekend! Head over to Scott’s Addition on Saturday to catch the tour — if you’ve never made it out for one before, we definitely recommend it. As they say, today’s bustling beer scene in the River City is only the latest chapter of our city’s history with fermented drinks.

Through the afternoon, they’ll walk you through our booziest neighborhood to talk beer with some great brewers like Three Notch’d, Buskey Cider, and the new Bingo Beer Co. If you’re shying away from the ticket prices, don’t worry. Your beer is included, so jump into the tour and learn something new.

PHOTO: Garden Grove Brewing & Urban Winery

Garden Grove Brewing came back into the Anthem LemonAid challenge again this year. To benefit the Children’s Hospital at VCU, the challenge donates to children undergoing cancer treatment and help fund the society. This year, they released Innocence and Dreams, a light, refreshing Belgian Ale that donates a dollar straight to the hospital for every glass sold.

I’m always stoked to see Richmond brewers finding ways for their customers to drink for a good cause, and this one tastes great, too. Brewed with Lemon Balm from their urban gardens, you’ll get some great citrus flavors in a crisp beer that helps the hospital with each draft.

On the flipside from light lemonade brews, Richbrau has a cookie stout on tap to enjoy some wintery flavors. Keeping it heavy in the middle of summer, they’ve got cold glasses of their 13 O’Clock Randall stout, infused with actual Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies to bring out an opposite for this time of year — and as Richbrau reminds us, “Stout… it’s not just for winter anymore.” I know a lot of heavy beer enthusiasts who will be stoked to see this one pouring right now, so if you’re one of them, go check out Richmond’s newest/oldest brewery down in Shockoe.

That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your weekly columnist, I’m here to take all your beer releases, event info, ideas and questions. If you’re a brewer, send me your release info at [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

VA Shows You Must See This Week: July 17 – July 23

Marilyn Drew Necci | July 17, 2019

Topics: Adam Dawson, AdGRod, alternatives boutique, Amanda Beason, Bandito's, Bluegrass & Brews Festival, Blunt, Cary Street Cafe, Charlie And Darlings, Cleophus James, Colin Phils, Corey Axt, Dead Selves, Dead To A Dying World, Decide By Friday, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Horse Culture, J. Marinelli, Jon Green, K.F.C., Lair, Landmines, Madison Turner, Manzara, Matt Monta, Mephiskapheles, Midlife Pilot, Mojo's, Ol’ Riles Band, Pale Fire Tap Room, shows you must see, shy low, Sierra Ferrell, Spartan Jet-Plex, Talk Me Off, The Come Hears, The Golden Pony, Tiger Castle, Tony Farris, Tucker Riggleman & the Cheap Dates, Un, Unmaker, Vegan Llamas, Wailin' Storms, Wes & Rebecca, Wonderland, Wormwitch, Xed Out

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, July 20, 11 AM
RVA Bluegrass & Brews Festival, feat. Adam Dawson, Amanda Beason, Charlie and Darlings, The Come Hears, Corey Axt, K.F.C., Matt Monta, Ol’ Riles Band, Tony Farris & Jon Green, Wes & Rebecca @ AlterNatives Boutique – Free!
It’s hot, y’all. In fact, it’s damn hot. And while, in our modern times, the most effective way to beat the heat is to sit inside in the air conditioning all day (a tactic that, to avoid misconceptions, I am a huge fan of), the traditional Southern way to beat the heat is to spend a lot of time outside, in the shade, drinking cold drinks and listening to good music. It’s that classic Southern tradition that Carytown’s AlterNatives Boutique will be honoring this Saturday with their all-day RVA Bluegrass & Brews festival. The event will, according to AlterNatives management, “honor the values of mountain people with homegrown music, brews, and Southern cuisine.” Sounds good to me.

Where the food is concerned, multiple food trucks from the area will be on the scene, and Legend, COTU, Starr Hill, Hardywood, and more will be on hand to provide the brew. And what about the music? Well, that’s the best part, as nearly a dozen bluegrass acts, mostly from the local area, will be keeping us smiling and our toes tapping. The evening will feature the Come Hears, a loose-knit collective of local bluegrass musicians who came together from open jams at Cary Street Cafe and therefore have tunes by everyone from the Grateful Dead to Merle Haggard in their repertoire.

There’ll also be two sets from up-and-coming locals Ol’ Riles Band, who’ll be celebrating the release of their newest album. Ohio’s Matt Monta will make another of his frequent recent appearances in the River City, and Charlie And Darlings will represent the younger generation of local old-time music players. There are a ton more artists on the bill too, but we’re running out of space to discuss them all, and we still need to mention the Highland Support Project, a local non-profit with a multi-decade history who work to help break the cycles of poverty in mountainous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere. This event is free, but will nonetheless be raising money to benefit the Highland Support Project’s important work. The forecast says it’ll be 100 degrees this Saturday, so beat the heat with some great music, food, and brews at AlterNatives.

Wednesday, July 17, 7 PM
Wailin’ Storms, Unmaker, Manzara @ Gallery 5 – $7 (order tickets HERE)
It’s rare that any band in the world manages to name themselves as appropriately as Wailin’ Storms have. This noisy postpunk group has exactly the sort of loud, heavy, dark, and ominous sound that the phrase “Wailin’ Storms” evokes in your mind. For a group to have such a strong grasp of what they’re doing that they manage to perfectly describe their sound with the name they give their band is impressive in its own right. But the sort of massive foreboding punk rock noise they generated on their most recent LP, 2017’s Sick City, is even more impressive.

Therefore you can be sure that, when Wailin’ Storms take the Gallery 5 stage tonight, this North Carolina quartet will call forth the full fury of a class 5 gale. Their sound somehow manages to mix the dark-as-midnight garage fury of Ex-Cult with the fire-and-brimstone revival-preacher punk of Gun Club and the terrifying gothic horror of first-LP Bauhaus. The result is absolutely incredible — and if you’re into it, you’ll find that the metallic postpunk of Unmaker and the dark moodiness of Manzara make them the perfect local openers. The sun may be baking everyone outside, but tonight in Gallery 5, the perfect musical storm will be brewing. Dive into the eye.

Thursday, July 18, 9 PM
Landmines, Talk Me Off, Xed Out @ Bandito’s – Free!
This one hits me on a personal level, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. A little over a decade ago, Landmines were one of the best punk rock bands in Richmond, and I was a huge, huge fan. Their two LPs were full of furious rage, expertly coupled with indelible melodies and powerful lyrics about the important issues, both personal and political, that we all grapple with every day of our lives. A while after their excellent second LP, Commerce And Marx, was released in 2011, Landmines split up, and though there was a brief reformation in 2014, they haven’t taken the stage in something like four years now. The former members are all still making music in excellent bands like Sea Of Storms, Tied To A Bear, and Park Sparrows, but none of their current projects quite scratch that same itch the way Landmines always did.

Therefore I am very stoked to be able to tell you all that Landmines are finally taking the stage once again! It’ll happen at Bandito’s, and the fact that it’s happening there on something other than a Sunday night lets you know how special it is. With members spread all over the country these days, it’ll be great just to see them all in one place again. And of course, every song they ever recorded was outstanding, so this is going to be a set chock-full of hard-hitting melodic punk classics. The fact that snotty RVA punks Talk Me Off are also on the bill, along with Xed Out — a new project from some longtime vets of the Richmond punk scene — only sweetens the pot that much further. Get to Bandito’s, order some nachos, and let’s all get ready to sing along.

Friday, July 19, 9 PM
Un, Wormwitch, Shy Low, Colin Phils @ Wonderland – $10
In this life, you will find many reasons to be sad. For me most recently, it’s been the loss of something like a thousand dollars after an automotive breakdown four hours from home (and no, the car still isn’t fixed). For you, it might be something more tragic, like heartbreak or the loss of a close friend. Some might say that the best way to deal with emotions stemming from life’s bad breaks is to escape from it all with happy, upbeat music. But Seattle’s Un understand that, when things are really dark, nothing other than downbeat, gloomy music will really strike a chord with you.

For the past several years, Un have been creating note-perfect soundtracks for devastation. Their most recent full-length effort, 2018’s Sentiment, finds them combining haunting minor-key melodies with head-crushing slow-motion sludge riffs and unrelentingly bleak low-end vocals. And while that might sound like an incredibly gloomy thing to listen to, it has some healing elements that, despite paradoxical elements, are no less present. Un may rattle foundations when they take the Wonderland stage Friday night, but it’ll be in pursuit of a catharsis that will help you face the morning that always arrives too soon. Journey into the darkness of Shockoe Bottom this Friday night; you’ll find restoration awaiting you.

Saturday, July 20, 8 PM
Tiger Castle, Midlife Pilot, Cleophus James, Vegan Llamas @ Mojo’s – $5
It’s always a fun time down at Mojo’s, and this Saturday night will be no exception. Not only will delicious Philly cheesesteaks be on the menu like always, but Philadelphia’s Tiger Castle will be on the bill, spreading joy and happiness through loud, upbeat rock n’ roll with a definite post-Nirvana 90s feel. Which is to say, these guys capture that same dynamic created by mixing loud, distorted guitars with catchy pop melodies and a sort of loose, slacker approach to the whole thing.

That might sound like faint praise, but as someone who loved both Pavement and Superchunk back in the day, I see it as nothing but a positive thing. One listen to Tiger Castle’s new LP, Pineapple Slasher, and I fully expect you to be converted. Or you could just come on out to Mojo’s this Saturday night and enjoy a killer set from these traveling guitar-slingers, along with musical treats from local mainstays Midlife Pilot and Vegan Llamas, both of whom are just as adept at that whole 90s-style distorted yet melodic rock n’ roll. Newcomers Cleophus James are a bit of a wild card, but considering you’ll get the other three excellent bands on this bill for a mere $5 — already a screaming deal — you can think of their set as a free bonus.

Sunday, July 21, 6 PM
Madison Turner, Decide By Friday, Dead Selves, Spartan Jet-Plex @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
It’s always great to spice up your weekend with a free show that brings you a ton of local talent as well as a taste of what’s happening outside the city. Bandito’s has been a pretty consistent venue for exactly these sorts of shows, and in recent months, Garden Grove has become just as much of a clutch player where these kinds of chill-yet-awesome shows take place. This Sunday brings one such show to Garden Grove, and it’s very much worth your time.

Madison Turner has become a local mainstay, with her sound that blends angst-ridden folk-punk with 90s-style alt-rock to glorious effect, most recently on excellent 2018 LP, A Comprehensive Guide To Burning Out. She’ll be taking the stage at this one at the head of a four-piece band, which means things are gonna get rockin’, and you’re not gonna want to miss it. Decide By Friday will bring their brilliantly difficult to categorize sound, as epitomized on excellent 2018 EP Sankofa, to the stage, and the strange yet hypnotic ambient balladry of Spartan Jet-Plex will round out the trio of locals. Atlanta’s Dead Selves join the bill with some catchy yet emotionally resonant melodic punk, sure to soothe your soul as you prepare to start your work week. Enjoy this one — you’ve earned it.

Monday, July 22, 9 PM
Dead To A Dying World, Lair, Horse Culture @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
This burning hot week in Richmond is the perfect time to introduce all of you who are as yet unfamiliar to the majestic power of Dead To A Dying World, an epic, metallic force of nature in the form of a band featuring seven full-time members churning up huge, towering soundscapes of apocalyptic proportions. If you find Neurosis, Sunn 0))), Mogwai, and Mussourgsky’s “Night On Bald Mountain” equally captivating, this is the band for you, and they prove it with flair and finesse on brand-new LP Elegy, which sees them shifting back and forth between ambient moments full of ominous portent, and outright skull-crushing epic brutality.

This won’t just be a performance, it will be an experience, one far more memorable and life-altering than a three-hour superhero movie full of universe-ranging battles between gods and godlike humans. Why? Because that’s all make-believe, but Dead To A Dying World are 100 percent real. Just like the terrifying, captivating, and inescapable force we know as “life.” Of which this show is guaranteed to be a highlight. Don’t miss it.

Tuesday, July 23, 9 PM
Mephiskapheles, AdGRod, Blunt @ Wonderland – $10
Wow — this is a real blast from the past. Back in the late 90s, when ska ruled the roost and it seemed like every punk band had to have at least one song based around upstrokes, Mephiskapheles stood out in a crowded field, separate from the thousands of Save Ferris and Voodoo Glow Skulls clones, due to their frank embrace of the diabolical power of Satan. That’s right, it’s not just a clever name — from their very beginnings in the early 90s on to their eventual drifting apart in the early days of the 21st century. The ska boom-times had begun to wane, and the members slowly moved on.

However, two decades beyond the time of Mephiskapheles’ greatest fame, a new generation has discovered the joys of skanking all night in black-and-white checked pants, and the stage has been set for a ska revival. Mephiskapheles has been back and playing shows for several years now, their playfully devilish streak intact, and even released a self-titled EP a few years ago that found them at the top of their game as ever, especially on metallic reggae tunes like “Satan Stole My Weed” and “Snakes In The Garden.” Look — I know some of you still have porkpie hats and creepers buried in the back of your closets. What better opportunity than this one will you have to break them out once again? Exactly. Make it happen, cap’n.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, July 19, 8 PM
J. Marinelli, Tucker Riggleman & the Cheap Dates @ Pale Fire Tap Room (Harrisonburg) – $5
Here’s a surprising and exciting face from long ago to delight those like me who were heavily involved in the emo scene 25 or so years ago. J. Marinelli once played guitar in Samuel, without a doubt the most unjustly forgotten band of that whole mid-90s Jade Tree Records scene that brought the world The Promise Ring and Texas Is The Reason. The sad denouement of Samuel in no way quieted the punk rock fire in J. Marinelli’s heart, though, and for the past decade or so, he’s been recording and performing as a one-man band, keeping the beat with his feet as he dishes out driving guitar riffs and sings joyous anthems of personal resistance.

Of course, as with any one-man band, Marinelli’s got a definite roots-rock influence mixed into his sound, but on 2017 LP Stray Volts, he pulls just as much from old-time folk, good ol’ punk rock, and even a little bit of mountain holler. It all adds up to a lot of fun, and that’s what you’ll have if you journey out to Harrisonburg’s Pale Fire Tap Room this Friday night. J. Marinelli will be joined on the bill by Tucker Riggleman and his band, the Cheap Dates, who’ll be laying down some of the same twangy, rollicking rock n’ roll they brought to us all earlier this year with their Time Machine EP. It’s going to be a ton of fun — don’t miss it.

Saturday, July 20, 7:30 PM
Sierra Ferrell @ The Golden Pony (Harrisonburg) – $10
I have no idea who Sierra Ferrell is bringing with her to The Golden Pony this Saturday night. Backing group? Opening act? It might happen, or it might not — I really can’t tell you. But even if it’s just her up there onstage all by herself for three hours, you should check it out regardless. This young lady from Nashville, Tennessee is a flawless songwriter who clearly works in an old-time milieu but has no easily-defined genre. Is she a folk singer? A country barroom queen? A swinging pop spitfire? The answer is: yes, and she’s a whole lot more than all that too.

On her new album, Washington By The Sea, Sierra Ferrell works with a five-piece band, but within a minimalist, acoustic framework that keeps her voice and acoustic guitar the undisputable star of the show. Occasional touches from fiddle, dobro, bass, and pedal steel bring layered depth to her sound, but rest assured, Ferrell’s songs stand on their own, with a driving pace and a distinctive lyrical approach that only gains ground when those words are sung in her uniquely captivating voice. Honestly, nothing I can say here will give you the full idea of what you’re in for at The Golden Pony Saturday night — you need to be there and see for yourself. Whether there’s an opening act or not.

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

Top Photo via Highland Support Project

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: July 10 – July 16

Marilyn Drew Necci | July 10, 2019

Topics: And Out Come The Wools, Belle And Sebastian, cement shoes, Champion RVA, Christmas In July, Digger, Ex Hex, Franks & Deans, Fun Size, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Glitterally Can't Even, Grem Smiley, Hanging From The Trio, Hardywood, Hotspit, Invaluable, Jocko, josh small, Kate Bollinger, Kevin Krauter, Kevin Seconds, Left Cross, Little Hustle, Liza & The Heart-Takers, missangelbird, Old Gods Defied, Operation Icy, Phantom Limb, Punks For Presents, Sammy Kay, Santa Flag, shows you must see, Single Use Plastic, Snowed Out, Soccer Mommy, Sprint Pavilion, Superstition, Taphouse Grill, The Broadberry, Tomb Mold, Under Attack, VE, Watchdogs, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, July 13, 5 PM
Punks For Presents: Christmas In July, feat. Operation Icy, …And Out Come The Wools, Snowed Out, Hanging From The Trio, Santa Flag @ Hardywood – Free!
Christmas. As the old song goes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Such a sentiment is certainly up for debate, but one thing’s for sure — if there’s anything you really love about Christmas, you’re as far away from it now as you could possibly get. Thankfully, the folks at Punks For Presents understand that a year is an awfully long time to wait — so once again this year, they’re bringing us a Christmas In July celebration to tide us over until the temperatures drop and the snow (doesn’t) fall once again.

Punks For Presents have been doing their thing for years now, and it’s always awesome. Not just because of the music, either — they’ve been hooking up the Children’s Hospital of Richmond with cash and toy donations for years now, which is a cause always worth supporting. But the music itself is definitely amazing. Here’s how it works — local musicians form tribute bands to classic punk, hardcore, and metal bands and come up with a killer set of that band’s material. Then they rewrite the lyrics to take on a Christmas-related theme, and away we go!

This time around at Hardywood, this free gig presents five excellent holiday takes on classic bands of the 90s. Operation Icy and …And Out Come The Wools pay tribute to Tim Armstrong’s punk/ska legacy. Snowed Out, a No Doubt tribute band with a very clever name, stretch a point a little, but it’s all in pursuit of some fun, so I can’t get too mad at it. Santa Flag finds the Alex Jonestown Massacre boys putting together a set intended to evoke Anti-Flag’s early-2000s peak, while Hanging From The Trio mash up MxPx, Blink 182, and Alkaline Trio into one great set of 90s pop-punk jammers. The show is free, and the weather is great, so celebrate Christmas In July with Punks For Presents and bring the most wonderful time of the year a little bit closer.

Wednesday, July 10, 7 PM
Soccer Mommy, Kevin Krauter, Kate Bollinger @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Hard not to get stoked about this one. Soccer Mommy were pretty much my favorite new artist of 2018, blowing me away with their debut LP, Clean, and definitely giving me the feels with their raw, cutting lyrics on songs like “Your Dog” and “Last Girl.” Granted, there are a lot of sad indie girls with guitars out there writing songs about their angst; who you are probably has a big effect on your overall tolerance for that kind of music. But if you’re going to make room in your heart for even one of these artists, Soccer Mommy should be the one.

It’s not even just about the lyrics (though if any of my readers are the sort of early 20s indie-boy heartbreakers that seem pretty easy to find in most music scenes, you probably need to hear these songs ASAP), it’s about the fact that Soccer Mommy singer-guitarist Sophie Allison’s ear for a hook is flawless, and her ability to write a memorable chorus you’ll be walking around singing to yourself all day is pretty much unmatched. If you’ve never spent an entire afternoon with “I don’t want to be your fucking dog that you drag around” running through your head, you need to get familiar with the excellent songcraft of Soccer Mommy. Tonight’s the perfect time to do so.

Thursday, July 11, 7 PM
Little Hustle, HotSpit, Missangelbird, Liza & The Heart-Takers @ Gallery 5 – $7
Get your weekend started a day early this Thursday night, and break out of the work-week doldrums with a bunch of rad bands at Gallery 5. Little Hustle are coming down from New York to rock us all, and their killer sound, as demonstrated on brand new album Notepasser, finds them indulging in Asobi Seksu-style delicate shoegaze moments at times, then blasting off into hard-charging Sleater-Kinney style choruses that will have you dancing around the room before you even realize what’s going on. As rad as they sound on record, they’re sure to be a tremendous experience live.

Plus, you also get the tour kickoff show for two excellent local indie groups, HotSpit and Missangelbird. Missangelbird was born out of the solo songwriting adventures of Erica Lashley, who has since recruited a rhythm section and begun dishing out quietly hard-hitting versions of her precisely-constructed indie tunes. She’s also a member of HotSpit, a louder, more ensemble-style indie quartet with some anthems of their own to regale the entire East Coast with over the next couple weeks. But first, they’ll be rocking Gallery 5 on the way out of town, and you really shouldn’t miss this chance to catch ’em before they go.

Friday, July 12, 8 PM
Franks & Deans, Glitterally Can’t Even @ Wonderland – $10
This one’s gonna be kind of nutty — but in a good way, I promise! Here’s the deal with Franks & Deans: in the tradition of Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, they focus on punk rock versions of classic tunes. Franks & Deans dips further into the past than Me First, though, bypassing the 70s AM Gold era for a deep dive into the tunes and styles of the Rat Pack. That’s right, this band does punk rock versions of songs by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and their legendary associates — and sometimes they mash them up with actual classic punk tunes. For example, Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash” to the tune of Rancid’s “Roots, Radicals,” or Sinatra’s “Luck Be A Lady” sung overtop “Ghost Town” by The Specials.

See? I told you it’d be nutty. But I think we’d all be lying if we said our interest wasn’t at least a little piqued. The fact that this four-piece punk group tours with their very own dancer, Miss Nicole Muse, only furthers the Vegas-decadence vibe. You’re sure to cut loose once these guys start rocking Wonderland this Friday night, and you’ll be put into the perfect mood for such hijinks and tomfoolery by an opening set from local Kesha tribute act Glitterally Can’t Even, who do classics like “Tik Tok” and “Animal” in a ska-punk style. It’s Friday night, y’all — let’s head down to Shockoe Bottom and get weird.

Saturday, July 13, 9 PM
Jocko, WatchDogs, Cement Shoes, Old Gods Defied @ Champion RVA – Free!
Here’s a really interesting hardcore group that doesn’t just sound like everyone else on the scene these days: Jocko, from Omaha Nebraska. The tagline on this band is “mixing hardcore with hip hop,” but the experienced HC fans among us may then expect them to sound like Cold World. However, instead of going for the Biohazard-ish intersection of metallic breakdowns and banging beats, Jocko goes a different route, mixing a more old-school, less metallic USHC sensibility that draws from both coasts with a braggodocious vocal approach that switches back and forth from angry shouts to rhythmic rhymes.

On Jocko’s debut LP, Expressions, this midwestern group pulls from all sorts of different regional hardcore traditions — New York’s Madball, Boston’s Negative Approach, Central Cali’s Trash Talk, and LA’s Rage Against The Machine are all obvious influences on this group. But what really makes their music hit so hard is their strong, energetic attack, which is sure to get the pit stirred up at Champion RVA this Saturday night. They’re accompanied on this gig by a triple-threat of local groups; WatchDogs’ chugging low-end brutality, Cement Shoes’ speedy energetic punk, and Old Gods Defied’s aggressive mosh-metal thrill will get you hyped from the moment you walk in the door.

Sunday, July 14, 6 PM
Phantom Limb, VE, Grem Smiley @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
When you hear a band described as “postpunk,” there’s probably a certain image that comes into your head — one that involves laser lights piercing the gloom of a dark hazy club as a band dressed in all black does its level best to sound like Joy Division. Phantom Limb can easily be called postpunk, but they are definitely not that kind of band. Instead, on their 2017 LP Townies, they tap into a wild rock n’ roll energy that lands somewhere between the spooky garage punk of bands like Ex-Cult and the synth-punk madness of Lost Sounds, all while keeping an atmosphere of intriguing mystery floating around.

When Phantom Limb hit the stage at Garden Grove Brewing this Sunday night, they’re gonna cap your weekend off with a bang — one that’ll thrill you whether you’re wearing thick black eyeliner or not. You will also get to enjoy the unique stylings of VE, who at least at one time were named Various Eggs and may still be. Their music is strange, and not too much like anything else you’re going to hear anywhere, but “postpunk” would also be a fair categorization of it. And “very good” would be too. The show will begin with some rad rock n’ roll from local newcomers Grem Smiley. This one’s gonna be fun.

Monday, July 15, 7 PM
Kevin Seconds, Josh Small, Sammy Kay @ Gallery 5 – $15 (order tickets HERE)
You’ve really gotta love this. Hardcore pioneer Kevin Seconds, who began his legendary, long-running group 7 Seconds at the very dawn of the 80s and went on to influence multiple generations of punks with his patented blend of unflinching socio-political commentary, hardcore energy, and unforgettable melodic hooks, has been performing solo acoustic shows off and on since the late 80s. These days, with 7 Seconds having finally ended in 2018 after nearly 40 years, catching him solo is certainly your best bet — and with his solo tunes, most recently brought into the world on his 2016 album Band-Aid On A Bullet Wound, carrying every bit the high quality 7 Seconds’ music always had, it’s a guarantee of a fun musical evening.

What might be the most fun about this particular gig is that Kevin Seconds is wearing his reason for this particular East Coast tour on his sleeve. As the poster says: he’s come for Avail. Kev will hit the Gallery 5 stage four days before Avail begins its run of reunion gigs over at The National, and it’s delightful to see an absolute pioneer of punk rock still so excited about music 40 years into his career that he’d book an entire tour around that opportunity. It’s to all our benefit, too, as it offers us all a chance to see Kevin Seconds play Richmond for the first time in quite a while. Come out and see what sort of tunes he has to offer — we can guarantee you’ll enjoy them.

Tuesday, July 16, 7 PM
Tomb Mold, Superstition, Left Cross, Under Attack @ Gallery 5 – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Look, sometimes we’ve just gotta get down with some serious brutality. When you’re as stoked about metal as I am, it’s hard to get through even one week without it. But even if total headbanging action isn’t your preferred version of musical enjoyment, even you have got to recognize that sometimes you’ve just gotta thrash. Tomb Mold is coming through town this Tuesday night, and they’ll be offering you the perfect opportunity for such a thing. Brutal riffage in a classic old-school death metal style to bring smiles to the faces of all the Autopsy, Obituary, and Incantation fans out there — that’s what they’ve got to offer. You should really take them up on it.

They’ll be joined in their trek through RVA by Superstition, a Santa Fe, NM ensemble with a similarly old-school approach to death metal madness. If you dug those old Earache cassettes your uncle used to blast in his car, these groups are really gonna make you happy. They’re joined on this bill by RVA’s own dirty thrashin’ death-metallic hardcore powerhouse, Left Cross, as well as brand new Richmond hardcore supergroup Under Attack, which features members of Limp Wrist, Suppression, Municipal Waste, and Red 40 (not the one from Tennessee a long time ago, the one from Richmond an even longer time ago — yeah, I remember). This whole show is definitely gonna be worth your time, so mark your calendars.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, July 11, 6 PM
Belle And Sebastian, Ex Hex @ Sprint Pavilion – $36-$50 (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to believe that indie darlings Belle And Sebastian have become popular enough to play the 3500-seat Sprint Pavilion in Charlottesville. But if anything, it shows the buying power of grown-ups who were indie kids in their college days. So this one is for everybody who booked a sitter months in advance so they can enjoy a lovely evening with their partner smiling to classic tunes like “Dylan In The Movies” and “Piazza, New York Catcher.” But that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t go too, and enjoy the many wonderful highlights of Stuart Murdoch and co.’s consistent career of outstanding tunes.

Belle And Sebastian have decidedly not become just a 90s nostalgia act, either. They’re preparing to release their 11th album, a soundtrack for English film Days Of The Bagnold Summer (the directorial debut of Inbetweeners star Simon Bird), later this year. First single “Sister Buddha” shows that this seven-person Scottish ensemble have still got what it takes to create indie-pop classics every bit the equal of the ones they were dishing out with regularity over 20 years ago. This certainly bodes well for an evening of excellent music. Plus, you’ll get an opening set from Ex Hex, the dynamic Mary Timony-led rock n’ roll trio whose recently released It’s Real makes clear that their awesome, swaggering debut, Rips, was no fluke. Even if you can only afford the cheap seats, this one’s essential.

Saturday, July 13, 8 PM
Digger, Fun Size, Invaluable, Single-Use Plastic @ Taphouse Grill – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OK so here’s another 90s throwback for all the music fans among us, though this one will certainly be more intimate, taking place at Norfolk’s Taphouse Grill. It finds two 90s pop-punk legends coming together once again. Digger are the first ones we must discuss — this Pennsylvania band cranked out some outstanding albums on Hopeless Records in the late 90s and early 2000s, the best being the prescient Promise Of An Uncertain Future. Today, when we’re all living in that very uncertain future, Digger have returned to action and hit the road once again, regaling all us 90s kids who miss the innocent days of our teenage angst, when getting a ride to the show at Twisters on Friday night was our biggest concern.

Fun Size is the other pop-punk legend on this bill, and chances are they were also on the bill of that show we were all trying to get a ride to 25 years ago. Having released a couple of outstanding albums back then, these guys returned to action at the dawn of this decade with a long awaited third LP, Since We Last Spoke. That album proved that they were still every bit the world-class talents they’d always been, and seven years later, they’re still proving it. Seeing these guys on a bill with Digger is sure to take you back to your teenage days, even if you don’t quite fit into those tiny t-shirts you used to wear back then. That’s OK — I’m sure the bands would be glad to sell you new ones after the gig. Get there and rock out like there’s still a Clinton in the White House.

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]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: May 29 – June 4

Marilyn Drew Necci | May 29, 2019

Topics: American Television, Amy Klein, angelica garcia, Bacchae, Ben Katzman's DeGreaser, Big Baby, Black Plastic, Blue Streak, Camp Howard, Dead Format, Decide By Friday, Deer Eats Birds, Diseased Earth, Doll Baby, Fat Spirit, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Justus Proffit, Kristeva, Lobby Boy, Matron, McCormack's, Mojo's, New Lions, Newscaster, Organ Trail, Phobia, SameStory, shows you must see, Sleepwalkers, SLOGAME, Strawberry Moon, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Cryptkeeper Five, The Firnats, The Golden Pony, The Great Noise, The Vansaders, Tired All The Time, W I S H, West Beach Tavern, Wolcott's Invisible Hand, Wonderland, Wring Out

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, May 31, 8 PM
New Lions, Doll Baby, Fat Spirit @ The Camel – $6 in advance/$8 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Remember when Trump won and, alongside everyone who fucking hated it, there were a few people babbling about how “at least there’ll be some good angry music again”? Let me just say right now: it wasn’t worth it, especially for all the women, people of color, and LGBTQ people who’ve found themselves in the crosshairs. But if the return of New Lions is any indication, I’ll go ahead and grant it to those people — y’all were right.

New Lions, which is what Clair Morgan and his band are calling themselves now that they’ve accepted their past several years of existence as a full band, are celebrating the release of their latest EP and first new record in three years, End Story, at The Camel Friday night. With a band name drawn from the final Clair Morgan album, New Lions and the Not-Good Night, they’re clearly building on what has come before. But where previous Clair Morgan LPs mixed Clair’s mathy post-hardcore guitar style with melodic indie riffing, End Story finds this band writing in a decidedly more aggressive vein, with political lyrics and a harsher vocal sound that pushes them almost all the way to the border between post-hardcore and outright screamo.

If the Trump era can get an indie band this upset, imagine what it can do to all the marginalized communities the administration is taking aim for (though actually, you don’t have to imagine — it’s reality). At least we’ll have a killer soundtrack for the battle lines. Or for a Friday night at the Camel, trying to forget it all and enjoy a truly positive thing for this city — the return of one of the city’s leading musical lights to full-throated action. Doll Baby and Fat Spirit will open this one up, and you should definitely bring some extra cash to grab yourself a copy of End Story. You’re gonna need this one by your side this summer.

Wednesday, May 29, 8 PM
Tired All The Time, SameStory @ McCormack’s – $?
Tired All The Time have given themselves the perfect name for this era of millennial burnout and rapidly increasing income inequality. If you’re not one of the rare elites driving a $100,000 European sports car to your fantastically outfitted corporate office, you’re part of the vast assemblage of the rest of us, driving a used 10-year-old European sedan for Uber and panicking at the thought of an unexpected car repair. Is it any surprise that so many of us are, yes, Tired All The Time?

This DC band who wryly uses corporate-style text and iconography to send up the aforementioned elites, may not be able to keep you from having to replace your water pump in six months, but they sure can rock away your cares for one night. Tonight at McCormack’s, down in lovely Shockoe Bottom, they’ll bring their keyboard-laced postpunk sounds, displayed adroitly on last year’s Be Well EP, to the upstairs stage. And it won’t be long before you’re moving your feet with a big smile on your face. Don’t worry about tomorrow morning — just this once, you can wait til 9:30 to sign into the app. We promise.

Thursday, May 30, 9 PM
Ben Katzman’s DeGreaser, Newscaster, The Firnats @ Wonderland – $6
Rock n’ roll never goes out of style, and that’s why the arrival of Ben Katzman’s DeGreaser at another Shockoe Bottom mainstay, Wonderland, is a very welcome fact. Katzman has a Florida metal background and it comes through in spades on 2018’s Quarter Life Crisis, a true wailer of an album whose best tracks would have fit right in next to Van Halen and Judas Priest on early 80s hard rock radio.

But hot licks and killer riffs aren’t the only things Katzman’s DeGreaser have to offer the discerning patron of rock power. Their songs are incredibly well-constructed and have a subtle intelligence at work underneath all those Trans Am-rattling anthems. You can really tell when you check out the lyrics to songs like “Too Old For Retail,” “Goodbye Wi-Fi,” and “Cool Points Don’t Pay The Rent” — these guys know the struggle. And they’re coming to town Thursday night so we can all put it aside for just one night, and rock! You know you need it; let your hair down for this one.

Friday, May 31, 8 PM
Sleepwalkers, Wolcott’s Invisible Hand, Angelica Garcia @ The Broadberry – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Sleepwalkers have been an active force on the Richmond music scene for years now, but recently, with their debut full-length, Greenwood Shade, five years in the rearview, it has started to feel like they were fading a bit. Thankfully, that has all turned around in the last few months, with the group signing to Spacebomb and preparing to end the five-year drought of new Sleepwalkers tuneage with a new LP, coming later this year.

It’s not out yet, but the group is celebrating this weekend nonetheless. The first single from the new LP, “Fault Is Me,” came out a couple months ago. Now, Spacebomb is releasing a limited-edition cassette containing remixes of the single by noteworthy local producers including DJ Harrison and Giavos, and Friday night’s show at the Broadberry is your first chance to grab it for yourself! It’s also sure to give you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with some of the other material Sleepwalkers have in store for their full-length Spacebomb debut later this year. Be there and get in on the ground floor.

Saturday, June 1, 9 PM
The Cryptkeeper Five, The Vansaders, Decide By Friday, Dead Format, American Television @ Mojo’s – $5 suggested donation
You might think this is the band Bobby “Boris” Pickett was singing about back in 1962, but no — that was actually the Crypt-Kicker Five. The Cryptkeeper Five are actually a quartet, and they play rollicking punk n’ roll tunes that are sometimes augmented by a Springsteen-style expanded band, complete with horn section. The stage at Mojo’s can’t accomodate all that, but the original four-piece will rock you all the same this Saturday night.

On their latest LP, The Stronghold — which was released on local powerhouse Say-10 Records, not coincidentally the label putting on this entire show — The Cryptkeeper Five come across like a strange combination of the Smoking Popes, Alkaline Trio, and Titus Andronicus, and if you dig any of that (or, for that matter, the subtle Springsteen mention above), you’re sure to have a blast when they hit the stage. Tourmates the Vansaders are actually from Asbury Park, but their acoustic folk-punk sound is a bit less Boss-ish and more reminiscent of The Waterboys or The Pogues. Both of these bands and some killer local groups as well will be combining powers to make this Saturday night musical extravaganza one to remember. Bring cash for the donation pot, and bring your card to buy a cheesesteak — they’re delicious.

Sunday, June 2, 6 PM
Matron, Kristeva, Deer Eats Birds @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
Free shows to end your weekend are always fun, and there are multiple places around town willing to hook us up with such things on a near-weekly basis. It’s just another wonderful thing about living in RVA. Matron are not from RVA — they come to us from New Orleans — but they’re bringing some wonderful sounds to our town that are sure to wrap up your weekend right. Their latest EP, Standing Water, shows off their unusual hybrid between energetic, mathy post-hardcore and synth-driven alt-rock weirdness, and the group is sure to blow us all away with it once they hit the stage.

We’re lucky enough to get some wonderful local sounds on this bill too — in fact, one or more of these local bands may play after Matron (I’d put one before and one after, but I stopped booking shows a while back due to a permanent case of exhaustion so I may not be the one to ask). No matter when these bands perform, we can be sure that the brilliant, epic post-rock of Kristeva and the complex, melodic alt-rock of Deer Eats Birds will add additional spice and flair to our weekend’s all-too-imminent end. And that’s wonderful.

Monday, June 3, 7 PM
Amy Klein (Photo by Orlando S. Gondar), Black Plastic, SLOGAME, Strawberry Moon @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You might know Amy Klein from her days in Titus Andronicus — she played guitar on the band’s early high-water mark, The Monitor — from her politically-informed online writings, or from her 2016 solo debut, Fire. But Klein is taking things to a whole new level with her upcoming sophomore LP, Winter/Time. Not only does the LP’s lead single, “Nothing,” show both a driving punk energy and some serious postpunk/new wave melodic chops, the album as a whole will apparently tackle complicated narratives constructed from an imaginary world that Klein nurtured in her mind as a child, known as a paracosm.

That might sound like pretty insane stuff at first blush, but album-as-high-concept-fantasy-novel is a familiar trope across the history of intelligent, unorthodox rock n’ roll, from Rush’s 2112 to The Who’s legendarily unrealized Lifehouse. With the album on the eve of release, it seems likely that Klein will go the way of the Rush classic rather than the Who’s nervous-breakdown-fueling collapse, and that’s certainly a great thing. If nothing else, it offers us the tantalizing possibility of a whole album full of songs as good as “Nothing” — which will certainly be a lovely treat for us all this summer. Get ready by heading down to the Camel and rocking with Amy Klein this Monday night. It’s a great way to start your week.

Tuesday, June 4, 7 PM
Justus Proffit, Camp Howard, Big Baby, Lobby Boy @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You know, I can’t say I’m familiar with memorably-named LA singer-songwriter Justus Proffit, but he’s apparently somewhat of a prodigy, having played in touring bands since he was 16 or so. Now he’s 25, and if you’re thinking, “Oh, is this kid the next Jay Reatard then?” you’re not entirely on the wrong track. His new album, LA’s Got Me Down, is full of psychedelic garage tunes, doused in noisy guitar distortion that can’t quite hide the brilliant melodies at its heart.

Proffit’s tunes of LA struggle reference drugs, death, and a culture of false allegiances, but they’re kept aloft by his flawless ear for pop melodies. There’s an ever-present psychedelic weirdness as well, just to keep the whole thing glowing with the sunlight of a slightly overexposed photograph. The combination is unique, arresting, and memorable, and if Proffit carries on in this fashion, he’ll be hugely famous before you know it. Get in on this movement before the rest of the world catches on, and spend your Tuesday night at Gallery 5. You won’t regret it.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, May 30, 8 PM
Phobia, Diseased Earth, Organ Trail @ The Golden Pony – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Legendary California grindcore ragers Phobia have been around for damn near 30 years now, and despite many different trials and tribulations over that time, they continue rolling along at full speed — their forthcoming LP, Generation Coward, is something like their 16th release, and that’s not even counting the million split EPs they’ve done over the years. They’ve still got the fire in their bellies, though, as is clear from the new LP’s advance single, “Internet Tough Guy.” We’ve all known a few of those, am I right?

Anyway, Phobia are coming to Harrisonburg’s Golden Pony tomorrow night, and they’re going to rock the place like crazy. Roaring, growling vocals, grinding thrash guitar riffs, and super-fast blast beats aplenty await the fortunate souls who stumble into the Golden Pony. It’s going to be awesome, especially with regional powerhouses Diseased Earth and Organ Trail (not the computer game you played in middle school — oh my, no) dropping a bomb loaded full of death-metallic grind power on you to kick this night off. Be ready to bang your head, because you’re going to be doing a lot of that.

Saturday, June 1, 8 PM
Blue Streak, The Great Noise, Bacchae, W I S H, Wring Out @ West Beach Tavern – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Hardcore isn’t just a sound, it’s a culture. Want proof? Check out hardcore bands like Angel Du$t, or Culture Abuse — bands that are both beloved in the scene and bear no resemblance to Minor Threat, Black Flag, Bad Brains, or any of the other agreed-upon touchstones of the sound. But their members have played hardcore music before, so hardcore kids are willing to check them out. Blue Streak might be another one of those bands; featuring members of Give, Red Death, and — sure enough — Angel Du$t, this group nonetheless brings a sound that comes much closer to indie pop and alternative rock than anything approaching hardcore.

Will the kids love it nonetheless? It’s an open question with this relatively new band, who’ve only released two singles thus far. However, considering the quality of the songs on offer, they certainly should. And those of you who couldn’t care less about hardcore might want to consider doing so as well. Fans of everything from Sloan to Braid to The Breeders are going to hear things they really like in this band’s sound — regardless of cultural affiliation. They’ll be playing with a bunch of other melodic indie, alt-rock, and shoegaze groups as well, so you’re sure to have a full night of joy with fellow DC power-poppers Bacchae, Hampton Roads killers The Great Noise, and even Richmond’s own hazy-guitar maestros, W I S H. What are you waiting for? Get down with it.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond