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VA Shows You Must See This Week: February 12 – February 18

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FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, February 16, 7 PM
Talk Me Off, Doll Baby, Pedals, Xed Out @ Gallery 5 – $8 (order tickets HERE)
Where music is concerned, Richmond always has a lot going on, and in recent years, that activity has spread across a more widespread spectrum of genres than ever. That’s to be applauded. At the same time, this city would lose something if our longtime status as a hotbed of punk rock ever were to dry up. Therefore the fact that there’s no sign of that happening anytime soon is certainly a great sign for Richmond’s musical health as we head into the roaring(-with-frustration) 20s.

The latest standard bearer for Richmond punk rock is Talk Me Off, a local trio with a knack for expressing the archetypal punk emotions of alienation and frustration through quick, peppy songs with driving beats and scraping guitars paired with an always-strong sense of melody that keeps the whole thing from being just another atonal blurt. Talk Me Off are on the cusp of releasing their debut LP, Cursed, on longtime Richmond punk label Say-10, and whether you love that classic punk sound to the very core of your being or are just looking for a good musical outlet for your frustrations at being alive in Trump’s America in 2020, Talk Me Off are in great position to provide you with your fix.

They’ll be releasing Cursed into the world at Gallery 5 this Sunday night, and you can expect its release to be accompanied by a fiery set of catchy uptempo tunes to get you bouncing. And in addition to Talk Me Off’s celebratory headlining set, you’ll also get some great sounds from an additional trio of Richmond punk bands. These include the twangy, emotional sounds of Doll Baby, the long-running folk-punk talents of Pedals (On Our Pirate Ships… I’m still not sure if the name has officially been shortened or not), and newcomers Xed Out, who feature former members of Smoke Or Fire and The Bled, so you know they’ve got a lot to offer. Be there for this one and appreciate the latest evolution of a storied Richmond tradition.

Wednesday, February 12, 7:30 PM
The Wood Brothers, Kat Wright @ The National – $23 in advance/$26 at door (order tickets HERE)
Where folk music is concerned, things can sometimes get a little predictable. However, the Wood Brothers manage to avoid this issue by bringing quirky influences and a wide-ranging background to bear on the songs they create. Singer-guitarist Oliver Wood consistently comes up with interesting lyrics that avoid cliche, while bassist Chris Wood brings a funky jazz approach into the group, derived from his longtime membership of legendary trio Medeski, Martin & Wood.

The Wood Brothers just released their eighth album, Kingdom In My Mind, a few weeks ago, and as fans have come to expect, it moves across a variety of different genres to dip into everything from folk and jazz to blues and soul. That broad musical sensibility is sure to result in a live performance that takes listeners to a variety of musical places, all of which the Wood Brothers will inhabit with sure-footed talent, and all of which are guaranteed to please you and make your Wednesday night a brighter, happier affair than it otherwise might be. And here in the midst of a listless Virginia winter, who doesn’t need that?

Thursday, February 13, 7 PM
Plastic Nancy, Deli Kings, Toward Space, Majjin Boo @ Poor Boys – $5
It feels like we just got into 2020, so it’s heartening to see what an active year the Richmond music scene is already having. Plastic Nancy and Prsmcat Presents are both good examples; the Majjin Boo/Spooky Cool-affiliated booking company has really ramped up the amount of good music coming out of Poor Boys and given that venue a shot in the arm that will help ensure that it’s a worthy successor to Flora and Balliceaux before it.

And at this Thursday’s latest locally-focused Prsmcat show, Richmond psych ensemble Plastic Nancy are celebrating the release of their latest album, which should certainly lend a candy-colored dayglo atmosphere to the early months of 2020 here in the river city. On Last Of The Electric Flowers, the boys of Plastic Nancy embrace an acid-drenched atmosphere that manages to avoid outright retro nods in favor of a 21st century sensibility that nonetheless captures the greatness of all those spaced-out bands of the late 60s that we know and love. Revel in the all-encompassing mood they create, and enjoy three other immensely talented RVA bands while you’re at it, at Poor Boys this Thursday night. You won’t be sorry.

Friday, February 14, 8 PM
Lightmare, ZunZun, Prabir Trio, Past Palms @ Gallery 5 – $5-7 (order tickets HERE)
I may be married now, but for a long time, Valentine’s Day was a big bummer of a holiday for me, so I know there are probably a lot of people out there just hoping Friday comes and goes as quickly and painlessly as possible. And Gallery 5/Raw Mom Presents’ Rivanna Youngpool knows this too, which is why she’s reviving her tradition of throwing big fun shows on Valentine’s Day for this Friday night shindig. If you were at either of the ridiculous Valentine’s Day shows that took place at Sour Haus back in the day, you know how amazing this evening has the potential to be — especially at Gallery 5, a place that’s much more able to handle the crowd this is likely to draw than the kitchen of our old place in Church Hill ever was.

It’s not just eating candy hearts and spending the evening with friends that’ll get us through this one emotionally unscathed, though — it’s really great music. And Raw Mom Presents has a killer lineup awaiting us this Friday night, topped by DC’s uncategorizable DIY powerhouse, Lightmare. Expect something somewhere between soul, punk, synth-pop, disco, and garage rock from this six-piece combo with creative energy to spare. I have no idea who ZunZun are (googling only turned up a husband-and-wife flute duo from California who I can’t imagine are on this bill), but it’ll certainly be interesting to find out, and we’ll get a set from the Prabir Trio, the latest vehicle to bring us the ever-reliable pop songcraft of Mr. Prabir Mehta. All that plus newcomer Past Palms — plus, I’d be willing to bet there will be sour hearts. I’m calling it now: Gallery 5 is where you need to be for V-Day this year.

Saturday, February 15, 8 PM
Nosebleed, Ugly Muscle, Sweeties, Phantómódel @ Boogaloo’s – Donations requested
Here’s a show that’s an awesome confluence of three things that are already awesome on their own: political action, tattoos, and hardcore punk. This punk-as-fuck gig at Brookland Park’s Boogaloo’s is coordinated with International Tattoo Flash Day, an initiative created by tattoo artists in Santiago, Chile and Atlanta, GA to get as many people as possible tattooed in support of Chilean political prisoners in the wake of a massive government crackdown against citizen protests that began last October. All money raised at the door of this gig will go toward the families of Chilean prisoners, so whether or not you’re into getting a tattoo yourself, you’ll be able to support the cause.

You’ll also be able to hear some excellent sounds from several local hardcore/punk groups, starting with Nosebleed, who’ve recently released a fierce, incendiary EP called Outside Looking In on hardcore powerhouse Triple B Records. Expect this set to be galvanizing in the extreme, and you can expect similar from Ugly Muscle, a slightly more ramshackle and chaotic combo that will nonetheless bring all the furious energy that Nosebleed contains to bear on its own set. Sweeties are much noisier and less melodic than their name would suggest, while Phantómódel, a new incarnation of Thin Pigeon, offer a postpunk sound full of moody energy. This will be a great night for a great cause — you should really be part of it.

Sunday, February 16, 6 PM
Mean Jeans, Brower, The Ar-Kaics, Sports Bar @ Hardywood – Free!
A lot of people credit the Ramones for having invented punk rock, and many of them feel that the music made by those four New York weirdos in leather jackets has never been improved on. Therefore, it can’t be too much of a surprise that, even after the Ramones spent over 20 years cranking out album after album of their stripped-down, razor-sharp, but always incredibly catchy tunes, there are still bands out here trying to find new ways to wring glory out of that classic Ramones sound.

That’s where Mean Jeans comes in. Having existed for over a decade now, this toe-tapping trio released their fifth album of Ramones-worshipping punk ditties, Gigantic Sike, last year on Fat Wreck Chords. And even if you’ve heard every Ramones song a thousand times, that album and this performance by Mean Jeans at Hardywood on Sunday are guaranteed to prove that there’s still magic left in that classic (one-two-three-)formula. The evening will also feature a performance from New York’s Brower, a glam-punk/power-pop solo project sure to keep you smiling. And of course, consistently talented Virginia punk rockers The Ar-Kaics and Sports Bar open this one up with the retro-garage rock and punky power-pop that you’ve respectively come to expect from them. Get stoked for this one.

Monday, February 17, 7 PM
Ceremony, Loud Night, Ghouli @ Gallery 5 – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
A warning only necessary in Virginia: This show does not feature the group called Ceremony from central Virginia. However, a warning for hardcore kids who haven’t checked back with the Cali Ceremony in a while — this show doesn’t exactly feature the band that made Violence Violence in 2006, either. Oh sure, it’s still the same people, but for the past decade or so, they’ve been moving further and further afield from the fast, angry hardcore that made their name.

That’s really obvious on last year’s In The Spirit World Now, Ceremony’s sixth album and first in four years. Singer Ross Farrar long since traded his harsh bark for a Gang Of Four-ish yelp with occasional dips into outright melody, while the guitars and increasingly present synths have moved away from the distorted and atonal in favor of a UK postpunk sound that might remind you of Joy Division or Echo and the Bunnymen, but certainly not the harsh fastcore of Ceremony’s early albums. Nonetheless, there’s still a lot to love here, including a propulsive energy that takes a vastly different form but remains intact from the band’s earliest works, one that makes singles like “Turn Away The Bad Thing” every bit as essential as Rohnert Park once was. If you’re bummed Ceremony shows don’t feature massive pits anymore, you might be tempted to skip this one, but I encourage you to open your mind and give it a shot. This is sure to be a thrilling evening of musical bliss, even if it’s not quite what you once expected from this talented band.

Tuesday, February 18, 7 PM
Flor, Winnetka Bowling League, Castle OG @ The Broadberry – $15-18 (order tickets HERE)
There are some intriguing things happening in the world of guitar-based pop over the past couple of years, and the success of bands like the 1975 is heartening for anyone who was afraid this stuff was going to fall permanently out of the mainstream musical discourse a few years ago. LA’s Flor are in a prime position to benefit from this resurgence, as on their 2019 album Ley Lines, they dabble in a similar sort of delicate, bouncy pop as that of the 1975 — one that always focuses on the sounds created by the band’s guitars and voices, even though it’s never particularly harsh or loud.

Perhaps we’ve finally gotten far enough past Nirvana for the distorted paradigm they created to lose its lengthy period of ubiquity, and I know there’ll be some out there who are bummed out to think of that, but when bands like Flor are out here on tracks like “Slow Motion” showing how much can still be done with an approach that focuses on playful melodies and delicacy rather than noise, it’s hard to see it as all that tragic. See what sort of magic Flor is able to weave in the live environment at The Broadberry this Tuesday night, and learn to embrace the non-crunchy guitar wave.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, February 14, 8 PM
Witchbaby @ Blue Moon Diner (Charlottesville) – Free!
An alternate approach to Valentine’s Day is available this Friday night in Charlottesville, and it’s being brought to you by Witchbaby, the mother-daughter combo of Catherine Monnes and Sally Rose. You may know Rose for her role at the heart of C-ville’s own Shagwuf, and both are members of the Sally Rose Band, which features a song in its repertoire entitled “Witchbaby” — so it all comes full circle. This stripped-down duo finds Monnes’ cello and electric violin joining with Rose’s guitar and both members’ voices to create a more intimate version of the psychedelic folk-rock the full-scale Sally Rose Band brings to you so consistently.

This Valentine’s Day appearance by Witchbaby at Charlottesville’s Blue Moon Diner is a free gathering offering a welcome space for all — whether lovers or lonely hearts — to spend a holiday that is often fraught and difficult on an emotional level. If you’re looking for your V-Day to be a quiet, pressure-free evening, Witchbaby’s soothing musical presence is sure to help you attain what you seek. And who knows, you might make a friend, or at least find a new musical love.

Saturday, February 15, 7:30 PM
Amanda Shires, LA Edwards @ The Jefferson Theater (Charlottesville) – $25 (order tickets HERE)
There are a few different reasons you might be aware of singer/fiddler Amanda Shires; her frequent collaborations with her husband Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit is one of them. Another is her role in The Highwomen, an all-female take on the classic outlaw-country supergroup The Highwaymen featuring Shires, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby.

However, it would be a bad idea to let her collaborations with other talented songwriters steal the spotlight from Shires’ own work as a bandleader, most recently showed off on 2018’s To The Sunset. On that album, her songwriting skills shine through in her evocative lyrics, even as the fuller sound her band on the album (which features Jason Isbell himself, returning the favor) takes her folk-country sound to a new level that, yes it’s true, outright rocks. You’ll be able to see her rock these tunes out for yourself at The Jefferson this Saturday night, but only because they moved this show up from The Southern after it sold out in a heartbeat. So yeah, get with the program if you haven’t already. Go see Amanda Shires.

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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]

VA Shows You Must See This Week: October 2 – October 8

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FEATURED SHOW
Monday, October 7, 7 PM
Mudhoney (Photo by Charles Peterson), Pissed Jeans, Gumming @ The Broadberry – $25 (order tickets HERE)
Our city is lucky this week, for we are being graced by the presence of grunge royalty. But if you listen to the typical 2019 discussion around the Seattle scene of the early 90s, you might not even know it. For some unfathomable reason, Mudhoney are often left out of the conversation — the most egregious recent example I can think of being after Chris Cornell passed away, when people kept saying “Eddie Vedder is the only singer from the grunge era left.” If I had a nickel for every time I had to tell someone “Mark Arm is still alive and well and touring with Mudhoney” during that whole cultural conversation, I could have cleaned up at dollar taco night.

So let’s set the record straight right now: Mudhoney are one of the primary progenitors of the Seattle sound of the early 90s. Frontman Mark Arm and lead guitarist Steve Turner had previously been in Green River, the other half of which went on to form Pearl Jam, and they got Mudhoney rolling in 1988 with the classic garage-grunge single “Touch Me I’m Sick.” When peers like Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam were signing to major labels and going big, Mudhoney were the last ones to stay faithful to Sub Pop Records, the label that kickstarted it all. And when they finally made the leap to Reprise in 1993, they never quite got the high profile that those other bands attained. If anything, it was because Mudhoney’s sound was too high-octane for the mainstream, a potent mix of garage-punk freakout and noise-blues howl.

But what Mudhoney lost in commercial popularity at the peak of grunge, they’ve more than made up over the years with sheer staying power. Having returned to Sub Pop for 2002 LP Since We’ve Become Translucent, they’ve cranked out four more raging slabs of classic Mudhoney gnarl, and just last week released an absolute burner of a seven-song EP entitled Morning In America. Over 30 years after their formation, they’re showing no signs of slowing down, and Richmond is highly privileged to have the Mudhoney train stop through at the Broadberry this Friday night to rock us in their time-honored fashion. The fact that Pennsylvania sludge-monster maniacs Pissed Jeans and local noise-punk heroes Gumming are also on the bill is a nice bonus treat, but really, it’s all about Mudhoney. Come out to the Broadberry Monday night and get muddy.

Wednesday, October 2, 7 PM
Acid King, Wizard Rifle, Warish @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $18 in advance/$20 day of show (Order tickets HERE)
Back in the heady days of the mid-90s, if you wanted to be at the forefront of the still-building wave that was the stoner/doom metal scene, you had to be aware of Man’s Ruin Records. The label of legendary Bay Area poster artist Frank Kozik, it’s best remembered today for some of the earliest releases by Queens Of The Stone Age. But that most accessible of stoner groove bands is only the tip of the iceberg. People who knew what was up also picked up on classic releases — many in the 10-inch vinyl format — by bands like Electric Wizard, Orange Goblin, Iron Monkey, and Richmond’s own Alabama Thunderpussy (whose debut LP was a Man’s Ruin release).

Acid King were one of those treasures discovered by Man’s Ruin fans back in the 90s, and unlike Man’s Ruin itself, which folded in the early 00s, Acid King are still going strong over 20 years later. Their current tour is in celebration of their second LP, Busse Woods, released two decades ago and full of the witchy psychedelic doom metal that is Acid King’s stock in trade. Pairing frontwoman Lori S.’s ethereal vocals with absolutely punishing sludge riffs, Acid King created a template that was undoubtedly inspirational for bands like Windhand, and are still dishing it out at peak efficiency after all these years. Come to this one prepared for some slow-motion headbangs — Acid King will not let you down.

Thursday, October 3, 7 PM
Operator Music Band, FM Skyline, Houdan The Mystic, Ethanol @ Gallery 5 – $10
If you enjoy doing shuffle-footed dances to bouncy retro electro-pop, this show is certainly one that will please you. Operator Music Band have a strange name and even stranger haircuts, which are sure to make you wonder how seriously you’re supposed to take them (OK, it makes ME wonder that). However, one listen to their brand new LP Duo Duo is enough to demonstrate that this band is no joke.

Mixing some excellent beat-driven space age bachelor pad vibes in with catchy upbeat tunes that feature the slightest edge of postpunk darkness, mostly covered in dayglo, gives Operator Music Band a certain Stereolab resemblance. But Stereolab never got you dancing quite like this band does, and all of the strange and wonderful trappings ultimately act in service to the hypnotic motorik beat. Wear your dancing shoes for this one — they’re gonna get a workout.

Friday, October 4, 9 PM
Diavol Strain, Thin Pigeon, SameStory @ Fallout – $10
October is only just getting started, but things are always spooky down at Fallout, Shockoe Bottom’s legendary members-only goth fetish club, so I suppose the fact that we still have weeks left before Halloween isn’t really a factor in how dark and occult things get down there on any given weekend. Case in point: this show, featuring Chilean postpunk/darkwave duo Diavol Strain. This non-binary/feminist band brings exactly the sort of terror to Fallout that bands like Siouxsie And the Banshees were bringing to the UK in the early 80s, only with a much stronger political consciousness that’s sure to appeal to the feminist punks who favor heavy eyeliner and black nail polish.

Coming to us all the way from South America, this group’s unique take on the moody synth atmospheres, spectral bass guitar melodies, foreboding vocals, and pounding programmed drums of darkwave stands out as particularly skilled on their 2018 LP, Todo el Caos Habita Aqui (“all the chaos lives here”). The fact that they’re taking the gloom-enshrouded stage at Fallout on a rare weekend night open to non-members makes this a particular treat for all the goth babes out there, non-binary and otherwise. Float on down to Shockoe Bottom Friday night and let’s get spooky. Every day is Halloween.

Saturday, October 5, 6 PM
Blush Face, Gull, Spooky Cool @ Hardywood – Free!
It’s been a couple of years since power-pop/indie-rock combo Blush Face wowed the river city with their debut full-length, What Do You Want?, but they’ve hardly been lazy in the intervening months. If you need proof of that, look no further than the fact that this free Saturday night show at Hardywood is their 100th! Our sincere congratulations to Blush Face, from whom we look forward to many more.

As we reported in the Studio News column in RVA Mag #37, we can expect some new material from Blush Face soon as well — they’ve recently been in the studio with Mitch Clem (Fight Cloud) and Tim Falen (Piranha Rama), crafting a full-length follow-up to What Do You Want? that singer-guitarist-chief songwriter Allie Smith promises should feature not only a new dose of their catchy songs but even some string-section augmentation! Get a preview of all that, as well as a dose of the songs we all know and love, from Blush Face this Saturday night — for the hundredth time! Still not enough for us, by any means. Gull and Spooky Cool will be along for this excellent musical free ride. Don’t be left at the station.

Sunday, October 6, 8 PM
Exotica, Malimpliki, Haircut, Ghouli @ Mojo’s – $8-10 donation
“Exotica” is a musical term that was thrown around a lot in the mid-20th century, but if you show up to Mojo’s this Sunday night expecting some of Martin Denny’s ersatz tropicalia, you’re going to be in for a big surprise. The Exotica that’s coming to Mojo’s is a raging bilingual punk band from New York, whose three releases thus far have all been volumes in their ongoing series of wild, frenetic assaults known as Musique Exotique.

While they definitely hew closely to the sort of old-school punk assault you’d expect from bands using the sort of severe black and white cover art Exotica favor, the spirit of their name does come through in the undeniably chaotic undertones of their songs, which often feature unusual instruments working seemingly at cross purposes to the roaring noise overtop. It all comes together in fine fashion, though, and hits all the harder because of that. Exotica comes to us in the company of Malimpliki, a more stripped-down hardcore punk band hailing from Japan and singing in Esperanto, if online reports are to be believed — it all just sounds like furious screaming to me. Local ragers Haircut and Ghouli are on board to make this one even more wild and wooly. This show’s gonna bowl you over with fury from beginning to end, and you’re going to enjoy it. That’s an order.

Monday, October 7, 6:30 PM
Just Friends, Save Face, The Sonder Bombs, Hotline TNT @ The Canal Club – $13 (order tickets HERE)
Oh shit, y’all — ska-punk is officially back. If you go by what Cali 10-piece (I like to use the number words, but past “octet” I’m kinda lost. Is a 10-piece a “dectet”? That sounds vaguely dirty) Just Friends will tell you, though, they’re funk punk, but anyone else who survived the early-90s post-Nirvana alt-rock explosion knows that “funk-punk” is what you call the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone. What I hear when I check out Just Friends singles like “Supersonic” and “Stupid” is straight-up ska-punk, and not even the speedy and politically-informed sounds of Operation Ivy or even the early Mighty Mighty Bosstones. No, to understand Just Friends, you’ll need to think more along the lines of Voodoo Glow Skulls and Save Ferris mixed with goofy pop like Len’s “If You Steal My Sunshine” or even the outright joke-band sound of Bloodhound Gang.

None of which is to say that this stuff doesn’t rule; we all need a chance to turn off our brains and just dance like idiots every now and then, and this Monday night at the Canal Club, Pure Noise recording artists Just Friends will be providing exactly that kind of opportunity. They’ll be joined on this trip through RVA by some more straightforward sounds, primarily those of Beatlesque emo-punks Save Face, whose full-length debut, Merci, was released by the almighty Epitaph Records last year. Ohio jangle-pop quartet the Sonder Bombs, who apparently named themselves after the realization that other people have complicated lives too, will make this bill that much sweeter and more special, as Minneapolis trio Hotline TNT kick things off with some shoegaze-grunge-punk awesomeness. This one’s gonna be outstanding.

Tuesday, October 8, 7 PM
Gull, Imelda Marcos, Dumb Waiter, Jono Stewart @ Gallery 5 – $5
The band Imelda Marcos hails from Chicago, not the Philippines, and one would assume they have a much smaller shoe collection than that of their namesake (the wife of a dictator who was deposed in the mid-80s). However, what they lack in flashy footwear is more than made up for by their extravagant collection of riffs, which they roll out spectacularly on latest full-length Tatlo, released on cassette earlier this year.

Imelda Marcos’s guitar-drum instrumentals are the sort sure to please people who loved early Hella, back when they too were a duo that just blasted out tangled, noisy collections of riffs backed by complex, hard-driving beats. There’s some Crom-Tech and some some Lightning Bolt lurking in this band’s DNA as well, but their slices of fascinating instrumental chaos are, at the end of the day, entirely their own. It makes them a perfect pairing with local Richmond talents Gull, that one-man machine of beautiful indescribable noise, and Dumb Waiter, that four-man orchestra of jazz-metal chaos. This show will bring you more RPM (riffs per minute) than any other show happening this week — maybe this entire year. Get on board.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, October 4, 8 PM
Snake Mountain Revival, Ladada, Mister Earthbound @ The Bunker Brewpub (Virginia Beach) – $5 in advance/$8 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Things are getting psychedelic down in Virginia Beach, as Snake Mountain Revival prepares to release the follow-up to last year’s self-titled debut EP. We haven’t been able to get a listen to the new EP, which is entitled Valley Of Madness, but if it’s anything like the sort of witchy desert acid-trip jangle they unleashed on their debut, it’s sure to be excellent.

Lots of bands over the years have engaged in astral travels using vehicles that are lysergic in nature, but it’s a bit rarer to find a band that plumbs the depths of the mind’s spookiest corners the way Snake Mountain Revival does. If you ever wished the “killer on the road” verse of “Riders On The Storm” by The Doors hit as hard as Gun Club or The Wipers, these guys are sure to delight you. So come celebrate a new dose of not quite metal, not quite punk, but certainly heavy psych sounds from this killer VA Beach trio. It’ll be worth the drive — even if you are still seeing trails on your way back.

Sunday, October 6, 6 PM
Erin McKeown, Alice Clair @ The Southern Cafe (Charlottesville) – $15 (order tickets HERE)
As musicians go, Erin McKeown is not the easiest to categorize — she mixes folk and country with pop, jazz, and rock n’ roll in a way that makes every new tune a bit of an adventure. But after 20 years in the business, she’s built up quite a solid track record of making unique, entertaining music that’s sure to put a smile on your face. Even when you can’t quite determine what genre each individual song belongs in.

McKeown, who originally hails from Fredericksburg and now makes her home in Massachusetts, most recently released 2017 EP Mirrors Break Back, but has also been busy over the past couple of years with Miss You Like Hell, a musical about family, road trips, and the struggles of undocumented immigrants that she wrote with acclaimed playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes. There’s a certain kind of fun you can expect from a performance by any artist who has written a musical, and Erin McKeown will bring plenty of that kind of fun, plus a bag full of excellent tunes from any and all genres you can think of, to Charlottesville’s Southern Cafe this Sunday night. It’s gonna be a fine way to wrap up your weekend.

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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

VA Shows You Must See This Week: February 13 – February 19

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, February 16, 8 PM
Sister Radio Fundraiser, feat. Black Plastic, BUTT, Black Naked Wings, Real Daggers @ Gallery 5 – $7 – 10 donation at the door
It’s often said in this day and age — the radio sucks. It’s such a known fact that I recently saw an entire documentary about it. But even if you haven’t read deeply into it, you know why: corporate control. Suppression of diversity. Commercials over everything. And in the face of all those depressing 21st-century realities, our own listener-supported low-power station, WRIR, is a breath of fresh air from an industry that seems to be on its last gasp.

WRIR isn’t just a conduit for the vanishingly-rare phenomenon known as “great radio,” either — it is often the basis for unique and incredible projects put together by the many volunteers that make it such an awesome station. The latest project coming out of the WRIR world is called Sister Radio, a documentary intended to, um, document the ongoing collaboration between WRIR and Radio Sikoro, which is based in one of Richmond’s sister cities, Segou, Mali. The program, also called Sister Radio, is helping to teach Malian women how to produce radio broadcasts, in order to increase female participation in Malian radio. In Mali, radio is still pretty essential to communication of news and culture, and the stations involved feel that helping ensure the presence of women on Malian radio, where they are currently almost completely shut out, would represent an essential step towards decreasing the patriarchal nature of Mali’s society.

This Saturday night at Gallery 5, they’ll be throwing a killer show at Gallery 5 to help raise funds for this project. It’ll also be a party to greet filmmakers Cameron Robinson and Andee Arches as they return from two weeks of filming in Mali, so expect things to get loud! At this point I have almost no space to tell you about the actual bands playing, but with local up-and-comers like Black Plastic and BUTT on the bill, as well as the always-entertaining Black Naked Wings and Toxic Moxie side project Real Daggers, you can expect the kind of outstanding musical entertainment that Richmond’s music scene is always good for. And you can support a very good cause while you’re at it! What could be better?

Wednesday, February 13, 6:30 PM
St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Valley Queen @ The National – $28 in advance/$33 at the door (order tickets HERE)
St. Paul & The Broken Bones are an Alabama band, but in a lot of ways, their music speaks to the Richmonder’s soul. At a time when our state is grappling with some awful issues relating to the legacy and present-day reality of individual and institutionalized racism, it can be jarring to realize how many of us hold liberal values that are sharply in conflict with those who surround us. This same sort of struggle drives the music and lyrics of St. Paul & The Broken Bones, who released their third album, Young Sick Camellia, last fall.

On this album, singer Paul Janeway reckons very directly with his complicated and difficult family history. And musically, the group takes that conflict as a spur towards the best and most interesting music they’ve made thus far. This group may have started out as a raw retro-soul project, owing an obvious debt to the Southern soul sounds that sprang from its home region decades ago, but these days they’ve left some of the rawness behind, instead delving into lusher Philly-soul sounds as well as straight-up modern R&B touches. The result is their most excellent music yet, and considering the always-powerful live sound they built their name on, the combination should be downright explosive when they take the stage at the National tonight. You should be there.

Thursday, February 14, 8 PM
Colin Phils, Cardinal, Midlife Pilot, Rebekah Rafferty and the Wakes @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There’s been a renaissance in indie-style math-rock around Richmond over the past few years, and I for one have enjoyed the heck out of it. That’s why Colin Phils originally got my attention; they showed up in town a couple of years ago, straight from Korea, and began working with groups I already loved, most notably their split-partners Houdan The Mystic. But these days, Colin Phils (whose name I finally realized, after way too long, is a play on Phil Collins) stand out to me as an excellent band in their own right, regardless of who they pal around with. Catching them live is sure to show you exactly why.

And they’re not the only standout band this event has to offer for your listening enjoyment, either. Cardinal might be a new name for Richmond’s indie music fans, but if I tell you they grew out of Majjin Boo, who had some pretty excellent math-indie demos of their own a couple years back, you’re sure to catch on. I was a huge fan of those Majjin Boo demos, but the sole single the group has released since changing their name and lineup and re-emerging as Cardinal blows me away significantly more than any of their prior material, and makes me really excited for what is to come from this quintet. Get your first taste at the Camel Thursday night, and enjoy rad sounds from local faves Midlife Pilot and Rebekah Rafferty and The Wakes while you’re at it!

Friday, February 15, 6 PM
Anna Connolly @ Steady Sounds – Free!
Steady Sounds doesn’t host live performances that often, but when they do, I pay attention. One of several outstanding record stores in town, Steady Sounds is run by people with impeccable taste; most of the time, when they bring in an artist to perform, it’s someone I already know and love. In this case, they’ll be hosting a performer whose work was previously unfamiliar to me, but as always in those cases, Anna Connolly turns out to be someone not only me but everyone in this town should be following.

For a rock critic like me, it’s easy to get hung up on the fact that Connolly has connections to DC postpunk luminaries like Joe Lally, Devin Ocampo, and Eddie Janney, all of whom played on her debut album, After Thoughts. However, many of the songs on her album find Connolly playing mostly on her own, and it’s her voice, her guitar, her cutting lyrics and sharp songwriting, that make Connolly’s music so breathtaking and memorable. I can’t be sure of what lineup she’ll be performing at Steady Sounds with, but even if it’s just her and an acoustic guitar (and it very well might be), you should still be there, listening and paying attention. There’s a lot to value in Anna Connolly’s music. Don’t miss it.

Saturday, February 16, 9 PM
Enforced, Prisoner, Cane Corso, Old Gods Defied @ Champion RVA – Free!
Since Strange Matter went away, I’ve found myself feeling a bit headbang-deficient. There just aren’t as many heavy-as-fuck shows happening around town lately, it seems. Thankfully, two months into the world after Strange Matter, it seems like things are starting to pick up. And can you blame me if I go a little overboard in celebration? Welcome to headbanging weekend. Y’all knew it was bound to happen.

Saturday night finds a crew of outstandingly hard and heavy locals taking the stage over at Champion RVA to pummel you with extremely hard-hitting low-end. Enforced are at the top of the bill, straddling the line between raw, crusty biker-core and outright mosh with aplomb. Whether you’re wearing a sleeveless denim jacket with a Slayer backpatch or a navy blue Champion hoodie, you’re gonna get stoked when this band hits the stage. Prisoner’s been the crew of choice for dirthead thrashers for quite a while now, and this show will prove that not a damn thing has changed on that score. Cane Corso and Old Gods Defied are local newcomers featuring a whole bunch of proven local talents you’re sure to recognize once you hit the stage. You’ll recognize the power of their riffs, too. Get stoked.

Sunday, February 17, 8 PM
Sect, Just Die!, Hybrid Warfare, Ghouli @ Mojo’s – $10
More heaviness on tap for ya, this time over at Mojo’s — and I can see the hands of some former Strange Matter lynchpins in the way the facebook event page is written, so we’ve got that going for us, which is nice. (Yes I do recognize different promoters around town by the way they write their facebook event page descriptions. I’ve been doing this column for quite a while now.) There are a lot of things I could tell you about headliners Sect to try and communicate exactly why you should be as stoked as I am about this band’s return to RVA. But if you’re a true fan of heavy hardcore, all I should need to say to you is: Chris Colohan sings for them.

That’s right, Chris Colohan, legendary vocalist for essential 90s and 00s metallic hardcore bands like Left For Dead, The Swarm, Cursed, Burning Love, and a whole bunch more. Crazily enough, he’s joined up with members of quite a few other legendary hardcore bands for this (it must be said) supergroup, including Earth Crisis, Undying, Day Of Suffering, and Racetraitor. So can it be any surprise that their most recent LP, No Cure For Death, is absolutely headcrushing in its storming rage? Nope. It can’t. So show up, and go off, for the almighty Sect. But don’t miss the openers either, as the excellent Asheville crew Just Die! have some New Mexican Disaster Squad-style melodic/metallic HC-punk to lay you out with, and local openers Hybrid Warfare and Ghouli are solid as bricks to your face.

Monday, February 18, 8 PM
Azotador, Perpetual Warfare @ McCormack’s – $8
I love Between 2 Beers, because they bring amazing metal bands to this town on a consistent basis, sometimes from far-flung parts of the globe. I must admit, though, when they book a show like this, with two bands from South America and no locals on the bill, I always get nervous. Is anyone gonna come without the security of their cousin’s friend’s thrash band being on the gig? Right now, all I know is that B2B is hoping to add two locals to this one… but it’s less than a week away, so whether that will manage to happen very much remains to be seen.

But look — I don’t care. Even if this show turns out to be a two-band bill featuring only Azotador and Perpetual Warfare, you need to be there. Bolivian thrash crew Azotador have speed and flashy guitar heroics on their side, as ably proven on most recent EP Enganche Al Grinche. They also have an unexpectedly strong melodic sense that often makes their tunes catchy as fuck, even as they remain 1000% headbang-worthy. Then there’s Colombia’s Perpetual Warfare, who have a razor-sharp guitar sound and a full-on thrash/crossover attack that brings wonderful memories of Fabulous Disaster-era Exodus into my mind. Latest LP Earthliens (a portmanteau of “earthlings” and “aliens,” I’m guessing — love it) is an absolute riff monster, and both of these bands are bound to tear the roof off McCormack’s and enliven a dead Monday night. So don’t spend it sitting on your couch watching reruns of Cops, OK?

Tuesday, February 19, 7 PM
Comrades, Dens, Eaves @ Mission Community Church – $5
When, in the course of writing this column, I bust out the word “peripatetic,” it tends to be in reference to musicians like Gull or Lobo Marino, who travel to exotic locales and use what they find there to inform and influence their music. But it could just as easily be applied to Comrades, a Richmond trio who’ve been plying their intriguing take on post-rock-influenced metalcore around the country for over a decade now. They’ve pretty much stayed on tour for most of the past decade, meaning that, for a local band, they play here in RVA quite rarely. Therefore, I’m always on the lookout for a chance to see them rock their hometown.

This week, the chance comes in the form of a Tuesday night show in a church basement — staple venues for suburban hardcore for decades now (since even I was a young whippersnapper). Comrades have long avoided Richmond’s traditional music venues, and while that might make it harder to get word of their rare local performances, I’ve told you about this one now, so you have no excuse. Their combination of wistful melody, epic song structures, and roaring metallic rage is not something you’re going to encounter anywhere else, so do yourself a favor and get to the gig already. You can thank me later.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, February 15, 7 PM
Old Wounds, Vain//Void, Accident Prone, Autopsy Affair @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Old Wounds are back in action, and I for one am stoked. This metalcore group first landed on my radar with landmark debut LP From Where We Came Is Where We’ll Rest. Since those days, everyone from the original trio that made that LP has left the group at one point or another, but singer Kevin Iavaroni returned to the fold last year, just in time to helm the group’s incredible third album, Glow. Based on the evidence the album provides, no matter who is backing him, this group has the goods.

Iavaroni has been a flashpoint for controversy in the more blinkered metal circles; his open gender non-conformity and his band’s defiant pro-LGBTQ stance (Old Wounds has often performed with Pride flags draped over their amps) have pissed off some overly macho types in the heavy music world. Is it any surprise that a queer woman like myself loves them? It’s even less of a surprise when you listen to their music. Glow finds the group dipping further into musical influences from sassy, noisy groups like Glassjaw as well as some Sisters Of Mercy-ish goth tinges, all of which is to the good. However, crushing brutality is still the main ingredient for their excellent music; they’ll bring it straight to you at Charlie’s American Cafe Friday night — and look damn good while doing so, too. Be there.

Monday, February 18, 7 :30 PM
Vince Staples, Buddy, Armani White @ The NorVA – $25 in advance/$30 at the door (order tickets HERE)
You Norfolk hip hop heads are in for a treat — Vince Staples is coming to your town. I wish I could say the same for my own hometown, but as it is, those of us from Richmond are going to have to content ourselves with gassing up the ride and heading east on I-64 on a Monday night. At least we know it’ll be worth it. Staples has been one of the premier talents to come out of the hip hop world this decade; starting with his landmark 2015 debut, Summertime ’06, he’s been making some of the best music in the genre.

The past year saw Staples release his third LP, FM!, and show us once more the talent he’s got on offer. This one’s a short one, based around the concept of Staples taking over LA radio DJ Big Boy’s show to drop some killer tunes. Songs like “FUN!” and “Feels Like Summer” show Staples lyrical talents, versatile flow, and masterful choice of producers, and when stacked alongside classic earlier tracks like “Big Fish” and “Norf Norf,” they prove that this is an artist whose every move should be tracked closely by any true hip hop fan. And that’s why everyone should be at The NorVA this Monday night to see Vince Staples — no matter what part of VA you’ve gotta come from. Don’t blow it, y’all.

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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] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: January 15 – January 22

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FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, January 20, 1:30 PM
Dave Watkins @ The Pump House (1708 Pump House Dr) – $30 (order tickets HERE)
Our city has a long and fascinating history, going back hundreds of years, and one result of this fact is that there are random neglected corners of Richmond that hold fascinating treasures mostly undiscovered by the city’s population at large. A great example of this is the old Richmond Pump House, which can be found at the end of a little-used road just up the hill from the toll booths at the nickel bridge (aka the Boulevard Bridge). Long ago, it pumped the city’s water out of the Kanawha Canal and uphill to the Byrd Park reservoir, from which it made its way to the taps and spigots of the city.

The Pump House is a big old stone castle of the building, and its gothic spires are irresistible when you come around the curve and see them standing tall. It’s been almost a century since it supplied the city with water, and almost as long since the huge dance hall on the balcony was open for events. When I first discovered it in the mid-90s, my friends and I enjoyed wandering around its dusty depths, but these days it is not open to the public due to safety issues. However, the non-profit Friends Of Pump House have some grand wishes for it, and are currently working with Enrichmond and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to restore it to its former glory and gain it an occupancy permit, so it can host events and dazzle visitors once again.

To that end, they’re holding a pretty excellent and unique music-related event this Sunday afternoon, and while tickets are extremely limited, there were still a dozen or so left when I checked this morning, so you absolutely still have a chance to be part of it. The event will begin at 1:30 with a full tour of the Pump House, and if you aren’t old enough to have had the chance to explore it years ago, it’s definitely worth getting a full tour (especially since you’ll have knowledgeable people there to tell you what you’re looking at and what its purpose was). Then at 2 PM, Richmond mainstay Dave Watkins will break out his homemade dulcitar and grace all in attendance with a beautiful set of avant-garde music incorporating his fascinations with old-time folk music and electric-guitar ambience. I talk a lot about great shows in this column, but full-on experiences that incorporate this city’s rich history are rare indeed. Make it your business to be part of this one.

Wednesday, January 16, 8 PM
The Spliffs @ Vagabond – Free!
When I hear a name like the Spliffs, my mind goes in one of two directions — either irreverent punk or marijuana-scented jam-band. However, the Spliffs coming to Vagabond tonight to play a free show for us all occupy neither of those genres. Instead, they’re a vehicle for the amazing soulful vocalizations of Brittany O’Neill, a lady who has been lighting up stages and recordings around the Richmond scene for years — I first saw her take a guest vocal for The Big Payback at The Republic, so you know that was a while back.

She’s been back and forth between RVA and LA for the past couple of years, but she’s home now, and she’ll be fronting the Spliffs for a set of soulful jazz fusion at Vagabond tonight. And she’s got some powerful friends backing her up — the group also consists of People’s Blues of Richmond drummer Neko Williams, jazz pianist Macon Mann (probably better known to RVA Mag readers as “Mc Chicken,” the rapper responsible for the viral “Richmond River Rat” video of a few years ago), and brothers Paul and Dmitri Yeonas of the Twin Brothers Band (and they are indeed identical twins). This quintet’s sure to be responsible for some deep grooves down in the Vagabond’s downstairs space, known as “The Rabbit Hole.” So head down the stairs and enjoy the underground sounds.

Thursday, January 17, 7 PM
Jackie Cohen, Angelica Garcia, Strawberry Moon @ Gallery 5 – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Spacebomb Records isn’t always right in your face with what they’re up to, but one thing’s for sure — they never sleep. This past year saw them release music from a variety of artists, and one particularly striking voice on their roster came from Jackie Cohen. She released two EPs on Spacebomb in 2018, known as the Tacoma Night Terror EPs, parts one and two. The nine songs in total presented by these two dispatches from Cohen’s personal emotional landscape that might have started out as quirky indie-folk tunes, but bear the unmistakable stamp of Spacebomb in their final form, harking back to the funky smoothness of the 70s Laurel Canyon music scene just as easily as they evoke post-y2k oddball indie singer-songwriter vibes.

It’ll be fascinating to see what form this sound takes in a live environment, and we’ll have just that opportunity on Thursday night, as Jackie Cohen takes the Gallery 5 stage and presents us with her unique tunes, including such hits as “Make U Sick,” “Ladies’ Man,” and the memorably-titled “I Hate My Body.” She’s joined in this endeavor by Richmond singing sensation Angelica Garcia, who’s currently hard at work on the follow-up to her attention-grabbing 2016 debut, Medicine For Birds. Recent Bandcamp uploads indicate promising results being achieved in the studio, and Ms. Garcia always brings her A game to the live environment, so you’re sure to enjoy this one. Strawberry Moon opens up with their entrancing ambient indie-pop — get there on time, and stay all night. Not a minute of this evening will be missable.

Friday, January 18, 7 PM
Gabby’s World, Yowler, Missangelbird @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This is one for all you young indie kids. Gabrielle Smith hasn’t been performing under the name Gabby’s World for very long; previously, she was known as Eskimeaux, a name that undoubtedly got the boot due to dodgy cultural implications. However, both under that name and at the head of her new quartet, she’s produced some undeniably memorable music. Beast On Beast, the album Gabby’s World released a couple of months ago, show that her delicate vocals and assured songwriting touch are both very much intact; indeed, this just might be her best work yet.

You’re not going to want to miss out on what Gabby’s World conjure up in a live environment. Equally, you’re going to want to catch every second of the set from Yowler, a solo vehicle for Maryn Jones, who previously grabbed attention as the leader of All Dogs. On Yowler’s second full-length, Black Dog In My Path, Jones brings us a set of hushed, mournful songs that center on her softly plucked acoustic guitar and vocals delivered at a near whisper. The room will have to get quiet for this performance, but it will certainly be worth it to hear the dark, delicate beauty of Yowler’s music. Richmonders Missangelbird will get this one started off right, and it’ll only get better from there.

Saturday, January 19, 8 PM
Louis York, Calvin Presents, Weekend Plans @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Louis York is a group whose name you may not know as yet. They’ve been recording for a few years now, and have released three installments in their Masterpiece Theater series of EPs. But what really makes the duo of singer Claude Kelly and pianist/multi-instrumentalist Chuck Harmony so distinctive is their background in the behind-the-scenes world of the pop music industry. Both have some heavyweight songwriting credits to their name — Kelly for Miley Cyrus’s “Party In The USA,” Harmony for Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette, among many others of course — and both made quite a name for themselves in that world separately.

The combination of their talents into the duo known as Louis York has only produced more gold in a variety of genres, from the dance-club bounce of “Don’t Play” and the cocktail jazz of “I Enjoy You” to the orchestral R&B-pop of “Clair Huxtable” and the Queen/MCR power balladry of “Nerds.” This isn’t a group with limited ambitions, by any means, and they certainly don’t seem to have any limit to their talent, so when they hit the stage, there’s no telling what sort of amazing flights of musical fancy you’ll be privy to. What we can tell you, though, is that you’re sure to enjoy every moment of it.

Sunday, January 20, 7 PM
Brower, Nightcreature, Weird Tears, Brain Drain @ Gallery 5 – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I love it when a band I’ve never heard of shows up in town and blows my mind. Well, Brower aren’t here yet, but considering it’s my job to write this column every week, I always get a little bit of advance warning — which is my cue to alert all you Richmond music fans. And this week, it falls to me to ensure that all of you are aware of Brower, the New York power-pop group who’ll be taking the Gallery 5 stage this Sunday night. A fuzzy garage-rock edge is certainly present in Brower’s music, but what really makes this group stand out is their flawless sense of pop-rock songcraft.

Led by Nat Brower, a singer-songwriter with credits from garage rockers Nancy, Brower does quite a bit to evoke the best sounds of 70s rock radio, from David Bowie to T. Rex, on their new album, Buzzsaws. The result is a recipe for nonstop dancefloor action, of the sort that’ll have you smiling all night. We all could use a bit of that, especially since we’ll all have to head back to work the next morning. Excellent local support from garage-punk up-and-comers Nightcreature, post-Cherry Pits rockers Weird Tears, and bubbling-under punk group Brain Drain will only make this evening even sweeter.

Monday, January 21, 6:30 PM
Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven @ The Broadberry – $25 in advance/$30 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s always nice when post-punk bon vivant and one-time Richmond hero David Lowery brings his music back to a stage in RVA, and this particular event promises an overview of Lowery’s entire career in one enchanted evening. It all got started back in the early 80s with the formation of Camper Van Beethoven, who both ascended from the California punk scene of that era and tweaked its incipient orthodoxy by breaking all sorts of unwritten rules: using acoustic instruments and violins, incorporating country and folk sounds into their punk-tinged melodies, and Lowery’s iconoclastic lyrics, always delivered with biting wit.

But it was Cracker that really made David Lowery a star. Brought together in the Oregon Hill neighborhood, long before it was gentrified beyond all recognition, Cracker grew to international stardom with early-90s heartland-rock hits like “Low” and “Get Off This.” Today, David Lowery plays and records regularly with both of his bands, and double-billed shows like this one have been an outstanding result of that synergy. We’ll all get an amazing overview of David Lowery’s entire four-decade career, from “When I Win The Lottery” to “Euro Trash Girl” to “Waited My Whole Life.” And every moment of it is going to be excellent. We don’t get a treat like this every day here in Richmond — I’m counting on you not to miss out on this one.

Tuesday, January 22, 8 PM
Brunswick @ The Hof – Free!
One way you can tell that Richmond is a great town for music is by taking a look at the caliber of mid-week free shows we get around here. For a great example, look no further than this jazz performance taking place in The Hof’s “Darkroom” performance space on Tuesday night. Brunswick is a name that might not grab as much attention in discussions of local jazz groups as more prominent leading lights like No BS! Brass and Butcher Brown.

Nonetheless, this 13-piece ensemble is a local mainstay, and features members who’ve done time in all sorts of other noteworthy jazz groups around town. Last summer, they released Five Years, their debut LP, which celebrated the amount of time leader John Hulley and his talented bandmates had been working toward this milestone. Live, they’ll intersperse original tunes from the album with brilliantly unorthodox covers of artists like Frank Ocean and Daft Punk, giving you an up-close experience of jazz in the 21st century. And you get all this for free on a Tuesday night — how awesome is this town?

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Saturday, January 19, 7 PM
Ghouli, dad, Bato, Nervous System, Single Use Plastic @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $5
Both of the picks for the Hampton Roads area this week are on Saturday night, which is something I usually try not to do. However, with the way everything stacked up this week, unless you want to catch up on what Jimmie’s Chicken Shack are up to in 2019, or see a solo show by one of the ICP guys, you’re gonna have to try and double up on Saturday night. So it goes. The question you must answer, in order to know which of these is more up your alley, is: are you more of a punk rocker, or a hardcore kid?

If you picked the former, you’re going to want to head to Charlie’s American Cafe, where two RVA groups head up a bill of punk rock excellence. Ghouli keep it raging and ranting with their straight-ahead punk riffs, while dad’s pensively furious queercore summons up memories of pre-Sleater-Kinney group Heavens To Betsy. A fierce trio of Tidewater punk rock crews are also on the bill, with the hyperspeed punk rage of Bato being a standout. Nervous System has a creative D-beat sound, mixing that genre’s expected UK punk gnarl with a surprising talent for multi-layered guitar harmonies. Local newcomers Single Use Plastic get things started off right. This one will rule.

Saturday, January 19, 7 PM
Faded, Circle Back, Beggar’s Row, Down To This, Violent Life Violent Death @ West Beach Tavern – Free!
But don’t get us wrong, this one will be a ton of fun too, and if you answered “hardcore kid” to our question above, it will appeal to you in particular. This one will offer chances aplenty for serious mosh pit action, as a quintet of hardcore bands from Tidewater and the Carolinas come together to lay the brutality on ya. VB rippers Faded have shown a serious talent for metallic hardcore of the breakdown-laden variety; they’ll get the spin-kicks flowing for sure. And of course, fellow Virginia Beachers Beggar’s Row take things in a thrashier direction, picking up the speed without dropping an ounce of the metal.

These groups are joined by a trio of powerhouses from the Carolinas, bringing their riffs northward to devastate the Tidewater region. Circle Back in particular has a powerful sound with an outright death-metal undercurrent, but rest assured, these guys keep it core all the way. This Charleston SC band comes to us in the company of Charlotte, NC’s Violent Life Violent Death, who have the most direct appeal for those who want their hardcore to bear at least a passing resemblance to Swedish thrash (I’m definitely one of those people). And of course, Down To This, who hail from the oceanside military town of Jacksonville, NC (not FL), have some serious thick-necked beatdowns to deliver. This one’s gonna be heavy as fuck, so come prepared to move.

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Top photo via Friends Of Pump 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] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 12 – December 18

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, December 15, noon
White Laces, Night Idea, Fat Spirit, Manzara, Grem Smiley, Don Fredrick, Nightcreature, Billy Neptune, Deli Kings, Ghoul Trouble @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Saturday, December 15, 9 PM
Punks For Presents 2018 Night Two, feat. Good Cretins, London Caroling, Snow Control, Christmas Jerks, X-Mas @ Strange Matter – $10
The time has come. It’s the last hurrah. This Saturday marks the final time that Strange Matter will host any live music. I know a lot of us have been feeling some ways about this, and I’m definitely feeling those feels too. Not just because Strange Matter has been, hands down, the best and most reliable live music venue in Richmond for the past decade, but also because… y’all, I’ve got a column to write every week. I’ve been writing this column for four years, and I can count the weekly installments that went by without featuring at least one Strange Matter show on one finger. When most of the venues around town weren’t even open most random weeknights, Strange Matter could always be counted on to be hosting not just a show, but more often than not, a real banger that I’d put into my column even if it was happening on a Saturday night when every place was hosting something.

Where am I gonna send you now on a random Tuesday night now? We’re gonna find that answer together in 2019, for better or worse. But while Strange Matter still exists, you better believe I’m gonna send you there this weekend. After all, this Saturday, their final day in operation, is going to be a major blowout, featuring not one but two epic shows that will start off around the time you’re paying your tab at brunch and end at last call in the wee hours. What better way could there be for you to celebrate Strange Matter’s truly top-quality decade of operation than to spend about 14 hours within its darkened confines, enjoying over a dozen excellent bands from right here in RVA?

You know the answer as well as I do, so let’s all just mark our calendars now. There’s plenty to get stoked for — a reunion set by White Laces tops off the first epic show of the day, and since it’s always wonderful to see Landis, Jimmy, Jay, and the rest of the gang take the stage together, this will be a can’t-miss moment for any Richmond music fan. The coterie of excellent local faves supporting them on this bill — math-rock kingpins Night Idea, angst-ridden grunge punks Fat Spirit, spaced-out noise-rockers Manzara, so many more — is only matched by the outstanding slate of holiday-themed tribute acts being brought to us on the late show’s jam-packed lineup courtesy of Punks For Presents. Have you ever wanted to hear Clash songs rewritten to feature lyrics about Santa Claus? Or a set of Bad Religion tunes played by people who’ve seen snow on their front lawn at some point in their lives? You’ll get these and many more excellent musical treats at this fun-filled extravaganza. Don’t miss it — if you let your last chance to enjoy Strange Matter while it’s here slip away, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Guaranteed.

Wednesday, December 12, 6 PM
The Milkstains, Sports Bar, Sammi Lanzetta, The Trillions, Cold Beaches, Dumb Waiter, Toward Space, Neat Sweep @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Let’s continue to talk about the outstanding fare Strange Matter will be bringing us throughout their final few days of operation, shall we? The many epic local showcases that have filled their stage over the past few weeks have tended to find a focus in one local scene or another, and this one is no exception, bringing us a smorgasbord of the best alternative rock n’ roll this city has to offer. The fact that I took til the third sentence of this writeup to tell you that the Milkstains will be headlining this show with their first local performance since LAST Christmas might just constitute burying the lede, but I write these columns really goddamn fast, so I hope no one will hate on me too much for letting my journalistic principles slip just a bit.

Anyway, based on the advance promo for this show, it seems likely that this performance by the Milkstains may just constitute their last-ever performance as a band, and considering how much sweat, beer, and surf-grunge wildness this band has dished out to this city over the past decade-plus (they’ve been a thing even longer than Strange Matter has), that’s a real loss to all of us. Celebrate the life and the rock n’ roll power of the Milkstains once again/one last time(?) at Smatter tonight — but don’t just waltz in as they’re hitting the stage, because if you do, you’ll miss out on a plethora of fine musical performers, from the heartstopping alt-rock balladry of singer-songwriter extraordinaire Sammi Lanzetta to the garage-pop brilliance of Sports Bar to the jazz-metal madness of Dumb Waiter. And so much more! Dude… it’s gonna be epic.

Thursday, December 13, 8 PM
Old Faith, Colin Phils, Colder Planets, Kenneka Cook @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I could keep on talking about Strange Matter for every single remaining day of their brief existence, and rest assured, on both this night and the next, there are excellent shows spotlighting indie-rock and grindcore at Strange Matter on these nights. If you were to go, I fully would not blame you. But I would be remiss in my duty as Richmond’s chief chronicler of live local music (I mean, really, who else is there?) if I didn’t tell you about a couple of amazing shows happening at other venues during this final half-week of Strange Matter’s extended wake. Let’s begin with this one, which features an appearance by Greensboro instrumental quartet Old Faith.

There have been quite a few groups that have trod similar musical ground as these North Carolinians now cover, but their ability to evoke perspective, meaning, and emotion through the stunning evolutions of their dual-guitar instrumental epics, as demonstrated on their recently released self-titled LP, puts them in the top tier of the genre, alongside famous names like Explosions In The Sky and Mogwai. When the sounds of their amplifiers grow to fill and surround Capital Ale House’s Downtown Music Hall, the music is sure to take you on an emotional journey. RVA-via-Korea band Colin Phils will also be on hand to bring you their pleasing take on the note-twisting melodic tangles of math-rock, while Colder Planets’s gorgeous alt-rock sounds will put a smile on your face for sure. And of course, there’s Kenneka Cook, the excellent soul singer and amazingly talented electronic-music composer, who’ll bring us an always-delightful set of her amazing tunes. This one’s going to be a delight.

Friday, December 14, 8 PM
Hackedepicciotto, Eric Hubel @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Assuming you’re not hitting Strange Matter, it’s back to Capital Ale House’s Downtown Music Hall on this fine Friday night for one of the weirdest and most intriguing musical experiences you’re going to have anytime in the near future. Hackedepicciotto are coming to town, and while this particular name may not be all that familiar to you, you’re sure to be impressed by their musical pedigree. Alexander Hacke is bassist and co-founder of German industrial godfathers Einsturzende Neubauten; his partner in life and music, Danielle de Picciotto, sang with German postpunk band Die Haut and helped establish long-running Berlin music festival Love Parade.

When they create together, Hacke and de Picciotto make music focused on their interest in yoga and other forms of meditation. Their most recent release is JOY, the second of their albums composed specifically to be soundtracks for meditation, and for that album they worked with New York postpunk guitarist Eric Hubel, formerly of Glenn Branca’s band and a yoga master himself. Now all three come to Richmond to create ambient soundtracks that might have some meditative qualities but also have an intense character that sometimes carries a dark undercurrent and always has the potential to shake your spiritual foundations. It’s hard to say what we’ll see and hear at Capital Ale House Friday night, but one thing’s for sure — it’ll move you.

Saturday, December 15, 7 PM
Genosha, 3:33, Vulcanite, Lounge Lizzard, Treble Lifter, The Mostly Dead, Torino Death Ride @ Sound Of Music Studios – $5
As Strange Matter breathes its last this Saturday night, new life is being born into the Virginia hardcore scene. Metallic hardcore group Genosha will be releasing their latest CD, Our Conspiracy, and while I haven’t yet heard any of the tuneage from it, the two excellent bangers they released earlier this year on a split EP with fellow Commonwealth denizens Treble Lifter (also playing this show; more about them in a minute) give all the reason in the world to expect a powerful slab of dark, brutal moshcore out of this quintet. Being there to see the new Genosha LP being birthed into the world is certainly a fine use of your weekend night, especially if you’re ready for some serious headbangs.

There are quite a few other excellent bands from all around the VA area on this bill as well, and that’s sure to sweeten the pot for the initiated as well as the merely intrigued. Lounge Lizzard in particular are one to watch; this Richmond-based newcomer features members from all kinds of other excellent local bands — Toxic Moxie, Cremains, The Donalds, Skumboyz, and more. Plus, their snarky, catchy old-school punk sound is particularly designed to appeal to fans of The Avengers, which is never a bad thing. The aforementioned Treble Lifter have more of a driving post-hardcore sound, but don’t get me wrong — these guys are plenty pissed off, so you punks are still gonna love it. There are a lot more notable bands on this bill, but I’m running out of space, so I challenge you — learn about them for yourself. Come to Sound Of Music this Saturday night, and find out what’s going on with the new generation.

Sunday, December 16, 7:30 PM
Silent Music Revival, feat. Toxic Moxie @ Gallery 5 – Donations accepted
This should be an intriguing installment of the always-fascinating Silent Music Revival, a long-running series of local shows in which Richmond-area musicians of note create improvised soundtracks for silent films they’ve never seen before. This time around, it’ll be Toxic Moxie who’ve accepted the challenge, and it’ll be fun to see how they incorporate their disco-punk hybrid sound into the world of film score. They’ll have a pretty great candidate for scoring too, as the film on display this week is Jean Renoir’s 1928 picture The Little Match Girl.

Renoir, who shares a surname with Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir because he was his son, was a pioneering French film director who got his start in the silent era before going on to demonstrate what could be achieved in the film medium with classics like La Grand Illusion and The Rules Of The Game. Starring his first wife and based on that totally bleak Hans Christian Andersen story we all heard as kids, The Little Match Girl was one of Renoir’s more notable early efforts, one that he financed by selling off his dad’s paintings. Now it’s being paired with the music of Toxic Moxie, on a Sunday evening at Gallery 5. What a time to be alive.

Monday, December 17, 7 PM
Alright, Smoke Break, Ghouli @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$6 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Never mind the fact that I always, without fail, write it as two words (“all right”); I’m still stoked to see Alright coming to town. These North Carolinians feature Sarah Blumenthal, formerly of the excellent Charlotte, NC band Faye, on guitar and vocals, and while Alright are clearly dipping a little further into the melodic/emotional end of the musical pond than Faye were, this group carries on the crunching guitars and exuberant bounce that Faye did so well.

Their just-released new EP, On The Outs, is the sort of record that will appeal equally to fans of melodic pop-punk groups like the Candy Hearts and garage-rock roustabouts like Sheer Mag. Live, these tunes are sure to get everybody bouncing around with smiles on their faces. It makes them a good pairing with Smoke Break, the melodic, energetic RVA trio featuring members of Sundials, Hold Tight, and Springtime who also grace this bill. We don’t get too many chances to see these guys, and as their 2016 LP Everything Is Wrong proved, they’ve got a lot to offer. So be sure not to miss out on this one — and show up on time, because local newcomers Ghouli have some caustic, frenetic punk to bowl you over with, and you’ll feel real stupid if you hear their last song from outside when you’re walking up. Don’t be that guy.

Tuesday, December 18, 7 PM
Matt Lisk, Justin Golden, Graham Stone, Mackenzie Roark, Pat O’Keefe @ The Camel – Free!
I don’t think this night is part of the official “singer-songwriter showcase” series The Camel’s been doing off-and-on over the past couple years, but it’s set up in much the same way: several local musicians known for excellently-crafted solo material will all get together and play sets one after the other, and you’ll be able to see it all for free. That’s always a good deal, especially since the Camel has burgers and tacos on the menu that become way more affordable when you didn’t have to pay to get in. So show up a little early, get your grub on, and then settle in to enjoy a night of excellent solo sounds that come to you courtesy of folks like Matt Lisk, whose contemplative acoustic offerings are a great soundtrack for an introspective evening.

By contrast, Justin Golden will bring us some rootsy acoustic blues with a soulful feel that take his work beyond the traditional sound of legends like Robert Johnson and Son House, even as it keeps their spirits alive. Mackenzie Roark, who worked with a former member of Hootie And The Blowfish on her last album, has some classic country sounds to offer that are sure to please fans of Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson. And of course, Graham Stone has become a fixture on the local singer-songwriter scene, with his folk feel and deep-blue voice always making an impression. The evening is rounded out by Dalton Dash frontman Pat O’Keefe taking a solo turn that we can imagine will maintain a similar old-time mix of folk, country, and bluegrass sounds that we’ve all come to know and love in his band. All of this for no dollars at the door? You can’t beat that with a bat.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, December 14, 7 PM
The Do-Nothings, Stray Fossa, Party Wave, Plastic Nancy @ Toast – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Something unusual is going on here. The Do-Nothings are holding this show at Toast as an “album release party,” but until recently, there was no evidence of a forthcoming album to be found. Then on Monday, a post went up on their Facebook page that read, “This is not a test. Our album release show set will be recorded live and released as the album we are having the release show to release. Get it? Your participation is very important to us.” And if that isn’t enough to pique your interest, you’re a less curious person than I am.

Research has revealed that The Do-Nothings, who appear to be based in Richmond even though they’re having this bizarre “release party” in Norfolk, are a project led by singer/guitarist Andrew Altman, who, along with an energetic rhythm section, makes wild, effects-laden psychedelic blues-punk tunes that rarely fail to get weird. Their work reminds me in some ways of the early Black Keys, back when their records were way too grotty to ever get within shouting distance of radio, and in others of the totally bizarre early material by New York freaks Royal Trux. How’s that all gonna translate when they both make and release their next album onstage at Toast this weekend? One thing’s for sure — it won’t be boring. Gas up the Hyundai and go see what these weirdos have up their sleeve.

Sunday, December 16, 7 PM
God Of Nothing, One Less Life, Black Lotus, Heft, Stolen Goodz @ Riffhouse Pub – $5
Northern Virginia deathcore brutality merchants God Of Nothing apparently galled a few people by referring to themselves on the internet a few years ago as “the heaviest band on earth,” but we ain’t mad at ’em. Honestly, new single “1075” is pretty crushing, especially with its incorporation of ambient noise and a ridiculous final breakdown that features several totally silent pauses that trick you into thinking the song’s over before blindsiding you with another monstrous riff. These guys are clearly continuing to build on the legacy of downtuned mosh madness they’ve built up over the last several years, and what they’re showing us lately more than makes them worth going to see — even if they aren’t the heaviest band on any earth that also contains Sunn o))).

New Jersey’s Black Lotus are also on this bill, and while they’re more focused on complex, chaotic masses of progressive metalcore (they call themselves a “djent” band, but I’ve never been able to establish a coherent definition for that particular subgenre) than the sheer low-end crunch of God Of Nothing, they should certainly appeal to fans of the headliner, if their excellent Wilted LP from earlier this year is any indication. There’s a lot going on on this album, for sure, but never fear — a brutal breakdown is always just around the corner. One thing’s for sure: the pit at this show’s gonna be a risky proposition. I’ll be protecting my middle-aged bones, but if you love to mosh hard, this one’s gonna put a smile on your face for sure.

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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] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

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