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VA Shows You Must See This Week: October 16 – October 22

Marilyn Drew Necci | October 16, 2019

Topics: .gif From God, Bandito's, BigForestFire, Bingo Beer Co, Breakers, Charlie's American Cafe, Chugfest, Cobra Cabana, Cokenail, Elizabeth Cook, Faucet, Genosha, Ghost Logic, God Mother, Gorrak, Gull, Hold Close, House & Home, IX Art Park, Kool Keith, LNT, Love Roses, Minimum Balance, Narrow Head, Nine Line, plan 9 records, Pound, Ruckus The Bulldog, shows you must see, Sleave, Slump, Starcoast, Studebaker Huck, The 40 Boys, The Canal Club, The Chuggernauts, The Number 12 Looks Like You, The Second After, The tin pan, The Vailix, Trash Boat, VE, Weedeater, Weird Tears, Will Hoge, Wylder

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, October 19, 3 PM
Cobra Cabana’s One Year Cobranniversary, feat. Kool Keith, Weedeater @ Cobra Cabana – Free!

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since Cobra Cabana opened over in Carver. They’ve wasted no time making themselves an integral part of the Richmond scene, from their delicious and politically-informed menu to organizing motorcycle rallies and hosting outdoor rock n’ roll parties. They’ll be hosting another outstanding party this Saturday afternoon, and whether you’re there every week or haven’t made it in yet at all, you’re going to want to be there.

This one-year celebration is branching out from the hard-rockin’ theme of the last big show at Cobra Cabana, giving it a huge dose of hip hop talent with a headlining set from Kool Keith himself. This legend of rap has been rocking mics and dropping bizarre and fascinating rhymes for over three decades now, getting his start with Ultramagnetic MCs in the late 80s and hitting a creative peak in the late 90s with Sex Style, Dr. Octagonecologyst, and First Come First Served… all of which were released under different names. Keith’s still incredibly prolific to this day, and returned to his Dr. Octagon alter ego last year for the excellent Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation, before following that up with this year’s equally great but far more straightforward KEITH.

All of which is to say that this groundbreaking hip hop veteran hasn’t lost a single step even after three decades, and you’ll need to see the fire he can bring to Cobra Cabana this Saturday. And speaking of fire, expect North Carolina metalheads extraordinaire Weedeater to spark up some serious stoner grooves when they hit the stage. It’s been a few years since their last LP, Goliathan, entered the world, but having recently recruited Dixie’s former Buzzoven bandmate Ramzi Ateyeh to take over the drum kit, they’re revitalized and back to full power. Expect to be bowled over — in slow motion, of course. As celebrations go, this one’s gonna be hellacious.

Wednesday, October 16, 6 PM
The Number 12 Looks Like You, God Mother, Pound, .gif From God, Genosha @ The Canal Club – $16 (order tickets HERE)

What a time to be alive. I never thought I’d see the day when there’d be a revival of the kind of metallic, chaotic, sassy noisecore that I was super-stoked about in my late 20s. I guess this is growing up, huh? No complaints here — especially not when it means the return of New Jersey maniacs The Number 12 Looks Like You, who carved a swath through the mid-2000s metalcore scene with wild slabs of frenetic guitar fuckery and constant tempo changes, such as 2003’s Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses and 2008’s Here At The End Of All Things. I’m certainly glad to get more of that.

And this year brings an answer to the fervent desires of all their fans, as the band released their first LP in over a decade, Wild Gods, last month. They’re slightly less frantic on this new LP than in previous work, but their mindblowing mixture of mathcore, jazz, and screamo remains alive and well, and it’s sure to have you vacillating between spastic twitching and frantic headbangs throughout their Canal Club set this evening. They’re joined by two talented fellow touring groups, Sweden chaotic metallers God Mother and Seattle instrumental tech-grind duo Pound, along with two excellent local acts, .gif From God and Genosha, both of which you definitely need to be familiar with if heavy, chaotic craziness is your thing. This starts early, so head straight over after work — you don’t want to miss any of it.

Thursday, October 17, 8 PM
Gorrak, Gull, Faucet @ Bingo Beer Co – Free!

A show at Bingo Beer certainly brings back a lot of memories. Specifically of driving by the old bingo hall that this local craft brewing company has moved into and wondering if someone could book a punk rock show there. A lot of people tried, no one ever succeeded, but now, decades and an owner change later, music has finally come to the old bingo hall. And I for one think that’s pretty fucking cool.

It might be hard to label this show “punk rock” in any conventional, musical sense of the word, but the fact that it features three DIY bands that are very much in the open-minded “it’s how you think, not how you sound” tradition of punk, pushes it in that direction nonetheless. Gorrak is a powerful, borderline-metallic jazz duo who are celebrating the release of a new self-titled LP loaded with complex, exciting sax-drum riffage. Fans of local powerhouses like Dumb Waiter and Paint Store are definitely going to want to get on board the Gorrak train. It helps that tried-and-true solo experimentalist Gull is on this show as well — we all know what we’re getting from Gull, and we all know that it rules. I know nothing about brand new locals Faucet, but really, by now haven’t you got more than enough reasons to finally see a show at the bingo hall? I think you do.

Friday, October 18, 6:30 PM
Narrow Head, Slump @ Plan 9 Records – $5 donation

We may all associate record store appearances by bands with massive meet-and-greets at midnight the night their new album comes out, but sometimes record store shows are something completely different — a way to bring young bands with great new albums to the curious music fans of a new town. This is one of those in-stores, and as such, it’s sure to combine the informal atmosphere of a basement show with the inviting surroundings of your favorite place to lose an afternoon flipping through the used vinyl racks.

Texas group Narrow Head are the stars of this particular Plan 9 show, and they come to Richmond to bring us all the word about their latest EP, Coursing Through, released last month on Advanced Perspective Records. This two-song, 10-minute EP is a great showcase for what Narrow Head are sure to bring to Richmond this Friday night — big fuzzy waves of guitar, powerful drums, and an excellent undercurrent of minor-chord melody just below the surface. If your idea of shoegaze is more early Dino Jr than later Slowdive, these guys are sure to thrill you. They’ll be joined by Richmond hardcore-sludge maniacs Slump, who just might get a little gazey themselves at quieter moments, right before hitting you over the head with another massive banger. The whole thing should be over in about two hours, but time always flies when you’re having fun.

Saturday, October 19, 8 PM
Will Hoge, Elizabeth Cook @ The Tin Pan – $32.50 (order tickets
HERE)
Saturday night at The Tin Pan will bring us a double shot of modern country stars who are far from conventional Nashville-radio pap. The double-shot starts out with Will Hoge, who has been dubbed “The Tennessee Troublemaker” by Mojo Nixon himself. Hoge got the name due to his outspoken political views, which not only got an airing on last year’s My American Dream — a rockin’ country LP sure to appeal to fans of both Jason Isbell and Gary Clark Jr. — but also showed up on t-shirts he sold on tour, featuring slogans like “Will Trade Racists For Refugees.” Will Hoge is the kind of guy country music needs more of, and here in Richmond, it’ll be great to get a big dose of what he has to offer this Saturday night.

It’ll also be great to get a visit from Elizabeth Cook, a longtime Grand Ole Opry performer who has a long-running Sirius XM show on the Outlaw Country channel and has shown her debt to classic country spitfires like Loretta Lynn with memorable singles like “Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman.” In 2016, she released her first album in six years, Exodus Of Venus, coming out the other side of a difficult period involving divorce, rehab, and mental illness with a powerful statement of strength. The album’s tough country sound makes her a good pairing with Will Hoge’s similar approach, and really, if you’re trying to hear the best country music has to offer in 2019, you can’t find a much better show to go to than this one. I know it ain’t cheap, but scrounge up the cash and get there. You’ll be glad you did.

Sunday, October 20, 9 PM
VE, Weird Tears, Minimum Balance @ Bandito’s – Free!

The free local triple threat at Bandito’s is always a Sunday night standby, and it’s that way for a reason. For one thing, Bandito’s is the Richmond live music scene’s best-kept secret — the room sounds great. For another thing, these shows never cost anything to get into. For another, there’s some amazing food available at Bandito’s, so you can (and should) always start your evening off with some tacos. And of course, the bands they book are always dope, whether they’re touring legends of punk or the best our own scene has to offer.

This night is of the latter variety, and VE, which used to stand for Various Eggs and doesn’t appear to stand for anything anymore, are at the top of the heap. It’s been a long time since they released some new original music, but their moody indie-lounge sound, which evokes both Leonard Cohen and Mark Eitzel, remains intact, and will surely cast a formidable atmosphere over the side room at Bandito’s. Weird Tears will bring their own unique, mournful power-pop approach to the evening, which is sure to be a highlight, and Minimum Balance rounds things out with some driving, spunky alt-rock sounds that are sure to delight all comers. This one is well worth your time.

Tuesday, October 22, 6 PM
Trash Boat, House & Home, Sleave, Hold Close, Nine Line, The Second After @ The Canal Club – $13 (order tickets HERE)

It’s always interesting to see what the UK does with US-originating sounds like pop-punk and hardcore. Trash Boat are the latest British export to combine both of these genres, and instead of landing anywhere in the neighborhood of Neck Deep, on one hand, or Gallows on the other, they carve out their own niche at the intersection point of melodic, emotional punk and driving hardcore power on 2018’s Crown Shyness, an excellent example of the fact that some UK bands are able to hold their own with the best exports from these shores.

Trash Boat have pivoted a bit with new single “Synthetic Sympathy,” moving in a poppier and dancier direction, but it’s always tough to tell whether such moves represent a stylistic shift or just a slight outlier. Either way, it shows that the band’s still got what made them worth our time in the first place, so you could certainly do a lot worse than journeying to the Canal Club this Tuesday night and catching them live onstage. A whole bunch of local talents, including heavy-emotion trio Sleave — who are actually about to release an LP on a UK label — and speedy easycore quartet Nine Line, are also on the bill, and you should really show up on time so you can get a good look at what’s happening in this musical world here in Richmond as well as over in the UK.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, October 18, 8 PM
Wylder, Starcoast, BigForestFire @ Charlie’s American Cafe (Norfolk) – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)

Formed in Virginia and currently based in DC, Wylder are an indie-folk group with a lovely sort of sound, one that on their most recent LP, this year’s Golden Age Thinking, doesn’t just adhere to the typical sound you think of when you hear the genre descriptor “indie-folk.” Which is to say, they aren’t just another group of bearded boys with wide eyes doing their best Sam Beam. There’s some real sonic variance here, from the string-sweetened indie-rock melodies of lead single “Ghosts” to the quieter, more precisely constructed acoustic ambience of album closer “Right To My Head.”

So can we expect the live incarnation of Wylder to hit the stage in full-on rock mode, loud and proud? Or will we get a quieter, more acoustically-driven evening? Well, chances are the answer will depend on the song. It seems most reasonable to expect many different moods from Wylder, a band with many degrees to their approach — though all of them are driven by their talent. The evening will also feature performances by Virginia Beach quartet Starcoast, who bring rich vocal harmonies to their brand of upbeat indie pop; as well as BigForestFire, a group whose jammed-out grooves are often fueled by trumpet. This will be a lovely night.

Sunday, October 20, 1 PM
Chugfest, feat. Studebaker Huck, Breakers, Ghost Logic, Cokenail, Love Roses, Ruckus The Bulldog, LNT, The 40 Boys, The Chuggernauts, The Vailix @ IX Art Park (Charlottesville) – $10 donation to UVA Cancer Center’s Patient Services Fund

When you hear a name like “Chugfest,” you might very well think it’s a day’s festivities centered around beer. However, in this case, the festival appears to have been put together by Charlottesville punk band The Chuggernauts, so I suppose it’s named after them. But then, they’re named after how much they love to drink beer (as demonstrated on tunes like “Drinking Problem” and “Party On”), so it’s all the same in the end. That said, this event is really about drinking and rocking out for a good cause, not just for the hell of it, and all proceeds from raffles and donations will go to UVA Cancer Center’s Patient Services Fund, which helps direct support to patients and survivors in need of medical services.

I can’t speak to what kind of drinking you can or can’t do at this event — it’s in a public park, so that really comes down to city ordinances up there in Charlottesville. What I can tell you is that you’ll get sets from nearly a dozen punk rock bands from all around the state, not just the Chuggernauts but also long-running C-ville punks The 40 Boys, Richmond’s favorite speedy-punk sons Love Roses, funk-blues-metal duo Ruckus The Bulldog, Tidewater skate rats LNT, countrified rockabilly boyos Studebaker Huck, and a whole bunch more. This should be a great afternoon of fun sounds for a good cause, and it’ll sure liven up your Sunday. So consider taking a trip up to C-ville for this one — you’ll thank me later.

—-

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: Kool Keith by Jason Persse, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: September 25 – October 1

Marilyn Drew Necci | September 25, 2019

Topics: Applaud The Impaler, Autopsy Affair, Baby Grill, Bandito's, Bob Mould, Brain Drain, Braincell, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Cognitive, Coy Pond, Dead Aim, Dirty Fuss, Dori Freeman, gallery 5, Gorrak, Green Fiend, Isabella VanKesteren, J Clyde Morris, Jimmy and the Delay, July Talk, Korine, Leopard Print Taser, Neighbor Lady, Oxx, Paint Store, Shadow Age, shows you must see, Strung Out, The Broadberry, The Bunker Brewpub, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Casualties, The Front Porch, The National, Thin Pigeon, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Will Johnson, Wingtips, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Wednesday, September 25, 7 PM
Bob Mould, Will Johnson @ The Broadberry – $25 in advance/$30 at the door (order tickets HERE)

This one should just be a given, y’all. That said, we need to talk about Bob Mould, because I feel like he might be fading from the spotlight a bit for anyone who is under 40 — and if you are under 40, and you like loud music played on guitars, you need to be aware of Bob Mould. Here’s why: because he’s been making loud, fast, impassioned, beautiful rock music for four solid decades, and he’s been excellent at it pretty much the entire time. At the dawn of the 80s, he formed Husker Du, a formidable trio who were to the Minnesota punk scene what Black Flag were to LA, or Minor Threat were to DC: the first, the best, the most consistent, the least complacent. Between their 1982 live debut album, Land Speed Record, and their breakup six years later, Husker Du not only made massive innovations in the world of hardcore punk but also laid some of the most important groundwork for the Nirvana-led grunge/alternative rock explosion of the early 90s.

Husker Du had ended by then, but Bob Mould was still heavily involved, then leading an incredible second power trio called Sugar (which also featured future Drive-By Truckers producer David Barbe). Sugar only lasted a few years, but they created a legacy with the four releases they produced in that short time — one that far outlasted their lifespan. Leading lights of the early 00s rock revival like Ted Leo owed a huge debt to the music Mould had created a decade earlier. Today, Mould is in the midst of a late-career renaissance that has seen him, backed by a trio featuring members of Superchunk and Verbow, release four stellar solo albums in a row, the most recent being this year’s outstanding Sunshine Rock.

While Mould isn’t bringing his band to Richmond, his current “solo electric” tour brings us a format with plenty to offer in its own right. Due to his issues with hearing loss (something a lot of us aging musicians can relate to), he often performs by himself, but the lower volume never stops him from giving his all to the performance, and you can certainly expect a powerful set when he takes the Broadberry stage. What’s more, he uses the solo format as an opportunity to perform music from throughout his incredibly consistent 40-year career, so we may be fortunate enough to hear a few Husker Du and Sugar songs mixed into the set as well as a great selection of the many excellent tunes he’s released over the past decade of solo albums. Whether you celebrate Mould’s entire catalog or need a crash course in what makes this guy so great, you’re sure to get a treat tonight at the Broadberry. See you there.

Wednesday, September 25, 6 PM
Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Cognitive, Green Fiend, Applaud The Impaler, Autopsy Affair, Braincell @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)

Being in a tech-death band is apparently pretty brutal — and not just in a musical sense. South Carolina band Through The Eyes Of The Dead spent their first decade or so as a band shedding members willy-nilly, with the only constant remainder being lead guitarist Justin Longshore. Each of their first three albums featured a different singer, a different drummer, and a different rhythm guitarist. However, the turbulence within the band seems finally to have calmed, as 2017 saw Through The Eyes Of The Dead release their fourth album, Diosmus, with almost exactly the same lineup as their third album seven years earlier. An impressive achievement, given the circumstances.

But that’s not the only impressive achievement of the band’s recent history. What’s even more awesome is the musical evolution they’ve undergone from their early days as a white-belt hipster deathcore band into the powerhouse of technical death metal heavyosity they’ve become today. Their recent work doesn’t mess around with melody or simplistic breakdowns — it goes straight for the throat with nonstop brutality, of the sort that’ll keep you headbanging throughout a metal-as-fuck evening at The Canal Club. Regional death metal stalwarts aplenty will be on this bill to get you warmed up, but save some of your energy — you’ll need it if you want to make it through the Eyes Of The Dead set in one piece.

Thursday, September 26, 9 PM
Dirty Fuss, Thin Pigeon, J Clyde Morris @ Wonderland – $10

Down n’ dirty, no-frills rock n’ roll — their ain’t a damn thing wrong with that. Proving this statement to be true is Nashville band Dirty Fuss’s prime directive. They do a great job of fulfilling their mission on debut LP American Animals, which was released earlier this summer and is sure to bring a gleam to the eye of Ty Segall and White Stripes fans everywhere.

This isn’t complicated music, and it isn’t recorded in a highly polished and sterilized studio. Instead, it’s the kind of wild noise you’d expect to hear in a sweaty barroom with inadequate climate control, the kind of place where by the end of the night, there are empties with cigarette butts floating in them sitting on every flat surface (gross). Wonderland isn’t quite that room, but it’s as close as you’re gonna get in smoking-ban Richmond, and you’ll be able to catch your breath a little bit easier after you spend an evening dancing your ass off to Dirty Fuss. Hard to complain about that.

Friday, September 27, 9 PM
Oxx, Gorrak, Paint Store @ Wonderland – $10

Back to Wonderland once again, and this time it’s for an entirely different type of chaos. The sort of massive hectic noise that Danish math-metal trio Oxx brings to Shockoe Bottom this Friday night may be summed up by the fact that they called their new album The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger; These Are The Black Strings That Make You Dance.

Having just blown 10 percent of my word count on that title, it’s going to be that much harder to describe exactly what Oxx has in store for you, but considering the complexity, unpredictability, and sheer panicked energy of their music, I have to admit that it’s not all that easy to describe anyway. Do you like fast, heavy, hectic music that makes you want to bang your head but challenges you with knowing exactly when to do so? If so, Oxx is the band for you. Get ready to rock the hell out — and expect some strong help with the rocking from two Richmond noise-rock powerhouses: wild jazz-metal hybrid Gorrak, and math-rock fascination machine Paint Store. It’s gonna rule.

Saturday, September 28, 8 PM
Leopard Print Taser, Brain Drain, Baby Grill, Jimmy and the Delay @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)

I love it when a band with a truly original name comes across my radar for the first time. Leopard Print Taser? Holy shit, that’s great. I don’t even care what they sound like — I’m in. Fortunately for me, I didn’t get let down at all once I listened to this Massachusetts quartet, who manage on their 2018 EP, Teeth Are Not Bones, to bring exactly the sort of shocking bite you’d expect from their name to a melodic punk sound that is both energetic and emotionally-driven, in a manner that is sure to please fans of bands like Mannequin Pussy and Screaming Females.

There’s a bunch of awesome local stuff happening on this bill as well, starting with Brain Drain. This trio bashes out some wild, hectic rock n’ roll noise that seems like the perfect fit for this bill — if you haven’t been rocked by this Richmond crew yet, now’s the perfect time to start. Baby Grill, a grungy two-piece who may or may not have a drummer with them at this performance, will get you dancing around the room with a particularly excellent combo of catchy tunes and rumbling distortion. And finally, I have to give a shoutout to RVA Mag contributor Jimmy O’Keefe, who apparently has a solo project that will be opening this show — I had no idea! Bringing catchy indie tunes with baritone vocals, this opener should be a fun time. And so should this entire show — so don’t miss it!

Sunday, September 29, 8 PM
Neighbor Lady, Isabella VanKesteren, Coy Pond @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)

As a kid, I would have used this band’s name to describe some weird person who lived on my block. As an admittedly weird adult, I’m sure that phrase gets applied to me on at least an occasional basis. But I’m cool with that, and I’m also cool with Atlanta band Neighbor Lady, whose music has a laid-back cool and relaxed catchiness that makes it easy to slip right into.

On Neighbor Lady’s 2018 LP Maybe Later, they mix a psychedelic take on indie rock tunefulness with more than a touch of old-time Appalachian mystery, in a manner that should definitely appeal to Richmond music fans who miss The Diamond Center and wish Julie Karr would play local solo shows more often. They may not exactly blow the roof off the Camel this Sunday night — they’re too subtle for that. But their set is sure to expand your mind in some pleasing directions.

Monday, September 30, 9 PM
Shadow Age, Wingtips, Korine @ Bandito’s – Free!

Last year, Shadow Age’s self-titled LP was an undisputed highlight of Richmond music. It was made bittersweet when it was followed only a month later by the announcement of the group’s indefinite hiatus. But in light of the fact that they’d departed the scene at the very moment of gaining some incredible creative momentum had to make you wonder whether they wouldn’t be back pretty soon. Sure enough, by December, the occasion of Strange Matter’s extended farewell celebration brought them back from their hiatus to perform their first show as a quintet.

And now, this Monday at Bandito’s, we get another return engagement from Shadow Age, one billed as their “only show this year.” This melodic, fog-enshrouded gothic postpunk group have a ton of great songs in their catalog, and the thought of hearing them live one more time should definitely be enough to entice both longtime fans and new converts down to Bandito’s for this free Monday night show. No word on how many members the group will have for this performance, but trio, quartet, and quintet lineups have all charmed in the past, so it’s sure to be worth it regardless.

Tuesday, October 1, 6:30 PM
Catfish And The Bottlemen, July Talk @ The National – $25.50 in advance/$28.50 at the door (order tickets HERE)

Sometimes it feels like rock music is on a long downward slide into irrelevance. It can be tough to find rock bands that are able to attain a share of popularity while also retaining artistic quality. As has been true for decades now, though, the British continue to be much better at locating exactly that sort of band, and ensuring that they do achieve some degree of success — at least, across the pond.

Catfish And The Bottlemen’s current American tour has brought them to The National, so they’re doing pretty well on this side of the Atlantic as well, but if you haven’t checked them out yourself yet, you owe it to yourself to fix that. This Tuesday night is the perfect time to get better acquainted with this charming group and their catchy brand of melodic pub-rock, which lands somewhere between first-LP Radiohead and The Libertines. Their new album, The Balance, shows that, even though not every song hits the highs of their all-time greatest tune, “Cocoon,” they’ll always keep your toes tapping and give you some great choruses to sing along with. Consistency — it’s an underrated virtue.

Elsewhere Around the State:

Wednesday, September 25, 7 PM
Strung Out, The Casualties, Dead Aim @ The Bunker Brewpub (Virginia Beach) – $20 (order tickets HERE)
In the mid-90s, the California skate-punk sound ruled the world. NOFX and Bad Religion were the kings of the proto-Warped Tour hill, but the bands on their respective labels (Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph) had ways of distinguishing themselves from the pack. Propagandhi was political, Lagwagon was emo, Ten Foot Pole’s singer was a major-league baseball pitcher… and Strung Out were metal. Don’t get me wrong, they still had the speedy melodic riffing and unforgettable catchy choruses that were common across the entire genre, but the licks guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos busted out were definitely the group’s most distinguishing characteristic.

These days, though, you’d also have to give Strung Out credit for staying power. After a 2018 acoustic EP, Black Out The Sky, they released their ninth full-length, Songs Of Armor And Devotion, just last month, and it proves they haven’t lost a single step since the heady days of the Survival Of The Fattest compilation. Catchy choruses and metal leads are still in abundance, and they surely will be at The Bunker Brewpub tonight as well! So if neither of the Richmond shows I’ve already told you about tickle your fancy, you certainly can’t go wrong gassing up and heading East on 64. If you hurry, you can catch opening sets by drunk-punk mainstays The Casualties and VA Beach hardcore survivors Dead Aim, which will certainly sweeten the pot.

Sunday, September 29, 7 PM
Dori Freeman @ The Front Porch (Charlottesville) – $18 in advance/$20 at the door (order tickets HERE)

Dori Freeman isn’t from any of the cities our more urbane readers would necessarily expect a Virginia musician to come from. She’s from Galax, a Southwest VA town close to the NC border, about 90 minutes south of Blacksburg. They used to build a lot of furniture down there, but the factories have gone away; these days, the main industry in that city is old-time folk and country music. Therefore, the fact that Freeman has risen to prominence with her old-fashioned blend of Appalachian influence and the Nashville sound of the mid-20th century isn’t nearly as surprising as you might think at first.

Freeman’s set to release her fourth album, Every Single Star, any day now. In fact, it will be released between the time when I write these words and the day this show will take place. The new album finds Freeman much happier than she’s been on previous work — newly married, she’s largely turned away from lonesome lover’s laments in favor of songs about making a relationship work. The result is a collection of positive tunes that incorporate 60s pop influences into a country framework that should delight fans of Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris. Dori Freeman will bring all of this to wonderful full-color life at Charlottesville’s the Front Porch this Sunday evening, and you’re going to want to be there. Mark your calendar.

—-

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

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