J Clyde Morris Archives

VA Shows You Must See This Week: October 9 – October 15

Marilyn Drew Necci | October 9, 2019

Topics: Alien Boys, Angelica Rockne, ASM, Bandito's, Bedouine, Black Iris, Bleeding Out, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Colebrooke, Fallout, Future Terror, Gus Seyffert, Holy Fingers, Horse Culture, J Clyde Morris, Lee Bains III & Glory Fires, Mariee Sioux, Mike Watt & The Missingmen, Molly Drag, Mr. Kitty, Municipal Waste, Nana Grizol, Napalm Death, Panic Priest, Past Life, Pastel Ghost, Picker's Alley, Pigs Blood, Piranha Rama, shows you must see, Sibyl, Sick Of It All, Skullshitter, Solar Halos, Take Offense, The Broadberry, The Golden Pony, The Minks, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Wednesday, October 9, 5:30 PM
Municipal Waste, Napalm Death, Sick Of It All, Take Offense @ The Broadberry – $24.50 (order tickets HERE)
I don’t like doing this. And by “this,” I mean recommending that you go to a show that may very well be sold out by the time you read these words. On the other hand, when an absolute epic powerhouse of a lineup like this one comes to town, I feel powerless to do anything else. After all, not only is one of Richmond’s foremost heavy bands at the top of the bill, two absolute legends of two different genres are directly underneath them, and there’s even a fantastic up-and-comer to sweeten the pot. What music journalist can possibly resist this one? Certainly not me.

Let’s get into a little more detail, beginning with the hometown boys. Municipal Waste spent several years being less than fully active, as the members’ various other projects (Iron Reagan, BAT, Cannabis Corpse, etc) hit full speed. However, the last couple of years have seen them crank things up in a big way, first adding former Cannabis Corpse axe-slinger Nikropolis in 2015 to give them a twin-guitar attack after 15 years, then releasing long-awaited sixth LP Slime And Punishment in 2017. This month finds them following up that album with a four-song EP entitled The Last Rager, which is the sort of title that should simultaneously remind us all of past Best Friends’ Day craziness, even as it may inspire some concern about how long the band’s future will extend. If anything, that’s even more of a reason to see them tonight.

Now let’s quickly discuss the other amazing bands on this bill. Napalm Death are absolute legends of UK grindcore and first-wave death metal, and despite many different member changes over the years, are still cranking out face-scorching brutal speed-demon anthems, most recently on 15th album Apex Predator — Easy Meat, released in 2015. As for Sick Of It All, they were one of the key bands defining NYHC in the late 80s. They proceeded to take it worldwide in the 90s with two high-profile major label releases, Scratch The Surface and Built To Last. These days, they’re still going strong, heavy and powerful as ever, and they proved it on last year’s 12th LP, Wake The Sleeping Dragon! The combo of this hardcore legend and the grindcore/death metal legend Napalm Death is unbeatable, especially when topped by RVA’s own legends in the making, Municipal Waste. But show up on time for this one too, because California metallic hardcore rippers Take Offense kick it off, and their brand new third LP, Keep An Eye Out, shows just how ably they carry the legacy of late 80s thrash metal into the modern era. This will be a shred fest from beginning to end. My advice is that you do what you have to do to get a ticket.

Wednesday, October 9, 8 PM
Mr. Kitty, Pastel Ghost, Panic Priest @ Fallout – $8 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
If you don’t make it into the Broadberry tonight, you can always head down to Shockoe Bottom and join in with the gothic freaks dancing to spooky synth-pop at Fallout. You’ll be wearing black, they’ll be wearing black, you’ll fit right in. Tonight’s headliner is Mr. Kitty, an Austin-based electro-synth auteur who released a double LP, Ephemeral, earlier this year. While the album is every bit as likely to get your feet moving with darkened-dancefloor grooves, the fact is that Mr. Kitty wrote it about the suicide of a longtime friend. The resulting album is strongly influenced by grief and sadness, which come through in the minor-key melodies that add an emotional layer to the 30(!) dance anthems enclosed on Ephemeral.

Mr. Kitty’s Ephemerality tour brings him to town accompanied by another Austin electro-pop artist, Pastel Ghost, who released an excellent, dreamy LP entitled Ethereality last year, and thus provided the other half of the tour title. Pastel Ghost’s music is less dark and gothic, more dreamy and atmospheric, and at times reminds me of the way Grimes sounded at the time of her breakthrough 2012 LP, Visions (I have no idea what Grimes sounds like now). The result is excellent, making Pastel Ghost a perfect pairing with Mr. Kitty that’s sure to get the Fallout dance floor undulating. Gloomy baritone goth balladeer Panic Priest will bring a Sisters Of Mercy-ish sound to the evening as well, making this absolute ear candy for the fog-enshrouded dancefloor habitues of Fallout. Join them.

Thursday, October 10, 9 PM
Pigs Blood, ASM, Skullshitter, Bleeding Out @ Bandito’s – Free!
Things are going to get downright vicious at this Thursday night Bandito’s show, and I’m not talking about the kind of viciousness that occurs when I attack a plate of Bandito’s nachos, either. (Well, I’m not just talking about that kind of viciousness.) This show brings a brutal out-of-town band with a recent release on excellent Brooklyn label Stygian Black Hand to Richmond to join up with a local Stygian Black Hand band and rule the roost at one of the best taco places in town.

Pigs Blood hail from Milwaukee, and play what they like to describe as “bestial black/death war metal.” New LP A Flock Slaughtered adds the imprimatur of truth to that genre designation with ten tracks of gory, guttural rage to blast your head apart. Expect them to deliver a similar effect at Bandito’s this Thursday night. Their brutality will be matched by that of Richmond’s ASM (Antichrist Siege Machine), whose crawling early Carcass-style chaos is shown off to excellent effect on brand new LP Schism Perpetration. As a bonus treat, NYC’s Skullshitter and Toronto’s Bleeding Out will hit you with a heaping helping of the brutal grind chaos excellently displayed on their brand new split LP on Nerve Altar Records, a copy of which you will no doubt be able to score at the merch table after their set. Do it.

Friday, October 11, 9 PM
Alien Boys, Future Terror @ Wonderland – $10
The second I discovered Alien Boys, they delighted me. I hadn’t even heard a note of their music, but after so many bands full of men have given themselves “so-and-so girls” names, it makes me incredibly happy to see a band full of women (or at least non-men — some members use “they” pronouns) going with a “so-and-so boys” name. Outstanding — I love it. And fortunately for me, I also love Alien Boys’ music!

Their LP Night Danger is a rip-roaring blast of fast, catchy punk with urgent lyrics about the violence visited upon women in this patriarchal society — a message more people need to hear. It’s sure delivered in a delightful package; Alien Boys’ sound evokes memories of melodic punk ragers like The Gits, Naked Aggression, and The New Bomb Turks. When these “boys” pull up at Wonderland this Friday night, they’re going to rock you hard and leave you stoked. RVA speed demons Future Terror, who feature members of Asylum, Prisoner, and Enforced, will blast you with some powerful thrash to kick this one off, and you might just get a third band on the bill as well. Even if you don’t though, trust me, this lineup is awesome enough.

Saturday, October 12, 9 PM
Solar Halos, Holy Fingers, Horse Culture, Sibyl @ Wonderland – $10
If I am to be completely honest, I got pretty bored of that whole 70s-inspired doom metal wave a few years ago. However, it’s been nice over the past couple of years to see it mutate into a new wave of epic progressive psychedelic sludge, and the fact that we’re getting a double dose of that exact sort of thing at Wonderland this Saturday night is pretty delightful on the whole.

It begins with Chapel Hill riff-rockers Solar Halos, who display formidable talent and powerful creativity on their latest LP, Coiled Light. These space-traveling slow-motion riffs are sure to get your third eye wide open. Not to be outdone, Baltimore’s Holy Fingers will summon up the peyote-drenched desert landscapes of last year’s Holy Fingers II, taking you on a spectral acid trip that’s entirely their own. RVA sludgeheads Horse Culture will add their own locally-grown take on the sound into the mix, while local newcomers Sibyl take things in a hazier direction to kick off an excellent evening that’s sure to thrill all the lysergic travellers among you.

Sunday, October 13, 7 PM
Bedouine, Gus Seyffert @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $15 (order tickets HERE)
In recent years, there’s been a movement in serious record-nerd circles toward rediscovery of obscure folk artists who released albums on tiny labels with press runs in the low hundreds. Vashti Bunyan is just the tip of the iceberg; in 2019, if you really wanted to dig, you could find dozens of such artists, all of whom tap into an almost psychedelic atmosphere of minimal yet beautiful acoustic songwriting, which is given an unusual character by the lack of budget afforded them at the time. You might well wonder what those artists could have accomplished in a proper studio — but if you want to hear what an artist from that niche could have created had they been allowed to fully realize their vision, you have to turn to Bedouine.

Bedouine is the project of acoustic guitarist, singer, and songwriter Azniv Korkejian, who displays subtle yet undeniable prowess on this year’s Bird Songs Of A Killjoy. The lush string sections and jazzy, understated instrumental accompaniment given her voice and guitar on this album never overwhelm the gorgeous melodies and poignant lyrics Korkejian brings into the world with a relaxed grace that belies the powerful emotion at work in her music. Bedouine’s performance this Sunday night might require a quieter, more attentive posture than you’re used to engaging during rock n’ roll shows, but it’ll be 100 percent worth it. Listen closely — there’s an entire world within their music.

Monday, October 14, 7:30 PM
Mike Watt & The Missingmen, Piranha Rama, J. Clyde Morris @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Mike Watt has been an absolute legend for decades now. An incredibly talented and influential bass player, he’s exercised formidable influence over the past 40 years of low-end sounds in the worlds of punk, jazz, alt-rock and more. His membership in groups like The Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges, J Mascis & The Fog, and a thousand others has led to his indelible imprint on pretty much every bass player who has picked up the instrument in the last 30 years (including me). And it’s allowed him to remain an incredibly busy guy, even at 60-plus years old. Now, after joining with the surviving members of 80s noise-punk deathtrippers Flipper for a European tour, he’s returned home to reactivate one of his several backing bands and head out on a solo jaunt across America.

The Missingmen was Mike Watt’s backing band on his most recent solo LP, 2011’s Hyphenated-Man — an excellent collection of invigorated tunes capturing the spirit of his classic work with The Minutemen and fIREHOSE. This 2019 tour, named “the Dick Watt tour” after Watt’s late father, sees a slightly rearranged Missingmen hitting the road to play a selection of faves from throughout Watt’s career, as well as a variety of covers that he’s made his own over the years. If you dig anything Mike Watt’s done, the set’s sure to offer some songs to make you smile in delighted recognition — and the rest of the time, you’ll be just as thrilled, because it’s Mike Watt and he absolutely wails on bass, just like he always has.

Tuesday, October 15, 7 PM
Mariee Sioux, Angelica Rockne @ Black Iris – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Two quiet acoustic folk shows in a week? Hey, my ears aren’t what they once were — and if you keep blowing yours out at loud metal shows, yours won’t be either. A couple of quiet nights listening to incredibly talented folk singers certainly won’t kill you — if anything, it’ll do the opposite. That’s particularly true when Mariee Sioux is at the top of the bill.

This Native American singer-songwriter has a very different approach than that of Bedouine, who we discussed earlier. As is made clear on her recently-released third album, Grief In Exile, her delicate fingerpicking and charming high vocal harmonies have an intricate and soothing effect. Sioux’s performance will display quiet beauty of a sort that’s sure to stick with you long after you leave Black Iris on this cool autumn Tuesday night.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Saturday, October 12, 6 PM
Lee Bains III & Glory Fires, Nana Grizol, Colebrooke @ Picker’s Alley (Fredericksburg) – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s a little too on-the-nose to call Lee Bains III & his Glory Fires glorious, isn’t it? That said, it’s an easy adjective to land on with this group, a ripping Southern punk band who mix heartland rock riffs with the roaring rage of classic American punk like MC5 and the Dead Boys, even as they consistently foreground a strong political consciousness that’s more than a little reminiscent of the Drive-By Truckers. Have you ever wished DBT were 25 percent less country and 25 percent more punk? If so, Lee Bains III & Glory Fires are definitely the band for you.

They’ll be hitting Fredericksburg this Saturday in the company of Nana Grizol, a band that simultaneously draws from roots in the American folk-punk scene of a decade ago and the psychedelic indie-pop Elephant 6 scene of the late 90s. Featuring former members of Defiance Ohio, Elf Power, Neutral Milk Hotel and many more, Nana Grizol combine the shambling melodic grace of folk-punk with the DIY pop psychedelia of the classic Elephant 6 bands, keeping you dancing with lovely tunes played on unexpected instruments, and an approach that is punk in execution even as it brings us a bounty of delightful pop gems. This duo of contrasting Southern punk groups will offer a cornucopia of genres for the delight of the Fredericksburg punks — and it could offer the same thing to you, if you’re willing to drive an hour north for a great show. And why wouldn’t you be?

Sunday, October 13, 8 PM
The Minks, Molly Drag, Past Life @ The Golden Pony (Harrisonburg) – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
We all know by now that Nashville isn’t just for country music, right? Having brought us groups like Los Straitjackets, Be Your Own Pet, and Diarrhea Planet, that city has shown us all by now that it’s more than capable of rocking the fuck out. Therefore, it’s not really a surprise that their latest export is The Minks, a group driven by the “create or combust” approach of frontwoman Nikki Barber. This raison d’etre manifests itself on The Minks’ brand new LP, Light and Sweet, in some rollicking blues-garage rock n’ roll with a strong Southern twist and a ton of swaggering energy.

Grabbing hold of that powerful energy is the main reason for you to wrap up your weekend at Harrisonburg’s Golden Pony with the Minks, but openers Molly Drag and Past Life have quite a bit to offer in their own right. Molly Drag’s just-released Touchstone offers quite the contrast to what the Minks have to offer, in the form of introspective, emotional guitar-driven ballads that should appeal to the emo kids who’ve spent some nights sitting up alone in dark bedrooms. Philadelphia’s Past Life is a good bit more upbeat, bringing some indie-style power-pop that’s sure to offer a strong dose of energy to get this show kicked off in proper fashion. Let’s rock.

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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: 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.

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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