Lance Bangs Archives

VA Shows You Must See This Week: November 20 – November 26

Marilyn Drew Necci | November 20, 2019

Topics: Addy, Alfred, Ant The Symbol, Archangel, Beeline, Big Sty, Blackliq, Bonsai Trees, Bravo, C Shreve, Cane, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Chance Fischer, Cole Hicks, David Shultz, Dropping Julia, Dropping Ugly, Easalio, Elevation27, Empath, F.R.E.E., Fan Ran, Femme Funk, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, GIANT, GOOGZ, Gumming, Harli & The House of Jupiter, Illa Styles, Immortal Technique, Intalek, Jarv, Jimbo Mathus, Johnny Ciggs, jonathan vassar, La Dispute, Lance Bangs, Linden Row, Marti, Michael Millions, Nick Woods, Nickelus F, Poor Boys, Radio B, Rah Scrilla, Raw Mom Presents, Recluse Raccoon, Reppa Ton, RVA Rap Elite, Shagwüf, Ships In The Night, shows you must see, Sofia Lakis, The Broadberry, The Canal Club, The Dark Room, The Richmonder, The Southern Cafe, Touche Amore, Trapcry, Trey Burnart Hall, True Body, VV, Wild Pink

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, November 22 & Saturday November 23
Raw Mom Weekend, Night 1: Alfred, Trapcry, Archangel, F.R.E.E.
Night 2: Gumming, True Body, VV, Lance Bangs, Sofia Lakis
@ Gallery 5 – single night: $8 in advance/$10 at the door. Weekend pass: $15 in advance (order tickets HERE)
Hope everyone’s getting their wallets limbered up, their psyches strengthened, and their cars fit for traveling, because it’s that time again! Yes indeed, folks, the holidays are coming sooner than you think — Thanksgiving is a mere eight days away, and Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa are only a month past that. It’s coming time to see the fam, with all the happiness and terror that entails. But before the holiday season officially kicks in, let’s celebrate our river city fam with the first ever Raw Mom Weekend at Gallery 5.

My old pal Rivanna Youngpool has really outdone herself with this one, bringing two nights of incredible local talent together on the Gallery 5 stage to celebrate the ever-renewing wellspring of talent that is the Richmond music scene. Night one is the night on which we will all dance, featuring hip hop, ambient electro, and psychedelic dance grooves from several different politically-informed artists of color. Rapper Alfred will headline and bring his lysergic beats and tongue-twisting rhymes to keep your ears burning and your feet moving. Trapcry, meanwhile, brings powerful electric funk with a strong social conscience, as Archangel explores spaced-out anime-inspired breakbeats.

That’s Friday night, and on Saturday, night two brings us a whole different approach that’s sure to be equally invigorating. The noisy, quirky, brilliant, powerful punk rock of Gumming tops the bill and promises to trip you out and rip your head off all at the same time. Things will get more gothic at points with sets from True Body and VV, while Lance Bangs will bring you an always-pleasing dose of slack indie rockin’. Sofia Lakis will kick things off with some beats to ensure that there’s plenty of dancing on this night as well. What better way do we have to celebrate the last weekend before the holidays spread their ambivalent malaise across the next six weeks? I can’t think of one.

Wednesday, November 20, 9 PM
Ant The Symbol, GIANT, Johnny Ciggs, Reppa Ton, Rah Scrilla, Jarv, C Shreve @ The Richmonder – Free!
Over here at RVA Mag, we’ve been following the work of Ant The Symbol for a solid decade now, since back when he was still Just Plain Ant of the Just Plain Sounds crew. He’s been growing and maturing as a producer and musician ever since, and over the past few years, his massive collaborative albums have become event listening for the entire RVA hip hop scene whenever he releases one. THE WHAT?! is the latest in a string of Ant The Symbol releases on his post-JPS home of Gritty City Records, and it shows that as time goes on, the man just gets better at making incredible music for the city’s best to spit rhymes over.

That doesn’t mean he’s getting predictable — even his latest crew of collaborators can acknowledge that. The first thing Kels says on his THE WHAT?! track, “My Way,” is, “I love you, Ant, but this beat’s weird.” Speaking personally, that’s why I look forward to each new Ant The Symbol project — where others get predictable, he gets creative. He’s put out so many records I’ve honestly lost count, and he still hasn’t come anywhere near repeating himself. That’s why you should make a point to show up tonight at Gritty City’s longtime live home, which is called The Richmonder instead of Emilio’s now but is still the same dope spot. Ant The Symbol’s gonna join with his Gritty City crew and a whole bunch of other talented rappers from Richmond and beyond to bring you the freshest new sounds this city has to offer, in the form of his new album. Don’t be left asking, “the what?” Show up tonight so you know the answer.

Thursday, November 21, 7 PM
Wild Pink, Addy, Recluse Raccoon, Beeline @ Poor Boys – $5
If you’ve been seeing the phrase “Prsmcat Presents” on a bunch of good shows lately, you’re not the only one — this new booking project from members of Majjin Boo has brought a cornucopia of excellent live music to the city over the past couple months, and established themselves as a name to look out for. This visit from Brooklyn’s own Wild Pink is just the latest positive result of Prsmcat’s efforts around town, many of which have involved the return of rad live sounds to the backroom stage at Poor Boys, the venue formerly known as Flora and, before that, Balliceaux. I can’t imagine anyone having any complaints about that.

Wild Pink are definitely worth spending a Thursday night in the aforementioned back room. On last year’s Yolk In The Fur, it’s clear why this trio dedicated their latest album to the memory of Tom Petty — that recently-departed heartland rocker is an obvious influence for Wild Pink, one they feed through a 21st century sensibility that evokes the best work by The War On Drugs. It’s smooth, comfortable, and ever-so-slightly melancholy, in a manner sure to evoke a sad smile of recognition. Wild Pink will be joined on this weekend-preview night at Poor Boys by some excellent local indie groups as well, foremost among them Recluse Raccoon. The results are sure to charm you.

Friday, November 22, 7:30 PM
Bonsai Trees, Dropping Ugly, Linden Row @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
Damn, y’all, I love it when this happens — when I’m poking through a list of bands, all of which I’m unfamiliar with, trying to find the makings of a killer show. I always find something good — this is Richmond, after all; we do live music RIGHT. But it’s rare that I am totally blown away by a band whose name I’ve never even heard before. However, Connecticut’s Bonsai Trees are that rare band.

This talented quartet’s recently-released Learn To Grow LP came out of nowhere to blindside me with its incredible collection of melodic, emotional alt-rock tunes. The more I listen to it, the more stoked I get. At this rate, I’ll be bouncing all over the room by the time they even take the Garden Grove stage Friday night. And whether you’ve heard them before or not, I pretty much guarantee that once they start playing, you’ll be just as over the moon as I am. The fact that their show is free and also features talented RVA combos Dropping Ugly and Linden Row merely sweetens the already-delicious pot. Is that how that particular cliche works? Oh, who cares. All I care about is you going to see Bonsai Trees Friday night. Seriously, do it.

Saturday, November 23, 8 PM
David Shultz, Nick Woods, Jonathan Vassar, Trey Burnart Hall @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $8 (order tickets HERE)
By now, you’re probably used to seeing “singer-songwriter night” tagged onto certain performances that take place around this city, and you’ve come to expect certain things — talented solo performers who are for the most part just getting started with their musical careers, playing a selection of tunes you probably won’t have heard before but you just might love. This Saturday night show at Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall could accurately be termed a singer-songwriter night as well, but if it were, it’d be a particularly stacked one, featuring as it does multiple Richmond musicians who’ve built decade-plus careers here in the river city.

Take David Shultz, for example. From his days fronting alt-country combo The Skyline to more recent solo acoustic outings and now some brand new tunes created with the assistance of multiple Spacebomb-affiliated creators (perhaps a harbinger of positive things to come?), Shultz has quite the track record going for him — and he’s clearly far from done as a creative musical force. His old pal Nick Woods is similar — once the Richmond-based frontman of indie-folk group Orioles, these days he’s making country-style acoustic music down in Nashville. And of course, Jonathan Vassar’s heartfelt folk-Americana sounds have been a constant here in Richmond for over 15 years now. Trey Burnart Hall is a relative newcomer by comparison, but he’s an incredibly talented one. If it’s a showcase for some of the most talented singer-songwriters this city’s ever produced that you crave, you’re in for a major treat at Capital Ale House this Saturday night.

Sunday, November 24, 6 PM
RVA Rap Elite Season Finale, feat. Team Radio (Radio B, Michael Millions, Cole Hicks, Cane, Intalek) vs Team Petey (Nickelus F, Big Sty, Easalio, Illa Styles, Fan Ran), Bravo vs. Chance Fischer, Big Sty, BlackLiq @ The Dark Room – $10
Battle rap is a strong tradition that dates back to the very dawn of hip hop, but it’s had its ups and downs over the decades. Freestyle battles between talented rappers are definitely on the upswing here in Richmond, though, and have been for the past few years, from the work of the Southpaw Battle Coalition to the star-studded presentations by RVA Rap Elite. This particular event constitutes the 2019 Season Finale for these events, which have relocated with the closing of Champion RVA to The Hofheimer Building’s Dark Room.

RVA Rap Elite majordomo Radio B is really pulling out all the stops for this last event of 2019, too — he and his AGM partner Nickelus F have each formed five-MC teams that will battle it out in a cypher sure to have faces melting and heads exploding all over the Hof. Between Radio B’s enlistment of heavy hitters Michael Millions, Cole Hicks, and more; and Nickelus F’s recruitment of Illa Styles, Fan Ran, and other world-class talents, it’s hard to predict who could prevail in this clash of the hip hop titans. Meanwhile, Bravo and Chance Fischer will strut their own stuff in a battle that’s guaranteed to showcase some devastating rhymes from these two top-level rhyme spitters. And of course, BlackLiq and Big Sty will each bring the fire with sets of their own. If you care at all about hip hop in RVA, you have got to make it out to this one — it really doesn’t get better.

Monday, November 25, 7 PM
Jimbo Mathus @ The Canal Club – $15 (order tickets HERE)
It’s entirely possible that right now, you’re thinking what I was thinking when I first saw this listing: “Jimbo Mathus… do I know who he is?” You almost certainly do, but chances are you know him better as the co-founder and leader of the Squirrel Nut Zippers than you do as a solo performer. Everyone remembers the Zippers from their late 90s hit, “Hell,” but that quick taste of success did them a disservice, as their old-time Dixieland jazz approach got them swept into the “swing revival” dustbin with the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and old VHS copies of Swingers when the turn of the millennium rolled around.

Meanwhile, Jimbo Mathus was and remains a world-class talent with a wide-ranging creative sensibility that finds him dipping into the worlds of folk, blues, and Southern soul, as he’s proven with his 2019 solo album Incinerator — his fourth under his own name. The album sees him collaborate with former Zippers bandmate Andrew Bird, as well as Lily Hiatt and members of the Drive-By Truckers. The result isn’t that much like your memories of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, but it’s sure to be a hit with anyone who loves heartfelt American music created by truly unique characters that haven’t been homogenized by our country’s creeping suburban wasteland. That’s what you’ll get from Jimbo Mathus, and you’re going to love it.

Tuesday, November 26, 8 PM
La Dispute, Touche Amore, Empath @ The Broadberry – $25 (order tickets HERE)
One of the first articles I wrote for RVA Mag, nearly a decade ago, was about Touche Amore and Pianos Become The Teeth coming to town to perform. While La Dispute wasn’t part of that gig, they were, along with those other two bands, part of the loosely-aligned group known as The Wave. This was a cadre of half a dozen or so bands who formed an affiliation based on their mutual status as groups attempting to thread the needle between emo and hardcore at the dawn of the 2010s. Those groups have gone in a variety of musical directions since then — Pianos Become The Teeth have dropped the screaming and found a deep well of melodic emotion to draw from, Touche Amore have remained closely musically aligned to hardcore even as their exploration of deeply fraught lyrical content has cut ever closer to the bone.

As for La Dispute, 2019 has seen them sign to Epitaph Records and release their first LP in five years, Panorama. On it, vocalist Jordan Dreyer — always the most literarily inclined of The Wave’s songwriters — has gone deeper than ever into his novelistic inclinations, exploring his own emotional responses to trauma and tragedy in the lives of those he cares about over the course of the album’s 10 songs, even as the rest of the band generates dynamic compositions that move from quiet introspection to overwhelming crescendos in a matter of minutes. The result is an incredible musical journey that will have a powerful impact on all who witness it — especially in the live environment La Dispute will create at The Broadberry this Tuesday night. Let it impact you. Be there.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, November 22, 6 PM
Femme Funk, feat. Shagwuf, Ships In The Night, Harli & The House of Jupiter, Dropping Julia, Marti @ The Southern Cafe (Charlottesville) – $15 (order tickets HERE)
This Friday night in Charlottesville, The Southern Cafe will bring us the third annual celebration of C-ville’s showcase of femme musicians, Femme Funk. This year’s event is set to benefit Planned Parenthood of Charlottesville, and with the kind of peril reproductive rights and women’s health care face in Trump’s America, you’d be hard pressed to find a better cause than this one. Plus, you’ll get to hear a highly diverse set of sounds from Central Virginia performers of a feminine persuasion, and that’s always a joy.

It’s especially a joy when the evening is headlined by the unrestrained rock n’ roll passion of Shagwuf, whose blues-inflected alt-rock has been blowing minds around VA and beyond for quite a few years now. The evening will also feature as wide a variety of sounds as is possible to find in one room on one evening, from Harli & the House Of Jupiter’s powerful soul-punk fusion to Ships In The Night’s dark, ambient electronic sounds to the rootsy pop of Dropping Julia and the indie rocking of Marti. See how much femme artists have to offer the world of Virginia music and take a drive up 64 this Friday night for Femme Funk — you won’t be sorry.

Tuesday, November 26, 7:30 PM
Immortal Technique, GOOGZ @ Elevation27 (Virginia Beach) – $20-$25 (order tickets HERE)
If you’ve just been following the lists of new releases over the past eight years or so, you could be forgiven for thinking that Immortal Technique had retired from the hip hop game. We haven’t gotten any new music out of the most radical rapper in the game since his 2011 collection, The Martyr, and while he swears he’s still working on long-promised fifth album The Middle Passage, there’s no release date as yet. That’s all the more reason to head to Virginia Beach this Tuesday and see Immortal Technique murder the mic, live and in person.

While these days he’s probably better known for his radical left-wing politics due to multiple appearances on the shows of Joe Rogan and (uh) Alex Jones, Technique’s hip hop mixes those politics with some incredibly harsh lyrical content, leaving him somewhere between political rap and outright horrorcore — a dichotomy clearly visible in songs like “Point Of No Return” and “Dance With The Devil.” Regardless of whether you agree with everything Immortal Technique raps about (personally, I’ve never been a fan of his casual use of homophobic slurs), he’s an incredibly talented and provocative MC of the sort who doesn’t come around very often at all. So go see him, because there’s no telling when you’ll get the chance again.

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

Top Photo: Gumming, by Joey Wharton, via Twitter

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | April 17, 2019

Topics: Bantustans, Battlemaster, Beeline, Bogues, Brick, Broken Beaches, Corridor, Cris Jacobs, Crumb, Delta Sleep, Doll Baby, Earthling, From Overseas, gallery 5, Han Gan, High Voltage, Hikes, Horse Culture, Hot Spit, Hotspit, Jeremy Enigk, LA Guns, Lance Bangs, Landon Elliott, Red Death, Shormey, shows you must see, Sinister Purpose, Slump, Snake Mountain Revival, Strawberry Moon, Tavernier, The Beacon Theatre, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Do-Nothings, The Golden Pony, Toast, Tomo Nakayama, Toward Space, Venus Milo, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, April 20, 8 PM
Battlemaster (Photo by David Morton), Sinister Purpose, Horse Culture, Doll Baby, Shormey @ Gallery 5 – $6 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
This year 420 falls on a weekend, and for quite a few of y’all out there, that’s a particular cause for celebration. I may not choose to partake in the herbal sacraments, but I like music and munchies as much as the next girl, so I can certainly appreciate a good 420 party — and Gallery 5 is throwing a great one this Saturday. My old roommate, who handled all the booking back when I lived at a show house, has moved up in the world, and is booking at Gallery 5 these days (remember that the next time someone tells you you’re wasting your time with all this DIY crap and it’ll never amount to anything), and she’s pulled together a show that reminds me of the great holiday shows we used to throw in our living room, not so long ago. Boy, a lot can change in three years, huh?

At the top of the bill, heading up Gallery 5’s 420 festivities for the third year in a row, is the almighty Battlemaster. Richmond’s death-thrash terrors may not be the most active of bands — it’s been four years since the release of their last LP — but their onstage energy is nothing to scoff at. Rest assured, when these maniacs start dishing out the riffs, blastbeats, and tortured screams, you’re gonna be headbanging at full speed just like everyone else in the room. Rockin’ rollin’ hardcore maniacs Sinister Purpose, who somehow manage to sound like Motorhead, Negative Approach, and the New Bomb Turks at the same time, are equally prepared to lay you out with their fierce sounds.

Horse Culture are also on the bill, presenting their multi-layered take on blackened shoegaze sludge. But it’s not all heaviness — the show will also feature a set of heartfelt melody and passionate emotion from Richmond faves Doll Baby, and Tidewater favorite Shormey will be joining in with some gorgeous electro-indie sounds. Plus, in a move that takes me back to the house-show days, this event will feature a table full of munchies to ease your 420 cravings, along with a photo spot and some fun temporary tattoos! Gotta keep shows interesting, right? What’s more, I really must advise you to buy your tickets in advance — if you wait to pay at the door, the price doubles. If that’s not an incentive, I don’t know what is.

Wednesday, April 17, 7 PM
Delta Sleep, Bogues, Hikes, Venus Milo @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance/$17 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There are those who will tell you that UK band Delta Sleep are math-rock, but if you ask me, that’s a bit of a misnomer. While they do incorporate the sort of delicate melodic complexity that has become a hallmark of post-Y2K math rock (replacing the harsh atonal noise that was the genre’s signature in the 90s), this band demonstrates on last year’s Ghost City that what really matters to them is creating music that moves you. They pull that off with aplomb and panache on their latest LP, and they’re sure to do the same when they hit the stage at the Canal Club tonight.

Nashville’s Bogues join Delta Sleep on this trip to Richmond, and while they’ve got an excellent sound in their own right, there’s definitely some daylight between the two out-of-towners. A solo-oriented project that sometimes takes the form of frontman AJ Gruenewald strumming an electric guitar and singing his heart out, Bogues have a strong melodic feel and a definite emotional orientation that’s likely to remind you of Julien Baker or Into It. Over It. in solo form. Texas band Hikes, who have a bit of the twinkly emo revival about them but are by no means easily slotted into a simple flavor-of-the-month genre, will also be on the bill to delight fans of tangled guitar leads, while relatively new locals Venus Milo kick the whole thing off.

Thursday, April 18, 7 PM
LA Guns @ Beacon Theatre – $22-30 (order tickets HERE)
One of the classic Sunset Strip glam metal bands of that genre’s 80s heyday, LA Guns have quite a storied history. Early lineups featured everyone from a pre-Guns n’ Roses Axl Rose (indeed, that’s where the “guns” half of his signature group’s name came from) to Weirdos/Germs drummer Nickey Beat, while more recent years saw longtime singer Phil Lewis and founding guitarist Tracii Guns leading two different versions of the group on competing US tours. Eep. Thankfully, the two buried the hatchet several years ago, and now lead a unified version of LA Guns once again (…though apparently the band’s longtime drummer now has a competing version with a bunch of randos he hired. It never ends, apparently).

Guns and Lewis will be coming to Hopewell’s Beacon Theatre, a venue that has quietly become the most reliable place in Virginia at which to see still-touring glam metal greats of decades past. I don’t know about y’all, but I for one am IN. A chance to hear classics like “Sex Action,” “Never Enough,” and “Rip And Tear,” along with the immortal power ballad “The Ballad Of Jayne,” of course — who could pass that up? These guys may not be as young and gorgeous as they once were, but the riffs are still straight fire, and that’s what should really matter, right? Head down to Hopewell this Thursday night, and let’s rock.

Friday, April 19, 8 PM
Cris Jacobs, Landon Elliott, Tavernier @ The Broadberry – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Singer-songwriter Cris Jacobs might be a relatively new name to some of you, but he’s been around for quite a while, getting his start in the early 00s fronting a Baltimore band called The Bridge. He’s been a solo artist for a while now, and his brand new album, Color Where You Are, features Richmond musicians Todd Herrington (Big Payback/Mekong Xpress) and Dusty Ray Simmons (DJ Williams Projekt/Fear Of Music) making up the rhythm section. And anybody who can recruit local talents like these to make up the core of his backing band, not only in the studio but on tour as well, is assuredly worth paying attention to.

Jacobs does a great job of laying out his sound on Color Where You Are, an album he wrote in the few spare moments he could find between his day job as a touring musician and his home life as a husband and father. The result is full of the hum and buzz of day to day life, a heartfelt album featuring touches of country, folk, and heartland rock all mingling together in a classically American sound. It’s the opposite of a stressful listen, and hearing Jacobs and his band bring the album to life at The Broadberry this Friday night is sure to ease your mind and help you put your cares aside. Don’t let the work week wear you out — come have some fun this Friday night with Cris Jacobs and his band. You’ll never regret it.

Saturday, April 20, 9 PM
Toward Space, Snake Mountain Revival, High Voltage @ Wonderland – $5
In the days since Slaughterama went away, I’ve been less than completely aware of what the dirt bike scene is like around Richmond. But there’s one thing I know that hasn’t changed in the years since I was up on all that — dirt bike kids are crazy. They do insane things frequently; it’s their idea of fun. And while I’ve never been the type to join in that kind of high-stakes broken-bone-risk action, I’ve always known how fun it is to watch. So the fact that FBM Bikes and DIG BMX will be holding the latest installment of their DIY World Championships at semi-secret bike/skate spot the Lost Bowl this Saturday lets me know that lots of fun will be had.

I can’t tell you where the Lost Bowl is, so #askapunk, but I can tell you that everyone will be headed straight for the bottom for the afterparty. I speak of Shockoe Bottom, of course, and the punkest bar in town, Wonderland. There, sets from (post-)teenage garage punk maniacs Toward Space and Virginia Beach-based psych-noise trio Snake Mountain Revival are set to get everyone flipping out. Plus, the evening will start with a (you guessed it) AC/DC tribute set from High Voltage, who based on their name are sure to go heavy on the Bon Scott era — as one should. So whether you make it to the Lost Bowl to see the crazy dirt bike action or not, you’re well advised to coast your dirt bike downhill to the Bottom and rock out with the BMX kids. Because as many of us know by now, BMX kids throw some incredible parties.

Sunday, April 21, 9 PM
HotSpit, Beeline, The Do-Nothings, Strawberry Moon @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Y’all, is HotSpit one word or two? I’ve certainly written it as both, and looking around facebook, I see I’m not the only one. Right now I’m going with the one-word-featuring-mid-word-capital-letter thing, but I’m sure in a few months I’ll have a much better understanding of what is correct. For you see, while HotSpit are a relatively new local band without too much history to draw on, I’m sure we’ll all be hearing a lot more about them in the next few months. Their demo shows a promising shoegaze quartet with strong vocal melodies and ringing guitars flexing their muscles and launching a distinctive and memorable sound.

So yeah, certainly the kind of band worth taking a Sunday night flyer on. HotSpit will be joined at The Camel by a few other local up-and-comers, first and foremost of which is Beeline. I hadn’t even heard this band’s name before now, but I’m glad they’ve been brought to my attention, as their demo shows off a catchy 90s-style jangly indie-rock sound that has significant charms. I’m already looking forward to more from these guys. The Do-Nothings, yet another new-to-me band, feature members of Recluse Raccoon playing some weird, shambling rock n’ roll that’s straight out of a basement somewhere in town. It’s hard to get a handle on, but it has its charms — as, of course, does Strawberry Moon, probably the most seasoned indie-pop group here, kicking off a fine bill that’s sure to please you, assuming you like catchy songs — and I’m not ashamed to say I do.

Monday, April 22, 7 PM
Jeremy Enigk, Tomo Nakayama @ The Canal Club – $16 (order tickets HERE)
Jeremy Enigk is a tough guy to figure out. Were he not so incredibly talented, people might have just given up trying to figure out what he’s up to. But as the frontman and chief songwriter for Sunny Day Real Estate, Enigk crafted some truly classic albums, the first of which, 1993’s Diary, has sometimes been credited with launching the emo genre (it didn’t really, but its importance can’t really be overstated). However, Enigk has broken up Sunny Day Real Estate, and post-SDRE band The Fire Theft, at least three separate times. It seems he’s ultimately most comfortable in the solo environment, and it’s as a solo artist that he returns to Richmond this Monday night for the first time in quite a while.

Enigk is currently touring behind his crowdfunded 2017 album Ghosts, his first release in nearly a decade. Fans quickly realized that his long period out of the spotlight had in no way diminished his songwriting powers, and indeed, Ghosts finds Enigk at the top of his game, his acoustic solo chops just as powerful in their own way as his louder electric sound was at the head of SDRE. The melancholy introspection and angst-ridden beauty of Enigk’s classic solo debut, Return Of The Frog Queen, shows through in abundance on Ghosts. The subdued, mostly-acoustic backing band provides a perfect canvas for Enigk’s gorgeous vocals and incredibly powerful guitar melodies. Enigk will come to town with a full band backing him up, and it’s easy to imagine the sound of Ghosts filling The Canal Club with gorgeous, vibrant sound. But why imagine it when you can be there? Get your tickets yesterday.

Tuesday, April 23, 7 PM
Crumb, Corridor, Lance Bangs, Slump @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Psychedelic indie-rockers Crumb first came to my attention through the attentions of Citrus City Records, who released the cassette version of their self-titled debut EP, so it’s no surprise that the show-promotion arm of Citrus City, Underground Orchard, brings them to RVA once again this Tuesday night. Crumb, who hail from NYC these days, are preparing for the release of their debut LP, Jinx, which based on advance singles certainly seems like a deeper delve into the groovy, soulful take on indie-psych bounce that Crumb have made their stock in trade from day one. That’s certainly an appealing prospect.

They’ll be joined on their latest passage through RVA by Francophone Montreal group Corridor, who’ve demonstrated a Television/Parquet Courts-like facility for guitar-driven rock/punk/indie songcraft on releases like their 2017 full-length, Supermercado. Their toe-tapping melodies and popwise song construction also makes me think of late 80s/early 90s UK indie-pop groups like The Dentists or Heavenly, but I might be showing my age with references like that (as usual). Regardless, this two-band package packs enough of a soul-pop-indie-psych punch to keep you smiling throughout — and local support from slack alt-rockers Lance Bangs and psych-noise-core freaks Slump is a significant bonus.

Elsewhere around the state:

Friday, April 19, 7 PM
Bantustans, Han Gan, Broken Beaches, From Overseas @ Toast (Norfolk) – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Things are gonna get interesting at Norfolk’s Toast this Friday night, and I don’t mean that in a Top Five sort of way either. For starters, dual-drummer quartet Bantustans is at the top of the bill, and when they’re in the house, it’s always gonna be an unusual situation. While the group hasn’t released anything officially since 2016, they’ve recently been playing material from an upcoming album due for release sometime this year. And as with previous material, they continue to interweave complex guitar lines with even more complex multi-layered percussion to create instrumentals so intense and dynamic they have absolutely no need of vocals.

DC’s Han Gan will provide all the vocals you need, though, as Norfolk hometown boy Brian Nicewander, of storied 90s Norfolk post-hardcore group Words A Game, comes to town at the head of an energetic, Fugazi-esque trio with political energy and musical power to spare. If the group’s excellent 2018 debut, The City Of Magnificent Intentions, is any indication, this will be a proud homecoming indeed. Tidewater hometowners Broken Beaches, who have a heavy-grunge shoegaze vibe about them, and ambient guitar solo project From Overseas open this one up to get y’all going.

Saturday, April 20, 8 PM
Earthling, Red Death, Brick @ The Golden Pony (Harrisonburg) – $7
Harrisonburg metal heroes Earthling are celebrating 10 years of existence this weekend at their hometown venue, the Golden Pony. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but then, that’s life, isn’t it? It’s already been two years since the last Earthling full-length, Spinning In The Void, launched forth from Richmond’s own Forcefield Records, full of epic brutality and blackened psychedelic rage, so the fact that this band released their first demo all the way back in 2009 isn’t that shocking in retrospect.

It is, however, a cause for celebration, and Earthling will be celebrating at the Golden Pony this Saturday night. They’ll be joined by the almighty Red Death, who have connections to both DC and RVA, and who just signed to Century Media records a couple months ago. Their 2017 LP, Formidable Darkness, has the crossover thrash-core chops to make such a signing eminently apropos, and it seems likely that you’ll be seeing Red Death in much bigger venues in another six months or so. So join them at The Golden Pony now, and thrash to your heart’s content before you’ve got to compete with 1000 other hessians for your floor space. Harrisonburg hardcore crew Brick kick this whole thing off, and they’re gonna kick it HARD. Show up on time to this one, and get ready to go off.

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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: August 8 – August 14

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 8, 2018

Topics: (Sandy) Alex G, (Sp)lit, 37th and Zen, 3weekoldroses, Bandito's, basmati, Beggars Row, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Charlie's American Cafe, Consumed With Hatred, Daddy Issues, Deakin, Deep Rest, DJ Elko Tract, Echo Courts, gallery 5, Genosha (pictured above), Grandma, Heavens Die, High Priest, Highlife, Jonah Matranga & Friends, LA Dies, Lance Bangs, Living Room, Love Roses, New Lions, No Mas, Organ Trail, Park Sparrows, Pass Away, Peacemaker, Righter, Ruin By Design, Ruth Good, shows you must see, Songs From The Road Band, strange matter, Suffer Through, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Donalds, The Pauses, The Wimps, Thomas McDonald, Thunder Dreamer, Tired & Pissed Records, Vulcanite, Wild Pink

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, August 11, 6 PM
Piss Off 2018, feat. The Donalds, Vulcanite, Love Roses, No/Mas, Organ Trail, Genosha (pictured above), High Priest, Ruin By Design, Peacemaker @ Strange Matter – $7
Richmond’s incredibly eclectic music scene is a joy to experience. Everyone has their own idea of what this town excels at creating; some see it as a doom-thrash mecca, others think of it as a hip hop hotspot, a soul-jazz heaven, or even a screamo paradise. But no matter what impression you have of this city’s music scene, there are always untold new pockets of local music to fall into — and all of them are great. Which brings us to Tired & Pissed Records, a local label that’s been specializing for the past few years in fast, angry, metallic punk from Virginia and beyond.

This Saturday brings a Tired & Pissed showcase to Strange Matter, and offers locals who haven’t gotten on board with this hard-working label’s offerings a chance to catch up with pretty much all of it at once. This show celebrates the release of the label’s third compilation of bands from around the mid-Atlantic area who share their raison d’etre, and an unbelievable nine of those bands will take the Strange Matter stage between 6 PM and midnight on Saturday night.

Label standard-bearers The Donalds and Love Roses will bookend the show, presenting their complementing takes on raging old-school punk featuring varying levels of melody (Love Roses has more, The Donalds has less). These bands will provide a powerful inducement to both show up on time and stick around til the very end of the night. Inbetween, we’ll get sets from a whole bunch of great bands whose sounds run the gamut from gore-soaked death metal (PA’s Organ Trail) to frantic downtuned hardcore (VA’s Genosha), and from grimy, hyperspeed grindcore (DC’s No Mas) to an ambient noise project helmed by former Brutal Truth drummer Rich Hoak (PA’s Peacemaker). That’s not even all that’s on tap for this night, but I’m running out of space, so stop worrying about the details and start planning to show up at Strange Matter this Saturday and catch nine killer bands for only seven measly bucks. It’s a good deal no matter how you slice it.

Wednesday, August 8, 8 PM
Deakin, Highlife, Basmati, Grandma, DJ Elko Tract @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
This one’s been a long time coming. Oh, you may not think so, since it’s just a local performance by a member of electro-psychedelic indie-pop group Animal Collective, currently touring as a solo act. But Deakin’s been building the hype for his solo material for nearly a decade now, starting with a fully-funded Kickstarter campaign launched back in 2009. That campaign took Deakin to the African country of Mali, to play a music festival in the desert outside Timbuktu and to create an album influenced by the music of that area of West Africa.

It took an interminable seven years to bear fruit, but Deakin finally released his solo album, Sleep Cycle, in 2016, and now he has reached Richmond to give us a live performance of this and other material, which indeed lives up to the promise of West African-infused Animal Collective-ish music that everyone waited so long for. Along on tour to offer his own spin on African pop music is Doug Shaw of New York’s White Magic, leading his side project Highlife and bringing us their American spin on the Ghana-originating sound of the highlife genre. RVA melodic-math weirdos Basmati will offer local support, along with Grandma, the solo project of Haybaby’s Leslie Hong. Plus, you’ll get an opening set from DJ Elko Tract, the alter ego of Blues Control’s Russ Waterhouse. At long last, there’s nothing more to ask for.

Thursday, August 9, 9 PM
Pass Away, Park Sparrows, Living Room, Thomas McDonald @ Bandito’s – Free!
Some pop-punk evokes the coming-of-age feels that assail teenagers as they leave high school and grapple with adulthood, but the kind of pop-punk played by Brooklyn’s Pass Away is of a different sort. Like Jawbreaker and The Replacements before them, Pass Away use their melodic take on fast, chunky punk tunes to lament the struggles that come to grown-ass people who still haven’t achieved all of their dreams. This band plays pop-punk for adults, and their fueled-by-cheap-beer sound, reminiscent of Dillinger Four and Latterman among many others, is the perfect singalong material for adults who have problems they’d like to forget, at least for tonight, by getting lost in tacos, beverages, and great songs.

Pass Away comes to us from members of I Am The Avalanche and Crime In Stereo, and therefore it’s fitting that they play with RVA’s own Park Sparrows this Thursday night at Bandito’s. Bringing together members of Strike Anywhere, Landmines, and Freeman (among many others), this group also makes melodic punk tunes for adults to sing along with and feel a little less alone. It’s OK, we’re all struggling — but Thursday nights with great music and great friends just makes the weekend come a little quicker, right? Pass Away will bring fellow Brooklynites Living Room along with them; this group offers a thicker, post-hardcore take on melodic emotional punk, but it’s sure to still appeal to anyone who knows what it’s like to seek answers to the big questions that remain on a person’s mind long after their 21st birthday. Virginia Beach resident Thomas McDonald, who normally leads The Record Collection, will kick off the night with a solo set. Get a plate of tacos and a pitcher, grab a table, and get stoked for this one.

Friday, August 10, 6 PM
Floral Print, Fat Spirit, Truth Club, Fullscreen @ Hardywood – Free!
I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone who’s been reading this column for a while that I’m not one to fool with alcoholic beverages of any sort. That said, I still get stoked about Hardywood’s “Fresh Can Fridays” events when they bring killer music along with them, and this Friday is one such event. Therefore, despite my total apathy towards brews of any sort, I’m still enthusiastically recommend that you hit Hardywood this Friday night and catch Floral Print. This Atlanta band is a real treat for your ears; their string-bending propensities resemble those of long-gone NC angular-guitar heroes Polvo, but the melody and emotion Floral Print introduces to their music is an entirely new — and a welcome — texture.

2017 LP Mirror Stages is full of complexly structured songs with off-kilter melodies galore, all of which are sure to hook you in and not let you go. It’s no surprise that Citrus City Records, purveyor of top-quality local sounds in a similar vein, is bringing us a performance by this band, and while it may be an obvious choice, it’s a welcome one, especially since it also results in killer local support from indie-grunge rockers Fat Spirit. North Carolina’s Truth Club is also along for the ride, and they add a touch of 90s slacker style, a la Pavement, to the string-bending melodies and guitar crunch the rest of this bill has to offer. Brand new locals Fullscreen kick things off, and while I can’t tell you anything in particular about them, I can tell you that this show is free, which makes it worth your while no matter what you think about beer.

Saturday, August 11, 9 PM
Songs From The Road Band @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’ve long maintained that I can find something to enjoy in any genre. However, there are a bunch of genres that have remained in the hypothetical whenever I’ve made such a bold statement, and in there alongside jam-band music is bluegrass, a sound I’ve never particularly minded when I heard it being played at county fairs as a kid, but has never excited me in the least either. However, I may finally have found some modern bluegrass I like; not only did a Trampled By Turtles single completely win me over a couple of weeks ago (that’s another story), I am really digging Songs From The Road Band, a bluegrass ensemble who’ll make the Camel their home for a night this Saturday.

The five members of Songs From The Road Band boast a number of formidable credits between them; members have played in Steep Canyon Rangers, Bill Evans’ Soulgrass project, and Larry Keel and Natural Bridge. They may have a somewhat unwieldy name, but that’s hard to hold against them when you hear excellent tunes like the title track to their 2015 album, Traveling Show, or any of the tunes on their brand-new fourth album, Road To Nowhere. And while these songs sound good in the studio, the real place to hear this five-piece is live — there’s a chemistry and an organic feel in the old-time sound this band creates that just isn’t the same without being in the same room to hear it. Whether you’re a bluegrass diehard or someone like me, with no real experience of enjoying the genre, you’d be well-advised to head to the Camel this Saturday night and give Songs From The Road Band a chance to win you over.

Sunday, August 12, 7 PM
(Sandy) Alex G, Daddy Issues, Lance Bangs @ The Broadberry – $16 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to know how to describe Alex G; perhaps the best way would be to call him unusual. There are moments on his latest album, Rocket, which sound kind of Mac DeMarco-ish. At other times, though, he experiments with vocoder and spacey electronic sounds. Conversely, there are even moments that come across as downright country-ish. All of these tunes share one thing, though — a strong viewpoint, conveyed through lyrics and music in a manner that makes it clear just who Alex G is as a musician… even if his genre affiliation is impossible to pin down.

It’s appropriate for an artist like this to come to RVA in the company of Daddy Issues, the Nashville garage-grunge group on JEFF The Brotherhood’s Infinity Cat Records. Alex G may sound like a lot of things, but he’ll never sound like Daddy Issues, so this show is just that much more eclectic with their snarky take on being a twenty-something woman in the 21st century added to the mix. Plus, their 2017 album, Deep Dream, is a heavy rocker full of extremely memorable melodies. They’ll be joined by Lance Bangs, a trio with a slacker-grunge vibe that somehow lands directly between the other two artists on this bill. If you like guitar-slingers with unique viewpoints and melodies to burn, this is the show for you.

Monday, August 13, 7 PM
Jonah Matranga & Friends, The Pauses, New Lions @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There’s nothing as guaranteed to make you feel old as a 20th anniversary tour for an album that came out when you were already out of college and living in the real world. Y’all will find out about this when you hit your 40s, but right now you are best advised to ignore my grousing and make plans to hit Capital Ale House this Monday night and see Jonah Matranga and Friends rock the hell out of Far’s incredible 1998 LP Water And Solutions. Matranga was Far’s frontman back then, and while the band reunited long enough to release a fifth album in 2010, this 20th anniversary tour does not see a return to an old lineup. Instead, Matranga, who mostly tours solo these days, is backed by Florida’s The Pauses in order to return Water And Solutions to its full rock n’ roll glory.

This album may date from the waning days of the post-Nirvana alt-rock craze, but it is by no means insignificant; instead, its thick, heavy, yet incredibly melodic post-hardcore sound seems to bridge the gap between Quicksand’s seminal post-hardcore classic Slip and The Deftones’ dark, moody masterpiece, White Pony. The brand new Pauses album, Unbuilding, shows a post-hardcore band with a strong melodic grasp working at the height of their powers; therefore, it’s easy to understand why Matranga picked them as his backing band for this tour. They’ll deliver an opening set of their own that’s sure to keep you smiling, and New Lions — the group formerly known by the name of their frontman, Clair Morgan — will kick off the show in fine fashion and ensure that you have a great time from start to finish.

Tuesday, August 14, 7 PM
Echo Courts, The Wimps, Righter @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Psych-heads, take note: North Carolina’s Echo Courts return to RVA this coming Tuesday to entrance us all once again. Having slimmed down to a quartet between their 2016 debut and their brand new follow-up, Room With A View, Echo Courts show themselves none the worse for wear by producing a tightly-focused set of melodic tunes that retain a subtler sense of the more overt psychedelia of their earlier work, while also expanding in numerous directions, from a country tinge to an occasional modern math-guitar vibe.

Echo Courts are sure to give everyone in attendance something to rock about when they hit the Gallery 5 stage Tuesday, and the local support they’ll receive from RVA rock n’ rollers The Wimps will be eminently appropriate accompaniment. While The Wimps are absent the psychedelic vibe that pervades Echo Courts’ music, they mine the early days of rock n’ roll for killer hooks with aplomb, showing off their versatile talent on 2017’s excellent full-length, Reel Whirl. Warming up the crowd for this duo of excellent groups will be Righter, a new full-band project from local singer-songwriter Hannah Goad, which takes the atmospheric folk sounds of her solo work in a fuller, more realized direction. Show up on time, catch this group before everyone’s talking about them.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, August 10, 7 PM
Thunder Dreamer, Wild Pink, LA Dies, Ruth Good @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $7 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
A sound like the one Indiana’s Thunder Dreamer brings to Norfolk this weekend is always welcome, if you ask me. Their melodic bass tone, arpeggiated guitar leads, and catchy choruses stand just slightly on the “indie” side of the divide between indie-rock and emo, but no matter which side claims your allegiance, you’re sure to enjoy the killer tunes from 2017’s 6131 Records release, Capture, as well as any newer sounds this group has in store for us. Thunder Dreamer may at times remind you of the Beach Boys-filtered-through-Neil Young vibes of early My Morning Jacket, they share even more in common with the pastoral sounds of emo bands who hailed from their native midwest in earlier eras, from Cursive to American Football.

Thunder Dreamer aren’t the only reason to head out this Friday night, though; New York’s Wild Pink has quite a bit to offer on their own behalf, even if the twangy touches that show through on latest LP Yolk In The Fur are a surprising thing to hear from a band from the Northeast. Whenever a band evokes Son Volt and The Jayhawks in such a talented fashion, though, it’s always enjoyable, especially when such evocations sit side-by-side with moody new wave vibes reminiscent of early works by U2 and Simple Minds. Lynchburg’s LA Dies (I see what you did there, folks) are also on the bill, bringing a touch of postpunk to the evening, and RVA’s Ruth Good open up the evening with some of that classic Citrus City jangle. Sweet.

Sunday, August 12, 5 PM
Beggars Row, Heavens Die, (Sp)lit, Suffer Through, 3weekoldroses, Consumed With Hatred, Deep Rest @ 37th And Zen – $5
It’s only my second week covering the Hampton Roads area music scene and already I am noticing that things down there are downright brutal. Beggars Row, the Virginia Beach band at the top of this bill, have a downright thuggish sound that feels to me like it could have come out of the northeast in the early 90s and no one would have blinked. The riffs are heavy and chunky, the vocals are harsh and deep, and the breakdowns are custom-designed to get the pit moving — which is exactly what Beggars Row are hoping to see happening at 37th and Zen this weekend, since they’re shooting a video at this show. Limber up those calf muscles before the set, y’all; you don’t want to pull a tendon moshing.

Beggars Row are joined on this bill by a whole bunch of other bands, most prominently Winchester’s Heavens Die. This band has more of a metallic edge to their brutal low-end pound; they’ve definitely got a few early 90s death metal records in their collections. Lancaster, PA group (Sp)lit, who might be the first group to grab my attention through their creative use of typography, are on tour with Heavens Die, and are bringing a faster, chunkier brand of heavy hardcore to Norfolk with this set. Integrity fans should pay special attention to these guys. Maryland’s Suffer Through keep it heavy as well, while Philly band 3weekoldroses have some strong youth crew instincts mixed with a Judge-like tendency toward maximum toughness. The bill is rounded out by two Maryland bands: Consumed With Hatred, who impress me by mixing their heavy-as-fuck metallic hardcore with an overt, in-your-face political message; and Deep Rest, who bring the maximum chug. Lift weights and work out in preparation for this show — it’s just that heavy.

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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, in case you’re wondering, more awesomeness from my cracked and bleeding fingertips is available at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Good Day RVA presents A Good Day in RVA 5

Joe Vanderhoff | May 30, 2018

Topics: a good day in RVA 5, Bad Magic, Big No, Doubtfire, Good Day RVA, Gumming, HeadlessMantis, Kenneka Cook, Lance Bangs, Minor Poet, Ohbliv, Piranha Rama, Ruth Good, Sammy Lanzetta

SATURDAY, JUNE 2nd
A GOOD DAY IN RVA 5 MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL
[a block party to benefit Gallery5 & Good Day RVA]

TWO STAGES! [IN GALLERY5 & ON BROOK ROAD]
@ 200 W Marshall St, Richmond, VA 23220
14 LOCAL BANDS!
3 TOURING BANDS!
ALL DAY & ALL OF THE NIGHT!
2:00pm-MIDNIGHT!
$5-$20 SUGGESTED DONATION!
IF YOU HAVE NO $, YOU’RE STILL INVITED!

FEATURING 14 LOCAL BANDS/MUSICIANS:
Ohbliv (Silent / Music Revival set)
Piranha Rama
BIG NO
Lance Bangs
Kenneka Cook
Ruth Good
Sammi Lanzetta
Minor Poet
Bad Magic
Doubtfire
GUMMING
HEADLESSMANTIS
Elizabeth Owens & Live Bats
Righter

+ THREE TOURING BANDS/MUSICIANS:
Rick from Pile
Yazan
The Womps

+ MANY ARTS VENDORS TO BE ANNOUNCED!
+ A BEER TRUCK!
+ ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
Triple Crossing Beer
Stone Brewing Richmond
Plan 9 Music
Rumors
Sammich
The World Art Group
The Great Big Everything
Justin Laughter at Threshold Counsel
Saison
Deep Groove
CaryTown Teas
Vitality Float Spa

+ FOOD CARTS!
Sammich
Slideways Mobile Bistro
Arroz RVA

CURATED BY THE 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT FILM COLLECTIVE GOOD DAY RVA.
www.GoodDayRVA.com

TO DONATE, PLEASE VISIT:
www.enrichmond.org/partners/good-day-rva/

5555555
♥ ♥ ♥

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: May 30 – June 5

Marilyn Drew Necci | May 30, 2018

Topics: .gif From God, Bad Magic, Big No, Black Plastic, Bracewar, Charmer, Dance Gavin Dance, Decide By Friday, Division Of Mind, Don Fredrick, Doubtfire, Dreadnot, Ecostrike, Elizabeth Owens & The Live Bats, ERRA, gabbie rotts, gallery 5, Good Day RVA, Gumming, HeadlessMantis, I See Stars, Kenneka Cook, Lance Bangs, Little Saint, Madison Turner, Magnitude, Minor Poet, Nosebleed, Ohbliv, Paul Cherry, Pile (solo set), Piranha Rama, Post Animal, R Complex, Righter, Ruse De Guerre, Ruth Good, Sammi Lanzetta, shows you must see, Sianvar, Spooky Cool, strange matter, The Bummers, The Canal Club, The Firnats, The Goodbye Forevers, The National, The Shandies, The Womps, Van Hagar, Vegan Llamas, Yazan

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, June 2, 2 PM
A Good Day In RVA 5, feat. Ohbliv, Piranha Rama, Big No, Lance Bangs, Pile (solo set), Kenneka Cook, Ruth Good, Yazan, Sammi Lanzetta, Minor Poet, Bad Magic, Doubtfire, Gumming, The Womps, HeadlessMantis, Elizabeth Owens & the Live Bats, Righter @ Gallery 5 – $5-20 suggested donation
Y’all, it is ALWAYS a good day in RVA when Good Day RVA throws their annual all-day outdoor festival. It’s been going on for long enough now, in fact, that it’s started to feel kind of like the kickoff for the rock n’ roll summer here in Richmond every year. And really, what more could we ask for from such an occasion? The filmmaking, scene-documenting collective that is Good Day RVA are the best at what they do, and an inevitable corollary to their expertise is that they can program the best showcase of local talent you can find anywhere in town. Plus, this year they’ve added a few out-of-town friends to the lineup, as well as the traditional stacked lineup of vendors, food carts, and a beer truck!

And yes, they had to do the beer-truck thing this year, because for the first time, A Good Day In RVA won’t be taking place at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. That’s OK, though, because it’ll be at an even stronger traditional Richmond musical institution — Gallery 5, which will also be the beneficiary of the event’s proceeds (along with GDRVA themselves, who are a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit). There’ve been some lean times for Gallery 5 in recent years, and god knows none of us want to see them go away, so we definitely recommend you dig deep and donate as much as possible at this show. Of course, GDRVA will let you in even if you’re broke, because they’re really nice people, but do what you can, OK?

What actual music is on tap for you at this event? Oh my god, I’ve left myself so little space to tell you! Let me begin by saying that Pile’s Rick Maguire will be playing a solo set as part of the event — and if you’ve been paying attention to indie rock over the past decade or so, you know that’s gonna be worth the donation right there. Further out-of-town guests include Yazan and The Womps, but RVA stalwarts will probably be even more excited for the chance to catch local stars from Kenneka Cook to Doubtfire and from Gumming to Ohbliv (who is doing a Silent/Music Revival set!) all in one spot. Music will be spread across two stages, the one inside and a temporary one outside on Brook Road, and things will get started at 2 PM and carry on until the wee hours, so you really seriously cannot ask for more from a live musical event this weekend. I shouldn’t even have to tell you to be there at this point… but I’m telling you. BE THERE.

Wednesday, May 30, 10 PM
Gabbie Rotts, Decide By Friday, Madison Turner @ Little Saint – Free!
The middle of the week is a great time for some low-stakes free tuneage, and you’ll get exactly that at Little Saint tonight. Little Saint is an intimate food spot up there near the Devil’s Triangle, about a block from Bandito’s, and it makes me feel old to remember that when I moved to Richmond 23 years ago, it was a Papa John’s. They certainly wouldn’t have hosted a show, though, let alone the semi-regular music events Little Saint have started putting on in recent months, so we’re calling this a big improvement (even if I can swing a pizza a lot more easily than a full meal from Little Saint… just sayin).

This time around, we’ve got an appearance by Atlantans Gabbie Rotts, a folky, power-poppy trio led by a lady named Gabbie Watts who once had a countrified riot-grrrl band called Cuntry (and if you don’t think that rules, I have no idea what to tell you). There’s no real country vibe to Gabbie Rotts, but the snarky riot-grrrl thing mingles very well with their jangle-punk tuneage, so I’m down with it — and you should be too. Local support will come from chunky, funky rockers Decide By Friday, who’ve been under the radar locally for a while but deserve some more attention for their heavy, introspective sound, as showcased on recent EP Sankofa. I get some definite early 90s post-hardcore vibes from this record, and I am way into that. And with Madison Turner giving you one of her classic solo folk-punk sets as the opener, you’re sure to be won over from the beginning by her anxiously witty charm. All this and the show is free? You really can’t go wrong here — even if this place doesn’t sell breadsticks anymore.

Thursday, May 31, 8 PM
Ruse De Guerre, Don Fredrick, The Shandies, The Firnats @ Strange Matter – $7
Well well, what have we here? A full bill of bands from around the Virginia area playing melodic rock music, none of which I’ve ever heard before? I know for you, the reader, that might seem like a turn-off, but you must understand, when one spends as much time keeping up on local music as I do, the appearance of a show like this is always intriguing. It’s like — how is this possible? How’d I miss all four of these bands? I need to do something about this! Let’s start with the out of town bands — Ruse De Guerre (I googled it, it’s a French term for military deception) hail from DC and have a speedy, rockin’ delivery of some hard-edged indie sounds that combine with catchy, almost brassy choruses to cement themselves deeply into your brain. Then there’s The Shandies, from across the Potomac in Alexandria. These guys have a bit more of a shambling, lo-fi slacker aesthetic going on, and therefore if nothing else I can imagine them hangin’ with the Lance Bangs/Camp Howard crew centered around Citrus City. The fact that they have a song called “I Just Want To Be Cool” only further cements my opinion on this one, and if you’re the sort who digs the sleepy emo punk sounds of bands like Wavves, you’ll need to get on this band’s wavelength.

I have definitely mentioned local bands Don Fredrick and The Firnats in passing at least once here in the ol’ Shows You Must See column, so the fact that I didn’t really have an impression of them before now might just be inexcusable. However, I must beg your forgiveness, especially since Don Fredrick in particular have a sound I’ve almost never heard from a local band — funky, jazzy, smooth, fun, and almost reggae-ish at points, it’s nonetheless a cool laid-back rock sound that I can’t help but groove on. If you can appreciate the early days of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (and yes, I can, so what?), you’ll find something to enjoy here. The Firnats hail from RVA and Reston, and almost remind me of Interpol when they aren’t sliding into Southern soul vibes. Yeah, seriously! Overall this show’s gonna be unusual and fascinating, and isn’t that always better than the same ol’ thing?

Friday, June 1, 8 PM
A Benefit for Van Hagar, feat. Van Hagar, .gif From God, R-Complex, Charmer @ Strange Matter – $5-20 suggested donation
It’s hard to be in a tiny little band, especially when you play heavy, crazy music that’s got no real potential for Top 40 success. My former roommates in Van Hagar know this struggle well, and this little grindcore trio have found themselves falling upon hard times lately. Between chronic health problems and income instability, they’ve had to struggle for the past year or two, and now they’ve experienced a series of vehicular mishaps that have left them struggling just to drive to their jobs every day. Well, nobody likes to see that happen, and here in the underground music community we take care of our friends as best as we can, so the Great Dismal crew has now banded together to give Van Hagar a helping hand through this benefit show.

And honestly, even if you don’t care about the underground music community and helping the people who are part of it keep afloat (a viewpoint I would frankly find incomprehensible), you’ve still got some really good reasons to come out to this show and throw down a few bones to help out Van Hagar. For one thing, they’re gonna hit you with one of their frantic, nonstop sets of low-end grindcore fury — and rest assured, no matter how tired they are, they’re gonna lay you flat with their raging energy. Then .gif From God will hit the stage to knock everybody out with their sensory-overload take on spastic, thrashing grind, complete with brutal breakdowns. Charmer will steamroll all in attendance with nonstop power-violence onslaughts that will have you on your knees, and R-Complex will offset the sheer insanity of the rest of the bands with a more introspective take on noise. All this, plus you get to help out some great people — who are personal friends of mine, in case I haven’t previously mentioned it? Well, I don’t know how you could say no to this one.

Saturday, June 2, 6 PM
RVA BBB Showcase, feat. Bracewar, Division Of Mind, Ecostrike, Nosebleed, Magnitude @ The Canal Club – $12 (order tickets HERE)
This one’s for the tough kids, the ones who just can’t stand still when they hear the sounds they love, the ones for whom stage-diving and breakdowns are still what gives them life. As a middle-aged lady, I must admit that my glory days for this kind of music are behind me. That said, I still have blood running through my veins, and it’s hard to resist the siren’s call of a serious mosh-core throwdown at least every once in a while. This bill brings us a Richmond-based showcase for Triple B Records, and at the top of the bill, in almost obligatory fashion, are Bracewar, who continue to play a couple shows a year under exactly these sorts of circumstances, reminding us all just how gracefully their brand of pissed-off hardcore violence ages.

But it’s the bands at the peak of their powers that most interest me here, and for that discussion we have to start with Division Of Mind. These guys started out pretty standard mosh-core style, but the more attention I’ve paid, the more depth and darkness I’ve found in their sound. Their most recent promo tape was full of spooky noise and lo-fi grit, and there’s a decided Tragedy-style doom-core influence lurking beneath the surface that just sounds better every time I hear it. The fact that they’re sharing this bill with Ecostrike, a Florida band whose two most recent EPs have impressed me both with their politically-fueled energy and their influences from moody early-90s hardcore trailblazers like Mean Season (an unjustifiably underrated band for at least two decades now), makes this show a perfect opportunity for those of us who don’t really do this whole mosh-core thing anymore to come out of the woodwork for once. With local rippers Nosebleed and Charlotte ragers Magnified rounding out the lineup, this one’s gonna be jam-packed. Jam into the Canal Club and get ready to floorpunch. Or whatever it is the kids do these days — I really don’t know.

Sunday, June 3, 7:30 PM
Dance Gavin Dance, I See Stars, ERRA, Sianvar @ The National – $20.50 in advance/$23 day of show (order tickets HERE)
To be straight-up with y’all, I have zero time for the latter-day exploits of Jonny Craig — probably still the most famous member of Dance Gavin Dance despite his not having been associated with the band for most of a decade. He can do whatever drugs, scams, and sketchily-named bands he wants to, but I’m not here for it. However, as the years have gone on and Craig’s faded further into DGD’s rearview, I’ve found that this goofily named melodic metalcore band has retained an enjoyability that I never would have predicted for them in their early days. Indeed, “Midnight Crusade,” the first single from their forthcoming eighth album, won me over instantly when it dropped a couple months ago. Say what you will about this band’s issues with shifting lineups — at this point, it seems the Pearson/Mess/Swan incarnation of DGD has proven itself as a reliable generator of quality.

So yeah, whether they’re playing classics like “Lemon Meringue Tie” and “Me And Zoloft Get Along Fine” these days or not, I’m here for it. And I’m also here for a fun evening of openers, which isn’t exactly the norm at bigger-venue shows like this one. However, if you don’t see the addition of tourmates I See Stars to this bill as a big bonus, I don’t know what to tell you. Granted, this band’s electronic textures and tendencies toward crabcore goofiness are a bit of a psychic barrier for entry — as they pretty much always have been. But their mix of chunky breakdowns and almost R&B-level emotional melodies never fails to deliver, if you ask me. Prog-metallers ERRA will provide an early highlight on this bill, and an opening set from Will Swan’s technical, melodic metal supergroup Sianvar certainly sweetens the pot as well. This one’s gonna be worth it, for sure.

Monday, June 4, 8 PM
Post Animal, Paul Cherry, Spooky Cool @ Strange Matter – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This Monday night, let’s take a trip into space. Post Animal may be a midwestern band with the sort of agrarian Illinois connections I once associated with midwestern emo — which is to say, their latest LP, When I Think Of You In A Castle, is on Polyvinyl Records, onetime home of Braid — but to listen to their sounds is to feel like you’re getting on board a rocket aimed straight into deep space via the punked-out psychedelic revival sound of California’s own Castle Face Records. Yeah, I’m definitely getting some Thee Oh Sees vibes from these guys, but there are some more contemplative space sounds mingled in here too, as well as even some funky rockin’ tuneage that might appeal to those of you who don’t hate jam bands.

Those of you who do, don’t panic — I’m not saying Post Animal are a jam band. If anything, I think they’re finding a sweet spot between modern, more laid-back ideas of math-rock (shoutout Houdan The Mystic) and the sort of rockin’ psych feels floating through the scene these days, neither of which you can ever have too much of. This band is gonna be an excellent sight for your sore eyes (and sound for your sore ears, of course) after a crappy Monday spent back at work, and I highly recommend that you inundate both ears and eyes with their set at Strange Matter. Tourmate Paul Cherry brings some of those lush, soulful synth-pop sounds that were a hallmark of the late 70s and early 80s with him, and if you find yourself thinking of Pete Curry when you’re checking him out, you’re not alone (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Local powerhouse Spooky Cool will kick things off, and it’ll only get awesomer from there.

Tuesday, June 5, 8 PM
The Bummers, Black Plastic, The Goodbye Forevers, Vegan Llamas, Dreadnot @ Strange Matter – $8
The Bummers. How could you not expect rock n’ roll from a band with a name like that? And guess what — you wouldn’t be disappointed, either. This New Orleans ensemble definitely knows how to crank out some dirty riffs and get your fist pumping. They’ve also got some dynamic grasp, able to integrate quieter melodic moments in order to make the kickass parts kick that much more ass. And make no mistake, kicking ass is what this band are all about.

They’ve found themselves some good company in the crew of local bands that’ll be appearing on this bill. The Goodbye Forevers are getting some local attention lately, at least if the frequency of their name on bills is a good indication, and listening to last year’s Lay Where You Fall LP will tell you exactly why — they’ve got a high-energy, vaguely punk-ish sound that comes across like Dillinger Four jamming with The Knack or something like that. I’m into it; you should be too. Black Plastic, Vegan Llamas, and Dreadnot are all fellow local rockers trying to make their mark on the RVA scene, and all of them deserve your time and attention as well. Come to this show and rock it on out.

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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 3/21-3/27

Marilyn Drew Necci | March 21, 2018

Topics: Anneliese, basmati, Big No, Brainbuster, Butt, Ceschi, ESH, Forever Came Calling, gallery 5, Gavin Riley Smoke Machine, Gumming, Haircut, Hanoi Jane, Hold Close, In Her Own Words, Lance Bangs, Last Night's Ghost, Lipid, LNT, Love Roses, Mojo's, Moodie Black, Mylo Shift, Onry Ozzborn, Palm, Patsy's Rats, Prisoner, Ruin By Design, Satan's Satyrs, Scott Yoder, shows you must see, Sick Bags, Spirit Of The Beehive, strange matter, Telltale, The Broadberry, The Canal Club, Trauma Lavern, Windhand, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, March 23, 7 PM
Windhand, Satan’s Satyrs, Prisoner @ The Broadberry – $15 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been a long time, y’all, but the time has finally come for the return of Windhand! This crew of almighty shredders has been quite a while away from the recording studio — their last full-length, Grief’s Infernal Flower, was issued nearly three years ago. However, not only have they returned to action this year with a split LP combining their sludgy brutality with the shredding rippage of NoVA slayers Satan’s Satyrs, they’re returning to the stage here in Richmond for the first time in a year with this epic celebration of the aforementioned split LP’s release!

The Windhand side of this full-length is the first release featuring Windhand’s current single guitar lineup, but it shows no diminution in the power, volume, and density of the band’s sound. The spooky gloom sludge of new tunes “Old Evil” and “Three Sisters” carries on the foreboding mood of the band’s previous work, with Dorthia Cottrell’s witchy vocal melodies and some excellent organ undertones making the perfect contrast to the brutal riffs these songs are veritably overflowing with. You’ll get a good taste of their excellent new material as well as some old favorites at this show, so come prepared for the onslaught.

Satan’s Satyrs will be on hand as well, giving you a heavy dose of the rockin’, rollin’ biker metal grooves from their own side of the brand new split LP. They aren’t quite as crushing as Windhand, but they’ll keep your head banging and your ears ringing just fine on their own behalf. And of course, Prisoner will bring plenty of thunderous fury of their own from their opening slot, reminding us all how great their 2017 LP Beyond The Infinite was, with its mix of denim n’ leather thrash and grit-encrusted D-beat doom. Make sure you’ve got some ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet before this one, because your neck and ears will be in serious need the next morning. And you’ll never regret it for a second.

Wednesday, March 21, 7 PM
Forever Came Calling, In Her Own Words, Hold Close, Telltale, Last Night’s Ghost @ The Canal Club – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I try to be honest when shows like this come up, so let’s just get it out front right now — I’m a sucker for emotional pop-punk bands with a vague hardcore edge. The Story So Far, State Champs, Four Year Strong… all that stuff just has me dead to rights. Like those other bands, Forever Came Calling was signed to Pure Noise Records earlier this decade when they were putting out killer LPs like 2014′ s What Matters Most and winning me over with outstanding emo-pop gems like “Defenseless” and “Rather Be Dead Than Cool.” They fell off the map for a bit, leaving Pure Noise and doing some lineup restructuring that kept them off the road and in the practice space for a while.

However, Forever Came Calling have come back full-strength this year with a new guitarist and a new self-released EP, Retro Future. The two advance singles from the EP show that they’re still firing on all cylinders, and between these killer new tunes and the passel of singalong classics from their first two LPs they’ll have for us, tonight’s gonna be a hell of a night! Tourmates In Her Own Words — a pretty good emo-pop-punk band in their own right, though their name would make a lot more sense if they actually had a female singer — and Hold Close — another crew of emo-punk bad boys with a bit of a Knuckle Puck vibe (always good in my opinion) — will bring a significant amount of excellent tuneage to this night as well.

Thursday, March 22, 7 PM
Gavin Riley Smoke Machine, Anneliese, Mylo Shift @ Gallery 5 – $5
It’s getting pretty far along in the week, but the weekend’s not quite here yet — so if what you really need this Thursday night is to add some spice to your week, look no further than the Gavin Riley Smoke Machine show at Gallery 5. It’d be easy to just call Riley’s sound electronic hip hop, but there’s so much more to what he and his Smoke Machine have to offer, and a lot of it only fully comes alive in the live environment. You see, performances by the Gavin Riley Smoke Machine are sort of like those Choose Your Own Adventure books we all used to read when we were seven years old. Wait, what? Hold on a second, I’ll explain.

Each song presents us with a plot point in Riley’s “Space Needle Adventure.” At the end of the song, the audience will be given two choices, and how they vote will determine what happens next in the story… and, in turn, what song the Smoke Machine plays next. Eventually, we’ll arrive at an ending, though it may not be one you necessarily expected. The songs themselves are fun and amusing, littered with plot twists reflecting Riley’s dark sense of humor. And therefore, it makes some sense that hilarious local one-man band Mylo Shift is one of the locals on this bill — his own twisted sense of humor and wacky antics are enough to put you in the perfect mood for your headliners. And of course, we can’t forget Anneliese, who you may know from The Folly or Museum District but who has some pretty great pop-soul sounds of her own in store for you. Show up on time, and be prepared for an unusual and unforgettable show! It’ll get you through til the weekend, and then some.

Friday, March 23, 8 PM
Palm, Spirit Of The Beehive, Lance Bangs, Basmati @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
This Friday night, Palm comes to town to prove to everyone who thinks there’s nothing new under the sun that they’re just not paying close enough attention. The zany, frenetic hybrid sound of Palm’s brand new second album, Rock Island, is the kind of thing that could never have existed before the current moment in the indie continuum, synthesizing as it does disparate influences from mellow math-rockers like Tera Melos, pop experimentalists like Animal Collective, and impossible-to-categorize hyperkinetic weirdos like Deerhoof. If any of these bands appeal to you, you’re sure to enjoy watching Palm dash headlong through sounds that remind you of all of them and a good deal more, in the space of a single song. And somehow, they keep the melodies memorable and the tunes entertaining throughout it all.

Spirit Of The Beehive are another excellent product of the recent indie evolutions, though they have landed in a very different spot. Initially channeling that whole early 90s “shoegaze” sound that many bands attempt these days (with varying rates of success), their second LP, last year’s Pleasure Suck, is an altogether different animal that sees Spirit Of The Beehive retaining their sense of tuneful energy but adding programmed beats, underwater synth sounds, and an air of general weirdness that shifts the whole thing at least 90 degrees off-kilter. The result is something that local Citrus City fans should really dig, which makes it all the more apropos that Citrus City standard-bearers Lance Bangs bring their jangly slacker-pop to one of the opening slots on this bill. Basmati interject their own unique take on math-pop indie sounds as well, making this a night full of bizarrely captivating music that is sure to win you over.

Saturday, March 24, 8 PM
Gumming, Lipid, Butt, Haircut @ Mojo’s – $8-10 donation to RRFP
Punk rock has gotten really psychedelic and weird in recent years and I love it. I’m particularly stoked about Gumming, a relatively new RVA band featuring members of fellow psych-punk oddities Pucker Up and Whorecough. They’ve got a brand new tape, Human Values, out on Not Normal Records, which showcases their rumbling, pounding riffs, messy guitar sound, and frustrated vocal ranting. The sum total of the whole thing reminds me of incredible UK punk band Good Throb with some demented Flipper/Butthole Surfers energy and a dose of early-80s psychos The Crucifucks. Gumming might freak you out at first, but if you stand your ground and give yourself a chance to get on their wavelength, the rewards will be plentiful. Trust me.

This show celebrates the release of Human Values, but it also benefits the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project, and Gumming will even be giving a portion of the money from their merch sales to RRFP, so that’s all the more reason to score your own copy of Human Values at this show. The other bands on this bill offer plenty of additional reasons to show up. Butt aren’t quite as ranty as Gumming but definitely have that weirdo psych-punk vibe in excess. Haircut drop the psychedelia in favor of full-on angry old-school hardcore, but without going all tough-guy style and ruining it. Lipid follow the trend of one-word names that is apparently sweeping the city based on this bill, but that’s all I can really tell you except that the facebook event page calls them “rap punk” and I have no idea whether to take that seriously or not. Regardless, you already have more than enough reason to make it to Mojo’s this Saturday night, and I haven’t even mentioned their food! Get there.

Sunday, March 25, 8 PM
Love Roses (photos by Eric Maupin), Ruin By Design, LNT, Brainbuster, Hanoi Jane @ Wonderland – $8
I tend to think of package tours as the sort of thing that brings four or five emo or metalcore bands to The Canal Club and turns a show into an all-day festival even before there are openers added, but if the bill hitting Wonderland this Sunday night is any indication, package tours aren’t just for Warped Tour graduates anymore. The final date of the Worldwide Weekend Tour sees five different bands from around VA finish up a jaunt across the state that will bring the same five bands to clubs in DC and Roanoke before finishing up down in Shockoe Bottom. I wonder if they rented a bus for the occasion?

In all honesty, I can’t imagine. After all, these are hardly the sort of well-scrubbed heartthrobs you’d find on a Warped Tour bus. Instead, we’ve got the raging old-school HC/punk hybrid of RVA’s Love Roses at the top of the bill — and anyone paying attention knows these guys are always a blast. DC’s Ruin By Design bring a tough yet somewhat melodic take on fast USHC, while NoVA rippers LNT, aka Like No Tomorrow, bring some Dwarves-style raging punk with a hint of melody. Then there’s Fredericksburg spiky punks Brainbuster, who mix Casualties-style US punk with some old-school Boston HC sounds. And of course, we wrap it up with Roanoke’s Hanoi Jane, who mingle Poison Idea’s rockin’ punk rage with some oddly Op Ivy-ish ska-punk moments. It’s gonna be a lot to take in all at once, but since all of these bands keep the pedal to the floor, you’ll be able to skank on through to the other side with no problem. So throw away your preconceptions about five-band tours and come out ready to circle-pit — it’ll be a blast. And it won’t take all night!

Monday, March 26, 8 PM
Patsy’s Rats, Scott Yoder, Big No, Sick Bags @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It kinda keeps to itself, but if you pay attention, you’re sure to notice just how active the local garage-punk scene is here in Virginia. If you haven’t caught on just yet, this show is definitely a good reason to pay attention. After all, Patsy’s Rats, an incredible power-pop ensemble out of Portland that combines the talents of former Scavenger Cunt frontwoman (and Howe Gelb of Giant Sand’s daughter) Patsy Gelb with those of Mean Jeans frontman Christian Blunda, aka Billy Jeans, have turned to the VA garage scene for their current rhythm section: Paul Kirk (Cherry Pits) and Tim Abbondelo (the Ar-Kaics). If you want to see these favorite local sons rocking it with a killer group from the left coast — and you do, I assure you — this Monday night’s your chance.

Patsy’s Rats will arrive in town in the company of their Burger Records labelmate Scott Yoder, who hails from Seattle and has a sweet acoustic sound on his 2016 LP, Looking Back In Blue. Regardless of the decided lack of punk snarl, Yoder’s work has a real kinship with what Patsy’s Rats are doing, being just as firmly grounded in the basics of excellent pop songcraft as the Rats are. This can also be said of Big No, the local band featuring Tim Abbondelo’s long-ago Crestfallen bandmate Nathan Grice and his partner, Heather Jerabeck, delivering some psychedelic sounds that will add a measure of outer space to this evening’s festivities. Sick Bags will open up with all the snotty punk snarl you could ever want in your garage punk, just to keep all the leather-jacket kids happy. This one’s got it all.

Tuesday, March 27, 8 PM
Ceschi, Onry Ozzborn, Moodie Black, ESH, Trauma Lavern @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
If you’re both stoked on the DIY underground and a true-blue hip hop head, this might just be the best show for you all year. Ceschi Ramos, who records and performs under his first name (which is pronounced chess-key), has been running his own label, Fake Four Inc, for a decade now, and he’s on tour with some labelmates to bring the celebration across the country. Ceschi has an intriguing sound that is more hip hop in approach and mindset than strictly in sound — while the man can rap rings around most emcees working these days, he sometimes forgoes the boom-bap beats in favor of acoustic guitars, choosing to sing instead of spit. His expanded palette always keeps his performances interesting, and everyone from open-minded hip hop fans to singer-songwriter types are sure to find plenty to love in his performance Tuesday night.

But Ceschi’s got a whole crew of Fake Four artists along with him this time around, and those artists are at least as much an attraction as Ceschi himself. Onry Ozzborn, who may be best known for his membership in Seattle rap duo Grayskul, is showing up solo with sounds from his 2017 release, Black Philip, and presumably quite a bit more as well. With less genre-hopping tendencies than Ceschi, Onry is mainly here to spit some killer lyrics over strong beats and electronic vibes. Meanwhile, Moodie Black brings the noise rap sounds from way back, coming out of Arizona with an aggressive sound that originated long before any of us had heard of Death Grips. Boston rapper/producer Esh rounds out the crew of Fake Four tourmates with some sick rhymes and unusual beats, while PT Burnem continues his long local association with Ceschi and Fake Four by bringing his current group, Trauma Lavern, to an opening spot on this bill. Liven up your week with this one.

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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] [for more of my deranged ramblings, check GayRVA each and every day. Sometimes I even write about music over there.]

Top image by Vivienne Lee

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