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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: May 4 – May 10

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FEATURED SHOW
Wednesday, May 4, 8 PM
Indie Pop Night at Black Iris, feat. Hotspit (Photo by @2hevns), Winkler, Ten Pound Snail, Frames @ Black Iris – $8 in advance, $10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Something nice I’ve noticed as the live music scene here in Richmond has thawed and reawakened after the eighteen-month virtual freeze of the pandemic is the increased role being taken in bringing live music to our town by two different important local entities: Black Iris, and Baripete Productions. I’ve particularly noted the things the Arts District-based social club and the up-and-coming promotion outfit have been working together on. For a few months toward the beginning of this year, Baripete were running weekly jazz nights on Wednesdays at Black Iris as part of a series called “Doors At Eight.” Since then, in addition to the growth of the Brambly After Dark series of concerts at Brambly Park and a few noteable presentations at The Hofheimer’s multiple live rooms, Baripete’s brought several other events to Black Iris, of which this Indie Pop Night is just the latest.

And while the jazz fans who loved Doors At Eight might be a little bummed that this event has such a different theme genre, those of us who adore the many melodic indie bands making gorgeous tunes around the Richmond area are in luck with this evening. Hotspit is at the top of the bill, and they’ve really taken some big steps over the last couple of years. The latest is demonstrated by “Wane Mouth,” the single the band released a couple months ago as their first new music in the wake of 2021 debut album CC. It’s both more concise and more directly focused on the beautiful melodies at its center than any of the songs on CC were, and it shows that Hotspit are reaching a new level with their craft — a level that will immerse you in memorably lovely sounds.

Three more bands grace this bill in addition to Hotspit, though, and all have considerable charms. Let’s start with the one from out of town: Winkler are a jangly, acoustic-focused Boston combo who demonstrate an old-fashioned folky charm on new single “Mona.” It definitely leaves you wanting more, and they’ll be bringing plenty more to Black Iris tonight. As for Ten Pound Snail, their Red House Painters-ish slowcore sound is infectious, and a little bird tells me they’re getting ready at some point in the relatively near future to release a fresh batch of excellent tunes to all of us eager listeners. Get a preview of what they’ve got in store at this show. And hey — make sure you show up right on time at 8 o’clock sharp for this one, because missing a second of the opening set that incredibly talented emo-pop group Frames opens the evening with is a crime against music. Be there or get locked up. Hey, I don’t make the rules.

Wednesday, May 4, 9 PM
Pardoner (Photo by Chloe Mullowney), Blunt @ Fuzzy Cactus – $7
Alternately, you might wish to head to Northside and spend your Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you… I know, it’s terrible) evening at Richmond’s 21st century home of rock n’ roll, Fuzzy Cactus, where the talented San Francisco-based group Pardoner will be unleashing an evening full of excellent indie rock riffs. And like, look people — nostalgia is a curse. Pop culture is so doused in it circa 2022 that I wish it had physical form, so I could pick it up and wring the nostalgia out of it like a wet washrag. But nonetheless, when I hear people talking about Pardoner having a nostalgic sound that harks back to the early-90s days of underground alternative rock on their latest LP, Came Down Different, well… I can’t deny that I get what they mean.

But let’s reframe this, folks. When I listen to Pardoner, I hear a band capable of energetic indie rock that pulls from sources as diverse as early 80s UK postpunk, the psychedelic garage rock revival led by their fellow San Franciscans Thee Oh Sees, the Americana-infused jangle-pop of early REM, and, yeah OK, the many feedback-laced melodic guitar rockers from college towns like Boston and Chapel Hill who infused the indie scene of the early 90s. Why can’t what these guys are doing today just constitute another wave of this evergreen sound? I for one think it does — every time I’ve put on Came Down Different over the past couple days, I’ve quickly forgotten that I was doing a “research listen.” This band is more than good enough to be a band that you don’t just indulge for extramusical reasons. And they’ll certainly present a show that’s way more than good enough to get you through another year of unnecessary lightsaber references.

Thursday, May 5, 7 PM
The Chisel, Dark Thoughts, Quarantine, Public Acid @ Studio Two Three – $15
Another big change in the post-pandemic world of local live music is that I’ve found I can’t just source all my information about upcoming shows on Facebook anymore. Which is great, because I hate Facebook (I’m a Twitter girl, at least for now). However, these days, I’m finding the place I have to go — and do a fair amount of hunting while I’m there — is Instagram. I can deal with Instagram, but I much more oriented toward words than pictures, so it doesn’t come the most naturally to me. Thankfully, the more time I spend on there, the more often I find amazing shows like this one, featuring great underground bands tearing it up at venues that are a little off the beaten path. Many times, the most truly memorable live music events take place in circumstances like that one.

But even if such high-flown reasoning isn’t likely to draw you out to some random punk show, rest assured you should make time for this one. UK punk rockers The Chisel have blown a lot of minds in the punk and hardcore world over the past year or so, first with a series of killer singles, then with their incredible LP of last November, Retaliation. I hear people talk when they listen to this band about oi! and other such micro-genres, but I’m not gonna get into the weeds with all that, because to me, The Chisel is just a straight-up old-school punk band with a ton of energy, fury, and that patented British snarl all the best late-70s UK bands excelled at, coupled with some great rock n’ roll riffs that stand outside any particular momentary movement. Whether you dig Blitz, 9 Shocks Terror, the New York Dolls, the Back From The Grave comps, or some combination of all of them, you’ll find something to love in the music of The Chisel. And you should really be there for what’s sure to be one of the better shows to come to RVA this season. Regardless of what social media you did or did not find out about it from.

Friday, May 6, 7 PM
Suppression, Kontusion, Left Cross @ Cobra Cabana – $5
Here’s an absolutely mind-blowing fact — Suppression have been a band for three full decades. Formed by bassist/vocalist Jason Hodges back when he was a teenage grindcore nerd living in Roanoke, they spent most of their first decade as a quintet with constantly shifting lineups, of which Jason was the only constant member. When he moved to Richmond at the dawn of the 21st century, the lineup settled into its present incarnation, with the illustrious Ryan Parrish (also of Darkest Hour, Iron Reagan, and a million other bands) on drums and Jason handling everything else (so: bass, vocals, and a million distortion pedals and noise machines).

They’ve been through a ton of evolutions in just the time since the duo of Jason and Ryan became the band’s permanent lineup, and in recent years they’ve returned to a sloppier and even more noisy and primitive version of the grind/metal/noise/core sound they were making during their Roanoke days in the mid-90s. 2021 digital compilation Oblivion Rats collects all the noise they made between 2015 and 2018. It includes two full-length albums and six split EPs, and runs to 99 tracks, many of which are run-together medleys featuring three or more songs. So yeah, this is a bunch of blurry, distorted noise, of the sort that makes most of what “power violence” seem downright slow and accessible. 30 years later, well into their 40s, Suppression are still making the kind of noise that will not only alienate your parents, but probably your kids too. And if that isn’t a commendable achievement, I don’t know what is. Go celebrate it with them at Cobra Cabana this Friday night. Do it for posterity.

Saturday, May 7, 8 PM
The Great Beforetimes, Abby Huston, Tess Fisher, Rebekah Rafferty & The Wakes @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
The Great Beforetimes are a minimalist acoustic trio that brings together singer-songwriter Aern Stapel and artist Ceili Galante with guitarist Taimir Gore, whose name is more familiar to me from post-rock band Kristeva and Black Liquid’s new metal band, Armagideon Time. It was definitely that unusual combo of people involved in this project first caught my attention, but I wouldn’t have stuck around long enough to write about them if it weren’t for the sincerely intriguing sound they create on their brand-new self-titled LP, the release of which this Saturday night show at The Camel is intended to celebrate. With a percussion-less sound fundamentally oriented around banjo, there’s a temptation to write them off as old-time music, or Americana, or whatever.

But if you actually spend some time with the music of The Great Beforetimes, you’ll soon realize that they have far less in common with scratchy old 78s recorded in Southwest Virginia hotels 100 years ago than they do with psych-folk rangers like Devendra Banhart, the early works of grandiose weirdo singer-songwrite Sufjan Stevens, or even Richmond hometown hero Josh Small. Like the music of all of these artists, The Great Beforetimes’ music steps outside of any studied, formalistic appreciation of the music of a bygone culture to connect with us all in the here and now. This band uses banjo, acoustic guitar, and voices raised in harmony to create songs that actually reach us all the way here in our digital-as-fuck 21st century world and make real deep connections that’ll have you placing these tunes into “new favorite tracks” playlists right alongside Lizzo or Wet Leg or Drug Church or whatever else you’re digging so far in 2022. There’s no contradiction here. Great music exists outside time. That said, this show takes place in a very defined chronological moment, and I encourage you to spend the hours between 8 pm and midnight this Saturday night at The Camel appreciating every gorgeous, unique moment of it.

Sunday, May 8, 7 PM
Soul Glo, Listless, Dumb Waiter @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Speaking of music we’re adding to playlists featuring our faves of 2022 thus far, it’s highly apropos that Soul Glo are bringing their frantic, chaotic brand of hardcore to Richmond at The Camel this Sunday night. Because their new LP, Diaspora Problems, is — at least for me — the most fully realized expression of what it is that they do that’s come into the world thus far. And I mean, I loved Soul Glo even back when I first heard them back in 2016. Nonetheless, Diaspora Problems seems to me to bring all of the elements of what they do into perfect proportion to create an absolute hardcore classic. The song structures are chaotic and unpredictable without being confusing or alienating. The guitars are noisy and harsh, but the choruses are so catchy and memorable that you’ll be singing along with the best of them after only one listen — even when that means you’ll catch yourself mumbling, “Who gon’ beat my ass? Who the fuck gon’ beat my ass?” under your breath while washing dishes.

That’s the other thing about Soul Glo that stands out from moment one — the larger than life personality of vocalist Pierce Jordan, who screams, rages, and rants a thousand miles a minute throughout this album, showing off a verbosity that I, a person who writes this long-ass column once a week, can’t help be impressed with. Soul Glo’s lyrics bring a realness that gets much closer to what it’s actually like to be alive than 99% of lyricists ever even attempt, as well as a strong political consciousness that isn’t going to let any of us off the hook for any of our day to day bullshit. Specifically, they focus quite a bit from an intensely personal perspective on the struggle of marginalized Black people in the United States in the year 2022, something a lot of white people like me (and maybe you?) have let ourselves mostly forget about now that the monuments are down. Soul Glo’s an incredible band pushing the boundaries of what hardcore and punk rock can be, and they’re sure to blow your mind musically. But the lyrics and the statements they make with their music are just as important, and that if anything is why you should make The Camel your destination this Sunday night.

Monday, May 9, 7 PM
Chris Acker, Jackson Lynch, Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers, Brady Heck @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I know, I’ve said it many times before, but I’m always so thankful that The Camel bothers to book shows on Monday night, a night when many other local venues are generally dark and shuttered. This time around, though, they aren’t just bringing us a charming little locals-only bill; instead, they’re hosting touring singer-songwriters Chris Acker and Jackson Lynch. Acker hails from Seattle, while Lynch was born in Ireland and raised in New York, but the city that appears to unite the two of them is New Orleans, where both have spent quite a bit of time during their careers. They’re currently on tour together, both in support of recently released full-lengths that show off their respective powers.

Where Acker is concerned, the LP in question is Odd, Ordinary & Otherwise, his third, released last year and featuring an impressive collection of tunes that make abundantly clear why people compare this dude to the legendary John Prine. It’s the voice, yes — they do sound similar. But it’s also the strength of the songwriting, the way Acker is skilled at capturing all the tiny events that make up the lives of ordinary people and setting them to beautiful, bittersweet tunes. As for Lynch, his new LP is All By My Ownsome, his first full-length release. It mixes covers of century-old tunes by pre-war blues legends like Lonnie Johnson and Josh White with Lynch originals that show how deeply indebted Lynch is to the old-time blues and folk traditions, but also display how creative he is and how much personality he brings to his music. Both Acker and Lynch will be well worth your time to see, and the fact that local purveyors of Americana sounds like Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers and Brady Heck are also on the bill only sweetens an already delicious cup of musical iced tea. Drink up.

Tuesday, May 10, 6:30 PM
Higher Power, Earth To Heaven, Reflect, Torment @ The HofGarden – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I like a lot of different kinds of music, but I’ve never pretended to be anything other than a hardcore kid at heart, so whenever a really great hardcore band comes through town, I try my best to get them into this here show column. You’ve seen some evidence of that already in this edition (see the Soul Glo blurb above), and here’s another example. Higher Power hail from Leeds, over in the UK, and while the UK’s hardly been a hotbed of hardcore greatness over the decades, I don’t think there’s anyone who will deny that this band is in the top tier of hardcore right now. And that’s got a lot to do with the intensely musical nature of their work.

Past generations of hardcore bands have embraced the slogan coined by fellow UK HC band Discharge: noise not music. But Higher Power is doing a lot more than just making harsh, angry noise. On 2020 album 27 Miles Underwater, Higher Power demonstrate influence from groundbreaking bands of the past 30 years, from Quicksand and Snapcase to Glassjaw and Turnstile. And the result is memorable, full of catchy singalong choruses without losing an ounce of the energy we all come to hardcore for. Higher Power might not be exactly what anyone in 1982 or 1996 thought hardcore would sound like today, but it’s pretty goddamn great, and isn’t that what ultimately matters? Spoiler: yes, it is.

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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]

No Genre, No Gender: LGBTQ Music Thrives in Richmond

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Our 2019 Fall Pride Guide, in collaboration with VA Pride, is out now! In this article from the magazine, Alexander Rudenshiold dives deep into Richmond’s vibrant LGBTQ music scene.

It’s no secret that Richmond is experiencing a musical renaissance right now. Everywhere you look, there’s something happening in every genre: from metalcore to emo, and experimental hip hop to techno. It’s all happening, it’s all connected, and it’s all LGBTQ. While many of the musicians deemed “culturally relevant” at large are the same cookie-cutter, cisgender, straight white people that they have always been, Richmond’s underground music scene — like so many others across the United States — is run and populated by LGBTQ people.

Perhaps the most prominent recent success from the Richmond LGBTQ community is six-piece metalcore collective .Gif From God, who recently signed to Prosthetic Records: an internationally-distributed metal label known for putting out such titans as Lamb of God, Gojira, and Animals as Leaders. The band has become notable online not just for their punishing riffs, but also for the reactionary homophobic and transphobic rhetoric they’ve received in response to their music. The band exists in an intersection between different communities of LGBTQ people in Richmond, sharing members between scenes — most notably vocalist Mitchie Shue, known widely for their post-metal project Truman, and bassist Sofia Lakis, who also regularly DJs techno music.

“I believe the identities I hold directly shape the way I perceive and experience the world,” said Shue. “Most of what I write about in .Gif is in reference to mistakes I’ve made, frustrations I’ve felt, and a deep feeling of intense hopelessness, surrounding the circumstances of my existence and the people I care about.”

Sofia Lakis performs with .Gif From God. Photo by Courage Music Photography

Both Shue and Lakis also play guitar in the six-piece “revenge” band Listless, which has recently made appearances at DIY festivals up and down the East Coast. Shue elaborates that much of the content in both of these bands is focused around holding individuals accountable, and that “actions have consequences, and the ways in which we carry ourselves through the world hold weight and meaning.”

“I feel like these identities have shaped my perspective and experiences in both obvious and imperceptible ways, but at the end of the day, I make music to please my own palette,” said Lakis, an out bisexual trans woman. “I draw inspiration from my environment and my experience of it, and that experience is affected by my gender and sexual identity to varying degrees in any given situation.”

As a guitarist in Listless, Lakis said that most of her inspiration comes from sources of anger. “A lot is derived from my identity rubbing against the grain of my environment, or a self-loathing somberness and resentment stemming from dysphoria, disillusionment, and trauma.” With .Gif however, she thinks of things as a bit “cheekier,” specifically with regards to the genre typing of the band as “sasscore.”

DJ Sofia Lakis. Photo by Sarmistha Talukdar

“Sasscore is hard to define in strict musical terms, but there is a sort of queer connotation to it,” she said. “That goes along with certain sounds and tropes that basically serve as the hardcore/metal equivalent of ‘camp,’ referring to the more ‘effeminate’ qualities of some emo/screamo, mixed with a kind of off-kilter ‘lol, I’m so random’ humor trafficked by myspace-era scene kid memes.”

On top of all this, Lakis also books a series of electronic music showcases under the name “Formula,” aimed at bringing together the many dance scenes in Richmond. She directly credits the LGBTQ community with the success of these events. “LGBT+ artists were at the forefront of this party because we were the ones facilitating it,” she said. “And to a large degree, LGBT+ artists are the ones leading the charge in the Richmond dance music scene.”

Shue and Lakis find themselves at the intersection of two of Richmond’s most prominent LGBTQ music communities, the Great Dismal collective and Ice Cream Support Group. Shue, through Great Dismal, is responsible for many of the most notable offbeat metal and punk shows happening in Richmond booking prominent bands like The HIRS Collective and Soul Glo. The shows also give back to the local community, by donating a portion of the proceeds from each show to organizations working towards positive change, like the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project and the Richmond Doula Project.

DJ Archangel. Photo via Soundcloud

Ice Cream Support Group is a collective of electronic artists organized by Angel Flowers (a.k.a. DJ Archangel), who regularly throw dance parties called “Ice Cream Socials” as fundraisers for some of the same organizations supported by Great Dismal. The Socials serve as an important springboard for DJs like Lakis, a place for them to experiment and find their sound. These groups represent a community which, while differing in some interests, comes together through the principles of what Shue calls “values-based organizing and mutual aid” — coming together around common goals and, despite their differences, supporting one another when they’re able.

Another vibrant new group on the scene is Space Litter Records, a community space run by Ana Davis and Sawyer Camden, both members of emo band Warrington. Since starting in February of this year, Space Litter has become a hub for DIY organizers across Richmond. They lend their space and time seemingly without limit and book their own shows, specifically with the intention to highlight marginalized voices. Davis explains that her identity affects the way she books shows, and that she specifically looks to book groups which aren’t entirely straight and white. “It feels good to see people performing who might not have had their parents pay for their instruments and lessons,” she said. “[People] who make DIY look and feel different for once.”

On top of affecting Space Litter’s booking practices, Camden, a trans man, said that his identity affects his songwriting as well (even if indirectly). “I honestly only have one song that’s actually about my trans identity, and dealing with that as a human,” he said. “But my identity shapes my whole life, and I sing mostly about my depression and anxieties, with very few songs about love and relationships. Oftentimes that stems from my ‘gay/trans lifestyle.’”

Sawyer Camden of Warrington. Photo via Warrington/Bandcamp

Critically, Richmond’s underground hip-hop and rap scene is also making major moves, particularly since LGBTQ rapper Alfred. released their latest album LIKE YOU!! on the notable indie label Topshelf Records, in conjunction with the joint Richmond-Brooklyn operation Citrus City Records. They, along with producer/rapper Ty Sorrell and noise rap duo BLVCKPUNX (of which DJ Archangel is a member) are leading a new wave of hip hop artists in Richmond exploring gender and sexuality through classic and experimental forms.

“I see [Great Dismal and Space Litter] making an effort to make connections across different genres, and bringing people together by simply providing spaces where marginalized people can feel safe and welcomed.” said Judy Hong. “[They] have been so gracious to me by booking and supporting me during my time in Richmond.” Hong, a non-binary/agender Korean-American and frontperson of indie rock band Baby Grill, and the mastermind behind longstanding label Quiet Year Records, also spoke to the hardships of being a QPOC (queer person of color) in music. “Whether it’s while playing shows, recording, or working with music journalists, the relationships I have with the people around me have largely shaped my experiences.”

They stress that there are a great number of practical issues which limit the access for many marginalized people to participate in this type of music. “Who has the PA, the recording studios, the booking calendars, the online platforms?” they ask. “Who will take me seriously and show they can respect me as a person?” For them, finding ways to connect with people higher up in the music industry is a challenge. “It’s still cis, straight, and white-dominated, and I’m just not around many people like that anymore — but that’s who’s calling the shots in the music industry, that’s who I have to get the attention of and impress. It’s discouraging sometimes, for sure.”

Judy Hong of Baby Grill. Photo by Rin Kim, via Baby Grill/Facebook

Despite setbacks like policing of DIY venues and closures of venues like Strange Matter, Richmond’s LGBTQ music scene has persisted and thrived, particularly in the past year. There’s a pervading sense of positivity that enmeshes its members, a sense of community that’s uniquely entwined seemingly-disparate genres into one giant web of support.

“Moving to Richmond from Columbia, SC — four, going on five years ago — was one of the best things I ever did for myself,” said Lakis, who credits the community here in Richmond with empowering her transition. “The resources provided by local organizations like Health Brigade are what brought me here, seeking residency and a chance to begin some form of medical transition. Along with those resources, I found a community full of the most supportive and generous people I’ve ever met, and I’ve made more friends than I could’ve imagined in a relatively short amount of time.”

Hong’s feelings echo Lakis’s. “I have a lot of love for the queer and trans people of color in Richmond,” they say. “While there’s still a lot of violence against LGBTQ people here (and everywhere), there’s pockets of joy and solidarity that make being here worth everything.”

“Being a queer POC in Richmond is actually sick because there are so many of us around,” said Davis. “It’s nice not to feel like such a freak in a town full of them.”

“Also,” adds Lakis, “it’s a pretty good place for a girl to find a date.”

Top Photo: .Gif From God at Gallery 5. Photo by Erik Phillips

VA Shows You Must See This Week: September 4 – September 10

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FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, September 5, 9 PM
Iron Reagan, Nickelus F, Slump @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
I’ve been doing this column for nearly six years now (I know, time flies), and sometimes I worry that I’m getting a little predictable. I see a show on my exhaustively-compiled master list of upcoming shows and immediately think, “Oh damn, that’s feature this week for sure.” But then I think, “Wait a minute. Is me picking that show a total cliche? Do I need to branch out, lest everyone figure out that I really am just an aging hipster with a strong nostalgic streak?” I don’t know, I’m probably thinking too much.

So let’s put all those thoughts aside and just embrace the most RVA-Mag-catnip show that’s come down the pike in a while: this Thursday-night bill mingling diverse genres under one roof at Brookland Park’s newest hotspot, Fuzzy Cactus. If I gave Shows You Must See awards at the end of every year (what would I call that, the Showies? LOL maybe I’ll start doing that), these guys would already be a lock for Best New Venue. This three-band bill (the perfect length) only further solidifies their hold on that honor — and this is still their first month of operation!

At this point, Iron Reagan’s become just as well established in the Virginia thrash/crossover scene as the longer-lived bands from which they spawned (Municipal Waste, Darkest Hour, Mammoth Grinder), and last year’s split EP with Gatecreeper shows that they continue to evolve their sound in more brutal, more epic directions. If they were going to share a bill with a hip hop artist, Richmond legend Nickelus F is the perfect one. An institution in his own right, he recently followed up last year’s breakthrough LP, Stuck, with a two-volume collection of archival recordings called The Gold Mine. It’s just further proof that, whether you’re listening to his newest banger or songs he recorded a decade ago, Nickelus F’s talent knows no bounds. This show is rounded out with a set from Slump, a psych-noise/hardcore band with a unique sound and a new LP coming on Feel It Records any minute now. Show up at this show and enjoy yourself. Take it from one who knows — life’s too short to think so much.

Wednesday, September 4, 9 PM
Easter Island, Majjin Boo, Colpa Mia @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s been a long road to bring Georgia’s Easter Island to Richmond tonight, but at the end of it, they’re a stronger, better band, and they’re sure to charm all comers when they take the stage. Having broken up back in 2014, the band’s main creative forces, brothers Ethan and Asher Payne, found themselves coming back together a couple of years ago with renewed inspiration and a clutch of excellent new tunes that expand on the band’s sound. They aptly refer to their genre as “post-rock dream pop,” and whether you’re more into Slowdive, The Cure, or Explosions In The Sky, you’re sure to get a boost from their strong yet beautiful music.

While Easter Island haven’t released an actual record in over five years, they’re currently prepping a brand new album entitled Island Nation for release later this year. Preview singles make clear that it’s a new height of excellence for the band, one that you should absolutely experience in the live environment. And with Richmond’s Majjin Boo on the bill as well, this show is twice as nice. Under the name Cardinal, this band released one of my favorite EPs of the year so far back in the spring. They’ve now returned to their original name, and have a bunch more new material to bring us all in the near future. Get a preview tonight — it’ll be worth it! Local indie-pop up-and-comers Colpa Mia kick this one off. Be there.

Thursday, September 5, 9 PM
Kaelan Mikla (Photo by Debi Del Grande), Cloud Rat, Listless, Melvl @ Wonderland – $10
Iceland, the tiny North Atlantic island country in which a sparse population descended from Vikings lives amongst glaciers and active volcanoes, carries an undeniable allure for Americans trapped in our country’s endless suburban sprawl. That allure has been enhanced by the country’s excellent musical exports, including Bjork, Sigur Ros, and chaotic hardcore quintet Minus. Kaelan Mikla is the latest of these, and — true to Icelandic form — sounds nothing like any of them. Instead, this trio uses synthesizers, programmed beats, and layered vocals to create a dark, atmospheric sound that may be closer musically to gothic postpunk, but has an undeniable appeal to metalheads around the globe.

Perhaps this explains their current American tour, which finds them paired with long-running Michigan grindcore group Cloud Rat. This prolific, ferocious band brings a dynamic approach to the short-fast-loud formula, and on advance singles from their forthcoming fifth LP, Pollinator, they introduce epic riffs and harsh ambience to a sound that is still both fast as hell and heavy as fuck. I’d tell you to bring your earplugs, but the fact is that this trio is gonna rip your head right off. Excellent opening sets will be provided by the brutal metallic crust sextet Listless and the dark ambient solo act Melvl, both of which hail from right here in VA. Get stoked.

Friday, September 6, 9 PM
Material Girls, COQ, Dad @ Wonderland – $10
Atlanta quintet Material Girls is coming to town, and it’s time for all of us to get down — to Shockoe Bottom’s own Wonderland, that is. Despite the name, Material Girls bear no resemblance to Madonna’s classic mid-80s material, and instead are much more likely to remind listeners of New York in the postpunk early 80s. Their scratchy, minimalist grooves draw clear inspiration from groups like the Bush Tetras and ESG, while their creative use of saxophone is most reminiscent of early 80s UK noise-punk freaks Essential Logic.

On their 2018 LP, Leather, this group lays down a ferocious clatter, and it’s sure to draw you straight toward the dance floor, even if you don’t quite know what sort of dances to do once you get there. No matter how herky-jerky and frenetic your moves are, though, they’re sure to be perfect. Richmond’s own COQ are on this bill as well, and they eschew groove in favor of some straight-up clangor. Fans of No Wave leading lights like Mars and DNA are sure to appreciate the damaged noise this group dishes out. Locals Dad open this one up with some raw, dark indie sounds, complete with a strong political thread running throughout. This show will give you all the feels.

Saturday, September 7, 9 PM
Photosynthesizers, DJ Billy Nguyen @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
Though it’s been a while since I’ve heard it, Photosynthesizers is a name that’s been around the Richmond music scene for a long time now. Formed by rapper BarCodez and guitarist Joshua Bryant, this group has featured quite a few different Richmond music notables over the years, and has actually been pretty close to inactive for the past few. But Photosynthesizers are decidedly back, with a newly solidified seven-piece lineup, and are preparing to celebrate the 11th anniversary of their band with the release of their first proper LP, Apollogy.

The album’s first single, “Terms and Agreements,” finds BarCodez’s rhymes in top form as ever, atop a bed of melodic, soulful music that simultaneously evokes D’Angelo and Radiohead. Clearly this band’s time away has not hurt their ability to nail their unique, memorable sound. It’s good to have them back, and this Saturday night, you could do a whole lot worse than heading over to Fuzzy Cactus and catching the full album release show by this returning powerhouse. Photosynthesizers turntablist Billy Nguyen will kick off the evening with a DJ set; then you’re in the band’s capable hands for the rest of the evening. It’s a good place to be.

Sunday, September 8, 8 PM
Dead Animal Assembly Plant, The Destruct Principle, Gothic Lizard @ Fallout – $7 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
I love a good fictional origin story, and Portland’s Dead Animal Assembly Plant’s got a great one — something about a German slaughterhouse owner in the days leading up to World War I who snapped and started feeding the townspeople to the livestock, instead of the other way around. A gory horror story like that gives you a very good idea of what you’ll get when you listen to the music of this industrial metal ensemble of costumed maniacs.

On most recent EP OFH: Prime Cuts, Dead Animal Assembly Plant deals out a brutal, pounding sound that lands somewhere between Slipknot and Killing Joke, or maybe Machines Of Loving Grace jamming with White Zombie inside a currently-in-operation automobile factory. It’s heavy, but it’s also metallic in the sense of large sheets of metal clanging into each other. And of course, you can’t neglect the always-present element of gory terror. This band is sure to liven up a Sunday night at Fallout; get ready for some serious headbanging at the goth club.

Monday, September 9, 6 PM
Upon A Burning Body, Of Virtue, Speaking With Ghosts, Seasons, WoR @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The week has just started, and already it’s time to headbang once again, as Upon A Burning Body rolls into Richmond with fire in their eyes. This Texas metal band has been raging for nigh-on 15 years now, and it absolutely shows on their latest LP, Southern Hostility. While this ten-song collection of brutal mosh grooves definitely lands on the metal side of the metal/core divide, it’s closer than you might expect, and fans of Killswitch Engage, Pantera, and Sworn Enemy are all going to hear things they enjoy out of this Texas quartet.

Indeed, this is the sort of metal show where you’re just as likely to see spin-kicking mosh pits of doom as you are to see lines of longhairs banging their heads with glee. Upon A Burning Body have a particular skill with brutal breakdowns, so limber up before their set if you don’t want to pull a tendon. They’ll be joined on this bill by Michigan ragers Of Virtue, who have a definite appeal for the Suicide Silence/Whitechapel fans out there, and Chicago’s Speaking With Ghosts, whose new EP finds them blending Sworn In-style gothic moshcore with an eerie electronic undercurrent. This show’s got a lot of variety, but it’s all heavy. Sink your teeth into this one.

Tuesday, September 10, 7:30 PM
The Midnight, Flamingosis @ The National – $20 in advance/$23 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The retro synth wave continues to rise, and LA-based duo The Midnight are riding high on a crest of moody yet melodic gloriousness. The neon-lit nights and pastel bright spots of prime 80s-movie Los Angeles is this band’s metier, and they wield it exceptionally well, creating soundscapes that appeal to the many fans of the Drive soundtrack but also touches a deeper wellspring of emotion that their sound has in common with Euro indie-popstars M83.

On 2016’s Endless Summer and 2017’s Nocturnal, Tim MacEwan and Tyler Lyle struck electro-dance gold with their combination of retro-style production, outstanding melodies, and unabashedly 80s instrumental touches like saxophone solos and vocoder vocals. And this sound is sure to move everyone who takes to the National’s dancefloor this Tuesday night to while away their cares. The 80s weren’t nearly as glamorous a time as our culture remembers it to be, but on this night, you can enjoy that quintessential 80s glamour that previously existed only in movies. Take a trip with The Midnight, and find your own perfect wave.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, September 6, 6:30 PM
Strand Of Oaks, Apex Manor @ The Southern Cafe (Charlottesville) – $18 (order tickets HERE)
There’s a really strong vibe to Strand Of Oaks, one that hits a serious sweet spot — at least for me. The solo project of Indiana singer-songwriter Timothy Showalter, Strand Of Oaks is simultaneously steeped in acoustic folk and awash in post-rock grandeur, like early My Morning Jacket (whose members back Showalter on brand new sixth album, Eraserland) at their spaciest, combined with the late, lamented Secret Machines. Eraserland finds Showalter and co. exploring themes of depression, emotional struggles, and the search for a greater purpose from one’s life. God knows we’ve all had those struggles.

Fortunately, Strand Of Oaks is able to spin melodic gold from feelings of despair, and at Charlottesville’s Southern Cafe this Friday night, they’ll help us all to contemplate those moods while still enjoying some beautiful music. It’ll take the edge off, that’s for sure. Fans of Iron And Wine, Band Of Horses, and Sturgill Simpson will also find a lot to enjoy at this show, even if life’s somehow going really well for you these days. Don’t get us wrong, we’re happy for you — just try not to rub it in.

Saturday, September 7, 8 PM
Kississippi, Mas Y Mas, Deli Kings, Coolzey @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I like to keep tabs on the music scene down in Norfolk, but if I’m honest, I’ve probably been to less than a dozen shows in that lovely Tidewater city. So I’m not going to pretend that I know exactly what role TBA Productions has played in that city’s music scene over the past four years. However, I’m glad to have any sort of celebration that includes such excellent music on the bill. And if this is the kind of musical taste they show in their work, I’m sure they deserve every bit of celebratory accolades they get.

Philadelphia’s Kississippi top the bill at this musical party, and they have a lot to offer, as they displayed on last year’s Sunset Blush LP. Fans of Mates Of State or The Anniversary will find a lot to love in this band’s gorgeous indie pop tuneage, which shows the perfect ratio of keyboard-to-guitar sound in order to accentuate the melodic beauty of their tunes while still retaining a strong alt-rock bite. Basically these guys rule, and are worth the price of admission all on their own. Which only makes it that much more special that longrunning Norfolk indie rockers Mas Y Mas, along with sandwich-loving Richmond rock n’ rollers Deli Kings and Iowa hip hop group Coolzey, are filling out the bill with their own excellent sounds. 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: October 3 – October 9

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, October 5, 6 PM
Bracewar, Cold World, Shark Attack, Day By Day, Victim, Division Of Mind, Mindforce, Downfall, Antagonize @ The Canal Club – $20 (order tickets HERE)
It might be a surprise for the uninitiated to hear this, but hardcore is basically dance music — and hardcore bands know it. So many of them have “Intro” songs they play when they first hit the stage, and big mosh breakdowns that they end their sets with, most of which are introduced by a singer screaming, “Last chance to dance!” I rest my case. Richmond’s Bracewar is one of those bands, and in fact, I’ve often heard other hardcore kids talk about how their “Intro” (from their 2007 Juggernaut LP) is their best or most popular song. It makes a weird sort of sense — for a typically fast-as-hell band, the intro offers a perfect chance to get the kids all fired up before launching into a million-miles-an-hour rager.

Bracewar were super active about a decade ago, but the members have gotten older, and they’ve focused less on the band in recent years, playing the occasional local show but mostly not doing much. However, it appears all that is changing — they’ve got a brand new EP, Colossal, coming out on Triple B Records this week. It’s only three songs, but it’s their first new material in a decade, so we can cut ’em some slack. What’s really interesting is that they’ve got a new intro song on this one, entitled “Introduction.” Will this far more metallic take on the set-starting dance call get the kids moving as much as the old intro did? On Friday at the Canal Club, you’ll probably have a chance to find out.

You’ll also get a chance to see a TON of other rad hardcore bands from the past two decades, giving you a great view on what’s been happening in the world of hardcore since the millennium turned. Well-respected veterans Cold World will be sharing headliner status with Bracewar and bringing their brutal riffs with a slight tinge of hip-hop flavor to keep the dancefloor moving. And of course we can’t forget about Shark Attack, the short-lived but legendary northeast hardcore band that blew everyone’s minds back in 2001 with two incredible EPs, then dipped out leaving everyone wanting more. Their discography LP finally came out this year, complete with some unreleased tracks, and now they’re coming to Richmond to knock everybody on their asses once again. There are quite a few other excellent bands on this bill, from current ragers like RVA’s own Division Of Mind and Florida’s Day By Day to reincarnated VA Beach warriors Victim and the brand-new project from legendary Bane frontman Aaron Bedard, Antagonize. Practice your moves, kids — you’ve got a lot of dancing to do.

Wednesday, October 3, 7 PM
Thrice, The Bronx @ The National – $24.50 in advance/$29.50 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard not to love Thrice. They’ve been around forever, and despite many sonic evolutions they’ve been through, they’ve consistently remained great. From the ridiculously metallic skate-punk of their earliest work to the progressive, emotionally-driven sound of their Alchemy Index tetralogy to the work they’ve released since their brief hiatus earlier in the decade, everything has been enjoyable in its own way, and on its own merits.

It’s still true, too — their recently-released tenth album, Palms, mixes a variety of different sounds from all eras of their work to create a moving and powerful example of a band carving their own path. I guess you could call it post-hardcore, but even that rather nebulous genre term falls woefully short of describing this band’s capabilities — capabilities they demonstrate every time they step onto a stage. Tonight at the National will be no exception, and the fact that they’ve got irreverent melodic punk rippers The Bronx (speaking of groups who’ve remained consistently great for multiple decades) on tour with them only sweetens the deal. Prepare yourself — this one’s gonna be an experience.

Thursday, October 4, 8 PM
Rotten Mangos, Benjamin Shepherd, Saw Black @ Strange Matter – $7
Psychedelic rock n’ roll is a style of music that’s been around for a long time, but when it’s done right, it still rules. And there’s nowhere they do it as right as they do in Austin, Texas. From the band that started it all, the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, to current phenomena like Golden Dawn Arkestra, Austin is the place to go when you’re looking for wild, crazy psych to blow your mind.

Alternatively, you can let it come to you — and that’s what’s happening at Strange Matter Thursday night. Rotten Mangos, an all-star Austin psych crew featuring members of The Black Angels, former Richmonders The Diamond Center, and a whole lot more, will be rolling through with some pop-infused psych n’ roll that’ll open up your third eye and let the sun shine in. You’ll get a not entirely dissimilar experience from the local singer-songwriters opening up the show — Benjamin Shepherd brings a folky touch to his songs, but he’s not without some side trips into drug-fueled weirdness. Saw Black’s material is both more countrified and spacier; it’s not that predictable, especially on his excellent recent LP, Water Tower, but it’s always fun. This is a show to get your toes tapping even as your mind drifts through the astral plane. Who doesn’t love that?

Friday, October 5, 8 PM
Ragana, Haircut, Listless, Tavishi @ Strange Matter – $7
Things are getting spooky this Friday night at Strange Matter. Ragana is hitting town for the first time in several years, and this California group, only a two-piece, creates a powerful, all-encompassing ambience with their sound, one that’s sure to have a deep psychological effect on the denizens of Grace Street this weekend. The fact that Ragana’s most recent release is a split LP with New Orleans sludge-doom veterans Thou entitled Let Our Names Be Forgotten certainly gives you some idea of what to expect from their performance on Friday.

But it would be unfair to write Ragana off as just another doom metal band. They certainly have their share of loud, crushing moments that roll over you in slow motion like waves… or maybe a steamroller. But they also integrate quiet melodies and ominous atmosphere into their sound, significantly increasing the witchiness quotient of their music while also offering something more than the unremitting punishment dealt out by the typical doom band. For this reason, it makes sense that they’re sharing a bill with three Richmond bands who span a significant musical breadth. Listless’s crust/grind queercore, Tavishi’s harrowing electronic soundscapes, and Haircut’s angry punk noise all have elements in common with Ragana and each other, but every performer on this bill will offer their own unique take on the anguish that plagues us all as we walk through this difficult life.

Saturday, October 6, 7 PM
The Wedding Funeral @ Garden Grove Brewing & Winery – $?
This is a weird one, y’all. The Wedding Funeral is a project brought into the world by Darren Deicide and Ethel Lynn Oxide, a romantically-involved duo of musicians with widely divergent backgrounds. Deicide, an honest-to-god priest of the Church Of Satan, has been playing Robert Johnson-style acoustic blues for years now, while Oxide has a background in choral singing and the voice of an angel. The two of them have come together to create The Wedding Funeral, a sort of noir-folk project that uses rootsy blues-style instrumentation to jump all around the musical map, from pastoral British folk sounds to deep South blues to bizarre noise interludes.

At least, that’s how it seems from listening to the 30-second samples of their as-yet-unreleased debut album, You Are Cordially Disinvited, which they will be premiering for all comers at Garden Grove this Saturday night. Those samples are the entirety of the music they have available anywhere on the internet — their debut EP, Beneath The Floor Boards (Covered In Feces) (how’s that for a title), has been scrubbed from the World Wide Web in the interest of moving on to exciting new sounds, which is an understandable policy, if a frustrating one for a music journalist with a minimum of time on her hands. But I can tell you that you’ll learn a good bit more about what The Weddding Funeral have to offer if you make the trip down to Garden Grove, and in light of how unusual this band truly is, I definitely think it’s worth it.

Sunday, October 7, 8 PM
White Denim, Rotem @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
This one’s gonna be a lot of fun. White Denim, another excellent Austin, Texas band, have been around for about a decade, and in that time, they’ve been traversing a similar trajectory to that of another deep-South rock n’ roll group, The Black Keys. Starting out with a primitive garage-rock stomp that came out sort of like a janglier White Stripes and moving over the past decade into a thicker, funkier take on post-garage rockin’ that is downright impossible to deny.

Discovering their 2016 LP, Stiff, when I heard multiple songs from it at Sheetz (those of you who’ve known me for a while know how stoked I am about the music they play at Sheetz and really about Sheetz in general — don’t @ me, Wawa nerds), I fell in love with their ability to write incredible tunes that made you wanna get up and dance wherever you were when you heard them, but also rocked hard and had real staying power. And the fact that this excellent band is finally, after a decade of touring existence, bringing their live show to the river city has got to be the best news I’ve heard all week. So take my advice: go to this show, and bring your dancing shoes. Don’t worry if you know nothing about this band — just be yourself, and try to have a good time. You’re sure to succeed.

Monday, October 8, 7 PM
Culture Abuse, Gouge Away, Praise, Deviant, DJ Devolved @ Gallery 5 – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
A double-shot of punk rock awesomeness from two of the best bands on the scene today, both of which just put out new LPs that took their already-outstanding sound to an even higher level? Yeah, this one definitely falls into the category of a no-brainer. Both of these bands have a ton of cachet in the hardcore punk world, and for that reason you might expect their music to be on the harsher end of things — but if you like catchy melodies and strong, memorable choruses, you’re in for a pleasant surprise, because both of these bands have a ton of songcraft skills and melodic dexterity to wow you with.

Californians Culture Abuse split the difference between driving punk-damaged power-pop groups like Neon Piss and straight-up goodtime rockers like The Strokes, and on their brand new Bay Dream LP, this approach yields a bumper crop of toe-tappers that are guaranteed to make you smile. Gouge Away are a bit more fired up; on their just-released Burnt Sugar LP, their harsh vocals and driving riffs land somewhere between melodic hardcore a la White Lung and post-hardcore noise-rock along the lines of Circus Lupus or early Rye Coalition (everyone who even got those references knows I’m over 40 now). As if this bill wasn’t stacked enough, Baltimore melodic, emotional hardcore group Praise are also here to get you fired up, and transgressive up-and-coming local hardcore crew Deviant get things started in fine fashion. Get stoked for this one.

Tuesday, October 9, 8 PM
Marbled Eye, Dark Web, Slump, True Body, Smut @ Strange Matter – $8 (order tickets HERE)
There’s no particular reason why the genre descriptor “postpunk” needs to mean anything in particular, beyond the fact that a band has taken formative influence from punk rock and brought it with them to a sound beyond that genre’s borders. But let’s be real — when I say that Marbled Eye is postpunk, you know what I mean. You expect the moody vibe, the wiry undistorted guitars, the melodic basslines and deadpan vocals. And you get all of that here. No doubt about it.

But it only takes one listen to Marbled Eye’s debut LP, Leisure, which just came out this week, to realize that this band has a fresh take on this style, one that takes them far beyond the Joy Division clones and Chameleons riff-stealers who’ve been part of the underground musical landscape for quite a while now. Remember how cool that postpunk style sounded over a decade ago, back when no one was really doing it? Marbled Eye still sound that cool. And if that isn’t proof of their standout talent, I don’t know what is. Fellow out-of-towners Dark Web and Smut, along with local mainstays Slump and True Body, provide excellent support to make this bill a top-quality musical evening from beginning to end.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, October 5, 8 PM
Carriage, Nemesis, Catalyst @ Shaka’s – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s tough to try to talk to people about 80s metal who weren’t there for that whole era, because they figure you’re talking about one of two things — either Slayer-style thrash (which, don’t get me wrong, rules) or teased-hair glam metal in the style of Poison and Motley Crue (which, don’t get me wrong, also rules — haters to the left). But there was a whole other wave of heavy, powerful underground metal from that time that people today don’t even think about, and it’s that sound that Carriage evokes today.

Their new LP, Visions, is full of the kinds of flourishes that the kids used to call “power metal,” from the kind of  high-pitched yowls that Mercyful Fate’s King Diamond made de rigeur for a while there to the epic progressive riffs that bands like Candlemass took from prog-rock giants like Rush and King Crimson. Carriage has all of this going on and more, and their sound is genetically engineered to get you banging your head. This release party for their Visions LP should be full of more denim jackets and flying hair than you can shake an air guitar at, and if you have any love at all for the days of high-flying, triumphant metal, you’re gonna want to get in the mix at Shaka’s Friday night.

Saturday, October 6, 9 PM
Uglyography, Human Services, Unk Al @ Taphouse Grill – $5
The fact that Richmond has long been a hub for the musically unique and downright bizarre should never blind us to the fact that crazy stuff comes out of the Tidewater area on a regular basis as well. This show is a great example of that exact fact, and it all starts with Hamptonites Uglyography, who have been wielding their goofy, uncategorizable sound for over a decade now. They themselves call it “quirkadelic rock,” and if you imagine an alternate universe where Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention, Devo, They Might Be Giants, and 90s noise-rockers Alice Donut were all the same band, you’ve sorta got a general idea of what they’re up to.

But the reality is certainly going to be even crazier than you expect — Uglyography demonstrates just this fact on recent LP Evil Rays, which features ridiculously catchy tunes like “Neighborhood Watch” and “We Want You To Click Play,” then amidst all of the mania delivers a heartfelt ballad like “Imperfect For You.” They’re a group that must be seen to be believed, which is exactly why the Taphouse Grill is an eminently worthwhile destination for all you musical explorers of the new and unusual this Saturday night. They’ll be joined by the heavier but just-as-bizarre Human Services, who also hail from the Hampton area. Plus there will be an opening set from Unk Al, aka The Real Unk Al, aka Unk Al and the Amazingly Mediocre, a strange yet enjoyable bluegrass troupe that hails from Chesapeake. Open your mind and dive in.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 1/17-1/23

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, January 19 & Saturday January 20, 7 PM both days
Be Bad Weekend @ Strange Matter
Day 1: Doll Baby, Kenneka Cook, VV, Listless, Wabeya, Magnus Lush, Madison Turner, Talk Me Off, Ice Cream Support Group DJs – $10
Day 2: Haircut, Serqet, Gumming, Dazeases, Locker Room, Liu Light, Itsy Bitsy, Butt, DJ Dogpants – $10
It’s January once again, and as I have been doing for several years now, I am pleased to give the Be Bad Weekend the top spot in this column. Once just a one-night showcase of bands featuring female members entitled Bad Girls Revue, expanded last year to multiple nights, and got better than ever in the process! This year, it seems the event will miss the annual explosion of bad weather that has caused last-minute reschedules in the past, thank goodness. So not only will attendees get the benefit of every band initially scheduled actually being able to play, but Girls Rock RVA will get the benefit of everyone being able to make it out to Strange Matter for both nights of this amazing shindig.

And if you’re not there this weekend, you really are gonna need a good excuse. The lineup this year is more musically diverse than ever, as the headlining slots on night one pair punky indie rock n’ rollers Doll Baby with soulful, jazzy vocalist extraordinaire Kenneka Cook. Meanwhile, night two finds ferocious C-ville/RVA hardcore punkers Haircut and moody, atmospheric punks Serqet heading things up. But that’s just the beginning; with 16 total bands performing over the course of two nights, a wide variety of music will be on display.

In fact, you’re going to want to make sure you’re on time, because some of the best performers are hitting the stage soon after doors open. Excellent post-hardcore rockers Magnus Lush are playing surprisingly early on night one, while night two begins with a set from the much buzzed-about local punk upstarts Butt (who, I assure you, have more to offer than a memorably amusing name). No matter what sort of sounds appeal to you, chances are you’ll find multiple things to enjoy on both nights. Hell, you might even see me onstage at some point, if you know where to look. Even if that weren’t true, though, I’d still be telling you to go to this. An outstanding Richmond tradition that’s for a good cause, Be Bad Weekend is one of the most essential live music events of the year. Don’t sleep on it.

Wednesday, January 17, 9 PM
Wyldlife, Sick Bags, Cruzer @ Flora – $7
This is going to be a ton of fun. Wyldlife, who come to RVA on tour from NYC, are the sort of band that take genres that have seemed played-out for years and inject fun, energy, and life back into them, reminding you why you loved them in the first place. In this case, we’re talking about straight-up old-school punk rock; Wyldlife come at the sound with an energy and power that bring to mind powerful pioneers like The Damned and The Dead Boys, but with a stronger melodic sense that’s reminiscent of the best power-pop–think first-LP Cheap Trick. There’s even some garage-rock swagger in there for all you Murder City Devils fans waiting to be rocked once again.

Wyldlife’s most recent release, Out On The Block, has been out for just under a year, but if you haven’t caught onto it yet, you’re certainly not too late. Meanwhile, you’re just in time to catch the debut vinyl from local trash(ed)-punk crew Sick Bags, whose “Cigarette Spit” single is officially out on Friday but will certainly be available from the band tonight, at least if this show’s flyer is any indication. The bill is rounded out by a brand new Richmond band called Cruzer, who appear to have a jangly garage sort of sound, based on the incredibly lo-fi one-song demo that’s been posted on their bandcamp. If that guess is in any way accurate, this show will be a total banger from beginning to end, so sweep off the car and head out to Strange Matter tonight!

Thursday, January 18, 7:30 PM
Secret Bonus Level presents Alfred, PT Burnem, Zhé Aqueen, Vos, Sanji the Hedgehog, Secret Bonus Band @ Strange Matter – $8
I love it when a random show on a weeknight reveals an entire local subculture that I’ve previously failed to pick up on. There’s nothing better than finding a ton of new shit to check out. In this case, it’s the Secret Bonus Level radio show, which airs on WRIR in the middle of the night on Wednesdays (or early Thursday mornings, depending on how you look at it). This show takes an exploratory approach to hip hop, seeking out what they call “strange and unusual gems,” and putting it before whoever is up that late in the middle of the week. And now they’re taking that same approach to filling a stage for a weeknight gig over at Strange Matter.

This show is headed up by Alfred, an openly queer local rapper with a unique approach to his atmospheric music and spacey lyrical flows. His songs are hypnotic and catchy, but in an unusual way–they kind of sneak up on you. Meanwhile, PT Burnem is often as subtle as an atom bomb, hitting hard with his pounding beats and confrontational, politically informed flows. Zhé Aqueen goes in a totally different direction with jazzy, soulful singing, just to keep anyone from thinking things will get predictable. And all sorts of other amazing things are scheduled for this bill as well, from appearances by current and former Secret Bonus Level hosts to an open-invite cypher over backing music provided by a trio of live musicians. All of this is the result of Secret Bonus Level’s commitment to honoring hip hop’s creative spirit with an approach that’s entirely their own. How can you resist that?

Friday, January 19, 8 PM
Ruth Good, Recluse Raccoon, Slow Clover, CGI Jesus @ Gallery 5 – $6
The city never sleeps–Citrus City, that is. 2017 saw the label cranking out releases with the kind of dedication that one would normally expect from a much bigger operation, working with everyone from local faves like Antiphons and Keep to out-of-town cult faves like Vundabar and Crumb. One of the many releases that saw the light of day over the course of the past 12 months was Ruth Good’s debut EP, Spliff. That EP had exactly the sort of stoned-immaculate sound you might expect from something with that name, though its funky indie sound still had a great deal in common with the usual slack, jangly guitar-rock that comes out of Citrus City headquarters. Considering that one of the two main members of Ruth Good, Wes Parker, also plays in Citrus City leading lights Camp Howard, that can’t be much of a surprise.

Ruth Good hitting Gallery 5 at the top of this CC-curated bill is nothing but good news for fans of the band and the label. And of course, it’s also lovely to see Recluse Raccoon bringing their mellow, melodic sound to the stage as well. These guys tend to take it pretty easy; after all, their last EP came out back in 2015. But they’ve always got some sounds with which to delight our ears, and this night at Gallery 5 promises to be no exception. Harrisonburg’s Slow Clover will bring us some jazzy, progressive rock sounds that are sure to please the plentiful Night Idea fans in the audience, while CGI Jesus will kick things off with some jazzy, mathy metal to delight all the fans of Dumb Waiter, or even the Alter Natives, who make it out. This one’s gonna be lovely.

Saturday, January 20, 6 PM
Deau Eyes Kickstarter Launch Party, feat. Deau Eyes, McKinley Dixon & Friends, Whatever Honey, Trunk Show Band, Lucky Duckiss @ TheatreLAB/The Basement – Donations accepted
To be completely real with y’all, I stopped thinking that Kickstarters were worth writing about something like five years ago. The fact that this crowdfunding model quickly became the way people did everything from putting out albums to paying medical bills certainly doesn’t say anything nice about the current state of our culture. But crowdfunding efforts have led to some very nice things (including my wedding–I promise I’ll mail out the zines and CDs to everyone who contributed soon!). And the fact that Ali Thibodeau’s Deau Eyes is not only doing a Kickstarter to release their first album but kicking off the campaign with an actual launch party is enough to make me think that the album they’re working on will be another very nice crowdfunded thing.

Now, you’d be forgiven for not knowing Deau Eyes’ music. While Ali and co. have been playing a decent amount of local shows lately, there aren’t any recordings out there online–at this point, the best way to get an idea of their music is by listening to the soundtrack on their Kickstarter video pitch. It sounds pretty great, with a spunky, upbeat approach to melodic rock n’ roll that should appeal to those out there who enjoy Speedy Ortiz and other 90s-style alt-rock types. She’s got some pretty cool friends, too, including McKinley Dixon, who’s playing the Kickstarter launch party (at TheatreLAB’s The Basement of all places–I don’t remember there being live music there ever before…). Whatever Honey and the Trunk Show Band are also on the bill, as well as someone named “Lucky Duckiss.” Hmm. Those of us who didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday can probably interpret that one accurately. The best part about this whole show is that your admission price constitutes a donation to the Kickstarter campaign; therefore, one would think that by paying 10 bucks to get in, you’d not only get to see this rad show but also get a digital download of the Deau Eyes album when it’s done. That’s what I call a deal.

Sunday, January 21, 9 PM
Rex Richardson Quintet feat. JC Kuhl, Trey Pollard, Randall Pharr, Brian Jones @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
There’s a lot going on in the jazz genre, and as someone who spends a lot of her time focusing on things like punk, metal, and emo, I don’t always have the ability to keep up with jazz as much as I want. Therefore, I imagine the jazz heads around here are shaking their heads in dismay that I’m this late at getting on the Rex Richardson train. I feel you, jazz heads, I feel you. This guy is obviously a big deal. A trumpeter who is sponsored by Yamaha and has been a prominent representative for VCU’s music department for nearly two decades, Richardson has done quite a lot in his career thus far. His achievements both as a classical soloist and a jazz bandleader are lengthier and more impressive than I could even attempt to cram into this space.

But what we should discuss is the fact that he released a collaborative album entitled Blue Shift in 2014 with saxophonist Steve Wilson. That album has a strong, swinging sound that hits hard and makes me think of prime Miles Davis and John Coltrane albums. The rhythm section that backed Richardson and Wilson on that album is the same one that fills out Richardson’s quintet for this performance, including Spacebomb arrangement guru Trey Pollard on piano. Filling in for the absent Wilson is JC Kuhl, formerly of local funk band Agents Of Good Roots, who along with drummer Brian Jones has also played with legendary avant-garde outsider musician Jandek. These are some seasoned pros at the top of their game, and with a master like Richardson at the helm, this night is sure to bring you some top-quality jazz sounds.

Monday, January 22, 8 PM
Deerhoof, Bermuda Triangles, Tavishi, COQ @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Let’s get weird. Deerhoof, noted veteran rangers of the bizarre fringes of the indie world, return to Richmond once again with the latest dose of their alternate-universe rock n’ roll. Latest album Mountain Moves, released last fall, has a strange sort of 70s soft rock vibe lurking beneath all the weird song structures and noisy guitars. It sort of reminds me of where Blonde Redhead went later in their career, when the melodies suddenly rose to the surface and changed the way one heard their music. Covers of The Staple Singers and Bob Marley show that the group’s response to the rise of Trumpism has not been one of avoidance, while the album’s extensive list of guest stars shows that they believe in working together to make things better.

Now Deerhoof is coming to RVA with a big dose of inspiration for us all. They’ll find RVA 100% prepared to meet that challenge, as they’re joined on this bill by Bermuda Triangles. Once a more conventional noise-rock sort of band, last year’s Haunted Island EP shows them slimming down to a trio and taking their percussion focus into outer space, while still remaining an incredibly funky, fun, danceable band. Tavishi’s experimental noise, meanwhile, is an intense, overwhelming experience, with a strong political viewpoint and an uncompromising approach. COQ will open the show with some strange sounds that are sure to touch a nerve for fans of the No Wave scene of the early 80s. Think of the Bush Tetras or DNA and you’re halfway there. Now go the rest of the way down to Strange Matter and see this show.

Tuesday, January 23, 7 PM
.gif From God, Cursing Method, Van Hagar, Listless, Jafar Flowers, Cell Saga @ Soft Web – $5
I’ve been seeing .gif From God play since their earliest basement blasts of metal noise hysteria and while they’ve been amazing from the jump, they only seem to get better as time goes on. Last year’s split EP with Vein saw them taking things to a higher level with longer, more complex songs, but they retained their edge. They’ve continued to incorporate the best elements of metalcore, screamo, spastic grind a la the Locust, and outright horrible noise into a potpourri of entertaining, energetic sounds that are always delivered with maximum hyperactive intensity.

Basically what I’m saying here is that it’s never a good idea to miss a .gif From God set. And there are plenty of other good reasons to catch this mid-week throwdown at Soft Web, the foremost among them being an appearance by South Carolinian grind maniacs Cursing Method, who take a feedback-destruction approach to their crunchy riffs and blasting drum attack. And then, of course, there are the many powerful locals, from rage-filled power-violence heroes Van Hagar to dark, moody hardcore ragers Listless. The evening’s dead spaces will be filled in with DJ sets from Ice Cream Socialites Jafar Flowers and Cell Saga, so you won’t ever have to wait for the killer sounds to start back up. What could be better?

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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] [yes, my email is through GayRVA, don’t get weird about it]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 10/4-10/10

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, October 7, 7 PM
Iron Lung, Bastard Noise, Suppression, Intensive Care, Listless @ Strange Matter – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Power violence. I know a lot of you out there might be turned off by the term–sounds creepy and dangerous, right? But if you like seeing the sounds of metal, hardcore, punk, and even random offshoots like free jazz and experimental noise all pushed to their absolute limit at the same time by the same bands, then chances are you already know that power violence is the genre for you. Originally innovated by bands like Infest and Crossed Out, power violence incorporates the ridiculous speeds of grindcore, the brutal slowness of the sludgiest doom metal, and the freakout craziness of noise into a harsh conglomeration of atonal madness. If you need danceability and sweet melodic hooks from your music, well, I get that, but this may not be the night for you. However, if you can appreciate people pushing the limit of just how fast, heavy, and hectic music can get, you need to order your ticket now.

Iron Lung may not have been there at power violence’s dawn in the early 90s, but they’ve been the leaders of the genre for quite a while now, at least since the release of their 2004 debut, Life. Iron Lung. Death. This bassless two-piece tosses out killer riffs at hyperspeed, blending them with crushing breakdowns and tortured screams, along with a heaping helping of flat-out noise. The combination was refined to perfection on their third album, White Glove Test, but the four years since its release have seen almost no releases of new material–other than a lathe-cut limited edition EP earlier this year, which was limited to 100 and sold only at shows. Hopefully they’ll bring us a real new album soon, but until then, you’ll have to settle for getting your head knocked off at this show.

Bastard Noise actually were there at the early 90s dawn of power violence–indeed, leader Eric Wood coined the term. Originally known as Man Is The Bastard, the group had some lineup changes and moved in a more noise-weirdness direction after Y2K, at which time they adopted the Bastard Noise moniker. However, recent years have seen their original drummer rejoin the group, and things move back towards the sort of jazz-grind-sludge the band excelled at in its early years, so this show may more closely resemble Man Is The Bastard’s 1996 performance at the same venue than one might initially expect. This lineup is jam packed with additional entertainment, from legendary RVA power violence duo Suppression–who date back almost as long as Bastard Noise in their own right–to Canadian bass-drum sludge combo Intensive Care, who feature former members of mid-2000s power violence torchbearers Endless Blockade. Local queercore/blackened screamo upstarts Listless kick things off with righteous fury, so show up on time and be ready for some serious ear damage.

Wednesday, October 4, 8 PM
Dr. No, Black Mountain Massacre, BLK LLC, Bodyshell @ Strange Matter – $5 (order tickets HERE)
Strange Matter’s Locals Only showcase series continues to be the best opportunity to hear about a bunch of new bands happening in the city, all at the same time. In this case, word has it that Black Mountain Massacre curated this lineup themselves, which is a really interesting way to go about it, and certainly not something I have a problem with. Letting bands introduce us to other new bands they hang with–this seems like a very solid plan. And in this case, it’s led to a good band introducing us to a bunch of other good bands, so that’s pretty much an ideal outcome.

The evening is headlined by the aforementioned Black Mountain Massacre, a new metal project with some clear roots in that whole Pantera/Eyehategod axis of NOLA metal. They’ll get your head banging for sure, while Dr. No bring a tangled mathy hardcore sound that evokes past RVA greats like Kepone and Breadwinner. I’m down with it. BLK LLC, a band that brings together bass-slinging lunatic Jon Sullivan (Kid Is Qual/Sau) and microphone rager Ryan Kent (Gritter, Murdersome) for some heavy-as-fuck guitar-free grooves, takes this opportunity to tear you a new one, and the whole evening starts with Bodyshell, a duo with a strange hybrid sound that at times feels more like atmospheric metal and at others is more like moody indie rock. Either way, it’s cool, as is every band on this bill. For $5, you really can’t go wrong.

Thursday, October 5, 8 PM
Dirty Rice Pop-Up, feat. Noah-O X Fan Ran, Johnny Ciggs, God Goldin, Bonds, music by Billy When? @ Flora – $7
Noah-O may be seen as a one-hit wonder by some who count by MTV airplay. The truth is, though, he’s never stopped making great records, and over the past half decade or so, he’s built up quite a track record for himself. Moving across the city, putting together projects with a succession of the best beatmakers in town, and steadily improving his skills in the process sees him still improving after being a big name on the RVA hip hop scene for at least seven years now. Having previously worked with everyone from Taylor Whitelow and Cadillac Cat to the late, great Kleph Dollaz, his latest project sees him teaming up with Gritty City production mastermind Fan Ran, who’s been carving out quite the career in his own right with a prolific series of projects with the full range of Gritty City’s packed stable of heavy-hitting MCs.

What do you get when the two join together? Some good eating, that’s for sure. Dirty Rice hit the streets last month via Bandcamp, and this show is a celebration of its release out in the real world. Noah-O and Fan Ran will bring the crowd a fire-spitting performance of the album’s many bangers, while Gritty City majordomo Johnny Ciggs provides valuable support with a set of his own. God Goldin shows off his lyrical skills on the mic as well, and a newcomer named Bonds about whom I know very little (that’s not an easy name to google, I gotta tell ya) will contribute the opening set. The event will also feature a pop-up shop selling an exclusive Dirty Rice t-shirt only available at this event, which will surely be accompanied by a variety of Charged Up Entertainment and Gritty City Records merch. Bring a few bucks, because you’re gonna want to do some shopping. But make sure you run out to the car and stow your brand new t-shirt before the headlining set–dirty rice is tasty, but it’ll stain your clothes if you don’t eat carefully.

Friday, October 6, 8 PM
ZAO, Sunndrug, Ostraca, Venomspitter @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Who knew ZAO would still be around in 2017? Especially considering that the last original member left the band over a decade ago. And who ever would have guessed that they would still be an excellent example of late 90s metalcore, somehow surviving at least a decade after anyone would have guessed they’d be relevant? Certainly not me, but the fact is, it’s happened, with their 2016 album The Well-Intentioned Virus showing that they’ve still got the spark that made classic albums Where Blood And Fire Bring Rest (1998) and The Funeral Of God (2004) so killer. Singer Daniel Weyandt and guitarists Russ Cogdell and Scott Mellinger are still in the fold from those days, too, so things really haven’t changed as much as one might fear. The mix of harsh screams, sludgy riffs, powerful breakdowns, and emotional drama that made Zao great is still in place.

Meanwhile, the openers for this bill mix VA bands with roots in the same era that spawned Zao and younger groups paying tribute to a crucial early influence. Sunndrug hails from VA Beach and features members of Spitfire and Norma Jean, two other bands from that same late-90s metalcore scene that spawned Zao. All of them had Christian content and associations at the time, and all of them seem to have grown beyond overt ties between music and religion in the years since, which is always nice to see (though let’s be real, if Jesus Christ gets mentioned from stage a time or two on this night, no one will be surprised. Just try to tune out for those parts). Ostraca may have been around in some form for over a decade now, but they’re spring chickens compared to Zao, and bring a newer, darker version of metalcore into the world–believe me, it’s a welcome one. Venomspitter are on much the same page as Ostraca, though they feature a more overt hardcore influence. And while they’re the newest band on this bill, some members played with bands (most notably Forefront) who opened for much earlier incarnations of Zao back in the pre-9/11 days when the world was young and full of hope. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Saturday, October 7, 6:30 PM
Have Mercy, Boston Manor, Can’t Swim, A Will Away @ The Camel – $15 in advance/$17 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Sometimes in the course of writing this column I learn that there’s a significant discrepancy between what the world of the internet will tell you about a band and what your ears will tell you. For example, we have Have Mercy, a Baltimore band that is described online as “rock” and is, upon listening to any of their three albums, clearly better described by the phrase “emo as fuck.” I mean, granted, they aren’t as energetic as Taking Back Sunday, taking a more pensive approach to their midtempo riffs and lovelorn vocals, but I definitely hear more of Gates or Moving Mountains here than… I dunno, what’s rock in 2017? Of Mice And Men? Falling In Reverse? Is Nickelback still together?

Anyway, I should probably mention the fact that Have Mercy leader Brian Swindle purged and restructured the group’s entire lineup before the release of their latest album, Make The Best Of It. Despite what you may fear, though, the band hasn’t lost a step, and are still primed to get everyone in the crowd sighing as they bob back and forth to this band’s excellently emotional music. This tour sees Have Mercy joined by a trio of out-of-town bands, making this a local-free show. Pure Noise Records signees Boston Manor (who strangely hail not from the New England but the merrie old one across the pond) are the standouts, and make an excellent companion piece to Have Mercy with the songs from their 2016 debut LP, Be Nothing, having much in common with Have Mercy’s latest stuff. Can’t Swim, whose name makes me imagine a gimmick band that goes on stage in life jackets (they probably don’t actually do this), and A Will Away will round out the lineup here. Bring a sweater.

Sunday, October 8, 8 PM
Necroscythe, Hoboknife, Voarm @ Strange Matter – $7
Not sure what happened to Necroscythe’s original tourmates, Hivelords, but frankly, I can’t bring myself to care about it. After all, our remaining headliners are a Philadelphia black metal project who have a song called “I Spit Upon The Cross Of Christ.” How awesome is that? Do you really need any more from these people? Well, if you do, I can tell you that they’ve got some classic double-time riffs and blasting drums, plus some terrifying throaty screams, all of which sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of a pit inside a forest in the middle of the night. In other words, the perfect black metal sound. So yeah, let’s all start queueing up for this one now.

Two RVA metal projects with equally harsh styles are on the bill as openers, and while by now I’m pretty sure everyone who cares about local metal has already checked out Hoboknife, let me just alert the few of you who might still be sleeping on them so you wake the hell up. This band brings together the majority of the late, lamented La Mere Vipere to crank out some dark, heavy shredding that is more blackened thrash than outright black metal, but certainly should appeal to those on both sides of that divide. Voarm, on the other hand, is straight-up black metal, complete with full-on tin can production–one can imagine that their live presentation will have a heavier low end than their demo, but the blast beats, tremolo-picked riffs, and tortured vocal howls will stay intact. So yes, this will be a night of gruesome metal terror, missing headliner be damned. Show up.

Monday, October 9, 8 PM
Neat Sweep, Foresterr, Railgun, Black Acid Ritual @ Strange Matter – $5
Another Locals Only show at Strange Matter in the same week? I know, isn’t it great? This one is coming from a completely different part of the scene than the previous one, which makes it just as valuable and yet completely unlike the one before. That always rules. Our headliners are Neat Sweep, the latest project from Cory Chubb (Sundials, Close Talker, Smoke Break, etc) and Max Gottesman (Gottem), and of course, the first song on their demo is about a Taco Bell date. Is the whole post-Haus Addy scene getting predictable? Maybe a little, but it’s all just so much fun… why complain about it?

And now for something completely different. Former Lawrence, KS residents Foresterr are also on this bill, and they’ve recently brought their intricately layered brand of shoegaze-y indie guitar to RVA. Get ready for precise melodies contrasted with fuzzy guitar haze to put a smile on your face–because I assure you, that’s what’s going to happen when this band starts to play. Railgun sounds like the name a metallic punk band would have, but in this case they’re a smooth, funky rock crew from here in town. Didn’t see that coming, did you? The fact that Black Acid Ritual are a crew of teenagers playing moshy metal riffs is a bit more predictable, but no less awesome. The whole night is sure to rule, really.

Tuesday, October 10, 8 PM
Yawningman, We Are The Asteroid, Desert Altar, Zgomot @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Yawningman has returned to RVA, and it’s an event for all who love psychedelia, stoner desert metal, and generally weird outsider shit. For years, all I could tell you about Yawningman was that on their last album, Kyuss had covered a song from their demo. The song was great, but I didn’t hear any actual Yawningman recordings or learn much of anything about them until their first official studio album, 2005’s Rock Formations, was released. That album showed that, while this sun-baked psychedelic ensemble had influenced quite a few bands from that CA/AZ desert-rock axis, their sound was entirely their own, an instrumentally-driven groove machine full of moments that stood alongside the best of bands from Blue Cheer to Jane’s Addiction in its ability to launch mental explorations of the solar system.

So yeah, the hype is real, this band really does deserve all the great things that have been said about them in the press over the years, and if you haven’t picked up on their 30-year history as yet, this Tuesday’s Strange Matter performance is a perfect jumping-on point. Tourmates We Are The Asteroid offer some similarly freaky psychedelic exploration, and feature former Butthole Surfers bassist Nathan Calhoun–just so you know what sort of pedigree they’re working with. Local openers Desert Altar get on that whole Kyuss stoner groove vibe, while fellow locals Zgomot bring punk influence, an improvisational flair, and a foundation in Romanian literature to the stage in an unpredictable fusion of fascinatingly disparate elements. Nothing about this show is predictable, other than the fact that you’re sure to enjoy it.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [the rvamag address isn’t working for some reason, I haven’t had time to look into it! Bear with me]