Love Roses

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | October 16, 2019

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

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, October 19, 3 PM
Cobra Cabana’s One Year Cobranniversary, feat. Kool Keith, Weedeater @ Cobra Cabana – Free!
It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since Cobra Cabana opened over in Carver. They’ve wasted no time making themselves an integral part of the Richmond scene, from their delicious and politically-informed menu to organizing motorcycle rallies and hosting outdoor rock n’ roll parties. They’ll be hosting another outstanding party this Saturday afternoon, and whether you’re there every week or haven’t made it in yet at all, you’re going to want to be there.

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

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

Wednesday, October 16, 6 PM
The Number 12 Looks Like You, God Mother, Pound, .gif From God, Genosha @ The Canal Club – $16 (order tickets HERE)
What a time to be alive. I never thought I’d see the day when there’d be a revival of the kind of metallic, chaotic, sassy noisecore that I was super-stoked about in my late 20s. I guess this is growing up, huh? No complaints here — especially not when it means the return of New Jersey maniacs The Number 12 Looks Like You, who carved a swath through the mid-2000s metalcore scene with wild slabs of frenetic guitar fuckery and constant tempo changes, such as 2003’s Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses and 2008’s Here At The End Of All Things. I’m certainly glad to get more of that.

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

Thursday, October 17, 8 PM
Gorrak, Gull, Faucet @ Bingo Beer Co – Free!
A show at Bingo Beer certainly brings back a lot of memories. Specifically of driving by the old bingo hall that this local craft brewing company has moved into and wondering if someone could book a punk rock show there. A lot of people tried, no one ever succeeded, but now, decades and an owner change later, music has finally come to the old bingo hall. And I for one think that’s pretty fucking cool.

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

Friday, October 18, 6:30 PM
Narrow Head, Slump @ Plan 9 Records – $5 donation
We may all associate record store appearances by bands with massive meet-and-greets at midnight the night their new album comes out, but sometimes record store shows are something completely different — a way to bring young bands with great new albums to the curious music fans of a new town. This is one of those in-stores, and as such, it’s sure to combine the informal atmosphere of a basement show with the inviting surroundings of your favorite place to lose an afternoon flipping through the used vinyl racks.

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

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

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

Sunday, October 20, 9 PM
VE, Weird Tears, Minimum Balance @ Bandito’s – Free!
The free local triple threat at Bandito’s is always a Sunday night standby, and it’s that way for a reason. For one thing, Bandito’s is the Richmond live music scene’s best-kept secret — the room sounds great. For another thing, these shows never cost anything to get into. For another, there’s some amazing food available at Bandito’s, so you can (and should) always start your evening off with some tacos. And of course, the bands they book are always dope, whether they’re touring legends of punk or the best our own scene has to offer.

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

Tuesday, October 22, 6 PM
Trash Boat, House & Home, Sleave, Hold Close, Nine Line, The Second After @ The Canal Club – $13 (order tickets HERE)
It’s always interesting to see what the UK does with US-originating sounds like pop-punk and hardcore. Trash Boat are the latest British export to combine both of these genres, and instead of landing anywhere in the neighborhood of Neck Deep, on one hand, or Gallows on the other, they carve out their own niche at the intersection point of melodic, emotional punk and driving hardcore power on 2018’s Crown Shyness, an excellent example of the fact that some UK bands are able to hold their own with the best exports from these shores.

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

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, October 18, 8 PM
Wylder, Starcoast, BigForestFire @ Charlie’s American Cafe (Norfolk) – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Formed in Virginia and currently based in DC, Wylder are an indie-folk group with a lovely sort of sound, one that on their most recent LP, this year’s Golden Age Thinking, doesn’t just adhere to the typical sound you think of when you hear the genre descriptor “indie-folk.” Which is to say, they aren’t just another group of bearded boys with wide eyes doing their best Sam Beam. There’s some real sonic variance here, from the string-sweetened indie-rock melodies of lead single “Ghosts” to the quieter, more precisely constructed acoustic ambience of album closer “Right To My Head.”

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

Sunday, October 20, 1 PM
Chugfest, feat. Studebaker Huck, Breakers, Ghost Logic, Cokenail, Love Roses, Ruckus The Bulldog, LNT, The 40 Boys, The Chuggernauts, The Vailix @ IX Art Park (Charlottesville) – $10 donation to UVA Cancer Center’s Patient Services Fund
When you hear a name like “Chugfest,” you might very well think it’s a day’s festivities centered around beer. However, in this case, the festival appears to have been put together by Charlottesville punk band The Chuggernauts, so I suppose it’s named after them. But then, they’re named after how much they love to drink beer (as demonstrated on tunes like “Drinking Problem” and “Party On”), so it’s all the same in the end. That said, this event is really about drinking and rocking out for a good cause, not just for the hell of it, and all proceeds from raffles and donations will go to UVA Cancer Center’s Patient Services Fund, which helps direct support to patients and survivors in need of medical services.

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

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: April 24 – April 30

Marilyn Drew Necci | April 24, 2019

Topics: ASG, Atamada, Bloodline, Calvin Presents, Camp Howard, Cane Hill, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Charlie's American Cafe, Druglord, Early Eyes, Garden Grove Brewing, Guerilla Toss, Holy Roller, Kenneka Cook, Kid Brother, Liza And The Heart-Takers, Lounge Lizzard, Love Roses, McCormack's Irish Pub, Natalie Tyer, Nhibitions, Nico Rivers & the Black Grass, No BS! Brass Band, Orville Peck, Personal Crisis, Piranha Rama, Plastic Nancy, shows you must see, So Badly, Sylar, The Astral Void, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Congress, The Dawn Drapes, The Happy Fits, The Jasons, The Loneliers, The Southern Cafe, The Trongone Band, The World's Greatest Detective, Thin Pigeon, Those Far Out Arrows, Toxic Moxie, Tyler Meacham, Varials, Weedeater, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, April 27, 2 PM
RVA (All Day) Block Party, feat. No BS! Brass Band (Photo by Lauren Serpa), The Trongone Band, The Congress, Kenneka Cook, Camp Howard, Piranha Rama, Calvin Presents @ The Broadberry – $25 (order tickets HERE)
Y’all had to know this was coming. How could I not talk about the Broadberry’s first big all-day outdoor throwdown of the year? After the long rainy winter we’ve endured, after the chilly late-breaking first half of spring, we’re finally getting some warm weather, and you better believe it’s a cause for celebration! And who better to celebrate great days in RVA with than No BS! Brass Band?

Who indeed. By now, this group of horn-playing troubadours should need no introduction, but on the off chance you moved to Richmond last week and still don’t know the basics, you’re in luck, because this show will act as a perfect introduction! Not only will you get an amazing outdoor live performance overlooking the beautiful intersection of West Broad and Arthur Ashe Boulevard, at this show you’ll also get the first opportunity to purchase No BS! Brass’s brand new double album, A Decade Of Noise, recorded live at their 10th anniversary show — at the Broadberry, natch. From their amazing covers of everyone from A-Ha to Led Zeppelin, to their many unforgettable originals, No BS! Brass Band are sure to bring the jazz, funk, soul, and hip hop your booty craves.

But that’s just the main course — and we all know that sometimes the side dishes are just as good, if not better! At this party, which kicks off about the time you roll out from brunch (2 PM, that is) and rolls on… wait for it… ALL DAY, you’ll get a killer indoor set from rockers The Trongone Band to close out the evening, as well as a diverse selection of excellent music earlier in the afternoon on the outdoor stage, from postpunk indie boys Camp Howard to electro-soul innovator Kenneka Cook and jam masters The Congress, along with quite a bit more. There were earlier tiers of tickets available for as low as $10, but they’re all sold out now. However, if you slept on this excellent bill, take heart — you can still grab a spot for your very own for only $25, a total bargain for such an embarrassment of musical riches as this.

Wednesday, April 24, 6 PM
Sylar, Cane Hill, Varials, Bloodline, Nhibitions @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
We’re in a new era of heavy music, and the main way I can recognize that is by seeing how common and accepted nu-metal influences are. When I was growing up two decades ago, all the metal dudes mocked bands like Korn and Coal Chamber; even when you found some good in the genre from heavier bands like Slipknot and System Of A Down, you had to be careful about who you discussed it with. That’s how it was for my generation, but we’re all hitting middle age now, and the young metal kids on the come-up today seem completely unencumbered by this sort of elitism.

This bill is the proof — a double-headlining stomper that brings Queens, NY’s Sylar and New Orleans’ Cane Hill to the stage at the Canal Club tonight. Sylar was formed by a former roadie for Emmure, which should tell you something about their sound — that they’re heavy as fuck, in a sometimes ignorant fashion. But what’s more, they integrate the same sorts of touches from hip hop and Nine Inch Nails that you can find in Korn in their most famous era (i.e. “Freak On A Leash”). Meanwhile, Cane Hill conjures a heavier sort of nu-metal influence, reviving that downtuned Slipknot/Coal Chamber midtempo thud that also helped give birth to deathcore — but in the sort of straightforward manner that’s more likely to make you think of Mushroomhead than Suicide Silence. I don’t know how the kids are gonna mosh it up in the tight pants they wear today — Jncos would probably be a big relief for some of them (I’m calling it now: revival within five years). But rest assured, you’ll be headbanging right along with them at this one. Even if you did tell all your friends back in the day that you hated nu-metal.

Thursday, April 25, 7 PM
Nico Rivers & the Black Grass, Tyler Meacham, Natalie Tyer @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
I would never have predicted it, but Garden Grove Brewing has become one of the more reliable standby venues in town for music on the more melodic side of things — and considering how difficult it always is to keep a longtime venue going, that’s welcome news indeed. This is a particularly good example of what they have to offer, as they’ll be presenting two local songwriters and an excellent touring ensemble on a Thursday night, and charging you no money to see it! How awesome is that?

It’s even more awesome once you hear the work of Nico Rivers and realize what a treat you’re in for. This Massachusetts singer-songwriter travels with a revolving collective known as The Black Grass, which can consist of everything from his female singing partner and seemingly constant companion (whose name I can’t find anywhere online, though I don’t know if it’s me or Nico who should be embarrassed by that) to a full band featuring multiple electric guitars and a full drum kit. What will we get tomorrow night? I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that Rivers’ atmospheric but rockin’ take on indie-Americana is sure to make you smile. Local singer-songwriters Tyler Meacham and Natalie Tyer will provide lovely sounds to get the room warmed up for the arrival of the Black Grass. Don’t miss a moment.

Friday, April 26, 9 PM
The Loneliers, Lounge Lizzard, Atamada @ Wonderland – $10
This’ll be a fun punk rock Friday night in Shockoe Bottom for sure. The Loneliers are coming to town from New York, and their sound constitutes a real breath of fresh air in 2019. They play jangly, upbeat melodic punk with a decidedly twee-pop edge, harking back to some classic mid-90s bands who paired their punk rock spirit with catchy tunes full of more than a spoonful of sugar.

If you dug Tiger Trap, Go Sailor, or Courtney Love (the Lois Maffeo-led band that had nothing to do with the singer for Hole), The Loneliers are sure to make you smile. Plus, they’re known to cover tunes from the Powerpuff Girls show, so you know they know what’s up. They’re paired on this bill with Lounge Lizzard, the new group featuring Toxic Moxie’s Sera Stavroula on lead vocals and members of bands like Cremains, Pissing Contest, and The Donalds backing her up. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, they’re cool as hell. Brand new locals Atamada will kick things off with some Tigers Jaw-ish melodic emo sounds from members of Truman. It’ll be a great way to kick off your weekend, so make the trip down to the Bottom, even if you have to do so on foot — you can worry about the long uphill walk home afterwards.

Saturday, April 27, 7:30 PM
The Jasons, The World’s Greatest Detective, Love Roses, Personal Crisis @ McCormack’s Irish Pub – $13
The love affair between melodic punk rock and classic horror cinema, launched over three decades ago by The Misfits and TSOL, continues apace in the new millennium. The Jasons are standard-bearers of this exact crossover, named as they are for the mysterious zombie murderer clad in a goalie mask, who murdered teenagers everywhere from summer camp to outer space in the classic Friday the 13th series of films — or at least all of the sequels (which stalled at Part 12 a decade ago, what’s up with that?).

The Jasons are on tour promoting the impending release of their latest album, Blood In The Streets, but this show has a more important cause, being a fundraiser for Scares That Care. This charity group, run by horror fiction creators and fans, not only holds a horror convention in Williamsburg every summer but also donates all the funds they raise each year to children experiencing medically-related hardships. In other words, it’s super-cool, and the fact that your door price will go to them is all the more reason to make it out to McCormack’s on Saturday night for this rager. The fact that Brooklyn punkers World’s Greatest Detective, local HC-punk heroes Love Roses, and Fredericksburg’s Personal Crisis are also on the bill only makes this even cooler. So show up already, punk.

Sunday, April 28, 8 PM
Orville Peck, Holy Roller, LIZA And The Heart-Takers @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
This one is gonna be weird — but in the best possible way. Orville Peck is, in the simplest of terms, a country singer, but from the face-hiding fringed mask he wears during his performances to the effect-laden electric guitar he plays, he’s certainly an unusual one. I’ve heard him compared to shoegaze bands, but on his brand new Sub Pop LP, Pony, I hear a lot of other sounds at work — Roy Orbison’s spooky, ambient ballads; the apocalyptic pop of Lana Del Rey; even the occasional touch of Lee Hazlewood or Scott Walker.

So yeah, don’t show up if you’re expecting a singer who’ll effortlessly channel Merle Haggard, but DO show up if you like music that is both intriguing and challenging, music that both calls to mind references from across the rich history of recorded music and doesn’t sound much like anything that’s come before. And of course, you’ll get an opening set from Holy Roller, who’ve changed their name in the recent past but are still cranking out the same killer rock n’ roll sounds, with just a hint of twang. Plus, there’s the lush, downcast pop of LIZA and the Heart-takers to kick it all off, so you’re certainly in good hands with this one.

Monday, April 29, 9 PM
Those Far Out Arrows, Plastic Nancy, Thin Pigeon, So Badly @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Let’s all admit it, because we know it’s true: Mondays usually suck. I know, I know, there are a few of you restaurant workers out there who get Monday off every week, but for the rest of us, it’s soul-crushing. Nothing worse than staring down a week of work with no relief in sight. That’s why it’s always such a relief to find a good show happening on what’s typically considered by the music industry to be an “off” night — it brightens up the dullest day of most people’s weeks.

Those Far Out Arrows are coming to Richmond to brighten up your Monday, and they’ll do it with aplomb, if their latest album, Part Time Lizards, is any indication. If you dig upbeat rock n’ roll with a garage-punk flavor and a Southern-fried twang, these Nebraskans will thrill you with their Natural Child-ish vibes. Plus there are some rad Virginia bands on the bill to further add cheer to your work week — energetic garage noise from Plastic Nancy, postpunk queer-core from Thin Pigeon, and fuzzy indie punk from Fredericksburg’s So Badly. This one’s gonna put a smile on your face — and by the time it starts, you’re gonna need it.

Tuesday, April 30, 7 PM
Weedeater, ASG, Druglord, The Astral Void @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $17 in advance/$20 at the door (order tickets HERE)
I put forth the proposition (that you can petition the Lord with prayer… wait, no, what was I saying? Oh right) in a recent show column that where shows that used to go to Strange Matter are concerned, Wonderland has picked up the heavier end of the spectrum, while Capital Ale House’s downtown music hall has grabbed the lighter, more indie-fied side of things. And now here comes this Weedeater gig at Capital Ale House to shoot my theory all to shit. Look, I’m just glad this show still has a home in town, so I’m certainly not complaining.

And you won’t be complaining either, because the (ahem) Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House is a great space in which to see a show, and North Carolina’s own Weedeater is a great band to see — there or anywhere. They deal in a particularly fun brand of sludgy stoner metal, with the emphasis on “stoned” — copping some of that sticky green before this show is recommended if you, you know, engage in that sort of thing. Weedeater’s been quiet on the studio front for a while, having last released an album four years ago, but losing one drummer to health problems and another to a sudden passing, they’ve rejuvenated themselves with frontman Dixie Dave’s former Buzzoven bandmate, Ramzi Ateyeh, holding down the kit. So all is well and rest assured, you’re gonna get your head rocked at this one. Fellow North Carolinians ASG join this stoner carnival with some Camaro-rattling riffs of their own, and local openers Druglord and The Astral Void will do more than enough to get you warmed up and in the properly stoney frame of mind. I’m not talking about the mayor, either.

Elsewhere around the state:

Friday, April 26, 7 PM
The Happy Fits, Early Eyes, Kid Brother @ Charlie’s American Cafe (Norfolk) – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I am not a Spotify user. I don’t know if that’s something I should be ashamed or proud to admit, but regardless, it’s just the truth. The Happy Fits are a band who owe their success to Spotify — a song from their first EP was featured on a “Fresh Finds” playlist back in 2016 — and therefore it’s entirely possible you’re already familiar with this youthful New York trio. For me, they were a totally new discovery as of earlier this week, when their name jumped out at me from a long list of shows I was considering for potential inclusion in this column. “Wow, what’s the deal with these guys?” I thought. “Are they the opposite of the Misfits, or something like that?”

Well, no, not really. Their driving sound is more akin to the early Black Keys (you know, back when they were still an excellent garage band rather than the mediocre hitmakers your aunt loves now), only with more of an acoustic, raw, in-the-room feel. 2018 debut full-length Concentrate is a rollicking blast of pure rock n’ roll fun, with some outstanding melodic chops thrown in to make everything brighter, catchier, and overall better. In the studio, this band has the virtue of capturing what sure sounds like the sound they’d make playing right there in the room with you, so having heard their recordings, I feel extremely confident in advising you to go see The Happy Fits when they come to Charlie’s American Cafe this Friday night. You’re sure to wear a smile throughout the night — even on the long drive home.

Saturday, April 27, 8 PM
Guerilla Toss, Toxic Moxie, The Dawn Drapes @ The Southern Cafe (Charlottesville) – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Guerilla Toss (shut up, spellcheck, that’s how they spell it) have been around for nearly a decade now, and they’ve remained fascinating and fun the entire time. Early days saw them getting pretty wacky and noisy, but still managing to pound out an invigorating groove at all times. As they metamorphosed over the years into the fully formed band they are today, the funk, dance, and electro elements rose to the surface, slowly overtaking the noise and allowing the group to become the effortless dance machine they are on last year’s Twisted Crystal LP.

These days, Kassie Carlson screams quite a bit less, and the guitars are way less atonal — Guerilla Toss have kinda evolved into a sort of electro-funk version of punk rock, in a manner that will appeal both to fans of early 80s NYC groups like Liquid Liquid and tapped-in young Virginians who are rightfully hyped on … Richmond’s own Toxic Moxie, who coincidentally just happen to be traveling up I-64 from RVA to open up this killer bill. The results are sure to be uproarious, and keep your feet moving and your body shaking throughout the night. I know, there’s a whole lot going on Saturday night — I already told you about a couple of things, in fact. So it’s really up to you whether Charlottesville is the place you most want to be. But let me tell ya, if you are already up that way, or happen to land there Saturday night, you’re guaranteed a good time with Guerilla Toss and Toxic Moxie at The Southern. So hey, tell ’em we sent ya.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | February 20, 2019

Topics: 156/Silence, 7th Grade Girl Fight, Bandito's, basmati, Beyond The Grave, Bill Nace, Brothertiger, Buzzherd, Cary Street Cafe, Champion RVA, Charlie's American Cafe, Chris Corsano, Collider, crazy doberman, Cruelsifix, Doc Rotten, Dropping Ugly, Grandma, Hardywood, Karacell, Large Margin, Late Bloomer, Lil Broken Heart, Lobby Boy, Love Roses, McCormack's, MRC, MSD, Musket Hawk, New Lions, No Good Deed, Red Sea, Riffhouse Pub, Shockoe Denim, Shormey, shows you must see, SMUG, Summer Heart, The Camel, The Chuggernauts, THRE3, Typesetter, W I S H, Washers, Yung Mutt

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, February 22, 6 PM
New Lions, Large Margin, Basmati, Grandma @ Hardywood – Free!
It snowed this morning. It’s supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow. Who knows what the weather will be like this weekend. But while Richmond’s topsy-turvy weather spends the rest of winter (and probably longer than that) pulling itself together, we can at least be assured that, in this town full of outstanding music, it’ll always be pleasant inside.

That will definitely be true at Hardywood this Friday night, when this jam-packed lineup of top-tier local musicians hits the stage. Topping the bill is New Lions, and this sextet is what we get when Clair Morgan stops pussyfooting around about whether or not he’s a solo artist and just forms a band already. Not that that’s any big new thing — New Lions is basically the same ensemble Morgan was leading when he made his last record, 2016’s New Lions And The Not-Good Night (ah, see, you’re starting to get what’s happening here), and the group’s pleasing mix of indie melodies and intense, math-y emo remains intact. Plus, they’re almost done with their new EP, so you’ll probably hear at least a song or two from it aired out live.

Large Margin are the other big story of the night, and while this band may have been ultra low-key with their rollout, one listen to last year’s self-titled full-length was enough to blow your hair back for sure. This quartet of local post-hardcore luminaries is kicking up some serious dust with their Fugazi-inspired take on angry, energetic noise-core, and on a personal note, it’s pure catnip for me — I love it. This show marks the physical release of the aforementioned self-titled full-length, and you’d all be fools not to grab it on cassette while the getting’s good. You’d also be fools not to arrive on time and catch powerful sets from long-running indie-math vets Basmati and the looping pop genius of Grandma. This show doesn’t even cost anything to get in, so you officially have no excuse.

Wednesday, February 20, 7 PM
Doc Rotten, Love Roses, The Chuggernauts @ McCormack’s – $7
Punk never sleeps, at least not before the sun’s coming up. And punk doesn’t care what day of the week it is, or what sort of job you have to get to at some point tomorrow. Punk thinks you should probably just quit your job. What has it ever done for you? It’s an especially incisive critique when you consider all the great things punk bands like Doc Rotten have given you over the years: snotty singalong choruses, catchy melodic leads, angry yet upbeat riffs you can raise your fist and yell along to.

These are the really important things in life, right? And you might worry about how you’re going to pay rent if you don’t once again forgo sleep and stagger in to work at 8 AM tomorrow regardless of how late you were out tonight. But none of that matters tonight, when Jersey punk crew Doc Rotten will have you singing along with an upraised fist (possibly clutching a beer). Last summer’s Illusion To Choose LP is full of bouncy bass lines, crunchy guitars, and deathless anthems that speak to the struggles we all go through, and when they crank out those tunes in Shockoe Bottom, you’ll be feeling good for sure. Local ragers Love Roses and The Chuggernauts are along to keep you smiling all night. Don’t miss it — no matter what time your alarm is set for.

Thursday, February 21, 10 PM
Typesetter, Late Bloomer, Washers @ Bandito’s – Free!
The classic midwestern emo sound may have quite a bit of history behind it these days, but it is by no means dead. Two great bands are coming through town this Thursday night to prove it to you, and while both of them are from out of town, they do have Richmond connections in that both of them have released albums on our city’s own 6131 Records. The first is Typesetter, who keep the midwestern tradition alive from their hometown of Chicago. Their latest album, Nothing Blues, finds the group mixing gorgeously wistful vocal harmonies with driving riffage and a solid grasp of the dynamics that make for a perfect full-length listen. Their set at Bandito’s is sure to deliver on the album’s promise.

And then there’s Late Bloomer, who hail from one state south of here and, like Typesetter, released a full-length on 6131 last year. Waiting finds this band rocking a little bit harder than their labelmates, catching a bit of that post-Nirvana 90s alt-rock feel in their net along with a generous helping of pastoral emo resonances. If you dig one of these bands, you’re sure to dig ’em both. Local openers Washers should appeal to you as well. This driving melodic punk band lands somewhere between local luminaries Teen Death and Sports Bar, and considering they share members (and a label) with the latter group, there are a lot of local heads who should already be in their corner. If not, show up at Bandito’s and get familiar already, y’all.

Friday, February 22, 7:30 PM
Chris Corsano/Bill Nace, Crazy Doberman @ Shockoe Denim – $10
Let’s get experimental this Friday night, shall we? This bill of experimental music with equal footing in jazz, punk, and improvisation is the sort of thing we might have expected to show up at Black Iris a year or so ago, but this time it’s happening in a completely random spot — Shockoe Denim, where you’d normally expect to hear nothing stranger than the phrase “selvedge denim.” This Friday night, though, it’s getting downright unusual in the fancy jeans store, as New England noisemakers Chris Corsano and Bill Nace perform a collaborative set.

You may recognize guitarist Bill Nace’s name, at least if you’ve followed what the members of Sonic Youth have been up to since their band dissolved. Nace is part of a duo called Body/Head, in which he collaborates with Kim Gordon. He’s done a ton of other stuff in the experimental music world too, as has Chris Corsano, a drummer of no small repute who has worked with everyone from Jim O’Rourke to Jandek at one time or another. These two have joined together previously under the name Vampire Belt to create glorious volcanoes of wild free-jazz cacophony. How will this performance differ? All we can do is show up and see. One thing’s for sure — it’ll be a wild ride. Especially with Richmond’s own pack of wild improv-experimental noise dogs, Crazy Doberman, opening up. The jeans store just might get a little unruly.

Saturday, February 23, 8 PM
Buzzherd, Musket Hawk, MSD, Cruelsifix @ Champion RVA – Free!
Local punk luminaries Tired and Pissed Records are bringing another devastating showcase to their hometown, this time over at Champion Brewing’s RVA location. And while those who pay attention to this sort of thing might have come to expect straight-up punk with a bit of a metal edge from the T&P crew, this time around finds them veering into the land of outright metal — which fits the environment, a brewer that those of us who don’t partake in the intoxicating stuff have come to associate with music that induces major headbangs.

This event finds two touring bands from north of our city heading into town; Buzzherd hail from Bethlehem, PA, a rust belt city mostly known for completely overdoing the whole Christmas thing. You can imagine what sort of angst this could induce in young metalheads, and you’ll hear all that angst and more when Buzzherd take the stage and wallop you with their chunky, violent take on metallic hardcore… or hardcore-damaged metal, as the case may be. Baltimore’s Musket Hawk take things in a more low-end direction, as they rumble and grind their way toward the perfect fusion of death metal and punk. Again, perfect music for their rather unstable home environs — and perfect music for you to spend your Saturday night headbanging to. Local powerhouses MSD and Cruelsifix only add to the reasons to wear your denim vest and get crazy at this one.

Sunday, February 24, 9:30 PM
Dropping Ugly, W I S H, Collider @ Bandito’s – Free!
We’re back at Bandito’s for the second time this week, for the fourth free show of the column this week, and if you don’t think this is a great time to be alive regardless of the weather, well, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe to spend the money you’re saving on a huge plate of nachos at one or both of these Bandito’s shows and find out how great life truly can be. Then, feeling stuffed and happy, you can wander into the music room, check out a few great bands for zero dollars, and have a further realization of how truly #blessed you are.

This show features a performance by Dropping Ugly, which is the sort of band name one might understandably associate with thuggish hardcore stomping. One would therefore be surprised to discover that this Richmond duo is much closer to shoegaze/dreampop-influenced indie sounds, with a strong emphasis on beauty and melody. They’re dropping ugly, all right — there’s nothing not-gorgeous about this group’s sound. Sunday night provides you with the perfect opportunity to discover that, and while you’re at it, to take in the heavier shoegaze-oriented approach of W I S H, who will give you serious gaze-heads flashbacks to the days of the Swirlies and the Lilys. It’s glorious. DC’s Collider round out the evening with some killer sounds that make me want to reference bands no one reading this has ever heard, like Monsterland and Drop Nineteens. That’s an endorsement, in case it’s not clear. Want to know more? Go to this show. Like many of the shows in this week’s column, it’s free — so don’t say I never gave you anything.

Monday, February 25, 10 PM
SMUG, THRE3, 7th Grade Girl Fight @ Cary Street Cafe – Free!
I’ve recently heard the word “smug” used to describe that wave of annoying, pretentious right-wing YouTube jerks we all hear way too much about these days. It’s fitting; it’s a word that makes you think of a smarmy jerk with a superior smile on his face after having said something he thinks is brilliant and you know is ridiculous. Thankfully, the band SMUG doesn’t seem to consist of guys like that. Instead, they’re a trio hailing from Buffalo, NY (home of the Goo Goo Dolls, who rule. Yeah, I said it) and dishing out some powerful melodic punk on their brand-new album, Gorgeous.

So yeah, it’ll be fun to see these guys rock out at Cary Street Cafe, as long as you don’t think too hard about the meaning of their name. They’ll be joined by a duo of Virginia-based melodic rock bands with numbers in their names. THRE3 is a band who must have been frustrated when they realized that both 3 and Three had been taken. They used that frustration to fuel their creativity, and produced some pretty killer punk-adjacent sounds with strong Ted Leo resonances on their 2018 album, Do Or Die. Meanwhile, 7th Grade Girl Fight bring us some fun indie sounds with obvious debts to the world of power-pop and garage rock. The whole evening’s gonna be pretty swell.

Tuesday, February 26, 9 PM
Red Sea, MRC, Shormey, Lobby Boy @ The Camel – $8 (order tickets HERE)
Here’s a show brought to you by Underground Orchard, a recent booking and promotion endeavor spinning off from the Citrus City Records empire here in Richmond. And considering how reliable the Citrus City name has become in terms of delivering quality 21st-century indie music, especially with an electro-pop flair, it’s no surprise to find Underground Orchard carrying on that legacy by bringing us a performance from Atlanta’s Red Sea.

If you tuned in to this band three years ago, you surely heard a different sort of sound — one more guitar-based and indie-math driven. These days, though, they’ve moved into the realm of electronic synth-pop, and recent singles are simultaneously reminiscent of Duran Duran, Vampire Weekend, and early-90s techno-house. It’s not easy to pin down, and it’s certainly not predictable, but it’s a whole lot of fun, as you’ll find out when you’re shaking your booty on the dance floor at The Camel Tuesday night. Be sure to check out the Tidewater-based dance entertainments of True Body side project MRC and Citrus City’s own Shormey, as well as similarly-driven Harrisonbury project Lobby Boy. This one will keep your feet moving.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Saturday, February 23, 8 PM
Summer Heart, Brothertiger, Karacell @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There’s a lot of great electronic pop music that comes out of Sweden — and no, I’m not (just) talking about Swedish House Mafia. All sorts of people with strong electro-pop bona fides hail from this Scandinavian country, from Robyn to Avicii to Max Martin. Therefore, can it be any surprise that there’s also a fertile electro-pop underground in the country? It’s that underground that has produced Summer Heart, the solo project of Swedish production genius David Alexander. And it’s Summer Heart who will be bringing the gorgeous sound of sunshine to Norfolk in the wintertime. Bless.

Summer Heart spent 2018 releasing a project called 12 Songs Of Summer, one song at a time. The songs, doled out once a month throughout the past year, are being released as a compilation for this tour, and you’d be wise to pick it up and finally be in a position to let the jams play for a while. They’ll bring a big smile to your face, whether you’re playing them at home or dancing to the tunes in person at Charlie’s American Cafe Saturday night. But to be clear, we definitely recommend the latter course of action. This has been a cold, gross winter, and it’s not over yet. We all need a little bit of summer in our hearts.

Monday, February 25, 8 PM
156/Silence (Photo by Ale Gibson-Photography), No Good Deed, Beyond The Grave, Yung Mutt, Lil Broken Heart @ Riffhouse Pub – $5
Y’all had to know this moment was coming — the moment in every column where I do my level best to convince every single one of you to get stoked about a metalcore band that’s coming to our area. You made it through the whole column, you thought you might get away without it this time — but it was not to be, as I will now fervently implore you to gas up your auto and head to Norfolk’s RiffHouse Pub this Monday night to see Pittsburgh, PA’s 156/Silence.

If I am to be totally forthright with you in my advocacy, I must admit that I have no idea what their seemingly random name means. However, it matters little; their 2018 LP on Innerstrength Records, Undercover Scumbag, contains all I need to understand about this band — a powerful collection of driving metallic sludge. filled with angst and fury, plus plenty of noisy guitar chaos, thundering drums, and intense throat-shredding screams. This band is sure to delight fans of everything from Sworn In to The Chariot to All Else Failed, and as I am all three of those fans, I am fair and squarely stoked. You will be too if you make it to RiffHouse Monday night; when have I ever steered you wrong?

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

The 40 Most Essential RVA Albums Of 2018 (Part 1)

Marilyn Drew Necci | December 31, 2018

Topics: 2018 in Review, Andy Jenkins, Ant The Symbol, Bad Magic, Cole Hicks, Cruelsifix, Essential Albums of 2018, Fly Anakin, Gumming, Kenneka Cook, Large Margin, Lipid, Love Roses, Lucy Dacus, Manatree, McKinley Dixon, Michael Millions, Nickelus F, Ohbliv, Ostraca, Saw Black, Scott Clark, The Ar-Kaics, The Donalds

Richmond’s always been a great city for music, and that didn’t change one iota in 2018. If anything, it became a bit overwhelming — indeed, even the most comprehensively-minded local music nerd was likely to overlook a few things. While putting this list together, I found a few that I overlooked myself — and I’m sure you will as well.

This list features our best shot at the most essential and noteworthy albums that our city birthed this year, from any and all genres. Since so many different genres and scenes are thriving in this town, we had to include 40 just to feel like we weren’t leaving anything crucial out. And let’s be real — we probably still didn’t catch everything. The best advice we could possibly give you about following this town’s vibrant musical community is this: always dig deeper. Your new favorite record might be right around the corner.

These 40 albums are a good place to start. Today, we’re presenting the first 20 — in alphabetical order by artist name, so it doesn’t seem like we’re playing favorites. We’ll have the other 20 for you tomorrow. Happy listening!

<a href="http://grittycityrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-motions">The Motions by Ant The Symbol</a>

Ant The Symbol – The Motions (Gritty City)
Over the past decade or so, Ant The Symbol has consistently remained one of the most talented producers in Richmond hip hop. His layered beats are jazzy, funky, and have a lot of emotion built into them, and it’s always interesting to see what rappers do with them. The Motions is full of classic grooves that both present a smorgasbord of Richmond MCs in the best possible light and make clear that, as always, Ant’s beats are the star of the show.

<a href="http://thear-kaics.bandcamp.com/album/in-this-time">In This Time by The Ar-Kaics</a>

The Ar-Kaics – In This Time (Daptone)
This retro-garage heads return to the spotlight after a year or two of woodshedding with a new LP that is a must for the Nehru-jacketed 60s nerds who sleep with the Nuggets box sets under their pillow. That can’t be comfortable, so maybe this 21st century slab of meat-and-potatoes rock n’ roll can help y’all sleep better. Then again, these songs are so full of fun, snotty energy, there’s no way you’re gonna sleep at all with this record on the turntable. Just get up and dance.

<a href="http://badmagic.bandcamp.com/album/what-s-wrong-with-my-eyes">what’s wrong with my eyes? by BAD MAGIC</a>

Bad Magic – What’s Wrong With My Eyes (badmagic.bandcamp.com)
This union of three talented RVA music veterans (Julie Karr, Tim Falen, Jimmy Held) produces music that seems to split the difference between their various musical backgrounds (in everything from folk to grunge to post-hardcore) and bring us the best possible distillation of heartfelt, driving, melodic rock music. Vaguely psychedelic and obviously descended from punk rock in at least a spiritual fashion, this album gives us a glimpse at what ruled the university-station airwaves before Nirvana came along.

<a href="http://sawblack.bandcamp.com/album/water-tower">Water Tower by Saw Black</a>

Saw Black – Water Tower (Crystal Pistol)
This supremely laid-back album comes to us from one of RVA’s foremost purveyors of country-Americana slackness, and has some downright beautiful moments that’ll shine bright for fans of artists like Sturgill Simpson or the Drive-By Truckers. You could probably also play it for your uncle who thinks music has sucked since Garth Brooks, or to expand the horizons of your little cousin who only knows about bro-country. But really, you should probably play it while you’re relaxing on the front porch on a Saturday afternoon with a cold beverage in your hand. That’s when it sounds best.

<a href="http://scottwclark.bandcamp.com/album/tonow">ToNow by ScottClark</a>

Scott Clark – ToNow (Clean Feed)
Drummer Scott Clark is a leader in the mostly-overlooked world of RVA jazz, and with his recent work, he’s made quite an impression beyond our city’s borders as well. Clark’s been tapping into his Native American heritage for his recent full-length works, and that continues with ToNow. This album is a contribution to the ongoing protest movement in Standing Rock, in the form of a musical clarion call, an ambient yet intense musical exploration featuring some of the leading lights in Richmond’s jazz scene. Immerse yourself.

<a href="http://kennekacook.bandcamp.com/album/moonchild">Moonchild by Kenneka Cook</a>

Kenneka Cook – Moonchild (American Paradox)
2018 was Kenneka Cook’s year. This singer with the powerful, hypnotic voice put the entirety of Richmond under her spell, and Moonchild was the way she did it. The songs on this album move back and forth between soulful, jazzy R&B ensemble pieces featuring a bevy of talented local backing musicians and intriguing solo pieces constructed from electronic beats, synth hums, and massive stacks of multi-layered vocal loops, all constructed by Cook herself with electronic sequencing tools. It’s hard to say which of these two aspects of her music are more pleasing — in the end, it’s probably the combination of the two that gets best results.

<a href="http://cruelsifix.bandcamp.com/album/dark-snake">Dark Snake by Cruelsifix</a>

Cruelsifix – Dark Snake (cruelsifix.bandcamp.com)
RVA metal is alive, well, and raging as ever. Cruelsifix finds some leading lights from the local scene coming together to fill their downtime with yet another rip-roaring contribution to the local metal landscape. They made their mark this year with a six-song debut EP that shows off their thrashing blackened death metal sound, and, with song titles like “Rabid Christ” and “Satan Earth Fuck,” makes clear that they aren’t just kidding around with the whole evil-as-hell-name move. Bang your head.

Lucy Dacus – Historian (Matador)
Certainly the RVA album of 2018 that got the most attention outside RVA, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus has gone from house show sensation to international bright young thing in the space of two years, and has given us all yet another reason to be proud of our hometown. Dacus’s gorgeous, heartfelt tunes — which pair her smooth, beautiful voice with powerful melodies driven by a surprisingly tough rhythm section — took a leap beyond her already-assured debut album on Historian. Kudos to her.

<a href="http://citruscityrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-importance-of-self-belief">The Importance Of Self Belief by McKinley Dixon</a>

McKinley Dixon – The Importance Of Self Belief (Citrus City)
In a city with a variety of different hip hop movements taking place, McKinley Dixon exists in a class by himself. He simultaneously brings a multitude of talented friends of various musical backgrounds together to take his music to a higher plane, and remains committed to first principles: those being strong rhymes, powerful beats, and most importantly something real to say. Even as he’s telling hard truths about oppression and struggles, he’s also uplifting your spirit with positive messages — look no further than the title track.

<a href="http://mutantacademyrva.bandcamp.com/album/backyard-boogie">Backyard Boogie by Fly Anakin & Ohbliv</a>

Fly Anakin & Ohbliv – Backyard Boogie (Mutant Academy)
Fly Anakin has been on fire lately, working hard to get himself and his crew, Mutant Academy, established in RVA and beyond. You can hear how much energy he’s bringing to the struggle in the hyperkinetic rhymes he spits on this album, which zap your ears with their sharpness even as they leave Anakin himself gasping for breath. Celebrated production legend Ohbliv contributes all of the production here, bringing a unified feel and a deep mood to Backyard Boogie, and providing a much-needed contrast with Fly Anakin’s manic intensity.

<a href="http://gumming.bandcamp.com/album/human-values">HUMAN VALUES by Gumming</a>

Gumming – Human Values (gumming.bandcamp.com)
The name of this group always makes me think of nursing home residents mashing down soft foods without benefit of dentures, but if you turn your back, rest assured, Gumming will show you just how much bite they’ve got. Human Values is a wall of angry noise that splits the difference between experimental psychedelic weirdness and pure punk rage, like the Butthole Surfers if they were fronted by X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene. Oh values, up yours.

<a href="http://colehicksva.bandcamp.com/album/may-day">MAY DAY by Cole Hicks</a>

Cole Hicks – May Day (colehicksva.bandcamp.com)
No one really wants to talk about this, but the fact is that hip hop tends to be a very masculine genre. It’s rare to hear a female MC spitting rhymes at all, let alone one that can stand toe-to-toe with the best in the game. On May Day, Richmond’s Cole Hicks adds her name to that list, contributing one of the best albums to come out of the genre in RVA this year and landing a top spot in what was already a banner year for Richmond hip hop albums. The beats hit hard, her rhymes hit harder, and her lyrical flow is unmatched, so quit tripping and start bumping May Day now.

<a href="http://andyjenkins.bandcamp.com/album/sweet-bunch">Sweet Bunch by Andy Jenkins</a>

Andy Jenkins – Sweet Bunch (Spacebomb)
Kinda country, kinda indie, and very Southern — that’s local singer-songwriter Andy Jenkins in a nutshell. The latest overnight sensation from the world of Spacebomb Records, Jenkins’s debut full-length, Sweet Bunch, has a laid-back, smoothly rolling feel that’ll put you in the frame of mind to rock contentedly in a porch swing as the lazy river rolls by. Some moments hit upon a sort of pastoral Van Morrison-ish feel, while others bust out the sunbaked twang of the Bakersfield sound. All of it is easy to enjoy.

<a href="http://largemargin.bandcamp.com/album/large-margin">Large Margin by Large Margin</a>

Large Margin – Large Margin (largemargin.bandcamp.com)
Anyone who caught Brief Lives when they were around is bound to have thought the same thing I did — “that guitarist really goes off!” Brief Lives is gone, but the guitarist in question, Chris Compton, has moved on to becoming the frontman for Large Margin, joining up with a variety of local post-hardcore luminaries to exhume the spirit of Fugazi’s classic early 90s work and infuse it with a massive amount of frantic energy and 21st century political fury. One listen to this LP and you’ll want to rock out as hard as Compton does onstage.

<a href="http://vinylconflict.bandcamp.com/album/freak-beat">Freak Beat by Lipid</a>

Lipid – Freak Beat (Vinyl Conflict)
The growth of out-and-proud LGBTQ hardcore punk in this town has been one of the best things about 2018, not just for “representation” but also because it’s brought us a lot of great music from voices we weren’t necessarily hearing before. Lipid is probably the closest to old-school punk of this new crop of RVA queer-power bands, with a sound that mixes the sarcastic punk snarls of the Dead Kennedys with the sort of burly stuff that was coming out of NYC a while back — think Crazy Spirit, or The Men before they became a dad-rock bar band.

<a href="http://thedonalds.bandcamp.com/album/love-roses-split">Love Roses split by The Donalds</a>

Love Roses/The Donalds – split (Tired & Pissed)
These two local punk bands are mainstays of the Shockoe Bottom punk scene that orbits around Wonderland, McCormack’s, and other venues the downtown hipsters aren’t necessarily clued into. They’ve both got a ton of anger to work through, mostly at the pathetic state of the USA today, and they do so with rage, melody, and humor. The Donalds are more midtempo, Love Roses more melodic, but both bands are a ton of fun.

<a href="http://manatree.bandcamp.com/album/engines">Engines by Manatree</a>

Manatree – Engines (manatree.bandcamp.com)
This band of teenagers has really matured on their latest album, which reflects the stripped-down sound Manatree’s increasingly taken on as the lineup shrinks. Frontman Jack Mayock’s considerable talent on guitar and keyboards gets a lot of room to show itself on Engines, as does the sort of growth he’s done as a vocalist since his high school days. Manatree’s math-rock roots are still clear on this album, but as a band, they’re getting weirder, more cerebral, and more fascinating. I guess this is growing up.

<a href="http://michaelmillions.bandcamp.com/album/hard-to-be-king">HARD TO BE KING by Michael Millions</a>

Michael Millions – Hard To Be King (Purple Republic)
Dropping back on January 2, this LP acted as the starting gunshot for an amazing year of RVA music. Michael Millions brought the realness from the opening moments of this one, working with some of the most talented hip hop producers in town to create the perfect instrumental tracks for his powerful lyrics and rock-solid flow. And Millions clearly had a lot to say, filling all of these tracks with powerful declarations of what it’s like to be a working class African-American man in the neighborhoods of Richmond that the Scott’s Addition hipsters don’t even know exist. You can’t afford not to listen to this one.

<a href="http://nickelusf.bandcamp.com/album/stuck">STUCK by Nickelus F</a>

Nickelus F – Stuck (AGM)
From one AGM heavyweight to another. This year saw incredible statements of purpose and power from all of that formidable crew’s leading lights, and Nickelus F’s Stuck was the hardest-hitting of them all. It’s only fair, considering how long he’s been working to advance his sound; that said, we’re all reaping the benefits, because Stuck proves that after a decade and a half of steady grinding, Sweet Petey is better than ever. If you didn’t catch him on tour with Lil Ugly Mane, you need to at least grab this. It’ll twist your head around.

<a href="http://ostraca.bandcamp.com/album/enemy">enemy by ostraca</a>

Ostraca – Enemy (Skeletal Lightning)
People are starting to notice Richmond’s thriving screamo scene; Noisey even wrote about it this summer. If you’re not hip, Ostraca is the first name you need to get familiar with. This scorching trio has been honing their sound for over a decade, arriving on their third album at the strongest and most assured collection of material they’ve brought into the world yet. From harsh screams over furious lightning-speed metallic rage to long, slowly-building post-rock epics, Enemy displays the full range of Ostraca’s considerable talents. Dig in, and remember — there’s plenty more where that came from.

That’s the first half of the list — tune in tomorrow for the rest!

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: November 21 – November 27

Marilyn Drew Necci | November 21, 2018

Topics: 3 B's Bar And Grill, 7th Grade Girl Fight, Abby Huston, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Ancient Torture Techniques, Appalling, Berkowitz, Blame God, Broadcastatic, Castle OG, Ceremonial Scissors, Colin Phils, Coteries, Don Babylon, Dyrt, Fake Object, Flood The Asylum, Garden Grove Brewing, Halfcast, Hand Out, Hunting Dog, Internecine, Kisner, Kofi Shepsu, Kyle Flanagan, Love Roses, Manson Family Values, McCormack's, Melul, Model Child, moniker, MSD, Nerve, Night Hag, Nu Depth, Process of Suffocation, Richmond Avantgarde Improv Collective (photo by Joey Wharton), Riffhouse Pub, RVA Noise Fest, Satori Daydream, shows you must see, Smoke Signals, Spontaneous Noize Combustion, strange matter, Surfacing, Teenage Cynobyte, The Big Payback, The Camel, The Last Bison, Thieves Of Shiloh, Thirst For The Sea, Toast, Vagabond, Voarm, W I S H, weekend plans, Xenojothsz, Yohimbe

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, November 23, 8 PM
The Big Payback, Weekend Plans @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Hey Richmond, it’s Christmas time! Well, OK, it’s still the day before Thanksgiving as you read this, but we all know what comes the day after Thanksgiving: Black Friday, the longstanding kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. In these days when stores are playing Christmas carols over the muzak the day after Halloween, it might seem like Black Friday actually lands several weeks into the Christmas shopping season, but none of us can deny that the most ridiculous sales (and the biggest customer mobs) all happen when the stores open the day after Thanksgiving. I mean, the evidence is on YouTube to prove it!

That being said, Richmond’s foremost James Brown tribute act, The Big Payback, are giving all of us a reason to leave the house on Black Friday despite all the crazy shopping crowds. Long after that whole pallet of $20 TVs is gone from the Walmart aisle, they’ll be taking the stage at The Camel to chase your Christmas shopping blues away with a set of powerful funk. Frontman Kelli Strawbridge has quite the reputation for talent, energy, and soul due to his many excellent projects around town (KINGS, Mekong Xpress, Mikrowaves, and the list goes on), and seeing The Big Payback makes clear that he was born to invoke the spirit of James Brown live on stage.

The Godfather Of Soul recorded three different Christmas albums over the course of his career, and we can only hope that Strawbridge and his crack ensemble of talented musicians are willing to bust out “Soulful Christmas” or “Go Power At Christmas Time” for this performance. Even if they just stick to the tried-and-true classics, though, you’ll still get a night full of perfectly-played funk grooves it’s impossible to sit still for. So get on the floor, get your groove on, and sweat those turkey pounds away. Start your Christmas season on the good foot.

Wednesday, November 21, 8:30 PM
Kofi Shepsu Trio @ Vagabond – Free!
It’s the night before Thanksgiving, and the last place you want to be is the party all your old high school friends are throwing down the street from your parents’ house. So hey, why not stay in town for an extra night and come groove on some smooth jazz sounds down at Vagabond? Drummer and bandleader Kofi Shepsu is quite young; he just graduated high school earlier this year. But don’t let his youth fool you — this man definitely knows his way around a kit.

Even with only a brief professional music career behind him, Shepsu has already managed to work with quite a few Richmond jazz heavyweights, including Charles Owens, Andrew Randazzo (of Butcher Brown), and Kevin Eichenberger (of CGI Jesus), among others. This particular session sees him leading a trio featuring the bass talents of veteran RVA jazz musician Michael Hawkins, as well as the piano stylings of Garen Dorsey, who previously played saxophone in the avant-garde jazz-metal project Groam. The results of this collaboration aren’t exactly predictable, but they’re sure to be enjoyable. Certainly more so than hearing about whatever the annoying guy who sat behind you in English class ten years ago has been up to.

Friday, November 23, 6 PM
RVA Noise Fest: The Finale, feat. Yohimbe, Dyrt, Fake Object, Xenojothsz, Teenage Cynobyte, Kyle Flanagan, Hunting Dog, Kisner, Melul, Ceremonial Scissors, Broadcastatic, Nu Depth, Coteries, Richmond Avantgarde Improv Collective (photo by Joey Wharton), Thieves Of Shiloh, Internecine, Surfacing, and more? @ Strange Matter – $5
Some of the worst news to reach the ears of the Richmond music scene in quite some time broke last week: Strange Matter, which has indubitably been one of the top venues for live music in Richmond over the past decade, would be closing down before the end of 2018. Since the word got out, a variety of different scenes within the local music community have expressed their sorrow over this awful turn of events by putting together one last hurrah for all the local groups within their particular music world. Friday marks the first of these events to hit the calendar — and certainly not the last.

Richmond has long been a hub for experimental noise production, and annual celebrations like RVA Noise Fest were always a great opportunity for the many creative projects within that scene to grab the attention of the community at large — often with damaged beats, harsh noise, and skronking improvisational wildness. Now they’re all coming together to do it one final time. Over a dozen noise acts, from local stalwarts like Coteries and Fake Object to returning former residents like Nu Depth, will all take the stage and blast the loyal Strange Matter denizens with massive walls of sonic chaos. They’ll your mind clean of all thoughts relating to holiday carols and gift shopping, creating an army of shambling noise zombies ready to take over the world. Or at least, we can hope they will.

Saturday, November 24, 4 PM
Nerve, Love Roses, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Smoke Signals, Thirst For The Sea, 7th Grade Girl Fight, Satori Daydream, Flood The Asylum @ 3 B’s Bar and Grill – $10 or $7 plus donation
It’s not often that I’d send you 90 minutes to the northwest of the city for a Saturday afternoon show, but these aren’t normal times. It’s a holiday weekend, you’ve got plenty of time on your hands, and this is a sincerely fascinating bill that will offer you a chance to catch up with all the bands you’ve missed from smaller cities and towns around the state (as well as a couple of DC-area projects). Plus, it’s for a good cause — these bands are coming together to feed the hungry and donate toys to underprivileged kids, which is always a good thing to do, right?

So who are the bands you’re going to hear as part of this trip up 64 West? Well, there’s the dark, raging hardcore of Maryland’s Nerve. There’s the driving emotional post-hardcore of Charlottesville’s Smoke Signals. There’s the rockin’ indie-garage of fellow Charlottesvillains 7th Grade Girl Fight. There’s the brutality of Fredericksburg deathcore mosh warriors Flood The Asylum. There’s the goofy, speedy punk of NoVA’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. And there’s more, including RVA faves Love Roses. Plus, it all takes place in a scenic central VA town, inside a bar that clearly used to be a Pizza Hut. How fun is that? Fire up the GPS app on your phone and get there!

Sunday, November 25, 6 PM
Hand Out, W I S H, Manson Family Values @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
We’re all gonna have to get back to work on Monday, which is never fun after a long weekend, but of course you can soften the blow with some excellent live music. On Sunday evening, Garden Grove will present all comers with a set from Hand Out, a relative newcomer from New Orleans who apparently have some history in that city (members previously played in NOLA bands Modern Language and Variants). Here in RVA, all we have to reckon with is Hand Out’s debut EP, recorded earlier this year before the quartet had filled out its lineup.

Not that you can tell from listening to it — Blood & Water has a full, powerful sound that channels the work of groups like Balance And Composure and You Blew It. If heartfelt, hard-rockin’ emocore is your cup of tea, this band’s gonna make you want to go back for refills. They’re joined on the bill by local newcomers W I S H (they write it with those spaces on purpose), whose recently released two-song EP finds them tapping into the spirit of prime 90s shoegaze from the US. The Swirlies and the Lilys come immediately to mind, not that that’ll mean much to my younger readers. Loud guitars, hazy vocals, and ethereal melodies should appeal to everyone, though. And honestly, if you don’t love the moniker picked by openers Manson Family Values enough to give them a shot based on name alone, I don’t even know what to tell you.

Monday, November 26, 6 PM
Colin Phils (photo by Mags Design), Castle OG, Model Child, Don Babylon, Moniker, Halfcast @ Strange Matter – $10
These farewell-to-Strange-Matter shows are gonna come hot and heavy over the next few weeks, y’all, but don’t get too jaded to ’em, because in only a few short weeks, the club we’ve loved for a decade now will be gone forever. The best advice I could possibly give you is to treat them like Pokemon and catch ’em all. This one in particular will be rewarding for fans of interestingly complex underground rock sounds; the fact that it’s headlined by the one and only Colin Phils only makes that even more clear. This South Korea-via-Richmond group impressed the hometown crowd with their strong split LP with Houdan The Mystic.

Since then, they’ve plentifully proven their mettle (not metal, though, these guys are more math-rock) in quite a few live performances around town. Give them a chance to prove it to you on Monday night at Strange Matter, and you’re sure to come away impressed. Castle OG (the initials stand for “Of Genre,” and I have still never figured out if this is a high-fantasy reference or what) have been making some waves of their own lately. They’ve got a killer indie-pop sound complete with autotuned vocals and some really catchy synth parts, as showcased on their “No Trick” single from last year. And then of course there are a ton of other great local bands who are somewhere on the rock spectrum, from guitar-slinging faves Don Babylon to the unassuming alt-rock of Moniker. There are at least two more bands on this bill, and word is more will be added, so for only ten bucks, you really can’t go wrong. Drink in that Smatter ambiance while you can.

Tuesday, November 27, 8 PM
Blame God (photo by Danny DeRusso Photography), Ancient Torture Techniques, Berkowitz, MSD, Spontaneous Noize Combustion @ McCormack’s – $8
Things may be getting dire where the lower Fan’s music scene is concerned (Flora’s also scheduled for the chopping block), but down on the grimy streets of Shockoe Bottom, the Between 2 Beers crew is still keeping the metal flame burning at McCormack’s. It’s a heartening sign of hope for the future, especially when this particular show is headlined by the excellently named New York group Blame God. Their 2017 EP Strategically Confined is a balls-out slab of hardcore rage and biker-metal power, all rolled up together into five songs of pure hate. These guys are going to blow minds and explode heads when they hit the McCormack’s stage, so come prepared.

And expect the unrelenting onslaught to start the second the first band takes the stage at this show. Hailing from Roanoke, the openers in question are known as Spontaneous Noize Combustion and their flavor of blurry, blown-out D-beat is full of harsh feedback and harsher screams. It only gets more hectic from there: MSD bring the grinding death metal to destroy your eardrums. Berkowitz, a new group formed from the ashes of Throne of Botis and Murder, might not be for sensitive souls, but will definitely satisfy your appetite for brutal death grind madness. And Ancient Torture Techniques, the power-violence trio that once upon a time did a split with long-gone Richmond ragers Street Pizza, appear to be fully back from the dead and ready to rip your face off. Sounds like a great time, huh? After all, a little dismemberment is just what anyone should expect from a top-level metal show.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, November 23, 7 PM
The Last Bison, Abby Huston @ Toast – $18 (order tickets HERE)
In a time when bands taking inspiration from mega-selling “indie” folk groups like The Lumineers and Of Monsters And Men are pretty thick on the ground, it can be tough to find anyone talented messing around with those kinds of sounds. Fortunately, The Last Bison have been around for a while, and built up quite the track record for themselves. No insincere johnny-come-latelies they; new album Suda is their sixth release since 2012, and shows some intriguing growth since 2015’s Dorado. The Last Bison initially structured their sound around instruments like acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin, but on their new album, it appears their “mountain-top chamber music” have evolved into a strange sort of off-kilter synth-pop sound.

And that’s a pretty good thing, on the whole — mainly because this trio is incredibly talented, writing irresistible melodies and catchy choruses that stand alongside the best of them. Granted, tunes like “Gold” — which has an almost Modest Mouse-like bounce — are far from the folky acoustic charm of early hits like “Switzerland,” but you wouldn’t want a band to stagnate, would you? And rest assured, if you loved their melodies before, the new album will by no means run you off. So head to Toast this Friday night, and let The Last Bison show you what they’ve been up to for the last few years. By the end of the night, you’re liable to forget ever having known the Lumineers existed.

Saturday, November 24, 8 PM
Process of Suffocation, Appalling, Voarm, Night Hag @ Riffhouse Pub – $8
Process of Suffocation, Memphis’s mysterious masters of death metal, come to Norfolk this Saturday night, and all of you better get ready to bang your head. This group’s blackened sound lands somewhere between the chaotic rage of early Possessed and the relentless rumble of NYC legends Internal Bleeding. It can be heard in all its fine fury on 2015’s Caos Y Destruccion 666, but the group’s released nothing in the three years since. By now they’re bound to have built up a backlog of new stuff, and anyone heading out to this show can look forward to some fresh cuts from the slaughter.

They can also look forward to a triple thrash threat of VA bands backing them up, including two RVA all-stars. Appalling will thrill the Tidewater area with their talented take on thrash metal, which interjects both significant melodic flavor and a great deal of old-school deathrage. Then there’s the straight-up Scandinavian-style black metal of Voarm, who’ve made quite an impression on the Richmond scene over the past couple of years and are more than prepared to the same to Hampton Roads. Virginia Beach’s own Night Hag, who demonstrated their ability to come up with excellent titles on this year’s Insemination Rites Of The Succubus, split the difference between lumbering death metal and brutal, powerful doom, like some strange Frankenstein’s monster made of parts from Autopsy and Noothgrush. Epic.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: October 24 – October 30

Marilyn Drew Necci | October 24, 2018

Topics: 37th and Zen, AngelMaker, Arsis, Atonement, Awaken Cthulhu, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Carach Angren, Compulse, Crucial Rip, Dead Bars, Deathkids, Doll Baby, Gutted Christ, Internal Bleeding, Iron Chic, Knife Spitter, Laura Cortese and the Dance Cards, Love Roses, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mors Principium Est, Mykki Blanco, Nightcreature, Nosferatu, Pagan Reagan, Patheos, Piece Of Mind, Piranha Rama, Pyrexia, Shadow Age, Shaka's, She Wants Revenge, shows you must see, Somerset Thrower, strange matter, Talk Me Off, Ted Leo, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Canal Club, The National, Titus Andronicus, Toxic Moxie, Typecaste, Within Destruction, Wolfheart, Wonderland, Yeehaw Junction

FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, October 28, 7:30 PM
Titus Andronicus, Ted Leo @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $20 (Order tickets HERE)
It’s Halloweek, and the main thing everyone knows to expect this week is tribute shows. All sorts of different musicians from all kinds of different local bands regroup in new and fun configurations (or maybe even in the same configuration as their usual band) to learn a bunch of covers by some particular band or other, and play a Halloween show with the logic that they’re “in costume” as this other band. There’s no denying that it’s fun, but it’s become such an expected part of Halloween that these days, it’s everywhere. The custom has even spread to other holidays, like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. And to be honest with you, this year I don’t feel like writing about any of it.

Now, you might think I’m just getting old (true), or that I’m just a grumpy bitch who hates fun (also true), but I prefer to frame the decision to skip the covers shows this year as a push to remind you all that there’s still plenty of other awesome music happening in Richmond this week, and while you could spend the entire week hopping from one tribute show to another, you’ll miss out on a lot of great bands who are doing their actual music in town this week. Call me a stick in the mud all you want, but I don’t feel like feeding into that.

Instead, I’m gonna tell you that you should go see Titus Andronicus this week. Titus Andronicus has been around for quite a while now, and honestly, you’ve had plenty of chances to catch them in town before. But if you’ve been following the career of Patrick Stickles and his ragtag band of punk rockers for a while, you know that it’s always worth catching them again. For one thing, the band is different pretty much every time you see them — not only in personnel but in sound. For another thing, they’ve got a powerful live attack that turns their overwhelming Springsteen-ish soul-revue take on punk rock into a powerful locomotive of urgency.

It may be a little less like that this time, though — brand new LP A Productive Cough is, in many ways, their mellowest effort yet. Featuring seven songs, they lean heavily on their tendency to write rambling epics full of rock n’ roll melodrama — the loudest and heaviest thing on it is a first-person rewrite of Dylan classic “Like A Rolling Stone,” and the most obviously punk-ish tune (“Crass Tattoo”) is a morosely beautiful piano ballad. Will they still bust out the historical-reference-laden ragers live? I’d certainly expect them to, but you’ll ultimately have to find out for yourself. One thing’s for sure, this show — which features an incredible bonus opening set by the legendary Ted Leo, performing solo this time out — will offer way more surprises than any night full of tribute bands.

Wednesday, October 24, 7 PM
Iron Chic, Somerset Thrower, Doll Baby, Talk Me Off @ The Camel – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Iron Chic have dealt with their share of pain. Two years ago, the group lost guitarist Rob McAllister, who died unexpectedly at only 36. They’ve soldiered on since then, continuing to write the emotionally-driven melodic punk tunes that have always been their stock in trade, now with a new wistfulness and undercurrent of sorrow that runs through 2017 album You Can’t Stay Here, the first written after McAllister’s death. Songs like “Let’s. Get. Dangerous.” and “A Headache With Pictures” show that the band has retained its wry sense of humor and facility with anthemic hooks, as well as retaining a tough edge that explains why Iron Chic seem to be the favorite pop-punk band of hardcore kids.

Speaking of hardcore, Iron Chic’s Long Island tourmates in Somerset Thrower have a much more direct connection to that scene, dishing out melodic post-hardcore in a manner that harks back to the early 90s days of Quicksand and Texas Is the Reason with aplomb on their new LP, Godspeed. Fans of Iron Chic will dig the way Somerset Thrower mixes strong melodies into their Hum-ish guitar crunch, while the hardcore kids among the audience should get a kick of how surprisingly hard this band’s crescendos hit. With Doll Baby providing a bit of a high-lonesome emo sound to the proceedings and Talk Me Off kicking things off in snotty punk fashion, this show is sure to satisfy all comers — even if it does leave you in a bit of a pensive mood.

Thursday, October 25, 6 PM
Carach Angren, Mors Principium Est, Wolfheart, Awaken Cthulhu, Gutted Christ, Deathkids @ The Canal Club – $18 in advance/$22 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OK look — you want some Halloween entertainment? Look no further than the Canal Club this Thursday night. What Dutch black metallers Carach Angren lack in holiday spirit, they more than make up for by being scary as hell. You’ll find this band widely billed as “symphonic black metal,” but if that leads you to expect some Nightwish-style opera-goth bombast, you best think again. These guys know what black metal is about; that being blast beats, tremolo-picked guitar riffs, and hoarse guttural screams. They also know when to let their keyboards take the fore to create some serious atmosphere, but they don’t overdo it — where this kind of music is concerned, they are far more second-LP Emperor than fourth-LP Cradle Of Filth.

So yes, if you want some serious Halloween headbangs, you need look no further. Carach Angren’s 2017 LP, Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten, is a slab of ferocity perfectly titled for the Trump era. And they’re not the only metal ass-kickers coming to the Canal Club Thursday night, either. They’re joined by fellow Europeans Mors Principium Est (“Death is the beginning” in Latin), who bring us some Finnish melodic death metal in the vein of their countrymen Children Of Bodom, perhaps with a bit more of a thrashy edge. Wolfheart are also from Finland, making this show a veritable embarrassment of riches where European metal is concerned; these guys are closer to what Carach Angren do, and if anything go a bit heavier on the black metal end of things. Blast beats ahoy! Local support includes the Tidewater band Awaken Cthulhu, who are seeking to resurrect the Great Old Ones through ripping thrash terror. That’s a mission I can wholeheartedly support. Come, armageddon, come.

Friday, October 26, 9 PM
The Camel’s Friday Festival of Frights, feat. Toxic Moxie, Piranha Rama, Nightcreature, Pagan Reagan @ The Camel – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I said I was skipping the tribute shows this year, but I can cover Halloween shows full of original music, right? Why am I asking you? I make the damn rules around here! And I’m establishing this rule right now: you will go see Toxic Moxie whenever they play a show. This band does a better job finding the sweet spot between punk rock rampage and disco euphoria than pretty much any other band you’ll find anywhere. And while we still haven’t heard that wealth of new material they’ve been stockpiling in recorded form, it’s easy to catch ahold of their musical whirlwind anytime they take the stage.

They recently acquired a new drummer, and the switch-up didn’t slow them down for a second. Find out for yourself this Friday night at The Camel — it’s sure to be a night of nonstop fun, even when Toxic Moxie aren’t onstage. Nightcreature, a new band who’ve already made a big splash in the time they’ve been playing around Richmond, are bringing us a release party for their debut EP, which confirms what everyone who’s seen them live already knows — these maniacs have rock n’ roll oozing from their pores, and they’re gonna smear it all over you! Piranha Rama’s musical melange will bring the zombie beach party vibe to West Broad St, while DC’s Pagan Reagan drive down to deliver us a set chock-full of surf-garage awesomeness. Plus, there’ll be a costume contest, complete with prizes! Make sure you wear a costume that’s easy to dance in, because you’re gonna be dancing once Toxic Moxie comes on. We guarantee it.

Saturday, October 27, 8 PM
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Laura Cortese and the Dance Cards @ The National – $29.50 in advance (order tickets HERE)
A key sign of my encroaching middle age: I think country music’s pretty tight these days, y’all. I’m still picky about what I like, and all that modern stuff coming out of Nashville is the most fake plastic bro-truck bullshit I’ve ever heard, but some really great musicians have operated in that particular genre milieu over the past few decades, and when they come to town, I feel obligated to let y’all know that I’d probably rather be seeing them than whatever grimy metal show is happening in some dark rock club across town. OK, that isn’t always true, but when Mary Chapin Carpenter comes to town, it definitely is.

Mary Chapin Carpenter had quite the run back in the 90s. From Cajun party jams (“Down At The Twist And Shout”) and heartfelt slices of life (“He Thinks He’ll Keep Her”) to playful romps (“Shut Up And Kiss Me”) and yearning declarations of desire (“Passionate Kisses”), Carpenter gave us a succession of top-10 country hits that showed both a significant musical range and a strong songwriting ability that made her a reliable source of excellent tunes. She’s getting less attention these days, but she’s still at it, making the same excellent music as she ever has. Her thirteenth album, Sometimes Just The Sky, came out earlier this year, and acts as incontrovertible proof that, even three decades later, Mary Chapin Carpenter has the goods. Go to The National this Saturday night and experience the work of an incredibly talented singer-songwriter who’ll remind you that country music can be awesome.

Sunday, October 28, 8 PM
She Wants Revenge, Shadow Age @ The Broadberry – $30 (order tickets HERE)
Halloween may be the scary holiday, it may be the costume holiday, but it’s also definitely the goth holiday, and this is one that’s sure to bring all the goths out of the woodwork, the black hair dye dripping from the tips of their hairsprayed mops… or something like that. She Wants Revenge has been out of the limelight for years, having taken a hiatus after their 2011 third LP, Valleyheart. However, they’ve been slowly ramping back up into full-time action for the past couple of years, and their current tour sees them jumping fully back into the fray with their moody, foreboding take on post-Joy Division gothic postpunk sounds.

The fact that they’re hitting Richmond just in time for Halloween is eminently appropriate, and their pairing with local postpunk trio Shadow Age is equally apropos. Shadow Age just released an excellent self-titled full-length that ramps things up to the next level for the group, injecting their bleak, cold sound with a welcome dose of frenetic energy. Tunes like “Montrose” and “Reign” fulfill the promise of their earlier EPs, and bring us a band at the top of its game. Sadly, they recently posted on facebook that they’d be taking an indefinite hiatus of their own after this show, so this may be the last chance you get to see them perform this material live. If you miss it, you’re sure to regret it. Don’t do that to yourself.

Monday, October 29, 7 PM
Nosferatu feat. live score @ Strange Matter – Free!
I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression. The fact is, I love horror. I love horror stories, I love horror novels, and I love horror movies. That’s why I can’t possibly prevent myself from recommending this film event taking place at Strange Matter on Monday night. They’ll be showing the classic 1922 silent film Nosferatu, complete with a live score. This film, directed by legendary German filmmaker FW Murnau, is one of the crucial establishing works of horror film, following up on the example of 1920 German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and setting the tone for all vampire films to come after.

Murnau’s haunting direction and German stage actor Max Schreck’s unforgettable portrayal of Count Orlok make this suspenseful classic essential viewing, and its status as a silent film opens up a perfect opportunity for some local musicians to enhance the film’s atmosphere with a soundtrack of their own. Members of R-Complex, Prisoner, Asylum, Sinister Haze, Cough, and others will all join together to create a soundscape likely to pull a great deal from these musicians’ backgrounds in metal, noise, punk, and experimental music. It will definitely not be the sort of thing you’ve come to expect from an organ-soundtracked showing of Phantom Of The Opera, but if anything, that makes it better. Head to Strange Matter Monday night and see Nosferatu like you’ve never seen it before.

Tuesday, October 30, 9 PM
Dead Bars, Love Roses, Yeehaw Junction @ Wonderland – $5
Seattle’s Dead Bars are coming to town to liven up the bars in Shockoe Bottom. Well, one bar in particular — Wonderland, the punkest dive bar in the Bottom, which is sure to rise to the Devil’s Night occasion with this show, which constitutes what they’re doing for a Halloween party down there. They may very well go all-out with the decor — we all know Wonderland owner Chad Painter is a big White Zombie fan, after all, and therefore you can assume he takes Halloween seriously. But don’t feel any big sense of obligation — as long as you come to party, you’re sure to have found the right place.

Dead Bars are pretty excellent musically, and though they don’t have any real Halloween-like attributes — most of their stuff is solidly in line with the musical tradition of their label, No Idea; which is to say, anthemic pop-punk with witty lyrics about struggling through life with one foot in the gutter — they’re sure to rock the place like no other. And that’s what we all really want. Locals Love Roses will do a very similar sort of thing, but at twice the speed and with twice the velocity. Meanwhile, relative newcomers Yeehaw Junction are bringing some programmed beats and synth whooshes to a place that’s probably not used to this sort of thing. It’ll be interesting to see how that goes over. Regardless, though, this is going to be an excellent night of punk rock jams, whether you care about the holiday or are just looking for something to do on a Tuesday night. Get into it.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Wednesday, October 24, 5 PM
Bloodletting, feat. Arsis, Internal Bleeding, Pyrexia, AngelMaker, Within Destruction, Crucial Rip @ Shaka’s – $20 in advance/$22 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Now hear this! This show is happening today, it’s happening over an hour from here, and it starts early. You know what that means — if you don’t have your tickets now, you better order ’em immediately and go running out of work full-tilt at 5 PM if you wanna catch the maximum amount of headbanging carnage at Shaka’s tonight. Of course, the main thing you’re gonna want to see is the performance by headliners and hometown favorite sons Arsis, who hail from the Hampton Roads area and are just about to release their sixth LP, Visitant, next week. You’ll get a killer live preview of the record at Shaka’s, complete with sick death-metal riffs, hyperspeed thrash beats, and James Malone’s unmistakable throat-shredding vocals. And who knows? They may even have copies for sale. Regardless, this is sure to be a rager of a set.

And that’s far from the only dose of awesomeness you can expect from this stop of the Bloodletting North American tour. Internal Bleeding, who hail from Long Island, were one of the pivotal groups in establishing the slower, heavier, more breakdown-focused version of death metal that became a New York trademark and helped create the death metal subgenre known as slam. They’re still at it today, having released their sixth album, Corrupting Influence, earlier this month. And they’re still crushing heads with maximum power, which should be brutal music to the ears of anyone who loves death fucking metal. Fellow NY death-metal headcrushers Pyrexia are also on this tour, and while they’re not quite as legendary as Internal Bleeding, they’re maybe a half-step down. This is going to be a hell of a show, y’all, and the fact that AngelMaker, Within Destruction, and VA locals Crucial Rip are also on the bill only sweetens the pot. You know what to do.

Friday, October 26, 6 PM
Piece Of Mind, Typecaste, Atonement, Knife Spitter, Compulse, Patheos @ 37th And Zen – $10 (order tickets HERE)
If you’re looking for some super-tough hardcore, Norfolk is often the place to be. This weekend is no exception — Oklahoma’s Piece Of Mind, who’ve been making their mark in a big way over the past year or so, are rolling through with some harsh, metallic hardcore full of powerful breakdowns and aggressive rage. They recently joined up with Safe Inside Records to release Trilogy, a compilation that pulls together three EPs (hence the name) and sets the stage for a new record soon to come from the band. The new material they’ve previewed thus far shows the same sort of heavy-as-fuck hardcore power that they’ve been dishing out all along; fans of Hatebreed and Buried Alive are sure to appreciate this one.

Piece Of Mind are joined on this bill by equally powerful hardcore crew Typecaste, who hail from Boston and feature a harsher vocal attack and some harder-hitting breakdowns but are very much on the same page overall as Piece Of Mind. If you’re expecting to get anywhere near the stage during their set without being in the middle of a massive mosh pit, I have some news for you: it ain’t gonna happen. This triple threat of touring hardcore heaviness is rounded out by Connecticut rippers Atonement, who are all about the Slayer-style riffs in pursuit of the ultimate powerful breakdown. It works, too — these guys will make your head explode. This show, which also features three killer bands from around the region, including the outstandingly named Knife Spitter, is acting as a benefit for Braeden Branch of VA Beach deathcore band Deathsinger, who recently suffered a collapsed lung and had to be hospitalized. Help a fellow rager cover some medical expenses; kick in the cash at the door, and come to 37th and Zen ready to mosh hard.

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