Reppa Ton Archives

Hip Hop In Full Bloom

Aviance Hawkes | May 13, 2020

Topics: A Flower In The Pot, Gritty City Records, IAMHAPPY, Magic Treehouse, Reppa Ton, Richmond hip hop

Reppa Ton’s new EP on Gritty City Records, A Flower In The Pot, shows the veteran RVA rapper weathering the storms of life and finding new ways to grow.

It’s been five years since we last caught up with RVA’s very own Reppa Ton, and a lot has changed since the last time we spoke with the Gritty City Records rapper. New singles, new videos, and even a new EP released on April 3rd, entitled A Flower In The Pot. Reppa Ton produced half of the album’s eight tracks himself; other producers include Determinate Inc. & Jazz Jhsn, D’Artizt, Bushi Vibes, and Ant The Symbol, with features from Skinny Hendrixx, Dirty Bleus, and Alisha Music.

Reppa Ton describes the inspiration behind the new album as a compilation of sporadic thoughts. Recording in the comfort of his home, he worked with whatever feelings that came to his head. He hadn’t necessarily planned for the songs to come together as one project, but after Gritty City reached out to see if he still wanted to release an album through the label, he pulled together a collection of recent recordings.

“It started off with five songs, but I could hear a story in it, a central theme,” said Reppa Ton. “I decided to add three more songs to fill the gap and paint this full picture.”

He recorded about half of the album while dealing with two bouts of sickness in the space of the month (luckily, this happened before the coronavirus epidemic). He didn’t let his sickness stop him from working, though.

“When I finally got to a normal healthy spot I finished the project and concluded the story,” he said. “The intro [‘The Seeds’] was literally the first song recorded, and the outro [‘New Flower’] was the last one recorded.”

Things might have taken longer to come together had Gritty City not approached him about an album. Reppa Ton has actually been working on a longer, more involved project entitled IAMHAPPY for years now, for which he’s sitting on something like 50 songs.

“When Gritty City Records approached me about the status of the album, I was nowhere near finished, but still wanted to release something,” he said, explaining the decision to release A Flower In The Pot now. “At the time, ‘The Seeds,’ ‘Blu The Samurai,’ ‘Honeymoon Phase,’ and ‘Magic Treehouse’ were already created for IAMHAPPY,” he explained. “I dabbled around with those four records for a while until I came up with the idea for releasing a small EP, which would turn out to be A Flower In The Pot.”

However, fans who’ve been waiting for IAMHAPPY will be glad to know that Reppa Ton still plans to release it in the future. “I’ve started new work on it,” he said. “AFIP is basically just a key in the ignition for the road ahead, being IAMHAPPY. It was necessary for AFTP to be preluded thematically.”

For Reppa Ton, the theme of the new EP leads directly into what he’s trying to say with IAMHAPPY. “The message [of A Flower In The Pot] was finding the growth in any situation of pain, celebration, disparity, small success,” he explained. “IAMHAPPY is the after-effects of being one with your past, your present and future. Finding true happiness doesn’t always contain a smile.”

The EP’s first single and video is “Magic Treehouse,” a song Reppa Ton came up with while trying some new things. At five and a half minutes, it’s significantly longer than any of the other Flower In The Pot tracks.

“I was bored in my apartment thinking about the next move in my career,” he said. “I found the beat on YouTube, recorded the record in 30 minutes, and released it the same week. I thought it would be a cool artistic stance to release a five-minute song in this microwave era of music.”

The video for “Magic Treehouse” was born from a similar spur-of-the-moment creative outburst, which came about with aid from Gritty City labelmates Johnny Ciggs, Fan Ran, Sneeze, and Miles. “The video with High Club Productions came about almost improvised,” said Reppa Ton. “We met at Maymont’s Japanese Garden and built it from our surroundings.”

Of course, with the current COVID-19 pandemic, artists are having to do a lot of rethinking about their approach to their work, and Reppa Ton is no exception. He’s had to come up with new ways to stay relevant and in the public eye.

“For the past five or six years I’ve been a touring act. Some of my greatest moments and accomplishments come from touring the US,” he said. “With this year being what I like to call my ‘return to the forefront’ year, I had tour dates planned, interviews planned, pop-up shops, and physical meetings planned out. But weeks before the album released, everything slowly started fading away. My clothing and physical CD orders came to a halt, just a complete shutdown.”

For Reppa Ton, the new Plan B involves new ways to brand and showcase his new release, and social media has been a big outlet for that. “Gaining knowledge on how to properly work social media and the internet has become essential for the eyes to not go away,” he said. “Blog posts, keeping the Instagram engagements going.” He’s been working with artists all over the world on remixes and covers of songs from the album. And depending on how long the quarantine lasts, he hopes to engage in themed live performances over live streaming platforms.

For now, A Flower In The Pot is available in CD and digital formats from Gritty City Records, and follow Reppa Ton on Instagram @reppa_ton for updates on his next moves.

Top Photo via Gritty City Records/Facebook

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | March 4, 2020

Topics: Addy, Ages, Alfred, Another Round Bar & Grill, Ant The Symbol, Antichrist Siege Machine, Ben FM, Buzzard Dust, Castle OG, City Dogs, Community Witch, Danet Jackson, Dead Kennedys, Demons, DJ Elliot Ness, DOA, Dysphonia, events in richmond va, events near me this weekend, events richmond va, f1ng3rs, gallery 5, Gull, Human Agony, Jenny Scheinman, JJ Speaks, Lance Bangs, Leya, Magic Wand, Majjin Boo, Michale Graves, Mind Shrine, Mister Earthbound, music, must see shows, Predation, PT, Rah Scrilla, Reppa Ton, richmond events, richmond va, richmond va bands, Robbie Fulks, RVA, Shormey, shows this week richmond, shows you must see, Sneeze, Spooky Cool, Taphouse Grill, The Camel, The Firnats, The NorVa, The tin pan, things to do in richmond va, things to do richmond va, Triumvir Foul, VV, Wonderland, You're Jovian, Young Scum

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, March 6, 7 PM
RVA Game Jams presents Split/Screen: A Video Games Themed First Friday Art Show, feat. Buzzard Dust, Ages, Gull, Mister Earthbound, Danet Jackson, F1NG3RS @ Gallery 5 – Free!
Sometimes, you guys, the world is just a major letdown. At those times it can be easy to get overwhelmed and feel like taking to your bed, pulling the covers over your head, and not coming out for six months. But take heart — there are still things worth being awake and in the world for. One of those is happening this Friday night, as RVA Game Jams partners up with Gallery 5 to bring us a First Friday art opening with a bit of a twist — it’s entirely focused on video games.

This event is a celebration of indie games in the Richmond area, and will feature playable demos of half a dozen games by local creators, including memorably named examples like Not Safe For Bugs and Deer In The Headlights. You’ll get a chance to check out art and artifacts from the creative process of video game development, as well as the opportunity to play these games yourself. And you’ll get to hear some really great tunes from local musicians while you’re at it!

Between rounds of the playable demos, you’ll enjoy sounds from Buzzard Dust, the fiery blackened thrash group who last released an LP on Richmond’s own Forcefield Records back in 2017. Word has it they’ve got a grip of new material to lay on us, though, so get stoked for that. Plus there’ll be a performance from Ages, the latest project from former Magnus Lush leader Age Shurte and talented members of other rad local groups like Weird Tears and Dumb Waiter. And we’ve still only scratched the surface, as several other area performers, from the almighty Gull to the psych-stoner jams of Mister Earthbound, as well as the video-game inspired electronica of F1NG3RS, are all on tap for the night as well. Let the often-solitary pursuit of video games be an opportunity for connecting with the world, and head over to Gallery 5 this Friday night. It’s better than hiding in bed — I promise.

Wednesday, March 4, 7 PM
Mind Shrine, Majjin Boo, Alfred., Castle OG, Shormey @ The Camel – $8 (order tickets HERE)
Mind Shrine may be from Texas, but things will be getting downright tropical, at least in a musical sense, at The Camel tonight when this catchy quartet brings their remarkable sound to town. On their recent self-titled EP, Houston’s Mind Shrine create a warmly glowing pop sound with roots in both smooth 70s AM radio sounds and the music of Brazilian leading lights like Caetono Veloso and Os Mutantes, but fed through an undeniable 21st century indie filter, resulting in pure indie-pop gold. You’re going to want to dive into the warm, sunny sounds this band produces, and the Camel’s giving you the perfect opportunity tonight.

The evening will also present a set from Majjin Boo, who released my favorite Richmond music of 2019 and still have a very secure place in my heart two months into the new year. If you’re not on their wavelength yet, now’s the time. You’ll also have the chance to catch excellent musicians Alfred and Shormey just before they leave town together on a pre-SXSW tour that will culminate with them performing at that legendary Austin, Texas music fest later this month. And of course, Castle OG will round out the bill with some rad local indie sounds. You’re not going to want to miss a minute of this one — so make sure you don’t.

Thursday, March 5, 9 PM
Triumvir Foul, Human Agony, Antichrist Siege Machine, Predation @ Wonderland – $10
That place on the spectrum of musical genre where death metal meets filthy lo-fi noise is a fascinating one for me personally, as it reflects a lot of the turmoil I find myself dealing with on a daily basis. If you, like me, are someone who has your fair share of mental struggles, you might find yourself connecting with Triumvir Foul, the Portland-based death-black-thrash group whose 2019 EP, Urine Of Abomination, covers old-school Autopsy-style death brutality with a rumbling haze of foreboding terror. In other words, it’s fucking awesome. And you’re going to want to see how it translates live.

Meanwhile, Triumvir Foul’s Invictus Productions labelmates, Human Agony, hail from across the northern border in Vancouver and bring a more grinding speed-metal assault on their most recent LP, Putrescence of Calvary, with just as much of the ominous lo-fi grit as Triumvir Foul has to offer. These two groups should make a great team — and locals Antichrist Siege Machine are the perfect complement, bringing the sort of unrelenting death metal rage they displayed on 2019’s Schism Perpetration to the Wonderland stage this Thursday night. They’ll be accompanied by mysterious noise project Predation, who I hear has something to do with Division Of Mind, but that’s all I can tell you. Assuage your inner turmoil with some outer turmoil at this show. You’ll thank me later.

Friday, March 6, 10 PM
Ant The Symbol’s City Dawgz Takeover, feat. Sneeze, Reppa Ton, Rah Scrilla, Ben FM, PT, DJ Elliot Ness @ City Dogs – Free!
Ant The Symbol’s always up to some interesting things, and in 2020, that definitely has not changed. 2019 saw the veteran RVA hip hop producer release The What?!, a dozen tracks featuring a who’s who of the city’s best MCs dropping rhymes overtop of Ant’s always-killer productions. Now in 2020, he’s surprised us all with a follow-up, Holyfield, featuring new versions of all of the songs from The What?! along with a few entirely new tracks. From my initial lessons, I’d guess he took the vocal tracks from The What?! and laid them over new productions; and since Ant’s productions are always the stars of the show, that makes it damn close to an entirely new album only a few months removed from the last one. That’s something worth throwing a party for.

So that’s what Ant The Symbol will be doing this Friday night at City Dogs, as he enlivens this hot dog shop with a variety of leading MCs from around the city, almost all of whom (with the exception of Sneeze) appear on Holyfield, The What?!, or both. DJ Elliot Ness is providing the music, and rappers who should need no introduction to Richmond hip hop heads, such as Reppa Ton, Rah Scrilla, Ben FM, and PT will contribute the rhymes. This leaves Ant The Symbol to hawk copies of the new Holyfield CD, contribute the tracks that Elliot Ness spins, and hang out with his many talented friends. Come chill with Ant The Symbol this Friday night, hear some great rhymes and dope beats, grab a copy of the new CD, and have a couple chili dogs while you’re at it. You won’t regret it.

Saturday, March 7, 8 PM
Addy, Spooky Cool, Young Scum, Castle OG @ Gallery 5 – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It still feels to me like Addy are a relatively new band on the Richmond scene. Therefore it’s kind of wild to note that they are just about to release their first LP on emo heavy-hitters Topshelf Records — but I’m definitely happy for them, and to see them representing Richmond so well. At Gallery 5 this Saturday night, they’ll be celebrating their debut full-length, Eclipse, which finds the group, originally a minimalist solo project of leader Adam Watkins, moving toward more of a group identity as their current four-piece lineup becomes the focus of their recorded sound.

On Eclipse‘s early singles, we hear Addy embracing a warm, laid-back version of the indie sound, one that definitely pulls in a little Southern flavor to spice things up country-style. There’s an undeniable charm to this band’s aural presence, and that’s sure to translate with ease to the live environment created at Gallery 5 Saturday night. Addy will be accompanied on this joyful musical evening by a few other great Richmond indie groups, including Young Scum, Spooky Cool, and Castle OG, but their new LP is what the evening is all about, so bring a few extra bucks to pick up a copy for yourself, and enjoy a pleasant evening enveloped by the wonderful sounds of Richmond, Virginia.

Sunday, March 8, 7 PM
Lance Bangs, The Firnats, You’re Jovian, Magic Wand @ The Camel – $8 (order tickets HERE)
The Citrus City Sunday residency at the Camel is such a boon to Richmond music, I swear — every time it rolls around, we get a wonderful mix of mainstays from one of Richmond’s leading indie labels and new sounds you might not expect but are always a pleasant surprise. This time around, we’re getting a little more of the known quantities than the unknown delights, but it’s very hard to complain when the known quantity at the top of the bill is Lance Bangs, the slacker-rock trio who’ve slipped into a quieter presence on the Richmond scene recently but still have a ton of excellent tunes to brighten your Sunday evening with. If it’s been a while since you’ve caught these guys live, remember what it was you dug about them so much to begin with this Sunday night at the Camel.

And make sure you show up on time for the other musical delights Citrus City has to offer this evening — rest assured, they are plentiful. The Firnats, who are currently working towards the release of a new album sometime this year, have been described to me as 50s doo-wop and 90s grunge, and as crazy as that sounds, it’s pretty much dead-on — and a very enjoyable listen that will appeal to the indie kids and Future Islands fans out there. You’re Jovian’s Norfolk-based shoegaze sound has been an underrated fave of mine for years, and I’m glad to see them making it up to Richmond more lately. If you don’t know the deal, find out on Sunday — you won’t be sorry. Melodic punk-grunge newbies Magic Wand will kick this evening off with a shot of much-needed energy. Come out to this one — it’ll be a blast.

Monday, March 9, 7:30 PM
Michale Graves, JJ Speaks @ Another Round Bar & Grill – $10 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
How you feel about this event is sure to depend to some extent on what the 90s were like for you. Back then, Glenn Danzig’s original punk band, The Misfits, had a revival in which brothers Jerry Only (bass) and Doyle (guitar) revived the long-dormant project with a new vocalist and some new material. Michale Graves was that new vocalist, and while people who’d grown up with the original Danzig-fronted Misfits were often dismissive of late-90s Graves-fronted releases like American Psycho, those records accumulated a strong following amongst the younger set — many of whom, thirtysomethings today — no doubt hold warm memories of Michale Graves-era Misfits in their hearts.

For those kids — and really, for any of us willing to give an aging punk rocker’s solo project a chance — this acoustic evening with Michale Graves at Another Round should be a treat. His acoustic performances find him bringing new power both to late-90s Misfits songs he wrote and material from his many solo albums since he left that group, all by himself with just an acoustic guitar and his strong, powerful voice. If you have a soft spot for “Dig Up Her Bones” or “Die Monster Die,” you’ll hear them in a whole new way this Monday night at Another Round. You won’t want to miss that.

Tuesday, March 10, 8 PM
Robbie Fulks, Jenny Scheinman @ The Tin Pan – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Based solely on talent, Robbie Fulks should be an outright legend in the country world. However, he’s never completely gotten his due in Nashville circles, partly because he has never been willing to play along with the way the country music industry works. For evidence of that fact, look no further than his classic tune about Music City, the memorably titled “Fuck This Town.” Thankfully, his cult following his given him a viable career over the last few decades, and he’s been able to follow his muse in a variety of fruitful directions.

Fulks’ latest move is one that shows why you should expect the unexpected from this talented songwriter — last year, he self-released a vinyl-only double LP called 16, which is a track-for-track reinterpretation of the long-maligned late-70s Bob Dylan album, Street Legal. That might sound like a recipe for disaster, but Fulks and his band find gold amid the critically-reviled nadir of Dylan’s career. They’ll surely demonstrate this with their Tuesday night show at the Tin Pan; whether Fulks does a whole bunch of Dylan tunes or sticks to his own delightful catalog, this is a musical evening that’s sure to delight all comers.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, March 6, 9 PM
VV, Community Witch, Dysphonia, LEYA @ Taphouse Grill (Norfolk) – $5
Whether you’re a Richmond reader facing the prospect of an hour-plus drive to catch this show by a local favorite or a Tidewater denizen wondering what this RVA band has to offer, I can’t help but encourage you all to make your way to the Taphouse Grill this Friday night to catch VV. This Richmond postpunk foursome brings a harsh undercurrent of horror to their rumbling, dissonant sound on III, the EP they released in January that constitutes their first new material in over two years. If you didn’t catch up with VV a couple years ago when they first arrived on the scene, you should definitely get familiar with what they do now that they’re back in action. This group definitely brings the noise.

They’ll be performing with three homegrown Tidewater musical projects, all of whom bring the outsider punk vibes in plentiful amounts. Community Witch have a charming yet spooky lo-fi rumble to their jangle-punk sound. Dysphonia are hard to find evidence of online, but appear to have a bit more of a jangly indie vibe, one with a bit more melody than the other two groups we’ve discussed so far. And LEYA are just downright odd, but in a riveting manner. So this one is sure to both surprise and enlighten you. Expect the unexpected.

Tuesday, March 10, 7:30 PM
Dead Kennedys, DOA, Demons @ The NorVA (Norfolk) – $22.50 in advance/$27.50 at the door (order tickets HERE)
To all the aging punks out there, I’m sure it seems just as weird to you as it does to me that the Dead Kennedys have been around for longer without frontman, chief songwriter, and punk godfather Jello Biafra on vocals than they ever were with Biafra. But of course, in their post-Biafra incarnation, they’re pretty much a nostalgia act, mainly performing classics from the band’s original early-80s era, and releasing nothing more than a live album or two since they regrouped in the early 00s.

So why go see them? Well, because you certainly won’t ever see them with Biafra on vocals again, and this is the next best thing. Because they’re only gonna play old stuff you already know and love. Because if you can enjoy a DK’s tribute act at a Halloween covers show, you can certainly enjoy one featuring most of the original band. And because Canadian punk legends DOA and Hampton Roads hardcore group Demons are both on the bill as well. The cumulative whole of what this show has to offer is worth appreciating, even if it doesn’t feature Jello Biafra behind the microphone. So enjoy it, and don’t worry too much about the provenance.

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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 by Carl Raw on Unsplash

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 18 – December 24

Marilyn Drew Necci | December 18, 2019

Topics: 3wayslim, A.Day, Baby Grill, Bandolero, BigDumbBaby, Billy Capricorn, Bon Ki, Chiocca's, Colin Phils, Elizabeth Owens, Fullscreen, Fuzzy Cactus, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Gritty City Records, Gritty City Sound Machine, Illa Styles, Melul, Men I Trust, Mister Goblin, must see shows, Nah., Naro Cinema, No BS! Brass Band, Persephone, Pet Fox, Poor Boys, Post Sixty Five, R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND, Radio B, Renata Zeiguer, Reppa Ton, Scuba, Segga Spiccoli, Shawn Mike, shows you must see, Sons Of The Beasts, Spartan Jet-Plex, Starr Nyce, Super Doppler, The Camel, The NorVa, Turnover, Ty Sorrell, Versace Chachi, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, December 19, 7 PM
Gritty City For The Kids 5, feat. Gritty City Records (Photo by Jake Cunningham), Segga Spiccoli, Radio B, 3WaySlim, Reppa Ton, Scuba, Bandolero, Illa Styles, Versace Chachi, Shawn Mike, Starr Nyce, A.Day, Gritty City Sound Machine @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Y’all, when you’re the editor of a magazine that focuses on the entirety of the music scene in a mid-sized American city, let me tell you, a lot of pressure gets put on you. Specifically, the pressure to say that every single thing from that city is equally great. And that’s an easy job most of the time, because Richmond really does have a tremendous musical scene. But sometimes, especially in this column, I like to drop the facade a little bit and let y’all know how I really feel. This is how I really feel: in Richmond, if you want hip hop, the best place to go is Gritty City Records.

If you ask me, there isn’t even a convincing argument against it. Without even mentioning their formidable, nearly decade-deep back catalog, just look at the wide cross-section of Richmond talent that released projects on Gritty City this year alone! We’re talking Ant The Symbol, Noah-O, Fan Ran, Johnny Ciggs, Rah Scrilla, and more. And look at the wide cross-section of talent appearing on Gritty City’s annual holiday extravaganza this year. From label stalwarts to all-star guests, this one is truly stacked with talents that bring a wide variety of Richmond hip hop flavors to the table.

For example, there’s Illa Styles, whose latest album, A Quarter Til A Mil, released just a month ago, is the kind of hip hop masterwork we’re lucky to get in any year. There’s Radio B, whose work with AGM always dominates the city and remains highly underrated in the world at large. Plus Segga Spiccoli, Versace Chachi, Reppa Ton, Bandolero… the list goes on for quite a while, and it’s all top-quality. Plus, this show is affiliated with Punks For Presents, so cash and toys donated will help add to the annual bonanza that group delivers to the Children’s Hospital. There are a million reasons to be in attendance for this, so you really should just go ahead and do it.

Wednesday, December 18, 9 PM
Mister Goblin, Pet Fox, Baby Grill, BigDumbBaby @ Wonderland – $10
Two Inch Astronaut had a lengthy career full of high points in melodic, emotional postpunk, and it was a real bummer to hear that this Maryland band was ending last year. Thankfully, frontman Sam Woodring didn’t slow down at all, and only a year later, we’ve already got the debut album from his post-Two Inch Astronaut project, Mister Goblin. Is Path Warm?, which sounds like a badly translated subtitle in a foreign film, was released just a few weeks ago by Exploding In Sound Records, and now Woodring and co. are coming to Richmond to bring us some excellent sounds, live and in person.

Mister Goblin might sound like a hip hop or electronic project, but the band isn’t much different than Two Inch Astronaut, really — maybe a little moodier, with a slightly more wistful vibe, but really, if you were into the last Two Inch Astronaut LP, 2017’s Can You Please Not Help (now THAT’s a great album title), you’re not going to find anything not to love in what Mister Goblin’s bringing to you now. They’ll be coming to town accompanied by Bostonians Pet Fox, in which Ovlov drummer Theo Hartlett is stepping out from behind the kit to front a trio with strong melodic inclinations and maybe just a bit less crunch than his other band. If you dig Ovlov, though, you’ll want to catch Pet Fox on their way through town. So spend your midweek evening at Wonderland tonight — you’ll be glad you did.

Thursday, December 19, 7 PM
Post Sixty Five (Photo by Joey Wharton), Nah., Colin Phils, Fullscreen @ Poor Boys – $5
Prsmcat, the new show-booking crew from members of Majjin Boo, have been running things in a downright familial manner over at Poor Boys, and it’s been really nice so far. They picked up the banner of locals-only shows that fell to the ground with the sad departure of Strange Matter, and have been doing shows featuring known and up-and-coming groups regularly over at Poor Boys. This latest, the last before the holidays, is a birthday celebration for Hicham Benhallam, who is not only the soundman at Poor Boys but the frontman for Post Sixty Five. And, not coincidentally, Post Sixty Five will be headlining this show.

The ambient indie group with its roots throughout Virginia haven’t been all that active in recent years — their last EP was released in early 2017 — but if anything, that makes it more exciting to get a set from the quintet to cap off a celebratory evening. What’s more, we’ll also hear from Nah., a DC-based group who stretches the definition of “local” but has a welcome synth-spiced indie-postpunk sound that will go perfectly with that of Post Sixty Five. With local faves Colin Phils and newcomers Fullscreen filling out the bill, this one’s gonna be a wonderful time all around.

Friday, December 20, 8 PM
Ty Sorrell, Bon Ki, Billy Capricorn @ Gallery 5 – $8
One of the greatest things about Richmond label Citrus City is their eclectic palate. From electro-pop to indie-psych to erudite hip hop, they release music from any genre that strikes their fancy, and rapper Ty Sorrell’s brand-new Citrus City cassette, At God’s House, makes that all the more clear. The release, a co-production with Boston’s Disposable America, is what we’ll be celebrating at this show, and it’s certainly worth a party, considering how well Sorrell displays an engaging combo of erudite rhymes and multi-layered beats on this project.

Sorrell brings in all sorts of guests on At God’s House to sweeten the pot and enliven the proceedings, and we should see a similar sort of thing going on at this Gallery 5 throwdown, especially since psychedelic indie space rangers Bon Ki, who appear on the album, will also be playing a set this evening. Will we see folks like Alfred and Rob Gibsun joining Sorrell onstage as well? There’s only one way to find out.

Saturday, December 21, 8 PM
Elizabeth Owens, Spartan Jet-Plex, Melul, Persephone @ Garden Grove Brewing – Donations for VAVP appreciated
Singer-songwriter Elizabeth Owens has been making a name for themselves around Richmond for a couple of years ago. Backed by The Live Bats, they created a moving indie-folk song cycle entitled Coming Of Age in 2018. That album explored the difficulties of finding oneself amid an alienating, oppressive world, through a story of a young princess finally escaping a mystical imprisonment after years of isolation. Now, in 2019, Owens is bringing us another take on that tale with an acoustic EP entitled Still Coming Of Age, which reimagines some of the standout tracks from the original album in a bare-bones solo context.

It’s that EP that this performance at Garden Grove celebrates, and for this release party, Owens will join with other performers to create an intimate, personal evening of solo musical endeavors. Hard-working local collective Grimalkin Records has been Owens’ label of choice for a while now, and fellow Grimalkin artist Spartan Jet-Plex will be one of the performers on this bill, bringing their haunted balladry to the Garden Grove stage. The evening will be rounded out by the dark ambient atmospheres of Melul and a solo turn from Aesthetic Barrier’s Persephone. Plus, Owens will have holiday gifts for friends who attend, so this show is sure to bring a little of the positive holiday spirit into your heart.

Sunday, December 22, 5 PM
R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND (Photo via VPM/Facebook) @ Fuzzy Cactus – Free!
Last time we were in this space, we talked about Richmond’s own jazz bassist extraordinaire, Andrew Randazzo, and his efforts heading a variety of ensembles here in town. At that time, I told you that there was at least one more opportunity awaiting you to see Randazzo’s foremost orchestra, the R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND, engaging in their excellent yearly interpretations of Vince Guaraldi’s immortal soundtrack for best Christmas special ever A Charlie Brown Christmas. Well, if you didn’t mark your calendars then, you definitely should now, because that time has come.

Guaraldi’s original soundtrack was performed by a simple trio, with Guaraldi’s piano backed solely by bass and drums. The R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND treatment is something else entirely, though, as it augments a crack rhythm section featuring Randazzo and some of his Butcher Brown compatriots with a dozen or so horn and reed players, plus even some occasional guest vocals, for a massive big-band treatment of quite a few absolute classic Christmas season tunes. Are you struggling to find the spirit this year? Look no further — R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND will put you in the proper mood.

Monday, December 23, 7 PM
Sons Of The Beasts @ Chiocca’s – Free!
Relaxing holiday times are much the same throughout the year — the closer they get, the more relaxed things are around the music scene. And when things are relaxed, musicians inclined towards jamming truly come into their own. That’s when we see mainstays of the scene take stages to get loose and explore what can happen outside the confines of a standard set list, and it’s where all kinds of one-offs and improptu supergroups find time to shine.

You’ll see exactly that kind of thing taking place at Chiocca’s, that little sandwich shop in a Museum District basement, when Sons Of The Beasts get together again for the first time in quite a while, in order to unleash some rockin’ acoustic fun times. If you’re not familiar with the name, you still know the musicians — members of The Southern Belles, The Congress, Jackass Flats, and more are represented in this quartet, and they’ll be dishing out a variety of tunes from their other projects along with some fun covers and unexpected delights. We all know no one gets anything of substance done the week of Christmas, so start the week off with some fun and rock out with Sons Of The Beasts at Chiocca’s.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Wednesday, December 18, 8 PM
Turnover, Men I Trust, Renata Zeiguer @ The NorVA (Norfolk) – $23 in advance/$26 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Turnover’s gone through a lot of changes over the years, from their roots as a melodic, emotional post-hardcore group to their middle period as a shoegazing dream-pop combo. Now, with their brand-new fourth album, Altogether, they’ve integrated an 80s New Wave synth sound that finds them progressing yet again — to a land somewhere between Vampire Weekend, ABC, and 60s tropicalia. That’s a long way to go in six years.

However, it’s a trip that’s worth taking with these Tidewater boys, who keep finding fantastic new ways to express their ever-renewing pop sensibility. So join the Turnover crew as they return home for the holidays with a big party at The NorVA. They’ll be accompanied by Men I Trust, a hypnotic bedroom-synth group from north of the border, as well as up-and-coming torchy Brooklyn songwriter Renata Zeiguer. It won’t be a stage-dive fest of old, but if you appreciate good music, Turnover’s latest transformation will please you every bit as much as their previous incarnations.

Thursday, December 19, 6:30 PM
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society benefit, feat. Super Doppler, No BS! Brass Band @ Naro Cinema (Norfolk) – $15 (order tickets HERE)
The holidays bring out the giving spirit in everyone, and our favorite local bands are no exception. Punks For Presents is far from the only example, and live music collective LAVA Presents proves that on Thursday by joining with two of the best bands in Virginia right now — rockers Super Doppler and funk-jazz party-bringers No BS! Brass Band — to throw a hellacious wingding at Norfolk’s Naro Cinema to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

As charity events go, you’ll have more time writing this one off on your taxes than you will pretty much anywhere else, and rest assured that between our two musical hosts, we’re sure to get plentiful opportunities for smiles, singalongs, and dance parties. What better way could there be to kick off the last weekend before Christmas? (Goodness knows, if any weekend starts on Thursday, it’s this one.)

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | November 20, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere Around The State:

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

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

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

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

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

Top Photo: Gumming, by Joey Wharton, via Twitter

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 5 – December 11

Marilyn Drew Necci | December 5, 2018

Topics: 1NF1N1T8, 37th and Zen, Accident Prone, Asylum, Bat, Big Dev, black liquid, Blind Justice, Boxford, Butt, cakes, Cannabis Corpse, Cha$e Royale, Chance Fischer, Charlie's American Cafe, Chris Haskins, Christi, Claudio Simonetti, Cloak/Dagger, Cloud Nothings, Cole Hicks, Combust, COUGH, Cult Leader, deviant, DJ Bandolero, DJ Banga, Dogfuck, Dr. Millionaire, Dry Spell, Eric & Aviana, Flatline, Frankenstein Reyes, Fuggin Doe, Generation Axe, Goad Gatsby, Goblin, God Goldin, God Mother, Grayscale, Haircut, Hip Hop Henry, I Fight Vampires, Invaluable, Iron Reagan, Lovesick, Mensroom, Michael Millions, Moon, Mutant Academy, Nickelus F, Nosebleed, Nuno Bettencourt, Octavion X, Paper Trail, Piranha Rama, Primitive Weapons, PT Burnem, Rack Squaresoft, Red Vision, Reppa Ton, Roy Batty, Russ Waterhouse, Scotty And the Steiners, Semtex, shark eyes, shows you must see, Sinister Purpose, Skinnyy Hendrixx, Skuzii, Sleep, Steve Vai, strange matter, Suspiria, The Ar-Kaics, The Byrd Theatre, The Courtneys, The National, Tosin Abasi, Van Silke, Watchdogs, Weather Warlock, Weird Tears, Windhand, Yngwie Malmsteen, YOUNG FLEXICO, Zakk Wylde

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, December 7, 9:30 PM
Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin performs Suspiria @ The Byrd Theatre – $35 (order tickets HERE)
This is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime event, and you pretty much need to be there if you have any interest at all in horror movies, spooky European prog rock of the 70s, or both. Here’s the deal: the Italian prog group Goblin did quite a few soundtracks for horror movies back in the 70s and 80s, including several for legendary Italian horror director Dario Argento. In 1977, they did what is probably their most famous work in the score for Argento’s most famous film, Suspiria. Now, in a weird tie-in to the 2018 remake of the film, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin are on tour performing the Suspiria score live along with the film. This Friday night, they’ll be doing so at The Byrd Theatre. How cool is that?

Goblin has been made up of many people over the years, and at this point in history, there are several active or dormant projects that have used variations on the name in the past decade or so. Claudio Simonetti, the group’s longtime keyboardist, is currently leading a trio featuring the members of his late-90s/early-00s metal band, Daemonia, and that’s the version of Goblin that will be coming to the Byrd. Anyone who’s seen Suspiria or soundtracked an awesome Halloween party with the soundtrack album will recognize the essential role Simonetti’s keyboards play in the film’s music; basically, if there were to be one original member of Goblin involved in this performance, you’d want it to be Claudio Simonetti.

Basically, this is the closest any of us will get to seeing the original Goblin play this music. And better yet, the group will follow its performance along with the film by another set of music drawing from the highlights of Simonetti’s lengthy career, which has included film scores for dozens of classic horror flicks (Deep Red, Dawn Of the Dead, Demons, Nightmare Beach, The House of Witchcraft… so many more). And if that tantalizes you, here’s the best part of all: you’ll get to see Argento’s original Suspiria on the big screen. Who can pass that up? Not you, if you’re smart.

Wednesday, December 5, 7:30 PM
Generation Axe Tour, feat. Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Tosin Abasi @ The National – $39.50 in advance/$43 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The 90s have been the nostalgia decade of choice for a while now, and somehow we got there as a culture without ever dealing with that late 80s era of leather pants, hairspray, and wild shreddy guitars that everyone remembers now as “hair metal.” There was a lot to that era, y’all, and a lot of it was great. From 80s power metal that got wrongly lumped in (Iron Maiden, anyone?) to the true classics of the glam generation (Shout At The Devil is one of the best metal albums of that decade — yeah, I said it), we’ve chosen to leave a lot of great things out of the cultural narrative. I guess this is what people mean when they say “guilty pleasures,” huh?

Generation Axe comes to The National to let us all know that it’s time to stop feeling guilty about all the shred-heavy guitarists with feathered hair and lightning-speed arpeggios whose tablatures we all studied obsessively in the back pages of Guitar World while we were supposed to be finishing our algebra homework. The king of the shred, Steve Vai, who is known not only for his epic instrumental solo albums (and “solo” is indeed the word) but his time in Whitesnake, David Lee Roth’s solo band, and many more, got this whole project together, recruiting fellow instrumental shred king Yngwie Malmsteen (it’s pronounced “ING-vay,” and in the time it took you to read this parenthetical aside he’s played at least 800 notes), Ozzy/Black Label Society legend Zakk Wylde, former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, and Animals As Leaders, um, leader Tosin Abasi to form a five-guitar monster of razor-sharp licks and tour the world. At the National, you’ll see everything from spotlight sets by each of these five guitarists to duets and collaborations between three or even all five string-benders to wow you with hours and hours of shred-thrash fireworks. It’s going to be so goddamn amazing you’ll surely want to dig through mom’s attic over Christmas until you dig out your dusty old Ibanez and books of guitar tabs. Get fired up.

Thursday, December 6, 7 PM
The Ar-Kaics, Christi, Piranha Rama, Weird Tears @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Strange Matter’s long goodbye continues this week, and we’ll be sending you there quite a bit before we wrap up this column. This is because, even in their final throes, this best of all Richmond venues continues to pack the place each night with brilliance. This particular garage-psych focused bill is centered around 60s revivalists The Ar-Kaics, who’ve spent the last several years wowing us with the charm of their many 45 RPM singles, recapturing the fuzzed-out glory of the Nuggets era. After a couple years away from the spotlight, they’ve returned in a big way with In This Time, their second full-length. On it, they mix the primitive charm of their garage-rock roots with some increased melodic elements that make these tunes catchier than ever.

Rejoicing at the return of the Ar-Kaics is a big reason to come to this show; however, it’s not the only one, as local power-pop legends Christi are returning to live performance after a year and a half away from the stage. I would say this makes sense, since longtime Ar-Kaics drummer Patty Conway was also in Christi, but by the time Christi broke up she wasn’t in that band anymore — and at this point, it seems like she might have left the Ar-Kaics as well. So this could all be a big coincidence. Either way, the double-dose of old-school rock n’ roll with some killer vocal harmonies overtop is coming for you, and it’s going to rule, so you really should just be at this show no matter what. Local up-and-coming garage-pop group Piranha Rama and the ever-mysterious Weird Tears will get this show rolling in fine fashion.

Friday, December 7, 8 PM
Sleep, Weather Warlock @ The National – $21.50 in advance/$25 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Where doom metal, or “stoner metal,” or whatever you want to call it, is concerned, Sleep are pretty much the north star. Having evolved out of apocalyptic crust band Asbestos Death at the dawn of the 90s, Sleep went on to define the stoner-doom genre with their 1992 classic, Sleep’s Holy Mountain, before either attaining doom godhead or flying too close to the sun (depending on your point of view) with the long-delayed legend of an album, Dopesmoker (which consisted of one 74-minute song. I know, right?). However, while record companies were less than stoked at the idea of marketing a one-song double LP, leading the group to disband, their legend grew in their absence — fueled by the biker-metal heroics of guitarist Matt Pike’s post-Sleep project, High On Fire, and the epic drone of bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros’s Om, which has incorporated elements from Tibetan Buddhist chants into their moody darkness.

After receiving rapturous responses to a series of reunion tours, Sleep became a fully functioning band again about five years ago, recruiting Neurosis’s Jason Roeder to replace retired original drummer Chris Hakius. This year, they followed up two excellent post-reunion singles with their first full-length album in over 20 years, The Sciences. What is obvious from the first listen is that this group hasn’t lost a single step over the intervening years, mixing the biker-doom headbanging of High On Fire into Om’s droning low-end hum to create newborn classics like the Egyptian pyramid-Black Sabbath pun reference in “Giza Butler,” or the 21st century stoner anthem “Marijuananaut’s Theme.” They’ll bring all of this to us at mind-shearing volume and with soul-pulverizing power when they take the stage at The National, and all of you stoner warriors of the astral plane are going to want to touch down and experience it firsthand.

Saturday, December 8, 12 noon
Dry Spell, Mensroom, Cloak/Dagger, Nosebleed, Haircut, Sinister Purpose, Butt, Deviant @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
These days, it seems, hardcore bands never really die — they just go dormant for longer and longer periods, only returning to play a show on occasions momentous enough to resurrect them from their suspended animation. Strange Matter’s closing is definitely a momentous occasion, and one way you can tell is that this noontime Saturday show is headed up by not one, not two, but THREE mostly-dormant hardcore bands that have returned to action for the first time in at least a year (OK yes, Cloak/Dagger played a few shows nine months ago. Point stands).

Dry Spell’s big period of activity is about a decade in the rearview now, and their midtempo rockin’-hardcore rage sounds fresher than ever when you revisit it in 2018, so this set bringing together members from up and down the East Coast to perform together once again should be a real blast. Mensroom disappeared from the Richmond musical landscape about three years ago now, so the new jacks may not remember them, but any young punks who love the psychedelic-sludge take on hardcore that Slump has been dishing out for the past couple years are definitely gonna want to catch their set (being billed as a “reunion/last show”), as these guys were doing that sort of thing before Slump ever got going. As for Cloak/Dagger, these rip-roaring maniacs have made some killer sounds by finding the line between garage-punk and hardcore and staking out a position just to the “hardcore” side of that line. Get ready for some raw rock n’ roll power when these guys take the stage. And be sure to set your alarm, because if you’re not there right at noon, you’re sure to miss some of the many excellent openers — and that would be a very bad move.

Sunday, December 9, 7 PM
Cloud Nothings, The Courtneys, Russ Waterhouse @ Strange Matter – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Cloud Nothings may not be coming to Richmond specifically to celebrate the life and legacy of Strange Matter, but that’s no reason to skip this show — it’s gonna be every bit as good as everything else that has become a part of the Strange Matter Closing Series. Cloud Nothings are an incredible band from Cleveland, who have built themselves quite a reputation by simply putting their heads down and continuing to crank out excellent no-frills tuneage that both rocks hard as hell and has the ability to stick firmly into your head all day.

Where a lot of other rock bands have fallen into the pattern of taking three years or more between records, Cloud Nothings have stayed prolific, releasing five full-length albums and one collaborative album with Wavves since 2011. Their two most recent albums, Life Without Sound and Last Burning Building, both came out within the last year and a half, and both bring us excellently written songs with fire and passion, landing somewhere between prime mid-period Replacements and the best work of legendary UK punk rockers Leatherface. If anything, Cloud Nothings just seem to get better as they go on, and that’s reason enough to catch them whenever they come through town. Rest assured, they’ll blow you away. Excellent support from Canada’s The Courtneys, who bring us their shambling indie-pop brilliance under the auspices of legendary New Zealand record label Flying Nun, only sweetens the pot — as does a solo set from Blues Control’s Russ Waterhouse to kick it all off. Get with this one.

Monday, December 10, 6 PM
Cult Leader, Primitive Weapons, God Mother, Asylum, Shark Eyes @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I read a novel from 30 years ago this past week, and at one point, a character referenced “heavy metal.” The term, once ubiquitous in my own musical vocabulary, struck me as archaic to an almost amusing extent. When I pondered why it felt that way these days, I realized that it’s mostly because, while we still use both words separately to talk about certain types of music, we pretty much never use them together. There’s metal music, there’s heavy music, but instead of combining to become “heavy metal,” they really seem like two completely separate genres today.

I bring all this up to point out that Cult Leader, who released their second album, A Patient Man, less than a month ago, are definitely on the “heavy” side of that divide. A Patient Man is a crushing listen, full of volcanic riffs that feel less like discrete breakdowns than a continual overpowering onslaught of low-end rumble and harsh, roaring noise. The fact that this quartet hails from Salt Lake City, Utah, makes their sheer brutality a bit more understandable — it’s got to be hard to grow up in such a repressive social environment. All that repressed tension’s gotta come out somewhere. The way it comes out might not be metal, exactly, but it’s certainly heavy. The same is definitely true of tourmates Primitive Weapons, who hail from Brooklyn, and God Mother, who come to us from Sweden. Apparently heaviness can emanate from anywhere. Let’s all go soak it up.

Tuesday, December 11, 6 PM
Strange Matter’s Final Hip Hop Show, feat. Black Liquid, Nickelus F, Mutant Academy, Moon, Michael Millions, Chance Fischer, Dr. Millionaire, Cole Hicks, Octavion X, PT Burnem, Young Flexico, Grayscale, Cakes, Reppa Ton, Fuggin Doe, Cha$e Royale, Goad Gatsby, Big Dev, Van Silke, 1NF1N1T8, Lovesick, Dogfuck, God Goldin, Frankenstein Reyes, Skinnyy Hendrixx, Skuzii, Chris Haskins, Rack Squaresoft; music by DJ Bandolero, DJ Banga, Hip Hop Henry @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
All these Strange Matter closing shows have been jampacked with local talent, which means that when you’re going to a hardcore or metal show, you might see 10 or 12 bands instead of the usual four or five. But what happens when a hip hop show goes mega? After all, a regular hip hop show can easily feature 10 rappers, and Black Liquid’s long-running monthly Face Melt Friday nights at Strange Matter rarely featured less than 20. So what does a really epic hip hop show look like? Well, if this bill is any indication, it looks like at least 30 rappers and several different DJs holding down an entire evening full of awesomeness. And I think we’d all have to say that’s outstanding.

RVA’s hip hop world often looks like at least half a dozen parallel worlds, many of which don’t intersect frequently by any means. However, if there’s one thing Black Liquid has always tried to do with his Face Melt Fridays, it’s to bring the entire scene together under one roof, so everyone can appreciate each other’s talent. The same thing is true of this show, which pulls together everyone from local legend Nickelus F and hot up-and-coming talents Mutant Academy to local veterans like Dr. Millionaire and Chance Fischer and Face Melt Friday mainstays like Goad Gatsby. Plus, there’s a lot of lesser-known talent lurking around the lower reaches of this bill — bizarre names like Dogfuck and 1NF1N1T8 come with solid track records. And of course, with Black Liquid presiding over it all, the vibe is gonna be like the Face Melt Friday to end all Face Melt Fridays… regardless of the fact that it’s actually happening on a Tuesday. So hey, don’t sleep on this one. There won’t be another.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, December 7, 7 PM
Boxford, Invaluable, Accident Prone, Scotty And the Steiners, Eric & Aviana, I Fight Vampires @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $5
I love pop-punk. I’ve never hidden that, never tried to play it down… I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it. It makes me smile and it rules and more people should try to understand its charms. But I’ll tell the truth — I’m very aware of how navel-gazing the whole genre can be, and how male-dominated… to the point where some otherwise-great bands are self-centered enough to take a downright douchey approach to some otherwise incredible hooks. It’s a bummer.

Thank god for bands like Virginia Beach’s Boxford, who actually seem to care about the world outside their own rooms. This show is a release party for their latest EP, Facade, a three-song collection that focuses on the sort of mental health struggles that too many pop-punk fans can relate to (yes, including me. No shame). And for their record release show, they’re doing more than just singing about it, turning the entire show into a collaborative fundraiser with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, who will be on hand to talk to attendees between bands about ways we can all lend a hand to the struggle within our communities for greater mental health. This is important stuff, and I don’t want to trivialize it by saying that it comes with a legitimately great soundtrack. But it must be mentioned that Boxford’s Facade is an excellent record, and openers like Invaluable and Accident Prone have quite a bit to offer as well. This will be a fun show with a very serious purpose. And that’s just about perfect.

Saturday, December 8, 6 PM
Blind Justice, Paper Trail, Red Vision, Watchdogs, Combust, Flatline, Semtex @ 37th And Zen – $12
An alert for Central Virginia’s hardcore kids: if you can find a fast enough ride, you can fill your entire Saturday this week with incredible hardcore sounds. Not only do we have an excellent slate of hardcore bands here in RVA with a noon kickoff time, the excellent Jersey-shore hardcore band Blind Justice will be headlining a killer bill featuring multiple Richmond bands at Norfolk’s 37th and Zen that night. Travel time between the two is just 90 minutes if you’ve got a lead foot… and if the tunnel doesn’t screw you over. It’s worth a shot, right?

This is especially true in light of Blind Justice’s latest LP, No Matter The Cost, which dropped this summer and knocked everyone out. The energetic approach this band takes to their music, and particularly vocalist Mike Botti’s ridiculously intense vocals, are a recipe for bowling you over in a live environment. These guys are sure to get the pit moving with a vengeance when they hit the stage at 37th and Zen. Richmond bands Red Vision and Watchdogs are also on the bill, and both bands are celebrating their brand new releases. Red Vision brings us their hard-as-hell new full-length, Stake Your Claim, while Watchdogs give us a dark, metallic new EP called Sanguinary. They both rule, and I’m sure these sets will be ones to watch. A whole bunch of other bands, including Virginia Beach mainstays Paper Trail, are on hand to sweeten the pot on this killer. Gas up your tank before the Strange Matter show, because you’re gonna want to catch this one too, and you’ll have no time to waste.

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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]m [and yeah, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: June 18 – June 24

Marilyn Drew Necci | July 18, 2018

Topics: Andres, BC Music 1st, Been Official, Ben FM, Bible Of The Devil, Big No, Bob Oxblood, Buck Gooter, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Desert Altar, DJ Die Hard, Dorthia Cottrell, Dylan Carlson, emilio's, Eric Benson, Fallout, Fan Ran, Fat Spirit, Johnny Ciggs, Long Arms, Machines Of Living Death, Magnus Lush, Minor Poet, Night Verses, Pain Generator, PC Worship, Piranha Rama, PT, Pulses, Rah Scrilla, Reppa Ton, shows you must see, Starr Nyce, strange matter, Strawberry Girls, The Camel, The Sun In The Sea, Twisted Tower Dire, Zac Clark

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, July 21, 10 PM
PT, Fan Ran, BC Music 1st, Reppa Ton, Rah Scrilla, Johnny Ciggs, Starr Nyce, Ben FM, Been Official @ Emilio’s – Free!
Richmond hip hop is an endless well of delights. There are so many different corners of the scene that merit keeping up with, and it can be tough to give equal attention to it all. But if you really want to be aware of what’s happening in Richmond hip hop, you can’t sleep on Gritty City Records. They’ve been cranking out quality hip hop for close to a decade now, and over the course of their lengthy, prolific run, they’ve expanded their roster to feature quite a few local talents who got their start separately from the label. Talk about supporting the scene.

The latest RVA stalwart to fall into Gritty City’s orbit is PT, a veteran rapper who is not to be confused with PT Burnem, a completely different veteran RVA rapper. PT and Fan Ran have a new album coming out on Gritty City called Airtight (or Ear-tite… or both?) and the first single, “Ain’t Made My Way,” finds PT spitting some raw, real-as-fuck lyrics over local production superstar Fan Ran’s smooth-as-silk yet vaguely ominous beats. It wouldn’t be a bad bet to expect this same level of high-quality hardcore hip hop from the entire album, and you can get a lengthier preview — and a chance to purchase a copy of Airtight for yourself — by swinging by Emilio’s this Saturday night. It doesn’t even cost anything to get in; what have you got to lose?

You’ll get a lot more for your zero-dollar investment as well. Triple-threat rhymer/director BC Music 1st will step out from behind the camera to grab the mic and lay down a set, which one assumes will draw significant material from his latest album, Prayers Are Appreciated. You can pick up a copy of that one at the show too — and you’d be well advised to do so. The rest of the bill brings together Gritty City mainstays like Johnny Ciggs and Ben FM with RVA leading lights like Rah Scrilla and Reppa Ton. Even Atlanta’s Starr Nyce, who got his start in RVA, will deliver a set. If you want to find out what’s going on in 2018 RVA hip hop, Gritty City is your one-stop shop — and this free Saturday night show is the perfect opportunity for you to get on board.

Wednesday, July 18, 7 PM
Strawberry Girls, Night Verses, Andrés, pulses., The Sun In The Sea @ Strange Matter – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Instrumental prog-metal. It’s a thing. There’s this whole scene out there for this kind of music that a lot of us probably forget about, ignore, or flat-out never knew existed. And I know there are probably a lot of you who think it’s nerdy, who roll your eyes and dismiss the whole idea of such a genre without ever giving it a proper listen. But I urge you to reconsider, as groups like Strawberry Girls and Night Verses might just twist your whole head around if you give them a chance. Admittedly, Strawberry Girls are one of those groups with a female name and an entirely male membership, and I’m sick to death of that whole trope. But musically, this group has quite a bit to offer, from their chunky, complex, yet always engaging instrumentals to their occasional vocal tunes featuring a variety of smooth-voiced guests.

One of those guests is Andrés, a smooth-voiced soul singer with some Miguel vibes on his solo work. He recently collaborated with Strawberry Girls on a track called “Party Nights,” which manages to keep the tech-prog vibe going at the same time as it sounds sorta like Chromeo. (I know, right?) Andrés is on this tour too, and in addition to a set of guitar-driven R&B jams of his own, I’d be amazed if he didn’t join Strawberry Girls for at least a few minutes of their set. Night Verses, the LA band who’ll occupy the slot between Strawberry Girls and Andrés’s sets, are strictly instro and get a little heavier and more electronic with their sounds, but they’ve got a lot in common with Strawberry Girls and are sure to get you rockin’ out even as you admire their intricate fretwork.

Thursday, July 19, 8 PM
PC Worship, Buck Gooter, Magnus Lush, Fat Spirit @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
If you’re anything like me, the second you see a band name like “PC Worship,” you think “this is gonna be some weird electronic stuff.” It’s a fair expectation, to be sure — but in this case, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, this Brooklyn band gets down n’ dirty, wading around in the same sort of muck that classic NYC sludge-scummers like Pussy Galore and Surgery. They bring in some artsy inclinations as well — folk-associated instruments like violins show up right in the middle of slacker jams that will have you thinking of early Pavement and obscure “only 90s kids will remember” groups like Red Red Meat.

Mainly, PC Worship seem to be a band that has found a way to dig deep enough in the muck to find psychedelic transcendence. And whether you’re the type to love sloppy blues-damaged shambling or astral-traveling space music, you’re sure to find something that will appeal to you in PC Worship’s decidedly non-electronic approach. Things will get even weirder when honestly undescribable VA stalwarts Buck Gooter take the stage for their set, while openers Magnus Lush and Fat Spirit each contribute their own spin on emotionally-driven alt-rock, with Magnus Lush taking things in a more ethereal direction as Fat Spirit dig their toes into the grunge vibe. This is gonna be a fun one.

Friday, July 20, 9:30 PM
Piranha Rama, Minor Poet, Big No @ Strange Matter – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This is going to be a big night. Piranha Rama has been bouncing around the RVA scene for a while now, but they’ve kept a low profile in the world of recording, mainly choosing to prove themselves on stages around town. They didn’t release their first EP, Beach Body, until a few months ago. But clearly, they were just waiting until the right time, because now, only a couple of months after that first release, they’re following it up with a self-titled full-length that will be available for the first time at this musical extravaganza. Which is to say: if you had plans for Friday night, you better reschedule.

Piranha Rama is a band bringing together members from a variety of local rock n’ roll combos, including Lady God, The Milkstains, and Warren Hixson, and while their first EP was a pretty solid continuation of the sound those groups led us to expect, they’ve got a lot more than that up their sleeves. Their new LP features contributions from local musical superstars like Kenneka Cook and Reggie Pace, and incorporates a variety of unexpected sounds, from spaghetti-western-soundtrack twang to Latin syncopations and lounge-style synth. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll hear plenty of rock n’ roll at this show — but that’s far from the only thing Piranha Rama have to offer. Investigate further if you haven’t already. And if you have, show up for a renewed dose. You need this band in your life.

Saturday, July 21, 7 PM
Dylan Carlson, Dorthia Cottrell, Eric Benson @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Even after setting trends and blazing trails in the world of music for over a quarter-century, Dylan Carlson is remains relevant and interesting. His time with Earth saw him basically create the sludge-beyond-sludge sound that Sunn 0))) has immortalized, before moving on to a sort of ambient folk approach that retained the droning doom vibes of their earlier material while incorporating lush melody and an almost inviting sound. For the last five years or so, Carlson has been working mainly on his own, creating evocative soundscapes with nothing more than his lone electric guitar. It’s this sort of playing that he showcases on his first full solo album, Conquistador, released earlier this year.

Carlson describes Conquistador as “an imaginary Western” (word to Leslie West), and its five tracks, which total just over half an hour (there were single Earth songs this long!) evoke the exact sort of mood and atmosphere that you’d expect from such a thing. While Sergio Leone is a definite influence here, there’s a subtle melodic undercurrent that will remind fans of later Earth material, even as the most droning moments will evoke Earth’s early days of massive heavyosity. Carlson is well-paired on this show with a solo performance by Dorthia Cottrell, whose work separate from doom-metal heroes Windhand has a menacing, windswept vibe of its own, one that could definitely be termed “dark folk.” Meanwhile, Lugweight leader Eric Benson brings us a solo set that may or may not be full of his own take on droning guitar noise — that’s what the last Lugweight stuff I heard had to offer, but it’s been a while now.

Sunday, July 22, 8 PM
Machines Of Living Death, Pain Generator @ Fallout – $5
OK, before we go any further, let’s get one thing out of the way — this is not the band Machines Of Loving Grace. I’ll give you massive 90s-kid Crow-soundtrack-rocking industrial-metal props if that was what you thought, but Machines Of Living Death are an entirely different proposition. Their take on industrial metal is fast, furious, war-hungry, and downright brutal. If anything, this band is death metal — their 2016 album The DOS Of War shows their facility with thrash riffs, guttural vocals, and speedy drums.

But they make it more interesting, not to mention harder-hitting, by incorporating programmed beats, harsh samples, and the sort of technological bleakness that once characterized the best work of Ministry. Imagine “Thieves” or “Stigmata” if they were written by Napalm Death, and you’re on the right track. Whether you’re down with the dour, pounding power of classic industrial or the headbanging thrash rage of death metal, you’ll find something to love in Machines of Living Death. Get into it.

Monday, July 23, 8 PM
Bible Of The Devil, Twisted Tower Dire, Desert Altar, DJ Die-Hard @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The days of muscle cars doing burnouts in parking lots while Judas Priest blasts on the stereo are gone. LONG gone, in fact — I can remember the days when Heavy Metal Parking Lot was a day to day reality at a certain pool hall in my hometown, but I was a little kid at the time, and I’m old! Thankfully, there are bands out there keeping that rip-roaring metal sound alive into a darker modern era when most metal bands are persistently pessimistic. Don’t get me wrong, those bands have a million very good reasons to go all-dark all the time, and scream in dimly lit rooms about how fucked we all are, but sometimes you just want to hear a guitar-slinging band crank out some mega-fun riffs to put a smile on your face and let you forget about [insert insulting nickname for our president here] and all the other garbage that’s an inextricable part of our world in the 21st century.

I’m talking, of course, about Bible Of The Devil, the Chicago crew with a two-decade history of triumphant heavy metal power. This band splits the difference between early Van Halen, early Iron Maiden, and prime New Wave Of British Heavy Metal awesomeness like Angel Witch and Tygers of Pan Tang — and they do it with a joie de vivre sure to light up your Monday night and get your week off to a great start. They’re accompanied on this trip to RVA by North Carolina’s Twisted Tower Dire, who are a bit more straight-up early 80s power-metal, but still share Bible Of The Devil’s devil-may-care joy at showering us all with triumphant metal delights. Desert Altar, a local retro-doom quintet who’ve recently brought an excellent Kyuss-style riff monster of a self-titled debut album into the world, offer local support, and round out this bill full of pure headbanging glory.

Tuesday, July 24, 7:30
Zac Clark, Bob Oxblood, Long Arms @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Gotta be honest with y’all here — I don’t know who Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness are. The fact that Zac Clark is a member of that group is being touted as his foremost qualification for your attention, and it just makes me feel tremendously out of the loop. However, I’ve never been the sort of girl to worry more about the hype than the music, and a single listen to Clark’s 2015 solo LP, I Am A Guest, was enough to convince me that it doesn’t matter what other bands this dude is in. Clark’s songwriting is imbued with equal dashes of 70s singer-songwriter-style melodic introspection (think Jackson Browne and James Taylor — who are both great, in case you weren’t sure) and alt-country pensiveness (here I’m referring to guys like Patterson Hood and Jason Isbell — who, yes, were both in the Drive-By Truckers).

The point here is that you shouldn’t be going to see Zac Clark because of whoever he normally plays with — you should be going to see him because he’s a really good musician and will share some excellent songs with you. The same can be said of Bob Oxblood; he’s played in Jack’s Mannequin and done guest vocals on at least one Kid Is Qual tune, but his solo work — which combines some delicate finger-picked guitar with an intriguingly syncopated backbeat, at least on new EP Domino — is the reason for the season. Openers Long Arms brought us a killer LP last year that might just be the best thing James Menefee’s been responsible for yet (and he was also in Fun Size and River City High, so that’s saying something!) This will be a night of excellent songwriters singing excellent songs. You really shouldn’t miss it.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [and yeah, in case you’re wondering, more awesomeness from my cracked and bleeding fingertips is available at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond