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VA’s Can’t-See Shows This Week: March 18 – March 24

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Hey there, folks, it’s that time of the week when we normally let you know all the best goings-on in the live music scene here in Richmond and around the state for the next week! As you may have realized, though, the current COVID-19 outbreak and the many social and legal restrictions placed on large gatherings have almost entirely shut down the live music scene here in Virginia. There may be a few things still going on, but we wouldn’t feel very responsible advocating for you to go see them. What’s a show-loving girl to do?

Well, for this week’s column, I decided to have compassion for those of you who have either joined me in the wonderful world of working at home (welcome to the club — isn’t it fun doing your job in your pajamas?) or, more unfortunately, found yourselves without any work while your place of business is temporarily shut down. I may not be able to send you to any clubs to see awesome bands light up your evening with their killer sounds… but I can offer you ten great performances by Richmond bands, all available for your viewing pleasure right here on the internet. You can space them out one (or two) per day as with the usual column, or binge them all tonight — the choice is yours! Crank the volume on your headphones for this one.

Lamb Of God at Hellfest Open Air, Clisson, France, June 23, 2019

We’ll start with what we all certainly hope is a preview of coming attractions — a full set by Lamb Of God, complete with multiple cameras and top-quality audio. Richmond’s veteran metal faves are planning as of now to release their latest LP, Lamb Of God, on May 8, and follow it up with a full US tour, featuring June dates at Jiffy Lube Live in NoVA and Veterans United Amphitheater in Virginia Beach. Will all that still happen in light of COVID-19? We can hope… and in the meantime, we can take comfort in this one-hour preview of what Lamb Of God’s latest lineup, now featuring former Prong drummer Art Cruz in place of retiring OG Chris Adler, has in store for us.

Division Of Mind at FYA Fest, Tampa, Florida, Jan 5, 2020

Taking things to a bit more of an underground level, here we have a room-destroying performance by Richmond hardcore ragers Division Of Mind, at Florida’s FYA Fest back at the beginning of this year. Guttural vocals, chugging guitars, brutal breakdowns, and an equally brutal mosh pit are what this video is all about. Better yet, despite the circumstances, it still features multiple camera angles and a great sound mix. Division Of Mind don’t have a social media presence (right on, I wish I didn’t), so I don’t know what’s up with them at this moment, but I’m sure they’d appreciate you grabbing a copy of their recent self-titled LP on Triple B Records if you haven’t already.

No BS! Brass Band at The Broadberry, April 17, 2014

Let’s take things in a more upbeat direction, shall we? This six-year-old live performance by No BS! Brass Band isn’t the most recent live footage online by this group, but there’s no substitute for seeing this Richmond favorite right here at home. And since at this moment, we have no way of knowing whether their gig planned for April 3 at The Broadberry is still going to happen or not, we may as well enjoy their music from home right now. Push the coffee table back and dance, y’all. And consider buying some merch from them, if you have the scratch — they will really appreciate the support. (Needless to say, that goes for all the bands on this list.)

Avail at House Of Independents, Asbury Park, New Jersey, September 5, 2019

Did you miss all the Avail reunion sets last year? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. And if you’re not planning to head to Punk Rock Bowling or Furnace Fest later this year, you might especially appreciate this audience recording of their set in Asbury Park last summer. This is one of the few videos I’ve picked that doesn’t have pro audio, so the sound isn’t perfect, but what is perfect is that evocation of what it felt like to be crammed up against the stage (always my favorite spot), singing along and avoiding the moshers… and the sweat flying off Beau Beau’s head. We can’t be there now, but it’s a lovely reminder.

Nickelus F and Ohbliv at Brewer’s Cafe, November 27, 2019

Want to chill with some fine hip hop? Check this Brewer’s Cafe session from last fall, featuring two of Richmond hip hop’s leading lights of the 21st century. Nickelus F is on the mic, spitting some of the best rhymes you’ll find anywhere in the world, while Ohbliv keeps the beats flowing on the decks. They’re behind the Brewer’s counter, and they aren’t serving up any hot drinks, but Brewer’s Cafe is still open for carryout and delivery today, and both Sweet Petey and Ohbliv have plenty of great tunes available over on Bandcamp for your listening pleasure (links above). They’d all appreciate your business during this trying time, I can assure you.

Palm Palm at River City Roll, September 1, 2019

If you know how awesome J. Roddy Walston & The Business were as a live act, you really need to catch Palm Palm, Walston’s new band with members of The Trillions, The Southern Belles, and the Milkstains. These folks had the misfortune of having their spring tour fall apart while they were on it earlier this month; they had to skip the last half of their dates and head home because all the other shows were cancelled. Fortunately for us, their set from last summer at River City Roll is online in its entirety, featuring high-quality audio and a very active single camera capturing the event from all kinds of angles. If you dig this, hit up Palm Palm online to support them by buying a t-shirt. After losing quite a few tour dates, they sure could use the help.

Windhand at Elsewhere, Brooklyn, NY, November 2, 2018

Windhand is another Richmond band who had a tour fall apart on them this month; indeed, this very night, they were supposed to be in Harrisonburg playing The Golden Pony. Now that show, and the rest of their March tour dates, are cancelled, and the only place we can see them is on YouTube. Luckily for us, this incredible live performance was captured by Revolver Magazine in high-quality audio by multiple cameras back in 2018, and we can enjoy it to our heart’s content now. With their tour having been cancelled, Windhand have been selling leftover tour merch on their BigCartel page — go grab some records and t-shirts if you’ve got the scratch.

.gif From God at Wonderland, July 5, 2019

Here’s what will doubtless be the messiest live video you’ll see this week — .gif From God laying waste to Wonderland last summer, in their inimitable fashion. This video is washed out and chaotic, full of flying hair and overdriven guitar chugs, and if you don’t know these songs going in, you might at times struggle to make out what’s going on. But that’s what .gif From God are all about, and if you ask me, it’s part of their charm — a delightful wall of chaos. No word as yet on the status of .gif From God’s April tour, but if you don’t have a copy of their latest LP, approximation_of_a_human, now is absolutely the time to get one. And if you do, you should donate to their Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project fundraising team — a good cause is still a good cause, even during a quarantine.

Bio Ritmo at Rio Loco Festival, Toulouse, France, June 19, 2015

And now for something completely different — a high-energy salsa infusion from long-running local band/party machine Bio Ritmo. This was filmed several years ago and far from home, but don’t get it twisted — this impeccably-documented performance is still muy caliente and well worth your time. Bio Ritmo haven’t performed locally since back around Christmas and don’t have anything in particular coming up, so why not stock up on their impressive back catalog over at their Bandcamp? Guaranteed to heat up your living room even if your space heater’s broken.

Good Day RVA Live Sessions Playlist, feat. Benjamin Shepherd, McKinley Dixon and Friends, Sports Bar, Doll Baby, The Wimps, Spooky Cool, Antiphons, Dumb Waiter, Clair Morgan aka New Lions, Dave Watkins, Lobo Marino, Navi, The Trillions, Andrew Alli & Josh Small, White Laces, Nelly Kate, Houdan The Mystic, Black Girls aka Rikki Shay

Who’s up for a lightning round? Good Day RVA have got the mother of all live sessions for you here with a mega-playlist featuring all of the sessions they’ve filmed over their entire career, which has been going on for… damn near 10 years now. Wow, time flies, huh? These videos feature a who’s who of Richmond’s best musicians, captured at various evocative sites around Richmond and ensuring that the city itself is just as much of their videos as the excellent bands involved. Maybe you’ve missed some of these over the years and need a reminder, or maybe you saw them all when they came out and would just enjoy a playlist full of great Richmond sights and sounds with which to warm your heart while you’re stuck in the house. Either way, this will go down smooth and warm your heart and soul. Guaranteed.

Must-See Shows will be back next week. Whether we return with actual live shows around town, or more video picks to get us through another week of quarantine, only time will tell… but I’m not getting my hopes up. See you then!

Ladygod, Rikki Shay, Ben Shepherd, Cool Moon @Flora

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They’ve cultivated an air of mystery around themselves throughout their time in the RVA scene, which stretches back at least three years now. Releases have been few and far between, with too few songs on them. It’s always been hard to pin down who is actually in the band. And recently it’s become tough to even determine whether their band name is one or two words. But Saturday night at Flora, Ladygod (Lady God?) will finally reveal themselves with the release of their debut full-length, Rock n Roll Kaliphate.

In fairness, those who’ve seen the band have surely grasped at least a little of what was going on. The group’s hazy, “Exile-era Stones fed through a Brian Jonestown Massacre cloud of psychedelia” sound becomes clear over the course of a full set. And regardless of who is singing, it’s obvious that singer/guitarist Skye Handler is the Anton Newcomb of the group — as various talented, noteworthy members have come and gone, he’s held things together, regardless of how much of a mess he himself seems during any given performance.

These days, Handler’s band features Peace Beast frontwoman Kelly Queener as well as some other capable if slightly lesser-known players. The sound they churn out on their new LP has a stumbling, louche glamour to it, and is sure to slowly entrance you as its tendrils work their way from the Flora stage into your waiting mind. Ladygod will be joined on this bill by Rikki Shay (and the Martin Ruthless, I guess?), whose indie hipster-lounge funk sound was clarified on their own debut full-length of a few months ago, The Mixed Tapes. Opening sets will also be provided by local singer-songwriter Ben Shepherd and Houston’s Cool Moon. You won’t even dance, you’ll drift blissfully across the floor.

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 11/1-11/7

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, November 4, 7 PM
Ladygod, Rikki Shay, Ben Shepherd, Cool Moon @ Flora – $7
They’ve cultivated an air of mystery around themselves throughout their time in the RVA scene, which stretches back at least three years now. Releases have been few and far between, with too few songs on them. It’s always been hard to pin down who is actually in the band. And recently it’s become tough to even determine whether their band name is one or two words. But Saturday night at Flora, Ladygod (Lady God?) will finally reveal themselves with the release of their debut full-length, Rock n Roll Kaliphate.

In fairness, those who’ve seen the band have surely grasped at least a little of what was going on. The group’s hazy, “Exile-era Stones fed through a Brian Jonestown Massacre cloud of psychedelia” sound becomes clear over the course of a full set. And regardless of who is singing, it’s obvious that singer/guitarist Skye Handler is the Anton Newcomb of the group — as various talented, noteworthy members have come and gone, he’s held things together, regardless of how much of a mess he himself seems during any given performance.

These days, Handler’s band features Peace Beast frontwoman Kelly Queener as well as some other capable if slightly lesser-known players. The sound they churn out on their new LP has a stumbling, louche glamour to it, and is sure to slowly entrance you as its tendrils work their way from the Flora stage into your waiting mind. Ladygod will be joined on this bill by Rikki Shay (and the Martin Ruthless, I guess?), whose indie hipster-lounge funk sound was clarified on their own debut full-length of a few months ago, The Mixed Tapes. Opening sets will also be provided by local singer-songwriter Ben Shepherd and Houston’s Cool Moon. You won’t even dance, you’ll drift blissfully across the floor.

Wednesday, November 1, 8 PM
The American Indie, Fontaine, The Firnats, Don Fredrick @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I admit it–I’m a bit flummoxed by a band calling themselves “The American Indie.” It feels sort of like a band from Oslo calling themselves “The Norwegian Black Metal.” But hey, this is the United States, after all, where anytime we seek to give something profundity, we put the word “American” in the title (American Hustle, American Gangster, American Gigolo, American Idol, American Horror Story, American Dad, etc. ad nauseam). So hey, why not?

The American Indie have a pretty good sound, after all, with a surprising smoothness and some killer melodies that bring together power pop guitars with silky 80s synth-pop keys and killer vocal calisthenics. Their When Money Swallows Up Your Time EP is full of killer tunes that’ll have you hitting the dancefloor the way you normally only do at 80s nights. And then there’s Fontaine, the Boston band joining with Nashvillians The American Indie for this tour. In a geographic surprise, they’ve got a bit more of that heartland jangle than their Southern counterparts. But it all evens out in the end, right? Hot new locals The Firnats and Don Fredrick will get it warmed up in fine fashion, so get set for some good ol’ American Fun!

Thursday, November 2, 6 PM
Pinact, Teen Death, Carry Fisher @ Champion RVA – Free!
Another Thursday, and once again, we’re back at Champion gaining fortification for the last work day of the week with a shot of heavy-duty musical salvation for the low low price of nothing at all. There’s even beer, if that’s your kind of thing. But more importantly, there’s rad music, this week featuring a performance from touring Scottish act Pinact, who just released their second album, The Part That No One Knows. Its killer punk riffs incorporate the sorts of awesome post-Nirvana early-90s alt-rock influences that have been showing up across the indie underground for the past few years to outstanding effect. It also features some excellent choruses that will stick in your head and refuse to go away, keeping your toes tapping all night. Who can complain about that?

Pinact are excellently paired with local rockin’ punk trio Teen Death, who have been back on the radar after a relatively quiet last year or so with a bunch of local shows and a recent trip to The Fest in Gainesville, FL. These guys mix early 90s influences of their own with some crunchy garage sounds that crank up the punk quotient and give you something to snarl about. Recent Woodbridge transplants Carry Fisher kick things off with what promises to be the noisiest, sloppiest set of the night–and if you don’t think those are good qualities, I’ll have to ask you to re-evaluate what you look for in good music. Come to this one ready to rock, because the heavy jolt of energy this show is packing is sure to get you moving.

Friday, November 3, 8 PM
Chino Amobi, McKinley Dixon & Friends, Toxic Moxie, Lotus @ Strange Matter – $8
Chino Amobi has remained steadily fascinating throughout his lengthy tenure as part of the RVA music scene. Beginning in his days performing under the name Diamond Black Hearted Boy and continuing to his current solo work, Amobi’s had a constant sonic thrust paired with an intense political message, all of which added up to rejecting of current political realities through genre-spanning works of experimental gothic noise pop. Or something like that. Deep dives into his recently released album PARADISO, the sonic environments of which often give the lie to the sunny-sounding title, will yield a variety of strange electronic grooves, which sometimes bring a hypnotic funk sensibility sure to charm any listener, and other times disrupt themselves with harsh explosions of found sound. It changes from moment to moment, and while the change can wrong-foot you a bit, it’s always an engrossing experience, reflecting Amobi’s noted antipathy towards passive listening. Your listening experience at Strange Matter this Friday night will be an active one–Amobi guarantees it.

In this performance, he unites with several other Richmond artists to raise funds for Advocates For Richmond Youth, an activist group dedicated to preventing youth homelessness in our area. A worthy cause, one that it’s no surprise to see uniting POC and LGBTQ artists who themselves are members of marginalized groups more likely to encounter the grim reality of homelessness than the average person. It’s not just words on paper to them. And not only is this clear from listening to Amobi’s music, it shines through just as brightly from the music of hot local rapper McKinley Dixon, who’s brought a notable social consciousness to his meteoric rise through the ranks of Richmond musicians. Meanwhile, disco-punk ragers Toxic Moxie have always shown a dedication to moving bodies with tremendous grooves backed by sincere conviction. I’m not as familiar with newcomers Lotus, who open this night of noise for a cause, but their position on this bill alone is enough to speak well for them. Come catch this whole show, and dance your ass off for a good cause!

Photo via Facebook

Saturday, November 4, 7 PM
Blitzen Trapper, Lilly Hiatt @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’ll say this for Blitzen Trapper–they haven’t settled into some sort of mid-career rut. No, the band’s recent days have seen them putting together a full-on stage production, debuted in their Portland, OR hometown earlier this year. And you can make cracks about the fact that of course it’s a band from the setting of Portlandia who are the ones to do something like this, or how go figure that a band with major Springsteen influences have finally done what Bruce’s critics always accused him of, i.e. turning rock n’ roll into a Broadway show, but the songs that are part of Wild N’ Reckless are enough to hush up any such wisecracks in a big hurry. The seven-song rock opera joins with five more songs on the band’s new album of the same name, and its title track has a real Desire-era Dylan fed through, yes, 70s Springsteen sound, but I can’t imagine why anyone would complain about that.

Make no mistake, these songs have a real darkness at their heart. Blitzen Trapper is older and wiser now, finding themselves looking back at their younger days and wondering if they can somehow recapture the energy of those days and feel truly alive again without reliving the mistakes they made back then. It’s kind of an alt-country Beach Slang move, if anything, and fans of groups from The Band to the Drive-By Truckers should find something to enjoy here, both musically and lyrically. And you know, it’s always a great to catch a band at the moment of their big statement, so if you were ever gonna go see Blitzen Trapper, you couldn’t do better than going this Saturday night. You’re sure to feel some feels.

Sunday, November 5, 6 PM
Knuckle Puck, Movements, With Confidence, Homesafe, Everview @ The Canal Club – $17 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OMG, y’all. This show almost escaped my notice, because I had forgotten to check the Canal Club’s website. Thank god I headed over there randomly this morning as I was getting this column together–I would definitely never want to miss a show by one of my favorite melodic punk bands of the past several years. If I’d missed this show I would have cried–just like I have done more than once while listening to their records. Hey, I’m not too proud to admit it. The brand new Knuckle Puck LP, Shapeshifter, was also news to me, which is if anything embarrassing in light of my long-professed fandom for this group. But if you need any reason to actually take the plunge on this show, one listen to the new album should be enough to give you plenty.

While the band has steadily grown from the rawness of their early EPs, this full-length follows on the heels of their debut LP, Copacetic, in its simultaneous leavening of the band’s harsh teenage momentum with heartfelt melody without doing anything to dull the powerful emotional punch their music packs. If there’s only one pop-punk band you’re still willing to hang with in this post-Fall Out Boy world (and who could blame you, with what that band sounds like now? We all got burned by that one), Knuckle Puck are an excellent choice. And I’m right there making it with you. Get down there early, because all-ages shows don’t observe “rock time,” and make sure you catch the excellent opening bands as well. But yeah, I admit it–this show is all about Knuckle Puck for me. If they play “No Good” I’m gonna freak out.

Photo via Bandcamp

Monday, November 6, 8 PM
Earthling, Knight Terror, Left Cross, Lore @ Strange Matter – $8 (order tickets HERE)
It’s a Monday night double whammy, as two local labels present two Virginia bands that just released albums on their respective labels to an always-rabid RVA metal scene. We start off with headliners Earthling, who’ve been around the scene here in the Commonwealth for years and have returned to Forcefield Records for a follow-up to their 2013 Forcefield release, Dark Path. The new record, Spinning In The Void, sees the band carrying on its tradition of epic riffs and intricate songcraft complete with an always jet-black vein of crust, doom, and black metal running through things. And really, could you expect anything less?

You’re in luck, because there’s not less but MORE! Local thrashers Left Cross have their first full-length on deck for you as well, this one coming from fellow local powerhouse label Vinyl Conflict. Chaos Ascension finds these guys continuing to ply their trade in late 80s death metal moves, channeling Scream Bloody Gore and Slowly We Rot with abandon on this brutal full-length. A special bonus appearance by Knight Terror, who hail from Brooklyn, feature members of Mutilation Rites, and are every bit as raw and ripping as these two facts would lead you to expect, is sure to thrill all assembled.

Tuesday, November 7, 8 PM
Demoncy, Crurifragium, Ululatum Tollunt, ASM, American @ Strange Matter – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I hope you didn’t think that last show is as brutal as things would get in this column. Sure, Earthling, Left Cross, and Knight Terror are all pretty blackened, but the unutterable horror of Demoncy takes things to another level entirely. Their killer 2012 album Enthroned Is the Night was released on Nuclear War Now (so you know they’re for real) and features a constant low-end pummeling rumble laden with blast beats and topped with a sinister, throaty growl that speaks of Satan and infinity with sinister intent. Halloween was last Tuesday, but this band doesn’t care for your petty holidays–they’re terrifying all the time.

Fellow Seattle-ites Crurifragium (which seems like the sort of name a band picks mainly because of the ways its letters flow together to create a totally brutal logo) bring more high-end guitar buzz than Demoncy on their most recent full-length, Beasts Of the Temple of Satan, but the result is essentially the same–and really, how could you expect anything less from an album with that title? Prepare to throw the horns and bang your head, because this show is going to bring the beast out of you.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers–this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected] [yes, my email is through GayRVA, don’t get weird about it]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 9/20-9/26

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, September 23, 8 PM
The Broadberry presents RVA Live! feat. Matthew E. White, Natalie Prass, Tim Barry, Bio Ritmo, Clair Morgan @ Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Arts Center – $10-80 (order tickets HERE)
OK yes I am usually on some more underground/DIY type stuff than anything that takes place at the Carpenter Theatre but sometimes something too big and important and cool to ignore comes along and you just gotta send people to the big bourgeois theatre in the center of town, right? Well, that’s my opinion anyway. This event is also being presented by The Broadberry, a relatively small venue with deep connections to the local independent music scene, so its DIY bona fides are pretty well beyond question.

Therefore, I must tell you that something amazing and very difficult to rationalize missing is happening downtown at the Carpenter Theatre this Saturday night, and tickets start at a very reasonable $10, so there’s really no excuse not to be in attendance. RVA Live! is an evening featuring several of the Richmond scene’s most noteworthy veteran artists–everyone from salsa stalwarts Bio Ritmo to punk-gone-country troubadour Tim Barry–performing in collaboration with the Richmond Symphony. With orchestration and arrangements being handled by Trey Pollard of Spacebomb Records, who has done string arrangements for artists ranging from Matthew E. White to Foxygen and The Waterboys; along with Bio Ritmo members Marlysse Simmons and Toby Whitaker; this is going to be a collaborative project on multiple levels, bringing the best of Richmond’s singer-songwriter community together with the leading lights of our local classical music scene–a scene that popular-music fanatics like myself, and probably yourself, tend to sleep on.

With Matthew E. White and Natalie Prass at the top of this bill, you know Spacebomb is going to be representing itself admirably at this performance. Bio Ritmo’s Latin swing and jazzy funk influences will get a whole new twist when recontextualized through the lens of the Richmond Symphony, and will add a multicultural strain to an evening that could get decidedly monochromatic without them. Plus, we’ll get the mathematical pop of Clair Morgan and the austere country blues punk of Tim Barry, embellished with the sorts of layers neither of their sounds generally contain. All of this will be fascinating for any music lover. And with so many hotshot performers on the bill, you’re sure to get caught up in the awesomeness of it all, even if seeing the symphony at the Carpenter Theatre generally isn’t your thing.

Wednesday, September 20, 8 PM
Polyphia, Night Idea, Paint Store @ The Broadberry – $15 (order tickets HERE)
The worlds of screamo, math-rock, prog-metal, and metalcore have some pretty surprising intersection points at times, and the whole prog-metalcore scene that’s built up around bands like Periphery is one of the strangest and most interesting ones. Polyphia are a metallic instrumental quartet of young post-metalcore dudes with swoop haircuts and skills for days, and they’re hitting Richmond tonight on a day off from their current tour opening for prog-metalcore pioneers Between The Buried And Me. If you want to dig into the shred-heavy instrumental end of this whole scene, this show is your perfect chance to do it at a relatively small venue for a reasonable ticket price.

Polyphia’s latest release, The Most Hated EP, sees them dipping into more electronic layers, including programmed beats and synthesized background swells. However, the guitar pyrotechnics remain on full display, with occasional licks copped from the dawn-of-the-90s micro-trend of blazing metal guitarists putting out instrumental solo albums. What I’m saying is, these guys have a definite Vai/Satriani tinge to their djent-inspired riff fests these days, and the intersection of these surprisingly congruent sounds is a lot of fun to explore. With local openers consisting of poppy math-rockers Night Idea (the only band this night to feature a vocalist) and fellow math-obsessed instrumental shredders Paint Store, this show is guaranteed to fill your quota for riffage, even if it does run slightly low on vocalizations. You definitely won’t get bored in their absence.

Thursday, September 21, 6 PM
El Malpais, Candy Spots, Worse Curses @ Champion RVA – Free!
And we progress from one instrumental group to another as we go through this week’s picks, landing once again at Champion RVA on Thursday night to shed the night-before-payday blues with some excellent free sounds from both local and touring artists. The stars of this Thursday night’s show will be El Malpais (“the bad country,” if my rusty high-school Spanish hasn’t failed me), who come from Charlotte, NC with an original and fascinating instrumental sound pairing guitar and drum rhythms with flute to create the kind of unusual and engaging sound that “jazz flute” might have conjured up in your head if it weren’t for that phrase’s eternal association with Anchorman.

Regardless of whether you would ever expect a group based around flute melodies to be able to rock with aplomb, you should definitely be in the house when El Malpais takes the stage, because they’re guaranteed to erase all doubts. Their excellent self-titled LP from earlier this year is full of somewhat foreboding tunes accented by riveting melodies, which create the overall impression of tiptoeing through a forest late in the afternoon, on the hunt for forgotten old huts where strange creatures may or may not still live. OK, maybe I’ve read too many horror novels in my time, but still, this band rocks. They’ll be joined on this bill by local alt-garage rockers Candy Spots and catchy up-and-comers Worse Curses for an evening of jams that would be cheap at twice the price (because after all, zero dollars x2 is still zero dollars).

Friday, September 22, 7 PM
Madeline Kenney, Rikki Shay, Majjin Boo, Minor Poet @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The Broadberry’s showing up all over town this week. This show, which is actually the night before that RVA Live! show up at the top of the column (my chronology’s a little weird, deal with it), sees the larger venue collaborating with generally awesome (and kinda cavernous itself) DIY art gallery space Gallery 5 to present an evening headlined by Oakland singer-songwriter Madeline Kenney. You may be unfamiliar with this artist, but Kenney’s brand new album, Night Night At The First Landing, gives all the reason you need to change that in a hurry. In a manner that is spiritually if not entirely sonically similar to alt-rock shredder Marnie Stern, Kenney takes that whole singer/guitarist/songwriter mold and smashes it over her knee on her new album, integrating dreamy guitar textures with an ambient overall sound and topping them all off with evocative vocal melodies and profound lyrics that cut to the heart of the emotional issues that plague so many young women in this world.

Expect her live performance to do just as much to both destroy and elevate your expectations from a “female singer-songwriter” (kill that cliche forever please). Kenney’s openers on this bill definitely reflect the Broadberry’s involvement in this evening, with recent Broadberry performers Rikki Shay and Minor Poet making a rare appearance at Gallery 5. That’s good, though, maybe it’ll bring some new people out to check out this excellent venue. Madeline Kenney is really all the inducement you, the super clued-in RVA show attendee, should need to add this show to your calendar, though. She’s worth the price of admission all by herself.

Saturday, September 23, 8 PM
Meg Mulhearn + Elisa Faires, Dazeases, Womajich Dialysiez, Rachel Lynch @ Vagabond – Free!
OK, this is two awesome free shows in the space of three days; you should definitely take advantage of this phenomenon, because it’s not something that occurs every week by any means. This evening over at up-and-coming new live music space Vagabond brings us a couple of heavy hitters in the ambient/experimental music world, on a collaborative tour linked to a still-in-production album-length collaboration that’s apparently on the way next year. You can get a preview of it this Saturday night at Vagabond though, and that’s certainly worth doing.

Meg Mulhearn is a violinist who has worked with US Christmas, Void Ensemble, and others, and releases solo recordings under the name Divine Circles. Elisa Faires is an experimental vocalist who has taken part in projects like Astral Magick Soundtrack and Xambuca. Both of these artists use electronic effects to loop, layer, and otherwise accent their instruments, and the two together bring to life a lush ambient soundscape that seems way bigger than anything two musicians can produce by themselves. Combined with the soulful vocal-driven ambience of Dazeases, the constantly-evolving improvisational experimental project Womajich Dialysiez, and experimental performance artist Rachel Lynch, this bill will explore all sorts of different musical and performative avenues, and should take the listener on a sonic journey that is not too frequently experienced, but all the richer for that fact.

Sunday, September 24, 6 PM
Common Ground Fest South, feat. Bren Lukens, Daisyhead, Centerfolds, Something More, Small Talks, Telltale, Nominee, She’s A Legend @ Strange Matter – $14 (order tickets HERE)
OK yes there’s always gonna be some emo coming to you in my column, and I guess this is where it arrives, because seriously–how could I neglect this excellent event? Common Ground Fest, a one-day mini-festival of emo/pop-punk bands put on by Common Ground Records and taking place in three different cities across the US over the course of this month, brings its southernmost incarnation to Richmond VA, and we are in for a treat. After all, not long after Modern Baseball co-founder Jake Ewald hit the Strange Matter stage with his Slaughter Beach Dog project, we get the other Modern Baseball co-founder, Bren Lukens, coming through with a solo acoustic performance. How sweet is that?

But that’s just the beginning. If you ask me, one of the biggest thrills on this whole lineup shows up down towards the bottom of the bill in the form of excellent up-and-coming emotionally-driven pop-punk band Nominee, whose January EP Drag Me Out has been a big one for me so far this year. Hearing songs like “Stay” and “White Water” live might just be enough to get me to pay the full ticket price all by itself. But even with both Bren Lukens and Nominee on this bill, so many other awesome groups are showing up that it’s hard to even attempt a full encapsulation. That said, Nashville’s Daisyhead, who released a killer LP In Case You Missed It on No Sleep earlier this year; and Baltimore’s Something More, who impressed all comers with their 2015 EP compilation Physical Copy, are just some of the additional reasons to make sure you’re right up front for this entire gig. I could say more, but this should be enough. Be there.

Monday, September 25, 8 PM
Love Roses, Brainbuster, The Donalds, Skumboyz @ McCormack’s Irish Pub – $5
I was introduced to Love Roses’ fun, speedy take on punk rock earlier this year when my admittedly pretty screamo band played a house show with them. It wasn’t exactly a predictable pairing, but we ended up meshing pretty well, and I really dug this band’s energetic rage. Since then, Love Roses have been busy, releasing a brand new split on local label Tired & Pissed with Fredericksburg punks Brainbuster, who by no coincidence at all are also on this bill. Love Roses and Brainbuster are just finishing up a tour together, and this is a much more predictable pairing of VA punk bands than anything involving my band would have been.

Brainbuster have a Dead Kennedys-ish sarcastic approach to their lyrics and an early-80s LA punk approach to their music, showing influence from bands like the Adolescents and Bad Religion as well as a snottier edge that gives the whole thing a harsh bite. That split is gonna be a real ripper when it hits, that’s one thing I know for sure. Local punks The Donalds and Skumboyz round out a lineup full of Tired & Pissed artists who are sure to please the circle-pitting punk fanatics of this town–of whom there are more than you think–as well as anyone who gets a kick out of speedy riffs that are both angry and fun.

Tuesday, September 26, 8 PM
Dryjacket, Eaves, Sleave, Nine Line @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
And here we have some more emo, because it’s awesome. New Jersey’s Dryjacket really impressed many listeners, myself among them, with their debut full-length For Posterity. That album, released earlier this year, shows an introspective, multi-layered approach to the sort of emo-revival template that the best bands from that slowly-fading era are still building and improving upon. Dryjacket definitely demonstrates their own qualification for that top tier of still-extant emo bands with a sound incorporating the complex guitar arpeggios that led people to throw the term “twinkle” around a few years ago and some incredible pop choruses that seem to draw as much influence from The Beatles as from Dads–always a welcome phenomenon.

And how about the RVA bands on this bill? Well, Eaves has certainly shown their own bona fides in the whole introspective, multi-layered emo genre over the past little while, and their contribution to this show is therefore sure to be both apropos and entirely welcome. Sleave has a gruffer approach that draws a great deal from that whole vibe of bands like Hot Water Music or Latterman, but with a chunkier guitar sound that shows a bit more hardcore influence than you might expect. Newcomers Nine Line hark back to the 90s days of the more emotionally-driven Fat Wreck bands like Lagwagon or Good Riddance, which is a refreshing change. There’s definitely some daylight between these four bands, but all share a similar feel, one that’s sure to move you.

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

Music returns to Mayo Island with inaugural music & arts fest, ‘Jam Sandwich’ on Saturday

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Festieheads rejoice, a new music & arts festival will bring life back to Mayo Island this Saturday.

Jam Sandwich, put on by Richmond’s Three One One Productions, is a one-day event bringing live music, arts and crafts, yoga, and more to Mayo Island this weekend.

Headlining the festival are Michael Franti & Spearhead and Moon Taxi, along with locals Dalton Dash, Rikki Shay, and Dead Frog, and Atlanta’s Chelsea Shag rounding out the rest of the bill.

Founded about eight years ago, local event company Three One One Productions is behind most of the festivals in town including the Scott’s Addition Pumpkin Festival, Carytown Watermelon Festival (in partnership with Carytown Merchants Association), Shamrock the Block, Hops & Barley Fest and more.

President Micki Long said after attending and working at major music festivals like Camp Bisco and Langerado (now defunct) over the years, she liked the idea of bringing a similar concept to Richmond on a smaller scale.

“I’ve always really liked the vibe of those kind of festivals and attended a lot of them; not only worked a lot of them so it’s always been in the back of my mind it was just a matter of finding the right place, the right time, and the right bands,” she said. “I also want to showcase a lot of our good local stuff…I think that’s important too finding ones that fit in this sort of music festival vibe, I see it as not just music, but as a whole experience.”

Throughout the last year, Long has been working with the owners of Mayo Island getting permits in place for a location that she has had her eye on from when she first had the idea.

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“I think that’s a really cool little secret spot in the middle of downtown Richmond that’s still got grass on it and trees, but still has a great urban vibe, you have the railroad tracks that go across it, you have a big abandoned warehouse you can use for shade,” she said. “And it’s in the middle of the James River.”

It worked out too that reggae/hip hop/funk artist Michael Franti & Spearhead and Nashville’s prog rock band Moon Taxi were available to headline the festival, and by getting RVA’s folk quartet Dalton Dash, rock group Rikki Shay, and blues-rock band Dead Frog on board, Long was able to bring her vision for Jam Sandwich to life.

“All of the pieces seemed to fall in place this year and I really think the culture of the city of Richmond is a great place for this type of experience festival, not just music,” she said. “It’s a lineup that has a little bit of all kinds of different things in it.”

Prior to Jam Sandwich, there have only been just a handful of festivals over the years at the 13-acre island that gives access to Shockoe Bottom and downtown to Manchester by way of the 14th Street Bridge.

Country on Mayo, a country music festival took place there in 2013, and prior to that, Queens of the Stone Age performed there in 2000 and the island has been pretty much a ghost town musically otherwise.

“That was the last one that I went to on Mayo Island,” she said referring to the Queens of the Stone Age concert. “It hasn’t been used in many, many years they stopped renting it out, it’s just been sitting there.”

Jam Sandwich is taking the “jam” theme and running with it beyond musical acts. Ellwood Thompson’s is making a signature PB&J sandwich just for the event, Strangeways Brewing will be there serving up jam-inspired brews as well as some of its flagships, and the festival will also be selling a raspberry “Jamtini” provided by Titos. Belle Isle Moonshine will also offer cocktails.

Tapping into the Coachella-like atmosphere, Jam Sandwich will feature everything from free festie face painting to yoga.

“We’ve got a yoga garden where were going to have yoga instructors,” she said adding that they will open the gates an hour prior to the music to host a yoga class in the field. “Throughout the day in the Zen garden we’ll have lavender towels and cushions to sit on.”

Attendees can also spray paint inside the warehouse on the property, enjoy cotton candy and check out a fabric art installation by Function Form among other interactive elements.

“We’re just trying to make it slightly different so it’s not the same generic street festival, which is nothing wrong with them I do them all the time,” she said. “I just wanted to bring something slightly different to Richmond that has the same vibe as a Firefly or a Coachella without the camping at a much more affordable price in the middle of the city.”

And while there’s no camping this year, Long did hint at the possibility in the future along with making Jam Sandwich an annual event.

“We’re going to do one day this year and start growing it on from that,” she said. “That’s definitely something I’d like to see in the future its growing it as it is and getting Richmond to embrace it, and once they embrace it, its finding a place I have the room so we can move to that next step.”

Jam Sandwich kicks off this Sat., July 1 at Mayo Island located at 501 South 14th St. with music from 12-8 pm. Gates open at 11 am. General Admission tickets are $30 in advance, $45 the day of, and a viewing platform option is for sale for $135 which includes on-island parking and a few other treats. Get yours here. On island parking passes are $7 or attendees have the option to park in the surrounding lots which are within walking distance.