Strawberry Moon Archives

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: June 29 – July 5

Marilyn Drew Necci | June 29, 2022

Topics: Asylum 213, Baby Bugs, Bio Ritmo, Blkvapor, Catie Lausten, Cobra Cabana, Destructo Disk, Dysphonia, Fake Bodies, gallery 5, Gnawing, Koi, Listless, live music in Richmond, Melk, Monsoon, Open Wake, Overunderdog, Plastic Pyramid, Powers BMX Shop, Rebekah Rafferty and The Wakes, Sequela, shows you must see, Strawberry Moon, Supercrush, The Camel, The Sweet Potatoes, weekend plans, Yeni Nostalji

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, July 1, 5 PM
Bio Ritmo, The Sweet Potatoes @ Gallery 5 – Free!
Summer is officially here, folks, and with the temperatures and the humidity on the rise, the time is perfect for some hot music. Bio Ritmo’s been serving up that exact sort of thing here in Richmond for over 30 years now, and hearing their salsa music right now feels almost as good as eating salsa on chips tastes. They haven’t been as musically active in recent years as huge fans might want them to be; other than an anniversary-commemorating vinyl reissue of their 1996 Merge Records single “Piraguero,” they haven’t released anything since 2014’s Puerta Del Sur. Luckily for us all, they stay busy in other ways — one of which will offer us all the chance to see Bio Ritmo this Friday night — for free, no less!

There will be plenty of music happening at this event at Gallery 5, but the music isn’t the most important part. This month’s show at Gallery 5 was created in partnership with Bio Ritmo and The Valentine, and celebrates Richmond’s rich legacy of immigrant communities over the centuries of the city’s existence. In addition to art created by immigrant artists from the Richmond region, Gallery 5 will also be displaying a selection of historical images from the Valentine’s collection, documenting immigrant communities throughout Richmond’s history. You can show up anytime after 5 pm to see all that stuff, and to take advantage of happy hour at the Gallery 5 bar. You know, if that’s your kind of thing.

The most exciting part of the evening, though, will begin at 8 pm, as Gallery 5’s First Friday house band, The Sweet Potatoes, takes the stage for a warm-up set of their old-time jazz sound. Then we get a full set by Bio Ritmo, whose salsa music is sure to keep your feet moving, your booty shaking, and a smile plastered across your face. Thirty years of Richmond crowds will tell you that this band knows how to put on a great show, but if you don’t know just yet, there couldn’t be a better time for you to learn for yourself. After all, there’s awesome art and fascinating history on display, the kind of thing you won’t hear about in school. And above all, admission is free, so even if gas prices got you broke as hell, you can still come have a party with Bio Ritmo. Considering the way this summer’s going thus far, it seems like we’re gonna need to party whenever we can.

Wednesday, June 29, 7 PM
Destructo Disk, Overunderdog, Plastic Pyramid, Dysphonia @ Cobra Cabana – Donations requested
As of last Friday, abortion is now illegal in over half the country. Thankfully, it isn’t in Virginia yet, despite the best efforts of our Republican governor, but that’s no reason for anyone to get complacent, or to ignore the fact that very real financial barricades exist in order for lower-income people (those most at risk for unwanted pregnancies) to access abortion. Therefore, it’s very timely that this Destructo Disk throwdown at Cobra Cabana is a benefit for Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project. Reproductive rights are under threat, y’all, and if the money you pay to get into whatever random punk rock show you’re going to this week can help fight against that threat, so much the better.

I don’t want to imply that this is just some random mid-week punk rock show, though. Destructo Disk is one of the more intriguing punk bands to come out of the Richmond punk scene in a while, and they certainly deserve your attention if you haven’t checked them out yet. Only a month or two ago, they released their latest LP, Bad Gravity, which Bandcamp bills as a “liminal space punk rock opera,” and really does seem to follow the ongoing story of a punk band trying to find a way to survive in some sort of dystopian future world… or something like that. What’s beyond debate is that these songs are all super catchy and a ton of fun to sing along with. So yeah, if punk rock’s your bag, head out to Cobra Cabana tonight to catch Destructo Disk. And dig deep when they pass the donation jar — it really is important.

Thursday, June 30, 8 PM
Blkvapor, Asylum 213, Fake Bodies, Listless @ Powers BMX Shop – Donations requested
Here’s another show happening out on Williamsburg Road at a local bike shop that has suddenly started presenting a good many great live music events. If you’re not paying attention to what’s going on over at Powers BMX, you should start, and this show is a great opportunity to do so. Baltimore’s Blkvapor is coming to town, presenting an intriguing, somewhat introspective sound that nonetheless knows how to get properly noisy when the time is right. They bill themselves as “queer punk and noise rock,” and those elements are certainly there on their debut EP, Vaporising, but on tracks like “Doomscroll,” they show off a real melodic sense that adds additional layers to the furious noise displayed on tracks like “Fuck You (Transphobia).”

So yeah, Blkvapor are going to be the kind of difficult-to-categorize listening experience that doesn’t come along too often. I for one am always looking for musicians like this, because if nothing else, they’re not bringing us just another dose of the same old thing. What Blkvapor has on offer is significantly better than that, in fact, and they’re joined on this bill by several local bands, all of whom have their own styles to provide to the overall mix. Asylum 213’s 2021 album, Not Homeless/Just Hopeless, dips into everything from shoegaze distortion to indie melody to chaotic metalcore, which is sure to make their live show unpredictable in the most delightful of ways. Northern Virginia’s Fake Bodies bring a strong dose of snotty, melodic punk to the table, as delightfully displayed on their new album, Stop Shaking. Meanwhile, Richmond “revenge-core” band Listless rounds out the bill with what is sure to be the heaviest set of the evening, bringing down the hammer with a powerful sound that should appeal to anyone who loves banging their head. Not a bad night at the local BMX shop, all told.

Friday, July 1, 8 PM
Sequela, Asylum 213, Melk, Open Wake @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
I don’t know too much about Sequela, the band headlining this bill at Garden Grove on Friday night. But I must admit, I find them very intriguing. For one thing, they’re from Portland, Maine — the only other musician from up that way I can think of is Dr. Millionaire. For another, they’re an eight-piece band, and in addition to three guitars, the instrumentation on their new single, “Mourning Routine,” includes two cellos, an upright bass, a lap steel guitar, and a singing saw. The result takes the multi-layered nature of the indie-shoegaze sound to a whole new level, incorporating the grandeur of classical symphonies and the bombastic epics of post-rock auteurs like Sigur Ros into a sound fundamentally grounded in Dinosaur Jr/My Bloody Valentine-style fuzz guitar alt-rock.

That’s basically all I know; they’ve only released a few songs so far in their career. However, if you ask me, “Mourning Routine” is enough on its own to make this band worth going to see. This is especially true in light of the fact that Garden Grove doesn’t charge at the door for their shows, and in light of the fact that Sequela has a few really good local groups to share the bill with. I mentioned Asylum 213 two short paragraphs ago, so you should remember them by now. Melk is a new trio in town, who seem to be exploring that same confluence of melody and heaviness that was so fruitful for Hum over the years. Open Wake round out the bill with some upbeat rock n’ roll sounds. This one’s gonna be fun, y’all.

Saturday, July 2, 8 PM
Rebekah Rafferty And the Wakes, Weekend Plans, Yeni Nostalji @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Oh goodness, a ticketed show! I had almost forgotten about those. But as much as I might love to live in the world of benefit shows and donation jars, seeing the best music you can see on a particular night does sometimes require breaking out the debit card and entering your info into a website. It’s OK — the results you’ll achieve as a result are always rewarding. In this case, particularly so, as Rebekah Rafferty and the Wakes, a mainstay on Richmond’s underground rock scene for years now, really do have something to celebrate at the Camel this Saturday night. Specifically, their debut album, Two Of Swords, which they’ve been working on for years now, will finally enter the world, and this is The Wakes’ opportunity to celebrate.

Now, you might think that, as a prominent (or at least verbose) local music journalist, I get all the inside info about all the things Richmond bands are up to. Sometimes I do! Not in this case, though. So I don’t know what songs from The Wakes’ set will appear on the album; I can’t tell you whether the lovely singles they’ve been releasing over the past couple of years, like the melancholy, melodic “It’ll Be Fine” or the moody, understated “Witches,” will make the final album. But I can tell you that those songs more than proved Rafferty and The Wakes’ bona fides, proving that Rafferty’s songcraft is above reproach and her musicians are incredibly talented. Considering how hard they’ve worked on their imminent debut LP, one can’t help but imagine all of those qualities will come to delightful fruition on Two Of Swords. It certainly stands to reason. It also seems highly likely that this show will be an excellent display of a talented local group at the peak of their powers. By now, you should know what to do.

Sunday, July 3, 7 PM
Baby Bugs, Monsoon, Koi @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
Based on all the available evidence I’ve been able to obtain by closely following the local music scene over the past year, it seems like Richmonders Baby Bugs are just getting started in their musical journey. They’ve only released two singles since upgrading from the solo project of a young non-binary songwriter named Bowie to a four-piece band backing Bowie’s catchy yet snarky compositions with metallic punk muscle. They play locally on a regular basis, but have really just started to tour. So why, I wondered to myself, is it that every time I google Baby Bugs, I find stan accounts, google suggesting questions about how old their singer is, and other things I more often associate with outright celebrities. It puzzled me for a while, but this week, I thought of checking for Baby Bugs on Tiktok. Sure enough, they have over 100,000 followers on there; their videos have been seen nearly three-quarters of a million times. So yeah, this little Richmond band has a huge following in a part of the internet that forty-somethings like me often forget about. And kudos to them for that! I sometimes wonder how bands are going to find ways to become successful in this modern streaming era where discovery of new music seems entirely controlled by massive corporations. For at least some musicians, it seems that social media provides a viable tool.

So hey, want to know what all the zoomers on Tiktok are listening to? You could do a lot worse than going to The Camel this Sunday night and checking out Baby Bugs. As a full band, they only have two singles out, but both “Cannibal Girlfriend” and “Autotheist” have a lot to recommend them, from their intriguingly gothic lyrics to their heavy punk sound and catchy riffage. I can’t help but think of Toward Space back when the members were still in high school and David was still playing drums with foot pedals, but instead of being way into No Bunny and Jay Reatard, Baby Bugs are more influenced by The Misfits and Be Your Own Pet. I, for one, am way into it. Even if I don’t have a Tiktok account.

Tuesday, July 5, 7 PM
Supercrush, Gnawing, Strawberry Moon, Catie Lausten @ Gallery 5 – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Now let’s move from the cutting edge of zoomer virality to a 90s throwback sound sure to get all the older millennials and young Gen X-ers (aka myself and my peer group) excited. Supercrush may come from an entirely different sensibility than Baby Bugs, but these two bands have more in common than you might expect: both place value on catchy riffs and strong choruses, both use killer distortion but know how to push the melody to the fore when the time is right, and both base their sound around that old standby, the electric guitar. So hey, all you zoomers being glad I finally repped a band you could relate to, maybe y’all should check out Supercrush at Gallery 5 on Tuesday too.

On their new EP, Melody Maker, Supercrush dip into a deep well of lush pop goodness, even as they keep the fuzzboxes cranked. Tunes like “Perfect Smile” and “Helium High” simultaneously evoke the buzz-bin days of Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush, and first-LP Weezer, even as they also are sure to tickle the fancy of those bedroom-pop nerds who loved what The Eels or The Apples In Stereo were up to back in those halcyon years before 9/11 and the George W. Bush presidency ruined everything. If Supercrush get some volume going on record, they’re sure to be even louder in person at Gallery 5, in a manner that’s likely to evoke smiles and swaying from a blissed-out audience. Local guitar heroes Gnawing and Strawberry Moon will add to the firepower this bill has to offer, and talented singer-songwriter Catie Lausten will get this all started off right. So hey, spend your post-Fourth-of-July Tuesday at Gallery 5. You won’t regret it.

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]

A New Phase For Strawberry Moon

Marilyn Drew Necci | June 2, 2022

Topics: Control, COVID-19, Destructo Disk, Dust Bath, Habitual Creatures, Pandemic, quarantine, Quarantine Songs, richmond bands, richmond music, Sockhead Records, Strawberry Moon

Strawberry Moon has been a familiar band on the Richmond indie scene for a few years now, but with their brand new single, “Control” — the first off their upcoming LP, Habitual Creatures — the band has really come into their own, sporting a stronger, fuller sound than could be heard on their previous full-length release, 2018’s Dust Bath. It’s no wonder, really; as founder, lead vocalist, and chief songwriter Katie Bowles explains below, the current version of Strawberry Moon couldn’t have happened without the current lineup coming together.

Unfortunately for all involved, the current quartet came together around the end of 2019, and only had a few months to work together before the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns put the kibosh on any band activity for over a year. “Control” actually came out of that period; longtime followers of Strawberry Moon will remember the original version, released two years ago on a collection of Bowles’ solo demos entitled Quarantine Songs.

In the liner notes to Quarantine Songs, Bowles writes that “Control” was inspired by “feeling a big lack of control during a period of unemployment and solitude during COVID-19.” That’s certainly a relatable feeling for me; back when the pandemic began, I thought I’d really make the most of my time stuck inside the house. Instead, I quickly got to the point where anxiety made it difficult for me to get even the simplest of things accomplished. And of course, there’s also that tendency to blame oneself, to figure that if you can’t get off your ass and accomplish everything you want to do, it must be your own fault.

Bowles captures this feeling in “Control”‘s lyrics, singing, “Wish I could focus my energy on what’s right in front of me.” On the chorus, she admits, “I am beating myself up for things out of my control.” Musically, “Control”‘s sound captures the same feeling of pent-up anxiety that Bowles describes in the lyrics, with Liam McElroy’s lead guitar sketching a hesitant melody overtop of a rumbling rhythm section groove. It takes until after two full verses and choruses have gone by, but eventually the song’s tense feel explodes into a heavy, raging riff, over which Bowles finally declares that something must change. “Enough with the blame,” she sings. “There’s gotta be more than hating yourself ’til you die.”

Expanding on “Control”‘s lyrics, Bowles says, “It’s all about the concept of realizing your self worth; letting go of the things you can’t control, and embracing the things we can.” In this manner, the subject matter dealt with on “Control” reflects the subject matter of the album as a whole. “This album is largely about love, romantic and friendships and finding love in your community and in nature,” she explains. “This song in particular is about self-love.”

Here’s “Control,” the brand new single from Strawberry Moon. Listen now, and then scroll down for my interview with Katie Bowles.

Marilyn Drew Necci: To begin with: who is in the band as of right now? Is that the same lineup that recorded “Control”?

Katie Bowles: I sing and write the lyrics, Liam McElroy is playing guitar, TJ Meade is playing drums, and Gray Stephenson on bass! This is the same lineup on “Control,” as well as the rest of our upcoming record.

Drew: The full-band take of “Control” feels to me like a strong, heavy rock song. Obviously, it has changed greatly from the solo demo version you released on bandcamp two years ago as part of the Quarantine Songs EP. Does the form it takes now reflect the way you always saw it, even back when you recorded that minimalist demo? Or did bringing it to the band cause it to change in ways you hadn’t expected?

Katie: We actually did updated versions of all three of those quarantine songs! At the time, we had just formed the full band the winter before the pandemic, and playing in a group for the first time felt so empowering and affirming; it felt like growth. It was hard to go back to not seeing each other or collaborating for six months. I tried to keep my creative momentum going by releasing some lo-fi demos.

The song it became with a full band definitely feels meant to be. Gray wrote a very groovy bass line and it feels dancey. [When] Liam came in with the crunchy guitar halfway through, this song really came into its own. Adding the louder rock element made it so I can really yell in the high parts and really put my all into it. We decided to release this song first because the crowd always super engaged with it during shows.

Drew: While Strawberry Moon has released a couple of lo-fi demos since Dust Bath in 2018, this new album will be the first one to show off a recorded version of the full-band sound you’ve been constructing over the past several years. How did Strawberry Moon evolve from its solo project roots five years ago into what it is now? Was bringing in a full band always the plan, or did it happen organically?

Katie: I started this project five years ago with one friend, then a different friend, then alone. Now I feel so thankful to have found these talented friends to collaborate with. Liam McElroy, the guitarist, is my partner; he supported so many of my solo shows, and eventually we started playing music together. It felt so sweet and emotional and special to work with this person I love.

Gray Stephenson is an amazing bassist in Deli Kings, LJ and the Sleaze, and Nightcreature. We supported each other in the scene for a long time before he expressed interest in helping me make this a full band, and I absolutely jumped at the chance. TJ Meade is a badass punk drummer in the local bands Sweeties and Haircut. He is so talented and I’m so happy to have him on board.

We are all able to bounce ideas off each other and all bring something different to the table. When I am writing songs by myself, it’s easy to get stuck in a pattern of similar songwriting styles, but with our band we are able to workshop my song skeletons and breathe new life into them. It’s the most satisfying feeling ever to show each other ideas and watch how everybody makes it their own. Our band now feels like a more mature version of what I started five years ago. Every practice, every song written, every show, feels easy and fun and meant to be.

Drew: I see that you are playing quite a bit less guitar, at least live, than you once did. Considering the band started with you singing and playing guitar, why’d you decide to pass off the guitar duties, to some extent? How is the experience of performing with Strawberry Moon different now that you spend some of the time strictly in the lead vocalist role?

Katie: I feel that with Liam on guitar, I am able to put my absolutely all into singing. Every performance we do, I am putting every ounce of my power into my voice. It feels second nature to sing, and that’s where the joy of performing comes from. Liam is also able to play guitar in a different, more effortlessly rock and roll way than me. He steers the songs into a wave of fuzz, or rips a guitar solo, in a way that I could not have done with my atmospheric loop pedal. He brings so much energy to these songs. It’s inspiring!

Drew: Do you feel like the current version of Strawberry Moon is more of a “singer-songwriter with trusted backing band” type project, or has it evolved into a true collaborative band experience?

Katie: It has definitely evolved. The four of us are in the band for the long haul, and are excited to promote our upcoming album and then get right back to work on our next one. We are a great team and work together so well. Even though I write the songs, and honestly identify with the moniker Strawberry Moon alone, it’s not my band! I could not have made this album without them. I’m so thankful to be creating with friends and supporting one another as a team.

Drew: What was the process of making Habitual Creatures? How did it differ from past recordings you’ve done? How do you feel about the finished product? Does it represent a new phase of Strawberry Moon, or is this more like arriving at a destination you were always aiming for?

Katie: We are so proud of this album!! It is the biggest release our band has ever put out; it’s twice the length of the last album and has a lot of love and work put into it. We recorded it with Levi Douthit, who really was able to capture our songs and encourage us to push ourselves. Levi recorded the drums and bass on analog tape, and the guitar and vocals digitally, and it was so cool to see this process. I absolutely feel like this is the arrival of our destiny. I feel like we have found a great sound and I can’t wait to make more of it.

Drew: What are the plans for the release of the full album? Are you working with a label for the release?

Katie: We have recently been talking to the local label Sockhead Records, run by the members of the band Destructo Disk, to make some cassettes of our record. They are new to Richmond and we are excited to work with them on putting out cassette tapes and planning some tours to support the release! We are hoping to release the album and cassettes in late summer/early fall. Album art is in the works by Richmond Angel Alexa Taveras, and we have a tiny regional tour already in the plans for July with the band Gnawing. Basically we just want to take our time with this release and give this project the room to make an impact, trying not to rush things!

Drew: What does the rest of 2022 look like for the band? Are you planning on doing any touring for the album?

Katie: We are definitely planning some east cost touring this year, applying to festivals, and getting our foot in the door at some local venues that aren’t our usual haunts! We are so thankful for the pocket of community that Richmond has offered us. We feel so at home here, and we want to use whatever momentum we find from this release to channel back into our local scene and uplift all the talented folks around us as well. Mostly just want to keep playing music forever and ever with our buds.

Top Photo by Savannah Elliott

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: March 2 – March 8

Marilyn Drew Necci | March 2, 2022

Topics: ApathyFire, Blush Face, Body Meat, Buenas, Capital Ale House, Closet Space, Coheed & Cambria, Computer, Erin Lunsford, Fallout, Fear of Music, Gallery5, Hotspit, K!LL SCREEN, Kate Stephenson, Landon Elliott, live music in Richmond, Night Idea, No BS! Brass Band, Phantom Handshakes, Pile, Prabir Trio, Renata Zeiguer, Richmond Music Hall, richmond public schools, Sheer Mag, shows you must see, Spirit Of The Beehive, Strawberry Moon, Summer Salt, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Dark Room, The National, The Wimps, Well Wisher, Young Scum

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, March 5, 7 PM
Banding Together: A Benefit Concert For RPS Elementary School Music Programs, feat. No BS! Brass, Fear Of Music, Prabir Trio, Erin Lunsford, Landon Elliott, Buenas @ The Broadberry – $20-$100 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been a rough ol’ decade so far, folks, and 2022 is clearly trying to make sure no one thinks it’s calming down this year. Not only is there a terrible war in Ukraine courtesy of that despicable dictator Vladimir Putin, and not only is Texas literally attempting to put parents in jail for being supportive of their transgender children, but things are pretty dang rough right here in RVA, the most obvious example of that being the fire that gutted Fox Elementary School recently. Considering how much trouble Richmond Public Schools always has coming up with the funding necessary to give our local children a good public education, this is definitely not the sort of thing we as a city needed.

Luckily, a whole bunch of Richmond musicians feel exactly the same way, and they’re doing more than ranting about it on the internet somewhere; they’ve actually gotten together with local music education-focused nonprofit JAMinc to organize not one but two benefit concerts for Richmond Public Schools’ musical education programs, both of which take place at The Broadberry this Saturday. The more kid-friendly one takes place at 2 PM and features children’s hip hop group The Diggity Dudes, Jonathan The Juggler, and more. If you’ve got little ones in the house, you probably should take them out to this one, especially since kids 12 and under get in free. But RVA Mag is for the adults, so we’re officially recommending the grownup-oriented show at 7 PM, as it features an incredibly stacked lineup of local musical talent.

Topping the bill is No BS! Brass, a band who shouldn’t even need any introduction to Richmond music fans after all these years. However, on the off chance you pulled into town last week, I will tell you that this collection of horn players, percussionists, rappers, singers, and all around fun-loving troubadours incorporate everything from soul, funk, and classic jazz to hip hop, metal, and hardcore punk into their hype-as-hell tunes and incredibly energetic performances. They’re reason enough for you to be at this thing all by themselves, but the fact that talented local Talking Heads tribute act Fear Of Music, veteran power-popsters the Prabir Trio, excellent singer-songwriters Erin Lunsford and Landon Elliott, plus even more great acts will all be on this bill makes it easily worth the $20 price of admission. This is especially true when you contemplate the fact that every dime you pay will go toward Richmond Public Schools’ elementary music programs. And don’t worry — if you want to donate more, tickets with face values up to $100 are available in order to make your donation as easy as possible. Because as we all know, life’s hard enough right now.

Wednesday, March 2, 7 PM
Spirit Of The Beehive, Body Meat @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $14 in advance, $16 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Psychedelic ensemble Spirit Of The Beehive have been around for a while now, and you might think you’ve got them all figured out. But honestly, if you haven’t checked them out in the past year or so, you might get a big surprise when you show up at Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall tonight. For one thing, the band’s lineup has shifted considerably since the pandemic shut down live music for 18 or so months. Their most recent keyboardist switched to drums, and everyone else other than co-founders and lead vocalists Zack Schwartz and Rivka Ravede left. Last year’s Entertainment, Death LP was their first as a trio, and it foregrounds the experimental, electronic, and sonic-collage aspects of the group in new and fascinating ways that led Pitchfork to give Entertainment, Death a much-sought-after Best New Music designation.

One listen is enough to see why; the hypnotic, psychedelic space pop that’s always been a part of their sound has gotten even more unmoored from conventional reality, even as it has absorbed everything from vaporwave vibes to thrift-store “world music” cassette compilations, shoving it all in alongside their tendency toward abrupt sonic shifts and jarring blasts of noise that depart as quickly as they arrive. What’s left is the kind of head-swimmy dance groove that always makes for the best parties; you’re tapping your feet even though you don’t know the song, but you have no idea what the DJ will reach for next or even if they’ll let it play to the end. After a while, though, it starts to make perfect sense. So come down to Capital Ale House tonight and get on Spirit of the Beehive’s level, because rest assured, no matter how weird it seems from the outside, it’s got a lot to offer.

Thursday, March 3, 8 PM
Well Wisher, Strawberry Moon, Closet Space @ The Camel – $12 (order tickets HERE)
I’m always a sucker for some catchy guitar-driven indie tunes with an undeniable undercurrent of melodic punk, and therefore I can’t in any way resist this performance by New Jersey’s Well Wisher, coming to the Camel on Thursday night to get you spiritually prepared for what the weather people are saying will be an at least semi-warm late-winter weekend. Most recently, Well Wisher graced our cooped-up pandemic time with a series of acoustic singles that did what they could to brighten up the precarious summer of 2020. However, to get a sense of what this quartet is capable of when they’re at full strength, we’ve got to go back to their 2019 LP, This Is Fine, which was chock full of great tunes played on pretty dang loud guitars — the sort of sound that would please any lover of PS Eliot or Speedy Ortiz.

It’s likely that this full-strength melodic indie-punk-pop sound will be what Well Wisher bring to The Camel tomorrow night; however, I’ve got to say, even if things focus on the acoustic moods, it’ll still be great. These songs are more than capable of standing on their own. The same can be said of Strawberry Moon, who’ve been bringing the powerful voice and catchy tunes of Katie Bowles and co. to the RVA music world for several years now. All we’ve gotten since pre-pandemic days from them have been a few minimalist demos, but their Bandcamp page heralds a new LP coming this summer, and that’s sure to be a highlight of 2022 for the entire local music scene. In the meantime, see what sorts of new and old tunes they’re bringing out for this Thursday night shindig, and make sure you show up on time to hear what indie-rock newcomers Closet Space have to offer as well. You’ll be glad you did.

Friday, March 4, 8 PM
Phantom Handshakes, Night Idea, Hotspit, Young Scum @ The Dark Room – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Here’s a night of cool moods for a dark room in a historic old building in a hip local neighborhood. Yes, I am of course talking about the Hofheimer’s Dark Room, where a night of excellent local bands will be headlined by visitors from New York. Specifically, I’m talking about Phantom Handshakes, a duo that brings their gorgeous dream-pop tunes south of the Mason-Dixon line to grace all our ear canals. The mix of ambient synth beds, chiming guitars, bouncy programmed beats, and adorable vocals on their 2021 full-length, No More Summer Songs, is truly wondrous, and will surely shine even brighter when it comes to us all from inside a very dark room. Make sure you’re there to see this one glow.

But look, you’ve got a lot of other reasons to be there too, and all of them speak to the always-deep pool of musical talent that has been RVA’s excellent legacy for decades now. Night Idea, a name I haven’t heard in a long minute now, is bringing their melodic math-rockin’ sound back to a Richmond stage at The Dark Room on this fine evening, and what’s more, we’ll also get the first live appearance I’ve heard about in quite a while from incredible local power-pop quartet Young Scum. This is a real dynamic duo of Richmond music right here, and if you’ve been paying attention at all, you know you’ve got to be there when these bands share a stage (and if you don’t know, this is your urgent notice that you need to get familiar ASAP). Rounding out the bill is local buzz band Hotspit, whose lovely indie-shoegaze sounds are getting a warm reception both within and outside of RVA lately. Make sure you don’t miss a moment of this one, folks. It’ll be a night to remember.

Saturday, March 5, 7 PM
Coheed And Cambria, Sheer Mag @ The National – $40 (order tickets HERE)
I’m not as good at being an emo girl as I used to be, and I know this because every time I turn around lately, Coheed and Cambria have yet another new album out, and I’m finding myself once again playing catch-up. I still haven’t really gotten my head around 2015’s The Color Before The Sun, and that’s a seven-year-old album now! Meanwhile, the band has launched into yet another of their multi-album prog epics, in the form of Vaxis. Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures came into the world back in 2018, and Act II: A Window Of the Waking Mind is due out this May, with two advance singles having made it into the world thus far. Oh my goodness! I’ve got a lot of listening to do.

Luckily, at first blush, Coheed’s long-established reputation for metallic, progressive, and eminently melodic emo quality remains sterling — brand new single “Shoulders” shows that they’re still at the top of their game, literally 20 entire years after I saw them for the first time (oh my god, I’m so old). So yeah, all the new jams they’re breaking out for the first time on this tour are sure to knock everyone on their ass, and no doubt they’ll be busting out legendary fan faves like “A Favor House Atlantic” and “Here We Are Juggernaut” to get all us old heads singing along as well. Plus, get this: the opening act on this tour is none other than power-pop-garage-punk titans Sheer Mag, who might not quite be worth the full price of admission just to see them if you don’t dig Coheed (and… why, pray tell, would you not dig Coheed?), but they’re certainly going to provide an excellent bonus for all those in the know who show up on time. So hey, make sure you do that, OK?

Sunday, March 6, 7:30 PM
Summer Salt, Renata Zeiguer, Kate Stephenson @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $19.99 in advance, $23 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Winter’s been rough around here this year, speaking strictly in terms of temperature: like, I can’t remember the last time we got a heating bill as high as the one we were slapped with last month. For that reason alone, it’s good to hear that Texas pop duo Summer Salt are coming through town to wrap up all of our weekends with a lovely performance at Richmond Music Hall Sunday night. You see, where Summer Salt are concerned, the warm sunny sea breezes aren’t just implied by their name; they come through in their glowing, gorgeous pop tunes, to the point where you can almost feel that warm wind on your face when you listen to them. It’s a pleasant prospect, especially with the kind of winter we’ve had.

Summer Salt’s current tour is even more likely to bring the beach vibes; the band is touring in support of their upcoming album, The Juniper Songbook, which will be released mere days after their performance at Richmond Music Hall. It’s a collection of Summer Salt favorites re-interpreted in a more stripped-down, acoustic fashion. And in order to get everyone in the mood, their current tour features the same feel. So not only will we be getting a laid-back acoustic take on Summer Salt’s tunes at this show, we’ll also be getting similarly stripped-down performances from singer-songwriters Renata Zeiguer and Kate Stephenson, each of which has plenty to offer in their own right. Clearly you know what you must do: come down to Capital Ale House’s downtown location and enjoy the vibes this Sunday night.

Monday, March 7, 7 PM
Computer, ApathyFire, K!LL SCREEN @ Fallout – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This show at Fallout had me ready for some serious goth vibes, as I usually expect from any musical performance taking place at Richmond’s premier fetish bar. However, they threw me for a bit of a curve with this performance by Computer, a mysterious, prolific New York-based project whose work veers between ominous electronic sounds and outright harsh noise in a manner that’s likely to please fans of everything from Pharmakon to Author & Punisher.

Computer’s music seems less likely to inspire dancefloor action than Fallout’s usual fare, but their atonal sonic approach definitely seems at least somewhat appropriate for the moody atmosphere this place always has in abundance. Opener ApathyFire has plenty of additional noise with which to bewitch all comers, while the pounding techno of K!LL SCREEN should be able to at least start the evening with some dance beats before diving fully into the chaos. Jump in and ride the wave, folks.

Tuesday, March 8, 7 PM
Rick Maguire (of Pile), Allie Smith (of Blush Face), Brent McCormick (of The Wimps) @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’m guessing it’s the pandemic that did it, but lately we’ve been seeing a move toward more stripped-down, acoustic takes on bands’ and songwriters’ previous material. Indeed, it’s a phenomenon that already appears elsewhere in this very column. However, it takes on a whole different feel when it’s explored by someone like Pile’s Rick Maguire, who normally plays a loud, distorted guitar and hollers animatedly overtop of Pile’s pounding noise-rock anthems. He’s completely subverted that formula with his 2021 solo album, Songs Known Together, Alone. This album sees Maguire stripping Pile’s blasting tunes down to their core elements and converting them into songs full of ambient sound, singular emotion, and lyrics that take on a whole new meaning with the harsh pounding of his backing band stripped away.

It’s an interesting choice from a musician whose songs normally sound like they wouldn’t work at all without all the distortion and screaming noise. What Maguire proves on his new solo album is that you can just as easily love a quiet, bare-bones recreation of a Pile tune just as much as you loved the chaotic, raging original. His set at Gallery 5 on Tuesday is sure to bring that fact home in even more dramatic fashion — and what’s more, it’ll give Richmond heads a chance to see local talents Allie Smith of Blush Face and Brent McCormick of The Wimps do similar things with their own bands’ rockin’ tunes. The results are sure to be illuminating — so come down to Gallery 5 on Tuesday, and let the light shine upon your face.

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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]

VA Shows You Must See This Week: May 29 – June 4

Marilyn Drew Necci | May 29, 2019

Topics: American Television, Amy Klein, angelica garcia, Bacchae, Ben Katzman's DeGreaser, Big Baby, Black Plastic, Blue Streak, Camp Howard, Dead Format, Decide By Friday, Deer Eats Birds, Diseased Earth, Doll Baby, Fat Spirit, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Justus Proffit, Kristeva, Lobby Boy, Matron, McCormack's, Mojo's, New Lions, Newscaster, Organ Trail, Phobia, SameStory, shows you must see, Sleepwalkers, SLOGAME, Strawberry Moon, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Cryptkeeper Five, The Firnats, The Golden Pony, The Great Noise, The Vansaders, Tired All The Time, W I S H, West Beach Tavern, Wolcott's Invisible Hand, Wonderland, Wring Out

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, May 31, 8 PM
New Lions, Doll Baby, Fat Spirit @ The Camel – $6 in advance/$8 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Remember when Trump won and, alongside everyone who fucking hated it, there were a few people babbling about how “at least there’ll be some good angry music again”? Let me just say right now: it wasn’t worth it, especially for all the women, people of color, and LGBTQ people who’ve found themselves in the crosshairs. But if the return of New Lions is any indication, I’ll go ahead and grant it to those people — y’all were right.

New Lions, which is what Clair Morgan and his band are calling themselves now that they’ve accepted their past several years of existence as a full band, are celebrating the release of their latest EP and first new record in three years, End Story, at The Camel Friday night. With a band name drawn from the final Clair Morgan album, New Lions and the Not-Good Night, they’re clearly building on what has come before. But where previous Clair Morgan LPs mixed Clair’s mathy post-hardcore guitar style with melodic indie riffing, End Story finds this band writing in a decidedly more aggressive vein, with political lyrics and a harsher vocal sound that pushes them almost all the way to the border between post-hardcore and outright screamo.

If the Trump era can get an indie band this upset, imagine what it can do to all the marginalized communities the administration is taking aim for (though actually, you don’t have to imagine — it’s reality). At least we’ll have a killer soundtrack for the battle lines. Or for a Friday night at the Camel, trying to forget it all and enjoy a truly positive thing for this city — the return of one of the city’s leading musical lights to full-throated action. Doll Baby and Fat Spirit will open this one up, and you should definitely bring some extra cash to grab yourself a copy of End Story. You’re gonna need this one by your side this summer.

Wednesday, May 29, 8 PM
Tired All The Time, SameStory @ McCormack’s – $?
Tired All The Time have given themselves the perfect name for this era of millennial burnout and rapidly increasing income inequality. If you’re not one of the rare elites driving a $100,000 European sports car to your fantastically outfitted corporate office, you’re part of the vast assemblage of the rest of us, driving a used 10-year-old European sedan for Uber and panicking at the thought of an unexpected car repair. Is it any surprise that so many of us are, yes, Tired All The Time?

This DC band who wryly uses corporate-style text and iconography to send up the aforementioned elites, may not be able to keep you from having to replace your water pump in six months, but they sure can rock away your cares for one night. Tonight at McCormack’s, down in lovely Shockoe Bottom, they’ll bring their keyboard-laced postpunk sounds, displayed adroitly on last year’s Be Well EP, to the upstairs stage. And it won’t be long before you’re moving your feet with a big smile on your face. Don’t worry about tomorrow morning — just this once, you can wait til 9:30 to sign into the app. We promise.

Thursday, May 30, 9 PM
Ben Katzman’s DeGreaser, Newscaster, The Firnats @ Wonderland – $6
Rock n’ roll never goes out of style, and that’s why the arrival of Ben Katzman’s DeGreaser at another Shockoe Bottom mainstay, Wonderland, is a very welcome fact. Katzman has a Florida metal background and it comes through in spades on 2018’s Quarter Life Crisis, a true wailer of an album whose best tracks would have fit right in next to Van Halen and Judas Priest on early 80s hard rock radio.

But hot licks and killer riffs aren’t the only things Katzman’s DeGreaser have to offer the discerning patron of rock power. Their songs are incredibly well-constructed and have a subtle intelligence at work underneath all those Trans Am-rattling anthems. You can really tell when you check out the lyrics to songs like “Too Old For Retail,” “Goodbye Wi-Fi,” and “Cool Points Don’t Pay The Rent” — these guys know the struggle. And they’re coming to town Thursday night so we can all put it aside for just one night, and rock! You know you need it; let your hair down for this one.

Friday, May 31, 8 PM
Sleepwalkers, Wolcott’s Invisible Hand, Angelica Garcia @ The Broadberry – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Sleepwalkers have been an active force on the Richmond music scene for years now, but recently, with their debut full-length, Greenwood Shade, five years in the rearview, it has started to feel like they were fading a bit. Thankfully, that has all turned around in the last few months, with the group signing to Spacebomb and preparing to end the five-year drought of new Sleepwalkers tuneage with a new LP, coming later this year.

It’s not out yet, but the group is celebrating this weekend nonetheless. The first single from the new LP, “Fault Is Me,” came out a couple months ago. Now, Spacebomb is releasing a limited-edition cassette containing remixes of the single by noteworthy local producers including DJ Harrison and Giavos, and Friday night’s show at the Broadberry is your first chance to grab it for yourself! It’s also sure to give you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with some of the other material Sleepwalkers have in store for their full-length Spacebomb debut later this year. Be there and get in on the ground floor.

Saturday, June 1, 9 PM
The Cryptkeeper Five, The Vansaders, Decide By Friday, Dead Format, American Television @ Mojo’s – $5 suggested donation
You might think this is the band Bobby “Boris” Pickett was singing about back in 1962, but no — that was actually the Crypt-Kicker Five. The Cryptkeeper Five are actually a quartet, and they play rollicking punk n’ roll tunes that are sometimes augmented by a Springsteen-style expanded band, complete with horn section. The stage at Mojo’s can’t accomodate all that, but the original four-piece will rock you all the same this Saturday night.

On their latest LP, The Stronghold — which was released on local powerhouse Say-10 Records, not coincidentally the label putting on this entire show — The Cryptkeeper Five come across like a strange combination of the Smoking Popes, Alkaline Trio, and Titus Andronicus, and if you dig any of that (or, for that matter, the subtle Springsteen mention above), you’re sure to have a blast when they hit the stage. Tourmates the Vansaders are actually from Asbury Park, but their acoustic folk-punk sound is a bit less Boss-ish and more reminiscent of The Waterboys or The Pogues. Both of these bands and some killer local groups as well will be combining powers to make this Saturday night musical extravaganza one to remember. Bring cash for the donation pot, and bring your card to buy a cheesesteak — they’re delicious.

Sunday, June 2, 6 PM
Matron, Kristeva, Deer Eats Birds @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
Free shows to end your weekend are always fun, and there are multiple places around town willing to hook us up with such things on a near-weekly basis. It’s just another wonderful thing about living in RVA. Matron are not from RVA — they come to us from New Orleans — but they’re bringing some wonderful sounds to our town that are sure to wrap up your weekend right. Their latest EP, Standing Water, shows off their unusual hybrid between energetic, mathy post-hardcore and synth-driven alt-rock weirdness, and the group is sure to blow us all away with it once they hit the stage.

We’re lucky enough to get some wonderful local sounds on this bill too — in fact, one or more of these local bands may play after Matron (I’d put one before and one after, but I stopped booking shows a while back due to a permanent case of exhaustion so I may not be the one to ask). No matter when these bands perform, we can be sure that the brilliant, epic post-rock of Kristeva and the complex, melodic alt-rock of Deer Eats Birds will add additional spice and flair to our weekend’s all-too-imminent end. And that’s wonderful.

Monday, June 3, 7 PM
Amy Klein (Photo by Orlando S. Gondar), Black Plastic, SLOGAME, Strawberry Moon @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You might know Amy Klein from her days in Titus Andronicus — she played guitar on the band’s early high-water mark, The Monitor — from her politically-informed online writings, or from her 2016 solo debut, Fire. But Klein is taking things to a whole new level with her upcoming sophomore LP, Winter/Time. Not only does the LP’s lead single, “Nothing,” show both a driving punk energy and some serious postpunk/new wave melodic chops, the album as a whole will apparently tackle complicated narratives constructed from an imaginary world that Klein nurtured in her mind as a child, known as a paracosm.

That might sound like pretty insane stuff at first blush, but album-as-high-concept-fantasy-novel is a familiar trope across the history of intelligent, unorthodox rock n’ roll, from Rush’s 2112 to The Who’s legendarily unrealized Lifehouse. With the album on the eve of release, it seems likely that Klein will go the way of the Rush classic rather than the Who’s nervous-breakdown-fueling collapse, and that’s certainly a great thing. If nothing else, it offers us the tantalizing possibility of a whole album full of songs as good as “Nothing” — which will certainly be a lovely treat for us all this summer. Get ready by heading down to the Camel and rocking with Amy Klein this Monday night. It’s a great way to start your week.

Tuesday, June 4, 7 PM
Justus Proffit, Camp Howard, Big Baby, Lobby Boy @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You know, I can’t say I’m familiar with memorably-named LA singer-songwriter Justus Proffit, but he’s apparently somewhat of a prodigy, having played in touring bands since he was 16 or so. Now he’s 25, and if you’re thinking, “Oh, is this kid the next Jay Reatard then?” you’re not entirely on the wrong track. His new album, LA’s Got Me Down, is full of psychedelic garage tunes, doused in noisy guitar distortion that can’t quite hide the brilliant melodies at its heart.

Proffit’s tunes of LA struggle reference drugs, death, and a culture of false allegiances, but they’re kept aloft by his flawless ear for pop melodies. There’s an ever-present psychedelic weirdness as well, just to keep the whole thing glowing with the sunlight of a slightly overexposed photograph. The combination is unique, arresting, and memorable, and if Proffit carries on in this fashion, he’ll be hugely famous before you know it. Get in on this movement before the rest of the world catches on, and spend your Tuesday night at Gallery 5. You won’t regret it.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, May 30, 8 PM
Phobia, Diseased Earth, Organ Trail @ The Golden Pony – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Legendary California grindcore ragers Phobia have been around for damn near 30 years now, and despite many different trials and tribulations over that time, they continue rolling along at full speed — their forthcoming LP, Generation Coward, is something like their 16th release, and that’s not even counting the million split EPs they’ve done over the years. They’ve still got the fire in their bellies, though, as is clear from the new LP’s advance single, “Internet Tough Guy.” We’ve all known a few of those, am I right?

Anyway, Phobia are coming to Harrisonburg’s Golden Pony tomorrow night, and they’re going to rock the place like crazy. Roaring, growling vocals, grinding thrash guitar riffs, and super-fast blast beats aplenty await the fortunate souls who stumble into the Golden Pony. It’s going to be awesome, especially with regional powerhouses Diseased Earth and Organ Trail (not the computer game you played in middle school — oh my, no) dropping a bomb loaded full of death-metallic grind power on you to kick this night off. Be ready to bang your head, because you’re going to be doing a lot of that.

Saturday, June 1, 8 PM
Blue Streak, The Great Noise, Bacchae, W I S H, Wring Out @ West Beach Tavern – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Hardcore isn’t just a sound, it’s a culture. Want proof? Check out hardcore bands like Angel Du$t, or Culture Abuse — bands that are both beloved in the scene and bear no resemblance to Minor Threat, Black Flag, Bad Brains, or any of the other agreed-upon touchstones of the sound. But their members have played hardcore music before, so hardcore kids are willing to check them out. Blue Streak might be another one of those bands; featuring members of Give, Red Death, and — sure enough — Angel Du$t, this group nonetheless brings a sound that comes much closer to indie pop and alternative rock than anything approaching hardcore.

Will the kids love it nonetheless? It’s an open question with this relatively new band, who’ve only released two singles thus far. However, considering the quality of the songs on offer, they certainly should. And those of you who couldn’t care less about hardcore might want to consider doing so as well. Fans of everything from Sloan to Braid to The Breeders are going to hear things they really like in this band’s sound — regardless of cultural affiliation. They’ll be playing with a bunch of other melodic indie, alt-rock, and shoegaze groups as well, so you’re sure to have a full night of joy with fellow DC power-poppers Bacchae, Hampton Roads killers The Great Noise, and even Richmond’s own hazy-guitar maestros, W I S H. What are you waiting for? Get down with 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]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

Marilyn Drew Necci | April 17, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elsewhere around the state:

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

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

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

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

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: March 13 – March 19

Marilyn Drew Necci | March 13, 2019

Topics: Adrian Belew, Antenora, Bandito's, Bear Bones, Ben Butterworth & Friends, Cary Street Cafe, Castle Black, Champion RVA, Colin Phils, Dead Friends, Dens, Desert Altar, Dissention, Fellowship, Genosha, Gutted Christ, He Is Legend, Knife Spitter, Kristeva, Leach, Light The Torch, Lounge Lizzard, Lucifer, Mark Morton, MJ Le'vay, Moon Tooth, No Convictions, Pissing Contest, Prabir Trio, Riffhouse Pub, Righter, Saul Zonana, Serpentshrine, shows you must see, Spasyt Out, Spell, Strawberry Moon, The Astral Void, The Broadberry, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Skin, Thirst For The Sea, Turbo Mansion, Yet To Fall

FEATURED SHOW
Wednesday, March 13, 7 PM
Mark Morton, Light The Torch, Moon Tooth @ The Broadberry – $25 (order tickets HERE)
Interesting things are afoot in the world of Richmond metal. You might have heard recently about one thing a member of Lamb Of God got up to in his spare time — specifically, Randy Blythe organizing a crew of kazoo players to chase away the Westboro Baptist Church when they came to town — but it seems that guitarist Mark Morton’s solo album has slipped a little more under the radar.

Well, the time for such a lack of attention has ended — Morton’s solo debut, Anesthetic, was released a couple of weeks ago, and he’s about to go on tour supporting it. He’ll start the whole shebang at the Broadberry tonight. Yes, tonight, so you better get a jump on those tickets! On the album, Morton brings in a variety of celebrity guests to contribute vocals, from metal legends like Testament’s Chuck Billy to alt-rock superstars like Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/QOTSA) and the late Chester Bennington (Linkin Park). However, the touring band will feature only one vocalist, Mark Morales, who is also in the sludgy alt-rock/grunge group Sons Of Texas and happens to be the only singer who contributed more than one lead vocal to Anesthetic.

With a lineup rounded out by other members of Sons Of Texas, Bad Wolves, and Prong, Morton’s solo band is sure to do justice to the tunes on his new album. You’ll get a chance to hear the Lamb Of God axeman stretch out, indulging in side trips into blues, grunge, and Southern rock that wouldn’t show up in his main group, even as he and his band still totally rock your face off. With touring heaviness from Light The Torch and Moon Tooth also on the bill, this one is sure to rock you through and through. So don’t miss out — there’s things going on you don’t know.

Wednesday, March 13, 10 PM
Prabir Trio, Ben Butterworth & Friends @ Cary Street Cafe – Free!
Tonight at Cary Street Cafe, this town’s love affair with Fan institution Bamboo Cafe gets taken to a totally new level. Prabir Mehta’s latest musical ensemble, the Prabir Trio, will be releasing a new cassette featuring a musical tribute to Bamboo, and they’ll be holding a release party to celebrate. It’s happening at Cary Street Cafe — according to Prabir, because it’s the closest Richmond venue to Bamboo — and I’m sure there’ll be an after-party at Bamboo later.

The Prabir Trio, which brings singer-guitarist-songwriter Prabir Mehta together with Richmond mainstays Russell Lacy on bass and Kelli Strawbridge on drums, has a Beatles-via-Strokes rock n’ roll urgency that simultaneously evokes past Prabir projects like Goldrush and the Substitutes while also taking the most stripped-down, direct approach Mr. Mehta has yet taken to his music. The result is some great singalong tunes that will rock and roll you all night long. Don’t miss the party tonight, don’t miss the new tape, and don’t miss Ben Butterworth & Friends, who will offer a more laid-back, folky approach with their singer-songwriter sound. This night is definitely worth your time, especially since it’s free! See you there.

Thursday, March 14, 7 PM
Adrian Belew, Saul Zonana @ The Broadberry – $25 in advance/$30 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Adrian Belew is a legend in the worlds of prog-rock and postpunk. Early in his career, he played on classic albums by David Bowie, Frank Zappa, and the Talking Heads, before joining King Crimson and remaining in the constantly-evolving ensemble for around 30 years. He has also had a thriving solo career throughout that time, releasing nearly 20 solo albums over the course of four decades.

Belew’s just about to release his 16th solo album and first in ten years, Pop Sided, and it’s the tour for that album that brings him here to Richmond. While his unorthodox approach to guitar playing has definitely led him to some pretty wild extremes over the course of his career, the material he’s currently playing focuses on his unerring sense of off-kilter pop hooks, and based on live recordings that have made the internet thus far (because the album isn’t out yet, womp womp), it seems he’s got some of the catchiest tunes of his career for us when he hits the Broadberry stage tomorrow night. So get stoked, all you prog-heads — a true guitar hero is about to dazzle us all.

Friday, March 15, 6 PM
He Is Legend, DENS, Dead Friends, Followship, Thirst For The Sea, Genosha @ The Canal Club – $15 (order tickets HERE)
If you’ve heard anything about He Is Legend this week, it’s probably been related to Demi Lovato posting an Instagram story in which she sang along with their classic first LP, I Am Hollywood. But this doesn’t seem to me to be particularly noteworthy news — partly because we’ve known for over a decade that Demi Lovato’s just a metalcore kid who somehow got famous as a pop singer, and partly because it shouldn’t surprise anyone when someone is stoked about He Is Legend’s excellent tunes.

The North Carolina quartet did indeed make their name on that classic debut, but they’ve released four more LPs since then, and despite their evolution to incorporate both more Southern-fried metal licks and clean-vocal melodies, they’re still kicking out the jams as hard as ever, especially if their latest single, “White Bat,” is an accurate indication. It’s safe to assume so, and to roll out to this show ready to headbang. There’s a ton of local and regional talent on the bill to support this one and keep you rocking all night, but if we’re honest, He Is Legend is what it’s all about. That’s right… I said it.

Saturday, March 16, 9 PM
Post-Rock The Block, feat. Kristeva, Colin Phils, Desert Altar, Righter @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
If we’re honest, we’ll all admit that Shamrock The Block is always a bit of a mess. A Saint Patrick’s Day party in the middle of the street with green beer everywhere? What could go wrong? But seriously, whether you attend with glee or avoid that entire part of town all day, we can all agree that it’ll be nice to have a relaxing come-down party at The Camel that night. The fact that Kristeva and Colin Phils will be headlining an evening of post-rock to soothe your nerves, calm your troubled brain, and help you regain your equilibrium.

Kristeva are a post-rock group in the classic sense, complete with lengthy, dynamic instrumentals and plentiful integration of everything from violins to delay pedals. They’ll be celebrating the release of their new cassette, Goliad, which features some downright beautiful melodies as well as some moments of dramatic volume. Goliad is an evocative, enjoyable listen, and Kristeva’s live set is sure to be all that and more/louder. They’re joined by Colin Phils, who’ve done an excellent job of making their name as a math-rock powerhouse since arriving in Richmond from Korea a few years ago. We can expect another helping of their magical excellence once they hit the stage this Saturday night too. And with Desert Altar bringing some stoner doom jams and Righter kicking off the night in proper indie fashion, this whole thing is sure to be a much-needed boost.

Sunday, March 17, 9 PM
Lounge Lizzard, Pissing Contest, The Skin @ Bandito’s – Free!
This one promises to be fun, even beyond the usual fun quotient to be had from a nacho-loaded free show at Bandito’s. Lounge Lizzard, a quartet that up until now has had very little music available, are releasing their new tape at this show. Based on what I’ve previously heard from this project featuring members from Toxic Moxie, Pissing Contest, Cremains, and more, it’s landed pretty squarely on the sort of snarling yet subtly melodic punk sound that was invented in California at the dawn of punk by legends like The Avengers (who had nothing to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and The Dils.

Of course, there’s a good bit of 21st-century metallic crunch in there, as well as Sera Stavroula’s always-incredible vocal prowess, which all of us Toxic Moxie fans are intimately familiar with by now. Meanwhile, if you don’t already know Pissing Contest, you’re in luck, because this local snotty punk group is playing this show as well. They literally start a song by yelling “One-two-fuck-you!” so you know what you’re in for. Expect bondage pants and spray-painted leather jackets. Enjoyably strange noise-rock group The Skin will open this one up, marking their first live performance in quite a while and a welcome return indeed. The punks will dig this one, for sure — as will anyone who enjoys some good clean irreverent fun. For your sake, I hope that category includes you.

Monday, March 18, 7 PM
Lucifer, Spell, The Astral Void @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
The classic days of the Satanic panic and me having to hide my Slayer tapes from my mom didn’t happen until the 80s, but in hindsight, it seems like metal’s prime days of pagan witchery and dark hints of the occult began back in the early 70s with first-wave metal bands like Black Widow, Coven, and Pentagram. Lucifer have only been around for half a decade themselves, but this Swedish group manages to perfectly hark back to that classic spooky time in metal on their latest album, Lucifer II.

Now they’re bringing that sound to Richmond, with a performance at The Camel on Monday night. Don’t expect the typical “retro-doom” thing from this band — vocalist Johanna Sadonis’s dulcet tones bring strong melodies into the mix, and the addition in 2017 of legendary Swedish metal musician Nicke Andersson (Entombed, Hellacopters) to Lucifer has added a definite taste of psychedelic astral-plane soaring to the overall mix. Basically, if you’re looking for the kind of music that would be right at home on the soundtrack to a sun-baked film about pagan bikers carving a trail of death and destruction across California in 1970, this group will bring it to life for you, right here onstage at The Camel. Hell of a way to spend your Monday night, am I right? You won’t get another chance like this, so don’t blow it.

Tuesday, March 19, 7:30 PM
Bear Bones, Castle Black, Strawberry Moon, Turbo Mansion, Leach @ Champion RVA – Free!
It’s been really nice to see shows happening more often at Champion as we’ve headed into 2019. Every venue willing to pick up the slack after the staggering loss of Strange Matter is a positive thing for the health of our live music scene. And Champion’s got a proven track record of putting on some pretty great shows, too, so this free Tuesday night show at Champion stands in good company.

This one finds our city playing host to two touring bands from various points around the country, as well as some rad local mainstays. Bear Bones are a duo from Detroit with a heavy sound that’s in no way hampered by their lack of a bass player. Meanwhile, New York’s Castle Black have more of a driving rock sound, one that can go in more of a heavy direction or a darkly melodic one — both are demonstrated capably on their 2018 EP, The Gods That Adored You. Both of these bands will rock you hard at Champion Tuesday night, and of course, local openers Strawberry Moon, Turbo Mansion, and Leach all have sounds of their own that are well worth hearing if you haven’t been acquainted with them yet. And if you have, why not check ’em out again? This one is worth the trip out on a Tuesday night, so go ahead and make it.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, March 15, 8 PM
Antenora, Gutted Christ, Serpentshrine @ RiffHouse Pub – $5
Heavy music always has a home in the Tidewater area, and that’s never a bad thing. Over at RiffHouse this Friday night, you metalheads will get to experience a treat, as North Carolina shredders Antenora join up with Hampton Roads locals Gutted Christ for a show full of chunky riffs, shrieking vocals, and blasting drums. Antenora have a bit more of a black metal-derived thing going on, although that whole At The Gates-ish Gothenburg sound shows through quite a bit as well on their album Horrors, released last fall. These guys are sure to get heads banging at the RiffHouse.

The same can certainly be said of VA Beach’s Gutted Christ, though they take more of a low-end path to get there. Where Antenora pulls more from Northern European thrash, Gutted Christ show some strong Southern death metal influences, with guttural vocals and double bass aplenty. 2016 LP The Sower Ov Discord shows a definite Florida/Morrisound influence that’s sure to please the Morbid Angel fans out there. The evening will begin with a set from Norfolk’s Serpentshrine, who split the difference between the other two bands on this bill by harking back to the early days of both black metal and death metal. Their latest EP, Occultum Exordium, is sure to please fans of Bathory and of Autopsy equally, just as this show will get all flavors of metalheads stomping around with hair flying.

Tuesday, March 19, 7 PM
No Convictions, Knife Spitter, Yet To Fall, Dissention, MJ Le’vay, Spasyt Out @ RiffHouse Pub – $8
That whole Shattered Realm school of ridiculously heavy hardcore hasn’t died out, y’all, and if you need proof, look no further than this show from Florida’s No Convictions at RiffHouse. Deep, deep vocals, blasting fast parts, borderline-sludgy breakdowns, and to top all that off, they actually do mosh calls on their 2018 self-titled EP, just to get you even more hyped to do spinkicks in front of your bedroom mirror.

Imagine how much harder all that’s gonna hit when it happens live onstage, and you’re well on your way to imagining just how crazy this Tuesday night show promises to be. Be prepared to call in to work the next morning, because if you don’t mosh yourself into oblivion during No Convictions’ set, you can rest assured that Maryland’s Knife Spitter will take you the rest of the way there. These guys are more about the brutal breakdowns than the low-end sludge, but once you’re in the pit, who’s splitting hairs? This is looking like a guaranteed head-walking good time (even if the opening acts, as is somewhat standard for Hampton Roads these days, are … kinda random), so start doing your leg stretches now.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond