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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: December 22 – December 28

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FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, December 26, 6:30 PM
Fighting Gravity @ The National – $20 in advance, $22.50 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Beyond holiday-themed extravaganza’s like J. Roddy Walston’s “Christmas to the Bone” show last week, the holiday season is good for two things in the world of live music. The first of the two is reunion shows (we’ll get to the second one in a bit). Just as people have been known to show back up at old haunts when they come back to town to see their families, running into old friends and long-lost faces, bands are prone to the same sort of thing. This year, the day after Christmas sees the men of Fighting Gravity get back together once again for a Sunday night show at The National.

Young whippersnappers may not remember that name, but the name Fighting Gravity — or maybe their original name, Boy O Boy — is sure to strike a chord of recognition for many of us who’ve been around the music scene of this city for a long time. A mainstay of Richmond music in the 90s, Fighting Gravity were on Mercury Records at one point, but never quite broke through into the mainstream. Throughout their original active era, though, massive crowds piled into sweaty basements, frat houses, and eventually buildings the size of The National (the Flood Zone played that role in the Richmond of the 90s — now it’s been turned into condos) to dance and rock out to the horn-driven ska sound, which grew less straight-up ska and more alternative rock as they matured.

That whole thing came to an end as the 90s rolled into the 00s, but a few years ago, many of the core members got back together to do a few reunion shows, which brought them to The National in 2017. Clearly, they had a lot of fun, because now, as the holiday season brings us back to our roots and reminds us of the places and things we once loved, they’re coming together one more time for a big all-out reunion show at The National. So call up all your old friends, get your baggy shorts and striped shirts out of the closet, turn your baseball cap backwards, and head down there the day after Christmas to skank your butt off like you used to when you were 18. But be sure to limber up first — none of us are as young as we once were.

Wednesday, December 22, 7 PM
Vexine, Santamaria Bros @ Main Line Brewery – Free!
Here’s another holiday reunion for ya! In light of the fact that live music as a whole ground to a halt in Richmond back at the beginning of 2020, you might not have noticed that long-running local rock n’ roll quartet Vexine came to a stop back around then too. But they are playing again tonight, at Main Line Brewery, for the first time in a good while, and that’s a reason to bust out your dancing shoes if you ever needed one. Singer Sarah Gleason’s sassy, energetic vocal performances are only matched by her incredible outfits, and the powerful tunes the three men backing her up bring to the table — as most recently showcased on 2017 LP Little Sin — have all the rhythmic muscle and guitar crunch you could ever want from a hard-rockin’ band. My best comparison would be Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, fronting some sort of unholy union of AC/DC and The Cramps. You want to get down with that, right? You know you do.

Opening the evening will be another less official reunion of sorts — the first performance in quite a while by the Santamaria Bros. This project consists of Vexine drummer Jorge Santamaria’s three sons; Andres on guitar, Josh on drums, and Gabe on bass. You might know Gabe from around town as the leader of the Flavor Project, one of the hosts of the Hustle Season Podcast, and an semi-regular contributor to RVA Magazine. But this performance will see he and his brothers getting back to their roots, rocking together as a family band, the way they did when they were still kids. It should be a lot of fun, and that old-home-week spirit will be perfect for the holidays. So come check the whole thing out at Main Line Brewery tonight — you won’t be sorry. (PS — Bring your vax card, because a negative test won’t be enough to get you into this fully-vaxed-only event.)

Thursday, December 23, 8 PM
Fear Of Music Christmas Eve Eve Party, with Tiny Lights @ The Broadberry – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Here’s the other big thing in the world of live music that the holidays are always good for: tribute band shows! After all, what could be a better soundtrack for a meetup with all your old friends who are back in town for the holidays than a set of songs you know very well, performed by a band whose main goal is just to have some fun doing songs they also love? You don’t have to feel too bad if you and one of your friends get into a serious conversation back by the bar and miss a few songs. On the other hand, you know going down front and singing along is sure to be a great time. You really can’t lose!

Fear Of Music are a big-time player in the tribute game around Richmond; they’ve been doing this for a while, and they’ve got their technique down. Talking Heads aren’t the easiest band to pay tribute to, but these guys prove that if you work hard and keep practiced, you can get down to the business of getting funky and quirky with the best of them. I personally don’t think of Talking Heads as that big of a holiday band, so I am intrigued to see what Fear Of Music come up with to make this “Christmas Eve Eve” show stand out, but I’m sure it will offer a great evening of music and fun. With recently formed Richmond rock n’ roll trio Tiny Lights on the bill, the evening will be rocking throughout, so show up on time and get ready for some fun.

Sunday, December 26, 8 PM
Citrus City Presents Intergalactic Congregation, a Tribe 95 Service, with DuctTape Jesus, Dogfuq @ The Camel – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
As they’re Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Friday and Saturday of this week are totally off the table in terms of live music. That might seem like a bummer if you think about the fact that those two nights are always the most active ones in terms of shows. You may ask yourself, “Why couldn’t they have put this holiday on a Monday or a Tuesday?” But rest assured, all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds, and if you really want a killer show to act as the highlight of your weekend, Citrus City has one right here for you, in the form of Tribe 95’s Intergalactic Congregation at The Camel.

Now, as we learned a few weeks ago, Tribe 95 is a collective made up of several leading lights of the Richmond hip hop scene. We have no idea which ones are planning to perform at this particular event, but with a roster that includes Clwdwlker, Ty Sorrell, Billy Capricorn, Luther, and Tron Javolta, you pretty much can’t go wrong no matter who shows up. What’s even better is that they’ve got two other up-and-coming rappers showing off their talent on this show. DuctTape Jesus sets his sure-footed flows overtop of beats that sound like cassettes that have spent time underwater and sometimes all but overwhelm his vocals to create an immersive mood that might just make you feel a little high. Dogfuq (yeah, it’s pronounced how you think it’s pronounced) takes a quirkier approach that sometimes makes me think of Aesop Rock, though mostly it’s just too unique to tag with any sort of comparison. And that right there is reason enough to see them perform, if you ask me. Do it up, y’all — make your Christmas weekend one to remember.

Monday, December 27, 7 PM
Barstool Rodeo, The Freightliner Acoustic Duo @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Here’s another tribute band taking the opportunity provided by the holiday season to throw a big party full of jams from a band everyone involved loves. Barstool Rodeo are a tribute to Widespread Panic — strictly the Michael Houser era, before one of the band’s co-founders passed away from cancer back in 2002. I actually saw Widespread Panic back then; they played the college I was a semester away from dropping out of. I admit I didn’t get it; their whole Southern twist on the jam bands of the 90s harked back to prime Allman Bros while pointing forward towards the Drive-By Truckers, and I was too much of an 18 year old punk kid to vibe with it. These days, though, I definitely see the appeal. Albums like Ain’t Life Grand and Bombs And Butterflies seem to have a lot to offer that I just couldn’t pick up on as a younger person.

Sadly, I don’t have the chance now to go back and appreciate the show I saw by the Michael Houser-era Widespread Panic. But I can go see Barstool Rodeo recreate that era and those tunes this Monday night, and since it’s the closest we can get, I think it’s definitely worth doing. An opening set from The Freightliner Acoustic Duo, which I’m guessing will see Freightliners leader Paulo Franco pair up with one of his bandmates for a stripped-down set of Freightliners faves, will also do quite a bit to make this a great way to spend your Monday night. So head on down to The Camel and jam with the jam heads. It’ll do you right every time.

Tuesday, December 28, 8 PM
PPL Mag, Koro, E 33rd @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I wanted to write about Ppl Mag a while back, and just as I was getting the column ready that week, the show got cancelled. So consider this a long-overdue recommendation to see a band that brings together many talents from a variety of different corners of the Richmond music scene. Ppl Mag has a smooth sound that brings in touches of jazz and classic soul while remaining thoroughly modern. Putting local vocal powerhouse Brittany O’Neil up front is a particularly great idea for this group, and she’s backed by members of bands like Toxic Moxie, Silo Effect, and Dumb Waiter, among others — so you know the talent level is top-notch.

So yeah, you definitely want to come out to The Camel this Tuesday night just to get familiar with what Ppl Mag are up to. As for Koro, well, it took some looking — first I had to make sure that the blistering early 80s Tennessee hardcore band hadn’t gotten back together and gone on a low-profile reunion tour. That would have been headline news — but no, this Koro is a Richmond band, also known as Korodelic, which brings together three equally significant local talents: Jackson Shurlds (McKinley Dixon), Nekoro Williams (People’s Blues of Richmond), and Neal Perrine (composer/solo artist). What they’re coming up with together isn’t available online yet, so you’ll have to go to this show and find out more — but with those guys in the band, doing so is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. Local soul-jazz quartet E 33rd gets things rolling on this fine night. Come groove 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]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: December 15 – December 21

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FEATURED SHOWS
Punks For Presents 2021
Night Three: Friday, December 17, 7 PM
Should I Sleigh Or Should I Go, Operation Icy, Shiverdales, Media Blitzen, The Jam-gle Bells @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Night Four: Saturday, December 18, 4 PM
High Voltage, Faith Sno More, Smashing Presents, Smooch, Sledpultura @ Hardywood – $10 (order tickets HERE)
What, you thought that last weekend’s heaping helping of Christmas-themed punk/metal tribute bands playing in support of the Children’s Hospital of Richmond was enough for one holiday season? Think again, punk! Punks For Presents is back for another jam-packed weekend of Christmas-themed tribute shows — enough to keep you smiling all the way through the day-after-Christmas sales and straight up to New Year’s Eve (when we can finally, hopefully, look forward to a better year than these last two have been).

Punks For Presents have spread the love amongst four different venues this year (five, if you count last week’s comedy show at Cobra Cabana — and we probably should), so this Friday night sees a crop of new tribute acts invading the ever-popular Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House. Should I Sleigh Or Should I Go is a new twist on The Clash from at least a couple of people you’ve seen do similar things before. Regardless, these songs are true singalong anthems and will be a blast. Then we have Operation Icy, who’ve been putting a Yuletide theme on the songs of pioneering ska-punkers Operation Ivy for years now. Shiverdales make me feel old, because I remember when the Riverdales were just “Ben Weasel and Danny Vapid’s new band” and Screeching Weasel were seen as the one true tribute-worthy Chicago pop-punk act. But hey, maybe they’ll make me reevaluate all those later records I never gave much of a chance. Rounding the whole thing out will be new ensembles paying tribute for the first time to The Jam (excellent) and The Germs (I fully expect to see some guy smearing peppermints all over his body during this one — don’t let me down).

Saturday night will draw the festivities to a close, and it’ll feel like Christmas has come early to our final venue of the year, craft brew and live music stalwarts Hardywood, as Richmond’s own Bon Scott-era AC/DC tribute act, High Voltage, will return once again to electrocute you with that faulty strand of Christmas lights you thought you threw away last year. I’ve been watching a lot of Australian stock car racing (they know what’s up — the series theme song is “Highway To Hell”) over the past few months, so I’m proper stoked for this one. Veteran Richmond-based Smashing Pumpkins tribute act Geek RVA will don their yuletide apparel and perform as Smashing Presents, and the much-beloved Faith Sno More will remind us all how truly great Mike Patton’s most famous project are. Then there are a couple of new additions to the Punks For Presents stages to round things all out. Smooch reminds me of the way multiple KISS tribute acts used to come through Richmond regularly back in the 90s. Time heals all wounds, I suppose, and I for one am finally ready to hear a holiday spin on “Strutter.” Make it happen, y’all. Then there’s Sledpultura, giving us a set of heavy-as-fuck chugging thrash from Brazilian legends Sepultura. I’m here for it. I’m here for ALL of it. You should be too.

Wednesday, December 15, 7 PM
Betcha, 90s Kids, Broke Royals @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
When I hear the name Betcha my brain just goes “…by golly, wow!” Which should confirm all the rumors you’ve heard over the years. It’s true: I am a goofball. But you knew that — you read this column. Anyway, let’s get to this actual show. Betcha are from Nashville, and they are apparently signed to Atlantic, which is interesting to me because I feel like they exist farther below the radar than a lot of indie-label bands in the year 2021. That’s probably not deserved, though — based on 2021 singles “5 AM” and “Grey Skies,” these guys are very good at the whole melodic alt-rock thing. Whether you’re more a fan of bands like Knuckle Puck or Panic At The Disco, Betcha’s upbeat tuneage and catchy choruses are sure to split the difference and get you dancing.

Then there are 90s Kids, a band named after the decade during which I came of age and, I’m guessing, they were born. These grey streaks in my hair aren’t the only things making me feel old, kids! The nostalgia angle this band brings to their catchy tunes, which land on the smoother, more melodic/heart-on-sleeve end of the emo/pop-punk spectrum, distinguishes them from Betcha in some ways. But in other ways, this tour is the perfect pairing of two bands whose catchy jams are perfect for getting your feet moving. Don’t worry about all the references to some supposed halcyon time before Y2K and 9/11 (I was there, y’all — now is better); just enjoy the lovely sounds. Richmond’s own Broke Royals will provide a bit more of those to kick this evening off. Show up on time — you won’t regret it.

Thursday, December 16, 9 PM
Jeremy Pinnell, Kristina Murray, Tess Fisher @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10 in advance, $12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Do you remember country music? Not the oh-so-modern stuff, laden with exaggerated twangs, 80s power-ballad guitar solos, and a million lyrical references to $80,000 trucks normal people can’t afford without a ten-year loan? (Public Service Announcement: do NOT get a ten-year car loan. Just don’t.) That shit is suburban-jerk music. I’m talking about music made by people from small towns, who understand what it means to struggle to feed their families, or to find a way to live with the skeletons in their closets and the demons that haunt their minds. That stuff was good. I miss that stuff.

Thankfully, at least this Thursday night, I don’t have to, because Jeremy Pinnell is coming to town with a strong dose of the cure to what ails me; real, honest-to-god country music that can be related to by someone who doesn’t own a house or a car made less than 15 years ago. Pinnell’s latest album, Goodbye LA, is real music about real people with real lives. And yeah, it’s got some twang, but it’s real twang, not some shit a vocal coach taught a guy from Iowa how to do right before he went into the studio. Pinnell’s country music is the real deal, and we could all use more of that in our lives. Openers on this set will include Kristina Murray, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter with a strong country foundation, and Richmond’s own Tess Fisher, whose music I mainly know from her time fronting the uncategorizably heavy Petrichor. A solo set from Tess is sure to be intriguing, and to whet your appetite for the excellence to follow.

Friday, December 17, 8 PM
Ten Pound Snail, Foxhedge, Martial’s Law, Emil & The Cosmonauts @ Black Iris – $7 in advance, $10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s been interesting, since the return of this column a month or so ago, to take stock of how much the Richmond live music scene has changed in the year and a half since the pandemic put paid to a lot of previously thriving cultural activities. One thing I’ve noticed is that all the big touring bands who I used to put at the top of these columns in past years (Every Time I Die, Archers of Loaf, etc) sell out their Richmond shows before I even get a chance to write about them. Another thing I’ve noticed is that most of the local mainstays have gone through big changes. New bands have sprung up and started playing shows while I was still hidden away protecting my 45-year-old ass from the pandemic, while familiar names I’d gotten used to seeing on the list week after week are suddenly nowhere to be found.

All of this is to say that Ten Pound Snail was a brand new presence to me when I returned to this beat, but I’m quickly learning that they’re one of the more active local ensembles circa the end of 2021. They released Parlor Tricks, an EP of moody indie/slowcore a la Red House Painters, back in May, and this is not the only local show I’ve seen them top the bill of over the past few months. I’m still relatively unfamiliar with this bubbling-under trio, but I think we all should definitely be paying attention to what they’re up to. If you haven’t seen them yet, this show makes a great first step. What’s more, equally unfamiliar local openers like the quirky indie group Emil & the Cosmonauts, or total ungoogleable mystery band Martial’s Law, offer more tastes of the new generation. And of course, New Jersey janglemeisters Foxhedge add a lovely sound from out of town to the whole thing — just for spice. Kick it up a notch, y’all.

Saturday, December 18, 8 PM
Classical Revolution RVA presents: Listen Local, feat. compositions by Colton Dodd, David Robbins, Curt Sydnor, Donovan Williams @ Gallery 5 – Free! (Donations encouraged)
We get used to focusing on popular music here at RVA Mag, but if we’re intending to be true students of the ongoing evolution of music in all its forms, that sometimes requires that we widen our gaze a bit. Thankfully, Classical Revolution RVA also understands that music involving complex compositions and wide-ranging instrumentation must be brought down from the conservatory and out of the symphony halls to reach the people — so there are lovely nights like this free Saturday exhibition at Gallery 5 in which we can meet the sometimes-opaque world of classical music halfway, and learn a little something about the wide range of music being made right here in our hometown while we’re at it.

This event, entitled “Listen Local,” will feature an evening of performances by Classical Revolution RVA of music composed by Richmond composers. Whether that’s Colton Dodd, a classically trained pianist and VCU graduate who now writes scores for films, dances, and video games; David Robbins, who plays piano for the Richmond Ballet and works regularly for the Virginia Symphony; Curt Sydnor, a local teacher and church organist who released an album last year on local experimental label Out Of Our Head Records; or Donovan Williams, a high school student and violin prodigy who also excels on the football field; all of them have something unique to offer that you’ll never get at a basement show or a dirty punk club. So come down to Gallery 5 and expand your musical mind with this evening of unexpected sounds from right here in your hometown. You won’t be sorry.

Sunday, December 19, 7 PM
J. Roddy Walston presents: Christmas To The Bone! @ The Broadberry – $30 in advance, $35 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Piano-pounding rock n’ roll wildman J. Roddy Walston hasn’t always been based in Richmond. But since his arrival in town most of a decade ago (my, how time flies), he’s been embraced by the local scene and played a ton of wild gigs around the river city over the years. We thrilled to his original hard-rockin’ band, The Business, and we’ve all enjoyed his latest project, Palm Palm, in which he’s paired with some of the most talented performers this city’s seen in a long time. But now he’s up to a whole new thing, a holiday-themed thing, no less, and he’s taking it up and down the East Coast to spread Christmas cheer to fans throughout the nation.

What exactly is J. Roddy Walston’s Christmas To The Bone! Well, to hear him tell it, he and his wife, along with a “raging holiday band,” are going to be performing multiple sets of excellent J. Roddy music for all who show up. No openers, just J. Roddy doing one set of tunes old and new from the J. Roddy songbook, and one set of holiday classics given a new twist by the man himself. Do you like to rock? Well then, I can’t imagine you won’t like this. It’s just like Christmas, really: you might not know exactly what’s going to be under the tree when you go to unwrap those shiny packages, but you know it’s prepared with love, and you know you’re going to enjoy it. So come get J. Roddy Walston’s Christmas present to Richmond this Sunday, and enjoy a little bit of early Christmas cheer. It’s gonna be a fine time.

Monday, December 20, 8 PM
Sono Lumini, Dan & The Fam @ The Camel – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I must say, the Camel’s been doing a great job of holding it down on the less highly-trafficked live music nights over the past several weeks. There was a time when I could always count on Strange Matter to have the early days of the week covered with some great music; with Strange Matter sadly gone, the Camel has stepped into the breach and made it its mission to bring us essential tuneage, even on a Monday. It’s not necessarily anything big, but when we’re all attempting to shake off yet another bout of the Mondays, it can make a crucial difference.

This week, it’s Sono Lumini, coming to us from Winchester, VA, via Athens, GA (I guess? Conflicting online band bios ahoy!). Regardless of where they’re from, this instrumental combo makes fun, jazz-fusion type music that should appeal equally to fans of John McLaughlin, Jerry Garcia, and Dopapod. So yeah, get down with it. They’ll be bringing Dan & The Fam along, which appears to be a project of local guitarist Danny Jams. Normally, he uses loops and backing tracks to keep his funky solo guitar styles grounded; as far as I can tell, though, Dan & The Fam is what happens when he performs with a backing band. I wouldn’t be shocked to find that this entire evening is vocal-free, but hey… isn’t that a nice change-up every now and then? Of course it is.

Tuesday, December 21, 7 PM
John Bradberry Trio presents: End Of The Year Party Type Thing @ The Camel – $5 (order tickets HERE)
J. Roddy Walston got all elaborate with his Christmas To The Bone event, above, but two days later, the John Bradberry Trio is just relaxing into a nice early-week holiday jam occasion with their “End of the Year Party Type Thing” at the Camel. John Bradberry maybe a familiar name to you if you know the Virginia band Faceship; this smaller combo finds the somewhat psychedelically-inclined guitarist pairing up with musicians from other Virginia luminaries including Dalton Dash, Jackass Flats, and The Southern Belles.

Now, what will ensue when they come together to celebrate the end of another long journey around the sun? It’s hard to say, but one thing we know for sure is that previously-unannounced special guests will be on hand. And with Christmas and New Years just around the corner, I don’t think anyone can be surprised if some holiday tunes end up on the set list. But the one thing we do know for sure is that this whole evening is going to be lots of fun with friendly people and great tunes. Who can get grinchy about that? Not me.

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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]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: December 8 – December 14

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FEATURED SHOW
Punks For Presents 2021
Night One: Friday, December 10, 8 PM
Imaginary Toys, X-Mas, Toy Division @ Wonderland – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Night Two: Saturday, December 11, 7 PM
Bouncing Coals, It’s A Wonderful Lifetime, Santa Day Real Estate, International Superheroes of Glory @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10 (order tickets HERE)
The holiday season is upon us, folks. That’s right, Christmas is coming, and while it appears that the Omicron variant is set to be the lump of coal in all of our stockings this year (get your vaccines! And if you’re vaccinated, get your booster!), we are at least lucky to have finagled a way to have a real life, in-person Punks For Presents celebration this year, stretching over multiple weekends of December in RVA. Let’s get stoked!

If you like comedy, you’ll get a prelude to the P4P festivities on Thursday night at Cobra Cabana, but the real beginning of this year’s odyssey of tribute bands is Friday night, when Imaginary Toys will top the bill at Shockoe Bottom’s favorite punk rock dive bar, Wonderland! Cure tribute Imaginary Boys has been a fixture at cover band shows in Richmond for ages now, and this is not the first time they’ve added a Christmas theme to their recreations of Robert Smith’s mope-rock standards, so they’re sure to entertain, especially if you’re the sort of goth who sometimes wonders what the happy happy holiday season could possibly have to offer you. They’ll be joined on this bill by X-Mas, returning to the Punks For Presents lineup for the first time in a few years to recreate the sordid LA tales and flawless boy-girl harmonies of first-wave Cali punks X. And the whole thing will be rounded out by Toy Division, who will put a Yuletide gloss on all those songs Ian Curtis wrote about how depressed he was. If nothing else, it should appeal to the Cure fans showing up for the headliner.

The next day, head out to the Northside and post up at Fuzzy Cactus, where the evening of Punks For Presents tribute bands on offer will take a less goth, more melodic punk approach. It’ll start with The Bouncing Coals, whose holiday-themed twist on Jersey punk legends The Bouncing Souls is sure to cause some excitement. Then we’ve got It’s A Wonderful Lifetime, who recreate the music of those great dancers from New Brunswick, Lifetime. Is it emo? Is it pop-punk? Is it hardcore? Somewhere inbetween all of those, I’d say. And by the way, I have no idea if this band has anything to do with the long-ago Richmond-based Lifetime tribute put together by members of Wow Owls and 10:33, but if not, it’s carrying on a proud local tradition. The Fuzzy Cactus bill will be rounded out by the emo Christmas tunes of Sunny Day Real Estate tribute act Santa Day Real Estate and the pizza-loving pop punk of New Found Glory tribute act International Superheroes of Glory. It’s gonna be a snow-covered blast, and it’s for a good cause (all proceeds raised by Punks For Presents will go to Children’s Hospital of Richmond), so do your part by coming out and rocking!

Wednesday, December 8, 8 PM
Tyler Nail, Patrick Zampetti @ The Tin Pan – $22.50 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been a while since I had the opportunity to shout out a show out at The West End’s premier sit-down venue, The Tin Pan, but I’m glad to be able to mention their name once again. You know it’s gonna be something on the more chill end of things if you’re heading out to the Tin Pan, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. Indeed, North Carolina singer-songwriter Tyler Nail has a downright hypnotic delivery on his acoustic Americana work — one that’s taken him a long way from his first shows, which were, if his website is to be believed, in a Taco Bell. Hey, at least the food was good.

Nail’s latest project is an EP called Devil, and the dark, foreboding sound of tracks like “Devil And A Deadman” is downright riveting. He brings an awareness in his music of deep-rooted Appalachian communities and the way things out in the country can sometimes get a little lawless; it’s the kind of thing a lot of Richmonders should appreciate, even if you’re more of a punk than a folkie. Maybe especially then. Nail’s joined at The Tin Pan by Patrick Zampetti, a local boy with an acoustic guitar and a riveting voice. This evening isn’t going to be all that loud, but it will certainly be memorable.

Thursday, December 9, 9 PM
Rezn, Lair, Doomsday Profit @ Bandito’s – Free!
Thursday night, on the other hand, will be loud. At least, it will be if you do what I recommend you do and go see Rezn at Bandito’s. Hey, the price is right. And if you need any further arguments to be marshalled in support of this recommendation, look no further than Chaotic Divine, the LP this Chicago quartet released last fall. Moving from spaced-out moments of pure psychedelia to crushing metal over the course of many lengthy epics, you might think this is another doom metal project. However, the fact that Rezn make use of all sorts of non-metal instruments over the course of this LP, from flute and saxophone to sitar, oud, and baglama, should tell you that Rezn have a lot more going on than any ordinary doom metal band you’re likely to encounter.

In fact, Rezn even released a limited-edition flexi earlier this year featuring a tune, “Mirror Mirage Dub,” that shows off their skill with the deceptively complex genre of dub reggae. These guys are sure to expand your horizons in all sorts of directions. But don’t worry, they’ll have plenty of headbanging moments on offer as well. Richmonders Lair will add to the headbanging opportunities, though they’ll take their sweet time getting there. Lair’s much more straightforward in their approach to doom metal, but they are far from boring, and they show it on the two-song release they put out last winter, At Our End. I don’t know whether to call it an EP or an LP, by the way, because on one hand it only has two songs on it, but on the other hand, those two songs add up to nearly 27 minutes of running time — longer than a lot of hardcore bands’ LPs. What I do know for sure is that it’s a deep, multilayered listening experience, and their set at Bandito’s is sure to be every bit as enthralling. North Carolina’s Doomsday Profit will round the evening out with some old-school downer sludge a la early Eyehategod. All this and the opportunity to dine on Bandito’s excellent nachos? What more could you want? (Yes, I will continue to mention their nachos every time I write about Bandito’s for the foreseeable future. Deal with it.)

Friday, December 10, 9 PM
Tasha, Mini Trees, S. Raekwon @ The Camel – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Things get downright emotional at The Camel this Friday night. And no, I don’t mean “emo” — if I meant emo, I’d say emo. I’m not afraid. But anyway, Tasha, who hails from Chicago, is a singer-songwriter who leads with her guitar, using her soft, muted sounds to tell stories about deep, dark feelings overtop of absolutely haunting tunes. Her brand new LP, Tell Me What You Miss The Most, is full of indelible melodies that sink deep into your soul and refuse to let go. Sometimes she’s backed by a band, and sometimes she’s on her own, but either way, she always grabs your attention and presents you with sounds you feel on the deepest level.

I will say that I don’t know whether Tasha’s coming to the Camel with a full band or on her own. However, I’m not sure it matters; her work has enough variety that you can tell she’ll be great in either format. Mini Trees, the Los Angeles-based project led by Lexi Vega, seems more likely to take the form of a full band, as they generally do on their new album, Always In Motion. Mini Trees also has more of an upbeat pop approach that, at least to me, seems to show the influence of West Coast weather on their vibes. These songs sound like they were written and recorded when the sun was out — but don’t make the mistake of assuming that makes them shallow. Like Tasha, Mini Trees is bringing real emotional depth to the fore, and their set is sure to move you. S. Raekwon, who is a New York-based singer-songwriter with (as far as I can tell) no ties to the Wu-Tang Clan, will get things started with a soulful approach to moody, guitar-driven pop. Get down with it.

Saturday, December 11, 7 PM
K Bay Presents: Benét, Kate Bollinger, Matthew E. White @ The Broadberry – $15 (order tickets HERE)
If you’ve been paying attention lately, you’re sure to know that K Bay is not only the name of Matthew E. White’s latest album, but also the name of the studio he built in his home as a sort of retreat from his Spacebomb base of operations. Therefore, the fact that this show is billed as a K Bay presentation, and features Matthew E. White at the bottom of the bill rather than the top, leads me to believe that he’s responsible for this entire bill. And therefore, you’ve got to figure that he put Benet at the top of the bill for a reason. So let’s talk about Benet, a local up-and-comer whose catchy dancefloor-filling tunes have been getting quite a bit of attention around the city and in the wider online world. They started out with last year’s Citrus City release, Stan Account, and followed up that EP with this year’s even more noteworthy collection of danceable tunes about love and romance, Game Over.

If you ask me, Benet is reason enough to show up to the Broadberry on Saturday night, Matthew E. White or no Matthew E. White. The addition of Kate Bollinger to the bill, another excellent Richmond singer-songwriter with a great new single, “Yards/Gardens,” further sweetens the pot. But of course, many of you are going to be showing up for the man himself, and you’ve got very good reasons for doing so. K Bay (the album, not the studio or the nebulous presenter of this event) is a collection of absolutely excellent tunes, showing off a wider variety of what White is capable of doing than any of his previous projects. Indeed, he lays out some dancefloor bangers of his own on this one, and you can expect tracks like “Let’s Ball” and “Electric” to be highlights of his set on this fine evening. Of course, if he drops some of his smoother balladry or even his quiet acoustic tunes, no one’s going to complain about that either. Really, whatever Matthew E. White wants to bring to Richmond, we’re sure to appreciate the resulting sounds. So let’s gather together and get down with it.

Sunday, December 12, 7 PM
LJ & the Sleeze, Zack Mexico, Piranha Rama @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
What do you say, folks — should we spend the final night of our weekend at the Camel? In light of the fact that it’s one of the best places to hang out in the whole damn city, has great food, and is full of cool people, I might just say so regardless of what sort of music they’ve got onstage that particular evening. But once you see the rock n’ roll triple bill this show has in store for you, Sunday night at The Camel goes from “a good bet” to “fucking essential.” First and foremost, we’ve got LJ & the Sleeze, the latest project from Max Henry Gottesman, which takes that whole undercurrent of adolescent horniness that’s always an essential component of garage rock and finds out what happens when you crank it up to 17 or so. So far, the results LJ & the Sleeze have gotten with this tactic have been stellar, and the word is that Max has now recruited a full time band to back them up, so you can expect even better things to come on this fine evening.

Then there’s the other two bands on the bill, both of whom are totally willing to expand the usual band lineup well beyond the standard quartet or quintet. North Carolina’s Zack Mexico are driven by the dual rhythms laid down by their two drummers, who join half a dozen other members in making some mind-expanding psychedelic pop that isn’t afraid to push all sorts of musical boundaries. You can tell that this is their vibe when you check the track listing of their 35-minute LP Sound Waves For The Relaxed And Dying, which came out back in the cursed month of March 2020 (our condolences, Zack Mexico), and see that it only contains five songs, the majority of which stretch to over eight minutes in length. Things are going to get epic. And of course, when Piranha Rama is onstage, this genre-hopping Richmond band will do Zack Mexico exactly one better by bringing NINE musicians into play, throwing everything from jazz and soul to punk and surf-rock into a potent brew of catchy tunes. Get ready, because here they come. All of them.

Monday, December 13, 7 PM
The Wormholes, Lucy In Battle Armor, Glossing, Solace Sovay @ The Camel – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
And hey, one good night at The Camel deserves another, am I right? Of course I’m right. This Monday night will get you back out to the venue after an action-packed weekend with some intriguing sonics from The Wormholes, a North Carolina duo with a penchant for art damage and a sound that incorporates everything from post-rock to psych-pop, and bases everything on the kind of up-to-the-minute indie sensibility that is guaranteed to make us all smile.

They are joined on this bill by a trio of Richmond ensembles, both new and veteran. Lucy In Battle Armor’s instrumental math-rock tunes have gotten more and more danceable as they’ve gone on, and the last we heard from them, back in 2019, brought us the super-fun SOPHE LP. Assuming they haven’t made any major changes since then, their set should get the whole place dancing, spacewalk-style. Then there’s Glossing, a brand new group featuring Richmond legend James Hoffer (who’s been in a million bands, including one with me! Wow, that was over 20 years ago), as well as former members of DC bands like Birds For Eyes and Broke Royals, coming together to do an entirely new thing. That’s sure to be worth hearing now rather than later, so get in on the ground floor for this one. Finally, Solace Sovay carries on their long-running tradition of bringing effects-laden alternative pop gems to the sound-starved denizens of the river city. Come down to the Camel on Monday and lap this one up.

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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]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: December 1 – December 7

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, December 4, 7 PM
Colin Phils, Houdan The Mystic, The Late Virginia Summers, Shapes In The Water @ Black Iris – $6 (order tickets HERE)
It sure is nice to see local music surviving and thriving in our post(?)-pandemic world. Live music shutting down completely for a year caused a lot of chaos for a lot of bands in this world, and while huge artists like Radiohead or Green Day or whoever could just live off all the money they’ve banked, a lot of times the loss of steady work for smaller bands led to breakups and indefinite hiatuses proliferating across the scene. Therefore, we can all be thankful that a quartet of veteran Virginia indie bands will be returning to form and bringing us all the sounds we love this Saturday night at Black Iris.

Colin Phils in particular was dealt a cruel blow by the pandemic; having released their latest LP, Trust Fall, at almost exactly the same time as the first big COVID shutdown hit us all back in March 2020, they were robbed the opportunity to travel around the country and the world showing off their latest work to both fans and new listeners. Since things came back online, they’ve been making up for lost time, touring around the East Coast and appearing live in a variety of places. And, by the way, with a variety of lineups. The photo accompanying this article documents the band’s lineup at the time Trust Fall was released, but I really can’t say for sure who (besides band mainstays Ben Tiner and Benjamin Mauch) will take the stage Saturday night. Rest assured, they’ll deliver you an unforgettable performance of some top-quality indie/math-rock/emo tunes regardless.

Colin Phils isn’t the only band making this Black Iris show worth your time, though; there’s also their former split partners Houdan The Mystic, a long-running local trio whose smooth, intricate math-rock sounds have been fascinating for screamo nerds, stoner indie heads, and everyone in-between for damn near a decade now. They may not have released anything since their aforementioned 2017 split with Colin Phils, but they just don’t like to rush. Rest assured, their music will still be right on time. The Late Virginia Summers, who hail from Lynchburg, have been enriching the VA indie scene with their synth-infused take on instrumental post-rock for over a decade now, and demonstrate that they’ve still got a lot to say on brand new release Beauty In The Ghost; expect them to show off some tunes from the new record on this night. Finally, Shapes In The Water released their debut LP only two years ago, but 3/4 of the band have a significantly longer history under the name From Fragile Seeds, and their new EP, Acedia, shows that their brand of intricate, post-rockified emo remains vital and is, if anything, getting better all the time.

Wednesday, December 1, 8 PM
The Octavias, Safari Room, Colpa Mia @ The Camel – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
A lot has happened for a lot of Richmond bands while the pandemic had us all holed up in our rooms. One example is the duo formerly known as Grem Smiley, who — like Colin Phils — released a record only weeks before the pandemic made live music a thing of the past for over a year. After their Canvas LP lost its chance to soar, the band went into a long woodshedding period that saw their former name go by the wayside in favor of the (indisputably improved) name The Octavias. They’ve only released two songs under that name so far, but the rollicking rock n’ roll bash that they unleash on debut single “Sometimes” is certainly enough to whet one’s appetite for a full set from these rippers.

That’s what we’ll get at The Camel tonight, but it’s not all we’ll get; Nashville’s Safari Room are coming through town as well, and their more melodic approach is sure to act as an intriguing contrast to the rave-ups of The Octavias. Apparently people have compared them to all sorts of groups in the past, and most of those comparisons seem way off to me, so let me avoid that pitfall and just tell you that their delicate, arpeggiated guitar lines and soaring vocal melodies occasionally give way to powerful crescendos that make the whole thing feel ecstatic. Locals Colpa Mia will be rounding out the bill with their catchy indie pop tunes, so you’ll get a solid dose of excellence from this one. Get with it.

Thursday, December 2, 7 PM
Lenne, The Impurity @ Another Round Bar And Grill – Free!
Over the past few years, Another Round has made itself the indisputable local home of unreconstructed metal, untainted by hipsters and retaining its pure original state — as raging music for frustrated working class headbangers. And don’t get me wrong, the hipster stuff has its place, but sometimes its nice not to have to try and pick up on the influences of bands who worship an obscure death metal demo released in 1987 by a band from Argentina who never toured and were only together for six months, or whatever. When Lenne and The Impurity play a free show at Another Round this Thursday night, you won’t have to worry about any of that.

Instead, what you’ll need to know is that Lenne is a project featuring members of Sevendust and The Infinite Staircase, among others, dealing out some heavy rockin’ metal with a strong blues influence. The melodic vocals follow in a similar vein to the band members’ previous projects, but rest assured, the whole thing still hits hard as hell. Tourmates The Impurity, who hail from Buffalo, NY, have a similar sound, but are definitely willing to do some growling and screaming at times. All of it’s gonna bowl you over, and if you want to bang your head, you’ll have plenty of opportunities. Plus, the price is right. Make it happen.

Friday, December 3, 9 PM
Smirk, Hard Copy, Magic Wand @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This Friday night, Fuzzy Cactus will bring you a heaping helping of the exact kind of sounds you expect from this town’s proudest “rock n’ roll bar”: some raw, primitive, quirky garage rock. Smirk is a California band that’s actually a one-man project by Nick Vicario, whose name you may know if you’re nerdy enough to be aware of groups like Crisis Man and Public Eye. Richmond’s own Feel It Records handled the release of Smirk’s LP, a vinyl release from earlier this year that combined both of the project’s earlier cassette releases. Only a couple of months ago, Smirk followed up this release with a new one entitled EP (I sense a theme here), featuring seven new songs that are pretty much all off-kilter basement pop gems.

So yeah, you’ll definitely want to catch Smirk when they come through town dispensing their offbeat anthems, even if I can’t actually tell you what form they’ll take live — a pickup backing band? One guy doing everything? Prominent use of drum machines? I have no idea, but it’s worth finding out! The music’s sure to be fun regardless. Along for the ride on this one are Hard Copy, a quartet with a postpunk vibe and snarky political lyrics featuring members of Fat Spirit, New Turks, and Young Adult Fiction, among others. Their EP from this spring is a lot of fun; one would think this set would be too. Fun local punks Magic Wand will round out a bill full of great tunes at the most rock n’ roll bar in town.

Saturday, December 4, 6 PM
Holy Roller, Devil’s Coattails, Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10 (order tickets HERE)
OK, so I just told you all about how rock n’ roll Fuzzy Cactus is in the last blurb, but never let it be said that they’re afraid to throw the occasional change-up. That’s what comes from this show starring headliners Holy Roller, who originally evolved out of Virginia quartet Big Mama Shakes a few years back. These days, Holy Roller have expanded to a six-piece, which pairs vocalist Brady Heck’s deep, soulful baritone with the unmistakable voice of talented Richmond singer-songwriter Rebekah Rafferty. The result, combined with the band’s Southern-rock tinges and subtle gospel flavorings, is a sound that fans of everything from Matthew E. White to Drive-By Truckers to Counting Crows should be able to appreciate.

Devil’s Coattails are also on the bill, and this ensemble goes even further outside the typical confines of “rock n’ roll” with their take on rootsy country sounds. Featuring members of The Dharma Bombs, Blush Face, the Pistol Sisters, and more, this six-piece — featuring two vocalists with some great interplay — lay down the kind of honky-tonk sounds you just can’t find in the world of mainstream country anymore. Plus, it’s got that freewheeling outlaw spirit. So in the end, it’s actually perfect for Fuzzy Cactus. As is Cassidy Snider, a homegrown blues singer with a soulful country vibe, who’ll be bringing her band The Wranglers along to kick this one off in fine fashion. So hey, make it a Fuzzy Cactus weekend, and on Saturday night, you’ll get to catch both kinds of music — country AND western.

Sunday, December 5, 7 PM
Nickelus F, Radio B, Michael Millions, NameBrand @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance, $25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Do the talented MCs and producers who make up the crew known as Association of Great Minds even need any sort of introduction anymore? At least here in Richmond, I would hope not. However, I’ve got a couple of paragraphs to fill, so we’re gonna go ahead and talk about the greatness of the four men bringing the latest edition of their “Flag On The Moon” to The Broadberry this Sunday night. Nickelus F is probably the first among equals here, as he’s been making his name with top-level rhymes and excellent beats for something like 15 years now. His last big high-profile release, Stuck, came out on Vinyl Conflict back in 2018, but he’s still making great tunes — and probably hoarding at least some of them away from public eyes, as was true of the two Gold Mine compilations he released in 2019. Here’s the thing — it’s all great. And whatever he does onstage Sunday night, whether it’s a Nick F classic or some shit you’ve never heard before, it’s going to be top-quality and unmissable. So don’t blow it.

Let me not take anything away from Radio B, though. Out of all of these artists, he’s the one who put out a new full-length most recently, with his fall 2020 release All Art Ain’t Pretty — a record with a cinematic approach and philosophical lyrics that are clearly influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests that took place in Richmond last year. Hearing these songs live will be worth the price of admission to this event on its own, so make sure you’re there. And of course, you’re gonna want to be on time, as Michael Millions and NameBrand, who are actually brothers as well as artists in their own right, will be performing as well. Michael’s last major project, Hard To Be King, is still blowing my mind damn near four years later (calling it now: I’m gonna be jamming “Blacksugar” on a regular basis for the rest of my damn life). As for NameBrand, his 2019 EP Grace is a soulful collection of instrumentals that makes a perfect soundtrack for those afternoons when you’re doing some deep thinking — and whatever he lays down at this show will surely do a great job of bringing you into the mindset AGM are out to create. Tap in.

Monday, December 6, 6:30 PM
Can’t Swim, Fanfare, Frames, Drop The Girl @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I know how it goes; after a weekend of live musical awesomeness, it can be difficult to keep the energy up for heading back out on Monday night. But you sleep on Can’t Swim at your own peril; this emotional rock band from New Jersey bring both melody and power to the equation that creates their brand new third LP, Change Of Plans. The result isn’t easily slotted into one genre or another, but you can hear all kinds of awesome things happening on it: chunky hardcore, melodic emo, pensive indie, driving rock, and even a tiny dose of metal cropping up at certain points.

The result is awesome on record, and it’s sure to be equally so in the live environment. So don’t miss out on this set — and don’t miss out on the trio of Richmond-based openers, all of whom have their own brand of catchy tuneage to present. Fanfare get downright pop-punky at times, but there’s some grit under there to keep things from getting too pretty or anything. As far as Frames goes, when you hear the name you might think of the band led by the Scottish guy from the movie Once, but that’s THE Frames. This Richmond band brings a heart-on-sleeve approach full of melody and yearning emotion, as documented very well on their 2019 EP Cursed. What have they got going on in these post-pandemic days? You’ll have to show up to find out. And openers Drop The Girl are a couple of charmingly goofy boys from Gloucester whose big pop-punk EP, Happy Again, was another March 2020 release that got totally outshined by the pandemic. Which is sad, because these guys are not just great fun, but actually great. Show up early and catch em all, Pokemon-style.

Tuesday, December 7, 7 PM
Wingtips, S Y Z Y G Y X, Jaguardini @ Fallout – $10 in advance, $15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s Tuesday night at Fallout, so just like any other night at Fallout, the plan is to get gothed-up, wear tons of black, and dance all night to some wonderfully moody sounds. This time around, those moody tunes will be provided primarily by Wingtips, a band whose name is probably not supposed to make me think of shoes, but, well, there you are. Upon first listen to their new LP, Cutting Room Floor, and you’ll be thinking that a more appropriate name for them would have been “Black 20-hole Docs,” but the deeper you dig, the more you’ll find the heart of a dance-pop band beating within the atmosphere Wingtips creates.

I must say, I feel like Wingtips would have been just as happy opening for the Pet Shop Boys in 1985 as they would have been opening for Sisters Of Mercy in 1990, and if you’re the type of person who’d have been happy to be in the crowd at both of those shows (I am), you’ll definitely dig what Wingtips are doing. And you will dance. Oh yes… you will dance. Washington DC’s S Y Z Y G Y X (no, I don’t know how you pronounce it) has a more definitively dark, cold mood at work in their music, which adds a perfect contrast to the sound of the evening. And Harrisonburg dark-waves Jaguardini will get things kicked off with an infusion of cold synth grandeur. Perfect.

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

Top Photo: Colin Phils by Andre Mags Photography

The Remains Of The Day

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When George Wethington headed to the Broadberry for an early November evening of live music, he was thinking about the aging process — specifically as it applied to him. He applied those reflections to appraisals of headliners the Districts, Atlanta artist Girlpuppy, and Richmond-based openers SHE. Some fared better than others.

Back in my day is a phrase that I never understood until it suddenly sank in that my day had come and gone. It has something to do with a point from 19 to 25. It has something to do with the drive to stay at home eventually overcoming the drive to roam. There is an impregnable, cocksure piece of the human ego that gathers rosebuds while you may or may not know it is even happening. 

You find out who you are around then; where you are going, what you want to do, what your vices are. There’s a chance you find out that you don’t know, and that you’re all vices. The story kind of writes itself from there. With and without your assistance. After that, it is all a matter of timing. 

On November 6, a band from Richmond, Virginia performed on the last night before the sun started setting at 5. They were opening for Girlpuppy and The Districts. I watched four young adults sweating over a stage and their next notes in an obvious labor of love.  They played in their time as if it were their day alone. That band’s name was SHE. 

I walked into The Broadberry as they danced in an alternating wash of blue and violet light. SHE had the untamed and unconquered feeling of burgeoning Richmond royalty. You get to know it when it is in the room. It feels like the raw and unstoppable power of the rapids at The Pipeline. It looks like the playful and inexhaustible comfort of Maymont.  

SHE is the youngest to rise in a long and proud lineage of underground Richmond power. They had a ferocious live presence that turned their ambient and synth-laden rock sound into a statement. They played with sounds that betrayed their age but delivered them in a style that was awash in their day. 

Girlpuppy was up next. The multi-instrumental talent of the woman playing guitar, keys, and singing backup vocals for Girlpuppy was truly remarkable. She helped Becca Harvey’s timid, airy, and shy delivery of her songs come across as cautious yet calculated. The rest of the band aided them in making a very soothing and pining indie sound. 

Last of the night was The Districts. They are from Lititz, Pennsylvania. A moment of silence for possible innuendos, respectfully. 

The Districts were the third act. They were on stage. It is there that they played. The keys were keyed and the strings were strummed and the drums went dum-dum-dum. When you put it together, you had a band playing music. The vocalist kept throwing his shoulders up and down and nodding his head back and forth like a bobblehead. I thought that maybe without the road, or constant movement, this young man would be an unimpressive caricature of a musician. 

I liked what I heard of The Districts on the internet, to be fair. To be totally honest, I’m not sure I have a credible opinion. If the internet is to be believed, The Districts recently opened for Modest Mouse. Back in my day, I really liked Modest Mouse. 

Photos by OCLW Photography

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: November 10 – November 16

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, November 23, 2021, 7 PM
Beach Bunny, Miloe @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance, $24 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Oh hey, how’s it going? What have you been up to for the past year and a half? It’s been a wild ride for me too, but I’m back, I’m fully vaxxed, and I’m ready to rock. Lucky me, because the big news my first week back is that Beach Bunny is returning to RVA this Saturday night. If you were paying attention back in 2019, you’ll surely have noticed Honeymoon, the debut full-length by this Chicago four-piece. Led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Lili Trifilio, Beach Bunny started out as a solo project, gaining members over their first few years as they released four promising EPs. Honeymoon fulfilled that promise on its best songs, the vast majority of its running time being occupied by upbeat, jangly power-pop with an undeniable punk energy and attitude. There were still a few quieter, more minimalist ballads on the album, which weren’t my faves but stood as an understandable hangover from the solo years.

However, at this point, Beach Bunny’s moved on from all that, and their two post-pandemic statements, four-song EP Blame Game and brand new single “Oxygen,” go all in on the catchy, punky, power-pop vibes, and feature sharp lyrics that unflinchingly take on the worst aspects of interpersonal relationships among the youthful subculture the best music always comes from. Case in point: Blame Game opening track “Good Girls (Don’t Get Used),” which inverts the potential victim-blaming of the title to call out slack-ass indie boy hypocrisy. Meanwhile, the EP’s title track takes on rape culture in unsparing terms, and “Nice Guys” skewers the many dudes who don’t realize that putting women on a pedestal is still objectification.

So yeah, Beach Bunny has a lot for us, but it’s not all acid; “Oxygen’s” lyrics are an upbeat celebration of the dawning of a great new relationship, and pretty much all of the songs have that bouncy swing that we all loved from those early Best Coast records. So yeah, if you wanna dance with a big smile on your face, this is the show for you! Show up Saturday night at the Broadberry, bring your vax card, and get ready to have a blast.

Wednesday, November 10, 8 PM
Blvck Hippie, The Wimps, No Moniker @ The Camel – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This is one of those times where I’m not actually sure who’s opening and who’s headlining, so let me just say — you really want to show up at the beginning and stay to the very end for this one. But let’s start by talking about Blvck Hippie, since they’re the ones who are on tour. A Memphis-based project led by Josh Shaw, Blvck Hippie takes an intricate approach to indie tunes that contain a trenchant analysis of the limitations inherent in the indie rock scene of 2021. And of course, as a Black man playing music in a scene that is all too often way too white, Shaw’s observations aren’t the same old typical indie-boy laments.

In fact, you can tell that as soon as you listen to Blvck Hippie’s debut full-length, If You Feel Alone At Parties, released just last month and containing gems like “Answering Machine,” “July 5th,” and the title track, all of which deal frankly with alienation and the ongoing fallout from trauma. At the same time, Shaw’s lead guitar riffing adds an unmistakable melodic counterpoint to all of the music he’s presenting here, with the result that some of these subtly sad songs are also perfectly structured to stay in your head all day. Which is good, because this is a band whose music should give you plenty to think about. Of course, it should be acknowledged that The Wimps and No Moniker are also pushing back against the standard whiteboy-indie paradigm. And that’s definitely good. But the real reason you should catch both of these groups is the reason it always should be: both the quirky alt-rock of The Wimps and the bouncy disco-infused indie sound of No Moniker are excellent — as is Blvck Hippie. So hey, rock with ’em.

Photo by Alden Bonecutter

Thursday, November 11, 7 PM
Shakey Graves, Sun June @ The National – $25 in advance, $30 at the door (order tickets HERE)
If you’re aware of Shakey Graves, it’s probably due to his lengthy tenure in the rootsy world of the genre known as Americana — which is to say, he pulls from old-time music, but he doesn’t discriminate. Folk, country, blues, rockabilly… it’s all welcome. That very musical freedom is probably what led ol’ Shakey to the intriguing sound of his latest EP, 2020’s Look Alive, which is closer to moody, synth-infused indie rock than anything you’d normally associate with the “Americana” tag. In that way, he’s sort of following a similar path to that of Sturgill Simpson, though his approach is very much his own.

And of course, now that I’ve said all that, I should mention that the release Shakey Graves is really touring behind right now is Roll The Bones X, a tenth-anniversary reissue of his debut LP featuring another entire LP’s worth of outtakes tacked onto the end. And if it’s intriguing takes on what Greil Marcus called “the old weird America” that you’re looking for, well, on Roll The Bones X, Shakey Graves absolutely has what you’re looking for — and plenty of it. The million-dollar question, then, is: which of these Shakey Graves sounds will you get when you go see him on Thursday night at the National? His most recent explorations of the outer boundaries of genre? His original raw, earthy take on folk/blues/country vibes? A little of both? All I can tell you for sure is that, whichever you get, you can’t really go wrong. My advice: show up, and let it roll from there.

Friday, November 12, 9 PM
Sigmund Fraud, Mad Abbey, Marshall Family Values, Rikki Rakki @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
What better night than Friday night to dive into a show full of up-and-coming local talents, and really re-immerse yourself in the depths of what’s going on down here in the river city? If there is a better night, I didn’t find it this week. So I’m definitely advising that you come out to the Camel this Friday to enjoy the festivities around the release of Sigmund Fraud’s latest album. Aside from their great name, what do you need to know about Sigmund Fraud? Well, there’s the fact that they mingle a variety of different genres into their jammy, soulful, rockin’ sound, and the fact that, if you move around their Bandcamp page from one song to another, you’ll have a tough time really pinning them down. Everything they try, though, from the synth moods of “Lovespell” to the spaced-out slacker rock of “West Clay Street Blues,” is a lot of fun. And that’s what really counts.

There’s more going on here than just one band, though. Three other Richmond ensembles will be on hand to liven up your night, and all of them have a very strong likelihood of doing exactly that. Mad Abbey’s rocked-out approach to the power trio format brings some prog and classic rock touches to the fore. Marshall Family Values have a bit of desert spookiness to their rock n’ roll sound — I’m almost reminded of the Meat Puppets at some points. Finally, Rikki Rakki sees singer-songwriter Erika Blatnik take a somewhat noisy approach to what are fundamentally really beautiful heartfelt tunes. What form they’ll take live is open to question, but I’m certainly intrigued — as I am by this entire bill.

Saturday, November 13, 9:30 PM
Thunderchief, Future Projektor @ Bandito’s – Free!
OK, this show is a big relief. I say that because, as a dyed-in-the-wool metalhead, I found this week’s lineup of live music hits surprisingly weak on heaviness — that is, until I got to this Saturday night shindig at Bandito’s. Richmond metal veterans who wish to experience the bliss that is a Saturday night spent banging your head while mercilessly heavy riffs fly at you with great force, this show is for you. The bill starts off with Thunderchief, a duo that pairs talented thrasher Rik Surly with RVA metal/punk veteran Erik Larson (Avail, Parasytic, Alabama Thunderpussy, etc). Surly screams and dishes out huge riffs while Larson pounds the hell out of the drums. On last year’s No Sufferance For Thy Fools LP, their sound is way heavier and thicker than you’d expect a duo to generate, and that’s sure to be true in the live room at Bandito’s as well (secretly the best-sounding smaller venue in this city. Yeah, I said it).

Then there’s Future Projektor, the other band on this evening of heavy sounds that all of us are blessed to receive for our zero-dollar investment. If you remember Gritter, you may recognize some of these fellows; guitarist Adam Kravitz and drummer Kevin White were both part of that downbeat metal outfit, while bassist Sean Plunkett is a veteran of fellow Richmond metallers I Am The Liquor. The three of them have now come together to crank out some instrumental heavyosity in the glorious Richmond tradition of Breadwinner, the Alter Natives, and many others. Get ready for a night of serious brutality — one that you can start by saving your cash for a big plate of pre-show nachos (secretly the best nachos in this city. Yeah, I said that too).

Sunday, November 14, 6:30 PM
Samantha Fish, River Kittens @ The National – $22.50 – $32.50 (order tickets HERE)
Here comes a night full of rip-roaring blues guitar pyrotechnics courtesy of Kansas City’s own Samantha Fish, a woman whose music I admit I was unfamiliar with before I heard she was rolling into town. Well, checking out the singles from her latest album, Faster, which came out last month on Rounder Records, made me a believer. There’s some of Bonnie Raitt’s talent for guitar-slinging pop balladry in Fish’s DNA, for sure, but like both Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan — another obvious influence on what Samantha Fish is up to in 2021 — she can rip out guitar leads sharp enough to cut yourself on. And if you don’t watch out, that’s exactly what’ll happen.

But don’t panic — you’ll be safe at The National this Sunday night (assuming you’re vaxxed up, that is. I shouldn’t even need to say that at this point). All you’ll have to worry about is how much fun you’re going to have rocking out to the straight fire Samantha Fish and her band are gonna lay down (again, only speaking metaphorically). And hey, based on what I’ve seen, at least a little bit of that fire is going to come from Samantha Fish’s outfit. The woman is not only a top-level shredder but an impeccable dresser, so be sure to keep your eyes open.

Monday, November 15, 9 PM
Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers, Brady Heck, Jacob Ritter, Chuck Jones @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Let’s go from a touring blues singer to a homegrown one. I’m speaking, of course, of Richmond’s own Cassidy Snider, who is less focused on shredding and more on deep country soul. So far, the only release she and her backing band, The Wranglers, have up on the internet is a live album recorded at The Camel last winter, and it showcases the sheer amazingness of Ms. Snider’s voice. Her four-piece backing band features banjo, fiddle, organ, bass, and drums, but no guitar. However, with her singing up front, it’s totally unnecessary. Her powerful instrument shakes the rafters, at times completely overpowering the microphones that documented that fateful performance at the Camel.

You won’t have to worry about that at The Camel this Monday night, though — only the limits of your ears. However, even with my own significant hearing loss, I’m not the least bit worried about picking up everything Ms. Snider is laying down. It’s gonna be great. And even greater is the opportunity to pick up a copy of Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers’ brand new LP, which they’ll be releasing at this show. Opening sets from local talents Brady Heck, Jacob Ritter, and Chuck Jones (not the guy who directed all those old Tom and Jerry cartoons… though wouldn’t that be sweet?) only serve to make this entire evening even more enjoyable. So shake off the Mondays and spend the first night of your workweek at the Camel. It’ll do you no harm.

Tuesday, November 16, 7 PM
Post Animal, Ron Gallo @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I have been hearing the name Post Animal for a few years now, but this is my first time really diving in. And I must say, what I’ve found has been particularly enjoyable; a psychedelic quartet from Chicagoland who know how to create a huge atmosphere and a powerful mood. Last year’s second LP, Forward Motion Godyssey, demonstrates this in fine fashion, layering melodies aplenty, both vocal and guitar, with oceans of reverberating sound and color. I can’t imagine this music will be anything but even more amazing at full volume in the live environment. Now, if you’re one of those people who’d go to see Post Animal hoping to get a close-up look at Stranger Things actor Joe Keery, I must warn you that he’s no longer in the band. While he may have contributed to the band’s most recent album (I’m actually not able to tell), he won’t be performing with them.

But look, if you skip out on this show for that reason, I have to question your taste. After all, this quintet still contains five very talented songwriters, who are capable of channeling the best of that early Tame Impala vibe through a psych-pop lens that is pure Elephant 6. What’s not to love there? Plus! You’ll also be getting a set from Ron Gallo, whose catchy rock n’ roll vibes early in his career, circa 2017 single “Young Lady, You’re Scaring Me” have been augmented with a fair dose of psychedelia in its own right on his most recent album, Peacemeal. You know you’re gonna dig that.

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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]