The Camel

VA Shows You Must See This Week: September 11 – September 17

Marilyn Drew Necci | September 11, 2019

Topics: Antonio Garcia, Arrival Of Autumn, Bandito's, BigDumbBaby, Black Iris, Blackliq, Brian Jones, Cary Street Cafe, Charlie's American Cafe, Colleen Thorburn, Coy Pond, D R O N E S, Druglord, Finding Verona, Flaural, gallery 5, Grebes, Hand Out, Incite, John Cage, Justin Alexander, Justin McConchie, Killroy G, Long Division, Max Gowan, Midlife Pilot, militia, Moons, Muscle Worship, Nicomo, Pinson Chanselle, prison, PT Burnem, Reggie Pace, RIsing Revolution, Scaphe, Scott Burton, Serial Hawk, shows you must see, Soulfly, Sun Against Artemis, Suzi Fischer, Swordplay, The Appleseed Cast, The Camel, The Dark Room, The NorVa, Tony Martucci, Triptides, Unearth, W I S H, WE Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, Wonderland, Zach Ware

FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, September 15, 7 PM
Swordplay, PT Burnem, Blackliq, Killroy G, D R O N E S @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s always nice when a prodigal Richmond musician returns home, and that’s what’ll be happening at Gallery 5 this Sunday as Swordplay hits Richmond once again to celebrate the release of his latest album, Paperwork. The rapper who last made a mark on the Richmond scene with his 2013 LP Tap Water has been living on the West Coast for over four years now, and he returns to Richmond having received a law degree from Berkeley. Not bad, right?

While Paperwork isn’t technically Swordplay’s first release in six years — a reissue of a 2009 CD-R release (remember those?) called Malista came out on cassette (we would have said “remember those?” about cassettes in 2009) earlier this year on MilledPavement Records — it is the first real new material from Swordplay in over half a decade, and shows quite a bit of growth since Tap Water, even as it retains all the qualities that made previous Swordplay albums so great: forthright emotion, complex and irreverent wordplay, acoustic and melodic touches mixing with pounding boom-bap beats to keep you dancing.

It’s always nice to see what’s been up with someone we haven’t been in touch with for a while. On Paperwork, Swordplay makes clear that he’s still doing well. And for his release party at Gallery 5, he’ll be gathering together a whole bunch of old friends to remind us all what we’ve been missing. He’s joined by some frequent collaborators, including the illustrious and always furiously political PT Burnem and the introspective and talented producer Erik Akers, aka D R O N E S. Sets from veteran Richmond emcee Blackliq and recent up-and-comer Killroy G will round out this bill with some serious rhyme fire. Get ready.

Wednesday, September 11, 8 PM
John Cage’s Musicircus, curated by Brian Jones, Justin Alexander, Antonio Garcia; feat. Suzi Fischer, Pinson Chanselle, Scott Burton, Reggie Pace, Zach Ware, Justin McConchie, Colleen Thorburn, Tony Martucci @ WE Singleton Center For The Performing Arts – Free!
It’s the middle of the week and we could all use something different. But over at VCU’s WE Singleton Center For The Performing Arts, some music-department faculty are getting together with a bunch of notable Richmond musicians to find out just how different things can get. Tonight they’ll all be gathering to perform John Cage’s Musicircus, one of many conceptual pieces created by 20th century experimental composer John Cage, who is most famous for “4’33” (yeah, the totally silent song).

This Cage piece is not silent at all, but instead described as a situation in which any number of musicians are gathered together in the same place at the same time and instructed to play whatever they want, without regard to what anyone else is playing, for at least an hour. If you’re imagining a wall of absolute noise chaos, you’re on the right track — but the whole reason Cage came up with the idea was to get people to look beyond the wall of noise and find the interesting juxtapositions that exist within. With members of the Spacebomb house band, No BS! Brass Band, Luray, The Big Payback, Agents Of Good Roots, and many more talented local musicians involved in this particular performance, potential is high for some amazing sounds to come out of it. Listen closely.

Thursday, September 12, 8 PM
Hand Out, W I S H, Midlife Pilot @ Bandito’s – Free!
Going to free shows is never a bad idea — even if you’ve never heard the bands involved. Take this one, for example — before I checked out the event page for this free show at Bandito’s, I had no idea who Hand Out are. Now that I’m familiar with this New Orleans-based melodic punk quartet, I’m giving this show highest marks. Hand Out’s 2018 EP, Blood & Water, was already pretty great, and they took things to an even higher level of excellence on their split EP with Ghostpool, released earlier this year.

Having spent some time with Hand Out’s ringing guitars, excellent vocal harmonies, and driving tempos, I’d say that they’d be worth paying a significant sum to see live. But hey, at Bandito’s this Thursday, you get to see them for free! You’d be a fool to turn that deal down, especially with local shoegazers W I S H and catchy Richmond pop-punkers Midlife Pilot on the bill as well. Plus — like I’m always telling you with Bandito’s shows — you can use the money you would have spent on admission to buy a big delicious plate of nachos. There’s nothing not awesome about that.

Friday, September 13, 7 PM
Max Gowan, Coy Pond, BigDumbBaby @ Black Iris – $5-10 suggested donation
The experimental sounds that were a regular occurrence at Black Iris a year or so ago have mostly died away or found other places to land, but this Friday night event shows that this gallery hasn’t entirely turned away from live performance — always a nice thing to learn in a city where finding a place to catch live music can sometimes be a challenge. What’s really nice is the sounds Black Iris is bringing us this Friday, mainly from DC songwriter Max Gowan.

Gowan sometimes performs under the name Max Gowan And The, which should tell you a little bit about how he operates. Bygones, the LP he released earlier this year, is full of quietly beautiful acoustic pop tunes that sound like they were recorded in a very private ad-hoc space (a bedroom, perhaps?), but glow with perfect melodies that shine in the slightly experimental context in which they exist. This sort of music may experience an interesting transition into the live environment; indeed, this may be the sort of show that everyone will get the most out of if everyone is very very quiet. But that doesn’t mean you should skip it — quite the contrary. Gowan has a lot to offer, and the fact that you might have to listen closely only makes the eventual payoff that much more rewarding.

Saturday, September 14, 9 PM
Grebes, Nicomo, Moons @ The Dark Room – $5
I haven’t heard much about Richmond-based singer-songwriter project Grebes, and apparently I’ve been missing out. A solo creation from Jacob Ungerleider, who previously played in Natalie Prass’s backing band, Grebes is a keyboard-driven powerhouse of quietly soulful indie pop sounds. They demonstrate their facility with that style on debut LP House Creature, which was released earlier this year, and if you dig the idea of The Beatles jamming with Marvin Gaye in the wee small hours of the morning, you’re going to want to dig into this one.

You’re also going to want to come check out New York trio Nicomo, the Nico Osborne-led trio who just released their latest EP, Views, last month. Its six songs showcase Osborne’s songwriting prowess, and the group’s charming folkish sound, which also mixes in unusual instruments and field recordings to add a bit more texture — though who knows how such things will come off in the live environment. Regardless, it should be lovely. Richmond-based opener Moons will add some texture to the evening with some Hendrix-inspired psych-rock jams to get your night started right.

Sunday, September 15, 9 PM
Serial Hawk, Druglord, Scaphe @ Wonderland – $10
This show is for all you intellectual post-metallers who enjoy slow-motion headbangs but get more stoked when you’re afforded an opportunity for contemplation of sheer riff majesty. Serial Hawk, an epic quartet who mix Isis-style moments of mood with brutal slow-motion pound and outright noise like Windhand jamming with Neurosis, are sure to please your ears when they pound hairline cracks into the Shockoe Bottom sidewalks outside Wonderland this Sunday night.

On tour behind their brand new double LP, Static Apnea, Serial Hawk are bringing an intriguingly complex and less-than-predictable approach to the intersection of two genres — post-metal and doom — which in 2019 can both feel very played out in less capable hands. Serial Hawk will remind you of why you loved all this music in the first place, and they’ll do so while blowing your mind (and your eardrums). They’ll be joined in this by Minnesota ragers Scaphe, who up the tempo and the noise for their complex and scathing two-piece approach. Richmond stoner heroes Druglord will kick the evening off with a set of hazy proto-metal dirges sure to put you in the proper mood for an evening of powerful noise.

Monday, September 16, 9 PM
Triptides, Flaural @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
A name like Triptides might lead you to expect some pretty straightforward jam-band action, but this California crew who are pulling into Richmond for the very first time are much more complicated than all that. Rather than dipping into the Deadhead sound that constitutes the usual brew for everyone’s favorite hippie hangout, Cary Street Cafe, this group takes a left turn into technicolor psychedelic pop.

On latest LP Visitors, Triptides bust out a powerful sound that harks back to some of the best acid trips pressed to vinyl over the past half-century — Innerspeaker, Incense & Peppermints, Skylarking, Magical Mystery Tour, and more all shine through the sounds dished out by this excellent group of psychedelic rangers. Denver’s Flaural are also on the bill, and bring a similarly acid-soaked psychedelic pop style into play; though they may be a bit more grounded in melody, their sound constitutes the perfect pairing with Triptides’ glorious musical space travels. Catch both of them this Monday night, and take a trip into the center of your mind.

Tuesday, September 17, 7:30 PM
Rising Revolution, Finding Verona, Sun Against Artemis, Militia @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OK, this is going to be a lot of fun — especially since I didn’t think this kind of thing happened anymore. By “this kind of thing,” I mean random shows bringing together a variety of surprisingly young rock bands from the outer edges of the Richmond suburbs — which are very far out indeed in 2019. Rising Revolution headline this show, and this symphonic power metal group have an entire fictional backstory built up around their band which sounds straight out of Blade Runner, or maybe a Coheed And Cambria record.

Rising Revolution are serious about their symphonic chops, leaning into the sort of operatic vocals and baroque guitar leads that make bands like Dragonforce so entertaining. Meanwhile, Flaming Verona, who hail from out Louisa way and are one of two bands on this show whose only internet presence is an Instagram account (#generationz), are going for more of a Killswitch Engage/All That Remains metalcore-with-emphasis-on-metal thing. Sun Against Artemis have a 70s proto-metal thing going on that makes me think of Deep Purple crossed with first-LP Heart, and Militia are clearly going for some 80s thrash sounds. But what really makes all of them interesting is how young and fresh-faced they are — if most of these bands are too young to drive, I wouldn’t be surprised. How wild is that? The kids are still out there doing it. Get down with it.

Elsewhere Around the State:

Saturday, September 14, 7:30 PM
The Appleseed Cast, Muscle Worship, Long Division @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $15 (order tickets HERE)
The Appleseed Cast have been one of the longer-lived midwestern emo bands to come out of the late 90s emo scene that also produced bands like Braid, American Football, and The Jazz June. They also have managed to stay relatively consistent across a 20-year history that’s seen them endure quite a few lineup changes. At this point, singer-guitarist Christopher Crisci is the only original member that remains, but as the band has always been fueled by his creative choices, that’s not a bad thing.

This summer saw The Appleseed Cast release their eighth album and first in six years, The Fleeting Light Of Impermanence. And if you loved their atmospheric, progressive take on an emo sound that often strayed well into post-rock territory, it’s sure to make you smile just as much as previous efforts have. Crisci’s vocals retain the power to evoke both vulnerability and extreme beauty, and the soaring guitar melodies and powerful drumming only underscore the fact that The Appleseed Cast are still at the top of their game after two decades. How amazing is that going to be in the live setting? It’s certainly worth quite a bit more than the admission price you’ll pay to find out.

Monday, September 16, 5:30 PM
Soulfly, Unearth, Incite, Prison, Arrival Of Autumn @ The NorVA – $21.50 in advance/$25 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Back when Max Cavalera left Sepultura at the height of their fame to form Soulfly, it seemed like the legendarily riff-obsessed guitarist may have screwed up. Now, 20 years later, it’s clear that Cavalera’s choice just managed to create two great brutal thrash bands out of what had been only one. Which is a pretty excellent result, if you think about it. On 2018’s Ritual, the 11th Soulfly album, Cavalera and his crew of metal ragers — which currently includes his son Zyon on drums — show that they can still crank out powerful riffs with a strong Brazilian tribal influence and some serious groove power, just as they always have.

Long-running Boston metalcore rippers Unearth are also on this bill, and have quite a strong track record in their own right. Seventh album Extinction(s), released late last year, shows that Unearth have remained consistently talented at both metal shredding and serious mosh brutality. They’re sure to get the pit raging at the NorVA once they hit the stage. In addition to these two legends of metal rage, this bill also features a few talented members of the younger generation, most notably Phoenix metalcore headbangers Incite. Floridian relative newcomers Prison and Canada thrashers Arrival Of Autumn round out a bill full of serious metal. Get ready.

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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: September 4 – September 10

Marilyn Drew Necci | September 4, 2019

Topics: Apex Manor, Charlie's American Cafe, Cloud Rat, Colpa Mia, Coolzey, COQ, Dad, Dead Animal Assembly Plant, Deli Kings, DJ Billy Nguyen, Easter Island, Fallout, Flamingosis, Fuzzy Cactus, Gothic Lizard, Iron Reagan, Kaelan Mikla, Kississippi, Listless, Majjin Boo, Mas Y Mas, Material Girls, Melvl, Nickelus F, Of Virtue, Photosynthesizers, Seasons, shows you must see, Slump, Speaking With Ghosts, Strand Of Oaks, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Destruct Principle, The Midnight, The National, The Southern Cafe, Upon A Burning Body, Wonderland, WoR

FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, September 5, 9 PM
Iron Reagan, Nickelus F, Slump @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
I’ve been doing this column for nearly six years now (I know, time flies), and sometimes I worry that I’m getting a little predictable. I see a show on my exhaustively-compiled master list of upcoming shows and immediately think, “Oh damn, that’s feature this week for sure.” But then I think, “Wait a minute. Is me picking that show a total cliche? Do I need to branch out, lest everyone figure out that I really am just an aging hipster with a strong nostalgic streak?” I don’t know, I’m probably thinking too much.

So let’s put all those thoughts aside and just embrace the most RVA-Mag-catnip show that’s come down the pike in a while: this Thursday-night bill mingling diverse genres under one roof at Brookland Park’s newest hotspot, Fuzzy Cactus. If I gave Shows You Must See awards at the end of every year (what would I call that, the Showies? LOL maybe I’ll start doing that), these guys would already be a lock for Best New Venue. This three-band bill (the perfect length) only further solidifies their hold on that honor — and this is still their first month of operation!

At this point, Iron Reagan’s become just as well established in the Virginia thrash/crossover scene as the longer-lived bands from which they spawned (Municipal Waste, Darkest Hour, Mammoth Grinder), and last year’s split EP with Gatecreeper shows that they continue to evolve their sound in more brutal, more epic directions. If they were going to share a bill with a hip hop artist, Richmond legend Nickelus F is the perfect one. An institution in his own right, he recently followed up last year’s breakthrough LP, Stuck, with a two-volume collection of archival recordings called The Gold Mine. It’s just further proof that, whether you’re listening to his newest banger or songs he recorded a decade ago, Nickelus F’s talent knows no bounds. This show is rounded out with a set from Slump, a psych-noise/hardcore band with a unique sound and a new LP coming on Feel It Records any minute now. Show up at this show and enjoy yourself. Take it from one who knows — life’s too short to think so much.

Wednesday, September 4, 9 PM
Easter Island, Majjin Boo, Colpa Mia @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s been a long road to bring Georgia’s Easter Island to Richmond tonight, but at the end of it, they’re a stronger, better band, and they’re sure to charm all comers when they take the stage. Having broken up back in 2014, the band’s main creative forces, brothers Ethan and Asher Payne, found themselves coming back together a couple of years ago with renewed inspiration and a clutch of excellent new tunes that expand on the band’s sound. They aptly refer to their genre as “post-rock dream pop,” and whether you’re more into Slowdive, The Cure, or Explosions In The Sky, you’re sure to get a boost from their strong yet beautiful music.

While Easter Island haven’t released an actual record in over five years, they’re currently prepping a brand new album entitled Island Nation for release later this year. Preview singles make clear that it’s a new height of excellence for the band, one that you should absolutely experience in the live environment. And with Richmond’s Majjin Boo on the bill as well, this show is twice as nice. Under the name Cardinal, this band released one of my favorite EPs of the year so far back in the spring. They’ve now returned to their original name, and have a bunch more new material to bring us all in the near future. Get a preview tonight — it’ll be worth it! Local indie-pop up-and-comers Colpa Mia kick this one off. Be there.

Thursday, September 5, 9 PM
Kaelan Mikla (Photo by Debi Del Grande), Cloud Rat, Listless, Melvl @ Wonderland – $10
Iceland, the tiny North Atlantic island country in which a sparse population descended from Vikings lives amongst glaciers and active volcanoes, carries an undeniable allure for Americans trapped in our country’s endless suburban sprawl. That allure has been enhanced by the country’s excellent musical exports, including Bjork, Sigur Ros, and chaotic hardcore quintet Minus. Kaelan Mikla is the latest of these, and — true to Icelandic form — sounds nothing like any of them. Instead, this trio uses synthesizers, programmed beats, and layered vocals to create a dark, atmospheric sound that may be closer musically to gothic postpunk, but has an undeniable appeal to metalheads around the globe.

Perhaps this explains their current American tour, which finds them paired with long-running Michigan grindcore group Cloud Rat. This prolific, ferocious band brings a dynamic approach to the short-fast-loud formula, and on advance singles from their forthcoming fifth LP, Pollinator, they introduce epic riffs and harsh ambience to a sound that is still both fast as hell and heavy as fuck. I’d tell you to bring your earplugs, but the fact is that this trio is gonna rip your head right off. Excellent opening sets will be provided by the brutal metallic crust sextet Listless and the dark ambient solo act Melvl, both of which hail from right here in VA. Get stoked.

Friday, September 6, 9 PM
Material Girls, COQ, Dad @ Wonderland – $10
Atlanta quintet Material Girls is coming to town, and it’s time for all of us to get down — to Shockoe Bottom’s own Wonderland, that is. Despite the name, Material Girls bear no resemblance to Madonna’s classic mid-80s material, and instead are much more likely to remind listeners of New York in the postpunk early 80s. Their scratchy, minimalist grooves draw clear inspiration from groups like the Bush Tetras and ESG, while their creative use of saxophone is most reminiscent of early 80s UK noise-punk freaks Essential Logic.

On their 2018 LP, Leather, this group lays down a ferocious clatter, and it’s sure to draw you straight toward the dance floor, even if you don’t quite know what sort of dances to do once you get there. No matter how herky-jerky and frenetic your moves are, though, they’re sure to be perfect. Richmond’s own COQ are on this bill as well, and they eschew groove in favor of some straight-up clangor. Fans of No Wave leading lights like Mars and DNA are sure to appreciate the damaged noise this group dishes out. Locals Dad open this one up with some raw, dark indie sounds, complete with a strong political thread running throughout. This show will give you all the feels.

Saturday, September 7, 9 PM
Photosynthesizers, DJ Billy Nguyen @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
Though it’s been a while since I’ve heard it, Photosynthesizers is a name that’s been around the Richmond music scene for a long time now. Formed by rapper BarCodez and guitarist Joshua Bryant, this group has featured quite a few different Richmond music notables over the years, and has actually been pretty close to inactive for the past few. But Photosynthesizers are decidedly back, with a newly solidified seven-piece lineup, and are preparing to celebrate the 11th anniversary of their band with the release of their first proper LP, Apollogy.

The album’s first single, “Terms and Agreements,” finds BarCodez’s rhymes in top form as ever, atop a bed of melodic, soulful music that simultaneously evokes D’Angelo and Radiohead. Clearly this band’s time away has not hurt their ability to nail their unique, memorable sound. It’s good to have them back, and this Saturday night, you could do a whole lot worse than heading over to Fuzzy Cactus and catching the full album release show by this returning powerhouse. Photosynthesizers turntablist Billy Nguyen will kick off the evening with a DJ set; then you’re in the band’s capable hands for the rest of the evening. It’s a good place to be.

Sunday, September 8, 8 PM
Dead Animal Assembly Plant, The Destruct Principle, Gothic Lizard @ Fallout – $7 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
I love a good fictional origin story, and Portland’s Dead Animal Assembly Plant’s got a great one — something about a German slaughterhouse owner in the days leading up to World War I who snapped and started feeding the townspeople to the livestock, instead of the other way around. A gory horror story like that gives you a very good idea of what you’ll get when you listen to the music of this industrial metal ensemble of costumed maniacs.

On most recent EP OFH: Prime Cuts, Dead Animal Assembly Plant deals out a brutal, pounding sound that lands somewhere between Slipknot and Killing Joke, or maybe Machines Of Loving Grace jamming with White Zombie inside a currently-in-operation automobile factory. It’s heavy, but it’s also metallic in the sense of large sheets of metal clanging into each other. And of course, you can’t neglect the always-present element of gory terror. This band is sure to liven up a Sunday night at Fallout; get ready for some serious headbanging at the goth club.

Monday, September 9, 6 PM
Upon A Burning Body, Of Virtue, Speaking With Ghosts, Seasons, WoR @ The Canal Club – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The week has just started, and already it’s time to headbang once again, as Upon A Burning Body rolls into Richmond with fire in their eyes. This Texas metal band has been raging for nigh-on 15 years now, and it absolutely shows on their latest LP, Southern Hostility. While this ten-song collection of brutal mosh grooves definitely lands on the metal side of the metal/core divide, it’s closer than you might expect, and fans of Killswitch Engage, Pantera, and Sworn Enemy are all going to hear things they enjoy out of this Texas quartet.

Indeed, this is the sort of metal show where you’re just as likely to see spin-kicking mosh pits of doom as you are to see lines of longhairs banging their heads with glee. Upon A Burning Body have a particular skill with brutal breakdowns, so limber up before their set if you don’t want to pull a tendon. They’ll be joined on this bill by Michigan ragers Of Virtue, who have a definite appeal for the Suicide Silence/Whitechapel fans out there, and Chicago’s Speaking With Ghosts, whose new EP finds them blending Sworn In-style gothic moshcore with an eerie electronic undercurrent. This show’s got a lot of variety, but it’s all heavy. Sink your teeth into this one.

Tuesday, September 10, 7:30 PM
The Midnight, Flamingosis @ The National – $20 in advance/$23 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The retro synth wave continues to rise, and LA-based duo The Midnight are riding high on a crest of moody yet melodic gloriousness. The neon-lit nights and pastel bright spots of prime 80s-movie Los Angeles is this band’s metier, and they wield it exceptionally well, creating soundscapes that appeal to the many fans of the Drive soundtrack but also touches a deeper wellspring of emotion that their sound has in common with Euro indie-popstars M83.

On 2016’s Endless Summer and 2017’s Nocturnal, Tim MacEwan and Tyler Lyle struck electro-dance gold with their combination of retro-style production, outstanding melodies, and unabashedly 80s instrumental touches like saxophone solos and vocoder vocals. And this sound is sure to move everyone who takes to the National’s dancefloor this Tuesday night to while away their cares. The 80s weren’t nearly as glamorous a time as our culture remembers it to be, but on this night, you can enjoy that quintessential 80s glamour that previously existed only in movies. Take a trip with The Midnight, and find your own perfect wave.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, September 6, 6:30 PM
Strand Of Oaks, Apex Manor @ The Southern Cafe (Charlottesville) – $18 (order tickets HERE)
There’s a really strong vibe to Strand Of Oaks, one that hits a serious sweet spot — at least for me. The solo project of Indiana singer-songwriter Timothy Showalter, Strand Of Oaks is simultaneously steeped in acoustic folk and awash in post-rock grandeur, like early My Morning Jacket (whose members back Showalter on brand new sixth album, Eraserland) at their spaciest, combined with the late, lamented Secret Machines. Eraserland finds Showalter and co. exploring themes of depression, emotional struggles, and the search for a greater purpose from one’s life. God knows we’ve all had those struggles.

Fortunately, Strand Of Oaks is able to spin melodic gold from feelings of despair, and at Charlottesville’s Southern Cafe this Friday night, they’ll help us all to contemplate those moods while still enjoying some beautiful music. It’ll take the edge off, that’s for sure. Fans of Iron And Wine, Band Of Horses, and Sturgill Simpson will also find a lot to enjoy at this show, even if life’s somehow going really well for you these days. Don’t get us wrong, we’re happy for you — just try not to rub it in.

Saturday, September 7, 8 PM
Kississippi, Mas Y Mas, Deli Kings, Coolzey @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I like to keep tabs on the music scene down in Norfolk, but if I’m honest, I’ve probably been to less than a dozen shows in that lovely Tidewater city. So I’m not going to pretend that I know exactly what role TBA Productions has played in that city’s music scene over the past four years. However, I’m glad to have any sort of celebration that includes such excellent music on the bill. And if this is the kind of musical taste they show in their work, I’m sure they deserve every bit of celebratory accolades they get.

Philadelphia’s Kississippi top the bill at this musical party, and they have a lot to offer, as they displayed on last year’s Sunset Blush LP. Fans of Mates Of State or The Anniversary will find a lot to love in this band’s gorgeous indie pop tuneage, which shows the perfect ratio of keyboard-to-guitar sound in order to accentuate the melodic beauty of their tunes while still retaining a strong alt-rock bite. Basically these guys rule, and are worth the price of admission all on their own. Which only makes it that much more special that longrunning Norfolk indie rockers Mas Y Mas, along with sandwich-loving Richmond rock n’ rollers Deli Kings and Iowa hip hop group Coolzey, are filling out the bill with their own excellent sounds. Let’s rock.

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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

Tyler Meacham’s River City Alt-Pop

Noelle Abrahams | September 3, 2019

Topics: film school, kickstarter, Moving On, music industry, quitting your day job, Say Yes, sexism in music, The Camel, Tyler Meacham

Richmond singer-songwriter Tyler Meacham’s focused approach to her music is bringing career opportunities to her and great songs to the world.

If anyone ever told Tyler Meacham not to quit her day job, they’ve had to eat those words by now. The 25 year-old Richmond native ditched corporate America to pursue a music career and has quickly started making waves in the Mid-Atlantic indie scene.

Whether on stage or on the record, Meacham’s performances pack a powerful punch. She has a melodic, soulful voice and a natural stage presence – raw talent that’s hard to come by. And she’s much more than just a vocalist. On one song, she’ll be strumming a guitar riff and on the next she’s tickling the ivories, all while singing the lyrics that she wrote.

I was struck by her sound while attending a recent show at The Camel, and just had to know more. Luckily, I was able to talk with her before she and her band head off on a summer tour across the Eastern Seaboard to promote the upcoming release of her debut album.

Hailing from the West End, Meacham has music in her roots – her dad performs in cover bands. But while he may have helped harvest her love of music, he didn’t teach her to play guitar. “I was really stubborn as a kid,” says Meacham. “If you wanted me to learn an instrument, I was going to have to do it on my own.”

So that’s what she did. Meacham taught herself to play guitar in middle school, mainly using YouTube videos for instruction, and then started writing songs. She did a cappella in college and was also in a band while there. “It was just for fun though,” Meacham says. She studied film at Elon University and was dead set on a career in visual arts.

After graduating, Meacham landed her ostensible dream job at Walt Disney Imagineering. “To everyone from an outside perspective, I would be set for life with this job,” says Meacham. “But I found that I was incredibly unhappy.”

While living in Florida and working for Disney, she had almost given up on music. There was even a time when someone had asked her to join a band, but she said, “No, I don’t do that anymore. I have a real job now.”

Eventually, Meacham acknowledged that working behind a desk wasn’t working out for her. “I wasn’t thriving,” she says. “And I just really missed making music.” So, she moved back to Richmond and said, “All right, let’s try this again.”

Upon her return to Richmond, Meacham didn’t immediately start pursuing music as a career. She was still set on making the film industry work for her, so she applied for a video position with a record label in North Carolina. But her passion for making music was getting harder to ignore.

She recalled a conversation with the interviewer in which she was told it would be a really cool position because she’d have artists coming in and she’d get to work directly with them. But Meacham told me, “The whole time, all I could think of was that I’d much rather be the artist.”

Meacham got all the way through the interview process and thought she was a shoo-in for the position, but ended up not getting it. She didn’t feel disappointed or rejected though – the news actually came as a relief. “OK, now I have permission to completely change careers,” she recalls saying. “Maybe this is a sign.”

“For a minute, I felt a sense of failure,” says Meacham. “I felt like I had failed to maintain a ‘real person’ job, but in reality, I just had the opportunity to figure out what I really wanted to do way earlier in life than a lot of people do – that’s a huge gift.”

Support from friends and family made the jump a bit easier for her. While living in Florida, she would talk on the phone with her friends from college. They all told her she should be pursuing music and encouraged her to do an open mic or record something, but she was always looking for an excuse not to. “I was the last person to figure it out,” she says.

As for her parents, they’ve always been supportive of their daughter’s endeavors. “They still come to every show,” she says with a laugh. “Even the late ones that go until 2 in the morning! Plus, they let me go to film school, which is supportive in and of itself.”

Meacham spent 2018 writing a new song every month, posting the demos online and playing three or four open mic nights a week. She started meeting other musicians, who knew even more musicians, and now a handful of those people play in her band.

Now, she’s well past the open mic life and headlines local shows regularly with her band. She has over 1700 followers on her YouTube channel. A live version of her single “Moving On”, which was released in May 2019, has over 9300 views as of today. “Moving On” is available for streaming on Spotify, along with “Rumble” and “No Words”, two other singles from 2017.

She credits the tight-knit atmosphere of the River City’s music scene for the accelerated rate at which the project is moving. “That’s why I love Richmond,” says Meacham. “You spend enough time doing it, and eventually you know everyone else who’s doing it too.”

She and her band have a unique and robust live sound. Meacham plays either guitar or keyboard, depending on the song, and is backed by two additional guitarists, Joel Worford and Nate Hubbard, plus bassist Chip Hale and drummer Brandon O’Neill. One would think they’ve been playing together for years because of the expert cohesion you can hear, but the current band was formed when she was in the studio this past January recording her first EP.

Meacham hopes to release the album this October, but she’s still about $3500 short of the pricetag for all of the necessary expenses, including mixing, mastering, CD production, marketing, and promotion. She’s currently running a Kickstarter campaign that has already raised over $1000 from about 30 backers, but it ends on September 11, and there’s still quite a ways to go.

“It’s a really tough gamble doing a Kickstarter – it’s all or nothing,” says Meacham, referring to the fact that Kickstarter returns the money to the backers if the campaign doesn’t reach its goal. “But we’re going to get it done regardless. I’m not going to let the album sit for another five to six months.” Her determination is palpable and enviable.

The big single off of the EP, “Say Yes”, will be released soon, so keep an eye out for that on her YouTube channel or social medias. You can find her on FaceBook and Instagram. She wishes she could give an exact date, but laments that, “nothing is certain in the mixing and mastering process” — especially when funding is the main factor. The summer tour she’s embarking on will help with that though, especially through merchandise sales.

“Streaming doesn’t really provide anything to artists unless it’s by the millions. The money in music comes from touring and selling merchandise,” Meacham explains. Plus, physical copies of music like CD’s appeal to the consumer as much as they do the producer. “I’ve found that at shows, if you have a CD to offer, people will buy it and ask you to sign it because there’s still something special about having that physical product.” she says. “If you’re on Spotify, you can’t listen to an album and then read the credits. If you’re a musician and a music nerd like me, you want to know who did what.”

Amidst the whirlwind of her sudden success, Meacham still deals with sexism being a female in an industry that’s long been a “boys’ club.” “I’ve developed a thick skin,” she says. There’s been a lot of experiences she’s had that her male bandmates haven’t, such as inappropriate behavior from unruly patrons at gigs, sexist comments, and unsolicited mansplaining about how to play the guitar just after she’s played guitar extensively for a live audience.

She recalls a time when, after she’d taken the stage at an open mic, a guy cornered her at the bar. “He was talking my ear off like, ‘You were great, but you could’ve done this, this and this thing better.’ The feminist aspect of my song ‘You Know Nothing About Me Yet’ spawned from a lot of interactions at bars after gigs, like that one,” Meacham says.

It was impossible not to notice that she was the only female artist to grace the stage at her recent show at The Camel, which featured three bands. That’s the norm for Meacham. It has been ever since she started out by doing open mics in Richmond.

“It’s a little scary,” she says. “It’s something that I take notice of often, but I don’t let it prevent me from doing what I do. People have a tendency to view female-fronted music as a genre, but I just want to make good music and I happen to be a girl. It doesn’t have to be a boys’ club, and I mean that for the industry as a whole – there’s room for everybody at the table.”

Despite the emotional, physical and financial demands of making independent music, Meacham is committed to seeing this through. “Fewer people are going with labels,” she tells me. “There’s been a lot in the news lately about how major labels are really difficult to work with. Artists are losing the rights to their songs. Who knows what’s going to come down the line, if anything, but while independent music is difficult, time-consuming, and exhausting, it gives me so much freedom to navigate this the way that I want to.”

Meacham has big plans for not only herself, but the entirety of Richmond’s music scene. “Independent music is really hard to make, but there’s a lot of people here doing it right now,” she points out. Her hot take is that if we keep going out and supporting live shows, buying merch and promoting artists online, that’s how we take this city from the fringes of the industry to the mainstream. “I’d love to see that happen,” she says, “because there’s a lot of talent here.” And there’s certainly no doubt about that.

Top Photo by Williams Photography

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 28 – September 3

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 28, 2019

Topics: Appalling, Battlemaster, Bean Weatherford, Bryan Fountain, Court Street Company, Croy & The Boys, Danet Jackson, Daniel Clark, Dave Brockie, deathcrown, Deau Eyes, Dominy, Enhailer, Fruit & Flowers, Fuzzy Cactus, Gene Loves Jezebel, Gutterance, gwar, GWARbar, Habibi, Hewolf, Hot Coffee, LAVA, Leya, LIZA, Logan Vath, Modern English, Museum District, Occultist, Pet Name, Pip The Pansy, Piranha Rama, RAWG, Righter, Serqet, Shockoe Denim, shows you must see, Silence In The Snow, Super Doppler, The Alarm, The Camel, The Dark Room, The Day Of The Beast, The Gilberts, The Heart Stompers, The NorVa, Thief, Thieves Of Shiloh, Toast, Vomit Stain, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, August 31, 1 PM
Brockie Birthday Bash, feat. RAWG, Battlemaster, Occultist, Hewolf, Enhailer @ GWARBar – Free!
It can be a sad thing, to gather in celebration of a dead person’s birthday. However, Dave Brockie was never the sort of person to dwell on sadness, so when GWAR gathers the bohabs together this weekend in celebration of their late, lamented leader, it’s sure to be a party regardless. Things really kick off the day before this show, when the new monument to Brockie’s memory will be unveiled in Hollywood Cemetery. But then on Saturday afternoon, the parking lot of GWARBar will be transformed into a raging outdoor rock-a-thon to commemorate what would have been Brockie’s 56th birthday.

And what a rager it will be! GWAR themselves won’t be performing, but RAWG — their alter-ego from the days when Richmond had a ban against GWAR shows within the city limits — will headline this event, bringing you all the goofily hilarious thrash-metal power of a typical GWAR show… only without the costumes. It’ll be a headbanging good time regardless — after all, these guys have got some great tunes!

They’ve also got some great friends with excellent bands, and a lovely selection of Richmond metal tunesmiths will be taking the stage in support of the GWAR… er, RAWG headlining set on this lovely Saturday afternoon. Battlemaster’s swords n’ sorcery thrash metal is on the menu, as is Occultist’s blackened death rage, finally back to full-time activity after a few years of woodshedding. Hewolf sees the return to action of several longtime Richmond metal veterans from bands like Iron Reagan, Darkest Hour, Alabama Thunderpussy, and HRM, who bring us some groovy headbanging grunge-metal stomp. And Ohio’s Enhailer bring their mostly instrumental doom-sludge to town to liven things up. It’s gonna be an afternoon of amazingness, so don’t miss a moment of the happenings at GWARBar!

Wednesday, August 28, 9 PM
Silence In The Snow, Thief, Serqet @ Wonderland – $10
Here’s an evening of music that’s sure to bring some relief to all you gothic post-punkers currently wilting and melting away in the oppressive heat of Richmond’s scorching, sticky summer. Silence In The Snow brings an icy, fog-enshrouded sound from their home in the SF bay area to RVA tonight. On new LP Levitation Chamber, frontwoman Cyn M. picks out harsh, cold melodies on her electric guitar, while bearing a striking vocal resemblance to Siouxsie Sioux circa 1985.

The whole thing adds up to a spiky gothic postpunk sound that’s sure to thrill all the black-enshrouded night children who wait until darkness has fallen before they venture out of their air-conditioned chambers. Such habitues of the shadows are sure to also be intrigued by LA’s Thief, who bring a spooky electronic sound and a strong influence from sacred chants and medieval hymns to their postmodern gothic sound. And of course, Richmond’s own Serqet is in the house to provide a dose of their always-on-time anarcho-postpunk sound. When the sun goes down, head to Wonderland tonight — you’ll find what you’re looking for.

Thursday, August 29, 7 PM
Habibi, Fruit & Flowers, LIZA @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)
New York’s a multicultural place, and the melting pot culture it creates is clear in the music of Habibi. Reflecting the members’ Middle Eastern and Latin American heritage, this NYC group focuses on psychedelic garage pop from a variety of different traditions. On latest EP Cardamom Garden, they use layered vocal harmonies, hazy guitar textures, and rock n’ roll backbeats to create a sound that’s simultaneously reminiscent of The Byrds, The White Stripes, and Brazilian psych group Os Mutantes. The EP even includes a cover of 60s proto-punk classic “Green Fuz,” sung in Farsi — making that Middle Eastern influence that much clearer.

Habibi are joined on this trip to RVA by fellow New Yorkers Fruit & Flowers, who have a more American-oriented garage-punk bounce that’s shown off to excellent effect on their 2017 EP, Drug Tax. Like Habibi, this quartet will get you dancing around, but they’ve got a decidedly more uptempo approach that’ll keep your feet moving double-time throughout their set. This three-band lineup will be rounded out with a set by Richmond locals LIZA, who will bring a live, full-band expansion to the psychedelic bedroom pop tunes of singer-songwriter Liza Grishaeva. It’ll be a great way to start out an evening of delicious psych-pop excellence.

Friday, August 30, 9 PM
Deathcrown, Appalling, The Day Of The Beast, Gutterance @ Wonderland – $10
Death metal still rules. We all know it, even if we don’t always talk about it. But on a Friday night like this one, it becomes clear that the best way to spend our live music dollar is to head to Shockoe Bottom and let almighty death metal roll overtop of us in its own inimitable way. That’s the opportunity that Wonderland is offering us with this tour-kickoff show for Deathcrown and Appalling, a couple of the heaviest death metal bands currently active in this town.

Deathcrown’s been dishing out that raging sound that’s sure to appeal to fans of bands that came out of Florida in the 90s — think Morbid Angel, or Death themselves — for a while now, most recently on their 2018 split LP with Ribspreader, Comorbid Diagnosis. Meanwhile, Appalling take a more Scandinavian approach to raging speed on their recently-released LP, Inverted Realm, evoking the harsh snarling rage that you At The Gates fans can never get enough of. Virginia Beach rippers The Day Of The Beast will augment all this heavy-as-fuck pummelling with some furious death metal noise of their own, while King George-based newcomers Gutterance will get things kicked off in proper fashion. Come ready for serious headbangs — because you’re going to get them.

Saturday, August 31, 9 PM
Museum District, Hot Coffee @ The Dark Room – $5
When Saturday night comes around, it’s time to dance, and this weekend, The Dark Room has you covered, presenting a set by Museum District. Not actually a performance by an entire neighborhood (which was called “the Upper Fan” when I was living up there in the 90s, grumble grumble, I’m an old person who hates change), but instead a duo made up of two talented RVA musicians with credentials of their own. Jame Moorfield has been producing dancefloor bangers on his own around town for years now, while Anneliese is a fixture on the local music scene due both to her longtime membership in The Folly and her solo work.

When the two combine their talents, though, magic happens, and on recent EPs like Hairdown and I Like It, Museum District has unleashed some powerful disco-house grooves with strong diva-style vocal melodies and thrilling musical crescendoes. They’ll fill The Dark Room at The Hof with some powerful booty-shaking anthems this Saturday night, and you’ll want to save some energy throughout the day so you’re prepared to dance the night away with them. DC producer Hot Coffee will be warming up the joint with a set of his own, but Museum District is what this evening’s all about.

Sunday, September 1, 7 :30 PM
Leya, Thieves Of Shiloh @ Shockoe Denim – $10
If you’re a fan of musical experimentation, you’re definitely going to want to end your weekend at Shockoe Denim this weekend, regardless of who makes your pants. On this Sunday evening, Little Dumbo is bringing Leya to town, and this New York duo combines instruments with centuries of history into sounds that are unlike any you’ve heard before. Leya brings together harpist Marilu Donovan (Eartheater) and violinist Adam Markiewicz (PC Worship) in pursuit of a sound that has nothing to do with the classical music fields in which these instruments are normally deployed.

On their 2018 album The Fool, Leya run their instruments and their voices through a variety of effects and use unorthodox tunings to create otherworldly sounds that would be completely at home on the soundtrack to a horror movie, but also manage to evoke an atmospheric beauty. It’s the kind of thing that fans of Philip Glass or Diamanda Galas might tap into, but for most will take some getting used to. It’s worth the effort, though — this evening of unusual sounds is sure to be rewarding for all in attendance. Leya will be joined by local sound experimentalists Thieves Of Shiloh on this bill — news that’s sure to make attendees of Cheap Fest in years past very happy.

Monday, September 2, 8 PM
Danet Jackson, Bryan Fountain, The Gilberts @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Band names are getting weirder and weirder, y’all, and Danet Jackson might just be the weirdest one I’ve heard yet. That said, if you’re expecting a combination of The Dan Band and the lady who sang “Rhythm Nation” from this Richmond group, you may or may not be let down, as this group fronted by local singer-songwriter Dan Jackson (the name makes a little more sense now — but only a little) dishes out some shambolic bedroom indie-pop in a manner that evokes both Wavves and Washed Out. Or maybe that’s just me.

Either way, on recent LP Planet Danet, this group is better than you’d ever expect them to be based on the name. Give them a listen. And expect things to get even weirder when fellow Richmonder Bryan Fountain takes the stage, bringing a memorable form of psych-damaged hip hop that, at least to me, sounds like Lil Ugly Mane at times, Lil Uzi Vert at others. The man can definitely rhyme, but if you ask me, the weirdness is the best part. The stumbling, jangly punk-pop of The Gilberts rounds out this fun evening of Labor Day musical madness. Get with it.

Tuesday, September 3, 9 PM
Croy & The Boys, Bean Weatherford @ Fuzzy Cactus – $8
Fuzzy Cactus just opened a couple weeks ago, but they’re already integrating themselves into the Richmond live music scene, and that’s certainly a wonderful thing. This Tuesday night show is billed as “Totally Pauly Tuesdays,” and is apparently themed around which bartender is behind the bar, but as far as I’m concerned, the main reason you want to be at this show is because Austin, Texas’s Croy & The Boys are playing it. This quintet brings classic country, Western swing, and Tejano-style bounce to their classic Lone Star sound, but it’s frontman and chief songwriter Corey Baum’s wry, tongue-in-cheek approach that really makes them stand out.

On new LP Howdy High-Rise, fun songs like “A Song To Play The Next Time That I Meet Your Mother” and “For The First Time I’m Starting To Think About My Age” alternate with humorously-delivered but sincere laments about income inequality and working-class struggles that any Richmonder without a $75k a year Capital One job is sure to relate to. Singing along with “I’m Broke” by Croy & The Boys might not make you any richer, but it’ll bring a smile to your face this Tuesday night, and with the rent coming due any day now, that’s something we could all use.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Saturday, August 31, 4 PM
LAVA Mini-Fest, feat. Super Doppler, Piranha Rama, Court Street Company, The Heart Stompers, Dominy, Pet Name, Righter, Daniel Clark, Logan Vath, Deau Eyes, Pip The Pansy @ Toast – $12 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
We’ve definitely got a big afternoon outdoor fest of our own happening here in Richmond this weekend, but if you’re not feeling like an afternoon of metal, you certainly can’t go wrong heading down 64 E to join our indie-rock pals from Norfolk-based LAVA, who are throwing a one-day fest of their own at Norfolk’s own Toast this Saturday evening. It’s jam-packed with talent, too, and topping the bill is Super Doppler, whose Beatlesque psychedelic pop sound has been a Tidewater treat for years now. They’re about to release their self-titled debut album, and this show will mark the official release celebration, so get ready to party with them!

But there’s a lot more happening at this party, so you’ll want to show up early and plan to stay all night. RVA’s own Piranha Rama have been making their mark in the region with their unique, multi-layered indie-psych sound over the past year or two, and if you haven’t gotten down with that yet, the time has definitely come. There’s plenty more to enjoy on this bill as well, from Norfolk alt-country veterans The Heart Stompers to Atlanta pop goddess Pip The Pansy and even a solo set from Richmond’s own Deau Eyes. There’s even more than that, but we frankly don’t have the space to go through it all — you’re just going to have to show up and find out for yourself. Trust us, it’s worth the trip.

Sunday, September 1, 7:30 PM
The Alarm, Modern English, Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel @ The NorVA – $25 in advance/$30 at the door (order tickets HERE)
The UK punk explosion of the late 70s affected a lot of musicians, and in the next few years, the punk-influenced musicians of the British Isles went in a variety of different directions, from the noisy, ferocious hardcore of Discharge to the experimental weirdness of Flux Of Pink Indians. Welsh group The Alarm represent yet another branch on that post-punk evolutionary tree, having landed on an acoustically-fueled anthemic sound with a ringing, emotional power that retained all of the furious defiance of the classic first-wave punk bands. On 1984 debut Declaration, the band staked out a sound somewhere between U2, The Pogues, and The Clash at their arena-filling height.

35 years later, The Alarm is still marching on, and despite only retaining original singer Mike Peters throughout their career, the group currently features former members of Gen X and Joe Strummer’s Mescaleros, so the fact that their 17th album, Sigma, released earlier this year, still shows plenty of their arena-filling anthemic power only makes sense. They come to The NorVA this weekend in the company of two other 80s UK post-punk powerhouses — Modern English, about whom I need only say four words: “I Melt With You”; and Gene Loves Jezebel, best remembered for their late 80s gothic glam-rock smash, “Jealous.” If you loved the big anthemic sound of the 80s New Wave, this is your night.

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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: August 21 – August 27

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 21, 2019

Topics: A Deer A Horse, Absynthe Of Faith, Ancient Torture Techniques, Bask, Bermuda Triangles, Big Business, Blackillac, BRAINxTOILET, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Cary Street Cafe, Corrosion Of Conformity, Craig Brown Band, Crimson Heat, Crowbar, Cybernetic Warkrab, Dead & Dreaming, Death Valley Girls, Elevation27, Enforced, Fallout, Finite Automata, gallery 5, Gary Clark Jr, Gnawing, God Module, Hex Machine, Ixias, Kept In Line, Lo-Pan, Loud Night, Manatree, Manzara, Mutually Assured Destruction, Neck Breather, Needle, Peterson Brothers, Piranha Rama, Psychic Graveyard, Quaker City Night Hawks, Red Death, Redundant Protoplasm, Riffhouse Pub, shows you must see, Super Low, Tel, The Camel, The National

FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, August 25, 7 PM
Red Death, Enforced, Dead & Dreaming, Loud Night, Mutually Assured Destruction @ The Camel – $10
We here at RVA Mag have had quite a bit of discussion, both in this very column and in other places, about Enforced’s brand new LP, At The Walls, so to call it a hotly anticipated local release would certainly be more than fair. Now the official release celebration for the album has finally arrived, and rocking out at this jam-packed hardcore/punk/metal show is sure to be the perfect capper to your weekend.

DC residents and recent Century Media signees Red Death, who share members with Enforced and are preparing to release a new LP of their own, are at the top of the heap here, and while it’s Enforced’s party, these guys stand out as guests of honor on their own behalf. 2017’s Formidable Darkness LP was the first with their current four-piece lineup and finds them leaning hard into the thrashier aspects of their crossover metallic hardcore sound, bringing to mind both 80s legends like Exodus and Dark Angel as well as current rulers like Power Trip and Richmond’s own Iron Reagan. These guys are going to lay waste to the Camel, so get ready.

And you also need to be ready for Enforced, whose dark thrash-core sound is both terrifying and galvanizing, and is sure to get you hella excited for thousands of At The Walls needle-drops to come. But we hope you’re parked close by, because you’re gonna want to get that LP to the safety of your car before the set starts and the pit starts moving. With three other incredible bands on the bill, including the first local show for RVA HC all-stars Mutually Assured Destruction (it’s Ace’s new new band, and his vocals are at a whole new level), you’ll really just want to get there the second they open the doors.

Wednesday, August 21, 8 PM
God Module, Finite Automata, Absynthe Of Faith @ Fallout – $8 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
If you’ve paid attention in the goth-industrial music world of the past 20 or so years, you’re sure to recognize that Metropolis Records has brought us a lot of the best work that’s come out of that genre — from Front Line Assembly to VNV Nation, and beyond. God Module may not be one of the first names that comes to mind when you think of that label’s rich history, but they have been one of the more consistent groups on Metropolis over the past 15 years or so, moving from early dancefloor classics like “Spooky” to their recently-released 11th LP, The Unsound.

On The Unsound, Jasyn Bangert and co. continue to work magic with the combination of dark synth moods, pounding electronic beats, and sinister yet somehow inviting vocals, which has situated them right on the borderline between industrial pound and gothic atmosphere throughout their lengthy career. At Fallout tonight, they’ll be bringing the pounding beats to get your shiny black Docs stomping on the floor, even as their downbeat melodies fill your heart with passion. It may be the heart of August, but black attire is definitely recommended for this one no matter how hot and humid it is outside.

Thursday, August 22, 7 PM
Death Valley Girls, Craig Brown Band, Piranha Rama @ Gallery 5 – $12 (order tickets HERE)
I’m not sure the cliched stereotype of the “valley girl” has any cultural currency in the year 2019, but back in the early 80s when Frank Zappa (and his daughter Moon Unit) had a novelty hit called “Valley Girl” while Nic Cage starred in a movie of the same name, it definitely meant something. That stereotype of a rambunctious teenage girl who hangs out at the mall (do people even go to malls anymore?) and is always on the phone (OK, this part still rings true) is what Death Valley Girls are subverting, both in their name and in their dark yet catchy psychedelic sound.

Considering they come from LA, they’re sure to have plenty of inspiration for such a subversion. They let it loose on albums like 2018’s Darkness Rains, which channels everything from The Stooges and Jane’s Addiction to Romeo Void in its foreboding tales of West Coast excess. When Death Valley Girls hit the stage at Gallery 5, they’ll bring plenty of lysergic noise, but you’ll still have a ton of catchy pop hooks to dance to underneath it all. With accompaniment from Third Man recording artist Craig Brown, formerly of the Terrible Twos, and his band, plus Piranha Rama acting as an excellent local opener, this one’s sure to knock your socks off. That’s OK — dance barefoot.

Friday, August 23, 8 PM
Gary Clark Jr, Blackillac, Peterson Brothers @ The National – $44 in advance/$47.50 day of show (order tickets HERE)
We’ve known for a while that Gary Clark Jr. is an incredibly talented guitarist who brings a 21st century feel to the classic-rock-radio staple genre of electric blues. However, if you thought (as I did for a while) that genre was too played out for even a talented player to truly breathe new life into it, you really need to give Clark a second look this year. His third album, This Land, is fueled by the juxtaposition of his fiery chops and some real anger about the state of the world today, specifically in Trump’s racist America.

The album’s opening title track is startling in its harsh, confrontational lyrics, and hits all the harder for it. On that track and others, like “When I’m Gone” and “Don’t Wait Til Tomorrow,” Clark fuses modern R&B and hip hop sounds with his always-killer riffing and powerful, soulful vocals. It’s a sound sure to delight a wide spectrum of music lovers, and while there’s no shame in having overlooked him up to now (I did too), the time has come to give Gary Clark Jr. your attention. Do so at the National this Friday night — you won’t regret it.

Saturday, August 24, 7 PM
Psychic Graveyard, Hex Machine, Bermuda Triangles @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Things are gonna get downright weird over at Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall on Saturday when Psychic Graveyard arrive, and if I tell you that this band features former members of Arab On Radar and Chinese Stars, that might just clue you in on how weird it’s gonna get. Psychic Graveyard maintain the same sort of tenuous connection to postpunk’s experimental fringe that was present in their previous bands, but interjects a greater emphasis on programmed beats and synth-driven sounds — though it’d feel more than a little disingenuous to call their music “danceable” in any conventional sense.

What it is is noisy and bizarre, the same sort of unconventional strangeness that fans of the members’ previous bands loved so much. Therefore it’s no surprise to find them sharing this bill with fellow noise veterans Hex Machine and Bermuda Triangles, both of whom have unique sounds of their own to offer. Hex Machine’s heavy, metallic postpunk sound shines on recently-released LP Cave Painting, their first in nearly six years and a much-desired return to action from this stomping RVA trio. Meanwhile, Bermuda Triangles are carrying on with the same percussion-driven mutant space funk they’ve been dishing out for years now; their presence on this bill certainly warrants bringing your dancing shoes, even if Psychic Graveyard kinda doesn’t.

Sunday, August 25, 7 PM
Big Business, A Deer A Horse, Tel @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Big Business is back once again, and this power duo is now going on 15 years of proving that you don’t need a guitar to be heavy as hell. Bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis spent several years making up one-half of the Melvins, so their pedigree is certainly not in question, but their sixth LP, The Beast You Are, released earlier this year, shows that they can bowl you over just fine on their own. They’ll do so with aplomb when they hit Capital Ale House this Sunday for their first appearance in Richmond in over a decade (raise your hand if you also saw them last time they were here, when they opened for the Blood Brothers).

Big Business excels at ferocious riffs that continually batter your brain and compel you to furious headbangs, so it’s only appropriate that they share this bill with Brooklyn’s A Deer A Horse, who do much the same on recently-released EP Everything Rots That Is Rotten. From bombastic sludge to foreboding doom, the many moods of A Deer A Horse are all powerful, and all dark. Local sludge-doom powerhouse Tel will kick this one off with a slow-motion rumble that’ll set the whole night off onto a powerful course. Make sure you’re on board this train.

Monday, August 26, 9 PM
Bask, Manzara, Crimson Heat @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
Let’s keep the heaviness rolling straight on into the working week, shall we? With Bask coming to town from their NC mountain home, we certainly will! This metal powerhouse brings epic song structures, killer riffs, and soaring vocal prowess together to create masterful metallic beauty on their 2017 LP, Ramble Beyond, and whether you dig Led Zeppelin, Spirit Caravan, Neurosis, or Queens Of The Stone Age, you’re sure to find something to love from these talented North Carolinians when they take the Cary Street Cafe stage.

They’ll be joined there by a couple of shining examples of Richmond musical excellence. The first is Manzara, whose energetic yet spaced-out postpunk has been making a mark on the local scene for a while. If you’re not up on it, this is your perfect opportunity to get familiar. Plus, you’ll get a performance from a brand new Richmond supergroup, Crimson Heat, which features veterans from past RVA stoner warriors like Sinister Haze, Stone Woman, and Heathens. Get into this one — it’s gonna start your week off right!

Tuesday, August 27, 8 PM
Super Low, Manatree, Gnawing @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s a heavy week here in RVA, but not every show has to crush your head, right? If you’re ready to trade in the headbangs for some charming pop melodies that’ll make you smile, The Camel’s got you covered this Tuesday night, as Memphis pop artisans Super Low roll into town with some downright delightful indie pop sounds. They showed off their talents earlier this summer with the release of their self-titled debut LP, and you’ll definitely want to hear all of those excellent tunes in person when they roll through town this Tuesday night.

This show will also feature the latest incarnation of Manatree, now a trio with a stronger focus than ever on electronic textures in addition to their complex, talented indie song structures. They showed off this Radiohead-meets-Four Tet approach on the Rough Designs EP, released last spring, and it will certainly be fascinating to see them recreate these multi-layered, synth-rich tunes in a live environment. We’ll also get a performance from Gnawing, a killer local grunge-rock combo who certainly know how to bring the Dinosaur Jr and Superchunk vibes, if last year’s self-titled debut EP is any indication. And I’d say it probably is.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, August 23, 8 PM
Corrosion Of Conformity, Crowbar, Quaker City Night Hawks, Lo-Pan @ Elevation27 – $25 (order tickets HERE)
I’m sure there are a lot of old heads out there like me, for whom the name Corrosion Of Conformity summons up memories of the North Carolina band’s early days as progenitors of the crossover hardcore sound of the mid-80s. However, we’d by lying if we pretended that this band weren’t better known in 2019 for the sludgy Southern-fried metal boogie sounds they cranked out throughout the 90s and early 00s. Fans of that COC sound may have been a little bummed when the band spent several years at the beginning of this decade in their original trio lineup, focusing on their early crossover work.

However, they’re bound to be stoked that COC has reunited with vocalist Pepper Keenan to crank out another heaping helping of that powerful metal roar on 2018’s No Cross No Crown. COC will be firing on all cylinders when they bring the classic Deliverance/America’s Volume Dealer lineup to Norfolk this Friday night. They’ll be accompanied by their longtime compatriots in New Orleans’ own swamp-sludge metal heroes Crowbar, who remain at peak form after nearly 30 years as a band, as shown on 2016 LP The Serpent Only Lies. This hellacious bill is rounded out by Texas rock n’ roll groovers Quaker City Night Hawks and Norfolk’s own Lo-Pan, this is gonna be a night to remember — one full of headbangs.

Saturday, August 24, 8 PM
BRAINxTOILET, Needle, Neck Breather, Ixias, Ancient Torture Techniques, Redundant Protoplasm, Kept In Line, Cybernetic Warkrab @ RiffHouse Pub – $8
Hey speed demon — are you feeling unfulfilled by the excess of sludgy heaviness on this week’s docket? Well then you better break all speed records heading down 64 East this Saturday night, because you’ve got a show full of absolute grindcore madness waiting for you at RiffHouse Pub. I’m talking about this show, which features several different maniacal grind ensembles from around the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as quite a few homegrown VA talents to keep your head spinning with hyperspeed blastbeat mayhem.

North Carolina’s BRAINxTOILET are at the top of the bill, and their ferocious power has the same sort of grotty rage built into it that we saw from past NC grind maniacs Dead In The Dirt. DC’s Needle have a cleaner b but no less maniacal approach to their grind blitzkrieg, recalling DC-area grind legends of the past like Daybreak and early Pig Destroyer. Where locals are concerned, Tidewater grind legends Ancient Torture Techniques appear to have gone from broken up to doing occasional reunions back to full-time action, so that’s always a cause for celebration. Meanwhile, Chesapeake’s Kept In Line has brought us my favorite demo of 2019 so far, in any genre, so you definitely don’t want to miss them. Pissed-off straight edge grindcore, I love it! There are four more bands I haven’t even talked about on this bill, but I’m sure I’m pushing the limits of the attention span for all you grind freaks, so I’ll just wrap it up by saying: get thee to RiffHouse Saturday night, where all your blastbeat cravings will be satisfied.

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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: August 14 – August 20

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 14, 2019

Topics: Annabelle Chairlegs, Archbishop, Armistead's Army, Atomic Mosquitos, Behemoth, Benderheads, Bermuda Triangles, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Cary Street Cafe, Deli Kings, Destruct, DJ Chrissie, Empath, Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Fuzzy Cactus, gallery 5, Garden Grove Brewing, Gojira, Insect Surfers, Knotfest, Ladada, Lipid, Mackenzie Roark, Mannequin Pussy, Mojo's, No Question, Serqet, shows you must see, Skizophrenia, Slipknot, smartmouth brewing, Suburban Living, T-Rextasy, The Camel, The Evening Attraction, The Mob, Toward Space, Under Attack, Vasaka, Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater, Volbeat, Volk, Weird Tears, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, August 18, 7 PM
The Mob, Serqet, Benderheads @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Classic UK punk takes many forms. Defiant yet melodic bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash are the most popular one, and made a huge imprint on the music scene for the next several decades. There’s also the rawer, angrier, melody-free political hardcore of bands like Discharge and Antisect, which led to long-running subgenres like crust and d-beat. But there’s another entire world of classic UK punk, one that is sometimes known as peace punk, or anarcho-punk, but is much harder to describe musically. It’s from that world that Somerset, England’s The Mob was born.

Associated with the loose-knit circle around anarchist punk band/label/collective Crass, The Mob were one of quite a few bands in that world who created their own original sound. Their most famous single, “No Doves Fly Here,” is almost gothic in its dirge-like gloomy sound, stretching on for nearly seven minutes and fully capturing the post-apocalyptic horror of war’s devastated aftermath. However, it’s their 1983 LP, Let The Tribe Increase, that is the peak expression of The Mob’s ominously gothic punk mood, one that connects them both to legendary 80s UK acts like Amebix and Zounds and modern Danish groups like Iceage and Lower.

The Mob disbanded in the mid-80s, but they’ve been back together in their original lineup for almost a decade now. However, this is the first time they’ve ever made it to Richmond, and you’d definitely be best advised to join with the punks who’ve been waiting to see them for the last four decades by heading to Gallery 5 this Sunday night. They’ll be joined by two Richmond punk powerhouses; their kindred spirits in postpunk crew Serqet and hardcore maniacs Benderheads. No matter how long you’ve been waiting, it’ll be worth it.

Wednesday, August 14, 9 PM
Skizophrenia, Vaaska, Under Attack, Destruct @ Mojo’s – $8-$10 donation
Japanese punk is definitely its own thing. It was born of influences carried across the oceans from the US and UK, but the effect of Japanese culture was formidable, and led to a completely different spin on hardcore punk — one that has spawned a rich cultural history over the past several decades. Skizophrenia are part of that history, and their output over the past decade and a half has made up for its relative sparseness with a fiery attack that stands as unique even within the sui generis world of Japanese punk. Which is why you should definitely make it out to Mojo’s to see them tonight.

Their raw, speedy sound manages to communicate energetic rage while not taking on any sort of heaviness or macho aggression. Instead, Skizophrenia plays a form of Japanese punk that is both melodic and fun, even as it retains the noisy, frantic elements that are so endemic to the punk rock of their native country. They’re coming through Richmond tonight in the company of Vaaska, a Texas band with whom they shared a split EP, and whose Spanish-Scandinavian crust-punk hybrid is fast and scorching in its own right. Richmond punk supergroup Under Attack and noise-core newcomers Destruct round out a bill that’s guaranteed to blow your mind.

Thursday, August 15, 9 PM
Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Weird Tears, Deli Kings @ Wonderland – $10
Frankie & the Witch Fingers sounds a lot more like a band from decades past than it does like the name of a modern band, but don’t let their throwback band name throw you off — this group has a very up-to-date take on the many genres they dip into over the course of their latest LP, ZAM, which was released back in March. Over its one-hour running time, you’ll catch everything from Blue Cheer-style proto-metal to guitar-driven acid funk to straight up rock n’ roll — all with a strong tendency toward psychedelia.

This group has had a prolific history thus far, releasing five LPs in the past seven years, and the creative energy it takes to churn out killer sounds at that kind of pace absolutely shows through in their frenetic live performances. When they hit the Wonderland stage tomorrow night, you’re going to have a lot of trouble standing still. And why would you want to? Dance the night away! You’ll also be able to enjoy the rock n’ roll sounds of Weird Tears and the psychedelic heavy-osity of Deli Kings as part of this evening, and that’s always a lovely bonus. What are you waiting for? Set the controls for Shockoe Bottom.

Friday, August 16, 8 PM
Volk, Mackenzie Roark, Toward Space @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
“Cowpunk” was a term you heard for a while in the 80s. It was applied to everyone from The Meat Puppets to Lone Justice back then, and while as a Southern girl myself I certainly got excited about this subgenre’s potential when I first heard about it, I was usually disappointed to find that the bands lumped into it were far more country than punk. 30 years later, though, Nashville’s Volk have come along to give me what I wanted from all those bands back then.

On their latest EP, Average American Band, this wild n’ crazy two-piece inverts the usual cowpunk formula and injects some of the rawest, most fire-spitting moments of the Bloodshot Records scene into a sound that’s got a lot more to do with the White Stripes and the Gun Club than anything you’d hear on an alt-country Pandora playlist. I love it, and you should too, especially if you love to get wild and crazy to the out-of-control garage rock sounds of local trio Toward Space, who are, by an amazing coincidence, also on this show! Singer/bandleader Mackenzie Roark is also on this bill, to inject just enough of that lovelorn country balladry into the evening for you honky-tonkers out there.

Saturday, August 17, 7:30 PM
Mannequin Pussy, Empath, T-Rextasy @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Damn, talk about taking things to the next level. Like a lot of Richmonders, I already liked Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy quite a bit; their frequent visits to the city over the past five years or so have seen them rise up from the basement and win the hearts of punk rockers all over town. But their latest LP, Patience, not only sees them signing to Epitaph Records but also finds them creating the strongest, most assured music of their career thus far.

On Patience, they’ve found a way to both crank up the bile-spitting punk intensity and delve into the kind of heart-wrenching melodies that make brilliant breakup songs like “Drunk II” and “Fear/+/Desire” into instant classics. It’s as if Live Through This-era Hole had collaborated with White Lung. So yeah, it’s awesome, and hearing it communicated at top volume as one of Mannequin Pussy’s incredible live performances is only gonna make the whole thing hit that much harder. They come to The Camel accompanied by upstart Philadelphia psych-punk band Empath and Brooklyn alt-poppers T-Rextasy, both of whom will up the ante on what’s already guaranteed to be an outstanding night of music. Don’t blow this one.

Sunday, August 18, 9 PM
Insect Surfers, Atomic Mosquitos, Armistead’s Army @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to stand out in the genre of instrumental surf rock, a land where many people seem most interested in slavish imitations of the legendary greats — Dick Dale, The Ventures, maybe Man Or Astro-Man for the more modern heads. But there are still quite a few bands out there in the surf world proudly walking their own path, and the Insect Surfers are definitely one of them. Getting their start fully 40 years ago, this group loves to refer to themselves as “Planet Earth’s longest-running modern surf band,” and show off the exact sort of interstellar sensibility that motto brings to mind on their many ripping tunes.

The Insect Surfers were directly influenced by the manic instrumental surf-guitar groups of the early 60s, but they took just as much inspiration from the early days of punk rock, which was getting started all around them in their own formative years. If you listen close, you can also hear a bit of the space-faring psychedelia of trippy early 70s groups like Hawkwind and 60s spaghetti western soundtracks mixed into recent material like 2017’s Datura Moon. All of this will add up to a night of awesomeness when these guys pull into The Camel; we guarantee that their tunes will keep you dancing all night long, just like those beach-blanket babes of yore.

Monday, August 19, 9 PM
Bermuda Triangles, No Question, Lipid, Archbishop @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
There are a lot of panicked rumors going on, but have no fear — things are still going strong over at Cary Street Cafe! And there’s no better proof than this latest edition of Slimehole’s weekly “Heavy Mondays.” For starters, it’s bringing us a killer set from borderline-indescribable percussion-focused trio Bermuda Triangles, who’ve been blasting Richmond with their unique form of postpunk space-dance jazz-funk for years now. These guys create the best bizarro-boogie soundtrack happening in Richmond right now, and you won’t want to miss this opportunity to get weird with it.

Plus, they’re playing in the company of Wisconsin noisemongers No Question, who blast out some dirty, grungy rage at hyperspeed on their 2018 self-titled EP. They’re prepared to do the same thing, live and in your face, at this gig, and you should definitely come prepared to be blown away. Local punk freaks Lipid are on the bill as well, which is always enjoyable, and this show will open with the debut performance by Archbishop, the latest assemblage of maniacs from past RVA terrors like Olde Shame, The Skin, and Memory Loss. There’s nothing about this one that’s not gonna rule.

Tuesday, August 20, 9 PM
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Annabelle Chairlegs, DJ Chrissie @ Fuzzy Cactus – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Of course we were all terrified about the future of Richmond live music last year when Strange Matter closed, but as has long been said, crisis creates opportunity, and as this city has warmed up over the course of 2019, we’ve seen more and more live music venues popping up all over! Fuzzy Cactus is the latest example, coming to Brookland Park Boulevard this weekend with some delicious fried chicken and a stage that’ll be full of rock n’ roll sounds on a weekly basis.

The first big show they’re bringing in takes place only a few days after they open up, as Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears pull into town. This Texas ensemble is based around the wild vocals and raging guitars of frontman Lewis, who’s sure to remind you of both Little Richard and James Brown. But it’s the extended ensemble he tours with, complete with horn section, that makes his performances hit so hard — somewhere between BB King and King Khan & the Shrines. They’ll christen the stage of the Fuzzy Cactus in outstanding fashion, and kick off the Brookland Park reign of what’s sure to be yet another great live music venue for Richmond to cherish.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Wednesday, August 14, 5:30 PM
Knotfest Roadshow, feat. Slipknot, Gojira, Volbeat, Behemoth @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (Virginia Beach) – $41-$250 (order tickets HERE)
Maybe this is just me, but I gotta tell y’all — I find it really hard to feel anything other than love for Slipknot. This crew of Iowa metal misfits with as many members as your average brass band blew everyone’s mind when they showed up in the late 90s with their crazy masks, abundance of percussion, and overflowing amounts of adolescent fury. From there, they just got heavier, shaking off their early nu-metal tinges in favor of brutal, anthemic breakdowns and even the occasional blastbeat. Since losing founding bassist Paul Gray back in 2010, they’ve struggled a bit, ultimately firing a couple of other longtime members in pursuit of the return to fighting form that is this year’s We Are Not Your Kind.

It’s that album they’re celebrating with this summer’s Knotfest Roadshow, and they’ll be bringing their patented brand of masked insanity to the Veterans United stage in VA Beach as part of that. Expect headbangs aplenty as they break out classics like “Disasterpiece,” “Spit It Out,” and “Duality” alongside some excellent tuneage from their new LP. Plus, they’ve got a murderer’s row of metallic excellence along as support, including French death-metallers Gojira, bizarre Danish metalbilly group Volbeat, and legendary Polish thrashers Behemoth. This one will be an absolute feast for anyone who loves metal — and trust me, once they hit the stage, Slipknot’s antics are sure to command your undivided attention.

Saturday, August 17, 5 PM
Suburban Living, Ladada, The Evening Attraction @ Smartmouth Brewing – Free!
Philadelphia indie-gaze crew Suburban Living had a pretty strong buzz a few years ago, but they’ve largely been quite on the release front for the past few years, so it’s a relief to see them rolling through the Commonwealth once again! This Saturday night finds them topping the bill at Smartmouth Brewing’s Norfolk warehouse, which has been throwing a series of free early-evening shows over the past several months. This summer-ending rocker is the last one on the schedule that we know of, so if you haven’t gone and checked the place out, now’s the time!

And of course it will be great to hear the sounds of Suburban Living, whose dreampop deliciousness was showed off to perfect effect on 2016’s Almost Paradise. Will they have some newer material to show off? Well, one never knows — but it’s certainly something to keep an eye out for. The same is true of the support set by Norfolk’s own Ladada, who’ve been at the top of the heap where Tidewater indie is concerned for a while now. And as a bonus, you’ll get a set from Chicago rock n’ rollers The Evening Attraction to kick things off with a bang. This is going to be a blast — gas up the whip.

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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

Top Photo by Beau Patrick Coulon, via Facebook