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VA Shows You Must See This Week: July 3 – July 9

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, July 5, 9 PM
SeeYouSpaceCowboy (Photo by Marte Rowsam), Heavens Die, .gif From God, Nature Freak @ Wonderland – $10
Oh boy, I am super-stoked for this one! And not just because SeeYouSpaceCowboy, one of my favorite metallic hardcore bands of the past few years, is coming to town, but because for once, they’re playing a legally-sanctioned venue rather than a house party. That means I can tell you all about it, and in doing so, point out the underground hotbed that is Richmond’s metallic hardcore/noise/screamo/etc scene — something I rarely get to talk to you guys about, since it mostly takes place in basements and living rooms around the less gentrified parts of town. So don’t just go to this show to rock out — go to this show to learn. If you talk to the right people, you’ve got a good chance of hearing about all the underground spots that host shows like this on a weekly basis — spots I can’t tell you about, because there are hella narcs on the internet.

But none of this would have any purpose if it weren’t for how great of a show this is truly gonna be, and how great all the local shows like this are, no matter the venue. This one is particularly exciting to me because of the arrival of SeeYouSpaceCowboy, a Cowboy Bebop-referencing metallic hardcore band hailing from California and bringing serious pedal-to-the-metal spastic energy on their recent Pure Noise Records debut, Songs For The Firing Squad. This release collects all their early EPs and splits, along with a couple of new songs, to hit you with all the frenetic blast beats, stop-on-a-dime tempo changes, and brutal breakdowns that make this band such a standout.

The fact that SeeYouSpaceCowboy have hit the (relative) bigtime by signing to Pure Noise Records means that, like other screamo-associated bands of the past few years, they’re now in prime position to disassociate themselves from the scene that birthed them. But while Vein publicly insulted Richmond’s own .gif From God on their way up, SeeYouSpaceCowboy are playing with them at this show, so that’s certainly a positive sign. It’s also a benefit for you, the showgoer, since .gif From God is probably the best spastic noisy metalcore band in America other than SeeYouSpaceCowboy right now. The bill is rounded out by Heaven’s Die, who will travel down from VA’s Shenandoah Mountains to bring us some serious low-end mosh brutality, and local newcomers Nature Freak, who have some strong death-thrash DNA and are sure to get your head bangin’.

Wednesday, July 3, 8 PM
Alexander Mack (Photo by Cory Hammons), Ryan Com @ The Dark Room – $8 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Sometimes midweek brings us big bands stopping through RVA on their way from one huge city to another. But when it doesn’t, you can always count on local venues like The Hofheimer and Vagabond to spotlight some deserving locals and give us some good music to spend our hump day evenings with. This show is actually part of a weekly series called Underexposed, presented each Wednesday at The Hof’s Dark Room, and while the combination of Underexposed with a rapper named Alexander Mack makes “secret world” jokes nigh-irresistible, I have to wonder if the young rapper, who named his most recent album ’91 Two Forty after a Volvo that probably seems ancient to him, is even old enough to get those jokes.

It doesn’t matter to you, the listener, though — what’s important to you is whether this young rapper and producer has a good enough sound to make it worth your while to go see him tonight. The answer from me is a resounding “Yes!”, especially if you like jazzy hip hop with breezy, upbeat flows from a talented lyricist who isn’t above dropping a perfectly-sung hook on ya every now and then. Based on what I’m hearing, it doesn’t seem as if Alexander Mack will remain a secret for long. Meanwhile, Northern Virginia rhymer/singer Ryan Cam has more of an R&B energy on his recent Star Power EP, which will add some contrasting flavor to this evening of fine music you probably haven’t encountered before. It’s the perfect time to get familiar.

Thursday, July 4, 7 PM
He Is Legend, The Native Howl, Vegan Llamas, The Huntrs @ The Canal Club – $15 (order tickets HERE)
I know, I know, it’s America’s birthday, and there’s a ton of Independence Day-themed stuff going on around town on Thursday night. But, can I be honest with you? As a socialist trans woman in the age of Trump, I am about as sick as could be of all the rah-rah flag-waving bullshit I encounter each day. And don’t even get me started on the “Blue Lives Matter” flags I see stuck to car bumpers and flying from trucks every time I leave the house. Fireworks are cool, but where the Fourth of July is concerned this year, I mostly just want to stay inside and get it over with.

Fortunately, there is one show happening in town tomorrow night that’s themed around kickass music. He Is Legend are coming back to town, and only a couple months after I last wrote about them, I’m sending you to see them again so that all of us can escape the jingoism and bang our heads to killer tunes from the band’s sixth and latest album, White Bat. He Is Legend are definitely Southern boys, hailing from Florida and letting some of that swampy blues-sludge energy shine through on their latest material, but this veteran metalcore group has always been obsessed with occult matters, so I’m hoping they don’t stop the show mid-set to demand that we pledge allegiance to the flag or anything. God knows I get enough of that bullshit at car shows these days. Shut up and mosh.

Friday, July 5, 7 PM
Genosha, Ruin By Design, Vulcanite, The Donalds, Illist, Eliza Battle @ Sound Of Music Studios – $5
As Virginia bands go, neither Genosha nor Ruin By Design get enough attention. Genosha definitely proved their worth on last year’s LP, Our Conspiracy, which showed that these Orange County boys have a strong command of blackened thrash, metallic hardcore, and brutal mosh riffage. Meanwhile, veteran quartet Ruin By Design showed off their melodic hardcore chops on last year’s From Ashes To Empowerment, bringing us a tough yet catchy and politically informed sound totally befitting a band featuring former members of none other than Avail.

Now, on Merger, a new split EP on Settle For It Records, these two bands have combined forces in an attempt to take their sounds twice as far as either have gotten on their own. And they’ll be celebrating the musical excellence they’ve created together with this release show at Sound Of Music Studios, right here in good ol’ RVA. You’re going to want to be there, and not just to be blown away by the amazing musical power and performance fury of these two bands, either — they’ve brought together a murderer’s row of fellow Virginia bands to act as support, from punk rockers the Donalds to metallic hardcore maniacs Eliza Battle. This one’s gonna be outstanding; those of you who haven’t caught on to the brilliance of Genosha and Ruin By Design need to get your asses to this show.

Saturday, July 6, 9 PM
Sadistik, Nickelus F, Elucid, MTFR @ Wonderland – $10
I’ve been doing this column for too long. You know how I know? Because sometimes I’m looking at a facebook event page and feel like I’m being personally called out. It’s probably all in my head (seriously, writing about ten shows a week for over five years starts to get to you), but regardless, I will admit it — OK, OK, Wonderland isn’t just for punk and metal shows (anymore). Sadistik is coming through town to prove this to me and anyone else who hasn’t gotten the memo yet with a unique sound that I’d have to describe as gothic hip hop.

On his latest album, Haunted Gardens, Seattle’s own Sadistik raps about dark, heavy subjects overtop of ambient goth beats and funereal melodies, which is kind of what he’s been doing throughout his career. If you liked the downcast melodies of that Soundcloud emo-rap movement that sprung up a few years ago, but really wished for more lyrical skills to go with them, Sadistik is here to grant you that wish. And he’ll be joined on this bill not only by Richmond’s foremost practitioner of rhyme skills, the almighty Nickelus F, but hard-hitting, intelligent New York rapper Elucid and MTFR of South Florida’s Nobodies. They’ll prove you can enjoy an outstanding show at Wonderland without ever feeling the urge to headbang.

Sunday, July 7, 7 PM
Party Nails, PRXZM, Rodes Rollins, Museum District @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Are you ready to dance? You better be this Sunday night, because Party Nails is coming to town, and this LA singer/songwriter/producer has some incredibly catchy electro-pop for you. When she starts dishing out tunes from her latest LP, Past Lives And Paychecks, you’re going to find yourself moving whether you’d planned to or not — so you’ll need to be prepared.

The synth-pop sound she cultivates in her music will definitely appeal to those among you who appreciate an 80s-retro good time, but if your aesthetic is firmly based in the 21st century, no worries — Party Nails has a modern appeal that comes through not only in her multilayered grooves but in the way-too-real subjects she deals with in the lyrics of songs like “So Broke” and “The Luxury Of Love” — seems like all of us are spending are last dollars to have a good time these days, and Party Nails knows that feel. Drop your last couple bucks on a ticket to this show, and dance your cares away.

Monday, July 8, 8 PM
Enforced, Gazm, Deviant, Itch @ Cary Street Cafe – $10
It’s time once again to bring some serious rage to the unlikely confines of Cary Street Cafe, as your Monday night gets exploded with some extremely heavy metallic thrashcore courtesy of Enforced. This RVA quintet has brought major heaviness to the mainstream-hardcore scene, and is about to demonstrate the fullness of their powerful talent on debut full-length At The Walls, coming later this month. Get an in-person preview at Cary Street Cafe this Monday night, and be prepared for some decidedly non-hippiefied mosh.

This show will also mark the final date of a weeklong tour that pairs Montreal’s Gazm with Richmond’s own Deviant. Gazm just released an LP entitled Heavy Vibe Music, but if you think that means they’re gonna hit you with some laid-back psychedelic haze, think again — this Canadian crew manages to mix heavy hardcore riffs with a snotty punk attitude and even, yes, a little bit of psychedelic weirdness to create something rather unique in today’s hardcore scene. Meanwhile, Deviant plays fast, angry hardcore that is primarily focused on a dark, nihilistic, and self-abnegating approach to the idea of sexuality. It’s fascinating, and a bit disturbing, but ultimately riveting, especially when they get that maniacal speed going. Local demo-core heroes Itch will get this whole thing started, apparently for the last time ever — so don’t miss a moment of this one.

Tuesday, July 9, 7:30 PM
Ghost Ship Octavius (Photo by MetalTitans), Rising Revolution @ The Camel – $13 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This is a great one for all you fans of progressive metal. Whether you prefer the erudite approach taken by Opeth and Porcupine Tree or the operatic occult stylings of Borknagar and Arcturus, you’re sure to find an appeal in Ghost Ship Octavius’s music. Formed by members of Nevermore and God Forbid, this group brings quite a pedigree to their symphonic heaviness.

But it’s vocalist Adon Fanion that really takes them to the next level; his soaring vocal melodies are the most overtly beautiful element of their sound. Meanwhile, the group’s lyrical approach brings majestic, haunted thematic elements to complex songs made up of multiple movements and intriguing dynamic textures — exactly the sort of thing that lends itself to such dramatic lyrics. This group is going to take you on a musical journey when you enter into the Camel on Tuesday night — have the courage to set sail with them. The trip will bring tremendous rewards.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, July 4, 8 PM
Pelicanesis, Walkie Talkie, Secret Ninja Death Squad @ The Golden Pony – $7 ($5 with space suit)
This truly unique July 4th show all but defies description. However, as one who is never at a loss for words, I will sure give it the old college try. Pelicanesis is a band from Harrisonburg who were active in the earlier part of this decade, releasing an album entitled A New Sun back in 2011. That album detailed the story behind Pelicanesis’s origin, one every bit as complicated as the plot to the Star Wars series, and which I will not even attempt to recapitulate here. The important thing you need to know is that Pelicanesis’s music is intended to act as a recruiting tool for an intergalactic mission to the Pelican Nebula to save the civilization of Sarmantia from future apocalypse.

That’s why you’ll get two bucks off the admission price if you show up to this Pelicanesis reunion show in a spacesuit: the band needs you to join with them and fight off an alien apocalypse. Or something like that — all I can tell you for sure is that you’ll be graced with an evening of digitally-infused progressive metal that somehow manages to be equally reminiscent of Thrice, Squarepusher, Grandaddy, and Iron Maiden. And how often does the opportunity to enjoy such a unique sound come around? Clearly not that often, so instead of worrying about the petty concerns of a self-congratulatory nation on a tiny blue planet, you really might want to consider spending your Independence Day with these heroes from another galaxy. The mission is critical.

Saturday, July 6, 9 PM
Bato, Worn, Raw Breed, Kept In Line @ Studio 239B – $5
Saturday night brings raw hardcore rage to a random studio in Norfolk, courtesy of Brain Hemorrhage Records. Bato, who stand among the fastest and angriest bands Hampton Roads has to offer, are joined on this bill by Pennsylvania’s Worn, who mark themselves as devastating practitioners of His Hero Is Gone-style D-beat hardcore madness on their recent EP, Not Your Game. Expect these guys to unleash a whirlwind of circle-pit fury when they take the stage.

They’ll be joined on this excursion to the 757 by Raw Breed, a Colorado-based collection of ragers who go for more of a straight-up tough-guy HC power on their most recent EP, Collected — which combines two different two-to-three-minute demo releases onto one vinyl 7 inch that still clocks in under five minutes. These guys get straight to the point, and do so with a vengeance. The evening is kicked off by a performance from Chesapeake’s Kept In Line. This band is not only straight edge but named after a Left For Dead song, so I am on board for their furious, noisy attack. Get on board for this show by showing up at 25th and Llewellyn in Norfolk Saturday night. All will become clear once you arrive.

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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

The 40 Most Essential RVA Albums Of 2018 (Part 1)

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Richmond’s always been a great city for music, and that didn’t change one iota in 2018. If anything, it became a bit overwhelming — indeed, even the most comprehensively-minded local music nerd was likely to overlook a few things. While putting this list together, I found a few that I overlooked myself — and I’m sure you will as well.

This list features our best shot at the most essential and noteworthy albums that our city birthed this year, from any and all genres. Since so many different genres and scenes are thriving in this town, we had to include 40 just to feel like we weren’t leaving anything crucial out. And let’s be real — we probably still didn’t catch everything. The best advice we could possibly give you about following this town’s vibrant musical community is this: always dig deeper. Your new favorite record might be right around the corner.

These 40 albums are a good place to start. Today, we’re presenting the first 20 — in alphabetical order by artist name, so it doesn’t seem like we’re playing favorites. We’ll have the other 20 for you tomorrow. Happy listening!

Ant The Symbol – The Motions (Gritty City)
Over the past decade or so, Ant The Symbol has consistently remained one of the most talented producers in Richmond hip hop. His layered beats are jazzy, funky, and have a lot of emotion built into them, and it’s always interesting to see what rappers do with them. The Motions is full of classic grooves that both present a smorgasbord of Richmond MCs in the best possible light and make clear that, as always, Ant’s beats are the star of the show.

The Ar-Kaics – In This Time (Daptone)
This retro-garage heads return to the spotlight after a year or two of woodshedding with a new LP that is a must for the Nehru-jacketed 60s nerds who sleep with the Nuggets box sets under their pillow. That can’t be comfortable, so maybe this 21st century slab of meat-and-potatoes rock n’ roll can help y’all sleep better. Then again, these songs are so full of fun, snotty energy, there’s no way you’re gonna sleep at all with this record on the turntable. Just get up and dance.

Bad Magic – What’s Wrong With My Eyes (badmagic.bandcamp.com)
This union of three talented RVA music veterans (Julie Karr, Tim Falen, Jimmy Held) produces music that seems to split the difference between their various musical backgrounds (in everything from folk to grunge to post-hardcore) and bring us the best possible distillation of heartfelt, driving, melodic rock music. Vaguely psychedelic and obviously descended from punk rock in at least a spiritual fashion, this album gives us a glimpse at what ruled the university-station airwaves before Nirvana came along.

Saw Black – Water Tower (Crystal Pistol)
This supremely laid-back album comes to us from one of RVA’s foremost purveyors of country-Americana slackness, and has some downright beautiful moments that’ll shine bright for fans of artists like Sturgill Simpson or the Drive-By Truckers. You could probably also play it for your uncle who thinks music has sucked since Garth Brooks, or to expand the horizons of your little cousin who only knows about bro-country. But really, you should probably play it while you’re relaxing on the front porch on a Saturday afternoon with a cold beverage in your hand. That’s when it sounds best.

Scott Clark – ToNow (Clean Feed)
Drummer Scott Clark is a leader in the mostly-overlooked world of RVA jazz, and with his recent work, he’s made quite an impression beyond our city’s borders as well. Clark’s been tapping into his Native American heritage for his recent full-length works, and that continues with ToNow. This album is a contribution to the ongoing protest movement in Standing Rock, in the form of a musical clarion call, an ambient yet intense musical exploration featuring some of the leading lights in Richmond’s jazz scene. Immerse yourself.

Kenneka Cook – Moonchild (American Paradox)
2018 was Kenneka Cook’s year. This singer with the powerful, hypnotic voice put the entirety of Richmond under her spell, and Moonchild was the way she did it. The songs on this album move back and forth between soulful, jazzy R&B ensemble pieces featuring a bevy of talented local backing musicians and intriguing solo pieces constructed from electronic beats, synth hums, and massive stacks of multi-layered vocal loops, all constructed by Cook herself with electronic sequencing tools. It’s hard to say which of these two aspects of her music are more pleasing — in the end, it’s probably the combination of the two that gets best results.

Cruelsifix – Dark Snake (cruelsifix.bandcamp.com)
RVA metal is alive, well, and raging as ever. Cruelsifix finds some leading lights from the local scene coming together to fill their downtime with yet another rip-roaring contribution to the local metal landscape. They made their mark this year with a six-song debut EP that shows off their thrashing blackened death metal sound, and, with song titles like “Rabid Christ” and “Satan Earth Fuck,” makes clear that they aren’t just kidding around with the whole evil-as-hell-name move. Bang your head.

Lucy Dacus – Historian (Matador)
Certainly the RVA album of 2018 that got the most attention outside RVA, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus has gone from house show sensation to international bright young thing in the space of two years, and has given us all yet another reason to be proud of our hometown. Dacus’s gorgeous, heartfelt tunes — which pair her smooth, beautiful voice with powerful melodies driven by a surprisingly tough rhythm section — took a leap beyond her already-assured debut album on Historian. Kudos to her.

McKinley Dixon – The Importance Of Self Belief (Citrus City)
In a city with a variety of different hip hop movements taking place, McKinley Dixon exists in a class by himself. He simultaneously brings a multitude of talented friends of various musical backgrounds together to take his music to a higher plane, and remains committed to first principles: those being strong rhymes, powerful beats, and most importantly something real to say. Even as he’s telling hard truths about oppression and struggles, he’s also uplifting your spirit with positive messages — look no further than the title track.

Fly Anakin & Ohbliv – Backyard Boogie (Mutant Academy)
Fly Anakin has been on fire lately, working hard to get himself and his crew, Mutant Academy, established in RVA and beyond. You can hear how much energy he’s bringing to the struggle in the hyperkinetic rhymes he spits on this album, which zap your ears with their sharpness even as they leave Anakin himself gasping for breath. Celebrated production legend Ohbliv contributes all of the production here, bringing a unified feel and a deep mood to Backyard Boogie, and providing a much-needed contrast with Fly Anakin’s manic intensity.

Gumming – Human Values (gumming.bandcamp.com)
The name of this group always makes me think of nursing home residents mashing down soft foods without benefit of dentures, but if you turn your back, rest assured, Gumming will show you just how much bite they’ve got. Human Values is a wall of angry noise that splits the difference between experimental psychedelic weirdness and pure punk rage, like the Butthole Surfers if they were fronted by X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene. Oh values, up yours.

Cole Hicks – May Day (colehicksva.bandcamp.com)
No one really wants to talk about this, but the fact is that hip hop tends to be a very masculine genre. It’s rare to hear a female MC spitting rhymes at all, let alone one that can stand toe-to-toe with the best in the game. On May Day, Richmond’s Cole Hicks adds her name to that list, contributing one of the best albums to come out of the genre in RVA this year and landing a top spot in what was already a banner year for Richmond hip hop albums. The beats hit hard, her rhymes hit harder, and her lyrical flow is unmatched, so quit tripping and start bumping May Day now.

Andy Jenkins – Sweet Bunch (Spacebomb)
Kinda country, kinda indie, and very Southern — that’s local singer-songwriter Andy Jenkins in a nutshell. The latest overnight sensation from the world of Spacebomb Records, Jenkins’s debut full-length, Sweet Bunch, has a laid-back, smoothly rolling feel that’ll put you in the frame of mind to rock contentedly in a porch swing as the lazy river rolls by. Some moments hit upon a sort of pastoral Van Morrison-ish feel, while others bust out the sunbaked twang of the Bakersfield sound. All of it is easy to enjoy.

Large Margin – Large Margin (largemargin.bandcamp.com)
Anyone who caught Brief Lives when they were around is bound to have thought the same thing I did — “that guitarist really goes off!” Brief Lives is gone, but the guitarist in question, Chris Compton, has moved on to becoming the frontman for Large Margin, joining up with a variety of local post-hardcore luminaries to exhume the spirit of Fugazi’s classic early 90s work and infuse it with a massive amount of frantic energy and 21st century political fury. One listen to this LP and you’ll want to rock out as hard as Compton does onstage.

Lipid – Freak Beat (Vinyl Conflict)
The growth of out-and-proud LGBTQ hardcore punk in this town has been one of the best things about 2018, not just for “representation” but also because it’s brought us a lot of great music from voices we weren’t necessarily hearing before. Lipid is probably the closest to old-school punk of this new crop of RVA queer-power bands, with a sound that mixes the sarcastic punk snarls of the Dead Kennedys with the sort of burly stuff that was coming out of NYC a while back — think Crazy Spirit, or The Men before they became a dad-rock bar band.

Love Roses/The Donalds – split (Tired & Pissed)
These two local punk bands are mainstays of the Shockoe Bottom punk scene that orbits around Wonderland, McCormack’s, and other venues the downtown hipsters aren’t necessarily clued into. They’ve both got a ton of anger to work through, mostly at the pathetic state of the USA today, and they do so with rage, melody, and humor. The Donalds are more midtempo, Love Roses more melodic, but both bands are a ton of fun.

Manatree – Engines (manatree.bandcamp.com)
This band of teenagers has really matured on their latest album, which reflects the stripped-down sound Manatree’s increasingly taken on as the lineup shrinks. Frontman Jack Mayock’s considerable talent on guitar and keyboards gets a lot of room to show itself on Engines, as does the sort of growth he’s done as a vocalist since his high school days. Manatree’s math-rock roots are still clear on this album, but as a band, they’re getting weirder, more cerebral, and more fascinating. I guess this is growing up.

Michael Millions – Hard To Be King (Purple Republic)
Dropping back on January 2, this LP acted as the starting gunshot for an amazing year of RVA music. Michael Millions brought the realness from the opening moments of this one, working with some of the most talented hip hop producers in town to create the perfect instrumental tracks for his powerful lyrics and rock-solid flow. And Millions clearly had a lot to say, filling all of these tracks with powerful declarations of what it’s like to be a working class African-American man in the neighborhoods of Richmond that the Scott’s Addition hipsters don’t even know exist. You can’t afford not to listen to this one.

Nickelus F – Stuck (AGM)
From one AGM heavyweight to another. This year saw incredible statements of purpose and power from all of that formidable crew’s leading lights, and Nickelus F’s Stuck was the hardest-hitting of them all. It’s only fair, considering how long he’s been working to advance his sound; that said, we’re all reaping the benefits, because Stuck proves that after a decade and a half of steady grinding, Sweet Petey is better than ever. If you didn’t catch him on tour with Lil Ugly Mane, you need to at least grab this. It’ll twist your head around.

Ostraca – Enemy (Skeletal Lightning)
People are starting to notice Richmond’s thriving screamo scene; Noisey even wrote about it this summer. If you’re not hip, Ostraca is the first name you need to get familiar with. This scorching trio has been honing their sound for over a decade, arriving on their third album at the strongest and most assured collection of material they’ve brought into the world yet. From harsh screams over furious lightning-speed metallic rage to long, slowly-building post-rock epics, Enemy displays the full range of Ostraca’s considerable talents. Dig in, and remember — there’s plenty more where that came from.

That’s the first half of the list — tune in tomorrow for the rest!

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 8 – August 14

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, August 11, 6 PM
Piss Off 2018, feat. The Donalds, Vulcanite, Love Roses, No/Mas, Organ Trail, Genosha (pictured above), High Priest, Ruin By Design, Peacemaker @ Strange Matter – $7
Richmond’s incredibly eclectic music scene is a joy to experience. Everyone has their own idea of what this town excels at creating; some see it as a doom-thrash mecca, others think of it as a hip hop hotspot, a soul-jazz heaven, or even a screamo paradise. But no matter what impression you have of this city’s music scene, there are always untold new pockets of local music to fall into — and all of them are great. Which brings us to Tired & Pissed Records, a local label that’s been specializing for the past few years in fast, angry, metallic punk from Virginia and beyond.

This Saturday brings a Tired & Pissed showcase to Strange Matter, and offers locals who haven’t gotten on board with this hard-working label’s offerings a chance to catch up with pretty much all of it at once. This show celebrates the release of the label’s third compilation of bands from around the mid-Atlantic area who share their raison d’etre, and an unbelievable nine of those bands will take the Strange Matter stage between 6 PM and midnight on Saturday night.

Label standard-bearers The Donalds and Love Roses will bookend the show, presenting their complementing takes on raging old-school punk featuring varying levels of melody (Love Roses has more, The Donalds has less). These bands will provide a powerful inducement to both show up on time and stick around til the very end of the night. Inbetween, we’ll get sets from a whole bunch of great bands whose sounds run the gamut from gore-soaked death metal (PA’s Organ Trail) to frantic downtuned hardcore (VA’s Genosha), and from grimy, hyperspeed grindcore (DC’s No Mas) to an ambient noise project helmed by former Brutal Truth drummer Rich Hoak (PA’s Peacemaker). That’s not even all that’s on tap for this night, but I’m running out of space, so stop worrying about the details and start planning to show up at Strange Matter this Saturday and catch nine killer bands for only seven measly bucks. It’s a good deal no matter how you slice it.

Wednesday, August 8, 8 PM
Deakin, Highlife, Basmati, Grandma, DJ Elko Tract @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
This one’s been a long time coming. Oh, you may not think so, since it’s just a local performance by a member of electro-psychedelic indie-pop group Animal Collective, currently touring as a solo act. But Deakin’s been building the hype for his solo material for nearly a decade now, starting with a fully-funded Kickstarter campaign launched back in 2009. That campaign took Deakin to the African country of Mali, to play a music festival in the desert outside Timbuktu and to create an album influenced by the music of that area of West Africa.

It took an interminable seven years to bear fruit, but Deakin finally released his solo album, Sleep Cycle, in 2016, and now he has reached Richmond to give us a live performance of this and other material, which indeed lives up to the promise of West African-infused Animal Collective-ish music that everyone waited so long for. Along on tour to offer his own spin on African pop music is Doug Shaw of New York’s White Magic, leading his side project Highlife and bringing us their American spin on the Ghana-originating sound of the highlife genre. RVA melodic-math weirdos Basmati will offer local support, along with Grandma, the solo project of Haybaby’s Leslie Hong. Plus, you’ll get an opening set from DJ Elko Tract, the alter ego of Blues Control’s Russ Waterhouse. At long last, there’s nothing more to ask for.

Thursday, August 9, 9 PM
Pass Away, Park Sparrows, Living Room, Thomas McDonald @ Bandito’s – Free!
Some pop-punk evokes the coming-of-age feels that assail teenagers as they leave high school and grapple with adulthood, but the kind of pop-punk played by Brooklyn’s Pass Away is of a different sort. Like Jawbreaker and The Replacements before them, Pass Away use their melodic take on fast, chunky punk tunes to lament the struggles that come to grown-ass people who still haven’t achieved all of their dreams. This band plays pop-punk for adults, and their fueled-by-cheap-beer sound, reminiscent of Dillinger Four and Latterman among many others, is the perfect singalong material for adults who have problems they’d like to forget, at least for tonight, by getting lost in tacos, beverages, and great songs.

Pass Away comes to us from members of I Am The Avalanche and Crime In Stereo, and therefore it’s fitting that they play with RVA’s own Park Sparrows this Thursday night at Bandito’s. Bringing together members of Strike Anywhere, Landmines, and Freeman (among many others), this group also makes melodic punk tunes for adults to sing along with and feel a little less alone. It’s OK, we’re all struggling — but Thursday nights with great music and great friends just makes the weekend come a little quicker, right? Pass Away will bring fellow Brooklynites Living Room along with them; this group offers a thicker, post-hardcore take on melodic emotional punk, but it’s sure to still appeal to anyone who knows what it’s like to seek answers to the big questions that remain on a person’s mind long after their 21st birthday. Virginia Beach resident Thomas McDonald, who normally leads The Record Collection, will kick off the night with a solo set. Get a plate of tacos and a pitcher, grab a table, and get stoked for this one.

Friday, August 10, 6 PM
Floral Print, Fat Spirit, Truth Club, Fullscreen @ Hardywood – Free!
I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone who’s been reading this column for a while that I’m not one to fool with alcoholic beverages of any sort. That said, I still get stoked about Hardywood’s “Fresh Can Fridays” events when they bring killer music along with them, and this Friday is one such event. Therefore, despite my total apathy towards brews of any sort, I’m still enthusiastically recommend that you hit Hardywood this Friday night and catch Floral Print. This Atlanta band is a real treat for your ears; their string-bending propensities resemble those of long-gone NC angular-guitar heroes Polvo, but the melody and emotion Floral Print introduces to their music is an entirely new — and a welcome — texture.

2017 LP Mirror Stages is full of complexly structured songs with off-kilter melodies galore, all of which are sure to hook you in and not let you go. It’s no surprise that Citrus City Records, purveyor of top-quality local sounds in a similar vein, is bringing us a performance by this band, and while it may be an obvious choice, it’s a welcome one, especially since it also results in killer local support from indie-grunge rockers Fat Spirit. North Carolina’s Truth Club is also along for the ride, and they add a touch of 90s slacker style, a la Pavement, to the string-bending melodies and guitar crunch the rest of this bill has to offer. Brand new locals Fullscreen kick things off, and while I can’t tell you anything in particular about them, I can tell you that this show is free, which makes it worth your while no matter what you think about beer.

Saturday, August 11, 9 PM
Songs From The Road Band @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’ve long maintained that I can find something to enjoy in any genre. However, there are a bunch of genres that have remained in the hypothetical whenever I’ve made such a bold statement, and in there alongside jam-band music is bluegrass, a sound I’ve never particularly minded when I heard it being played at county fairs as a kid, but has never excited me in the least either. However, I may finally have found some modern bluegrass I like; not only did a Trampled By Turtles single completely win me over a couple of weeks ago (that’s another story), I am really digging Songs From The Road Band, a bluegrass ensemble who’ll make the Camel their home for a night this Saturday.

The five members of Songs From The Road Band boast a number of formidable credits between them; members have played in Steep Canyon Rangers, Bill Evans’ Soulgrass project, and Larry Keel and Natural Bridge. They may have a somewhat unwieldy name, but that’s hard to hold against them when you hear excellent tunes like the title track to their 2015 album, Traveling Show, or any of the tunes on their brand-new fourth album, Road To Nowhere. And while these songs sound good in the studio, the real place to hear this five-piece is live — there’s a chemistry and an organic feel in the old-time sound this band creates that just isn’t the same without being in the same room to hear it. Whether you’re a bluegrass diehard or someone like me, with no real experience of enjoying the genre, you’d be well-advised to head to the Camel this Saturday night and give Songs From The Road Band a chance to win you over.

Sunday, August 12, 7 PM
(Sandy) Alex G, Daddy Issues, Lance Bangs @ The Broadberry – $16 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard to know how to describe Alex G; perhaps the best way would be to call him unusual. There are moments on his latest album, Rocket, which sound kind of Mac DeMarco-ish. At other times, though, he experiments with vocoder and spacey electronic sounds. Conversely, there are even moments that come across as downright country-ish. All of these tunes share one thing, though — a strong viewpoint, conveyed through lyrics and music in a manner that makes it clear just who Alex G is as a musician… even if his genre affiliation is impossible to pin down.

It’s appropriate for an artist like this to come to RVA in the company of Daddy Issues, the Nashville garage-grunge group on JEFF The Brotherhood’s Infinity Cat Records. Alex G may sound like a lot of things, but he’ll never sound like Daddy Issues, so this show is just that much more eclectic with their snarky take on being a twenty-something woman in the 21st century added to the mix. Plus, their 2017 album, Deep Dream, is a heavy rocker full of extremely memorable melodies. They’ll be joined by Lance Bangs, a trio with a slacker-grunge vibe that somehow lands directly between the other two artists on this bill. If you like guitar-slingers with unique viewpoints and melodies to burn, this is the show for you.

Monday, August 13, 7 PM
Jonah Matranga & Friends, The Pauses, New Lions @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There’s nothing as guaranteed to make you feel old as a 20th anniversary tour for an album that came out when you were already out of college and living in the real world. Y’all will find out about this when you hit your 40s, but right now you are best advised to ignore my grousing and make plans to hit Capital Ale House this Monday night and see Jonah Matranga and Friends rock the hell out of Far’s incredible 1998 LP Water And Solutions. Matranga was Far’s frontman back then, and while the band reunited long enough to release a fifth album in 2010, this 20th anniversary tour does not see a return to an old lineup. Instead, Matranga, who mostly tours solo these days, is backed by Florida’s The Pauses in order to return Water And Solutions to its full rock n’ roll glory.

This album may date from the waning days of the post-Nirvana alt-rock craze, but it is by no means insignificant; instead, its thick, heavy, yet incredibly melodic post-hardcore sound seems to bridge the gap between Quicksand’s seminal post-hardcore classic Slip and The Deftones’ dark, moody masterpiece, White Pony. The brand new Pauses album, Unbuilding, shows a post-hardcore band with a strong melodic grasp working at the height of their powers; therefore, it’s easy to understand why Matranga picked them as his backing band for this tour. They’ll deliver an opening set of their own that’s sure to keep you smiling, and New Lions — the group formerly known by the name of their frontman, Clair Morgan — will kick off the show in fine fashion and ensure that you have a great time from start to finish.

Tuesday, August 14, 7 PM
Echo Courts, The Wimps, Righter @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Psych-heads, take note: North Carolina’s Echo Courts return to RVA this coming Tuesday to entrance us all once again. Having slimmed down to a quartet between their 2016 debut and their brand new follow-up, Room With A View, Echo Courts show themselves none the worse for wear by producing a tightly-focused set of melodic tunes that retain a subtler sense of the more overt psychedelia of their earlier work, while also expanding in numerous directions, from a country tinge to an occasional modern math-guitar vibe.

Echo Courts are sure to give everyone in attendance something to rock about when they hit the Gallery 5 stage Tuesday, and the local support they’ll receive from RVA rock n’ rollers The Wimps will be eminently appropriate accompaniment. While The Wimps are absent the psychedelic vibe that pervades Echo Courts’ music, they mine the early days of rock n’ roll for killer hooks with aplomb, showing off their versatile talent on 2017’s excellent full-length, Reel Whirl. Warming up the crowd for this duo of excellent groups will be Righter, a new full-band project from local singer-songwriter Hannah Goad, which takes the atmospheric folk sounds of her solo work in a fuller, more realized direction. Show up on time, catch this group before everyone’s talking about them.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, August 10, 7 PM
Thunder Dreamer, Wild Pink, LA Dies, Ruth Good @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $7 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
A sound like the one Indiana’s Thunder Dreamer brings to Norfolk this weekend is always welcome, if you ask me. Their melodic bass tone, arpeggiated guitar leads, and catchy choruses stand just slightly on the “indie” side of the divide between indie-rock and emo, but no matter which side claims your allegiance, you’re sure to enjoy the killer tunes from 2017’s 6131 Records release, Capture, as well as any newer sounds this group has in store for us. Thunder Dreamer may at times remind you of the Beach Boys-filtered-through-Neil Young vibes of early My Morning Jacket, they share even more in common with the pastoral sounds of emo bands who hailed from their native midwest in earlier eras, from Cursive to American Football.

Thunder Dreamer aren’t the only reason to head out this Friday night, though; New York’s Wild Pink has quite a bit to offer on their own behalf, even if the twangy touches that show through on latest LP Yolk In The Fur are a surprising thing to hear from a band from the Northeast. Whenever a band evokes Son Volt and The Jayhawks in such a talented fashion, though, it’s always enjoyable, especially when such evocations sit side-by-side with moody new wave vibes reminiscent of early works by U2 and Simple Minds. Lynchburg’s LA Dies (I see what you did there, folks) are also on the bill, bringing a touch of postpunk to the evening, and RVA’s Ruth Good open up the evening with some of that classic Citrus City jangle. Sweet.

Sunday, August 12, 5 PM
Beggars Row, Heavens Die, (Sp)lit, Suffer Through, 3weekoldroses, Consumed With Hatred, Deep Rest @ 37th And Zen – $5
It’s only my second week covering the Hampton Roads area music scene and already I am noticing that things down there are downright brutal. Beggars Row, the Virginia Beach band at the top of this bill, have a downright thuggish sound that feels to me like it could have come out of the northeast in the early 90s and no one would have blinked. The riffs are heavy and chunky, the vocals are harsh and deep, and the breakdowns are custom-designed to get the pit moving — which is exactly what Beggars Row are hoping to see happening at 37th and Zen this weekend, since they’re shooting a video at this show. Limber up those calf muscles before the set, y’all; you don’t want to pull a tendon moshing.

Beggars Row are joined on this bill by a whole bunch of other bands, most prominently Winchester’s Heavens Die. This band has more of a metallic edge to their brutal low-end pound; they’ve definitely got a few early 90s death metal records in their collections. Lancaster, PA group (Sp)lit, who might be the first group to grab my attention through their creative use of typography, are on tour with Heavens Die, and are bringing a faster, chunkier brand of heavy hardcore to Norfolk with this set. Integrity fans should pay special attention to these guys. Maryland’s Suffer Through keep it heavy as well, while Philly band 3weekoldroses have some strong youth crew instincts mixed with a Judge-like tendency toward maximum toughness. The bill is rounded out by two Maryland bands: Consumed With Hatred, who impress me by mixing their heavy-as-fuck metallic hardcore with an overt, in-your-face political message; and Deep Rest, who bring the maximum chug. Lift weights and work out in preparation for this show — it’s just that heavy.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 3/28-4/3

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FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, April 1, 2 PM
Brunch For Presents, feat. Good Cretins, And Out Come The Wools, Christmas Jerks @ Mojo’s – $5
Happy Holy Week, everyone! If you’re an observant Christian this week, you’ll probably be in church wearing your fanciest outfit at least once in the next few days. However, music has always been the closest thing to religion I’ve got, and if you’re anything like me, chances are you’d rather spend Easter Sunday rocking out. Don’t worry, it’s for a good cause — Punks For Presents, that Christmas-themed charity that donates toys to local children’s hospitals every holiday season, has been steadily expanding their reach across multiple holiday seasons.

Now, to their domination of December and their summertime “Christmas In July” shows, they’ve added a special celebration of the Easter holiday taking place Sunday afternoon at Mojo’s (which is becoming a pretty consistent venue for live music lately, and that’s always nice to see!). And if you, like me, are the type to worship at the church of music, this is definitely the Easter celebration for you.

“Brunch For Presents” brings us a triple-shot of killer Christmas-themed punk tribute bands. Good Cretins have become veterans of the Punks For Presents lineups and of the tribute band game in general — after all, how many tribute bands do you know of that go far enough to record? The fact that Good Cretins have an EP worth of Ramones covers available for streaming on Bandcamp should prove that they’re serious about bringing you the best-quality Ramones tribute in the business. They’ll be joined on this bill by Rancid-lovers And Out Come The Wools (whose name, I’m assuming, is a Christmas-related joke I just don’t quite get), and by Christmas Jerks, who’ll bring the music of the Circle Jerks to life in this tiny bar. And it’ll all happen while you eat brunch — assuming you don’t make it to brunch until at least 2 PM. Which sounds about accurate for Richmond, so we should all be fine.

Wednesday, March 28, 7:30 PM
Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Rumput, Maria Chavez @ Black Iris – $15 in advance/$20 at the door
Fans of avant-garde jazz, postpunk weirdness, and general atonal insanity should be stoked tonight; Marc Ribot is coming to town! This legendary guitarist has been on the scene since the 80s, first making a name for himself with his contributions to classic Tom Waits albums like Rain Dogs and Mule Variations. He went on to play with a variety of artists with a variety of approaches, from Elvis Costello to John Zorn. He’s also been making solo records since the dawn of the 90s, on which he has teamed up with a variety of talented musicians to create a whole ton of genre-hopping musical madness.

Ribot’s current crew is Ceramic Dog, a trio in which he’s backed by two members of the Mr. Bungle side project Secret Chiefs 3. They’re just about to release their third album and first since 2013, YRU Still Here? Ribot’s work with Ceramic Dog takes a variety of forms, from Grinderman-style angry-old-man noise-rock to instrumental noise-jazz and even the occasional quiet moments. The new album mostly finds Ribot in angry-old-man mode, but for righteous reasons, as is shown in song titles like “Muslim Jewish Resistance” and “Fuck La Migra.” Tonight at Black Iris, he’ll be screaming with his voice and with his guitar, while Ceramic Dog tears your face off with their uncompromising instrumental attack. You’re not going to want to miss this — nor will you want to miss the opening performance by genre-melding folk musicians Rumput, and the post-Ribot DJ set from avant-garde sound artist Maria Chavez. This will be a night to remember, folks. Be there.

Thursday, March 29, 6 PM
Nana Grizol, Loamlands, Benjamin Shepherd @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Early all-ages shows were kind of the lifeblood of the scene back when I was growing up in the 90s. These days, they’re a vanishingly rare breed, at least around here, and the fact that I’m fully twice as old as I need to be to get into bar shows doesn’t make this any less of a bummer to me. So I’m glad to see a rare occurrence of an actual all-ages show happening this week over at Strange Matter. Of course, it’s headlined by Nana Grizol, who’ve been around for 15 years and feature members with resumes dating back to the 90s. But you’ve gotta start somewhere, right?

Really though, no matter what age you are, chances are Nana Grizol has something to offer you. Featuring former members of Defiance Ohio and Neutral Milk Hotel, they’ve got impeccable credentials in the worlds of both folk-punk and indie-pop, and the winsome, jangly pop sound of their latest album, 2017’s Ursa Minor, is guaranteed to appeal to fans from both of those musical worlds, and quite a few others. Only intermittently active, this group is probably not coming around again anytime soon, so head over after school and catch their set. You’ll still be home in time to beat curfew! And if you show up on time (always a good idea), you’ll also catch sets from Loamlands, a Durham-based alt-country group with tinges of Fleetwood Mac in their sound; and local singer-songwriter Benjamin Shepherd, who’s bringing a full band with him this time out. Make it happen.

Friday, March 30, 8 PM
Deau Eyes, The Pop Up Duo, Calvin @ The HofGarden – $10 in advance, $15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Scott’s Addition is popping off like crazy these days, and though I won’t pretend not to miss the sleepy little abandoned factory town, complete with a random patch of woods over towards the train tracks, that I moved into in 2006, I certainly recognize that Richmond has embraced this area as the new hangout spot of choice. After all, there’s a lot to do over there these days, and the HofGarden is making a pretty significant contribution to that fact all by its lonesome. After all, it’s got three whole floors to offer for your entertainment! I’m not too enthused about the one that’s yet another craft beer spot, but the game room and rooftop pizza joint are just what the doctor ordered on some nights.

And this Friday night, the rooftop’s gonna be the place to be as three excellent local acts kick off the HofGarden’s Finally Friday live series with a performance on top of the Hofheimer Building. Deau Eyes has made some noise around Richmond since the start of 2018 with their crowdfunding campaign to produce their debut album, and while you still can’t hear their excellent 90s alt-rock sounds unless you go watch their Kickstarter video, you won’t have to wait for the album to drop if you head over to the HofGarden Friday night and catch their set, now will you? Deau Eyes are joined on this bill by some musicians of a decidedly different style, including the Pop-Up Duo, a standup bassist and a saxophonist who do some pretty fun material, including Tom Petty covers if their Facebook page is any indication. There’ll also be a solo performance from Calvin Brown, aka Calvin, who plays keyboards in Kenneka Cook’s band but also has some sounds of his own to bring to you. All this while you eat pizza on a roof? What more do you need?

Saturday, March 31, 8 PM
The Mostly Dead, The Donalds, Love Roses @ Wonderland – $5
It’s Saturday night — a great night to head down to Shockoe Bottom and party at Wonderland, which is keeping the punk spirit alive down by the river. This week sees the arrival of The Mostly Dead, a rad band from DC with a really solid post-hardcore sound. You could be forgiven for expecting shows at Wonderland to revolve entirely around old-school punk and crossover thrash, but The Mostly Dead are pushing the boundaries of this place’s usual fare with powerful riffing that draws from DC forebears like Swiz while also incorporating melodic touches drawn from Jawbox and Fugazi.

One need look no farther than their 2014 LP, Wilderness, for solid evidence that The Mostly Dead has the goods. Sadly, that seems to be their most recent release. If anything, that may mean you’ll get a grip of as-yet-unreleased tunes from the band’s set Saturday night, though, and that’s always a good reason to show up. And of course there’s also a double-shot of the old-school punk sound you’ve come to rely on from Wonderland, in the form of local bands The Donalds and Love Roses. These bands will give you plenty of fist-pumping tunes to circle-pit and sing along to — just don’t spill your beer on the dance floor, that’d be a bummer.

Sunday, April 1, 9 PM
Ol’ Sport, Futurists, Eaves, Inthewater @ Emilio’s – $5
Emilio’s seems to go back and forth with how active it is in the live music scene. It’s been poppin’ lately, though, and that’s always nice to see. This Sunday night, the little jazz bar on the corner of Broad and Meadow will be visited by two bands from Charlotte, NC, and if you’re willing to deal with the mess the whole new bus line has made of the street down there, you’ll be rewarded with some excellent sounds. Ol’ Sport are doing the emo thing, which I’ve always admitted to being a sucker for. Last summer’s Grass Stains EP has some great songwriting and does a good job of moving back and forth between quietly downcast moments and loud, anthemic celebrations of angst and emotional struggle. This is what I’m looking for, and if it’s not what you’re looking for too, you should maybe reconsider.

Heck, if Ol’ Sport hasn’t convinced you, maybe their Charlotte-based tourmates Futurists can. They’ve got some of that same melodic songwriting talent that shows up in Ol’ Sport’s music, but Futurists are coming from more of that 90s post-Dino Jr distorted-guitar alt-rock space. They’ve got a spacey feel but underneath that they resemble early 90s Sub Pop signees more than anything. And again, that’s just what I’m looking for. Locals Eaves will further sweeten the pot on this bill with some post-rock-influenced post-hardcore tunes, which were showcased in fine fashion on last year’s LP, As Deeply As You Do. These local kids are making things happen, and I for one am glad. New ambient artist Inthewater will kick things off, easing you into it. Works for me.

Monday, April 2, 8:30 PM
Marbin, Curtana, JJ Speaks @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
I’ve tried on many occasions to get y’all into jazz, and here I go trying again. But it’s for a good cause, because jazz music rules. And it especially rules when it’s being played by musicians with talent and originality who are excited about taking it in a new direction. That’s definitely true of Marbin, a quartet that came together almost a decade ago, around the time that guitarist Dani Rabin and saxophonist Danny Markovitch left their native Israel to come to Chicago and play heavy jazz. Marbin’s had a variety of players on the bass and drums since then, but regardless of who Rabin and Markovitch are playing with, they continue to make complex, heavy music that brings an obvious rock n’ roll vibe and influence to bear on their jazz approach.

They’ll be doing that at the Camel Monday night, and you should really be there to take in their own unique brand of “Israeli Jazz.” They’ll be joined on the bill by RVA locals Curtana. No, not Cortana, that’s the silly little “desktop assistant” on your laptop. Curtana are a quartet that play instumental prog-rock with a dual-guitar attack that is sure to keep your attention. They certainly have a jazzy flavor at times, but this is straight up rock music with some metal tinges, which makes them both an apt pairing and a delightful contrast for Marbin. JJ Speaks open up with their own instrumental prog sound, bringing a lighter touch to the genre and emphasizing melodies over metallic crunch. On the whole, it’s going to be a delightful evening, during which vocals won’t be necessary. Nor will they be missed.

Tuesday, April 3, 9 PM
That 1 Guy, Dave Watkins @ The Camel – $15
Oh joy, That 1 Guy is back in town! If you’ve been keeping up on the wonderful underground world of the musicians known as “one-man bands” (my wife’s really into this stuff), you’re probably aware of That 1 Guy, a classically trained double bass player and rockabilly musician who has built a few instruments of his own and creates and performs his music entirely by himself on these instruments. Most famously, there’s The Magic Pipe, an aluminum frame with a couple of upright bass strings on it and a whole bunch of sample triggers, all of which That 1 Guy plays, sometimes with a drumstick. Yeah, seriously. It’s wild.

The result of all these musical hijinks is a fun blast of energetic, funky rock n’ roll with elements of Tom Waits (whom That 1 Guy once played with) and Primus, plus the occasional moment of straight-up jazz. His music is not just any one thing, it’s a variety of things all rolled up into one — and that’s always fascinating. The same is true of RVA-based opener Dave Watkins, who veers from acoustic folk played on old-time instruments to avant-garde ambient noise loops played with amps and pedals. Sometimes he does both at the same time, and like That 1 Guy, he’s even made his own instrument — an electric “dulcitar” (part dulcimer, part guitar) — on which to perform his compositions. If you like adventurous, unusual musical explorations, both Watkins and That 1 Guy are musicians you need to see. Luckily for you, you can see both for the price of one this Tuesday night at The Camel! I think you know what to do.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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