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VA Shows You Must See This Week: January 2 – January 8

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FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, January 3, 7 PM
Humungus, 3:33, Buzzard Dust, Nuclear Tomb, Et Mors @ Champion RVA – Free!
It’s 2019, and if there’s one thing we can all agree on as local live music fans, it’s that Strange Matter’s departure has definitely hurt us. This week’s show column shows the damage done — fully two days of this week ended up being left out for lack of anything worthwhile to send you to. Hopefully this is a one-time post-holiday-doldrum thing, but even if it’s not, one thing it makes clear is that someone, some venue or other, is going to need to step up and fill the void Strange Matter left, or we’re gonna have quite a bit less rocking out to do.

Champion Brewing did its fair share of free Thursday shows in the past, but in recent months, they’ve largely kept a low profile. The fact that they’re giving us a free show on the first Thursday of the new year is a hopeful sign, though. Let’s hope it keeps coming from these fine purveyors of suds I don’t actually drink. And let’s hope it continues to be as raging as this show is. Humungus is at the top of the bill, and these local headbangers have had some lineup shake-ups since their Warband LP in 2015, but they continue to deal in the sort of wicked metal power that made 80s thrash records so great, complete with a vocalist who hits triumphant high notes like it’s his job (which, to be fair, it is).

This show also brings a duo of touring Baltimore metal bands to us to rock this town and make us scream and shout — or at least bang our heads. Nuclear Tomb just released a brand new EP, Succumbing, and its focus on death-metal brutality and technical complexity makes it an intriguing listen. Live, this band is likely to roll right over you like a metal steamroller, but if you listen close, the riffs will keep you fascinated. Tourmates Et Mors deal out the sort of dragging, sludgy doom that will make you feel like the world is caving in on you. If you weren’t already planning to bring earplugs, this group offers a strong inducement. Local heroes 3:33 and Buzzard Dust round out a bill full of champion metal. Yeah, you see what I did there.

Thursday, January 3, 6:30 PM
Haybaby, President Sam, Doll Baby, Two Cars, W I S H @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free! (Donations accepted)
Dogs are cool. Cats are cool. Chances are you agree with at least one of these statements, if not the other. And that is a good reason for you to go to this SPCA benefit at Garden Grove Brewing. Another is that it’s free — but of course, you should still bring some cash, because they’ll be taking donations for the Richmond SPCA, and unless your heart is a cold black rock, you want to make sure that they keep doing all that they do to help out local dogs and/or cats.

But the best reason to go to a show is always and forever the music, and this selection of rad Richmond bands is gonna rock you right! Haybaby have been splitting their time between Brooklyn and Richmond for years now, which might be why it’s been three years since their last EP, but word is they’ll be bringing us another LP full of their power-pop goodness sometime this year — so that’s something to look forward to! President Sam is starting a tour with this show, and this emo-pop/pop-punk band certainly tickles my fancy (y’all know what a sucker I am for this sound), so make sure you catch them. And don’t miss Two Cars either. This emo-shoegaze trio has a brand new EP out, and they’ll be celebrating its release at this show, so chances are they’ll be fired up! All this and Doll Baby too? Plus an opening set from W I S H? This show would be cheap even at ten times the price! (Because ten times free is still free.) Bring donations for the puppies and kittens, and get your year started right!

Friday, January 4, 5 PM
Silver Age, Unturned, Thirst For The Sea, Having Keepsake, Apricity @ The Canal Club – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There was a bit of punctuation mark abuse in that last blurb, so I’m gonna try to keep it chill here, as I write about the first of two 2019 Kickoff shows The Canal Club is throwing this weekend. This one’s the “rock” show, and Saturday brings us a “metal” show. Of the two, I’m most excited about this one. Silver Age are an intriguing band who got a lot of attention in 2017 due to their winning a shot onto the Warped Tour that year. They’re a bunch of teenagers with a heavy sound that splits the difference between more recent emo bands and heavily melodic post-hardcore bands of the 90s (think Hum, or maybe Quicksand). Now that they’re out of high school, these kids should be getting more done in 2019. Get in on the ground floor right here.

Fellow northern-midwesterners Unturned are also on this bill, and these guys have a somewhat similar sound to that of Silver Age, though they’re a bit less heavy and more straight up emo. That’s never a bad thing if you ask me. There are a bunch of VA bands in a similar vein opening up this show and bringing us some more excellent sounds in that vein. Thirst From The Sea live in rural western VA, up near where I went to high school, and have a heavy, driving, and properly emo sound. Meanwhile, RVA’s own Having Keepsake are a bit more post-rock infused, but still angst-ridden, while Mechanicsville newcomers Apricity (apparently it means “the warmth of the sun in winter”) kick things off with some “melodic grunge.” I’m into it. You should be too. Exclamation point.

Saturday, January 5, 8 PM
Lady Moon & the Eclipse (Photo by Luke Awtry Photography), Kenneka Cook, Calvin Presents, Mekong Xpress & the Get Fresh Horns @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
We’re getting in a funky mood this Saturday night at The Camel. Lady Moon & the Eclipse are headed down from their Brooklyn home to bring us all some thick and heavy grooves. This group’s fat bass sound and nimble synth lines hark back to the 70s in a serious way, resembling some of the lush soul productions that were happening at the same time as disco, but just had so much more depth to them. And of course, Lady Moon’s voice is the focus of it all, singing directly to your soul with soothing messages of love and positivity.

So get ready to groove with the Eclipse, but don’t think that this show is all about the Brooklynites, because we’ve got a passel of homegrown talent waiting for you as well. We talk about Kenneka Cook a lot around here, and for good reason — from her amazing voice to her brilliant and unpredictable compositions, this woman is the first name in 21st century soul here in central VA. Calvin Presents is an up-and-coming talent with a jazz-based approach to R&B balladry that results in music that both resists easy categorization and rewards listeners with musical beauty. And of course, Mekong Xpress are a funk-rock combo that grew out of everyone’s favorite Vietnamese-food destination in RVA to become a groove powerhouse. Get down with all of it this Saturday night, and dance into the new year in proper fashion.

Sunday, January 6, 8 PM
Hot Pink Satan, Solemn Shapes @ Fallout – $6 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
They’re getting weird with it over at Fallout this Sunday night, and before you tell me that that’s just a normal night at Shockoe Bottom’s foremost private fetish club, let me provide some details. What you must know is that a band with the memorable name of Hot Pink Satan is performing. This Pittsburgh-based duo is every bit as shocking as their name would lead you to believe.

Singer Clea Cutthroat’s tendency to lose her clothing and end up covered in blood might make you think of Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics, while the pounding, heavy industrial beats and sexual preoccupations of the music are more likely to inspire recollections of Lords Of Acid’s mid-90s heyday. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult fans should probably appreciate what this bizarre group is doing too, and metal fans may get a kick out of knowing that instrument-wielder allinaline was once in Chimaira. So if you like a bit of metal noise and punk confrontation in your sexy industrial dancefloor bangers, this is the perfect group for you. Just don’t stand too close if you don’t want to end up slippery.

Tuesday, January 8, 7 PM
Mdou Moctar, Night Idea @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Over the last decade or so, the music of the Tuareg people has received quite a bit of recognition outside their native Saharan desert. This nomadic ethnic confederation of livestock ranchers have an interesting place in the culture of the African continent, but what really has caught the world’s ear in recent years is their tradition of psychedelic guitar music. That all started with the legendary band Tinariwen, who mixed traditional Tuareg musics with electric guitars and acid-rock influences.

Mdou Moctar is a similar sort of Tuareg guitarist, one who has put his own personal stamp on the sound of this region, keeping a more traditional approach than some more recent Tuareg combos, while still retaining a speedy, nimble-fingered approach to the fretboard that is sure to please the ears of all you metal-shredding guitar heroes out there. His 2017 album, Sousoume Tamachek, revolves around acoustic instruments and traditional percussion, but Moctar still wails on guitar throughout. He’s sure to do a similar thing from the stage of Gallery 5 — you’ll be able to hear the desert winds blowing through your hair as you listen. Don’t miss this one.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, January 4, 8 PM
Lake Street Dive, Mikaela Davis @ The NorVA – $25 in advance/$29.50 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Lake Street Dive are an intriguing group. Even wikipedia, which calls them “a multigenre band,” has no idea how to explain their sound. They’ve got an old-school approach to instrumentation that lays the groundwork for everything that comes after. Acoustic stand-up bass, soulful horns, and Rachel Price’s humdinger of a voice, which is mid-range in tone but as deep as the ocean in vibe, are all key elements to understanding what this group is up to. And of course, they’ve grabbed some attention online with covers of immortal classics by artists like Michael Jackson and Hall and Oates.

So at this point, you’re thinking “Postmodern Jukebox,” right? Not so fast. Because Lake Street Dive are skilled songwriters with a deep quiver full of excellent original compositions. Blues, soul, old-school R&B, old-time folk, and rock n’ roll all factor in, always with a strong foundation in live instruments played at the same time in a room. This band is powerful, and they’ll keep you smiling and your feet moving throughout their performance at The NorVA. So hey, whether you’re a curious Hampton Roads resident, a fan who’s bummed they didn’t make it up to Richmond this time around, or just someone who loves great music played well by talented people, this show needs to be on your calendar.

Saturday, January 5, 8 PM
The Candy Snatchers, Big Bobby & The Nightcaps, The Nerve Scheme @ Elevation27 – $10 in advance/$14 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Back in the 90s, if you were a fan of raging, unbridled punk rock from any part of the world, you were looking to Virginia. Why? Because the Candy Snatchers were from here. This legendary punk n’ roll band were up there with the Dwarves, the Supersuckers, and the New Bomb Turks as the best of the wild-ass bands out there. And they had the stage show to prove it, too — they were known to spew blood, spit, and beer all over the place as they dealt out their pedal-to-the-metal brand of manic punk thrills.

All that sadly came to an end with the 2008 passing of the band’s guitarist, Matthew Odietus, who was largely responsible along with vocalist Larry May for the sound that made the Candy Snatchers so unforgettable. However, coinciding with the 2017 release of Moronic Pleasures, a “lost album” recorded in the late 90s, May and longtime drummer Sergio Ponce resurrected the group for some celebratory live dates around the mid-Atlantic area. Since then, they’ve been firing it up and going wild on at least an occasional basis, and this Saturday night provides the latest opportunity to catch the wild fire from this band once again. Chances are shit’s gonna get pretty crazy at this show — if you’re a true-blue fan of rock n’ roll at it’s most out-of-control, you’re not gonna want to miss it. No matter how far you have to drive.

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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, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 26 – January 1

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Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, December 28, 7 PM
The Grand Finale, feat. Illa Styles, Kyle The Ghost, Big B, Yung Sums, June Elizabeth, Tyrone Leake Jr, Coffee Black @ Gallery 5 – $7 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
If you’re anything like me, your first thought upon seeing that they’ve titled this Gallery 5 hip hop show “The Grand Finale” is, “Oh god, please tell me they’re not going away too.” Thankfully, as far as I can tell, there’s no cause for alarm — if this show is the grand finale to anything, it’s 2018, not Gallery 5. And at the end of a year that saw AGM’s ruling triumvirate (Nickelus F, Radio B, Michael Millions) dominate the hip hop game here in Richmond, this excellent showcase is here to let all of us know that RVA’s hip hop scene has a lot more than that going on.

There’s a wide variety of sounds from all around the city and state on this lineup, but you can’t be blamed if Illa Styles’ name is the one that jumps out at you. He’s not necessarily at the top of the bill, but his 2018 EP theBalance makes clear exactly why all of us should be listening to him. It’s a masterful slice of life from a veteran MC who gives us gritty, focused lyrical flow overtop of incredible multilayered beats that make the rhymes hit that much harder. It’s the most assured statement yet from a man who’s recording career goes back most of a decade and is already full of strong and powerful statements.

Another strong artist on this bill is Kyle The Ghost, who comes heading up the freeway from Newport News to team up with Richmond rapper Big B (and no, that’s not the reggae-rap guy from the West Coast). The two of them recently laid down an excellent collaborative track over a Haze Banks beat called “Passion,” which showcases both of their lyrical talents and can’t-miss flow. Between Big B’s 81 Dreaming and Kyle The Ghost’s Rebirth, both of them have also released solo projects this year that show they are more than capable of standing on their own. And then there’s also Yung Sums, who’s been making a name for himself around town as a battle rapper but also showed himself to have studio skills aplenty on his recently-released album Black Friday. There are quite a few more artists on this bill too, and if you want to have an amazing last weekend of 2018, seeing all of them send the year out on a high note is an unbeatable way to do it.

Wednesday, December 26, 8 PM
Mitchell Evan, Tyler Meacham, Pistol Sister, Rebekah Rafferty and The Wakes @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
The Christmas holiday is officially over (sorta… though really, this is only day two of the “12 days of Christmas” you’ve been hearing about all your life), but we all know that the whole week between Christmas and New Years is kind of a rabbit hole everybody falls down. We won’t really be out of it until the New Year celebrations are over and the kids are back in school, so for now, just enjoy the ride and relax. Mitchell Evan is at the Camel tonight to help you do so, bringing you the debut of his latest solo album, Nostalgia. And this laid-back songwriter has the perfect sort of music to keep you in the right mood for this lost holiday week.

Nostalgia isn’t out yet, so none of us will hear it in all its glory until tonight at the Camel, but Mitchell Evan has released two singles from it thus far, and both give reason aplenty to expect this to be an excellent album. “Las Cruces,” which brings us the title lyric of sorts — “It’s a hell of a drug, nostalgia” (and ain’t that the truth) — has a melancholy alt-country sound that gets under your skin in the best possible way, while “Timpani Hits” has a more orchestral feel that might just have you thinking of Damien Rice. Both of these tunes are beautiful, and there’s plenty more where that came from, so come down to the Camel tonight and get the first taste of Nostalgia. Opening sets from local pop starlet Tyler Meacham and the MacKenzie Roark-led group Pistol Sister, plus an “after-party set” by Rebekah Rafferty and the Wakes, sweeten this pot considerably. Dip into it.

Thursday, December 27, 8 PM
The Vegabonds, Kendall Street Company, The Dirty Grass Players @ The Broadberry – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
“Southern rock” probably evokes a certain mental image in all of our minds, one derived from childhoods hearing Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet songs on the car radio while driving around in the tiny backseats of our dads’ pickup trucks. OK, so maybe that’s only some of us, but it’s OK, because Southern rock has grown and changed since those days, and in this post-millennial post-Drive By Truckers era, things are quite a bit different. The Vegabonds are a prime example, with their mixture of guitar crunch, church-y organ hums, driving tempos, and high-lonesome vocal hooks adding up to something that’s sure to appeal to fans from all over the good ol’ US of A and beyond.

Right now we’re talking about Richmond, though, and this town is pretty close to Nashville in a geographical sense, so chances are there are quite a few of us more than ready to embrace the down-home heaviness of The Vegabonds, who are about to release their fifth album, simply entitled V, once the year turns. Get a sneak preview of that record tomorrow night at the Broadberry, and catch a set from VA’s own Kendall Street Company in the bargain. This group mingles Americana sounds with the sort of granola jams all y’all who mark the LOCKN Festival dates on your calendar the second they’re announced each year are gonna flip for. With Baltimore bluegrass pickers The Dirty Grass Players opening up, this is gonna be a night to remember.

Friday, December 28, 8 PM
Plastic Nancy, Big Fundamental @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free?
This Friday night, get some psychedelic grooves into your soul over at Garden Grove Brewing. This free show will apparently feature two sets each from Richmond groups Plastic Nancy and Big Fundamental, and considering that the show gives all the appearance of being free, this sounds like quite a bargain, if you ask me. Plastic Nancy have a pretty noisy, almost punk take on the whole hazy psych sound as displayed on a recently released single that apparently heralds a whole LP of this fuzzy, buzzy stuff. Sounds like a party.

Big Fundamental are more laid-back and rollicking on their Basement Demos, released earlier this year, but things definitely stay loud and distorted throughout. It’s clear that both of these groups will twist your head right around, and you’ll love every minute of it — especially in the pleasant surroundings Garden Grove always provides. Where pre-New Years’ weekend treats are concerned, this one is a home run.

Saturday, December 29, 8 PM
Thorp Jenson, JR Wolf @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
If it’s gonna be that kind of week, we may as well lean into it, right? That’s what local Americana singer-songwriter Thorp Jenson and the duo of scene mainstays Angelica Garcia and Russell Lacy, collectively known as JR Wolf, will be doing at the Camel this Saturday night, and you can’t go wrong by joining them. What will specifically be going on is Thorp and his band pulling together a tribute to the Grateful Dead at the dawn of the 70s, that era which produced classic studio albums Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty as well as classic live albums Europe 72 and the Skull And Roses record (which, yes, is officially self-titled).

For a band that made a half-century’s worth of reputation on their head-expanding psychedelic epics, this was a time at which they were focusing pretty strongly on folk and country influences, bringing their more free-flowing tendencies to bear on classic American tunes complete with polished vocal harmonies — and that’s probably the perfect material for Thorp Jenson to focus on with this tribute set, as it largely mirrors his own focus as a songwriter. Whether you’re a Thorp-head or a Deadhead, this one is sure to please you. And while we can’t tell you much about what it sounds like when Angelica Garcia and Russell Lacy combine powers like the Wonder Twins to form JR Wolf, we’re sure based on their mutually powerful track records that you’re going to find the results intriguing and delightful. Come chill.

Sunday, December 30, 10 PM
Hallelujah, Deathbirds Surf Club, Delicate Whip @ Bandito’s – Free!
It seemed unlikely that we could get through this whole week without some ugly punk noise, and now it’s become a certainty that we can’t. Oh, but who would want to? Especially when we have the opportunity to spend a Sunday night in the company of these killer Richmond outfits for the low, low price of zero dollars! Hallelujah, who made quite an impression on the RVA noise-rock scene in the early years of the 21st century with their harsh interjections of sound, have been back in action as a trio for a while now, and showed on last year’s self-titled full-length that they’ve still got the goods. Get ready to have your hair blown back — if you’ve got any left.

Deathbirds Surf Club have been an intriguing proposition from the word go, bringing a straightforward 60s-retro surf sound to the modern RVA punk scene in the same way that the Fresh-O-Matics did 20 years ago. However, instead of evoking the hard-charging guitar heroics of Dick Dale, the Deathbirds go for lovelorn sincerity with a strummy pop sound that’s on the fresh-faced Beach Boys end of things — with some Wavves-type modern indie damage thrown in to spice things up. It’s a unique proposition, for sure, and one that’s always worth catching. The moody sludge of local newcomers Delicate Whip kicks the whole thing off in fine fashion, and if you’ve invested wisely, you’ll have a big plate of tacos in front of you before they start.

Monday, December 31, 8 PM
Piranha Rama, Chance Fischer, Dr. Millionaire, Ghost Piss, Dazeases @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s probably not too early to ask… what are you doing New Years Eve? Some would say you’re best off ordering a pizza, staying in, and going to bed early. We certainly don’t recommend spending your afternoon driving up to NYC to stand in the freezing cold in Times Square, but despite the cynics, there are still good times to be had on New Years Eve here in RVA. And if some great local music in a variety of sounds and styles is your thing, Gallery 5 is definitely the place to be. Not only will there be champagne toasts and a photobooth (as well as “glitter” and “tears,” if the facebook event page is to be believed — and chances are it’s correct), there will be an amazing variety of excellent musical performers, all of whom at least originate here in our own river city.

You know what’s up with Piranha Rama by now, right? This conglomeration of Richmond musical all-stars has been plying their trade around town for the past year in fine fashion, bringing us a unique and lushly instrumented take on lounge-inflected retro-surf indie pop. Or something like that. Their self-titled LP is a real treat, and if you haven’t tasted it yet, this will be a great opportunity for you to make 2019 a better year than 2018 by getting familiar. That’s not even to mention the outstanding double-dose of RVA hip hop we’ll get on this bill from a couple of Richmond’s champion rhymers, Chance Fischer and Dr. Millionaire. Both of them are set to slay, so be prepared. And then there’s the double-dose of ambient electronic unease from moody divas Ghost Piss and Dazeases. Really, what more can you ask for? I mean, yes, you can ask for a really outstanding 2019, but that’s kinda beyond the capacity of a live music preview column, so this excellent show will have to do.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Thursday, December 27, 7 PM
Ancient Torture Techniques, Amara, MSD, Nervous System, Berkowitz @ Charlie’s American Cafe – $5
One totally lovely element of the Hampton Roads musical scene’s 2018 has been the return to full-time action of Ancient Torture Techniques, a power-violence ensemble best known on these RVA streets for their decade-ago split with bygone locals Street Pizza. They’re back, and while they still don’t have a Bandcamp page, they do have a quiver full of Spazz-meets-Slayer blastbeat-fueled mayhem to deal out on us all. You can show your gratitude with headbangs.

They’re joined on this bill by a smorgasbord of heavy grinders representing the current crop of this sort of high-speed devastation in the commonwealth. Newport News shredders Amara have a wall of harsh fuzz noise for you, pushing all the needles into the red with their grinding metallic riffage. Richmond’s MSD (no clue what it stands for, put your best guesses in the comments) go for a more straight-up death metal approach, while Norfolk’s Nervous System find the line where grindcore meets hardcore and hit it for all it’s worth. And of course, Berkowitz represents with some lo-end death-grind to kick it all off. Be prepared to thrash.

Monday, December 31, 7 PM
GWAR, Against The Grain, Stonecutters @ The NorVA – $20.50 in advance/$23 at the door (order tickets HERE)
New Years Eve in the Norfolk area is looking quite a bit like a lot of Richmond metalheads’ dream of a brutal year-ending party here at home. That’s because GWAR is taking over the NorVA for New Years Eve, and if you don’t love the idea of ending 2018 soaked in (fake) blood, I don’t know what to even tell you. It’s a bummer this isn’t happening closer to home, we agree — but hey, GWAR were just here at The National in November. So rather than pointing fingers at the NorVA for poaching our favorite alien overlords, let’s all just order our tickets now, gas up the Jeep, and leave early to beat the tunnel traffic, shall we?

GWAR’s turn toward a more KISS/Nugent-style vibe on most recent LP The Blood Of Gods will make their furor even more apropos for a night of celebration, and also means they’ll be able to match up perfectly with Detroit’s Against the Grain, whose triumphant throwback-thrash approach is your ticket to nonstop headbangs. Kentuckians Stonecutters kick things off with some more powerful 80s thrash stomp, as exemplified on their brand new LP, Carved In Time. Overall, this is a night of absolutely stupendous metal in the offing, so take this opportunity to send 2018 out with a (head)bang! But seriously — pick a DD ahead of time, we don’t want y’all wrecking into the bay on your way back to town.

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Top Photo by Alyk Visions

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: September 26 – October 2

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Topics: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, September 28, 8 PM
MDC, The Elected Officials, Cult Of Frost, Lipid, The Alex Jonestown Massacre @ Strange Matter – $12 (order tickets HERE)
I grew up going to punk and metal shows, losing my mind over harsh music with provocative lyrics. I grew up with radical left-wing politics, which are even farther outside the mainstream than they were when I was a teenager, being treated as perfectly normal ways of seeing the world (and to be honest, I still think they are). Therefore, when I see that a band whose nominal acronym has meant (many things, but most often) “Millions Of Dead Cops” is coming to town, all I think is “Oh wow, classic punk band with tremendous career gracing us all with their presence! FEATURED.”

So maybe this isn’t the most family-friendly pick. For those of you who that bugs, I’d recommend scrolling down to the Steely Dan blurb below. For the cool kids among you who stuck around, though, let me explain why MDC are both outstanding and important. Their 1980 debut single, “John Wayne Was A Nazi,” was a groundbreaking early example of re-examining the myths of pop culture to expose the racism, misogyny, and xenophobia lurking at their heart. Their 1982 debut LP, Millions Of Dead Cops, brought us the classic left-wing protest slogan, “No War! No KKK! No Fascist USA!” And it isn’t just their earliest material that deserves celebration; by their 1987 third LP, This Blood’s For You, they had become “Millions Of Damn Christians,” and were infusing their classic speedy hardcore with complex song structures and mind-bending riffs that they still delivered at a million miles an hour.

They’re still relevant today, too. In 2016, they rerecorded their classic tune “Born To Die” as an anti-Trump anthem (chanting “No Trump! No KKK! No Fascist USA!”), then followed that with their first album in over a decade (this time under the name “Millions of Deceived Citizens”), Mein Trumpf, which showed that the hardcore veterans (who still feature three of their four original members) are as fired-up, pissed-off, and full of raging punk tunes as ever. They’ll be joined by fellow politically-informed Texas punk rippers The Elected Officials, as well as Ohio’s Cult Of Frost, who are, of all things, a Celtic Frost tribute act who only play the Hellhammer demos and the first three albums (aw, Monotheist though…). Local freakers Lipid and The Alex Jonestown Massacre will get this started in fine fashion so you can circle-pit all night. No Trump! No KKK! No Fascist USA!

Wednesday, September 26, 8 PM
1476, Paint Store, Desert Altar, Vulcanite @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
As a relatively old lady who was born exactly 500 years after the year Salem, Massachusetts band 1476 named themselves after, I’m a little fuzzy on what was actually going on that year, but if you check Wikipedia, you’ll find that notorious Romanian prince Vlad The Impaler was killed that year, and I think that gives you somewhat of an idea. This band pulls from all sorts of dark, mysterious genres of guitar-based music, from ambient folk and moody progressive rock to hardcore punk and black metal.

On their 2017 album, Our Season Draws Near, they create a foreboding musical atmosphere highlighted by passionate vocals and intricate multilayered guitar riffing, all driven by a ferocious rhythm section. They’re sure to take you on a dark journey of the mind when they hit Strange Matter’s stage tonight, and they’ll be aided in their mission by a trio of local bands who all capture a different aspect of 1476’s multi-genre melange: Paint Store, whose technical instrumental metal sound summons memories of long-gone Richmond legends Breadwinner, for one. For another, Desert Altar, who take a fascinating and fun approach to the whole retro-doom thing. And then there’s the groovy sludge of Vulcanite, starting this night off right. Get into it.

Thursday, September 27, 7 PM
Low Cut Connie, Ruby Boots @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $15 (order tickets HERE)
When you think of rock n’ roll these days, the piano is not the first instrument you think of. However, we’d be fools to ignore the legacy this instrument has in the history of the music: founding figures like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis used their pianos to generate firestorms of rockin’ energy that set the dancehalls and roadhouses of the mid-50s American South on fire. And now, 60 years later, Low Cut Connie frontman Adam Weiner is coming to Richmond to do it all over again.

Low Cut Connie have a hellacious reputation for killer live shows, and in an NPR interview earlier this year, Weiner talked about his onstage activity, and how he can’t stand to sit still in front of his piano when there’s a crowd to interact with. It’s the fact that he’s able to mix it up, getting sweaty and wild onstage every night, while continuing to crank out the old-school country-tinged rock n’ roll sound of Low Cut Connie — as displayed on new LP Dirty Pictures (Part 2) — with flawless aplomb that makes this group an absolutely unmissable live act.  Bloodshot recording artist Ruby Boots, who’s got a raging femme energy and a powerful country-punk sound, kicks things off in a manner worth arriving early for. So you know what to do — get down to Capital Ale House tomorrow night and see it all for yourself!

Friday, September 28, 6 PM
Come Clean, Sharp Sleeves, Nine Line, We Call This Courage @ Cornerstone Cigar Bar – Free!
I may write a weekly column about music, but y’all, I’ve never claimed to be the coolest girl in the world. I just know what I like. Honestly, that’s a whole lot of stuff, and sometimes it’s stuff that no one else seems to pick up on. About a decade back, the thing I was into that no one else (or at least, no one else over 25) was picking up on was “easycore,” a genre that mixed the chunky guitars of melodic hardcore with the catchiness and emotional tone of pop-punk. A whole bunch of bands were doing this par excellence circa 2010 — Four Year Strong, Fireworks, Set Your Goals — but they all either changed their sound or broke up, and it’s been years now since I heard a really good example of the sound. I miss it.

That’s why I’m stoked to hear about North Carolina’s Come Clean coming to town. Their new EP, From Down The Street, isn’t quite out yet, but their 2016 debut, Won’t Wait, hits all the same pleasure centers for me as classic New Found Glory and first-LP Saves The Day did, and I can never get enough of stuff like that. They’ll be coming to the Cornerstone Cigar Bar (really? I hope they don’t allow smoking in the show room) in the company of Sharp Sleeves, who hail from Blacksburg and have a bit of a Florida tinge (a la Hot Water Music) to their pop-punk. With the addition of RVA locals Nine Line and We Call This Courage, you’re looking at a stacked bill of mid-Atlantic pop-punk excellence. Best of all, this show is free! That might even be worth braving a bit of cigar smoke for (be ready to wash everything you wore immediately afterwards though).

Saturday, September 29, 8 PM
Centerfolds, Something More, Nominee, House & Home @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
One good pop-punk show deserves another, right? And this time, the headliners are local. Centerfolds have a bit of an easycore connection, as some members of Centerfolds used to play music with members of RVA’s leading easycore export, Broadside. However, since their 2017 LP, Bad Heaven, they’ve definitely moved in a more angst-ridden emotional direction — the desperation in their vocals and the minor-chord moods of the guitars are sure to make this band a fave for anyone who stays up late blasting Real Friends and Knuckle Puck records with the lights off (yes, that has definitely been me at times).

Now, if you were paying attention to this column last year around this time, you probably noticed the Common Grounds fest, an eight-band pop-punk package show that featured not only Centerfolds but also the other two headliners on this bill, Baltimore’s Something More and RVA’s own Nominee. I have never hidden the fact that I love Nominee — last year’s Drag Me Out EP was a big personal fave — and Something More have won me over with excellent tunes like “Brentwood Park” (from their split with Carry The Banner) and “All My Best Friends Are Dogs” (from their Dogs EP). Local newcomers House & Home kick this one off, and it’s gonna rule. Get stoked.

Sunday, September 30, 8 PM
Ocean Heights, Venus Milo, Cupid McCoy, Solace Sovay, Missangelbird @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
A decade after we first learned that Beyonce was a Grizzly Bear fan, the ever-increasing cross-pollination between the worlds of indie and r&b is a well-established reality. However, there’s still a lot of new territory to explore in the intersections between the two genres, and New Jersey’s Ocean Heights are one of the first groups to start mapping that interstitial space out. The results they’ve generated, showcased most prominently on recent single “No Waves,” are both fascinatingly unpredictable and pleasing in the extreme.

Mixing the sort of jangly guitar that early 80s UK bands like Orange Juice and Tears For Fears were drawing from 70s R&B records anyway with a smooth soul vocal and electronic sound results in some incredibly delicious tunes, the sort of thing that will appeal to anyone who ever wished Chromeo were more sincere, or Mac DeMarco had a bit more funk to his sound. A whole bunch of local groups on a similar tip, including up-and-coming standouts Cupid McCoy, the excellently-named Missangelbird, and the dirty-faced, angel-voiced boys of Venus Milo, are also on the bill. Solace Sovay, who are a bit closer to the indie-shoegaze side of things, will make an appearance to start things out and get the atmosphere in The Camel perfectly aligned for a night of musical deliciousness.

Monday, October 1, 7:30 PM
Steely Dan @ Altria Theater – $49.50 – $149.50 (order tickets HERE)
Would you believe that one of the highest-selling, most-played artists of the 70s and 80s, one of the best-produced and most polished-sounding bands of all time, were also a celebration of decadence with a name derived from a sex toy in William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch? Well, it’s true; not only is that really where Steely Dan’s name comes from, singer Donald Fagen loved to write lyrics glorifying debauched behavior, from giving your phone number to a woman marrying one of your friends in case the relationship doesn’t work out (“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”) to gratuitous drunk driving (“Deacon Blues”) to getting ratted out by a friend and busted for drugs at Bard College (“My Old School”). So much for your family-friendly alternate show pick, huh?

After the 2017 death of founding guitarist Walter Becker, Steely Dan aren’t quite the same as they once were, but singer-keyboardist Donald Fagen is still holding it down behind the mic, and anyone who ever listened to their records knows that the best element of Steely Dan’s many classic progressive rock albums is the top-notch work from hired-gun studio musicians under Fagen and Becker’s direction. Rest assured the backing band will be a thousand percent on point at this show, and Fagen will sing just as wonderfully as ever about major dudes and Haitian divorces; it’ll be totally worth the $50 second-balcony tickets. Get yours now.

Tuesday, October 2, 7 PM
Death Bells, Narrow Head, True Body, Serqet @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $10 (order tickets HERE)
I love the way the hardcore kids who are hitting their late 20s these days are all going full-on goth. Something about having that sort of musical background makes bands do a really good job at the whole dark, moody postpunk thing — witness Iceage, Ceremony (the CA one, not the VA one that’s been goth the whole time), and quite a few other bands. Death Bells, who started out in Australia but are located in Cali these days, have a similar thing going on.

Their most recent single, “Echoes,” uses wire-tight guitar leads and foreboding synths to create an atmosphere that is then infused with a dark, spectral energy by their rumbling rhythm section and the powerful, hypnotic voice of frontman Will Canning. For a band that had already hit a high-water mark with 2017 debut LP Standing At The Edge Of The World, it’s a pleasantly surprising ascension to new heights. That’s certainly something you’ll want to experience, as is the set that you’ll get from Death Bells tourmates Narrow Head, who are tapping into that same sort of super-loud shoegaze sound that Jesu and Nothing have done so well with. Norfolk post-punkers True Body and RVA goth-peacepunk band Serqet round out this incredible bill, taking place within the refined halls of Capital Ale House. How strangely appropriate.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, September 28, 7:30 PM
Meg Myers, Adam Jones @ The NorVA – $18 in advance/$22 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Meg Myers is a new discovery for me, but I really dig her. Her latest album, Take Me To The Disco, has a variety of different sounds going on at once, to the point that it’s hard to know what genre it is or how to even describe it. The best I can tell you is that it should appeal to fans of everything from Bat For Lashes to Garbage to Florence And The Machine; it has that sort of dark postpunk appeal while also incorporating a strong electronically-based pop songwriting sense.

Despite the use of the word “disco” in the title of her latest record, there’s no dance music here — you’re more likely to find crunchy guitars running up against programmed beats, like the best of the post-Nirvana 90s meeting the progressive alt sounds of the 21st century. It is at times tough to categorize, but it’s just as tough to dislike — Meg Myers is a talented lady with a ton of emotional intensity injected into her music, and you’re sure to feel the effects, especially when it’s all happening right in front of you in a live environment.

Saturday, September 29, 7 PM
Super Whatevr, Beach Goons, Dube, Morningside, Party Wave @ 37th and Zen – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’ve seen a lot of different ways to render the word “whatever” over the years, from people making a “W” with their fingers to a fad amongst my friends back at the dawn of the current millennium to say “whatev” or even “whatev2k” (boy, that’s aged poorly). I’ve never seen “whatevr” before, but in this time of dropping vowels to look cool, I’m not surprised — just kind of amazed that Super Whatevr don’t write their name in all caps. But I’m actually glad they don’t, because this California alt-rock band have a much more fun and creative sound than I’d expect from any band pulling the MGMT move in 2018.

Their new album, Never Nothing, is full of catchy choruses and bouncy rhythms, mixing a bit of the ol’ emo revival with that disco-fied garage rock thing that a bunch of bands used to make hay while the sun was shining around the turn of the millennium — think the Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, etc. Why am I talking so much about the Y2K era? Maybe this band put me in the mood — but considering how great music was back then, it’s certainly not a bad thing. They’re joined by fellow Californian rock revivalists Beach Goons, who are capable of evoking everything from mid-60s garage raunch to late 50s teenage-queen balladry. Canadian group Dube will also be on the bill, bringing a similarly fun brand of loud-guitar rock n’ roll. If you wanna dance, this show is really where you’re gonna want to be this Saturday. These groups will get you moving.

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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, there’s plenty more of my writing to read over at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 15 – August 21

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FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, August 16, 8 PM
Big Freedia, Jafar Flowers, Sofia Lakis, DJ Skrt Skrt @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance/$22 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The Queen Of Bounce is back! Big Freedia is one of the foremost practitioners of the New Orleans-based style of music known as bounce, and she’s brought the sound worldwide with an LGBTQ-centered presentation and a collection of nuclear-powered dance floor bangers. She had a big moment here in RVA several years ago, getting huge crowds of people dancing everywhere in town, from The Hat Factory to Hadad’s Lake. It’s been a couple of years since Freedia has hit town, but she’s here to get booties shaking once again tomorrow night at The Broadberry. And if you’re not ready for the dance explosion that will take place once she hits the stage, you better start limbering up now.

It’s been four years since Freedia’s 2014 LP, Just Be Free, entered the world, and she’s been busy with a variety of projects, from a book and a Christmas album to working with Beyonce on “Formation,” but she’s back with 3rd Ward Bounce, a brand new EP that is her first major-label release. Her sound is still the sort of nonstop parade of banging beats that it’s always been, but new singles like “Rent” introduce a bit more dynamics into the mix — it no longer has quite the same sensory-overload quality of groundbreaking early singles like “Y’all Get Back Now.” But if you think Freedia’s music is going to be a less powerful inducement to getting on the floor and shaking that azz, you’ve got another think coming.

So get out your dancing shoes and get ready to lose control at the Broadberry tomorrow night. And get there on time, because the festivities will start well before Big Freedia takes the stage. The DJs of Ice Cream Support Group will be on hand to open things up; back-to-back sets from DJ Skrt Skrt, Sofia Lakis, and Jafar Flowers will get the party turned up to the maximum velocity, and do a great job of representing Richmond’s POC and LGBTQ communities in the bargain. This one’s gonna be epic; whether you’ve caught Big Freedia in the past or this is your first time encountering the reigning diva of bounce, you need to be at The Broadberry for this one.

Wednesday, August 15, 8 PM
Band Of Horses, Bonny Doon @ The National – $27.50 in advance/$33 at the door (order tickets HERE)
I admit it — I’ve always had a soft spot for Band Of Horses. Their melodic indie sound, which mingles dashes of alt-country twang and folk atmosphere into a mix of incredibly tuneful choruses and subtly infectious guitar melodies, has always had the ability to connect on that same gorgeously emotional level that the best work of Wilco and My Morning Jacket hits. They’ve had a variety of lineup shifts since their excellent 2006 debut LP, Everything All The Time, but leader Ben Bridwell has kept things together smoothly throughout that time, and continued to explore intriguing new facets of the group’s sound on each new release.

Their latest LP, Why Are You OK, saw the band (of horses) get together with Grandaddy leader Jason Lytle to add a few more electronic ingredients to their sound, with fabulous results. But really, it’s just more of what we’ve come to expect; from recent singles like “Casual Party” to the old-school favorites like “Funeral,” Band Of Horses have plenty of excellent songs at their disposal. And now they come to The National to present fans who’ve stuck with them over the past decade with a collection of gorgeous tunes that are sure to put a smile on anyone’s face — even if you’re just discovering them now. Don’t miss the boat.

Thursday, August 16, 8 PM
Enemy Soil, Suppression, Ampallang Infection, Disintegration @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Here’s a huge treat for grindcore lovers past, present, and future. Enemy Soil, one of the most brutal and prolific bands of the 90s grind/power-violence heyday, have returned to action once again. Founder and only constant member Richard Johnson, affectionately known as “the grindfather,” is taking some time away from his current project, Drugs Of Faith, to resurrect the band that originally brought him fame. And while Enemy Soil spent a considerable portion of their career existing as a drum-machine backed mostly-solo project, this reunion brings back several original members of the group to restore the full-band lineup that (in my humble opinion, at least) was responsible for their best stuff.

And see, this is where you should really get stoked. Because this lineup features some real heavyweights, including longtime Enemy Soil bassist Russ Mason, also of Reeking Cross; drummer Adam Perry, who longtime Richmonders will remember from his tenure with chaos masters PCP Roadblock; and vocalist JR Hayes of Pig Destroyer. From lightspeed grind slaughteramas to brutally heavy breakdowns, this group has it all, and this lineup is the perfect one to bring their outstanding sound to light once again. 90s grind survivors and certified hometown weirdos Suppression will join Enemy Soil on this gig to make it a double dose of legendary VA blastbeat insanity. Plus, we’ll get sets from DC drum-machine grind maniacs Ampallang Infection (um, ouch) and RVA thrash-grinders Disintegration, just to sweeten the pot. Outstanding.

Friday, August 17, 6 PM
Sports Bar, New Lions, Magnus Lush, Naked Pictures @ Hardywood – Free!
Ah, Sports Bar. You’ve gotta love these guys, no matter how slack they are. And make no mistake, Sports Bar are slackers. They’ve released three songs in the past four years. They’re still using a 2010 quote from this magazine in their promo material, even though we’ve written about them several times since then. They don’t even play shows very often anymore — this Friday’s Hardywood appearance is their first Richmond show since early spring. But all of that is 100 percent OK, because when they do get material out, it’s invariably outstanding. From “Get Da Body” to “I Was Going To Shave My Beard, But I Took A Nap Instead” to “Big Mac Yeah” to “Roll High, Lie Well (Kuriki),” their catalog is full of catchy classics that’ll stick in your head for weeks after you hear them.

And they’ve got a whole lot more of them for you in the coming months. Eight years after getting together, Sports Bar is finally about to release their debut LP, and while it doesn’t officially come out until October, the word is they have copies. Will you be able to score one for yourself at this show? I have no idea — but I do think it’s pretty highly likely you’ll at least hear a few tunes from it during Sports Bar’s set. And that’s worth coming out for right there — especially since this show, part of Hardywood’s ongoing “Fresh Can Friday” series, is absolutely free! You’ll get sets from excellent RVA bands New Lions, Magnus Lush, and Naked Pictures as well, so you really don’t have any reason not to go. Show up ready to sing along — you’ll have plenty of opportunities.

Saturday, August 18, 8 PM
Lazer/Wulf, Backwoods Payback, Dumb Waiter, The Bronzed Chorus @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This show promises to be a festival of the senses for those of you who appreciate serious musical craftmanship, but also like it heavy and energetic as hell. Lazer/Wulf, an Atlanta band that reincarnates the classic spirit of RVA’s own (mostly) instrumental math gods, Breadwinner, and mingles that complex crunch with the shred-tastic power of Coalesce or the Dillinger Escape Plan, are coming to town to bowl us all over — and simultaneously inspire us to marvel at the complexity of their instrumentation and arrangements. Indeed, their 2014 LP, The Beast Of Left And Right, was “written as a musical palindrome,” with songs at the beginning of the album constructed as musical mirror images of songs at the end.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: How the hell does that work? Honestly, you don’t have to worry about it. Regardless of the multi-layered elements of their song structures, it’s simplicity itself to just let yourself be rocked like crazy by the pulverizingly heavy riffs this band dispenses. And they’ll be joined on this bill by the equally heavy (though far less instrumental) PA sludge-rock group Backwoods Payback, who recently drafted Erik Larson (Alabama Thunderpussy/Avail/Parasytic) to hold down the drum kit, as well as releasing an excellent new LP, Future Slum, earlier this month. If you don’t know this band, you’ll need to check it out. The bill is rounded out by instrumental tech-math wildmen The Bronzed Chorus and local jazz-thrash freaks Dumb Waiter, and you can expect to get a massive kick out of all involved. It may have nothing to do with lawnmowers, but this one’s gonna be fun regardless.

Sunday, August 19, 9 PM
Captive, The Concussion Theory, Curtana, Dr. No @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
The emo scene in this town is kind of a well-kept secret, and if you ask me, that’s a real shame. We can all help shed more light on some of the excellent bands plumbing the depths of this genre Sunday by heading out to The Camel, though. Captive might not strictly count as emo, at least by their own definition, and their ability to bust out some nearly prog-metal breakdowns — as demonstrated on 2016 concept album A Lost Dream; The Dreamer Lost — shows that if nothing else, they’re stretching the limits of the genre. But the way they always return to emotionally-resonant melodic choruses with a subtle underlying crunch, a la Moving Mountains or Hopesfall, shows where their roots lie.

Therefore, it makes a ton of sense to see them sharing a bill with The Concussion Theory, who’ve been making melodic yet passionate music here in Richmond for about half a decade now. Recently released EP Lament shows that they’ve only improved over the course of that time, as songs like “Simile Of Light” create the perfect mixture of driving rock riffs and emotionally-driven melodic choruses. They’re in completely different scenes, but these guys would probably appeal strongly to fans of fellow Richmonders Sea Of Storms (have these two bands really never played together?), and if you’re one of those, you should definitely make your way to the show this Sunday night. This all-local bill is rounded out by progressive instrumental guitar-slingers Curtana and Deftones-style metallic post-hardcore rockers Dr. No. Get familiar with it.

Monday, August 20, 7 PM
Antiphons, Treadles, Jupiter Styles, missangelbird @ The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Keeping up with the indie scene in this town is a full-time job, but it’s a really FUN full-time job, and you’re sure to have a blast at the Camel this Monday night when Antiphons headlines a group of indie bands from both within and outside of RVA. Antiphons themselves are taking solo form on this show; recent facebook posts indicate that the full-band version is still getting up to speed after some lineup changes, which means leader Brian Dove will be going this one alone. Tunes like “Benadryl” and “Human Bruise” are sure to reveal entirely new dimensions in the solo format, and maybe we’ll even get a stripped-down preview of some new material. We can hope.

New Orleans’ Treadles add a powerful inducement for attendance to this show on their own behalf. This quartet’s latest EP, Bees Are Thieves Too, shows that they’ve grown ably from their origins as a solo project into an excellent example of a complicatedly melodic indie rock band with a ton of tricks up their sleeves. They’re joined on this tour by Chicago’s Jupiter Styles, who have a bit more of an alt-garage slacker rock sound, full of wry irony and melodic sincerity. Both bands have an infectious spirit that’s sure to have you bopping along. Local opener missangelbird will kick things off with another solo set full of jangly-rockin’ indie tunes. The whole thing’s gonna be a blast.

Tuesday, August 21, 11 PM
The Impalers, Iron Reagan, Lipid @ En Su Boca – $8
Oh my goodness, all you hardcore punks and punked-out hardcore kids better get out your boots for this one, because the Impalers are gonna inspire a powerful urge within you to put down the tacos and start the pit. That’s my way of saying… get the munchies out of the way early at this one. It shouldn’t be hard, since this rager of a gig doesn’t even get going til 11 PM, but I want to make sure to emphasize the point, because The Impalers’ 2017 LP, Cellar Dweller, is such a nonstop blast of outta-control USHC/punk n’ roll riffs that once it gets going, you’ll have to either jump on the ride or get the hell out of the way. We humbly suggest the former.

You’ll have to be careful to have some energy left for the Impalers set, too, because with Iron Reagan going on right before them, the velocity’s sure to be high. Their last LP, Crossover Ministry, demonstrated that this project of Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse, and Suppression members has retained its masterful ability to bust out the exact sort of incredible mid-80s thrash-core that made the original wave of DRI and Suicidal Tendencies fans want to flip their hat-brims up and scribble slogans onto the underside. “IRON REAGAN” will fit under their with ease; grab your sharpie. This show will open up with a set from relative newcomers Lipid, who just released an EP full of snarky hardcore punk rage on Vinyl Conflict and are ready to drag the classic Dead Kennedys sound into the 21st century and kick off this show in proper fashion. Make sure you’re ready; this one’s gonna get nuts in a hurry.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Thursday, August 16, 8 PM
Ensepulcher, Organ Trail, Redundant Protoplasm, Kryptcest @ Riffhouse Pub – $5
As if there isn’t enough happening in Richmond on Thursday night, there’s also this incredible show happening just down the highway at Chesapeake’s Riffhouse Pub. It’s an appropriate name for a venue that will host Fresno, CA death metal trio Ensepulcher, a crew of no-frills headbangers who keep the classic sound alive in fine fashion on their debut EP, No Sanctity In Death. Subsonic guttural vocals join rumbling drums and downtuned axes cranking out classic Florida-style riffs that is eminently appropriate from members of Fiend and Acephalix. If the sounds of Autopsy, Dismember, and Left Hand Path-era Entombed are music to your ears, you’ll need to gas up the hatchback for this one.

PA’s Organ Trail are also on this bill, and anyone who caught them at the Tired & Pissed showcase last week will know that they’re the kind of band who’ll fit perfectly on this bill. Not quite as full of low-end as Ensepulcher, this band’s sound is nonetheless deep, dark and brutal; what’s more, it’s got the sort of gore-drenched over-the-top lyrical madness going on that makes Exhumed such a fun listen. This one’s appointment listening, for sure. The bill also features Redundant Protoplasm, whose name reminds me of Ren chastising Stimpy and whose song titles remind me of early Carcass’s medical-textbook examinations. Sonically, these guys are pure lo-fi death-grind, while fellow VA Beach group Kryptcest are pure low-end brutality. This one will be loud.

Monday, August 20, 8 PM
Pusha T, Valee @ The NorVA – $37.50 in advance/$43 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s not like I need to tell you who Pusha T is. Even if you’re not aware of hip hop at all, his beef with Drake this year has been at the forefront of pop culture news, and you’re sure to have heard. But if you actually pay attention to hip hop, you know that this beef is way, way down the list of reasons why you should hit The NorVA on Monday to see Tidewater native Pusha T headlining a show in his old stomping grounds. For one thing, there’s the legacy of amazing material left behind by the Clipse, the groundbreaking duo that originally brought Pusha and his brother, No Malice, to fame.

Since the Clipse dissolved, though, Pusha’s continued to make incredible music, most recently on Daytona, which was produced by Kanye West as part of his five-part “Wyoming Sessions” earlier this year. From LP tracks like the excellent “If You Know, You Know” and spooky-sounding single “What Would Meek Do” to the fiery Drake-diss single “The Story Of Adidon,” Push’s lyrical style can’t be touched right now, and the top-quality production provided by Kanye and others results in some of the best hip hop being made right now. And it’s out of Virginia — so what better place to see it brought to life onstage? This show’s gonna be off the hook. Make sure you’re part of it.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond