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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

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

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

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

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

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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: November 21 – November 27

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

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, November 23, 8 PM
The Big Payback, Weekend Plans @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Hey Richmond, it’s Christmas time! Well, OK, it’s still the day before Thanksgiving as you read this, but we all know what comes the day after Thanksgiving: Black Friday, the longstanding kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. In these days when stores are playing Christmas carols over the muzak the day after Halloween, it might seem like Black Friday actually lands several weeks into the Christmas shopping season, but none of us can deny that the most ridiculous sales (and the biggest customer mobs) all happen when the stores open the day after Thanksgiving. I mean, the evidence is on YouTube to prove it!

That being said, Richmond’s foremost James Brown tribute act, The Big Payback, are giving all of us a reason to leave the house on Black Friday despite all the crazy shopping crowds. Long after that whole pallet of $20 TVs is gone from the Walmart aisle, they’ll be taking the stage at The Camel to chase your Christmas shopping blues away with a set of powerful funk. Frontman Kelli Strawbridge has quite the reputation for talent, energy, and soul due to his many excellent projects around town (KINGS, Mekong Xpress, Mikrowaves, and the list goes on), and seeing The Big Payback makes clear that he was born to invoke the spirit of James Brown live on stage.

The Godfather Of Soul recorded three different Christmas albums over the course of his career, and we can only hope that Strawbridge and his crack ensemble of talented musicians are willing to bust out “Soulful Christmas” or “Go Power At Christmas Time” for this performance. Even if they just stick to the tried-and-true classics, though, you’ll still get a night full of perfectly-played funk grooves it’s impossible to sit still for. So get on the floor, get your groove on, and sweat those turkey pounds away. Start your Christmas season on the good foot.

Wednesday, November 21, 8:30 PM
Kofi Shepsu Trio @ Vagabond – Free!
It’s the night before Thanksgiving, and the last place you want to be is the party all your old high school friends are throwing down the street from your parents’ house. So hey, why not stay in town for an extra night and come groove on some smooth jazz sounds down at Vagabond? Drummer and bandleader Kofi Shepsu is quite young; he just graduated high school earlier this year. But don’t let his youth fool you — this man definitely knows his way around a kit.

Even with only a brief professional music career behind him, Shepsu has already managed to work with quite a few Richmond jazz heavyweights, including Charles Owens, Andrew Randazzo (of Butcher Brown), and Kevin Eichenberger (of CGI Jesus), among others. This particular session sees him leading a trio featuring the bass talents of veteran RVA jazz musician Michael Hawkins, as well as the piano stylings of Garen Dorsey, who previously played saxophone in the avant-garde jazz-metal project Groam. The results of this collaboration aren’t exactly predictable, but they’re sure to be enjoyable. Certainly more so than hearing about whatever the annoying guy who sat behind you in English class ten years ago has been up to.

Friday, November 23, 6 PM
RVA Noise Fest: The Finale, feat. Yohimbe, Dyrt, Fake Object, Xenojothsz, Teenage Cynobyte, Kyle Flanagan, Hunting Dog, Kisner, Melul, Ceremonial Scissors, Broadcastatic, Nu Depth, Coteries, Richmond Avantgarde Improv Collective (photo by Joey Wharton), Thieves Of Shiloh, Internecine, Surfacing, and more? @ Strange Matter – $5
Some of the worst news to reach the ears of the Richmond music scene in quite some time broke last week: Strange Matter, which has indubitably been one of the top venues for live music in Richmond over the past decade, would be closing down before the end of 2018. Since the word got out, a variety of different scenes within the local music community have expressed their sorrow over this awful turn of events by putting together one last hurrah for all the local groups within their particular music world. Friday marks the first of these events to hit the calendar — and certainly not the last.

Richmond has long been a hub for experimental noise production, and annual celebrations like RVA Noise Fest were always a great opportunity for the many creative projects within that scene to grab the attention of the community at large — often with damaged beats, harsh noise, and skronking improvisational wildness. Now they’re all coming together to do it one final time. Over a dozen noise acts, from local stalwarts like Coteries and Fake Object to returning former residents like Nu Depth, will all take the stage and blast the loyal Strange Matter denizens with massive walls of sonic chaos. They’ll your mind clean of all thoughts relating to holiday carols and gift shopping, creating an army of shambling noise zombies ready to take over the world. Or at least, we can hope they will.

Saturday, November 24, 4 PM
Nerve, Love Roses, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Smoke Signals, Thirst For The Sea, 7th Grade Girl Fight, Satori Daydream, Flood The Asylum @ 3 B’s Bar and Grill – $10 or $7 plus donation
It’s not often that I’d send you 90 minutes to the northwest of the city for a Saturday afternoon show, but these aren’t normal times. It’s a holiday weekend, you’ve got plenty of time on your hands, and this is a sincerely fascinating bill that will offer you a chance to catch up with all the bands you’ve missed from smaller cities and towns around the state (as well as a couple of DC-area projects). Plus, it’s for a good cause — these bands are coming together to feed the hungry and donate toys to underprivileged kids, which is always a good thing to do, right?

So who are the bands you’re going to hear as part of this trip up 64 West? Well, there’s the dark, raging hardcore of Maryland’s Nerve. There’s the driving emotional post-hardcore of Charlottesville’s Smoke Signals. There’s the rockin’ indie-garage of fellow Charlottesvillains 7th Grade Girl Fight. There’s the brutality of Fredericksburg deathcore mosh warriors Flood The Asylum. There’s the goofy, speedy punk of NoVA’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. And there’s more, including RVA faves Love Roses. Plus, it all takes place in a scenic central VA town, inside a bar that clearly used to be a Pizza Hut. How fun is that? Fire up the GPS app on your phone and get there!

Sunday, November 25, 6 PM
Hand Out, W I S H, Manson Family Values @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
We’re all gonna have to get back to work on Monday, which is never fun after a long weekend, but of course you can soften the blow with some excellent live music. On Sunday evening, Garden Grove will present all comers with a set from Hand Out, a relative newcomer from New Orleans who apparently have some history in that city (members previously played in NOLA bands Modern Language and Variants). Here in RVA, all we have to reckon with is Hand Out’s debut EP, recorded earlier this year before the quartet had filled out its lineup.

Not that you can tell from listening to it — Blood & Water has a full, powerful sound that channels the work of groups like Balance And Composure and You Blew It. If heartfelt, hard-rockin’ emocore is your cup of tea, this band’s gonna make you want to go back for refills. They’re joined on the bill by local newcomers W I S H (they write it with those spaces on purpose), whose recently released two-song EP finds them tapping into the spirit of prime 90s shoegaze from the US. The Swirlies and the Lilys come immediately to mind, not that that’ll mean much to my younger readers. Loud guitars, hazy vocals, and ethereal melodies should appeal to everyone, though. And honestly, if you don’t love the moniker picked by openers Manson Family Values enough to give them a shot based on name alone, I don’t even know what to tell you.

Monday, November 26, 6 PM
Colin Phils (photo by Mags Design), Castle OG, Model Child, Don Babylon, Moniker, Halfcast @ Strange Matter – $10
These farewell-to-Strange-Matter shows are gonna come hot and heavy over the next few weeks, y’all, but don’t get too jaded to ’em, because in only a few short weeks, the club we’ve loved for a decade now will be gone forever. The best advice I could possibly give you is to treat them like Pokemon and catch ’em all. This one in particular will be rewarding for fans of interestingly complex underground rock sounds; the fact that it’s headlined by the one and only Colin Phils only makes that even more clear. This South Korea-via-Richmond group impressed the hometown crowd with their strong split LP with Houdan The Mystic.

Since then, they’ve plentifully proven their mettle (not metal, though, these guys are more math-rock) in quite a few live performances around town. Give them a chance to prove it to you on Monday night at Strange Matter, and you’re sure to come away impressed. Castle OG (the initials stand for “Of Genre,” and I have still never figured out if this is a high-fantasy reference or what) have been making some waves of their own lately. They’ve got a killer indie-pop sound complete with autotuned vocals and some really catchy synth parts, as showcased on their “No Trick” single from last year. And then of course there are a ton of other great local bands who are somewhere on the rock spectrum, from guitar-slinging faves Don Babylon to the unassuming alt-rock of Moniker. There are at least two more bands on this bill, and word is more will be added, so for only ten bucks, you really can’t go wrong. Drink in that Smatter ambiance while you can.

Tuesday, November 27, 8 PM
Blame God (photo by Danny DeRusso Photography), Ancient Torture Techniques, Berkowitz, MSD, Spontaneous Noize Combustion @ McCormack’s – $8
Things may be getting dire where the lower Fan’s music scene is concerned (Flora’s also scheduled for the chopping block), but down on the grimy streets of Shockoe Bottom, the Between 2 Beers crew is still keeping the metal flame burning at McCormack’s. It’s a heartening sign of hope for the future, especially when this particular show is headlined by the excellently named New York group Blame God. Their 2017 EP Strategically Confined is a balls-out slab of hardcore rage and biker-metal power, all rolled up together into five songs of pure hate. These guys are going to blow minds and explode heads when they hit the McCormack’s stage, so come prepared.

And expect the unrelenting onslaught to start the second the first band takes the stage at this show. Hailing from Roanoke, the openers in question are known as Spontaneous Noize Combustion and their flavor of blurry, blown-out D-beat is full of harsh feedback and harsher screams. It only gets more hectic from there: MSD bring the grinding death metal to destroy your eardrums. Berkowitz, a new group formed from the ashes of Throne of Botis and Murder, might not be for sensitive souls, but will definitely satisfy your appetite for brutal death grind madness. And Ancient Torture Techniques, the power-violence trio that once upon a time did a split with long-gone Richmond ragers Street Pizza, appear to be fully back from the dead and ready to rip your face off. Sounds like a great time, huh? After all, a little dismemberment is just what anyone should expect from a top-level metal show.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, November 23, 7 PM
The Last Bison, Abby Huston @ Toast – $18 (order tickets HERE)
In a time when bands taking inspiration from mega-selling “indie” folk groups like The Lumineers and Of Monsters And Men are pretty thick on the ground, it can be tough to find anyone talented messing around with those kinds of sounds. Fortunately, The Last Bison have been around for a while, and built up quite the track record for themselves. No insincere johnny-come-latelies they; new album Suda is their sixth release since 2012, and shows some intriguing growth since 2015’s Dorado. The Last Bison initially structured their sound around instruments like acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin, but on their new album, it appears their “mountain-top chamber music” have evolved into a strange sort of off-kilter synth-pop sound.

And that’s a pretty good thing, on the whole — mainly because this trio is incredibly talented, writing irresistible melodies and catchy choruses that stand alongside the best of them. Granted, tunes like “Gold” — which has an almost Modest Mouse-like bounce — are far from the folky acoustic charm of early hits like “Switzerland,” but you wouldn’t want a band to stagnate, would you? And rest assured, if you loved their melodies before, the new album will by no means run you off. So head to Toast this Friday night, and let The Last Bison show you what they’ve been up to for the last few years. By the end of the night, you’re liable to forget ever having known the Lumineers existed.

Saturday, November 24, 8 PM
Process of Suffocation, Appalling, Voarm, Night Hag @ Riffhouse Pub – $8
Process of Suffocation, Memphis’s mysterious masters of death metal, come to Norfolk this Saturday night, and all of you better get ready to bang your head. This group’s blackened sound lands somewhere between the chaotic rage of early Possessed and the relentless rumble of NYC legends Internal Bleeding. It can be heard in all its fine fury on 2015’s Caos Y Destruccion 666, but the group’s released nothing in the three years since. By now they’re bound to have built up a backlog of new stuff, and anyone heading out to this show can look forward to some fresh cuts from the slaughter.

They can also look forward to a triple thrash threat of VA bands backing them up, including two RVA all-stars. Appalling will thrill the Tidewater area with their talented take on thrash metal, which interjects both significant melodic flavor and a great deal of old-school deathrage. Then there’s the straight-up Scandinavian-style black metal of Voarm, who’ve made quite an impression on the Richmond scene over the past couple of years and are more than prepared to the same to Hampton Roads. Virginia Beach’s own Night Hag, who demonstrated their ability to come up with excellent titles on this year’s Insemination Rites Of The Succubus, split the difference between lumbering death metal and brutal, powerful doom, like some strange Frankenstein’s monster made of parts from Autopsy and Noothgrush. Epic.

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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.]

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