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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: June 6 – June 12

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FEATURED SHOW
Thursday, June 7, 5:30 PM
Doll Baby, Gladie, Hurry, Clayton England @ The Lilly Pad Cafe – Free!
Let’s start from first principles: music is the literal best thing in the world, y’all. Nothing else can be relied upon the way music can be. And music is best when you’re seeing people make it right in front of you; that subjective statement is a fundamental building block of this entire column. But having said all that, it’s understandable if after a while the same clubs and sounds week after week leave a person wanting… something different. Something more.

Whenever I find something that fits that description, I immediately focus on it. Because let’s face it, I get restless too. If you, like me, are ready for a break in your normal routine, I’ve got a real treat for you this week. The Lilly Pad Cafe, which is located on the banks of the James River out by Osborne’s Landing, has been booking free shows on Thursday nights. And this week, they’re presenting a lineup that makes it the perfect night to take a short trip out of the city and watch the sun set while you watch bands play on a boat dock.

I’ve written a whole bunch and now we’ll have to rush through the actual bands, but the fact that the bill is topped by the jangle-punk pop angst of Doll Baby gives us all reason to be there right from the jump. They’re playing with a couple of Philly-based touring projects; Gladie is a duo featuring members of Cayetana and Three Man Cannon and making some excellent heartfelt melodic punk sounds on new EP Everyone Is Talking About You. Hurry is normally a band, but they’re touring as a solo act, and their pastoral indie-punk sounds should adapt well to the stripped-down format. These bands are both excellent pairings for local faves Doll Baby, and with Lilly Pad mainstay Clayton England kicking things off with some sad acoustic tunes, this will be an evening full of feels. Plus, for those of you who care about these kinds of things, you can apparently get buckets of Tecate for $10. Me, I’d rather just enjoy the view.

Wednesday, June 6, 7:30 PM
Japanese Breakfast, Eternal Summers @ The Broadberry – $15 (order tickets HERE)
The modern shoegaze revival continues on full-steam ahead and we all benefit from it once again, as a couple of the higher-quality bands to explore this sound in recent years now find themselves coming to the Broadberry on the same night, for the same show. Japanese Breakfast is the solo-ish project of Michelle Zauner, also of Little Big League and Post Post, and her 2017 sophomore LP, Soft Sounds From Another Planet, uses synth washes and programmed beats alongside retro-psych touches straight out of Swinging London — the harpsichord sounds on “Boyish” are a particularly charming surprise.

Now, how all this will translate live is always a question, but the songs themselves glow with such a warm spirit that the results are sure to be excellent regardless. And even more assuredly excellent is the set we’ll get from VA faves Eternal Summers, who have returned to action after a few years off with their brand-new fifth LP, Every Day It Feels Like I’m Dying. There’s been no diminishment in the melodic prowess or the sharp guitar attack this band brings to the table, and fans who’ve been wondering how the group could possibly follow up 2015’s excellent Gold And Stone (and may have started to worry that they wouldn’t) will be overjoyed at the payoff the new album represents. All that’s left is to see them bring it to life onstage — you won’t want to miss that. You know what to do.

Thursday, June 7, 8 PM
A Place Both Wonderful And Strange, True Body, Little Black Rain Clouds, Gothic Lizard @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Things are getting pretty wild in the world of electronic music these days. And by “wild,” I mean, people are actually starting to bring visible influence from 80s 4AD Records releases into the modern world. For those of you too young to remember the glory days of Dead Can Dance and Clan Of Xymox — OK, yes, I know, that’s most of you — let me assure you that this is a very positive development. Hearing Brooklyn’s A Place Both Wonderful And Strange pull off spooky ambient textures and moody vocals alongside dance beats that get your feet moving and making all of it work together in the most excellent, unified way is the kind of blast from the past that I’d love to get more of.

They’ll be conjuring up the Batcave right inside Strange Matter this Friday night, and they’ll have some formidable local help in doing so as well. True Body may have evolved out of the weirder corners of the hardcore world, but their most recent single, “Over It,” finds them going full-on moody goth, evoking the glittering moroseness of early-80s Cure and Sisters Of Mercy material with the sort of postpunk backbeat that’ll keep the Interpol fans happy. Long-running local spooksters Little Black Rain Clouds and ambient goth newcomers Gothic Lizard will round out this lineup with all the black light and black clothing you could possibly ask for.

Friday, June 8, 8 PM
Peach Kelli Pop, Piranha Rama, Big Baby @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s hard not to love stripped-down rock n’ roll with a killer melodic sense and plenty of delightful energy, so of course recommending that you all go see Peach Kelli Pop this Saturday night is a true no-brainer. Allie Hanlon’s been doing this project for damn near a decade now, and has retained a top-quality sound throughout, as can easily be heard on Peach Kelli Pop’s brand new LP (the first not to be named with a Roman numeral), Gentle Leader. On it, the band bounces back and forth from uptempo tunes that straddle the line between garage-pop and old-school melodic punk, and prettier acoustic tunes that focus on Hanlon’s gorgeous voice and plentiful hooky choruses.

Peach Kelli Pop have a ton to offer the discriminating fan of outstanding music, but they’ve been lucky to come together with a couple of equally powerful RVA locals who offer much the same brand of can’t-miss rock n’ roll talent. Piranha Rama sees a bunch of local vets coming together to crank out some organ-fueled psychedelic garage raunch stomp, and their new single lives up to every bit of potential the early hype offered up. Meanwhile, Big Baby — who charmed the entire city and beyond with last year’s gorgeously downcast Sour Patch EP — know how to combine forlorn melody and jangly bounce for the best possible results. If you haven’t discovered the excellence of their indie-pop tuneage yet, this is the perfect time to find out what you’ve been missing.

Saturday, June 9, 8 PM
Celeste, Infernal Coil, Ostraca, Lunger @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
There are a lot of right-wing idiots out there who’ll tell you that France is a country full of wimps, and I gotta tell ya, I wish I could drag every single one of those fools down to Strange Matter this Saturday night so they can find out how wrong they are when Celeste hit the stage. This powerful French band may not be as well known as Deathspell Omega, but their brick-solid mixture of roaring metallic hardcore, blasting black metal, and passionate emotional rage is if anything more likely to knock you on your ass than their more popular countrymen. 2017’s Infidèle​(​s) is a jet-black slab of pure fury, and when Celeste dish those songs out onstage, you’re going to feel it.

Celeste are joined on this trip through our local environs by chaos merchants Infernal Coil, whose unique and challenging sound may have some roots in the band’s origins in Idaho. What the heck is in Idaho? If Infernal Coil’s 2017 EP Bodies Set In Ashen Death is to give us any indication, it’s apparently a bleak, apocalyptic wasteland of noise and smoke… but I was in Twin Falls last year, and it was nothing like that, so who knows. Either way, Infernal Coil’s incredibly dark mix of death metal low-end, noisecore fury, and grindcore insanity is going to mess all of us up. In a good way, of course. Local metallic hardcore veterans Ostraca and dark grinding newcomers Lunger round out this bill with some unmissable sounds from right here in the river city, so don’t dawdle.

Sunday, June 10, 7 PM
Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, McKinley Dixon & Friends, Alfred & Yung Pockets @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’ve been enjoying the growth over the last few years of a more alternatively-minded hip hop scene here in RVA; it’s a gratifying thing to see the DIY principles that have fueled the punk rock underground for years being embodied by people from completely different scenes, especially hip hop (which, as much as I love it, can sometimes focus overmuch on mainstream goals of money and fame for my taste). Here in Richmond, the chief example we have of this newer approach to hip hop is of course McKinley Dixon, an MC with absolute top-quality lyrical skills who recruits top of the line musicians to back him up and goes on DIY tours in a van just like all the punk bands do. He and his Friends will be giving us a killer set on this bill, and of course everyone in RVA should already know to be there for it.

On this show, Dixon is playing with Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, a DIY musician from Chicago who integrates his wide-ranging musical background into an excellent hip hop sound on his breakout 2017 LP, Drool. Like McKinley Dixon, Ogbonnaya knows all about getting in the van and going on tour, and he’ll hit Gallery 5 in the company of his Nnamdi Ensemble Quartet, which will provide dynamic backing for his playful, complicated lyrical flow. And of course, Alfred. & Yung Pockets, an MC-producer duo who’ve drawn a lot of attention since last year’s excellent So Sensitive release, will open things up with a set of slightly off-kilter beats and rhymes that show a ton of soul. This one’s gonna be outstanding throughout.

Monday, June 11, 8 PM
Immortal Bird, Glacial Tomb, Occultist, Hoboknife @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
There can be little that is a better bet for the end of a long Monday back at stupid ol’ work than heading down to Strange Matter and getting your soul cleansed by some high-volume, high-quality metal. Immortal Bird is coming to us this Monday to deliver exactly what the doctor ordered where that’s concerned, and while the group’s been quiet on the recording front since 2015’s Empress/Abscess, that’s no reason to expect anything other than a thorough head-crushing in the live environment.

Since their last album, Immortal Bird’s core lineup has expanded to a four-piece, giving frontwoman Rae Amitay more room to rage instead of being trapped behind a drum kit, and that can only bode well for the ass-kicking we’ll all get from this brutal, chaotic Chicago quartet. Immortal Bird is joined on this tour by Denver low-end marauders Glacial Tomb, whose deft merging of thrashy crust, sludgy metal, and hardcore punk is tough as nails and ready to knock you out. Local support from thrash-metal vets Occultist and death n’ roll maniacs Hoboknife renders this an evening of absolutely unfuckwithable metal power. Start practicing your headbangs now.

Tuesday, June 12, 6 PM
The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Pianos Become The Teeth, Teenage Wrist, Captive @ The Broadberry – $17 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
About half a decade ago, when I was going through a pretty rough emotional spot, I discovered TWIABP and immediately fell in love with their complicated, heartfelt, and beautiful sound, which combined emo, post-rock, metal, and pop into a style entirely their own. The music they were making back then was incredibly important to me, but their rapid musical evolution and personal upheavals over the next couple of years almost left me behind. However, with the release of their third LP, Always Foreign, I discovered that despite all the lineup changes and instrumental reconfigurations, there was still a truly talented band lurking underneath it all. It’s going to be partiuclarly nice to welcome a reconstituted TWIABP to RVA once again, where they can remind us all just how great they continue to be.

Pianos Become The Teeth have been through a similar trajectory, although it was a musical change that caused my personal concerns about losing track of them. When singer Kyle Durfey switched to an entirely-melodic vocal approach for their 2014 third LP, Keep You, I was afraid that the urgency and emotional intensity of Pianos’ passionate post-hardcore sound would depart along with it. However, Keep You surprised me by being one of that year’s favorites, and with the release earlier this year of incredibly powerful follow-up Wait For Love, it can no longer be denied that Pianos Become The Teeth is every bit as strong and memorable a band even without the screams. And thank god for that. This show will give longtime fans a perfect opportunity to commune once again with these two excellent bands at the top of their respective games, and skipping out would be an awful idea. Alt-rockers Teenage Wrist and local up-and-comers Captive are on the bill too, but for this one at least, it’s really all about the headliners.

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: May 16 – May 22

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

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, May 19, 7 PM
Iceage, Empath, True Body @ The Camel – $13 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Oh wow, Iceage is back! This mostly-teenage Danish group grabbed a good bit of attention back at the beginning of the decade with their gothic take on hardcore, and I for one was a big fan (which you’ll remember if you’ve been reading this site’s music coverage for a good long time — here’s a refresher for you newbies). Their 2014 third album, Plowing Into The Field Of Love, was a bit of a difficult transition, broadening their horizons in a manner that was somewhat awkward. But after four years, they have finally released another album, and Beyondless simultaneously pushes further into unclassifiable vaguely-postpunk weirdness and confirms that Iceage’s ability to cast a morose, nihilistic mood with their music remains undiminished.

So what will their live performances be like now? Will frontman Elias Ronnenfelt’s baleful stare and terse air of simultaneous aggression and detachment remain intact? There’s only one sure way to find out, and that’s by heading down to The Camel this Saturday night. In past performances here in Richmond, Iceage’s stage presence was energetic in an almost threatening manner, with the band always evoking a faint air of menace that matched their dark approach to hardcore sounds. These days, they’re far beyond the dark UK crust vibes of their earliest material, but fans of Antisect and Amebix will probably still find a good bit to enjoy in their live performance.

Indeed, if the openers on this bill are any indication, it seems that some aspects of the hardcore scene from the earlier part of this decade have found themselves growing in a similar direction to that of Iceage. Philadelphia’s Empath brings us a blown-out lo-fi pop sound that trades the occasional horn flourishes of the new Iceage album (believe it or not, it works!) for a fuzzy synth sound, which lies overtop of a dark, bashing take on indie-pop. Meanwhile, local post-hardcore group True Body has moved in an almost gothic-cabaret direction with their most recent single, “Over It,” and feature the sort of dramatic vocals that any fan of Elias Ronnenfelt — or, for that matter, Ian Curtis — is sure to appreciate. Wear your best all-black outfit to this one.

Wednesday, May 16, 8 PM
Lace, Fried Egg, Slump, Horse Culture @ Strange Matter – $8
From one band with a spooky, atmospheric take on hardcore to another — Lace is coming to Strange Matter tonight, and if this Texas band don’t actually have too much in common musically with Iceage, their dark, foreboding vibe and background in hardcore aggression certainly matches. Recent LP The Human Condition is a refreshing, excellent take on modern hardcore, integrating chaotic touches with gothic drama and postpunk experimentation to simultaneously bring to mind Dead And Gone, Swing Kids, and Ex-Cult. Whether you’re into garage rock wildness, hardcore fury, or the pure spirit of experimentation that keeps bands from falling into genre-based predictability, you’re going to find a lot to like about Lace.

The VA-based openers on this bill all descend from the venerable lineage of American hardcore, but all have different takes on the form. Fried Egg are raging hardcore rippers with a noise-rock edge, like Pissed Jeans doing Negative Approach covers — or vice versa. Slump (who apparently already dropped the “-oids” from last time I wrote about them) push things in a stretched-out, psychedelic direction with their lengthy post-hardcore space-noise epics. Horse Culture are full on sludge-noise, pounding and howling at a dirge-like pace and a volume that will cave your head in. This show will definitely not get predictable, and it will definitely not be quiet. Get stoked.

Thursday, May 17, 7:30 PM
Restroy, Voice Of Saturn @ Black Iris – $6-10
The increased presence of jazz in this column lately might lead some to think I am getting old — and you wouldn’t be wrong! But honestly, if you love a wide variety of music, you probably should be paying attention to jazz, and not just dusty old records you find in thrift stores, either! (Not that those aren’t often really good, but still.) New and intriguing things have been happening in the local jazz world recently, and Black Iris has been taking a big role in helping the word get out — which is an awesome and welcome contribution to the local scene, so keep it up, y’all!

This week, Black Iris is bringing us a performance from Restroy, a shifting ensemble led by Virginia bassist Christopher Dammann, which integrates acoustic jazz improvisation with electronic textures and experimental noise to create a surprising new hybrid which still beats with the unkillable heart of jazz tradition. Restroy for this performance finds Dammann teaming up with drummer extraordinaire Scott Clark — who we told you about in last week’s jazz-at-Black-Iris coverage — and a quartet of electronic musicians who will also add textures of piano, trumpet, and cello to the mix. The result will be hard to predict, tough to pin down, and impossible to forget. The evening will begin with a performance by mysterious local electronic combo The Voice Of Saturn, and will only get more intriguing from there. Don’t miss it.

Friday, May 18, 8 PM
Yeni Nostalji, DJ OINuBi, Keilan Creech @ Gallery 5 – $8 (order tickets HERE)
Yeni Nostalji’s record release show at Gallery 5 is guaranteed to be unlike anything else you’ll see this week. For one thing, Yeni Nostalji’s music is of a type that doesn’t exactly come through town on a weekly basis. Yeni Nostalji is a group that brings Turkish and American musicians together to create a hybrid pop sound equally influenced by Leonard Cohen and Dolly Parton and by European pop radio sounds of decades past. American-born vocalist Christina Gleixner fell in love with the sounds of Turkish music via singer Tanju Okan, and decided to sing in Turkish in Yeni Nostalji as a tribute to the inspiration she found in Turkish music. This soon led her to collaborations with musicians from around the globe, and the result is Yeni Nostalji’s self-titled debut album.

At Gallery 5 this Friday night, the group celebrates the release of this album on Philadelphia label Ropeadope — which RVA music heads may remember from their links with local label Jellowstone. It is unique in that it is likely the first album released by an American label with entirely Turkish lyrics. But it’s also unique in that it brings the deep, smooth sounds of Yeni Nostalji to life. That same thing will take place on the Gallery 5 stage this Friday night, and you should really be there; this group’s alluring, romantic sound will make you feel like you’ve just stepped into a European nightclub from half a century ago. It’s not something you’re likely to encounter again anytime soon, and honestly, you’d be a fool to miss it.

Saturday, May 19, 5 PM
Clever Girls, Elizabeth Owens & The Live Bats, Abby Huston @ Strange Matter – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This Saturday matinee gig is looking like a real treat, first and foremost because it’ll bring Vermont’s Clever Girls to town. Their 2017 EP, Loose Tooth, is a killer example of a sound I haven’t gotten tired of yet, and doubt I’ll ever lose my taste for. Their jangly guitars and energetic tempos combine with the killer vocal melodies of singer Diane Jean to ensure that these songs lodge in the pleasure centers of your brain and do not let go. Plus, they’ve got that same hint of midwestern twang that comes through in the work of fellow killers Hop Along, and that’s never a bad thing. Best of all, they aren’t yet another band using the word “girls” in their name but featuring only male members! Granted, only their vocalist is a woman, but still, I’ll take it. Progress!

We have two pretty great local acts opening this one up, too. Elizabeth Owens and their band, the Live Bats, have been generating a bit of buzz around the local scene recently, and their quietly beautiful music manages to simultaneously charm and unsettle with a vaguely ominous atmosphere that never fully dissipates. Recent EP Growing Pain has a lot to recommend it, from its glittering acoustic guitar melodies to the empathic lyrics bringing a caring emotional focus to open discussion of mental illness. Abby Huston is new to me, but the melodies present on recent EP Rich are a sure winner, offering a perfect enticement to get more familiar with what she brings to the table. Show up on time for this one.

Sunday, May 20, 8 PM
Songs: Molina – A Memorial Electric Co., Elephant Micah @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
It was a really sad thing when Jason Molina died so young, at only 39 years of age, in 2013. The singer-songwriter, who made incredible music under the names Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. as well as under his given name, delved into a deep well of emotional darkness that many related to, including myself. That darkness, which he was given to suppressing with alcohol, ultimately claimed him. However, during his abbreviated life, he brought us some incredible music, which combined folk, country, and loud rock n’ roll to produce quite a few classic albums, including Songs: Ohia’s Didn’t It Rain (2002) and Magnolia Electric Co.’s What Comes After The Blues (2005). In recent years, members of both of his backing bands have been working to keep Molina’s memory alive with semi-regular performances under the name Songs: Molina – A Memorial Electric Co.

That ensemble comes to Richmond this Sunday night, and whether you have memories of Molina’s legendary Virginia shows — at VCU with The Mountain Goats in 2003, on the steps of the Harrisonburg courthouse during MacRock many years ago — or you never had the pleasure of seeing him perform, this show has something to offer you. Elephant Micah leader Joe O’Connell will be joining the group to provide vocals and guitar in place of their departed frontman, and the show will begin with a separate set from Elephant Micah. Molina may be gone, but his music will live on for a long time to come.

Monday, May 21, 8 PM
American Pleasure Club, Special Explosion, Downhaul @ Strange Matter – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
American Pleasure Club is the latest name under which singer-songwriter Sam Ray and his backing band are performing, and while it’s certainly not the best name ever, it’s certainly better than their old name — Teen Suicide, which really might be the WORST band name ever. So hey, every little bit helps, right? Ray, who has also recorded under the names Joy Void and Ricky Eat Acid, among others, has a lot going on in his music, moving from grungy alt-rock tunes like “This Is Heaven & I’d Die For It” to strange screwed-n-chopped underwater R&B songs like “Let’s Move To The Desert” in relatively short stretches of time on A Whole Fucking Lifetime Of This, American Pleasure Club’s new LP.

How’s all this going to transfer to the live setting? You might well ask, but it seems safe to assume that the guitars will be making the trip, and they will be dishing out some rockin’ songs to get your feet moving at least at some points during the set. It might also get weird at other points, though, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. Seattle’s Special Explosion are on tour with American Pleasure Club, and they offer a fitting counterpoint to that band’s melange of unexpected genre juxtapositions on recent release To Infinity. They show equal facility with dance beats, twinkly emo-gaze guitars, and ethereal yet unforgettable vocal melodies. Locals Downhaul kick things off with some relatively straightforward emo-pop, but like the touring bands, they’re neither predictable nor forgettable, so arrive at the designated hour for best results from this show.

Tuesday, May 22, 8 PM
Pillorian, Appalling, American @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Black metal started out as a ferocious, blood-spattered beast of a genre, but once it had been around for a while, musicians around the world started recognizing the various possibilities the genre offered, and taking off in exploratory directions that were often quite surprising. Pillorian follows in the footsteps of one of those groundbreaking black metal acts, Agalloch, who explored the potential enriching elements that folk melodies and atmospheres brought to black metal. Former Agalloch frontman John Haughm formed Pillorian in the wake of Agalloch’s breakup, and the group’s debut LP, Obsidian Arc, saw the group ably continuing Agalloch’s legacy.

Part of the reason Haughm started Pillorian was to tour more often, and since the release of their first LP last year, they’ve remained on the road, touring the world and hitting the festival circuit. Now they’re heading to our little town of Richmond, which is only logical because as we all know, this place is metal as fuck. Openers Appalling and American offer a taste of what homegrown musicians are doing with the black metal template; the former takes it in a dark, crusty direction sure to appeal just as much to fans of dirty US hardcore bands like Tragedy as it will to the dyed-in-the-wool kvltists. Meanwhile, American — who kinda pulled a ninja move with such a generic-yet-unusual name — take things in more of an epic, rage-heavy direction on last year’s Violate And Control, a dark, pounding listen that’s sure to translate into serious brutality in the live setting. This one’s a headbanger’s paradise, so don’t sleep on 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, in case you’re wondering, more awesomeness from my cracked and bleeding fingertips is available at GayRVA — come say hey.]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 3/14-3/20

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FEATURED SHOWS
Friday, March 16, 9 PM
Silent Music Revival, feat. OINuBi @ Garden Grove Brewery – Free!
Saturday, March 17, 9 PM
Silent Music Revival, feat. Harry Partch Appreciation Society @ Garden Grove Brewery – Free!
Sunday, March 18, 8 PM
Silent Music Revival, feat. Houdan The Mystic @ Gallery 5 – Free!
Hey y’all, it’s another holiday weekend! No, I’m not talking about someone else’s excuse to get plastered (“I’m a person just like you but I don’t actually drink beer” — Roman Mars); I’m talking about the James River Film Festival, which makes its return for a weekend of serious film nerdery starting this Friday. There are a lot of amazing things going on around town related to the film festival this year. You avant-garde music heads are gonna want to catch Gary Lucas at Grace Street Theatre Friday night, playing along to German silent horror film The Golem; those of you who loved Husker Du are going to want to get to Gallery 5 early on Sunday night and catch Every Everything, a 2013 documentary about the late Grant Hart.

However, what we’re spotlighting is not only the best value for your money anywhere in town this weekend (because, yeah, all these shows are free) but the latest flowering of an ongoing Richmond music scene tradition, that of the Silent Music Revival. Jameson Price of Lobo Marino started this recurring event over a decade ago, pairing local bands with silent films they haven’t seen before in order to create unique soundtracks that reveal new elements of the artists involved while also allowing audiences to experience silent films in a new, engaging way. It’s a cool series, it’s featured a ton of excellent local performers over the years, and this weekend sees a new Silent Music Revival event taking place for every night of the James River Film Festival.

The first two events, both billed as “Avant-Garde Afterparties,” happen at Garden Grove and pair unusual films with unusual local performers. Friday night sees experimental beatmaker OINuBi mixing it up with French director Maurice Tourneur’s 1918 fantasy film The Blue Bird, while Saturday night brings us the 1929 experimental documentary Man With A Movie Camera, a Dziga Vertov film from the early days of the Soviet Union that pioneered many filmmaking techniques we take for granted today. This one will be paired with a performance from the Harry Partch Appreciation Society, a collective of local improvisational musicians paying tribute to the avant-garde microtonal works of the titular composer. Finally, on Sunday night, psychedelic math-rockers Houdan The Mystic will mix it up over at Gallery 5 with the legendary Spanish surrealist director Luis Bunuel’s L’Age d’Or, a cutting satire of church and state that pissed off a lot of repressive people back when it was released. What sort of strange twists will these local performers add to these fascinating films from bygone eras? That’s a question worth answering firsthand — and hey, the price is right.

Wednesday, March 14, 8 PM
Zion I, Iespecial, McKinley Dixon @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Real underground hip hop is alive and well here in RVA, and in a lot of other cities around the USA as well — for evidence, look no further than the arrival in our city tonight of Zion I, the long-running Oakland-based hip hop project led by Baba Zumbi, which has over 10 albums to their credit as of this year, and is about to drop another one, The Tonite Show, in only a couple of weeks. No singles from the album have made their way into the world yet, but you’re sure to hear a few blasted out from the stage at The Camel tonight.

Zion I has a conscious focus, with lyrics that talk about everyday realities for working class African-American people trying to make it in America today. This is the sort of stuff we need to hear, and it’s set to incredible beats from a variety of producers that hit hard but don’t leave out the melodies and the memorable choruses that get you moving. Zion I is on tour with Iespecial, a Boston group with a hip hop vibe, an electronic sound, and a psychedelic consciousness, all of which integrates together into a unique sound that should appeal to fans of both Zion I’s hip hop and more experimental projects from King Crimson to Disco Biscuits. And of course, with McKinley Dixon opening up the show, you know the local support will make it well worth your time to show up early. This one can’t miss.

Thursday, March 15, 8 PM
Vesterian, Rites To Sedition, Death Shroud, Embra @ McCormack’s – $7
Black metal rules. From the unrelenting riffage and pounding drums to the intense vocals and spooky subject matter, it’s a sound with a guaranteed appeal to weirdos like me who love horror movies and screeching atonal noise. As a genre, it has a desire to freak people out, and while that can sometimes get into downright sketchy territory, thankfully Vesterian just stick with classic occult themes in their evocation of musical terror — and who can’t get down with that? So wear your corpse paint and spiked gauntlets to McCormack’s Thursday night, because this LA crew is bringing you some grim, frozen brutality from the sunny shores of SoCal. The unrelenting assault of their excellent 2013 LP, Anthems For The Coming War Age, is sure to come to life on this chilly winter’s night here in RVA.

Charlotte, NC’s Rites To Sedition will join Vesterian this night with some killer sounds of their own, though they veer more towards progressive thrash metal wizardry than outright black metal darkness. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that, as proven by their excellent 2017 LP, Ancestral Blood, which shows how black metal influences can be integrated with prog melodies and thrash speed without sacrificing an ounce of intensity on any level. Feel the triumph! Support will be ably provided by Blacksburg black metal maulers Death Shroud, and by up-and-coming RVA shredders Embra. Heads will bang throughout — be prepared.

Friday, March 16, 6 PM
A Blues Brothers Tribute Show, feat. No BS! Brass Band, The Flavor Project, The Blue Tips, KINGS, RVA Tonight’s Studio 804 @ Hardywood – Free!
As a movie, The Blues Brothers has just about got it all. Not only does it give us the original SNL dynamic duo of Aykroyd and Belushi (RIP) spreading their wings across a hilarious feature film, not only is it in the top 5 all-time car chase movies (the other four are Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, the original Gone In 60 Seconds, Vanishing Point, and Bullitt — go see all of them), it features an absolutely incredible soundtrack full of powerful performances from R&B legends including James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and more. And of course, the Blues Brothers backing band is made up of legendary stars from the classic Stax house bands including Booker T & the MGs and the Bar-Kays. Any group of musicians setting themselves the task of paying tribute to the film have given themselves a lot to live up to.

Fortunately, the musicians involved in this tribute show are more than equal to the task. This evening will pair a live screening of the film with performances from members of No BS! Brass Band, The Flavor Project, KINGS, and more, coming together to form an all-star RVA band that one might even regard as a 21st century equivalent to those Memphis all-stars that made up the original Blues Brothers. This band will take over for the film’s versions of classic songs like “Shake Your Tailfeather” (Ray Charles), “Think” (Aretha Franklin), “The Old Landmark” (a gospel standard performed in the film by James Brown), and quite a few more. If you’re as stoked about the original Blues Brothers film, and the work of the many classic southern soul musicians who were involved in it, as I am, you really need to be there.

Saturday, March 17, 8 PM
Dumb Waiter, Tiny Scissors, Colin Phils @ Gallery 5 – $7
The math-jazz-metal mania that is Dumb Waiter rolls on undiminished year after year, and anyone who has an issue with that is a total grinch. It’s been a while since this instrumental quartet gave us any new music — second LP Cancel Christmas was all the way back in spring 2016 — but if the facebook rumor mill holds true (and it ALWAYS does), they’ve been laying down some new jams in the upstairs rooms at Gallery 5 that sometimes double as Dave Watkins’ studio. Which is outstanding news that will make all the local diehards feel like the holidays have come early this year (OK, I’ll stop with the Christmas jokes).

Dumb Waiter are well matched on this bill, as they find themselves paired with Atlanta duo Tiny Scissors. This instrumental project brings guitar and drums together into wild flights of math-metal fancy that see them treading on territory previously visited by killer ensembles like Don Caballero and Orthrelm. They’ll get your head spinning as often as they get it banging, but one thing’s for sure — you’ll be hanging on their every note. Korea-via-RVA math-rockers Colin Phils will round out the bill with some killer prog riffs and guitar pyrotechnics. This is one for the thinkers; you’ll see way more than three chords on display at Gallery 5 on this night. Show up ready to have your mind blown.

Sunday, March 18, 8 PM
Soft Kill, Choir Boy, True Body @ Strange Matter – $12 in advance/$14 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The postpunk force is strong with this one. Portland’s Soft Kill are on Profound Lore Records, but don’t let that fool you into expecting any sort of doom metal. No, the doom and gloom here are the sort of dark, pounding energies that you would more normally expect from bands like Joy Division and The Chameleons. These touchstones are becoming more and more frequent around the US postpunk scene these days, and I for one am on board. Soft Kill’s new LP, Savior, is scheduled to drop in May, and only one song from it is available online at the moment, but its ominously indelible melodies foreshadow an evening of darkly hypnotic tuneage.

It doesn’t hurt that they’re joined on this bill by Salt Lake City denizens Choir Boy, who have fought the repressive vibe of their home city with an energetic dream-pop sound harking back to the more colorful bands of the mid-80s UK postpunk underground. Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil influences are clearly present here, though the more mainstream new wave sounds of Spandau Ballet and Scritti Politti are in evidence as well. It all adds up to a set full of danceable tunes that will fill you with the sort of indefinable emotional rush of a John Hughes movie. Relive your teenage years (or, OK, mine) at Strange Matter Sunday night, and don’t miss the opening set from Norfolk sludge-punk weirdos True Body, who’ll add a bit of additional fascinating strangeness to the whole evening.

Monday, March 19, 8 PM
Soul Glo, Prison Religion, Nosebleed, MAASK @ Soft Web Studio Collective – $3-5 sliding scale
OK, let’s get this out there up front: Soul Glo have run into some trouble on their current tour, and may very well not make this show. The Philadelphia punk band, which features multiple people of color, was stopped on tour in Missouri by cops who proceeded to pull the band over and arrest one of the members. They then had to post an emergency crowdfunding campaign in order to pay the unusually high bail set by the judge, who presumably knew a touring band when he saw one. Thankfully, the scene came through, the bail money has been raised, and the band member should soon be free. Whether they’ll want to continue on tour after all that remains to be seen — we’d understand if they didn’t.

However, on the off chance that Soul Glo does make it to Richmond, you should absolutely be at the show. Their music is full of powerful, politically-informed hardcore punk with confrontational lyrics and complex, unpredictable riffs that get crowds moving every time they perform. Their performance is every bit the equal of the reactions they get, with the band throwing themselves into their music and leaving it all on the stage in an intense display that leaves no doubt as to how much they value the opportunity to express themselves, and connect with others. Even if Soul Glo don’t make it, this bill will feature a varied and powerful trio of local artists — the hardcore rage of Nosebleed, the gripping electronic terror of MAASK, and the confrontational, experimental hip hop of Prison Religion. But if nothing else, show up because Soul Glo might make it. They’re worth the time.

Tuesday, March 20, 9 PM
Ovlov, Maneka, Fat Spirit @ Flora – $5
Time to get something else out front: I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with this show, y’all. The facebook event page says Ovlov is playing, while the flyer for the tour (seen above) says Ovlov/Stove frontman Steve Hartlett is doing a solo set. What’s the truth? We’ll all have to show up and find out. However, regardless of what’s going on with Steve and his backing band (or lack thereof), Maneka is definitely playing, and this new project by former Speedy Ortiz guitarist Devin McKnight, is worth coming to check out on their own. Their debut EP, Is You Is, released last fall, mixes distorted off-kilter vibes I’d normally associate with the current state of the experimental electronic music scene with some killer 90’s style loud-guitar alt-rock jams of the sort that both Speedy Ortiz and Ovlov have been excellent at reviving in recent years.

It’s nice to hear bands continuing to put a new spin on this sound, which was excellent back in its original heyday but could easily turn into soulless retreads in the wrong hands 25 years later. Steve Hartlett’s hands are not the wrong ones, and that’s true whether he’s fronting Ovlov — which returned to action against all odds last year after splintering in 2015 — or his solo-ish post(?)-Ovlov project, Stove. It’s probably even true if he’s all by himself, considering how well the more acoustic sound of Stove works at replicating that post-Dinosaur Jr distorted-folk sound that Ovlov did in a much louder fashion. So hey, whatever he’s bringing to the table, I’m there for it, and you should be too. The grunge-punk of openers Fat Spirit will be the perfect appetizer for whatever these touring acts have in store. But I must admit… I really hope it’s an Ovlov full-band set. I love that band so much.

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

Top Image by Vivienne Lee

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

TSOL, True Body, Serqet, DJ Devolved @ Strange Matter

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I’m always stoked when TSOL come around. This LA punk band got started at the dawn of the 80s by fusing that early American hardcore punk sound, what with the stripping down and the speeding up, with a dark, doomed consciousness that soon took them in a far more gothic direction–at a time when goth wasn’t even really a thing yet. Early work like Dance With Me and Weathered Statues EP was unassailable, but after the band first lost legitimately troubled frontman Jack Grisham and, by the late 80s, became a shadow of their former selves with zero original members, it seemed as if their legacy had been irreparably tarnished.

Fortunately, the original members reformed, successfully reclaimed the rights to their band name, and began making new music around the turn of the 21st century. After their second reunion album, the excellent 2003 LP Divided We Stand, the band brought back Greg Kuehn, who had played keyboards on their 1984 LP Beneath The Shadows.Kuehn’s additional textures once accentuated TSOL’s goth vibe, but today they give the band a bluesier feel, as can be heard on latest LP The Trigger Complex. While TSOL aren’t still the same band in 2017 that they were in 1981, they still have a ton of talent and a wealth of great songs to draw from for a killer setlist. Missing them next Tuesday at Strange Matter is just as inadvisable as missing them in LA 35 years ago would have been.

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 11/29-12/5

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, December 1, 6 PM
Doll Baby, Haybaby, Blush Face @ Hardywood – Free!
I must say, I’ve been excited about Doll Baby for a long time. I caught one of their first shows (which was easy to do, since it was in my living room) and was blown away by what they’d come up with. It was significantly different than anything the members had done before, and combined their backgrounds in folk-punk, melodic hardcore, and old-time music into a style that was all their own. Their early recordings intrigued me, but it wasn’t until new EP Hell Block, released a month ago on Egghunt Records, that I really saw all of their potential come to fruition.

Now Doll Baby will be taking over Hardywood for a Friday night of festivities set to include not just a live performance but also a premiere, for the video that will accompany Hell Block closing track “Silver Stars.” Put together by local film producer Hugh Burruss and Blush Face frontwoman Allie Smith, the video stars Sammi Lanzetta and promises to be quite the visual treat. It also accompanies what is in my humble opinion the best track on Doll Baby’s new EP, so that’s a nice little bonus.

Performers this evening will not only include Doll Baby but also Brooklyn’s Haybaby, the only group on this bill not to have ever featured Chris Carreon on bass (as far as I know). Their languid yet sinister sound has a strange resemblance to early Breeders, which is always a nice vibe to create. In addition to having lent her filmic talents to the evening, Allie Smith will also bring us a set from her band, Blush Face–and we all know these guys are great. With a ticket price of precisely $0.00, this event is officially too good to pass up.

Wednesday, November 29, 8 PM
Halfcast, Black Mold Jesus, Colder Planets, Silver Twin @ Strange Matter – $5
Whenever things are lagging in the middle of the week, you can always count on a Strange Matter Locals Only gig to come along and save you from the doldrums, and tonight’s edition, the 48th (!), is no exception. There aren’t any amazing newcomers to the scene to shine a particular light on here; we’ve all been seeing melodic indie rockers Halfcast and the weirdo rock n’ roll delights of Black Mold Jesus on bills for a while now, and if you’ve been scrupulous about following my recommendations, you’ve caught both of them at least once.

But they’re still something to look forward to after a long Wednesday spent in the office looking out the window at beautiful weather you can’t enjoy, as are the lovely, delicate indie-pop sounds of Colder Planets. Relative newcomers Silver Twin will kick things off with a reliably rockin’ set of riff-driven tunes, making the entire night a delight for the senses that will thrill you enough to help you get through the rest of a boring work week. Be sure to take advantage.

Thursday, November 30, 8 PM
Unreliable Radio Live, feat. Karmah, Harshworld, Nolanberollin, Derrick Panther, Austin Skinner, Mike Of Doom @ Strange Matter – $10 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Podcasts are pretty much the wave of the future, it seems. Terrestrial radio’s in a death spiral, Sirius XM is too expensive, and you can stream pretty much any music whenever you want anyway. That’s a nice thing, but if you want curation that brings you new music you know you’ll like along with info and interviews with intriguing new artists, podcasts are your only hope these days. Here in RVA we all know about The Cheats Movement Podcast, but it’s not the only hip hop-focused podcast out of VA, and on Thursday night, another podcast will introduce itself to the RVA community with a live taping at Strange Matter.

That podcast is Unreliable Radio, an hour-long dispatch released at irregular intervals, hosted by Michael “Scholarship” Cox and featuring new music from artists within and outside of VA, plus interviews with a variety of different creatives. Unreliable Radio’s most recent episode featured Karmah, the musical headliner for this show, who hails from Ashland and makes reference to his country roots by calling himself a “dirt road soldier.” Karmah’s got connections with DC’s Goth Money records, though; they released his No Hand Outs EP last year, so he’s not just some random rapper from the sticks. He’ll head up an impressive lineup of artists from the DMV area on this evening, including a trio from Hampton Roads and a couple more from the DC suburbs. And of course, we’re sure to hear from Scholarship as well. Come find out what’s up with Unreliable Radio, and find some new hip hop artists from the area that are worth your time as well, at Strange Matter Thursday night. It’s the smart thing to do.

Friday, December 1, 8 PM
Kamasi Washington, Moonchild @ The National – $24.50 in advance/$27.50 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OK listen, I’ve already given you a hot tip on a free show you can hit up this Friday night. BUT, if you’ve got some extra scratch, because maybe you just got paid or something, you might want to look into what’s going on at The National this night instead. Kamasi Washington, a young tenor saxophonist who’s built himself quite a reputation in the two or so years since releasing his debut triple album The Epic, will be bringing his talents and his band to the National stage, and if you care at all about jazz, you really should be paying attention. Washington’s known to the wider music scene for his connections with the world of hip hop, having played on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly LP, toured with Snoop Dogg, and featured Thundercat in his band at various points.

That having been said, one thing any listener to Kamasi Washington’s music is sure to understand immediately is that it’s very much of the jazz genre. Both The Epic and his more reasonably-sized single-album followup, Harmony Of Difference, feature instrumental performances that seem to draw mainly from classic-quartet era John Coltrane and the rich world of soul jazz. They also incorporate plenty of modern hip hop and R&B influences though, and on the whole stand out not only as some of the best works to come out of the jazz world in quite a while but also an excellent gateway drug for hip hop and soul heads who just haven’t ever allowed themselves to take the plunge. So whether you’re a jazz freak from way back or just a curious fan of good music in general, you should definitely take a chance on catching Kamasi Washington’s live performance at the National this Friday. You won’t regret it.

Saturday, December 2, 7:30 PM
Snake Union, Bonnie Jones, Feminacci @ Black Iris – $6-10 (sliding scale)
I spent the 90s being really into quirky, chaotic hardcore bands who stepped outside the usual cultural mold around that genre to challenge preconceptions and make people think while they slam-danced. And since I was living in Richmond then, too, one of the bands I paid the most attention to in that vein was Action Patrol, whose brief existence brought forth a wealth of great music. Up in DC, there were the Meta-matics, whose pointed political lyrics and sharp postpunk riffing later gave way to the improvisational funk noise of the All Scars. Today, former Action Patrol frontman David Grant and former Meta-matics/All Scars frontman Chuck Bettis are working together as Snake Union, and they’re still challenging preconceptions and pushing the boundaries of what music can be.

But let me warn you, Snake Union is not some new hardcore project. No, it’s got nothing to do with punk or even rock music. This electronic project, in which Bettis and Grant work together to create complex digital rhythms, uses analog synthesizers, modular controllers, and all sorts of other machines in the production of improvised grooves that find a driving forward motion and ride that wave for as long as they can. Their 2017 EP, The Role Of Revulsion, includes several lengthy tracks that start with a quiet, sinister mood and build towards an unsettling but captivating climax. Grant and Bettis will be creating similar musical movements at Black Iris this Saturday night, and fans of experimental noise, German cosmische music, and avant-garde electronics are sure to enjoy the results.

Sunday, December 3, 8 PM
Diet Cig, Sammi Lanzetta, Big Baby @ Strange Matter – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OK, so, I was gonna tell you to go see Pinegrove on this night, and then, well, everything that happened with that band happened, and now I can’t imagine I’d tell you to go see them even if they were still going to be playing in town on Sunday. But really, it’s OK, because there’s an equally excellent show happening in town that night, and you would be just as well-served to go to that one! Indeed, I have extolled the virtues of Diet Cig in this column in the past (pretty recently, in fact, which was my original reason for planning to write about another show), but I’m sure there are some of you out there who ignored my advice or started reading this column two weeks ago or whatever and missed the whole thing.

The rest of you, I’m assuming, already know how great their debut LP, Swear I’m Good At This, really is, and have been jamming it nonstop the same way I have. The way Diet Cig mix melodic punk riffage and heartbroken, politically informed lyrics with an undercurrent of sweet pop gorgeousness stands out even in a genre full of excellent groups, from Candy Hearts to Hop Along to Speedy Ortiz. And of course, Sammi Lanzetta’s been steadily building a bulletproof reputation around town as an excellent songwriter with an angelic voice and a snarky lyrical wit of her own, so it’s no surprise that she and Diet Cig have been touring together lately, or that she’d appear on this bill. Local indie-rock stars Big Baby kick off the night with some killer catchy jams of their own, and thereby we have a 100% amazing show with no sketchiness involved. What a relief.

Monday, December 4, 8 PM
Parker Gispert, Billy Neptune @ The Camel – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Hey hey, it’s Parker Gispert from The Whigs! Only this time, he’s not coming to town with the Whigs in tow; instead, he’s out on a solo tour, bringing his songs to the Camel’s stage in their most minimal form. Even though Gispert has been bringing the rock with the Whigs for years now, he’s apparently always started out conceiving of his music as solo acoustic guitar tunes, and now he’s decided to release an album in that vein. Of course, his website says it’s due for release in fall 2017, and considering that season will end in about three weeks, it seems likely he’ll be behind deadline.

Regardless, people who show up at this show are sure to get a big taste of what’s to come where that’s concerned. A couple of songs are already floating around out there on YouTube, and from what I’ve heard, it sounds like he’s channeling Neil Young’s most minimal acoustic side, and using that template to create hypnotic mood pieces that are indelible and beautiful. Which makes sense, considering how much the Whigs’ full-band sound seems to draw from Crazy Horse. Gispert solo may not be the sort of sweaty, booty-shaking affair a full Whigs show is, but those who enjoy the full band are sure to get a lot out of seeing the frontman step out on his own. And hey, if you need a jolt of Whigs-like Southern-tinged rock n’ roll, look no further than local openers Billy Neptune–they’ve got plenty of it for you, and they’re sure to get you in a great mood to see something a little different from Parker Gispert.

Tuesday, December 5, 8 PM
TSOL, True Body, Serqet, DJ Devolved @ Strange Matter – $15 (order tickets HERE)
I’m always stoked when TSOL come around. This LA punk band got started at the dawn of the 80s by fusing that early American hardcore punk sound, what with the stripping down and the speeding up, with a dark, doomed consciousness that soon took them in a far more gothic direction–at a time when goth wasn’t even really a thing yet. Early work like Dance With Me and Weathered Statues EP was unassailable, but after the band first lost legitimately troubled frontman Jack Grisham and, by the late 80s, became a shadow of their former selves with zero original members, it seemed as if their legacy had been irreparably tarnished.

Fortunately, the original members reformed, successfully reclaimed the rights to their band name, and began making new music around the turn of the 21st century. After their second reunion album, the excellent 2003 LP Divided We Stand, the band brought back Greg Kuehn, who had played keyboards on their 1984 LP Beneath The Shadows. Kuehn’s additional textures once accentuated TSOL’s goth vibe, but today they give the band a bluesier feel, as can be heard on latest LP The Trigger Complex. While TSOL aren’t still the same band in 2017 that they were in 1981, they still have a ton of talent and a wealth of great songs to draw from for a killer setlist. Missing them next Tuesday at Strange Matter is just as inadvisable as missing them in LA 35 years ago would have been.

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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] [yes, my email is through GayRVA, don’t get weird about it]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 10/25-10/31

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FEATURED SHOW
Tuesday, October 31, 9 PM
Fear Of Music plays Fear Of Music @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s that time again–Halloween, when all the good little rock n’ rollers get together to put on costumes by playing the music of other bands. The Halloween parties that have become Richmond traditions are still happening, and will doubtless be as awesome as ever, but this year I find myself drawn to a new thing that I’d enjoy seeing become a tradition of its own.

Fear Of Music, who’ve been plying their Talking Heads tribute band trade around town for years now, have decided to take things one step further this Halloween. Instead of their usual set pulling from the wide variety of awesome songs Talking Heads created over the course of their career, they’ll be drilling down and focusing on one Talking Heads album–specifically, the one that gave them their name. 1979’s Fear Of Music is best known today for its landmark single “Life During Wartime,” which features memorable lyrics involving a New York scenester attempting to survive the apocalypse. But of course this album also sees Talking Heads’ musical explorations into funk, disco, and sounds from around the world kicking into high gear, most notably with Dadaist disco opener “I Zimbra.”

Will RVA’s Fear Of Music have the chops to properly recreate Talking Heads’ Fear Of Music? In light of the group’s impressive pedigree, I think it’s a safe bet. And not only will they do that, they’ll add a second set featuring the jam-packed retrospective of the Heads’ best work that more closely resembles their usual work. Special guests will apparently be in the house to help out, though specifics on their identities are as yet unknown. Whoever they are, they’ll probably be wearing costumes–and you should be too. It is, after all, Halloween.

Wednesday, October 25, 5 PM
Radiator Hospital, Outer Spaces, Big Baby @ Strange Matter – $10 (order tickets HERE)
The return of Philadelphia jangle-punk sensation Radiator Hospital is a big event for a certain segment of the RVA music scene, and considering how great this band is, the rest of you should probably get on board with the quickness as well. Led by singer/songwriter Sam Cook-Parrott, the group just released their fifth (and, by many accounts, best) album so far, Radiator Hospital Play The Songs You Like. Featuring songs with titles like “Long Distance Dedication,” “Pastoral Radio Hit, ” “Dance Number,” and “Old Refrain,” it seems the group is using this album to focus on the way music interacts with the world. Of course, that will become clearer once we’ve all had some time to give it a few listens. Get a jump on that at this show.

Baltimore-based Outer Spaces join Radiator Hospital on this trip down to good ol’ RVA, and while they don’t quite have the same sort of high profile in the scene as Radiator Hospital enjoy, it’s certainly not because they’re any less good. In fact, this band, the latest project from singer/songwriter Cara Beth Satalino, is a big personal favorite of mine. I’ve followed Satalino’s work since her early solo days over a decade ago, and from those early EPs to her previous band Witches and now through Outer Spaces, she’s maintained a consistently high level of songwriting. Last year’s debut full-length, A Shedding Snake, gives us a bushel of great tunes, enhanced by multi-instrumentalist Chester Gwazda’s frequent interjection of electric piano textures. With local geniuses Big Baby kicking off the whole thing, this is an incredible show from top to bottom.

Thursday, October 26, 6 PM
Shadow Age, True Body, Aerial Ruin @ Champion RVA – Free!
These free shows at Champion just keep on bringing the home runs, combining excellent local talent with rad up-and-comers from around the region to make for an evening of excellent sounds. The local stars on this particular bill are Shadow Age, who recently followed up their 2016 debut EP, Silaluk, with an excellent new EP called The Fall. Lineup changes since the previous EP see a slimmed-down, now synthless version of the band focusing more closely on frontman Aaron Tyree’s powerful guitar playing, which continues to evoke The Chameleons, Pornography-era Cure, and early Echo and the Bunnymen to superb effect. I was a big fan of their debut EP, but I might just like this new one even better. A full set like this is sure to be just what the doctor ordered.

This group is joined by a pair of out-of-town groups with some similarly downcast, memorable tunes. Norfolk’s True Body have a brand new two-song single to wow us with, and its gloomy baritone vocals and glimmering postpunk atmosphere strike many of the same notes as Shadow Age, but with a flavor entirely its own. This show is gonna be a real bonanza for the black-clad goth kids of this town, especially since the lineup is rounded out by Aerial Ruin. This atmospheric, mainly acoustic solo project is helmed by Erik Moggridge, a Pacific northwest musician with previous experience in a variety of heavier bands. Apparently this is his move in a quieter direction; recently released LP Nameless Sun also shows a great deal of hypnotic intensity to this group’s sound. Get some sun on your way to this one, because it’s gonna be all shadows once the music starts.

Friday, October 27, 6 PM
Neverkept, Telltale, We Call This Courage, Nine Line, Epiphany @ The Canal Club – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
We’re back at the Canal Club this Friday night, and as has become the trend with this particular venue over the past year or two, we’re enjoying some catchy emotional pop-punk sounds at an all-ages gig that one wouldn’t be off base to guess will mostly be populated by high school students (OK, and maybe some college kids too). But seriously, if you let that kind of thing run you off, you’ll miss out on a lot of good shit–as has always been true, the kids know what’s up. The word for this show is Neverkept, a brand new name for an established band who originally introduced themselves to the world under the name Count To Four. Shedding the name last year when founding singer/guitarist Mike Hayden was replaced by the duo of Lucas Cote (vocals) and Aaron Mong (guitar), the group still doesn’t have any music available from their current incarnation. However, a new album is in the works, and the group’s sure to have plenty of new music with which to regale fans who’ve come to expect the sort of strong, melodic combination of pop-punk, emo, and hardcore the band has been delivering for years now.

There are plenty of local groups on this bill as well, and the one we should probably mention first is plucky quartet We Call This Courage, who will be bringing a brand new album into the world at this show. Their self-titled six-song EP shows off a dynamite songwriting sense with killer melodies driven by a great deal of youthful energy. It’s what the Canal Club wants, and it’s what the Canal Club will get–never fear. Telltale are a newer local group who’ve just released their debut EP, Good Intentions. These guys are cleancut enough to pass for a boy band, but their lyrics tell a darker story of issues with relationships and substances. So yeah–they’re an emo band. Which is never a bad thing, by any means. Local newbies Nine Line and Epiphany round out this lineup of bands that need to finish up their sets before curfew–expect this one to go quick and feature lots of hyperactive dudes jumping around with guitars. I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for that shit.

Saturday, October 28, 6 PM
Spooky Cool, Blush Face, Angelica Garcia, Private Cry @ Hardywood – Free!
Spooky Cool have been one of the more mysterious bands on the local indie scene over the past couple of years–grainy youtube footage was the only way you could learn about them for a long time, unless of course you went to the shows and learned for yourself. But all the buzz they’ve been picking up over that time has finally led to them poking their heads above the waterline, first with a new single, “Strange Rooms,” released last month, and now with a brand new video from the long-running local purveyors of music and filmic excellence, Good Day RVA. The group’s twining male-female vocal harmonies and strangely syncopated alt-rock riffs make a strong impression–though their inacessible air of mystery has no doubt ratcheted up the anticipation, making this overdue release all the more enjoyable.

Get your fill of Spooky Cool this Saturday night at a free show featuring a set from the band along with a premiere of the Good Day RVA video, which will be making its way to YouTube shortly afterwards. You’ll also get a heaping dose of the most excellent sounds from a variety of different subsections of the RVA indie world. Blush Face has grabbed quite a bit of attention on their own behalf with recent debut full-length What Do You Want? The group’s bouncy pop jangle is the kind of thing that worms under your skin and never lets go. The lineup is rounded out by recent local sensation Angelica Garcia, whose bold new sound has grabbed some high-profile attention from the likes of the New York Times recently; and newcomers Private Cry, who bring multi-layered vocals and an intriguing mix of instruments to bear on some vaguely psychedelicized alt-rock sounds in fascinating fashion. And all of this is available to you for the low low price of … absolutely nothing? Why the heck wouldn’t you go?

Sunday, October 29, 2 PM
Washers, Horizontal Hold @ Hardywood – Free!
I have no idea how hard y’all party, but if you’ve followed my previous instructions as to show attendance for the week, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about–after all, if you get too sloppy at Hardywood Saturday night, you can just crash in your car and drag your messy bedhead self back to Hardywood at 2 PM the next afternoon. You should probably go home and get a shower and some breakfast first, though–or at least I would, but far be it from me to tell you how to live, you maniacs.

I will tell you that attendance at this Sunday afternoon show over at Hardywood will bring a great deal of light into your life, if you choose to accept it. The main attraction on this bill is Washers, a new band bringing together the talents of Stuart Holt (Sports Bar), Brad Perry (Worn In Red), and Joel Alford (Pity Party). This band’s fun power-pop sound is exactly what you’d expect from some of these guys, with a heavier edge brought in by the rest of them. It’s tight–go see for yourself. And check out North Carolina’s Horizontal Hold while you’re at it; this group’s herky-jerky postpunk sound harks back to early 80s NYC No Wave without all that early-80s Manhattan grottiness. The whole thing is free, and it’ll be over in time for you to go get some dinner and head back out for yet another show! Or just hit the sack early. I honestly wouldn’t blame you.

Monday, October 30, 8 PM
LA Witch, Guantanamo Baywatch, The Smirks, Sick Bags @ The Camel – $12 (order tickets HERE)
The world of garage rock gets weirder and spookier with every passing year, and I for one think that’s great. After all, there are only so many new versions of “Dirty Robber” and “Psycho” we can all hear without getting bored. LA Witch is certainly not going to bore you. This trio, predictably hailing from Los Angeles, have a lot of venom and vigor to their sound, as well as a great deal of ominous reverb, simultaneously resembling the moody punk garage sounds of prime early Cramps and the psychedelic, um, witchery of bands like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The results, as documented on their brand new self-titled LP from Suicide Squeeze, are incredible. Much the same can be expected from their performance Monday night. Get down with it.

And you garage freaks will get a special bonus, as this one night sees them criscrossing the tour paths of Portland-based Suicide Squeeze labelmates Guantanamo Baywatch, who bring a ripping surf-driven sound to town to get all of us dancing. These guys just released their latest LP, Desert Center, back in August, and its deep dive into speedy mutant surf instrumental territory is matched in intensity by its haunting vocal numbers, many of which have a doomed 50s-retro vibe sure to thrill all assembled. Local garage-damaged young punk snots The Smirks will be on the bill to let the elders know how its done, while Sick Bags sees some former members of local punk louts The Ladies bringing a more openly retro style to their still-antisocial vibe. Don’t miss a minute of this one, folks, it’s sure to be a blast.

Tuesday, October 31, 6:30 PM
Citizen, Sorority Noise, Great Grandpa @ The Canal Club – $17 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
When their first album came out in 2013, Citizen got lumped in with that whole emo-revival thing. At the time of their 2015 followup, they got thrown into the post-hardcore shoegaze crowd. Now, in 2017, their third album, Aim To Please, has been released, and it shows this group to have a sound that’s held true through every attempt to pigeonhole them. The emo aspects are still there. The post-hardcore vibes and ringing shoegaze guitars are still in the mix as well. But at the end of the day, what this band does best is killer melodies with an undeniable infusion of passion and heartache. And they’re still doing it as well as ever, so going to see them live is still a really great idea.

Sorority Noise came together from the ashes of a couple early emo-revival bands, but quickly staked out territory well outside their original expectations. Their most recent album, You’re Not As _____ As You Think (yes, it’s really a blank), continues to explore new sounds that move from slightly-twisted melodic punk to strange ambient gothic vibes, all while digging deeper into the sorts of emotional issues that plague us all. All in all, they’re a great pairing with Citizen, and all the Canal Club kids are sure to eat it up. The evening will kick off with a set from Seattle’s Great Grandpa, who orbit some of the same styles Citizen and Sorority Noise are swirling around, but mix in doses of shoegaze and 90s alt-rock to keep things lively.

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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] [yes, my email is through GayRVA, don’t get weird about it]