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VA Shows You Must See This Week: September 18 – September 24

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, September 21, 3 PM
Stone’s Throw Down In RVA, feat. White Denim (Photo by Barnaby Fairley), J. Roddy Walston & The Business, Cory Wong, Howlin’ Rain, The Long Ryders @ Brown’s Island – $20 (order tickets HERE)
The seasons are changing, y’all. The Autumnal Equinox, one of two days every year in which the sun is up for exactly 12 hours and down for the other 12, will arrive on Monday and mark the first day of fall. Therefore, this makes Saturday and Sunday the official Last Weekend Of Summer. And you know you’re gonna want to make that count. Fortunately for us all, Stone Brewing is here to help, having scheduled their annual Stone’s Throw Down In RVA celebration at Brown’s Island this Saturday afternoon and evening. And you’re going to want to be there.

A duo of massive modern rock n’ roll juggernauts are ready, willing, and able to offer top-quality assistance with making this not only the last but the best weekend of your entire Summer 2019. J Roddy Walston & The Business are the hometown boys, and will wrap the whole evening up in wonderful fashion with the piano-driven down-home rock sound we’ve all come to know and love. Their best-known riff monster may still be 2013’s “Heavy Bells,” from their ATO Records debut, Essential Tremors, but 2017 follow up Destroyers Of The Soft Life offered a pretty massive dose of rock power in its own right, from that incredible title down to the soaring high points of singles like “The Wanting” and “You Know Me Better.”

They’ll be sharing the top of the bill with Texas boogie rockers White Denim, who won my heart back when they released their 2016 monsterpiece of funky Southern rock, Stiff. Since then, they’ve released not one but two more albums, including this spring’s Side Effects — their ninth studio album in just under 11 years, so these guys certainly don’t slow down. The new LP proves that their adeptness with tunes that rock you hard while keeping your body moving on the dance floor is totally undiminished. Come find out for yourself at Brown’s Island this Saturday, and enjoy tunes from rock n’ roll veterans like Howlin’ Rain, Cory Wong, and reunited first-wave Paisley Underground legends The Long Ryders. It’s gonna be a top-notch afternoon of classic rock n’ roll, and the perfect way to say sayonara to summer 2019.

Wednesday, September 18, 9 PM
Pharmakon, Suppression, Tavishi, Noiro Zepol @ Wonderland – $10
Experimental noise artist Pharmakon has never exactly been an easy listen. The solo project of New York native Margaret Chardiet is based around terrifying screams, atonal synth loops, and industrial samples, and while the strong structures of Pharmakon’s music has always made it slightly more accessible than that of your average harsh noise project — think Merzbow — it’s still the kind of thing that could send anyone who isn’t adequately prepared for what’s coming running from a room at top speed. What’s wild is that on their latest album, Devour, released earlier this year, Pharmakon has moved even further in the direction of confrontational noise havoc. Chardiet’s vocals are even more shocking, rising to the outright monstrous level of Alan Dubin’s work with doom/noise project Khanate.

OK, look, I know that those of you who aren’t into testing the limits of the boundary between music and noise may not be catching any of my reference points — and that’s fine. But what you do need to know is that, if you’ve ever found anything enjoyable in the world of angry, noisy, extreme music of any kind, you’re going to want to see Pharmakon tonight. Not only is Chardiet a riveting performer, her compositions have an unusual ability to push beyond the cold intellectual facade of most experimental noise and reach the listener on a deep emotional level. If you haven’t experienced it yet, you owe it to yourself to do so at least once — even if it terrifies you. The terror is the point.

Thursday, September 19, 7:30 PM
Shonen Knife, Talk Me Off, Captain Scrunchie @ The Camel – $17 in advance/$20 at the door (order tickets HERE)
I’m not sure how well young music fans know the name Shonen Knife, but if they don’t, they certainly should. This trio of Japanese women, who released their first LP of catchy melodic punk back in 1982, were instrumental in bringing international attention to the underground punk scene of Japan. They weren’t as unhinged as GISM nor as caustic as Gauze, but that very fact made their heavily Ramones-influenced music approachable by music fans all over the world — and they quickly fell in love. High-profile fans like Kurt Cobain, Thurston Moore, and Steven McDonald of Redd Kross helped ensure that Shonen Knife became a name known all over the alt-rock world.

Today, Shonen Knife has over 20 albums to their credit, and they’re still going strong, releasing latest full-length Sweet Candy Power just a few months ago. The title track still retains the same mix of garage rock grit, DIY spirit, and pure pop goodness that made past Shonen Knife high points like “Twist Barbie,” “Antonio Baka Guy,” and “Catnip Dream” such classic tunes. This show is sure to be full of fun singalongs and big smiles, and if you aren’t part of it, you’ll be missing out, so get together with your friends tomorrow night and let’s knife.

Friday, September 20, 7 PM
McKinley Dixon, Alfred, Bon Ki @ Plan 9 Music – Free!
Richmond hip hop is taking things to the next level, and that’s true in all facets of the scene. McKinley Dixon is a prime example — not only has his focus on killer live performances and frequent tours helped him to gain fans all over the country, he’s reached some pretty influential ears. For proof, look no further than his brand new single, for which this free in-store at Plan 9 acts as a release party. The two song vinyl EP, “Anansi, Anansi” b/w “Wit These,” is coming out as part of the Document Series by powerful midwestern label Saddle Creek.

The Nebraska label made their name releasing legends of post-Y2K emo like Cursive and Bright Eyes, but with the Document Series, they hope to offer a higher profile to work from emerging underground artists all over the world. And of course, there’s no Richmond artist more deserving of this attention than McKinley Dixon, whose powerful hip hop is some of the best music being made locally in any genre, and whose A-side for the Document Series single just might constitute a new career high. Join Dixon, along with fellow local hip hop up-and-comer Alfred (who himself just released Like You!! on Topshelf Records) and newcomers Bon Ki. This one’s gonna be a blast.

Saturday, September 21, 9 PM
Sinister Haze, The Red Skulls, Crimson Heat @ Mojo’s – $5
By late this Saturday evening, you may well have had your fill of rock n’ roll out at Brown’s Island. But if you still want more, you should definitely head over to Mojo’s by 9 PM this Saturday night to catch a triple-threat banger of Virginia-area bands that are underrated, unexpected, and ready to blow your mind. Sinister Haze is at the top of the bill, and while this band has gone through periods of obscurity over the past couple of years, they’ve undergone a bit of lineup revision recently, and are now, if rumors are true (don’t quote me), on the cusp of releasing a new EP. This spaced-out psychedelic doom group showed exactly how heavy they could get on 2017’s Emperor Of Dreams, and if you’re hungry for more — and you should be — Mojo’s is the perfect place to be this Saturday night.

The Haze boys will be joined by a band who have, over the past decade-plus, been far more discussed than seen: The Red Skulls, a Roanoke-based early-2000s rock n’ roll project led by the Lunsford brothers: Joe (Avers/Peace Beast) and Sam (The Young Sinclairs/Stimulator Jones). I’m not sure what’s caused the two brothers to reunite their 2002-era garage rock quartet, but if their reputation for wild shows full of top-volume craziness is even somewhat justified, we’re all gonna be glad they’re back. Mysterious local newcomers Crimson Heat will kick off this show featuring just the right amount of bands (three. The number is three), so show up on time and grab yourself a cheesesteak. You won’t be sorry.

Sunday, September 22, 9 PM
Irreal, Benderheads, Dummies @ Fuzzy Cactus – $8
Here’s your entrance exam for this show. Don’t panic, it’s only one question long. Ready? Which band do you more readily associate with the genre term “hardcore”? A: Hatebreed. B: Anti-Cimex. If you answered B, congratulations — this is the show for you. Irreal is a hardcore punk band from Catalonia’s capital city of Barcelona, and they’ve got that same sort of blown-out rage with strong influences from Discharge and Gauze that you can find in classic Scandinavian hardcore (i.e. Anti-Cimex).

However, they’ve updated it with a creative passion that makes their new album a particularly fascinating listen, even if you don’t own at least a dozen black T-shirts with the sleeves cut off. The album in question, Fi Del Mon, actually comes out between when I’m writing this now and when this show is happening this Sunday. Ideally that means you’ll be able to pick up a vinyl copy for yourself after you storm up a raging circle pit on the floor at Fuzzy Cactus. Even if you haven’t got the scratch for vinyl right now, though, you’re gonna want to be there — this one’s going to be a real ripper. Especially in light of the fact that Irreal will be joined by local punk stalwarts Benderheads and D-beat newcomers Dummies, who apparently feature members of Haircut and Cement Shoes. That’s all the endorsement you should need to show up on time and ready to go off.

Monday, September 23, 9 PM
Parsnip, VV, DJ Sam Slug @ Fuzzy Cactus – $8
I know a parsnip is a vegetable, but I can’t remember if I actually know it under a different name. Let me do a quick Google… [Wait, is she serious? How unprofessional -ed.] OK no, it turns out that parsnips are just called parsnips, and they’re sorta like carrots and sorta like parsley, and… I’m pretty sure I’ve never eaten them. But we’re not here to talk about vegetables, we’re here to talk about bands — specifically the Parsnip that is an Australian band and not the one that I’m pretty sure has never showed up on my dinner plate.

The Australian band Parsnip is not too different from Japanese band Shonen Knife, who we talked about a little earlier — their music is poppy, catchy, and fun, but has a DIY production feel and carries obvious influences from punk and garage rock. The way they mix these two aspects together on brand-new debut LP When The Tree Bears Fruit makes for a very fun listen, and if you enjoyed smiling and bopping along with Shonen Knife at the Camel a few days before, you’re never going to regret doing the same thing again on Monday night at Fuzzy Cactus. Local punks VV are quite a bit weirder, and their music has veered in a decidedly “postpunk” direction over the last year or so, but if you loved their earlier material, you’re sure to have a blast with them at this show too. They’ll offer the perfect acidic counterpoint to Parsnip’s poppy sweetness. And Feel It Records head honcho DJ Sam Slug will be on hand to spin some tunes and get us all in the mood, so this is sure to be a great night all around.

Tuesday, September 24, 9 PM
Clowns, Waxjaw, Thin Pigeon @ Wonderland – $10
Australian punk is always a lot of fun, and Clowns are no exception. This Melbourne punk band are worldwide thanks to their Fat Wreck Chords deal, which brought us their latest LP, Nature/Nurture, earlier this year. It’s a whole ton of fun, bringing the skate-style upbeat melodic punk that we all expect from labels like Fat a big infusion of Aussie-style rollicking garage noise. This Tuesday-night rager marks Clowns’ first time coming through RVA — indeed, this tour is their first-ever jaunt to the East Coast — so it should be a proper fun time in the works! Make sure you’re part of it.

Clowns are joined on this trip through town by Huntington, WV queer punks Waxjaw, whose brand new LP, A Collection of Rituals In Sound, finds them mixing occult-vibe postpunk sounds with a strong sense of ringing melody that ensures this album is still a great deal of fun to listen to. We can surely expect a similar sort of fun from their live performance, and from that of Richmonders Thin Pigeon, who’ll kick off this whole shebang down in Shockoe Bottom! Liven up your midweek with this one, folks.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, September 20, 6:30 PM
Smooth Hound Smith, Kyshona @ The Southern Cafe – $12 (order tickets HERE)
The one-man-band musical formula is one that’s become familiar over several decades, especially if you enjoy that roots-rock/Americana style that’s so conducive to this musical approach. You know the deal — guitar in the hands, drums at the feet, maybe a harmonica on a neck stand, and some heartfelt vocals. Smooth Hound Smith’s Zack Smith does pretty much all of that stuff, but he’s not the only member of this group — he’s joined by his wife, Caitlin Doyle-Smith, who contributes auxiliary percussion and some all-important vocal harmonies to give this band a whole lot more depth than you’d expect from their rudimentary setup.

While Smooth Hound Smith are certainly capable of busting out some raucous down-home rock n’ roll when the occasion calls for it, their latest LP, Dog In A Manger, finds them stretching out in multiple other directions, dipping into Southern soul, sweet folk balladry, and alt-country twang. If any of that sort of thing appeals to you, chances are you’re going to love seeing this two-person one-man band in action. They’ll be accompanied at this performance by Nashville soul-blues singer Kyshona, who’s sure to move you with her powerful, politically-informed tuneage. Show up on time for this one.

Saturday, September 21, 7 PM
This Wild Life, The Happy Fits, Rome Hero Foxes, Calebfolks @ Elevation27 – $16 (order tickets HERE)
The idea of acoustic emo might seem like something recent, like it only showed up once Evan Thomas Weiss of Into It. Over It. or Kevin Morby started touring with just an acoustic guitar. However, it’s actually got a pretty long tradition, one that stretches back to my mid-90s salad days of seeing house show sets by solo artists like Keith Welsh or Tom LoMacchio. This Wild Life approach things a bit differently, augmenting Kevin Jordan’s acoustic guitar and heartfelt vocals with electric guitar melodies and vocal harmonies from Anthony Del Grosso, but the percussionless, melody-first results of their approach are decidedly familiar both to vets of Vinnie Caruana and Geoff Rickly’s Acoustic Basement Tour from a couple of years ago and those of us who saw these kinds of acoustic sets in actual basements over a decade ago.

This Wild Life bring a particularly lovely flavor to their take on the acoustic sound, which makes them a welcome addition to a scene ususally much more dependent on percussion and distortion. On last year’s Petaluma LP, This Wild Life avoided the temptation to make their acoustic songs lightweight tunes about love and flowers, instead tackling difficult subjects that lie at the heart of life’s difficult moments and offering catharsis and support through their delightful melodies. You can certainly enjoy their music as you lie alone in your darkened bedroom, but it’s sure to be far more fulfilling to see This Wild Life perform live in a bright room full of smiling faces. So head to Elevation27 this Saturday night and let their music surround you. It’s gonna be beautiful.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Still Rocking In The Commonwealth

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For the ninth year in a row, WRIR DJ Shannon Cleary brings us a jam-packed multi-night showcase of excellent local music under the banner of his radio show, The Commonwealth of Notions.

WRIR and The Commonwealth of Notions Presents: Volume 9, a showcase of some of the best bands Richmond has to offer, kicks off on Saturday, August 3 at Gallery 5. The showcase will continue with its second show on Saturday, August 10 at The Camel. Both shows act as fundraisers for WRIR, a local independent radio station. 

Shannon Cleary, who hosts The Commonwealth of Notions — a show on WRIR that frequently features local artists — has been organizing the festival for the past nine years. “I wanted to see if I could develop a live equivalent of the radio show,” Cleary said. “Showcase the bands I’m playing on the show and use that as a means of supporting independent radio based out of Richmond.”

As always, this year’s The Commonwealth of Notions Presents features something for music fans of all types. Those attending the first show will be treated to the driving, political punk of Lounge Lizzard, who put out the first of their recorded music just this past March. HotSpit, a relatively new band in Richmond, will also be bringing their lush, melodic indie rock to the stage. Warrington will spruce things up with some delightfully emo-flavored indie, and the show will finish up with the high-energy garage rock of Washers, followed by the synthy, spooky punk of VV. 

The second night of music, at the Camel, will feature Midlife Pilot, who skillfully turn emo music into something positive and upbeat. Things will get a little more distorted when Twin Drugs takes the stage and show off their hypnotic shoegaze. Gnawing brings a powerful sound to the bill, and the jangly indie pop of Young Scum is always a pleasure to witness live. Opin closes out the night with their danceable synth-filled sound.

Both nights of the festival offer an excellent opportunity for music fans to hear the sounds they love while also checking out bands they may have never heard of. For the bands performing, it’s a rare opportunity to be part of a diverse bill. “I appreciate how it brings artists together onto bills that might not typically get the chance to play shows together,” Cleary said. “They are all fans and supporters of one another.” 

VV (Photo via Facebook)

Proceeds from the shows benefit WRIR, which is run by volunteers and is “the largest low power FM station of its kind in the country,” according to its website. The station airs everything from political talk shows to programs about film. There seems to be a show for just about every type of music, including punk, electronica, and Americana. 

Cleary noted that while also supporting local bands, people who attend the shows “are supporting a platform like WRIR that gives independent, underrepresented ideas, thoughts, and art a voice in the community. It’s an opportunity to support a lot of things all at once that all come together to piece together the identity of the creative community in Richmond.”

With two nights of music and bands that touch on multiple genres of music, The Commonwealth of Notions Presents: Volume 9 has something to offer for everyone while raising money for an independent radio station Richmond is lucky to have. It provides an excellent way to support Richmond’s buzzing music scene in general.

“I want to showcase artists, venues, organizations and beyond that I think are doing remarkable things in the scene,” Cleary said. “And the fact that this will be the ninth year that I’ve done this has not completely hit me yet.”

Top Photo: Opin, by Craig Stephen (via Facebook)

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 18 – December 25

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, December 22, 9 PM
L’Amour, Sick Bags, DJ Sam Slug @ Mojo’s – Free (Donations appreciated)
It’s time to go back to the dawning days of Richmond punk — long before White Cross or Death Piggy, back when punk hadn’t yet become a pedal-to-the-metal speed competition, before it was all about rage and fury. Back in the late 70s, the Ramones, Dead Boys, and Dictators were still kings of the US punk scene, and here in Richmond, our earliest punk exports fit into much the same mold; mixing teenage hormones, class-clown goofiness, and no-frills rock n’ roll into a potent cocktail of melody, energy, and fun.

1979 was the year that L’Amour, one of the foremost bands in that first wave of RVA punk, released their sole EP. It featured two songs, “Sunglass Party” and “Someday,” and preserved the group’s blend of Stonesy catchiness and New York Dolls-style gleeful trashiness for posterity. There was a lot more where that came from, but it was much harder in those days to record and release music than it is today, so the rest of it spent decades languishing unheard on tapes buried in former members’ basements.

Thankfully, this year has seen a resurrection of L’Amour’s greatness, as VA label Beach Impediment has collected all of the band’s known recordings onto an excellent 14-song LP entitled Look To The Artist. To celebrate its long-overdue release, core L’Amour members Tom Applegate and David Stover have regrouped, recruited a young rhythm section from among the fertile talent pool of today’s Richmond punk scene, and returned to action for this incredible reunion show at Mojo’s Saturday night. Most of us probably missed L’Amour the first time (I was three, and I’m OLD), so this is a golden opportunity to be present for a return to the very roots of this city’s near half-century of punk greatness. And how can you possibly turn that down?

Wednesday, December 19, 7 PM
A Very Butcher Holiday, feat. Butcher Brown, R4nd4zzo Big B4nd @ The Broadberry – $12 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Christmas time is here, and Butcher Brown knows it. This excellent quintet is getting into the holiday spirit at the Broadberry tonight with an excellent set of jazzed-up Christmas standards, paying tribute in particular to the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s classic soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. They’ll be joined by the R4nd4zzo Big B4nd, a fifteen-or-so-piece project led by Butcher Brown’s very own bassist, Andrew Randazzo, which brought us much the same tribute last year, as captured on their Tribute To Vince Guaraldi LP, released back at the beginning of this year.

Considering Guaraldi often worked at the head of a simple piano-bass-drums trio, this brassy, expanded treatment from a group that includes multiple trumpets, trombones, and reeds is different from the original in significant ways. However, the jazzy spirit of Christmas that makes Guaraldi’s original album the objective best holiday music ever (yeah, I said it) remains intact, even as the group’s inspired new arrangements allow for considerable creativity. Whether you’re a fan of A Charlie Brown Christmas in particular or the holidays in general, and even if you just like good jazz music no matter the season, this show’s got a lot to offer you. Be there, and get into the spirit the Butcher Brown way.

Thursday, December 20, 7 PM
Snail Mail, Bleary Eyed @ The Broadberry – $15 in advance/$18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Look, I admit it — I’m just discovering Snail Mail. I’m a big-time music nerd (as you may have gathered) and I catch a lot, but sometimes things are gonna slip past my radar until way past time that I should have heard them. Snail Mail is one such thing; somehow I missed their debut full-length, Lush, when it was released this past summer and proceeded to score Best New Music plaudits from Pitchfork. Oops.

I mean, I always take that website with several grains of salt, so don’t get me wrong, but this time they are totally correct — Lush is an absolute tour-de-force. Where downcast indie-pop songwriting is concerned, Snail Mail frontperson Lindsey Jordan has an incredible gift, and songs like “Speaking Terms” cut to the heart of the tremendous difficulties inherent in all human relationships, even as they wash your tears away with beautiful vocal melodies and perfect chiming guitars. This is an album that will resonate with the awkward emo nerd inside us all, even the jaded denim-clad metalheads among our number. I will go so far as to say this — if you’ve ever in your life had feels about a thing, you need to be at the Broadberry this Thursday night. Snail Mail’s gonna make you feel all those feels all over again, and in much more wonderful ways.

Friday, December 21, 8 PM
Camp Howard, Twain, Recluse Raccoon, Kenneka Cook @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$7 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Get ready for a lovely night of gorgeous indie sounds at Gallery 5 this Friday. This quartet of excellent Virginia artists will ease you into the weekend before Christmas and all the hectic travel plans you’re sure to be executing in the days that follow. Reliable RVA mainstays Camp Howard are at the top of the bill, and that’s always a good place for them; it may have been a year and a half since most recent EP, Juice, but Nic and the boys have established such a reliable track record of glittering post-punk power-pop over the past several years that everyone in RVA knows what these boys have to offer.

Where this show is concerned, though, Camp Howard is just the beginning. Twain hail from Franklin County, a rural region just south of Roanoke that has legendarily been known as “the moonshine capital of the world,” so you know this band understands how to have a good time. Their 2017 LP, Rare Feeling, is full of beautiful songs that bring an understated, pensive touch to a style landing somewhere between indie and alt-country. They’re simultaneously reminiscent of Sturgill Simpson and My Morning Jacket, and just as excellent a listen as those two, so they’re well worth your time. Recluse Raccoon are a good bit more social than the name suggests, and in fact they recently released a gorgeously weird self-titled LP that makes quite an impression with its introspective tunes embroidered by a variety of unconventional instruments. And of course Kenneka Cook is always someone you should catch, even if it means showing up early — her excellent voice and skillful compositions are worth the price of admission all by themselves.

Saturday, December 22, 8 PM
Planned Parenthood Fundraiser, feat. Occultist, VV, Kuni, Trapcry @ Gallery 5 – $5 to $10 suggested donation
With Strange Matter sadly shuffling off this mortal coil, there seems little doubt that we’ll all be spending more time at Gallery 5 in the near future. Their focus on the DIY community and support for causes that matter to the less-privileged inhabitants of the river city makes the gallery the obvious torchbearers for the sort of local scene support that Strange Matter was so good at. This Saturday night, they prove it for the second time in 24 hours with an amazing benefit for Planned Parenthood — an organization that’s been constantly under siege for several years now, and does crucial work within the local community, from ensuring your right to reproductive freedom to such important things as providing essential health care for transgender people without other options (like me, for instance).

Occultist are headlining this shindig, and it’s great news, considering how difficult it’s been to catch these thrash-metal ragers in a live setting over the past year or so. It’s been quite a while since they brought us any new studio recordings, and at this point they’re sure to have some new material to bring you, so get ready to headbang with a grateful fury. VV are an excellent addition to any bill, and their vitriol-drenched, synth-laced postpunk attack is particularly apropos for a Planned Parenthood benefit — smashing patriarchal faces for the win. Kuni’s queer electro-punk and the seductive techno-dance sounds of Trapcry will round this bill out perfectly. You’ll dance, you’ll rock, you’ll smash the patriarchy… it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Sunday, December 23, 8 PM
Marc Rebillet, DJ Harrison @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Marc Rebillet is a phenomenon that’s not that easy to explain. What I’d heard from other people before I checked out his music led me to expect one thing, but what I found was something significantly different. People will tell you this guy’s a bit of a comedian, and certainly he approaches his electro-funk music with an irreverent, humorous attitude, but the results he gets from synthesizers, beat loops, and most importantly his unforgettable voice are not only entertaining but seriously intriguing.

His Loop Daddy EP, released a couple of months ago, finds Rebillet, who got his start on YouTube, in loverman mode, sounding a bit like Baltimore electro-goof Dan Deacon if he was able to expertly channel R. Kelly. However, he’ll occasionally put the whole damn thing on pause to holler ridiculous improvised exhortations, and yeah, you’re gonna laugh at those times. Mostly though, Marc Rebillet’s gonna get your booty shaking with a rhythm that might seem totally out of place this close to Christmas but is, if anything, exactly what you need to survive another awkward dinner at Grandma’s house. So head to the Camel this Sunday and get in the pool. You know what I’m talking about.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, December 21, 8 PM
Demons, Shy Low, Ladada @ Taphouse Grill – $5
Shit is always pretty heavy down Tidewater way, I’ve found. There are indie shows down there at times, but a lot of what I find coming out of that geographical region of Virginia is hard as fuck and taking its best shot at crushing your skull. The same is true of Demons, though instead of super-heavy deathcore stuff, this band is aiming for more of a thick, metallic sound on latest EP Made In The USA. The resulting pummeling lands somewhere between Far Beyond Driven-era Pantera and early Every Time I Die. And when it lands, it lands on its feet and starts charging straight at you. Be there to meet the onslaught at Taphouse Grill this Friday, and you’re sure to be glad you did.

This show will also bring you a performance from Richmond’s own Shy Low, who’ve been less active recently than they were a few years ago. However, their most recent release, Burning Day, was only a year and a half ago, and it showed that they’d retained their powerful approach to the instrumental post-rock sound on which they made their name back a half-decade or so ago. So you can certainly expect a reliable (post-)rocking from these guys, and you’ll get a bonus set from openers Ladada, who have a catchy indie-pop sound that’s sure to delight. All in all, it’s a fine Friday night in Norfolk. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 23, 4 PM
Shaka’s Appreciation Show, feat. The Unabombers, Beggar’s Row, Accident Prone, Pushing On, Evade, Faded, Freebase, Chain Breaker, Catalyst, Semtex @ Shaka’s – Free!
It’s a sad story, one that those of us here in Richmond know all too well. Norfolk live music mainstay Shaka’s is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month… but it’s also closing its doors forever. That’s not happening after this Sunday matinee show — their last show is actually the Doyle gig on New Years Eve — but it is one of the last chances the Norfolk area will have to show their appreciation for a venue that’s filled much the same role in their scene that Strange Matter has in ours. What a shame.

The show itself will be a glorious occasion, though, with longtime VA punk veterans The Unabombers taking care of business at the top of the bill. These guys have been rocking the Hampton Roads area and beyond for over 20 years now, and they’re the perfect band to send Shaka’s off on a high note. And there’s a ton of hardcore punk on the bill besides, from the speedy metallic rage of Beggar’s Row to the brutal pummeling mosh of Evade to the angry punk/HC of Pushing On. There are a whole bunch more bands on this one too, and the price is certainly right, so if Shaka’s ever meant anything to you, there’s no time like the present to both show it some love before it disappears and to enjoy the Hampton Roads hardcore/punk scene’s past, present, and future all in one great place.

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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

VV’s No-Wave Punk Noise is Pure Raw Intensity

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It’s not supposed to sound pretty. Richmond band VV’s shambolic no-wave performances have made a mark on the local DIY scene this year. 

The band’s raw, anarchic intensity takes more from 80s punk outsiders like Flipper, Stick Men With Ray Guns, and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks than anything in current scene. Those influences may be more incidental than intentional, however.

VV’s rudimentary punk noise is partly a result of their inexperience. Guitarist Kelsey Hulvey and drummer Rachel Harper picked up their instruments only a few months before starting the band. 

“I knew a couple basic things, like how to make a power chord and what my strings should be tuned to,” Hulvey said.

The band’s musical limitations haven’t held them back though; if anything, those barriers have made for more interesting, idiosyncratic songwriting. Their primitive style stands in stark contrast to the polished and well-rehearsed songwriting that dominates Richmond’s punk scene. 

“We’re not trying to adhere to anything or sound like anything in particular,” Hulvey said. “We’re starting with a blank canvas every time we write a song.”

According to the band, they construct their songs around a lyrical fragment or idea, and work on the music and lyrics collaboratively. It can be an exhaustive process, but the autonomy that it provides is worth the effort — and keeps them from falling into a formulaic rut.

“An important part of our band is doing what we want and carving out our own space,” Hulvey said. “I don’t care how other people receive it. It’s important that we’re creating something that we like, that’s important to us.”

VV will be performing live on WRIR 97.3 next Thursday at 5 p.m.

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, VV, Clang Quartet, Hex Machine at Strange Matter

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LYDIA LUNCH RETROVIRUS (Lydia, Weasel Walter, Bob Bert, Tim Dahl playing The Queen of No Wave’s discography!!)
https://lydialunch.bandcamp.com/album/retrovirus

w/ special guests:
VV (RVA)
https://vvfaxmachine.bandcamp.com/
CLANG QUARTET (NC)
https://www.facebook.com/clangquartet/
HEX MACHINE (RVA)
https://hexmachine.bandcamp.com/

Monday September 24th, 2018 @ Strange Matter
8PM Doors & DJ // 9PM Sounds
$12 in Advance // $15 Day of Show | 18+
Tickets: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1738263

For those of you who missed BRUTAL MEASURES open up for the mighty Grails at Strange Matter, never fear!! THE QUEEN OF NO-WAVE returns with her full ensemble LYDIA LUNCH RETROVIRUS who plays all of LYDIA’s classic band material including 8 Eyed Spy, Queen of Siam, 1313, Shotgun Wedding and of course TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS!! Stoked to have her back on our stage yet again with a cast of amazing players including WEASEL WALTER (The Flying Luttenbachers, Behold The Arctopus, XBXRX, 7000 Dying Rats, Lake of Dracula, Brutal Measures), BOB BERT (Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Chrome Cranks) and TIM DAHL (Child Abuse, The Hub)…what the fuck, right??! Richmond’s own VV will be opening for these legends as well as noise rock crushers HEX MACHINE! Also instead of a DJ we’ve enlisted NC noise/performance art ruler CLANG QUARTET who will give a new meaning to noise artists for those uninitiated!

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LYDIA LUNCH’S RETROVIRUS: LYDIA LUNCH RETROVIRUS: AN ALL-STAR CAST OF SONIC BRUTARIANS IN A NO-HOLDS-BARRED SURVEY OF HER MUSICAL OUTPUT FROM 1977 TO THE PRESENT.

Including music from TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS, 8 EYED SPY, QUEEN OF SIAM, 1313 and SHOTGUN WEDDING.

Lydia Lunch has spent decades trolling through the sub/terranean sick-home black & blues creating a schizophrenic musical legacy which loops from shrill No Wave to bludgeoning Hard Rock, from smoky Jazz Noir and illustrated word to macabre Psychedelia.

Weasel Walter is best known as the founder of the cult punk jazz/no wave/brutal prog band, The Flying Luttenbachers. Mr. Walter has �also worked with other experimental rock groups like XBXRX, Behold The Arctopus, 7000 Dying Rats,Burmese, and Lake Of Dracula.

Bob Bert has pounded the skins for Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, fronted his own group Bewitched and has provided a unique rocking voodoo backbeat on over 30 albums. A stint in print making at Warhol’s Factory helped inspire him to create the highly lauded music, art and literary magazine BB GUN.

Tim Dahl is a composer and professional electric and double bass player, vocalist, keyboardist and composer living in New York City. He is best known as the front man and bass player of the noise-rock band Child Abuse and the defunct avant-jazz group The Hub. He also writes and performs for the jazz ensemble Pulverize The Sound.

http://www.strangematterrva.com/events.php

VA Shows You Must See This Week: September 19 – September 25

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, September 21, 8 PM
Pohgoh, Long Arms, Positive No @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
The internet has really changed the music world. At one time, any band that wasn’t hugely famous at the time of their breakup disappeared completely and were never heard from again. But today, when albums from any era of recorded music can find new life on streaming services like Spotify, Bandcamp, and even YouTube, can it be any surprise that many once-forgotten bands of prior eras have returned to find a music world that’s significantly more welcoming and appreciative than the one they left? These days, it seems like a lot of bands from the 90s are doing just that, and Pohgoh is the latest — and one of the best — to make a welcome return after two decades away.

Known for their ties to the midwestern emo scene of the late 90s, mainly due to their 1996 split EP with Braid, Pohgoh actually hail from Tampa, Florida, where drummer Keith Ulrey owns an awesome independent record store called Microgroove. After the band broke up in the late 90s, frontwoman Susie Ulrey was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and while she gets around with a personal scooter and has to sit down to play music these days, her ability to create great music has by no means been diminished. In fact, Pohgoh’s comeback LP, Secret Club, demonstrates that the group is not only still at the top of their game musically, but willing to tackle serious topics in their lyrics. In multiple songs on the album, Susie Ulrey sings openly about her medical issues and the challenges she and her loved ones have had to face due to her MS. The experiences of disabled people are all too often ignored by our culture, so Ulrey’s voice is an important one that we should all listen to.

Plus, let’s be real — the music’s great. From their unforgettable contribution to Volume One of the Emo Diaries compilation series back in 1997, “Friend X,” to the excellent first single from their new album, “Business Mode,” Pohgoh are an incredible band that brings together that classic emo sound of bands like Braid and Mineral with that of 90s alternative rock heroes like Juliana Hatfield or Belly. It’s safe to say that fans of Speedy Ortiz are going to dig this one. And with outstanding local openers Long Arms and Positive No on board, we can be sure that this show will be a rare and valuable night of outstanding sounds from top to bottom. The ticket link is up top. You know what to do.

Wednesday, September 19, 6 PM
Sailor Poon, The Chuggernauts @ McCormack’s – $5
I admit it, I’m a sucker for bands like Sailor Poon. By which I mean, I love bands of women who address feminist concerns in a goofy, raunchy manner rather than a didactic one. Don’t get me wrong, it can be fun to angrily rip asshole dudes a new one, but there’s something so gratifying about treating all of the issues about being a woman in the United States today with a refusal to take any of its obnoxiousness seriously. Any band who will name themselves Sailor Poon, call an EP Yeast Pigeon and give songs titles like “White Male Meltdown” and “Butt Gush” have done quite a bit to win my heart even before I hear their music.

Sailor Poon’s actual music does nothing to bring down my mood, either. This garage-rock trio mixes sloppy Farfisa-driven rock n’ roll with slashing postpunk angularity and skronking sax; it’s like a Mummies jam session crashed by the Bush Tetras and X-Ray Spex. They’ve even had tracks produced by garage-psych wildman King Khan, and if that’s not a symbol of quality, I don’t know what is. Sailor Poon are joined on this bill by C-ville rock n’ roll maniacs the Chuggernauts, who are sure to provide appropriate support, and they tell me there might be another band on the bill, though if it’s still “to be announced” at this point, I have to wonder if it’ll turn into anything by tonight. Regardless, these two bands are all you need — Sailor Poon in particular are going to do a great deal to rid you of the midweek blahs. Get stoked!

Thursday, September 20, 7 PM
Neck Deep, Trophy Eyes, Stand Atlantic, WSTR @ The National – $23 in advance/$26 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Neck Deep is coming to town, and they’re gonna show us all that you don’t have to be from North America to make awesome super-emotional pop punk. I for one am all about it. This Welsh group’s latest single is a cover of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn,” which makes me think of back when all the 90s skate-rock bands were doing covers of 70s light-rock hits. Neck Deep manage to invest some real feeling in this cover, but I’m honestly way more stoked on their originals.

Last year’s The Peace And The Panic has some truly excellent tunes on it, and does the same thing former split EP partners Knuckle Puck did on their most recent album — trades some of the chunkier melodic-hardcore guitars for stronger melodies. Like Knuckle Puck, Neck Deep finds some real gold in poppier singles like “In Bloom,” which should offer the kids in the crowd a chance to bop around and sing along in the midst of all the punky upbeat anthems. I for one am all for it. Neck Deep will be joined on this bill by multiple other emo-pop-punk groups from around the world, including Australians Trophy Eyes and Stand Atlantic, and fellow Great Britain residents WSTR. This one’s gonna be fun.

Friday, September 21, 7 PM
Scott Burton & Ritual Magick @ Byrd Park Roundhouse – Free!
This one comes completely out of the blue in a manner way too fascinating to ignore. Scott Burton is a local jazz guitarist with his fingers in a variety of pies. He’s played with indie-folk group Luray and jazz-funk ensemble Glows In The Dark, as well as helming a variety of other experimental jazz ensembles, from his duo with noted local percussionist Scott Clark, SCUO, to his Kessel Quartet, a group that features members of CGI Jesus and interprets the music of legendary jazz guitarist Barney Kessel. So yes, it’s safe to say that anything Burton’s involved in is worth your attention.

Ritual Magick is a solo project of Burton’s, which he describes as “an ongoing examination of trance inducing music and the ritual practice.” He and his guitar play off a modular synth, generating improvised melodies and progressions that build up a slowly evolving minimalist melody with a hypnotic allure. And apparently Burton’s going to give his first live performance of this material on Friday evening at the Byrd Park Roundhouse, over by the lake with the paddleboats and the geese. And if you’re thinking, “Is this real? Is this an official event?” believe me, I’m asking the same questions. But if you love intriguing experimental music and minimalist guitar soundscapes, you really can’t go wrong heading down to the Byrd Park Roundhouse on Friday and seeing what’s going on. Maybe Scott Burton will show up with a battery-powered amp and blow your mind. But even if he doesn’t, that’s still a really peaceful spot to sit and take in some nature.

Saturday, September 22, 8 PM
Supersuckers, Holy Roller, Sick Bags @ The Camel – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Hey hey, the Supersuckers are hitting Richmond once again! I’ve been a longtime fan of this wild, uptempo rock n’ roll group for decades now, and on multiple previous occasions, I have urged the readers of this column to go see them. I don’t want to repeat myself overly much or anything, but I gotta tell ya, if you’re ever gonna see the Supersuckers live, this is the time to do it. The group is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, and they’re bringing the “Supersuckers Big Show” to town on Saturday.

This means you won’t just be getting one set from the Supersuckers — ohhh no. They’ve got a brand new album called Suck It, which will be out on Friday, and they’ll be bringing us a selection of tunes from this new LP. But they’ll also be doing their first two LPs, The Smoke Of Hell and La Mano Cornuda, in their entirety. At this point, we’re up to at least a solid hour and a half of fast, loud, balls-out rock n’ roll with a definite punk-garage undertone. But there’s still more coming, as the Supersuckers will also celebrate their occasional detours into outlaw country, most famously on 1997’s Must’ve Been High, with a mini-set of shit-kicking country jams as well. Seriously, everything you could ever possibly want from a Supersuckers show will happen at this show. And whether you’re a brand new fan or someone who’s seen them every time they rolled through town for the past three decades, you’d be a fool to miss it.

Sunday, September 23, 9 PM
Thin Lips, Cheer Up, Talk Me Off @ Bandito’s – Free!
OK listen, this isn’t the first time Thin Lips have come through here recently. In fact, I wrote about a show they played less than a month ago. But I didn’t tell you too much about who Thin Lips are and what they’re about at that time, and they really deserve more attention than I gave them. The Philly group’s latest LP, Chosen Family, was produced by members of Hop Along and brings in a hint of that band’s vaguely twangy approach to post-punk melody. But Thin Lips are very much a pop-punk band, and their lyrical wit and catchy riffing has a hard edge to it that makes their new LP a real rocker that’s guaranteed to stick with you.

Fellow Philadelphians Cheer Up, who are along on this particular jaunt down south, are a bit less overtly punk in their sound, and you couldn’t be blamed if you heard a hint of that whole post-Algernon Cadwallader “twinkle” in their guitar melodies on brand new LP Sleep Debt. However, there’s a contrasting undercurrent of mournful melody mixed in there as well, which is sure to connect with the indie types. Add a local opening set from snotty punk rockers Talk Me Off and the always-wonderful food and beverages provided by Bandito’s, and you’ve got yourself a guaranteed great way to wrap up your weekend. And you certainly can’t argue with the price!

Monday, September 24, 8 PM
Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, VV, Clang Quartet, Hex Machine @ Strange Matter – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The queen of noise returns once again. Lydia Lunch has been a pivotal figure in the New York scene for four decades now, starting with her first band, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, one of the four bands documented on groundbreaking 1978 compilation No New York. Their harsh, atonal guitar scraping and lurching percussive thump was taken to another level entirely by Lunch’s howling vocals and dark lyrical poetry. She carried this same sort of sound forward into the 80s, as a member of 8-Eyed Spy, Harry Crews, Big Sexy Noise, and more, as well as in collaborations with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, the Birthday Party’s Rowland S. Howard, The Mars Volta’s Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and a ton of others.

Now, her entire 40-year musical history is being brought to life with the help of a supergroup called Lydia Lunch Retrovirus. The group features guitarist Weasel Walter of noise-core legends the Flying Luttenbachers and prog-metal geniuses Behold the Arctopus, drummer Bob Bert of Pussy Galore and Chrome Cranks, and bassist Tim Dahl of Child Abuse. Backed by this trio of incredible talents in their own right, Lunch runs through material covering the span of her career from Teenage Jesus and the Jerks to Big Sexy Noise, as well as her latest album, 2015’s Urge To Kill, on which she was backed in the studio by Retrovirus. If you’re a fan of Lydia Lunch, you realize what a treat this show’s gonna be. And if you don’t know her music yet, you couldn’t ask for a better crash course. Get your tickets now.

Tuesday, September 25, 8 PM
Dear Blanca, Numbtongue, Hillwalkers @ Strange Matter – $8 (order tickets HERE)
They’ve been having a rough time of it down in the Carolinas recently, what with the direct hit the hurricane that fortunately missed us dealt to them down there. Fortunately for Dear Blanca, they hail from the inland capital city of South Carolina, Columbia, which mostly missed out on the devastation. And this means they’re able to bring us their intriguing take on guitar-driven rock n’ roll. The group’s 2016 EP, To Tell A Half-Truth, pairs lyrics adapted from the work of deceased poet Scott Crane (Dear Blanca bassist Cameron Powell’s uncle) with some loping, Crazy Horse-style tunes that inject a post-punk sense of unpredictability into their moody, hard-hitting riffs.

Singer-guitarist Dylan Dickerson’s strong yet quavering voice is the most distinctive element of this group’s sound, and he’s recently been showing it off on some solo tracks, but its natural home is in front of the loud electric backing provided by Dear Blanca, so rest assured, you’re gonna get a great show from this trio when they hit town. They’re joined by Numbtongue, another Columbia project led by Bobby Hatfield of The Sea Wolf Mutiny, which has a strange, unique sound incorporating electronic sounds and strangely funky rock grooves. And of course, RVA’s own Hillwalkers will add their particular brand of mellow, jangly bedroom-indie to the proceedings, just to make you feel right at home.

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

Friday, September 21, 9 PM
Shormey, The Slims, Flavoured Water @ Taphouse Grill – $7
We’ve got a fair amount of electronic independent artists making excellent music here in Virginia, and not all of them are based in Richmond. Shormey’s made quite the impression with her minimal yet catchy electro-pop sounds down that way, and everyone up and down the I-64 corridor has reason to be excited about her performance Friday night at Norfolk’s Taphouse Grill. Inspired equally by Babyface and The Beatles, Shormey makes lush pop sounds with a soulful undercurrent that should connect with everyone, regardless of genre.

Shormey is joined on this bill by The Slims, a strange group that hails from Pittsburgh and brings us a sound that’s tough to pin down. They refer to themselves as “a jazzy rock n’ roll hip hop conglomerate,” and I can see the influence of all of these sounds in their music, but I mostly hear a sort of languid, lo-fi beat-driven moody ballad vibe from the tracks they’ve got uploaded to their website. Mac DeMarco jamming with RVA’s own Antiphons? Something like that… I think. Norfolk’s own Flavoured Water will open up with some spacy ambient sounds over electronic beats. If you like to dance to amazingly unusual music, this is the show for you.

Tuesday, September 25, 8 PM
Face To Face, Austin Lucas, Thomas McDonald @ Shaka’s – $25 (order tickets HERE)
Y’all know Face To Face, right? This California pop-punk band started over 25 years ago, killin’ it with fun, catchy tunes to blast while you’re grinding curbs and busting kickflips. The sheer catchiness of their material allowed them to transcend the NOFX-affiliated scene they came from, and they were pretty big for a while there, scoring a soundtrack spot for Tank Girl among other big highlights. They may not be as well known these days, but the group’s flawless technique with pop melodies has not diminished an iota.

They’re proving that right now in dramatic fashion, with a full acoustic tour to accompany the recent release of Hold Fast, an album of Face To Face classics rerecorded acoustically. From classic tracks like “Ordinary” and “Don’t Turn Away” to their signature song, “Disconnected,” the new versions are nothing short of revelatory, and showcase a more heartfelt, sensitive side to a group that always was more focused on beautiful harmonies than most of their contemporaries. Veteran Florida indie-folk troubadour Austin Lucas will accompany the band on this trip through the Hampton Roads area, and local singer-songwriter Thomas McDonald of The Record Collection will open things up. You may not need your earplugs for this one, but you’re sure to get just as much of a thrill.

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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