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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: June 29 – July 5

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, July 1, 5 PM
Bio Ritmo, The Sweet Potatoes @ Gallery 5 – Free!
Summer is officially here, folks, and with the temperatures and the humidity on the rise, the time is perfect for some hot music. Bio Ritmo’s been serving up that exact sort of thing here in Richmond for over 30 years now, and hearing their salsa music right now feels almost as good as eating salsa on chips tastes. They haven’t been as musically active in recent years as huge fans might want them to be; other than an anniversary-commemorating vinyl reissue of their 1996 Merge Records single “Piraguero,” they haven’t released anything since 2014’s Puerta Del Sur. Luckily for us all, they stay busy in other ways — one of which will offer us all the chance to see Bio Ritmo this Friday night — for free, no less!

There will be plenty of music happening at this event at Gallery 5, but the music isn’t the most important part. This month’s show at Gallery 5 was created in partnership with Bio Ritmo and The Valentine, and celebrates Richmond’s rich legacy of immigrant communities over the centuries of the city’s existence. In addition to art created by immigrant artists from the Richmond region, Gallery 5 will also be displaying a selection of historical images from the Valentine’s collection, documenting immigrant communities throughout Richmond’s history. You can show up anytime after 5 pm to see all that stuff, and to take advantage of happy hour at the Gallery 5 bar. You know, if that’s your kind of thing.

The most exciting part of the evening, though, will begin at 8 pm, as Gallery 5’s First Friday house band, The Sweet Potatoes, takes the stage for a warm-up set of their old-time jazz sound. Then we get a full set by Bio Ritmo, whose salsa music is sure to keep your feet moving, your booty shaking, and a smile plastered across your face. Thirty years of Richmond crowds will tell you that this band knows how to put on a great show, but if you don’t know just yet, there couldn’t be a better time for you to learn for yourself. After all, there’s awesome art and fascinating history on display, the kind of thing you won’t hear about in school. And above all, admission is free, so even if gas prices got you broke as hell, you can still come have a party with Bio Ritmo. Considering the way this summer’s going thus far, it seems like we’re gonna need to party whenever we can.

Wednesday, June 29, 7 PM
Destructo Disk, Overunderdog, Plastic Pyramid, Dysphonia @ Cobra Cabana – Donations requested
As of last Friday, abortion is now illegal in over half the country. Thankfully, it isn’t in Virginia yet, despite the best efforts of our Republican governor, but that’s no reason for anyone to get complacent, or to ignore the fact that very real financial barricades exist in order for lower-income people (those most at risk for unwanted pregnancies) to access abortion. Therefore, it’s very timely that this Destructo Disk throwdown at Cobra Cabana is a benefit for Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project. Reproductive rights are under threat, y’all, and if the money you pay to get into whatever random punk rock show you’re going to this week can help fight against that threat, so much the better.

I don’t want to imply that this is just some random mid-week punk rock show, though. Destructo Disk is one of the more intriguing punk bands to come out of the Richmond punk scene in a while, and they certainly deserve your attention if you haven’t checked them out yet. Only a month or two ago, they released their latest LP, Bad Gravity, which Bandcamp bills as a “liminal space punk rock opera,” and really does seem to follow the ongoing story of a punk band trying to find a way to survive in some sort of dystopian future world… or something like that. What’s beyond debate is that these songs are all super catchy and a ton of fun to sing along with. So yeah, if punk rock’s your bag, head out to Cobra Cabana tonight to catch Destructo Disk. And dig deep when they pass the donation jar — it really is important.

Thursday, June 30, 8 PM
Blkvapor, Asylum 213, Fake Bodies, Listless @ Powers BMX Shop – Donations requested
Here’s another show happening out on Williamsburg Road at a local bike shop that has suddenly started presenting a good many great live music events. If you’re not paying attention to what’s going on over at Powers BMX, you should start, and this show is a great opportunity to do so. Baltimore’s Blkvapor is coming to town, presenting an intriguing, somewhat introspective sound that nonetheless knows how to get properly noisy when the time is right. They bill themselves as “queer punk and noise rock,” and those elements are certainly there on their debut EP, Vaporising, but on tracks like “Doomscroll,” they show off a real melodic sense that adds additional layers to the furious noise displayed on tracks like “Fuck You (Transphobia).”

So yeah, Blkvapor are going to be the kind of difficult-to-categorize listening experience that doesn’t come along too often. I for one am always looking for musicians like this, because if nothing else, they’re not bringing us just another dose of the same old thing. What Blkvapor has on offer is significantly better than that, in fact, and they’re joined on this bill by several local bands, all of whom have their own styles to provide to the overall mix. Asylum 213’s 2021 album, Not Homeless/Just Hopeless, dips into everything from shoegaze distortion to indie melody to chaotic metalcore, which is sure to make their live show unpredictable in the most delightful of ways. Northern Virginia’s Fake Bodies bring a strong dose of snotty, melodic punk to the table, as delightfully displayed on their new album, Stop Shaking. Meanwhile, Richmond “revenge-core” band Listless rounds out the bill with what is sure to be the heaviest set of the evening, bringing down the hammer with a powerful sound that should appeal to anyone who loves banging their head. Not a bad night at the local BMX shop, all told.

Friday, July 1, 8 PM
Sequela, Asylum 213, Melk, Open Wake @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
I don’t know too much about Sequela, the band headlining this bill at Garden Grove on Friday night. But I must admit, I find them very intriguing. For one thing, they’re from Portland, Maine — the only other musician from up that way I can think of is Dr. Millionaire. For another, they’re an eight-piece band, and in addition to three guitars, the instrumentation on their new single, “Mourning Routine,” includes two cellos, an upright bass, a lap steel guitar, and a singing saw. The result takes the multi-layered nature of the indie-shoegaze sound to a whole new level, incorporating the grandeur of classical symphonies and the bombastic epics of post-rock auteurs like Sigur Ros into a sound fundamentally grounded in Dinosaur Jr/My Bloody Valentine-style fuzz guitar alt-rock.

That’s basically all I know; they’ve only released a few songs so far in their career. However, if you ask me, “Mourning Routine” is enough on its own to make this band worth going to see. This is especially true in light of the fact that Garden Grove doesn’t charge at the door for their shows, and in light of the fact that Sequela has a few really good local groups to share the bill with. I mentioned Asylum 213 two short paragraphs ago, so you should remember them by now. Melk is a new trio in town, who seem to be exploring that same confluence of melody and heaviness that was so fruitful for Hum over the years. Open Wake round out the bill with some upbeat rock n’ roll sounds. This one’s gonna be fun, y’all.

Saturday, July 2, 8 PM
Rebekah Rafferty And the Wakes, Weekend Plans, Yeni Nostalji @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Oh goodness, a ticketed show! I had almost forgotten about those. But as much as I might love to live in the world of benefit shows and donation jars, seeing the best music you can see on a particular night does sometimes require breaking out the debit card and entering your info into a website. It’s OK — the results you’ll achieve as a result are always rewarding. In this case, particularly so, as Rebekah Rafferty and the Wakes, a mainstay on Richmond’s underground rock scene for years now, really do have something to celebrate at the Camel this Saturday night. Specifically, their debut album, Two Of Swords, which they’ve been working on for years now, will finally enter the world, and this is The Wakes’ opportunity to celebrate.

Now, you might think that, as a prominent (or at least verbose) local music journalist, I get all the inside info about all the things Richmond bands are up to. Sometimes I do! Not in this case, though. So I don’t know what songs from The Wakes’ set will appear on the album; I can’t tell you whether the lovely singles they’ve been releasing over the past couple of years, like the melancholy, melodic “It’ll Be Fine” or the moody, understated “Witches,” will make the final album. But I can tell you that those songs more than proved Rafferty and The Wakes’ bona fides, proving that Rafferty’s songcraft is above reproach and her musicians are incredibly talented. Considering how hard they’ve worked on their imminent debut LP, one can’t help but imagine all of those qualities will come to delightful fruition on Two Of Swords. It certainly stands to reason. It also seems highly likely that this show will be an excellent display of a talented local group at the peak of their powers. By now, you should know what to do.

Sunday, July 3, 7 PM
Baby Bugs, Monsoon, Koi @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
Based on all the available evidence I’ve been able to obtain by closely following the local music scene over the past year, it seems like Richmonders Baby Bugs are just getting started in their musical journey. They’ve only released two singles since upgrading from the solo project of a young non-binary songwriter named Bowie to a four-piece band backing Bowie’s catchy yet snarky compositions with metallic punk muscle. They play locally on a regular basis, but have really just started to tour. So why, I wondered to myself, is it that every time I google Baby Bugs, I find stan accounts, google suggesting questions about how old their singer is, and other things I more often associate with outright celebrities. It puzzled me for a while, but this week, I thought of checking for Baby Bugs on Tiktok. Sure enough, they have over 100,000 followers on there; their videos have been seen nearly three-quarters of a million times. So yeah, this little Richmond band has a huge following in a part of the internet that forty-somethings like me often forget about. And kudos to them for that! I sometimes wonder how bands are going to find ways to become successful in this modern streaming era where discovery of new music seems entirely controlled by massive corporations. For at least some musicians, it seems that social media provides a viable tool.

So hey, want to know what all the zoomers on Tiktok are listening to? You could do a lot worse than going to The Camel this Sunday night and checking out Baby Bugs. As a full band, they only have two singles out, but both “Cannibal Girlfriend” and “Autotheist” have a lot to recommend them, from their intriguingly gothic lyrics to their heavy punk sound and catchy riffage. I can’t help but think of Toward Space back when the members were still in high school and David was still playing drums with foot pedals, but instead of being way into No Bunny and Jay Reatard, Baby Bugs are more influenced by The Misfits and Be Your Own Pet. I, for one, am way into it. Even if I don’t have a Tiktok account.

Tuesday, July 5, 7 PM
Supercrush, Gnawing, Strawberry Moon, Catie Lausten @ Gallery 5 – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Now let’s move from the cutting edge of zoomer virality to a 90s throwback sound sure to get all the older millennials and young Gen X-ers (aka myself and my peer group) excited. Supercrush may come from an entirely different sensibility than Baby Bugs, but these two bands have more in common than you might expect: both place value on catchy riffs and strong choruses, both use killer distortion but know how to push the melody to the fore when the time is right, and both base their sound around that old standby, the electric guitar. So hey, all you zoomers being glad I finally repped a band you could relate to, maybe y’all should check out Supercrush at Gallery 5 on Tuesday too.

On their new EP, Melody Maker, Supercrush dip into a deep well of lush pop goodness, even as they keep the fuzzboxes cranked. Tunes like “Perfect Smile” and “Helium High” simultaneously evoke the buzz-bin days of Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush, and first-LP Weezer, even as they also are sure to tickle the fancy of those bedroom-pop nerds who loved what The Eels or The Apples In Stereo were up to back in those halcyon years before 9/11 and the George W. Bush presidency ruined everything. If Supercrush get some volume going on record, they’re sure to be even louder in person at Gallery 5, in a manner that’s likely to evoke smiles and swaying from a blissed-out audience. Local guitar heroes Gnawing and Strawberry Moon will add to the firepower this bill has to offer, and talented singer-songwriter Catie Lausten will get this all started off right. So hey, spend your post-Fourth-of-July Tuesday at Gallery 5. You won’t regret it.

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]

From Pandemic to Protests: Chronicling Our Community During COVID-19

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As the COVID-19 pandemic upended all of our lives this spring, Rachel Everett got together with photographer Tania del Carmen Fernandez to document how well Richmond is holding up. Their multimedia project is called #OnHoldAtHome.

In March 2020, COVID-19 disrupted the lives of people all over the world. From the fear of falling ill to the awkwardness of social distancing to the adjustment of working from home or losing a job, our normal routines were upended on many levels. 

As a creative director, my business, like that of countless other non-essential workers, felt an immediate impact from the pandemic. Despite the downturn, or perhaps inspired by it, the desire to create was stronger than ever. My neighbor, fine art photographer Tania del Carmen Fernández, felt the same way. After a year’s worth of previously scheduled shoots was canceled, she was determined to find a meaningful way to remain productive.

At a social distancing gathering in our Fan neighborhood, it became clear the pandemic was affecting people differently. As a parent, Tania had the additional layer of complexity of trying to figure out childcare, while an immuno-compromised neighbor worried about exposure at the grocery store. We were all weathering the same storm, but we were definitely not in the same boat.

COVID-19 affects everyone, everywhere. But it affects different groups of people differently, deepening existing inequalities.

–Angela
“I think we can truly grow as a society from this experience,” states Noah Scalin (pictured here with his family.) Scalin is one of many local artists collaborating with Hamilton Glass, creator of the public art project Mending Walls. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

Given the varied situations just in our neighborhood, we knew more stories were out there. Therefore, Tania and I joined forces to create #OnHoldAtHome, a photo series documenting the hopes, fears, and lessons of Richmonders during COVID-19. As weeks turned into months, we expanded the project to feature people in other neighborhoods to better reflect our diverse community.

In May, the challenges of the pandemic were then met with the rise of protests over George Floyd’s killing, bringing the topic of racial and social inequality front and center. Richmond, former capital of the Confederacy, soon found itself in the national spotlight with public demands for removal of Confederate memorials, amidst the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. On July 1, Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the removal of all city-owned Confederate statues, stating, “Richmond is no longer the Capital of the Confederacy – it is filled with diversity and love for all – and we need to demonstrate that.”

What began as a project to unite people through shared experiences of sheltering in place has now transformed into a powerful documentation of this historic time in Richmond. #OnHoldAtHome aims to provide a platform to help amplify voices and foster open, honest discussions on race, politics, and systemic inequality. It is our hope that by sharing stories, we have an opportunity to learn and grow with one another and ultimately, cultivate a kinder, more compassionate, and more empathetic society.

It turns out that community, human connection, companionship… that is what keeps me sane.

— Christina
Christina Marie is a graphic designer and founder/bandleader of Turkish pop band Yeni Nostalji. She admits she’s struggled with the amount of time she’s spent alone, and feeling like she’s not doing enough to help. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

#OnHoldAtHome is currently made up of three distinct chapters:

Chapter 1: The Lockdown Begins (March 15-April 19)

The first of many COVID-19 cases is reported in Virginia. Governor Northam declares a state of emergency and extensive closures of schools and businesses begin. As we witness the number of cases exponentially increase each week, the dangers of the virus become evident. Face masks and social distancing become the norm, and residents are urged to stay at home as much as possible.

When times are tough, it’s important to help and be open minded to those around you.

— Nick
While martial arts specialist Master Lorenzo Gibson (left) is focused on financial and health concerns, his son Nick worries about social implications as people forget how to interact with others who have different beliefs and values. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

Chapter 2: Time Loses Meaning (April 19-May 24)

Days blur into weeks. Weeks into months. By the end of April, the U.S. reports over 1 million COVID-19 cases. The U.S. economy shrinks by nearly 5 percent (the steepest drop since the Great Recession in 2008) and unemployment is at nearly 15 percent. While there’s a general restlessness, people also try to make the most of this rare time when the entire world is paused.

Having had COVID-19, I’m living proof that the virus is brutal and can harm very healthy people.

— Anna
“I’m not sure my lungs will ever be the same,” states Anna Laughlin (pictured here with her husband and three children). Laughlin contracted the virus earlier this year and says the experience has been “very isolating and terrifying.” Photo by Tania del Carmen.

Chapter 3: Revolution In The Air (May 24-present)

After Memorial Day weekend, the country learns of the senseless killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Protests erupt, and the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps the nation as well as abroad. In Richmond, Confederate statues are defaced and, eventually, most of them are removed. The pandemic remains, but the larger issues of racial and social inequality take precedence.

Racial and social inequality has always existed, but not many people (including those in power) were willing to discuss it…

— Shayy
Shayy Winn (right) stands with her mother and sister. The aspiring singer, who has a neurological condition causing vision impairment, competed in American Idol last year. She says the pandemic has helped her appreciate life more. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

Yes, we argue, but we also laugh more now.

— Alicia
“The depth of the inequities in this country and the world are alarming,” states Alicia Diaz (pictured here with her daughters). Originally from Puerto Rico, Diaz is a dance artist and educator who is the process of reimagining her livelihood. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

The pandemic has given us a certain amount of appreciation for routine and our home.

— Crixell
“Part of me hopes that we’ll see some positive change… but I’m also fairly pessimistic when it comes to humans,” states Crixell Matthews (pictured here with her fiancée, Morgan). Matthews, a photojournalist at VPM, has been documenting the RVA protests. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

This is an opportunity for us to search within ourselves and check for our own privileges.

— Daniel
Daniel Davis, who is pursuing a career in music production, recently produced a socially distanced collaboration – all proceeds are being donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Color of Change organizations. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

Black lives have mattered for centuries, and will continue to matter in the future.

— Liza
Liza Mickens (left), great-great granddaughter of Maggie L. Walker, is encouraged by the real, honest conversations that are happening around the inequalities of our health and financial systems, as well as police brutality. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

I do not think we will ever return to normal, but we are trying to live each day guided by hope and gratefulness.

— Laura
Laura Pho’s family is one of many who have chosen to self-isolate together. Laura (pictured above) is flanked by her two daughters, her mother (left) and mother-in-law (right). Not long after this photo was taken, Laura’s mother, Lucy Le, died unexpectedly. As part of their Buddhist faith, the family is honoring her in a 49-day mourning ritual. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

The world has been at a standstill, with clear minds and hearts – the truth rises.

— Carol
Carol Adams, an essential worker for 30 years, acknowledges the difficulty in communicating and educating the deadliness of the virus. “Surviving this new norm is going to require a lot of patience from everyone,” states Adams. Photo by Tania del Carmen.

According to The New York Times, the U.S. has the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the world, now surpassing five million. As we make our way through the first wave of this pandemic, it’s clear the world has shifted and will never be the same. While no one knows what chapter is coming next, one thing’s for certain: there are stories that still need to be told.

To learn more about the photo project or to nominate someone to be featured, visit #OnHoldAtHome and follow the stories on Instagram at @OnHoldAtHome.

Top Photo: Angela Patton in a moment of quiet reflection outside her home. Patton is CEO of Girls For A Change, a non-profit youth development organization aimed at empowering Black girls and other girls of color. Photo by Tania del Carmen. All photos were taken with the necessary precautions and from a distance of 6+ feet.

VA Shows You Must See This Week: December 11 – December 17

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, December 13, 7 PM
Ghost Of Pop 2019, feat. Palm Palm (Photo by Ashley Travis Photography), Deli Kings, Saw Black, Prabir Trio, Aster @ Gallery 5 – $5 in advance/$10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
I don’t think it’s arguable that we’re right in the thick of the holiday season at this point, folks. Christmas is two weeks away, New Year’s Eve and an end to 2019 a week beyond that. Everyone’s cramming the big-box stores, shopping malls, and post offices to take care of last minute present-related needs, and then heading out to a whole passel of big year-ending shows once night falls. There are a ton of those big shows happening this week — more than I had room for in this column, by a good bit. However, in a week that also features the annual South Hill Snowdown, yet another two-night helping of Punks For Presents, and the annual No BS! Brass food drive at the Broadberry, it seemed most important to me to tell you about Ghost Of Pop at Gallery 5.

Ghost Of Pop is an annual throwdown that is the brainchild of Prabir Mehta, a guy who’s been making all sorts of musical, artistic, and scientific things happen around this town for well over a decade now. Every year, he brings together a solid collection of Richmond musicians to present their varying takes on what it means to play “pop music” in the 21st century. The bands are joined by a ton of holiday vendors and a proper holiday party, featuring drinks, photo booths, and a whole ton of holiday cheer to make the entire evening far more memorable than just another local-band showcase.

This year, Ghost Of Pop is headed up by Palm Palm, a band that, on the heels of J. Roddy Walston & The Business’s last show for the foreseeable future two weeks ago, becomes by default the main project J. Roddy is working on. Also featuring members of The Trillions, The Southern Belles, and The Milkstains, among many others, this band has a pedigree sufficient to guarantee a great rockin’ time for all when they’re onstage. We’ll also get a set from local singer-songwriter Saw Black; in light of the season and his recent release of a proper Christmas album, it seems likely that we’ll be getting a holiday-centric set from this fine fella, and that’s sure to be a lovely treat. Of course, Prabir’s current project, the Prabir Trio, will be on hand to present their anthems in praise of Bamboo Cafe and others, while appetite-driven rock n’ rollers Deli Kings and youthful bedroom-pop project Aster round out the bill in outstanding fashion. Head to Gallery 5 this Friday night and get in the spirit.

Wednesday, December 11, 8 PM
R4nd4zzo & Co, feat. Andrew Randazzo, Marcus Tenney, Jackson Shurlds, Alan Parker, Devonne Harris @ Poor Boys – $5
This time of year, the main place you’d expect to encounter bassist extraordinaire Andrew Randazzo is at the head of his R4ND4ZZO Bigband playing classic Vince Guaraldi compositions from the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. Rest assured, he and his many compatriots are still doing that this year, and you can catch them at least once more between now and December 25 if you play your cards right. But this show is another matter entirely, and it’s a chance to see Andrew Randazzo do what he does best the other 11 months out of the year.

This evening finds Randazzo heading up a jazz quintet that will bring him together with a couple of his bandmates from Butcher Brown as well as several other Virginia jazz heavyweights of his generation. Expect things to be loose and unscripted, but not aimless or boring — all of these musicians are experienced with improvisation and are sure to bring some outstanding sounds to the back room at Poor Boys. If you want to know what’s going on with jazz here in Richmond, this is the place to be tonight. You know what to do.

Thursday, December 12, 7:30 PM
Manas, Gardener @ Shockoe Denim – $10
Here’s an intriguing musical prospect brought to us by Little Dumbo, the experimental music aficionados who’ve been presenting delightfully unexpected evenings of unusual sounds around town for the past couple of years now. This time around, they’re bringing the North Carolina-based duo Manas to Shockoe Denim, and there’s no doubt that the expensive jeans will be threaded just a little differently when the evening is done.

Manas features Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji, who came to the United States as a teenager, cut his teeth on the wild, politically-driven hardcore of bands like His Hero Is Gone, then moved in an experimental direction. He collaborates in Manas with drummer Thom Nguyen, an experienced noise-rock veteran, and the two of them combine abstract free-jazz improvisations with raging noise explosions in a manner that generates a great deal of fantastic tension and will leave listeners on the edge of their seat to see what this group of talented musicians will do next. You won’t know unless you’re there, so plan your Thursday evening now, because you don’t want to miss this.

Friday, December 13, 6:30 PM
Little River Creek Police, Righter, Sid Kingsley @ Hardywood – Free!
December can be a bit rough sometimes; what money you don’t have tied up in keeping the lights on and the rent paid gets eaten up by Christmas shopping, and the next thing you know, you’re sitting home every night watching Christmas specials from the 80s on YouTube because you can’t afford to go out. Well, we certainly know your pain on this one, but this Friday night, you’re in luck, because there’s a free show happening at Hardywood that would be worth your time even if you had to pay for it.

Little River Creek Police are celebrating the release of their latest single, “Yuri,” at Hardywood this Friday night. Following up their debut EP, Quiet The Ruckus, this catchy new tune finds the trio moving in a more immediate direction that adds some rough-n-ready folk-punk appeal to their jangly pop sweetness. Their set at Hardywood is sure to keep your feet moving, and you’ll be lucky enough to get sets from local indie mainstays Righter and Sid Kingsley in the bargain. See? There are still things to go out and enjoy even if you did spend your last dollar to send your mom a Christmas card. Now go enjoy yourself.

Saturday, December 14, 9 PM
Edhochuli, Inter Arma, Archbishop @ Mojo’s – $10 suggested donation
I love it when hardcore bands stick around for over a decade. The main reason I say that is because it’s always intriguing to see the ways a group evolves in a genre where most bands don’t even make it to a second album before falling apart. Edhochuli, who take their name from the most muscular referee in the world of pro football, have been cranking out excellent chaotic hardcore from the land of Pittsburgh for a very long time now, always with excellent results — results which seem to get heavier and more epic in scope with each new release. Their most recent is 2015’s Dream Warriors LP, so at this point it’s high time for them to bring us something new, and we can certainly hope they’ve got a bunch of new songs in their quivers for this performance.

Meanwhile, Inter Arma has been blazing an epic metallic path of their own for over a decade themselves, remaining ambitious and creative on their fourth full-length, Sulphur English, released earlier this year. Their tendency toward long, slowly evolving songs that build toward head-crushing crescendos remains intact on their latest release, and the members’ incredible talent at their instruments remains one of the key reasons to see this band live. This show’s pairing of them with Edhochuli makes this an unbeatable evening of heavy music, and the addition of relative newcomers Archbishop — which features ragers from local groups like The Skin and Memory Loss — will only serve to sweeten the pot that much more.

Sunday, December 15, 7:30 PM
Silent/Music Revival, feat. Yeni Nostalji @ Gallery 5 – Donations appreciated
Silent/Music Revival is a storied institution in the world of live music around Richmond, and another installment of this long-running series is always a welcome treat. Coordinated by Jameson Price of Lobo Marino, Silent/Music Revival pairs a local musical project with a silent move they’ve never seen before, for which they improvise a soundtrack on the spot. This Sunday night’s film is The Wild Cat, a 1921 German silent film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The director was at the dawn of his career when he made this film, and went on to gain fame as a director of uniquely sophisticated comedies of manners in the early sound-film era.

The group paired with The Wild Cat on this occasion is Yeni Nostalji, a Richmond-based ensemble led by singer-songwriter Christina Marie Gleixner. Born in America, Gleixner nonetheless was so strongly influenced by Turkish pop of the 20th century that she decided to create music in that idiom, singing in Turkish and playing songs that have a decided Eastern European influence in Yeni Nostalji. That influence shows through in the lush continental pop of their self-titled 2018 LP, and it’s sure to appear in the soundtrack they create for The Wild Cat as well. The combination of the two will provide a warm and sweet experience for your Sunday night. And if you stick around afterwards, Gallery 5 will also present a holiday-themed installment of Strange Projections, the VHS-driven experimental video montage experience. There’s no better way to wrap up your weekend.

Monday, December 16, 8 PM
Morbid Angel, Watain, Incantation @ The Broadberry – $30 in advance/$35 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Mondays are for metal, just like every day that ends in Y, and this week brings us a particularly metallic Monday with the arrival of three titans of death and black metal to Richmond’s own Broadberry. At the top of the list are those Floridian pioneers of death metal, Morbid Angel, who’ve been raging hard and heavy since well over 30 years ago. Lead guitarist Trey Azagthoth is the only remaining original member at this point, but the group currently features Steve Tucker on bass and vocals once again. Tucker, who previously fronted the band in the late 90s and early 00s, returned for 2017’s Kingdom Disdained, the 11th album to continue Morbid Angel’s tradition of releasing LPs in alphabetical order.

Like the band’s three previous albums fronted by Tucker, Kingdom Disdained is a dark, complex slab of metallic heaviness that stands strong alongside classics like Blessed Are The Sick, Formulas Fatal To The Flesh, and the almighty Altars Of Madness. With the embarrassment of riches within their catalog, Morbid Angel are sure to craft a set of pure devastation from their headlining spot on this bill. However, not to be outdone, Swedish black metallers Watain come to Richmond fresh off 2018’s triumphant Trident Wolf Eclipse LP, and their notoriously bloody live performance is sure to be quite the spectacle as well. Legendary New York death metallers Incantation will round things out with their fiery, brutal take on the genre, and are sure to get the heads banging as soon as they hit the stage. This one’s gonna rip.

Tuesday, December 17, 7 PM
Ages, Films On Song, Isabella VanKesteren @ The Camel – $5 (order tickets HERE)
This Tuesday night of locally-based music is another bargain for all you deal-hunters out there, as it affordably provides you with the opportunity to check out Ages, the latest project from the fertile mind of Richmond musician Age Shurte. Previously of Magnus Lush and quite a few other groups, Shurte now joins with musicians from such leading lights of Richmond rock as Dumb Waiter, Piranha Rama, and New Lions to bring us another wonderful helping of entrancing, powerful rock.

Well, that’s really just my best guess — as far as I can tell, Ages don’t have any music online as yet, and they haven’t played many shows either. But in light of all the talented RVA music vets involved with this project, I’m more than willing to blindly recommend checking them out. With melodic Charlottesville postpunks Films On Song and hypnotic Richmond singer-songwriter Isabella VanKesteren on the bill as well, this evening is sure to be worth way more than the five measly bucks they’re charging you to get in.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, December 13, 9 PM
Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols @ Taphouse Grill (Norfolk) – $5 in advance/$8 day of show (order tickets HERE)
When you’ve named your band The Loaded Pistols, it’s hard for you to fade into the background as an artist, but one listen to Sean K. Preston’s 2018 LP, Forgive, lets you know that fading into the background is the last thing this Baltimore singer-songwriter wants to do. On tracks like “Last Call,” the opening “Barnburner,” and “Snakeskin Boots Boogie,” Preston and his Loaded Pistols draw from the most evocative aspects of mid-20th-century country music, pre-war blues, early rock n’ roll, and dark troubadours like Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. With all those influences in tow, they create a spooky, dramatic sound that mixes all those styles together and is sure to appeal both to fans of rock n’ roll wildmen like the Gun Club and Reverend Horton Heat and country outlaws like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash.

So if that sounds like something that’ll appeal to you, you certainly should make it your business to come to Norfolk’s Taphouse on Friday night and enjoy some high-energy sounds from Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols. Sure, it’s the start of the weekend, there’s a lot more you could be doing, but really, can’t the Christmas shopping wait until Saturday morning? After seeing Preston and co. you’ll go all the way home with a smile still on your face. Can you really say the same thing about the holiday crowds at the mall? You know the answer as well as I do.

Sunday, December 15, 7:30 PM
Strike Anywhere, Bar Stool Preachers, Demons, Single-Use Plastic @ Chicho’s Backstage (Norfolk) – $17 in advance/$20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Strike Anywhere is from Richmond, and what’s more, they are one of the best melodic hardcore bands this town has ever produced (Avail’s their only real competition… yeah, I said it). So if you want to see them in both your and their hometown, I certainly understand that. However, the Richmond date on this particular tour finds Strike Anywhere opening for the Bouncing Souls’ 30th anniversary tour at The Broadberry — and right now, as I write, that show is already sold out. If you didn’t grab those tickets, you’re going to need to make the drive down 64 East to catch Strike Anywhere this time around.

And let me tell you, it’s worth doing. While it has at this point been an entire decade since we last got some new studio material from these guys — 2009’s Iron Front — classic singalongs like “Sunset On 32nd,” “Blaze,” and “Chorus Of One” do not diminish with age. Raising your voice to scream along with Thomas Barnett — a dude who remains a tremendously energetic frontman — is not going to feel any less powerful now than it did in years past. And you know you want to feel those feelings one more time. So do it — get your tickets, gas up the car, and make the drive. You’ll never regret it for a second.

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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

Yeni Nostalji Discuss Debut Turkish Pop Album Ahead of Gallery5 Release Show Tonight

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Yeni Nostalji is a pop band made up of local Turkish and American musicians whose unique pop sound has been entertaining all of us for quite some time. They’ve collaborated with big staples like the Richmond Symphony, Richmond brass sensations NO BS! Brass Band, and even local salsa band, Bio Ritmo. And now the five-piece, which is fronted by Christina Marie Gleixner who sings all of their songs in Turkish, will release their self-titled debut album at Gallery5 tonight. 

Taking inspiration from European and Turkish pop and modern indie pop ballads, the band has crafted a symphonic experience and the songs feel as if you’re being taken through the soundtrack of a love story. Yeni Nostalji officially released the album May 4 via Ropeadope Records after recording it with Lance Koehler of Minimum Wage Recording, and the album is a splendid collaboration between the band, 15 different artists including Reggie Chapman (No BS! Brass Band,) and Andrew Randazzo (Butcher Brown) incorporating 20 instruments throughout.

Rounding out Yeni Nostalji is Turkish drummer Emre Kartari, along with his wife Ayça Kartari on bass, guitarist and arranger Gary Kalar, and Moldovan-born Vlad Cuiujuclu, fellow guitarist, and composer. Kalar is responsible for many of the string and horn arrangements on the album.

Emre and his wife were not on the album, but joined shortly after. “She’s a classical musician by nature, so we would rarely play together before then,” said Kartari. “It is actually nice having a separate job that we can both work together at. It is not really even considered work for us, we just play for fun, there is no stress,” Emre added.

Gleixner isn’t actually Turkish and is in fact from Roanoke, but her love for the music and her story of how she became initially introduced to the culture is one of a kind and has transcended to her own unique interpretation of what the language and music. 

“Well, it’s kind of a strange story,” she said, laughing. “I heard the song “Öyle Sarhoş Olsam Ki” by Tanju Okan, and was very taken by it. I instantly wanted to learn how to sing it in Turkish. At the time I didn’t know what the lyrics were saying so I learned phonetically by stopping and starting it over and over again.”

She then decided to bring her vision to the only Turkish Richmonders she knew, Evrim Doğu, who owns Church Hill’s Sub Rosa Bakery. “I knew he would be interested in joining forces, at least for a moment in time, so we decided to collaborate. He played on a few songs in the album, two of which he wrote,” she said. 

I thought it may be a little tough gauging interest for a band that is slightly out of the ordinary given its roots. Not being able to understand lyrics are often a deterrent for some listeners, but a means of personal interpretation for others.

“If they don’t understand the lyrics, I am hoping new listeners appreciate this kind of music like I originally did, like an abstract painting,” Gleixner said of her music. “That is definitely what sparked my interest to learn the language, and I am now writing my own songs in Turkish which I am very proud of.”

While the music and genre may have been inspired by 60s and 70s Turkish and European pop radio, the singer credits her songwriting influences to Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, and Dolly Parton, making for a genre-breaking album breaking all boundaries and rules when it comes to sound. 

That’s exactly what I like about it, I listened to the entire debut album that she gave me at our interview from start to finish without knowing what the names of the songs were or any of the lyrics at that. I liked the fact the listening experience has the potential to be different for everyone depending on how you interpret it for yourself given the melody and feeling that the music evokes for you specifically.

Yeni Nostalji’s debut song on the 10-track album, “Ölümsüz,” is a hauntingly beautiful ballad, which according to Gleixner, is about wanting to cheat death so you can be in love forever.

As for their album release show at Gallery5, expect fellow performances by local songwriter Keilan Creech will be opening the show and DJ OlNuBi, or Armando Muñoz, best known from his involvement with KINGS and The Flavor Project, will be running the DJ table all night.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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

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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: 5/28-6/3

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FEATURE SHOW
Tuesday, June 3, 7 PM
Eyehategod, Ringworm, Enabler, Locusta, Gritter @ Strange Matter – $20 (order tickets here: http://eyehategod.eventbrite.com/)
OK, yes, it’s another weeknight feature show already, but it’s necessary, because this coming Tuesday, a legend will walk among us.
[Read more…] about RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 5/28-6/3