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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: June 22 – June 28

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FEATURED SHOW
Blood Night II, Take Two Times Two
Friday, June 24, 7 PM
Diet Blood, Dark Waters, Heavy Is the Head, Bodyshell, Dead Format
Saturday, June 25, 7 PM
Diet Blood, Two Cars, Terror Cell, TVLPA, Baby Age
@ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
It’s summertime! And oh, if only the living were easy. On top of every other terrible thing going on in the world (choose your own, god knows there are plenty to pick from), I even had trouble deciding what show to feature at the top of this week’s column. The choice I ultimately made might be easy to criticize; it’s not the most charitably beneficial or for the most important cause of this week’s shows. Nonetheless, right now what I want more than anything is a weekend free of stress and full of opportunities to have fun and forget my troubles for at least a few hours at a time. And where that’s concerned, Diet Blood’s two-night event at Garden Grove Brewing, Blood Night II: Take Two Times Two, is most likely to deliver the goods. So what the hell — let’s do it.

We’ve got to start out by talking about our hosts for the evening, Diet Blood, who’ve got a really memorable name as well as a clutch of catchy pop-punk anthems they released back in 2019 in the form of their first EP, First Steps. Maybe it’s just the pandemic, or maybe it’s the lineup changes the band has undergone since that EP three years ago, but so far they haven’t released anything else. With two headlining sets in two nights, I certainly hope they have a grip of unreleased tunes ready to unleash on a willing world… but let’s be real — after three years, how could they not? If said unreleased tunes are on the level of First Steps, that means we’ll be in for killer headlining sets two nights in a row. Whoopee!

But of course, a big part of the attraction for this weekend of free local shows is the plethora of up-and-coming Richmond bands who are occupying the undercard on this one. If I had to pick which one of these shows I’d go to, I’d probably pick Saturday, since that’s the night TVLPA is playing. This progressive, metallic group has really impressed me with their new album, Walk With Me; it’s one of my favorite records of the year so far, by anyone from anywhere. If the album’s anything to go by, I imagine their live performance will be downright explosive. On the other hand, Friday features a set by Dark Waters, a band featuring most of the members of Race The Sun doing the kind of heavier, more powerful, but still melodic post-hardcore riffing I know these guys are capable of. That’s certainly gonna be worth seeing. And Dead Format’s also on Friday… but then, Terror Cell is playing Saturday… the hell with it, just go to both. Lord knows the price is right, especially in this economy.

Wednesday, June 22, 7 PM
Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls, The Bronx, Pet Needs @ The National – $25 in advance, $30 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Acoustic guitar-slinger Frank Turner started out playing in UK post-hardcore outfit Million Dead, but he didn’t really grab a lot of attention until he struck out on his own, making his name over the past decade with emotional folk-punk anthems like “Recovery” and “The Next Storm.” His biggest tracks from years past fall into the kind of lane where you’d expect to find The Hold Steady or The Gaslight Anthem. And yet, on his recently released ninth album, FTHC, Turner and his band, The Sleeping Souls, hearken back to his early days as a punk rocker. No, the album’s acronym (which obviously stands for “Frank Turner hardcore”) isn’t meant ironically, and while the whole thing doesn’t hit as hard as two-minute opener “Non Serviam,” the most straight-up punk thing Frank’s done in years, it’s definitely the kind of hard-charging rock albums people who found his previous work a little too Springsteen-ish for comfort will consider a welcome change of pace.

Of course, Turner’s always had the knack for bringing maximum energy and vitality to his live performances, especially when he’s got the Sleeping Souls behind him — as he will tonight at The National. So now that he’s got a clutch of brand new tunes that are full of more piss n’ vinegar than he’s dispensed at one time in years, you can expect the performance tonight to be downright mind-blowing. If dancing and singing along to melodic, heartfelt punk anthems about struggling with the weight of day-to-day difficulties (“Haven’t Been Doing So Well”) or knowing that your own privilege means you should probably get out of the way and let other people choose what’s best for them (“My Bad”) sounds like an enjoyable night of emotional catharsis to you, then you certainly should get your ticket for the Frank Turner gig tonight, if you haven’t already. Nuff said.

Thursday, June 23, 7 PM
Skyway Man, Andy Jenkins, Films On Song, Adi GuerrerX @ Black Iris – $8 in advance, $12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Here’s one I wasn’t expecting but was delighted to encounter. The name Skyway Man might be unfamiliar at first, but those who’ve been keeping up with Richmond-related musics for the past decade or so might remember the name James Wallace and the Naked Light (and those of us who are enjoying playing the “yes I really have known this dude for 20 years” card might even remember the name Ved Llama). That’s right, James is going by Skyway Man these days, and while he’s currently based in Oakland, CA, he has made his way back to Richmond for a new collaborative EP, Nothing No. 1, with Richmond singer-songwriter Andy Jenkins. The two of them came together with Cameron Ralston to lay down these tracks at Spacebomb Studios, and the EP is coming on cassette in just over a month from Mama Bird Records.

We don’t have to wait to hear Skyway Man and Andy Jenkins play these tunes together, though — for that, you need only head over to Black Iris this Thursday night and catch the collaborative performance the two are putting on for the benefit of RVA music lovers all over the city. The kinds of sounds you expect from both of these singer-songwriters — indie, funk, Americana, soul, jazz, and various and sundry influences all mixed together into a delightful psychedelic folk-pop melange — will be available in abundance, and there’s sure to be a bit of an old-home-week vibe when these two seasoned songwriters with deep Virginia roots get together onstage. Basically, it’s gonna be a heartwarming evening full of charming songs and positive vibes. It’s definitely one you should not miss.

Friday, June 24, 9 PM
Juneteenth Celebration, feat. DJ Harrison, Cassidy Snider & the Wranglers, Alfred, DuctTape Jesus, Justin Golden, Kenneka Cook, Railgun, IamI Collective, Trapcry @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
As a white lady, it’s tough for me to know how to write about a show put together to honor Juneteenth. I don’t want to treat it as just another evening of amazing music from a wide variety of Richmond’s most talented musicians — even though it very much is that. But I also don’t want to presume to lecture anyone about the importance of Juneteenth, or to claim that this celebration of Black American freedom has anything to do with me or any of my white readers. All I really know to say is that Juneteenth deserves to be remembered and celebrated each and every year, even as all Americans — especially non-Black Americans — recognize how much more beyond Juneteenth this country owed, and owes, to our Black compatriots.

So yeah, if you’re white like me, don’t make this amazing musical party happening Friday night about you and what you want out of it. But do attend, and enjoy the many different flavors of amazing music that you will be treated to by many of Richmond’s finest players — most of whom happen to be Black. You’ll get everything from DJ Harrison’s deep, layered, soulful take on funky, jazzy, hip hop instrumentals to Railgun’s raging punk rock; from Justin Golden’s powerful electric blues-rock to DuctTape Jesus’s electro-digital noise-rap. There’s a lot more on tap than that, too, and from the opening set of the evening to the final encore, all of it’s gonna be great. Plus, it’s nine artists for only $12 — that’s a steal no matter how you slice it. So keep in mind where your place in this whole affair is… but don’t let it keep you from having fun. Because rest assured, this is going to be a tremendously fun night.

Saturday, June 25, 8 PM
Skinnyy Hendrixx, PT Vell, CJ The Profit, Easalio, Yung Sums, Blaine Cooz & Jay Pee, T.R.I.G, Hosted by Noah-O, Music by Melodic @ 2807 Hull St – $15 in advance, $20 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Finding local hip hop artists on the internet is always challenging, but Richmond’s Skinnyy Hendrixx has shown me a whole new level of difficulty. Because, see, depending on how you spell it, there are several artists by that name currently making hip hop music in the United States. If you spell it with one Y and one X, you get the guy from the Midwest. Go with one Y and two X’s, and you get the dude from Cali — and he’s good. But you’ll only find the Richmond Skinnyy Hendrixx if you use two Y’s and two X’s — and you want to do that, because he’s the best of all of them. His new album, Smooth League Villain, is jam-packed with outstanding tracks, including “D’Angelo,” on which Skinnyy is joined by fellow Richmond rapper PT Vell to declare the sounds they’re creating “the hottest shit coming out of Richmond since D’Angelo.” Give these guys one thing — they’ve got confidence.

Hendrixx and Vell are currently on something they’re calling their “Hole In The Wall Tour,” and it seems to involve them playing a variety of unconventional Richmond venues. I guess that’s what they’re doing over on Hull St this Saturday night. I have no idea if there have ever been shows at this spot before, but if this is the only gig that ever happens there, rest assured, it’s gonna be a banger. Not only is Skinnyy Hendrixx bringing the sounds from his amazing new project (see above), PT Vell is currently supporting not one but two new albums, the linked Aviation: The Departure and Aviation: The Return, both of which dropped since the start of 2022. They add up to an hour of powerful rhymes and banging beats, all of which are sure to sound outstanding when PT Vell lays ’em out live and in person. With Richmond all-stars like Easalio, Yung Sums, and host Noah-O in the house as well, this is going to be an absolute RVA hip hop extravaganza. By now, you should know what to do.

Sunday, June 26, 7 PM
Tel, Pathogenesis, Nganga, M.S.D. @ Fallout – $10 in advance, $12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Things are getting good and heavy over at Fallout this Sunday night, and as much as I love the shiny-PVC industrial goth this place usually hosts, it’s nice to see a change of pace like this one rolling out on one of the private fetish club’s less busy nights. Tel are at the top of the bill, and this Richmond quartet has shown over the past few years that, where Richmond doom is concerned, they’re one of the top-level players. Last fall they released Vigils, their split LP with Costa Rican doomsters Age Of The Wolf, and the three songs (which add up to over 20 minutes of music) demonstrates that this band continues to evolve, merging the standard Sabbath-style groove riffs with dynamic song structures and vocals that move from an almost neo-Gregorian sung/chanted sound to deep, furious growls. Getting pummeled with this sound in the middle of Fallout’s darkened dance floor is sure to be a brutal experience, even if the usual accoutrements don’t come into play.

Raleigh band Pathogenesis, meanwhile, will take things in an entirely different direction for their co-headlining set. Blistering hyper-speed grind/death metal is this band’s stock in trade, and they show it off to fine effect on their brand new EP, Greasy Exudate — which features a Richmond connection in that the artwork for the album was created by the late, great Terry Turtle of Buck Gooter, to whom the EP is also dedicated. Sound-wise, Pathogenesis land somewhere between Symphonies Of Sickness-era Carcass and None So Vile-era Cryptopsy, with some Incantation-ish brutal breakdowns thrown in every now and then just to keep you on your toes. The result is a seven-song ripper that ends quicker than Tel’s aforementioned three-song release. So yeah, this evening of brutal metal will be a study in contrasts. However, the appropriate response — wild headbanging — will remain constant throughout. Respond accordingly.

Monday, June 27, 7 PM
Tennis Courts, Supper Club, Sonic Blume @ The Camel – $13 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Ah yes, the Camel. The one place in this city seemingly willing to make sure that there’s great live music for a fan of such things to hear every single night of the week — even on Mondays, a night on which seemingly every other venue in this city is shuttered more often than not. Praise The Camel, especially when they don’t even use their status as the lone consistent purveyor of Monday night sounds to throw us any old thing, but actually bring through great bands from both here in Richmond and out of town to ensure that we’ve got such great sounds to take in, we don’t even stop to wonder what else might be going on elsewhere around the city.

This Monday night brings us a set from Tennis Courts, an indie rock ensemble led by musicians Andrew Clarke and Patrick Walsh — both of whom share names with veteran Richmond musicians, but actually hail from Charleston, SC and are now based in Brooklyn. Their new EP, Music For Movies + Television, is actually coming out inbetween the day I’m writing this and the day they’re playing here, and if the two songs they’ve released from it thus far are any indication, this is sure to be a sunny, catchy slice of melodic indie pop with an impossible-to-hide Southern flavor that’s sure to make this band a big hit here in Richmond. They’ll be joined on their Richmond date by Alabama band Supper Club, who want to let everyone know they are NOT a jam band, and prove it on their latest EP, World Keeps Spinning, instead showing off a sound not unlike that of Vampire Weekend at their most laid-back. The bill is rounded out by Sonic Blume, a third out-of-town band — this group hails from Asbury Park, NJ — with a bit of an 80s-retro synth-pop vibe that thankfully avoids feeling cookie-cutter at a time when such groups are, it must be said, rather easy to trip over. So yeah: that’s three out-of-town bands playing lovely indie music for less than $5 per band. Not just a Monday show… a GOOD Monday show. You owe it to yourself to be there for it.

Tuesday, June 28, 7 PM
Chastity Brown, Lilli Lewis @ The Tin Pan – $22.50 (order tickets HERE)
Let’s round out the week with an evening of soulful emotional tunes, shall we? The place to go is The Tin Pan, where Chastity Brown, a queer Black singer-songwriter who simultaneously dips into the worlds of blues, soul, and country, will be performing in support of her brand new LP, Sing To The Walls. Bringing a variety of emotions to the fore in her sound, Brown’s new album moves through a variety of moods, from the euphoria of new love to the fury inspired by the many terrible things happening in the US and the world over the past few years. Throughout, her strong voice and brilliant, moving songs incorporate a variety of influences that may trace back to a variety of different genres but are all, ultimately, American in origin.

Brown’s live performance skills are proven, but here in Richmond, many of us will be catching her live for the very first time, and within the intimate confines of The Tin Pan, it’s sure to be an amazing experience. An opening set from Lilli Lewis, who hails from New Orleans and displayed her own very strong voice on 2021 LP Americana, will get the evening started on a high note, and it’ll only get hotter from there. Bring a fan if you must, but be there, because this one’s gonna be essential.

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]

Survival Of The Fittest: Weekend Playlist by Yung Sums

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you an epic, glorious playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This week’s comes to us from up-and-coming Richmond rapper Yung Sums, who has made a name for himself around town as a battle rapper with strong displays at Southpaw Battle Coalition events, among others. His studio skills are strong as well, and he demonstrated that fact on 2019’s Mayflower, an album that represented a step up from his already impressive 2018 effort, Black Friday.

Yung Sums will lead you into the weekend with a playlist full of hip hop goodness, mixing classics of the genre with some of the best being laid down today. And of course, there are some leading lights of the RVA hip hop scene mixed in, just to keep that local flavor. So even if the storm clouds hang over the river city all weekend, you’re sure to have some killer beats and dope rhymes to get through until Monday with a smile on your face.

Keep it hype, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

VA Shows You Must See This Week: January 22 – January 28

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FEATURED SHOW
Prsmcat Birthday Bash Minifest
Friday, January 24, 8 PM
Spooky Cool (Photo by Joey Wharton), Deau Eyes, Kate Bollinger, SHE
Saturday, January 25, 8 PM
Sleepwalkers, Majjin Boo, Castle OG, Hollywood Cemetery
@Poor Boys – $12 in advance/$15 at door/$20 two-day pass (order tickets HERE)
It’s my birthday today; I am 44 years old, which means I’d only be considered “young” if I was running for President. But Prsmcat Presents is definitely younger — the up-and-coming RVA show booking concern is less than a year old at this point. Therefore, the Prsmcat Birthday Bash Minifest happening this weekend at Poor Boys is not actually a celebration for the booking group’s birthday but that of Prsmcat leader and Majjin Boo guitarist Zavi Yueske, who is… (checks notes) 16 years younger than me. Wow.

Let me stop worrying about how old I’m getting and move on by saying: Happy birthday, Zavi! His birthday gift is for the entire city’s music scene, as he’ll celebrate with this two-night, eight-band extravaganza of talented musicians from around Richmond and the central Virginia region. On Friday night, we get the double-dose of Richmond indie melodicism that is Spooky Cool and Deau Eyes. Both of these groups have exercised a “less-is-more” philosophy where recordings are concerned, which means you’ll surely hear some unrecorded tunes during both sets, and that’s a lovely thing from two world-class talents like these. Friday night will also feature Charlottesville singer-songwriter Kate Bollinger, whose laid-back, tuneful approach should pair well with the others on the bill.

Then Saturday night, Zavi gets to strut his stuff with Majjin Boo — who, in case I haven’t made it clear in this column before now, released the Richmond records I loved the most last year, the “Tension Rod”/”One Wing” single and Egghunt Records full-length Go Between. These guys are essential listening and will surely remain so going forward in 2020. They share Saturday night’s bill with fellow Richmond mainstays Sleepwalkers, who you should all know and love by now, as well as smooth-sounding indie mainstays Castle OG and difficult-to-google newcomers Hollywood Cemetery. Celebrate the wonderfulness Zavi Yueske brings into the world while enjoying that very wonderfulness all weekend at Poor Boys!

Wednesday, January 22, 7 PM
The Adicts, No-Heads, Talk Me Off @ The Broadberry – $25 (order tickets HERE)
If you’ve paid attention to UK punk anytime in the last four decades, you’re sure to have heard of the Adicts. This catchy melodic punk band styled themselves after the droogs of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and have been cutting a memorable figure in the world of punk since they broke out with 1981 debut LP Songs Of Praise. Their singalong choruses are infectious enough that they’ve had chart hits in the UK with tunes like “Viva La Revolution” and “Bad Boy” — songs you’re sure to remember if you’ve heard them even once.

The Adicts’ heyday was in the 80s, but they’ve never really stopped recording and touring; they’ll be coming through RVA in support of their 11th album, And It Was So!, released by Nuclear Blast in 2017. The group’s core members have stayed the same throughout the past four decades, and their entertaining costumed live performances are still a fun, active spectacle. If you’ve never caught the Adicts live before, this is the perfect time to do it, and wear your best Malcolm McDowell eye makeup while you’re at it.

Thursday, January 23, 8 PM
Kai Orion, Kill The Druid @ Garden Grove Brewing – Free!
Every musician is creative, but it’s rare to find a musician out there who dismantles every assumption about musical orthodoxy with each new song they create. However, that is exactly how Kai Orion creates. The DC-based songwriter plays over a dozen instruments on his latest album, Start To End, some of which can only be described as “instruments” (vacuum cleaner, lawnmower, wine glasses, etc). He often works by himself, creating thickly layered compositions through use of a microphone, a loop creator, and a menagerie of voices, instruments, and random objects he has at hand.

The result is a collection of catchy and enjoyable tunes on his records, and a fascinating spectacle to behold in a live environment. At Garden Grove Brewing this Thursday night, you’re sure to see Orion create songs out of all sorts of random sounds, and you’re sure to be impressed how beautiful the end result is — especially with his Peter Gabriel-ish vocal chords unleashed overtop. Richmond post-rockers Kill The Druid will open this one up with an instrument-switching set that’s sure to both set the stage for Orion and remain much closer to a conventional rock show. The whole evening is sure to be a blast.

Friday, January 24, 9 PM
Fat Spirit, You’re Jovian, Alison Blue @ Fuzzy Cactus – $5
Fat Spirit have settled into a solid role as utility players in the Richmond alt-rock scene. They haven’t released any new material since 2017’s Nihilist Blues, but they continue bringing their raucous, exuberant performances to local venues on a regular basis, keeping the spirit of the slacker-rock 90s alive and evoking the spirits of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. with their loud, guitar-driven tunes. You know what you’re getting with Fat Spirit these days, but that’s certainly not a strike against a band who always delivers a rockin’ good time.

They’re joined on this occasion by Hampton Roads residents You’re Jovian, who have a solid dose of the 90s embedded in their sound as well. On 2019’s Singles, this group shows themselves as occupying a similar territory to that of Fat Spirit, though Elliott Malvas’s more ethereal vocals definitely push the needle away from grunge and toward shoegaze — in the original Ride/Swervedriver/JAMC sense, rather than the MBV-plus-postrock context its taken on in the past decade. Putting these two groups together on a single bill makes for a great evening, especially if you’re the sort of guitar lover who can’t get enough of that sweet, sweet fuzz. Youthful VA Beach shoegazing fuzz-lovers Alison Blue will kick the whole thing off with a further dose of what you’ve been looking for, so don’t miss a minute of this one.

Saturday, January 25, 9 PM
DJ Williams’ Shots Fired @ Fuzzy Cactus – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Saturday night, and it’s right back to Fuzzy Cactus, this time for a homecoming show by one of Richmond’s favorite sons, DJ Williams. Around town, he’s known for his time fronting the DJ Williams Projekt, but this talented, blues-inclined guitarist has achieved more widespread fame beyond these shores in recent years with his work in Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. He’s also put together an all-star cast of sidemen for a new group called DJ Williams’ Shots Fired, who released a mostly-live LP called Live From Over Where back in 2018.

The funky, bluesy, Southern-tinged rock n’ roll that group shows off on their debut LP is exactly what they’ll bring to Brookland Park Boulevard when they show up at Fuzzy Cactus this Saturday night. I can’t tell you for sure who will be firing the shots behind Williams during this performance, but the group has included Williams’ fellow Tiny Universe members, as well as musicians from Dave Matthews Band, Slightly Stoopid, and Lenny Kravitz and Dr. John’s respective backing bands. Rest assured, no matter who DJ Williams brings with him on this jaunt, they’ll be talents equal to the kind of firepower he lays down. And as anyone who’s been paying attention around here for a while knows, that’s some serious six-string pyrotechnics.

Sunday, January 26, 6 PM
RVA Rap Elite Season 3 Premiere, feat. BASIC, Easalio, Tr3demark, Bravo vs. Chance Fischer, Team 804 Cypher (Vintage A, Henny LO, Habeeb, Tone Redd, Yung Sums) vs. Team 757 Cypher (BASIC, Will Jung, Amir Driver, Illien Rosewell, Eastcoast Mikey), Music by Hip Hop Henry & Melodic, plus Open Cypher @ The Dark Room – $10
Hip hop shows take research, y’all. For one thing, there are always a ton of people on the show (indeed, the Open Cypher on this bill will feature another 20-plus rappers I decided not to even attempt to list). For another, there are never any website links listed for any of them. And sometimes, you have to do some digging just to even get a list of who’s on the show. But I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining; the fact is, it’s all worth it when you encounter a show like this, full of a murderer’s row of talented MCs battling it out for lyrical supremacy.

There’s been a renaissance of battle rap on the Richmond scene over the past year or two, and RVA Rap Elite has been right at the heart of it, so it’s no surprise to see what a stacked lineup they’re bringing for the premiere edition of their third season. Personally, I’m most excited for the throwdown between world-class lyricists Chance Fischer and Bravo, but the Team 804 vs. Team 757 cypher battle promises some serious fireworks as well. And really, the overall atmosphere is the best part of all this; when RVA Rap Elite is happening, everyone wants to bring their A game, and the results are sure to delight any true hip hop head. So end your weekend at the place The Cheats Movement says is “making its claim to be the [hip hop] venue of choice” — The Dark Room at the Hofheimer.

Monday, January 27, 9 PM
Dark Thoughts, Sensual World, Ugly Muscle @ Fuzzy Cactus – $8
Dark Thoughts is the sort of band name that might lead you to expect a sound resembling that of Christian Death, or TSOL — punk, but a decidedly gothic take on punk. However, as the band’s fans well know, Philadelphia’s Dark Thoughts are made of much catchier stuff than those classic LA death-rockers. Their new LP, Must Be Nice, came out last month on Stupid Bag Records and is loaded with tracks that split the difference between snotty Dead Boys-style rockers and the Ramones at their most clumsily lovelorn.

Dark Thoughts play classic punk for classic punks, and since it’s the middle of a freezing January here in Richmond, you officially have no excuse for not breaking out your leather jacket for this shindig. You’ll get a bonus as well, in the form of two great local punk bands filling out this bill with their own excellent sounds. Sensual World brings a sort of forlorn jangle to their downbeat rumble, almost Gun Club-ish in execution; Ugly Muscle strip down their sound into a pounding, minimalist attack fueled by atonal synths and screaming. The whole thing is sure to delight any among you who appreciate the articulate aggression that punk rock is all about.

Tuesday, January 28, 6 PM
Shadow Of Intent, Signs Of The Swarm, Inferi, Brand of Sacrifice, Seraph @ The Canal Club – $15 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been 50 years since Black Sabbath’s debut album acted as the starting gun for the metal genre. Bands have progressed in all sorts of far-flung directions from that initial ground zero in the intervening half-century, and it’s difficult to find any band still playing a pure form of metal that would have been recognizable to Ozzy Osbourne in 1970. Nonetheless, there are a lot of outstanding musicians at work in the genre, producing milestones that may very well appear equally seminal once they’re 50 years in the rearview.

Shadow Of Intent’s 2019 LP Melancholy may or may not be one of those (though MetalSucks certainly likes it), but no matter how you slice it, the New England quartet definitely gave us a memorable slab of truly redoubtable heaviness when they released their third album last year. It’s both the deepest, darkest death metal and a particularly impressive display of musical omnivorousness, integrating orchestral melodies and gothic lyrical themes into their always-brutal sound in a manner that allows room to breathe while still pummelling listeners with a wonderfully aggressive efficiency. Seeing all of this brought to life on the Canal Club stage is sure to inspire a veritable forest of banging heads. Join the raging sea this Tuesday night, and celebrate the ongoing bounty that is the music of metal.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Thursday, January 23, 6:30 PM
Blackalicious, Black Liquid, Waasi, Grayling Skyy, DJ Almighty @ The Southern Cafe (Charlottesville) – $25 (order tickets HERE)
Hip hop has always been a genre that focuses on skills, but there are some hip hop artists that stand out even in a crowded sea of fantastic MCs and DJs. Blackalicious, the duo consisting of rapper Gift Of Gab and producer Chief Xcel, is one of those, and has been for the past two decades. They haven’t exactly been prolific in that time; they’ve only released three LPs since 1999 debut Nia. However, regardless of how long they take to bring out new material, it’s impossible to deny that Blackalicious continues to make some of the most challenging, intricate, and talent-loaded music in the hip hop world.

The current Blackalicious tour is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nia‘s release, so you can certainly expect a set list that leans heavily on that initial statement of purpose. Nia dropped right in the midst of the bling area and showed an entirely different worldview in the way Chief Xcel’s beats created mellow, soulful landscapes for Gift Of Gab’s witty lyrics about life and love. Blackalicious has remained on their own wavelength ever since, and if you’ve kept up with their less-than-prolific release schedule, you know that anything they want to bring us is more than worth the wait. That said, who knows when they might be back to VA after this? Get to their gig at The Southern this weekend while the getting’s good.

Saturday, January 25, 7 PM
Black Mass//Un-Baptism, feat. Xeukatre, Serpentshrine, Athame @ Pourhouse of Norfolk – Free!
Black metal is a notoriously intense genre, and while keeping it real did go wrong for a while in the mid-90s when the scene’s leading lights were killing each other and destroying thousand-year-old architecture, you have to admire the people who make this music’s commitment to the evocation of evil. That’s why I can’t help but be impressed to see three black metal bands from the MD/VA area teaming up with Satanic Norfolk this Saturday night for an honest-to-Lucifer black mass at Pourhouse of Norfolk.

Norfolk’s Serpentshrine, who occupy the middle slot on this bill, are musical advocates for Satan themselves, and the trio cranks out some old-style gritty riffage on latest EP Occultum Exordium. You Bathory fans out there will get a big kick out of these guys. Meanwhile, Baltimore’s Xeukatre kick out some guttural lo-fi roars and classic tremolo-picked riffs on their split with Hagerstown’s Athame, who round out both that split and this triple bill with the fastest and filthiest take on black metal of these three bands, Transilvanian Hunger-style. But of course the big event is the black mass; how intense is that gonna be? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to show up. Bring your own blood.

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bonus Hampton Roads Picks:

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

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

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

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

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Top Photo by Alyk Visions

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

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond