RVA Shows You Must See This Week: November 20 – November 26
FEATURED SHOW
Friday, November 22, 7 PM
Black Button, Ultra Bleach, Curriculum, K9, Running @ Studio Two Three – $10
The times, they’re… not so good lately, y’all. And just in case you were laboring under any delusions, let me break it to you right now: with Donald Trump coming back into the presidency, it’s only going to get worse. Not that the situation in Gaza promised to get any better under a Democratic administration… sadly, it just seems like the powers that be are all in agreement that it’s OK for the people of Gaza to get bombed off the map entirely over a conflict between two fascist political movements that they’re stuck in the middle of. I probably shouldn’t talk too much more about this, especially since I’ve probably already said enough to get hate mail, but under the circumstances, it seems impossible to go on ignoring.
Thankfully, the Richmond hardcore bands playing this show at long-running nonprofit community art space Studio Two Three are not ignoring it. Instead, they’re using the organizational powers they have to channel their art toward positive ends: specifically, this show is a benefit for Gaza Soup Kitchen, the organization striving to keep the children (and adults) of Gaza fed even as bombs continue to fall after over a year. I don’t care where you stand on this particular fraught political conflict — anyone with a heart beating in their chest should see that this is a worthy cause. Kudos to these bands for supporting it — and kudos to everyone who goes to this show and kicks in their ten bucks.
Here’s what’s really great about all that — you’ll get five excellent sets of music in return. Black Button, who top this bill, have recently followed up their incredible 2023 debut full-length, Rejoice, with a new EP entitled Internal Life. Like its predecessor, it is chock full of chaotic, out-of-control three-chord hardcore punk that stumbles and staggers blindly forward in a manner that makes you feel like you’re in imminent danger of getting knocked right on your ass. This noise-first approach to hardcore punk evokes the bygone days of punk shows in shady underground venues where it felt like anything could happen at any moment. Talk about the Decline Of Western Civilization…
Black Button are joined by several other raw Richmond hardcore punk acts, each of which has their own spin on a classic genre. Ultra Bleach take an approach that feels like it could fit into both the early 90s riot grrrl scene and the noisy postpunk chaos of New York’s early 80s No Wave scene. Curriculum simultaneously evokes the furious grooves of early Fugazi and the gothic approach of mid-90s American post-hardcore bands like The VSS or Spanakorzo. Six-piece ensemble K9 have a ramshackle feel that makes me think of early 90s Sarah Records bands like Heavenly or Boyracer, but with a much more rough n’ ready approach. And local newcomers Running put all their energy into primitive synth sounds and drum machine beats that make you feel like you’re seeing Suicide collaborate with Young Marble Giants in some alternate-universe version of 1982. Gotta love that. Especially when it’s for a cause that, regardless of how controversial it might be, is extremely important and needs our support.
Wednesday, November 20, 7 PM
Chat Pile, Mamaleek, Thirdface @ The Broadberry – $25 (order tickets HERE)
It’s been interesting to see the rise of Oklahoma quartet Chat Pile over the past couple of years. When I first heard this band, I figured they were a pretty straight shot up the alleys of all the noise-rock kids out there still waiting for Pissed Jeans to release another LP (which they finally did earlier this year, not that that’s relevant at the moment). But what impressed me almost immediately was how much support they picked up in a variety of other places around the world of underground music — from the hardcore kids who immediately seemed to love them to the internet-music-criticism behemoth that is Pitchfork, which gave their first LP the coveted Best New Music label. Once you hear their music, it makes a ton of sense — the noise-rock sound is definitely part of what Chat Pile has to offer, but there’s also a big element of metallic hardcore intensity, and even some subtle postpunk undercurrents.
Those elements come even more to the fore on their recent sophomore effort, Cool World, on which the band takes on a decided resemblance to Young Widows even as they continue to evoke noise-rock legends like Unsane and even, at times, industrial metal titans Godflesh. What this all adds up to is a band that’s sure to impress anyone who likes any flavor of heavy music at all — and even has a subtle undercurrent of melody that’ll lure in more than a few moody indie rock types. Those kids will probably also appreciate the melancholy blue noise of Oakland’s Mamaleek, whose latest album, Vida Blue, evokes loss through references to the legendary, deceased baseball pitcher of the title — along with some unlikely occasional jazz flourishes. The mix is off-kilter, but it works surprisingly well, and should be downright affecting in a live situation. Nashville hardcore ensemble Thirdface kicks this whole shindig off with some raging riffage that should make those longing for some straightforward hardcore that is also intelligent and complex very very happy. Or at least, as happy as one can be under the circumstances.
Thursday, November 21, 7 PM
The Local Honeys, Darrin Hacquard @ The Camel – $15 in advance, $20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The concept of “local honey” has always been interesting to me — a type of sweetener that has healing properties, but only for those who live close to the place where it was made. Around here in Richmond, local honey has apparently got a strong presence of clover in it. Being from Kentucky, I’d think the duo known as The Local Honeys are used to local honey with bluegrass, though maybe that’s just a stereotype. The fact that this band plays music that’s strongly grounded in classic Appalachian folk and Americana sounds might also seem like a stereotype about musicians from Kentucky, but it’s not one they’re particularly trying to embody. Indeed, on their self-titled LP from 2022, it sounds like The Local Honeys are just trying to be real.
Their music succeeds mainly due to the fact that it never leans into the typical tropes of any genre they find themselves dipping into. Instead, the banjo, violin, and harmonized vocals that are their usual arsenal get used in the service of songs that mix folk, country, Americana, and even indie and pop styles into a sound that makes all of those different genres clear in its blueprint but never spends too long inside any one of them. If laid-back acoustic sounds, full of memorable chorus melodies and foot-tapping folk rhythms, are something that would appeal to you under any circumstances, you should definitely come down to The Camel this Thursday night and take a big spoonful of The Local Honeys. Even though they’re not from Virginia, they’ll still bring you healing sounds.
Friday, November 22, 7 PM
Blood Incantation, Midwife @ The Canal Club – $23 in advance, $25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This Friday night, why not indulge in some brutal death metal? It’s been a hard enough week as it is, am I right? Headbangs should certainly help with that whole situation — but don’t worry, this isn’t just going to be a night of predictable mosh oblivion. See, Blood Incantation are surprisingly erudite, delving into the sort of prog-rock nerdiness that you might normally expect a band full of death metal dudes from Denver to disdain. Nothing could be further from the truth in this case. Inspired by progressive-rock legends like Yes and King Crimson, as well as classic krautrock and Bowie’s Berlin era, these guys headed to Berlin’s Hansa studios to soak in the ambience of the rooms that produced Bowie’s legendary 70s collaborations with Brian Eno, and channel those things into the multilayered melodic death epics that make up their latest album, Absolute Elsewhere.
The result, in this case, was two sprawling 20-minute symphonies of metallic rage, which frequently take left turns into prog synth breakdowns and pastoral interludes. How this will all translate in the live environment remains to be seen, but it should certainly be cool, and give everyone plenty to engage with even in the moments that don’t lend themselves to vicious headbanging. Fear not, you’ll still get plenty of those moments too — after all, they don’t call this band Blood Incantation for nothing. As for opening act Midwife, this project of guitarist/vocalist Madeline Johnston is often only heavy in the emotional sense, focusing on ambient guitar-vocal soundscapes that channel a powerful melancholy mood. This is the sound Johnston calls “heaven metal,” a sound exemplified by Midwife’s latest album, the quietly hypnotic No Depression In Heaven. Again, not really sure how this one will translate live, but I am sure it will be very intriguing. Certainly worth showing up on time for.
Saturday, November 23, 7 PM
Hemlock Ernst, Wave Generators, Icky Reels, Lunch $pecial @ Cobra Cabana – $15 (order tickets HERE)
There are plenty of musicians that have found success within multiple genres, and I know that. However, that knowledge still didn’t prepare me for what I encountered when I looked more deeply into the career of Baltimore rapper Hemlock Ernst, who plays Cobra Cabana this Saturday night. See, you might not know the name Hemlock Ernst, but I feel pretty sure you’ve encountered this man in one form or another. Under his given name, Samuel T. Herring, he sings for the moody, gothic synth-pop group Future Islands, and once impressed the heck out of David Letterman with his passionate live performance style. He’s also done some acting, most recently in the Apple TV horror show The Changeling. And the whole time, he’s also had a parallel hip-hop career under the name Hemlock Ernst, a simultaneous reference to the drug that killed Socrates and dada artist Max Ernst.
You might think the rap career of the dude from Future Islands would be gimmicky or ironic, but nothing could be further from the truth. The man has true skills on the mic, and knows how to choose talented collaborators who mix together beats that bring out the best in his approach. He’s previously collaborated with legendary crate-digging production whiz Madlib, and in the past year and a half has released two totally different but equally excellent LPs: 2023’s The Fall Collection, with producer Height Keech; and 2024’s Studying Absence, with producer Icky Reels. Both of these producers will be along on this tour, Icky Reels doing a set of his own and Height Keech as part of Wave Generators — a duo that sees Keech collaborating with rapper Nosaj of legendary 90s hip hop group New Kingdom. This tour is chock full of talented hip hop artists, and you can expect every single set to be incredible — especially if you never would have guessed that the guy from Future Islands had it in him. Richmond hip hop kingpin Lunch $pecial will provide local support for this banger of a gig. Be there.
Sunday, November 24, 7 PM
The Atomic Bitchwax, Sinister Haze, Sweeties @ Cobra Cabana – $15
The announcement for this show was greeted very excitedly around my house. Not by me — I’d barely ever heard of The Atomic Bitchwax before — but by my wife, who is a big fan. This long-running heavy-rock trio has huge riffs aplenty and swaggering rock n’ roll attitude to spare, and features members of such stoner luminaries as Monster Magnet and Raging Slab, so believe me, I get it. I just hadn’t encountered their work very often before, for whatever reason. I’ve certainly had a crash course in it recently, though. And let me tell you, the extensive discography of The Atomic Bitchwax is certainly worth delving into. These New Jersey maniacs have been churning out the Camaro-rattling riffage for a full quarter-century now, and have plenty of bangers from which to draw in order to fill out a set list.
Indeed, the tour that brings The Atomic Bitchwax to Cobra Cabana this Sunday is in celebration of their 25 years as an active stoner-metal band — certainly a cause for celebration. It’s been a few years since their last album, Scorpio, hit the scene, but again, they’ve got such a ridiculous catalog of bangers to draw from, you can expect this evening of riff mastery to reward your eager listening regardless of whether they choose to focus on new tunes or the classics. Come prepared to bang your head. And while you’re at it, enjoy the all-too-rare live appearance by Sinister Haze: a stoner-sludge trio featuring members of Cough and Dry Spell who doesn’t play out nearly often enough to satisfy the cravings of veteran metal fans around the ol’ RVA. Hopefully this appearance staves off their hunger for at least a little bit longer. Richmond’s own Sweeties, who recently released a ripper of an LP called Drivin’ A Truck, will kick this one off with a full set of their classic late 70s hard rock styles. Get stoked for this one — god knows my wife is.
Monday, November 25, 6 PM
Nexus Brass, Ninja Strings @ Reveler Experiences – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Getting outside the usual patterns of popular music is a good thing to do every now and then, especially on a night early in the week when there aren’t that many shows going on and your chance of missing some line drive straight up the middle of your musical tastes is greatly decreased. So hey, this Monday night, head over to Reveler Experiences and check out something completely unusual in the form of performances by a brass trio and a chamber music string ensemble.
Nexus Brass is technically working in the same medium as No BS! Brass, but as far as the musical styles these three horn players delve into, it couldn’t be more different. Having come up playing in classical ensembles, with roots in everything from jazz to church music, these folks have previously performed as part of Classical Revolution’s Mozart festival, among other things. They’ll likely introduce you to some sounds you’ve never heard before. As for Ninja Strings, the other ensemble on this bill, they generally stay in more familiar territory, though they typically reconfigure their surroundings by recreating classic pop songs by folks like the Beatles and Justin Timberlake as chamber-style string performances. The whole evening should be an intriguing new way to view music that’s both familiar and unusual, and might just leave you with one or more new styles of music to delve into. And isn’t that always the best result?
Tuesday, November 26, 7 PM
Angel Du$t, RMBLR, Copperhead, Jailbird @ Cobra Cabana – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Way back in the early 90s when I got into hardcore, I thought of it as a genre of music defined mainly by an approach rather than a particular sound. That felt very freeing to me, and enabled me to spot all kinds of bands that held a kinship with one another even if they didn’t sound alike at all; exactly why I could make mixtapes in 1995 that had Sparkmarker, Still Life, and Snapcase sharing space on a single normal-bias cassette. Angel Du$t leader Justice Tripp strikes me as a guy who has a similarly open understanding of what hardcore is. He first made his name as the frontman for Trapped Under Ice, who made straightforward, anthemic hardcore that captured the entire scene’s imagination in the late 00s and early 10s. In more recent years, though, he’s taken a significantly different approach as the leader of Angel Du$t — these days, he mainly sings melodically, and often accompanies his vocals with acoustic guitar strumming. The band Angel Du$t gets compared to most often is The Lemonheads.
And yet, in spite of all that, Angel Du$t are still undeniably a hardcore band, even at the most unexpected moments of their latest LP, Brand New Soul — for example, when they break into a borderline bossa-nova dance groove on “Don’t Stop.” This moment, and quite a few others throughout their catalog, put the lie to the Lemonheads comparisons that sometimes seem valid for 60 seconds here or there. Fact is, this is a significantly more complex band, one that’s had several different eras and some significant stylistic shifts over that time. Nonetheless, if you enjoy hardcore, you’re sure to get a kick out of the energetic, iconoclastic approach of Angel Du$t. If nothing else, it’ll keep you dancing. Catchy Atlanta-based rock n’ roll outfit RMBLR, Richmond heavy-rockers Copperhead, and VA-based young hardcore maniacs Jailbird will get this one started in fine fine fashion. Get stoked.
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): rvamustseeshows@gmail.com
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