RVA Shows You Must See This Week: August 6 – August 12
FEATURED SHOW
Friday, August 8, 9 PM
Deathcat, Strawberry Moon, Twin Films @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’ve been talking about Richmond rookie sensations Deathcat for a while now, so you may have heard all this before if you’ve been reading the column for a while, but listen anyway, because Deathcat is one of the best bands to come out of this city in the post-pandemic era, and you sleep on them at your own peril. Led by two young women, who switch off on guitar and bass as well as lead vocal duties, this band captures a spirit of youthful female rebellion that reminds me of the best bands from that whole Riot Grrrl explosion of the 90s, while incorporating a stronger melodic sense that rarely made itself known during that much-vaunted 90s youth movement. This band’s got the catchy tunes whether they’re in more of an upbeat jangly punk mood or a more lovelorn, downcast indie vibe, and every song I’ve heard by them so far is distinctive and fun. Considering they’re still just barely getting started, we have a lot more to look forward to where Deathcat are concerned.
And I’m clearly not the only one in town who has noticed exactly this, because Sockhead Records, the in-house label of local punk heroes Destructo Disk, have snatched up the fledgling trio and will be releasing their debut EP, Dreamgrl (not to be confused for 2024 Sockhead release Dream Girl by Ghost Piss — which is also a banger), in the very near future. Indeed, this Friday night show at The Camel is in celebration of the release of Dreamgrl, which may mean there are going to be copies available for purchase at the show. Regardless of whether that ends up being the case, you should definitely come out and enjoy the fruits of Deathcat’s labor, because all of their songs are great, and sound great live. Plus this way you can find out which of the frontwomen sings which song (I still don’t have this entirely sorted out in my head).
Another great reason to come out to The Camel this Friday night is the opening set from fellow Sockhead Records rockers Strawberry Moon. Having recently fulfilled a sort of prophecy by recording and releasing an excellent EP called Smoon (which is what Strawberry Moon’s diehard fans call the band) on Sockhead, this group is at the peak of their powers. They’re sure to knock you out with their incredible riff-tastic rock n’ roll tunes, and Katie Bowles’ powerful voice is a particular highlight which must be heard live to be believed. A double shot of Sockhead-style punk rock is never a bad thing, and it will a particularly great thing this Friday night with back to back sets by Deathcat and Smoon. Rounding out the bill will be Twin Films, a postpunk-influenced indie duo from here in RVA who love to create multi-layered sonic structures on which they build up their flawless pop hooks. This show will be excellent from the first note to the last, so don’t miss any of them if you can possibly help it.
Wednesday, August 6, 7 PM
Woman Crush Wednesday, feat. Lauren Calve, Maizie Somerville, Jahnel Dalya @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
I really appreciate the clutch players on our local scene who make sure that, on the nights that tend not to be favored by high-level touring bands, there’s still a lot of great music to see live here in Richmond. One of those clutch players is The Camel, which has music on its stage nearly every night (other venues take note), and another is Woman Crush Wednesday head honcho Bri Bevan, who’s been presenting this showcase on the first Wednesday of every month since well before the pandemic shut everything involving live music down for nearly a year and a half. If it’s the first Wednesday of the month, you always know there’ll be some good music to hear down at The Camel for Woman Crush Wednesday, and that’s just as true this week as it’s been for several years now.
This time around, Woman Crush Wednesday continues its tradition of presenting new and underrated artists by bringing us Lauren Calve, a DC-based singer-songwriter whose 2023 LP, Shift, finds her engaging in the same sort of twangy countrified rock n’ roll (or rocked-out country) sounds that have always been so delightful from artists like Kathleen Edwards and Lucinda Williams. For her live shows, Calve has recently been working on integrating effects that allow her to loop her lap steel guitar. How much of that we’ll get at The Camel tonight remains to be seen, but it is a tantalizing potential bonus on top of getting to hear her excellent songcraft on display. As for Maizie Somerville, this poet and owner of Motherwort Press has recently been performing her poetry with acoustic folk-style backing, so we may get that sort of set from her, but her words are engaging enough that, even if they’re being presented on their own, they’re sure to bewitch you. The evening will be rounded out by a set from Jahnel Dalya, whose delightful songs mix together indie, soul, folk, and blues elements into a delightfully melodic and lovely overall sound. This whole evening will be a great showcase of artists you’ve probably missed before now; catching up with them all tonight is a lovely way to get familiar.
Thursday, August 7, 7 PM
Ionna, Girlspit, Flora & The Fauna @ Bandito’s – $15
This isn’t discussed often enough in this day and age where everything is represented digitally and it’s super-rare to encounter anything in physical form, but: sometimes the flyer alone is enough to make you want to see a show. Considering that the paper flyers we all passed out in front of shows back in the mid-90s were cheaply reproduced black-and-white photocopies from Kinko’s (back before FedEx bought and renamed it), the majesty of the above flyer for this Thursday night shindig at Bandito’s wasn’t generally possible back then, but I can definitely remember being handed flyers creative enough that, once I saw them, I just HAD to go to the show. The above flyer is the first one I’ve encountered in the digital era that’s done the same to me. Colorful as heck, hilarious, and with all sorts of references to high-school nostalgia for girls I never got a chance to be… yeah, I’m definitely in, even if all those goofy slumber party references are more like 90s teen movies than anyone’s actual lived reality.
What exactly am I signing up for, though? Not one, not two, but THREE excellent sets from a trio of Richmond artists with major feminine energy and power. Who could ask for anything more? To be more specific, the show will be headlined by the artistic phenomenon known as Ionna, who presents a classic synth-driven sound that definitely reminds me of Kate Bush, only maybe if she’d been signed to 4AD Records in the mid-1980s. There’s definitely some Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins in the DNA there as well. As for Girlspit, this keyboard-driven trio is also on a synth-driven postpunk vibe, though their reference points are more 00s in orientation to me — think Le Tigre and Ladytron with some Bush Tetras-ish punk-funk elements mixed in there. And of course Flora & The Fauna will round out the evening, giving us the sort of flawless pop sound we’ve come to know and love from this quartet, complete with heartstring-tugging choruses and always-enjoyable sax breaks to keep us all on our toes. Will hair get braided at Bandito’s this Thursday night? Perhaps not, but after having a lovely musical evening with these three amazing acts, you’re sure to leave satisfied regardless.
Friday, August 8, 8 PM
Fight Cloud, Sonoa, VOiD The Sandman, Hardcount @ Bandito’s – $10
Back to Bandito’s for a Friday night throwdown, and if you’re lucky enough to be one of those people who gets paid every Friday night, this is a great night to show up early and order a big plate of nachos. Bandito’s nachos are the best opening act for any show at this venue, especially if it’s the kind where you’re more likely to bop around to the great music than to start a mosh pit. This is one of those nights, and that’s definitely not a bad thing — the sort of mathematically-inclined indie rock the co-headliners on this bill are dispensing is an absolute delight to feel wash over you, and it’ll definitely get your feet moving, even if it doesn’t make you want to bang your head. Most locals are familiar with veteran Richmond indie-math quartet Fight Cloud, but their last year’s Ritual Disaster proved that, over a dozen years into their career, these boys haven’t lost a single step. Intricate enough to keep the technical-arrangement heads happy, Fight Cloud’s songs are also catchy enough that, if you’re not a fan of super-complex arrangement, you can just ignore it and focus on the melody. There’s always plenty there to make you smile.
This evening pairs them with New Jersey-based touring combo Sonoa, whose music is in a similar vein to that of Fight Cloud, if a bit less math-y and more straight-up rockin. That rockin’ is in an indie-style fashion, and hits plenty of catchy riffs and choruses as it rolls along. which you’ll know if you’ve checked out Sonoa’s latest EP, Treadmill. Their songs feature occasional electronic interjections, but are largely focused on delightful guitar interplay, of the sort that’s sure to make everyone in attendance smile. Local up-and-comers VOiD The Sandman, whose name reminds me of the random capitalization trends that were really popular on AOL Instant Messenger circa 2001 (I know, I know, I’m old), have a heavier post-hardcore element to their sound that isn’t too far from the Deftones in their more cerebral, gothic moments, but carries a bit of indie rock energy as well. The evening will begin with a set from Hardcount, whose jangly indie tunes have a bit of a retro-surf vibe as well as some punk elements. This one’s going to be fun throughout, regardless of what you have for dinner. Still, I’m just sayin — get the nachos.
Saturday, August 9, 8 PM
Tenue, Windoc, Future Terror, Torment @ Bandito’s – $20
It’s our third night in a row at Bandito’s, but not to worry — all of these shows have completely different sounds, so there’s no chance you’ll get bored. Also, the food is always great, so that’s dinner sorted three nights in a row! This night features a mixed bill of bands from all over the world and right here in Richmond, with one thing bringing them all together — they’re all their own special flavor of heavy. Spain’s Tenue are at the top of the bill here, and these folks have an incredibly epic sound of the sort that results in 5-song LPs that you figure are really EPs until you see the song length in the scroll bar. All of the tracks on their 2024 LP Arcos, Bovedas, Porticos are over six minutes long, and some stretch to nearly 10 minutes in length, so there are a variety of movements and sounds encompassed within each one. Ambient emotional breakdowns stand alongside storming metal riffs and energetic buildups, topped by tortured screams and mournful melodic vocal parts. If you appreciate bands like Respire or Daitro, or have been known to put on Alcest and Deafheaven back to back, these folks are definitely right up your alley.
Canadian band Windoc are our other touring band on this bill, and while they keep their tunes more concise, they’re if anything heavier than Tenue, filling their 2024 LP, Human Error, with brutal breakdowns and raging metallic hardcore fury. There’ll definitely be plenty of moshing during their set, so munch on Bandito’s foods responsibly. Future Terror are one of two Richmond groups rounding out this bill, and this band features members of Prisoner taking a detour into the sort of roaring, raging crust-metal-punk fury that their main group engaged in during its earliest days. Prisoner’s more expansive, progressive metal sound is brilliant and wonderful, but if you ever wish they’d just rip off a set of 90-second biker-crust anthems, Future Terror is what you’re longing for. Their 2024 LP Degenerating Shithole pulls no punches with its hardcore fury, and you shouldn’t expect them to do so live either. The evening will start with a set from Torment, who will probably start the evening with the heaviest, darkest sound of the night. Their nonstop brutal beatdown rage is notorious in some circles of the local hardcore underground, but I doubt they’ll be bashing fluorescent light tubes over each other’s backs during their Bandito’s set. Still, expect a similar sort of dark, uncontained fury to pour from this band in waves as they dish out their uber-heavy take on metallic hardcore. This entire evening will remain heavy and brutal, and with plenty of contrast to keep it from getting samey. Gotta love that.
Sunday, August 10, 7:30 PM
Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts @ Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront – $77-$248 (order tickets HERE)
Fuck boomers, right? They’re old, they’re ancient, my generation was tired of them when we were in high school at the dawn of the 1990s (you know, back before most of you were born), and they’ve only gotten more tired in the years since. But there’s one artist from that generation who seems to have always been able to sidestep the tag of a tired old dinosaur boomer: Neil Young. When I was in high school, he was touring with Sonic Youth and making records with Pearl Jam. These days, he’s continuing on the way it feels like he has for the past 60 years — doing whatever keeps him entertained at the moment. Circa 2025 (the year in which Mr. Young will turn 80 — yes, I’m serious) he’s road-dogging it with one of his many backing bands, The Chrome Hearts, in support of his latest album, Talkin’ To The Trees. It’s his first new studio album in three years, but he’s had three live albums out in the interim, so you can’t say he’s slowed down with age, either. And I’m sure his show here in Richmond, at the Allianz Amphitheater, will find Neil at the top of his game, as he has been for lo these many years.
The group he’s touring with, The Chrome Hearts, features several members of Lukas Nelson’s backing band, Promise Of The Real, with whom Neil Young made several albums in the late 2010s. The reason they’re not billed as Promise Of The Real this time around is that Lukas Nelson and percussionist Tato Melgar are not involved with this album and tour, but the addition of legendary keyboardist Spooner Oldham, best known as a member of the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, definitely boosts the star power on this tour a fair bit. The Talkin’ To The Trees album that they’re touring in support of is a great example of a latter-day Neil Young album, mixing the classic shuffle-stomp of his prime material with Crazy Horse into a more countrified vibe that draws its lineage from classic acoustic Neil albums like Comes A Time and Harvest Moon. Some of Neil Young’s albums are better than others, but he’s always an interesting artist to watch evolve and move in a variety of artistic directions. We’re fortunate that his latest trip to Richmond finds him in a period that’s both interesting and legitimately good. I know these tickets aren’t cheap, but if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. Neil won’t let you down.
Monday, August 11, 7:30 PM
Tabitha Meeks, Kenny Sharp @ The Camel – $19.66 (order tickets HERE)
Monday night can often be sparse, so the fact that there’s a legitimately fun and cool show happening at the Camel this Monday is even more delightful than it would normally be. And the best part about this one is how pleasantly surprising the music of Tabitha Meeks truly is. The Nashville-based singer and pianist is a pop singer, but if that makes you think you’re getting Taylor Swift or Kelly Clarkson, think again — Tabitha Meeks’s approach is as different from modern pop divas as night is from day. Her tunes have a throwback feel that, bringing back sounds that haven’t been heard on any kind of a widespread basis since the 1960s. Her music channels everything from the mannered French pop of Francoise Hardy to the sunny tropicalia of Gal Costa and the sassy strut of Nancy Sinatra. It sounds like the kind of thing you’d hear in an old Audrey Hepburn movie, except that it’s being made right now, which makes Tabitha Meeks’s music sound more like a dispatch from an alternate universe.
But let’s face it, this alternate universe probably has way better radio stations, so I think a lot of us might enjoy living there. Unfortunately, we can only visit for a few hours at a time — but that being the case, we need to make the most of the time we have, and that’s something we’ll definitely be able to do when Tabitha Meeks takes the stage at The Camel this Monday night. She’ll be joined on this trip through Richmond by singer Kenny Sharp, who dabbles in a variety of genres — blues, R&B, soul, and even outright hip hop (he recently collaborated on a track with Big Mo and Kidd G). His smooth tenor and impassioned vocal delivery will delight all comers, even as his trip through a variety of musical genres will keep everyone on their toes. On the whole, this promises to be a delightful evening presenting pop music of all sorts — except, of course, for the modern sort. And I don’t think any of us are going to complain too much about that, right?
Tuesday, August 12, 6:30 PM
Reckoning: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead’s 17th album, feat. Louis Smith, Daniel Clarke, Stewart Myers, Dusty Ray Simmons, Brian Jones, Willie Williams @ Reveler Experiences – $25 (order tickets HERE)
This one is for the Deadheads, and let me admit to any of you who may not already know — I’ve never been one of you. I may even have gleefully sung along with “Deadhead” by the Teen Idles when I was young hardcore kid. Somehow, though, when I was in my late 30s, I started to find a bit of grudging admiration. And while I will never be one of those people for whom constant Dead albums, Dead tributes, and Dead offshoots make up the vast majority of their musical diet, I can appreciate a good dose of Dead on occasion. If you appreciate such a thing yourself, this is a great chance for you to do so — and your only chance this time around, as two of the three shows the Reckoning tribute act performing on Tuesday night at Reveler Experiences have already sold out. Jump on the tickets for this final night while you still can.
The album this all-star sextet are paying tribute to is the Grateful Dead’s 1981 live LP Reckoning, which compiled material recorded during a series of acoustic sets the Dead did in late 1980. The stripped-down, mellowed-out takes on Dead classics and the fun covers of classic folk and country tunes hearkened back to the folk and country music the members of the Dead got their start playing, and, it could be argued, invented the Unplugged format MTV took to fame and glory a decade later. So it’s an important record, and a set of tunes that’ll please those of you who feel like the Grateful Dead have some good tunes but do too much jamming. The vibe at this performance will be entirely different — more pensive and laid-back — and it’ll be brought to you by a variety of the local scene’s most talented players. Featuring members of Kendall Street Company and Agents of Good Roots, and featuring several talented solo performers with backgrounds in everything from jazz to folk to indie to rock n’ roll, the Reckoning tribute band is the perfect ensemble to bring you a fresh live look at this classic Grateful Dead set. Definitely worth seeing in person, even if you’re not that big of a Deadhead yourself.
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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