RVA Shows You Must See This Week: December 6 – December 12
FEATURED SHOW
Punks For Presents 2023 (Parts 1 & 2)
Friday, December 8, 8 PM
Imaginary Toys, Hate 1990, Faith Sno More @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
Saturday, December 9, 7 PM
Should I Sleigh Or Should I Go, Anarchy In The North Pole, Toy Division, Santa MacLrid ennane @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $10 (order tickets HERE)
I remember a time not so long ago when the biggest tribute-band holiday in the Richmond music scene was always Halloween. These days, though, I don’t think anyone can deny that the work of Punks For Presents has led to Christmastime becoming the big tribute-band holiday around the river city. That might seem weird to the traditionally minded old-school types among my readership, but who can really complain in the end? After all, it’s for a good cause — all proceeds from the annual Punks For Presents series of shows go to Children’s Hospital of Richmond, to try and brighten up the holidays for sick kids and their families. And the many Punks For Presents shows taking place around Richmond not only this weekend but throughout the month of December prove that, for all their bluster and grit, the punks and metalheads of the Richmond music community really do have hearts of gold.
But I don’t blame you if you’d rather not dwell on all that, and instead just want to rock out. These shows will give you a chance to do so, and fill your weekend full of cool Christmas-y twists on many beloved bands of yesteryear. Friday night’s triple bill at Fuzzy Cactus acts as a kickoff of sorts (though really, we were just at a Black Friday Punks For Presents show last week or the week before, weren’t we?), and it’s one that will please the metal weirdos and gothic punks who cut their teeth on legendary bands of the 90s. Long-running Cure tribute act Imaginary Boys will once again appear under their holiday nom de plume, Imaginary Toys. These guys always bring the awesomeness, so you’ll definitely want to catch them. All you lovers of early Nine Inch Nails (you know, when they were good) will thrill to the sounds of Hate 1990, a tribute to Nine Inch Nails’ prime era brought to you by members of Prisoner and The Catalyst, among others. That bill will be rounded out by Faith Sno More, which (if my intel proves correct) includes members of JJ Speaks and brings to life the quirky synth-metal glory of Mike Patton and Faith No More.
Do you want it all? Well, this time around you really CAN have it! And I’m not just talking about 90s alternative, either — at Richmond Music Hall on Saturday night, the festivities continue with a show that brings us tributes to several different leading lights of early UK punk rock. Should I Sleigh Or Should I Go will do the hits of The Clash in legendary fashion, while Anarchy In The North Pole will bring the snotty punk anthems of the Sex Pistols to life in a new holiday-appropriate form. Punks For Presents veterans Toy Division will once again do their Yuletide version of Joy Division’s bleak fin de siecle anthems. The evening will be rounded out by Santa MacLennane, a Pogues tribute that is sadly appropriate in light of the recent passing of legendary Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan. I’m sure these folks will do a wonderful version of the UK’s favorite drunken Christmas anthem, “Fairytale of New York,” so get ready to sing along with charming holiday lyrics like “You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy [redacted], Happy Christmas, your arse — I pray god it’s our last.” This is Punks For Presents’ 18th year in operation, and I for one pray it’s NOT their last. With them doing their thing here in Richmond, this really is the most wonderful time of the year.
Wednesday, December 6, 7 PM
Kowloon Walled City, Rid Of Me, Prayer Group @ Gallery 5 – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The night after Krampus visits Richmond, things will still be pretty heavy and doomy down at Gallery 5. That’s not just because they get heavily into the Krampusnacht spirit over at Gallery 5, either (though they definitely do). It’s because three dark, heavy powerhouses of noise rock will all be descending upon the corner of Brook and Marshall to pummel us all with their sonic brutality. And make no mistake, it’s gonna be awesome as hell. The top band on the bill is Kowloon Walled City, a killer quartet from California who haven’t released any new material in a couple of years but will surely have plenty of riffs old and new with which to level us all. Their 2021 album, Piecework, brought everything to bear from epic sludge power to surprisingly quiet moments that only served to ramp up the ominous atmosphere. It’s gonna get spooky when these folks hit the stage.
Philly’s Rid Of Me will make just as powerful a contribution to the evening’s foreboding ambiance. They are currently on tour to support their brand new LP, Access To The Lonely. Its heavy, emotionally driven music lands closer to postpunk than the noise-rock doom of Kowloon Walled City, but the mood created when this group is firing on all cylinders is definitely of a piece with our California headliners. Furthermore, Richmonders Prayer Group, who will get this one started excellently, have been known to share some formidable double bills with Rid Of Me in the past, so we all know these two great tastes taste great together. This one’s gonna be a big loud brilliant time from the moment the doors open until the echoes of the last notes have died away. Make sure you’re there for every second of it — but don’t linger too long afterward. Wouldn’t want Krampus to get you.
Thursday, December 7, 9 PM
The Gotobeds, Ett Eko, Almost Pretty @ Fuzzy Cactus – $12
Thursday night is a great night to get the weekend started a day early over at Northside’s home of rock n’ roll, Fuzzy Cactus. They’ll be hosting the Gotobeds, a band who hails from Pittsburgh but owes quite a bit to the UK postpunk scene of decades past. They even named their band after Wire drummer Robert Grey’s early pseudonym, Robert Gotobed. If you dig Wire and the Fall, or more modern descendants of that sound such as Parquet Courts, you’ll find a lot to like in the Gotobeds’ sharp, spiky take on postpunk, which comes complete with a wry, witty sensibility illustrated in album titles like Poor People Are Revolting and Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic. 2019’s Debt Begins At 30 is their most recent release, and it’s awesome; it even features a guest appearance from Richmond’s own Tracy Wilson, of Positive No/Outer World fame.
And speaking of members from Positive No/Outer World, Kenneth Close and Keith Renna are also on this bill as part of their post-Positive No project, Ett Eko. This project finds them teaming up with Michael Harl of Canary Oh Canary and Manzara, and the combined strength of these formidable talents comes together in highly original fashion on their first EP, Modern Content. It’s got a decided postpunk vibe as well, and though things are a bit more gothic and gloomy in Ett Eko’s musical headspace, they’ll still be the perfect lead-in for what The Gotobeds have to offer. Almost Pretty are also on the bill, and this recent addition to the Richmond scene brings together members of Facade Burned Black, Lord By Fire, Phelics, and Boxing Water for a one-guitar/two-bass take on amped-up catchy alterna-anthems. I hear rumors that Paint Fumes have also jumped on this show, so you might get a surprise shot of Carolina garage rock awesomeness, but if that turns out not to be true, don’t worry — this show is still gonna be outstanding. Be there.
Friday, December 8, 9:30 PM
Deathcat, Dogfuck, Box Factory, Circle The Drain, Dry Talker @ Ipanema – $5
This one’s gonna be a bit unpredictable. The lineup brings together five local bands/musicians for five bucks, which is straight out of the 90s or something, and it mixes together artists who don’t seem to me to have much of anything in common musically. The one I’ve heard the most about is Dogfuck, aka Dogfuq, Dogfriend, Doggy, etc. They’ve got a reputation for being a weirdo rapper of some sort, but the music I can find on streaming services (which does not include their latest album, I Promise You I Will Never Die — I can’t find that one anywhere) is way too weird to be anything as conventional as hip hop. Maybe it’s more like spaced-out psychedelic vaporwave beats or something. Maybe I’m too old to even know how to talk about it. It’s cool though — Dogfuck’s definitely someone who has impressed enough people around VA that they’re well worth seeing.
They’re not at the top of this bill, though; that spot belongs to Deathcat. This intriguing young trio makes punky alt-rock tunes with snarky lyrics about romantic peccadilloes, at least if the impression I’ve gained from brief snippets of Instagram videos is to be trusted. They remind me a bit of some older Richmond bands, including Christi and the short-lived Sports Bra (and yes, I was in Sports Bra, but the point stands). I hope to catch them in person soon; their vibe is definitely intriguing. And hey, for the low low price of $5, what better opportunity will come along than this show at Ipanema? I can’t imagine. This bill will feature a few other intriguing relative unknowns from the Richmond scene, including psych-rockers Box Factory, jangle-punks Dry Talker, and indie rockers Circle The Drain; all of these folks have cool sounds to offer. For the record, I’m pretty sure all five of these groups have connections to a local house show venue/lo-fi recording space called the Rabbit Hole; in fact, this is night one of a two-night, ten-band event, and the second night is happening at the Rabbit Hole. But you’re gonna have to ask someone else to find that place. Here’s a hot tip: go to this show, enjoy these bands, and then ask someone where the next night’s show is. For $5, you really can’t go wrong.
Saturday, December 9, 7 PM
Sonikkah — Jewish Noise For Peace, feat. Max Deems, Generator Group, Julius Rosenwald, Bal Dukte, A’naja, Tire X Silver, Thieves Of Shiloh, James Gibian, Alex C & Three Brained Robot, DJ Landline, Zane Kanevsky @ Bandito’s – $10-$15
I’ve never been a true noise head, by any means, but I always make it a point to keep up with what the noise kids have going on. Because noise is always intriguing; not just because it’s a scene that throws away any and all conventions of music making in favor of challenging fundamental ideas of what a song or a musical instrument can be, but also because it encompasses a seemingly endless gamut of life choices and political positions. And every time you think you’ve got the noise scene pinned down, it’ll throw you a total curveball and force you to reevaluate everything. Take this Saturday night noise show at Bandito’s, for example: Sonikkah, subtitled “Jewish noise for peace,” is taking place on the third night of Hannukah, and features quite a few artists with connections to the Jewish community, all of whom are coming together to engage in raw musical experimentation to support the displaced children of Palestine. It’s not an easy position to take in our current climate. Indeed, politically it is every bit as courageous as the makers of experimental noise have to be when they take the stage to create sounds that won’t even read as music to most people. And if you ask me, it’s a huge improvement over the noise scene’s usual tendency toward sketchiness and debauchery.
All sorts of artists are on this bill, and I’m ashamed to say that I wasn’t familiar with a whole bunch of the ones based here in Richmond; clearly I haven’t been keeping as close track as I’d like to. That said, this evening will be a great chance to catch up on quite a few local noisemakers, from Generator Group (a trio who create glorious ambient hums through the use of multiple generator organs) and Julius Rosenwald (extremely lo-fi black metal destruction named after a 19th-century Jewish businessman and philanthropist who used his money to build schools for Black children in the South) to Bal-Dukte (ambient horror-film soundtrack vibes) and Tire X Silver (stretched-out minimalist Appalachian folk scree). Thieves Of Shiloh have been around for quite a while and are always good for heavy ambient synth vibes; Max Deems is a mysterious ambient guitar wizard from Austin, Texas. There’s even more awesomeness on this bill than I’ve already mentioned, in fact. If you want to know more, you’ll just have to show up for this one. Believe me, there’s not much you could do with your Saturday night that’d be this cool.
Sunday, December 10, 8 PM
Bask, Gnawing, Book Of Wyrms @ Get Tight Lounge – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Doom metal is a many-splendored thing. You might think it’s all just variations on themes cribbed from Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus, but once you start digging deeper into the genre, you soon realize that there are many ways to approach slow, heavy riffage, and some of the paths less traveled still have a lot to offer. For a great example of what I’m talking about, look no further than Bask, a North Carolina quartet currently on tour celebrating their tenth anniversary as a band. These guys spent the 2010s finding their own unique take on doom, incorporating psychedelic vibes and Americana touches into their powerful epics, finding a way to sound positive and forward-looking rather than getting caught up in the doom and gloom. There aren’t many doom metal albums I’d consider to be a musical pick-me-up, but their debut, American Hollow, has some truly uplifting moments. And their most recent album, Bask III, further pushes the musical boundaries of the genre they often stretch past.
All of these are great reasons to see Bask on their tenth-anniversary swing through Richmond, especially if you haven’t caught them live before. But if you’re a longtime fan, this is perhaps an even more essential show; they’ll be playing material from all eras of their decade-long career, bringing intense visual elements to the performance, and will be selling merch that’s exclusive to this tour. The Richmond show will include a set from Gnawing, who also integrate Americana influences into their sound in intriguing fashion, though these folks are working with more of a loud-guitar alt-rock template. Close enough — it’ll still be a good match. And of course the psychedelic doom metal rangers in Book Of Wyrms will be the perfect support act for this bill. The vibes will be off the charts with this one. You know what to do.
Monday, December 11, 7 PM
Born Without Bones, The Vaughns @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Monday night’s always a bit of a tough one. If you don’t find the right vibe for the evening, it can set a tone that screws up your whole week. Fortunately for all of us, The Camel is always here to get us started off right, with some killer music to brighten up a slow, boring night. This time around they’re bringing us a set from Born Without Bones, who have a really great name but — believe it or not — are not a metal band. Instead, on their 2022 album Dancer, these boys churn up a glorious racket of riffage, mixing power-pop gloss, emo’s raw passion, and alt-rock guitar crunch into a formidable brew of killer tunes that’ll leave you unable to stand still.
The Vaughns are also on this bill, bringing their own treasure trove of super-catchy tunes to the proceedings. Their latest album is called Egg Everything — a title I truly love — and features songs that move through a variety of different genres but always retain their catchy pop foundations. This is an album guaranteed to make you smile, and The Vaughns performance to start this evening off will do the same. And certainly on a Monday night, isn’t that what we all really need? Of course it is.
Tuesday, December 12, 7 PM
June Star, Brenton Garis, Matt Monta @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
Once again, I find myself asking, what would we do without the Camel? This city doesn’t have many venues who are serious enough about music to keep shows coming throughout the week, even on a slow night… but we can always count on the Camel. They’re always there for us. This time around, they’ve got a performance for us from Baltimore Americana band June Star, who’ve been doing their thing for something like a quarter-century. The sound is quiet and sedate, but hides a ton of feeling, and June Star are sure to hit you right where you live with their perceptive, melancholy feel.
Midwestern singer-songwriter Matt Monta joins June Star on this bill, and he’s got a similar minimalist, acoustic approach. However, rather than being quiet and sedate, Monta brings quite a bit of energy and angst to his acoustic tunes, sounding like Bruce Springsteen on Nebraska‘s most fired-up cuts. He might even remind you of what Jawbreaker might have sounded like had Blake Schwarzenbach ever chosen to just go it alone with an acoustic guitar. You can certainly expect Matt Monta’s performance to be memorable and riveting — just as this entire night will be, even if it isn’t very loud. Really, it’s the perfect combination for a Tuesday night, wouldn’t you say?
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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