RVA Shows You Must See This Week: May 1 – May 6
FEATURED SHOW
Sunday, May 4, 4 PM
Scum City Slam 2025, feat. Cumshot Wound, Silico, Bananaslama, Trunk, Hermaeus Mora, Pickaxe, The Get Off, Asylum 213 @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The folks known as Scum City Entertainment (and previously known as Scum City Records) have been getting up to some serious shenanigans around the mid-Atlantic United States for several years now, and much like a great cult film director (think John Waters or Quentin Tarantino), they’ve accumulated a crew of recurring players who often have some involvement in each new Scum City venture. This is definitely true of this year’s Scum City Slam, which has expanded from a weekend-long festival taking place entirely within Richmond, as it was in 2023 and 2024, into a three-day, three-city extravaganza bringing a rotating cast of characters to Lynchburg and DC before pulling back into Richmond for a Sunday afternoon all-day rager. A variety of the usual Scum City suspects are involved in this one, including Cumshot Wound, Silico, Trunk, and more. But hey — rather than just storm through a list, let’s focus on each of these bands individually, at least for a few seconds.
We’ll start with Cumshot Wound, the Tennessee ensemble whose name has been at the top of some flyers I’ve seen for this show, but not all. Listen, I don’t care where they’re playing on the lineup, you’ve got to see these maniacs. Their 2024 EP, Cumcore, storms through nine songs in just over ten minutes, and it’s definitely got a lot of grind in its harsh, heavy sound, but it’s not all hyperspeed action, instead tending to focus more on intense riffage and scathing, throat-shredding vocals. And of course, this band has all the same sex-and-gore fascinations you’d expect from any grind band, but they keep it from becoming too much of a distraction from the seriously killer riffage they dispense. Another Scum City regular, Richmond’s own Silico, are also up toward the top of this bill, bringing more of a midtempo bashing sound that mixes Coalesce-style chaotic metalcore riffing with something decidedly more biker-core — maybe like Fall Silent on a Goatsnake bender? Regardless of how you categorize it, these guys are an excellent listen, and will definitely get you in an open-this-pit-up sort of mood.
Plenty of other folks from the Scum City extended universe are making the scene at the Richmond installment of this year’s Scum City Slam, and I want to let you know about as many of them as possible, so I’m going to be brief from here on in. There’s Bananaslama, who leaven their grind/power-violence riff mania with goofy ape sounds and plenty of references to their fruit of choice. Trunk are from the Philly suburbs and do some seriously doomed-out death metal chugging. North Carolinians Hermaeus Mora are the probably the least scummy band on this bill, in terms of sound; their technical death metal sound mixes in melody and emotion in a greater proportion than you’ll find in most bands on this bill. Not that that takes away even an iota of heaviness; they remain truly brutal. DC hardcore punks Pickaxe bring passionate rage and furious intensity, and don’t hold back at any point — these folks are a serious threat to steal the show. And of course, Richmonders should by now be familiar with the punk rock fury of The Get Off and the intense emotional noise of Asylum 213. With these bands starting the show, you have every reason in the world to show up early. That said, it is May 4th, the internationally recognized Star Wars Day, and there’ll be a Star Wars costume contest going on throughout the show as well — so start pulling together that Han-Solo-in-carbonite idea you’ve wanted to do for Halloween for years. This is your moment! And of course, bring some spare cash, because hardcore/metal music/art zine Destroy Zine will be on hand to sell you some great reading material, and god knows we all need more of that sort of thing at all times. Come to this show and keep Richmond scummy!
Thursday, May 1, 7 PM
Nolan Taylor, The Hill Country Devil @ The Broadberry – $20-$50 (order tickets HERE)
I’m not generally all that into country music, but I can appreciate it from time to time, and a good guide as to what sort of country music I will like best is how stripped-down and bare bones it is. Modern country is often loaded down with layers upon layers of studio musicianship, lyrical cliches, and gimmicky tropes aplenty to make sure we all know exactly which formula we’re hearing from. I can’t stand that shit. But I do like Nolan Taylor, a musician who gets thrown into the country bucket more often than not, but is if anything closer to indie-folk or heartland rock than he is to any product of Nashville in the 21st century. On his self-titled debut album, he sometimes performs with a few musicians backing him up, and at other times is mostly just out there on his own. But regardless of instrumentation, it’s always his powerful voice and heartfelt acoustic strumming that stands out the most. And I’m sure that’ll be even more true when you stand in the room with him while he performs.
Really, the more I listen to Nolan Taylor, the harder it is for me to figure how he ever got thrown into the whole country genre in the first place. I hear a little bit of My Morning Jacket in what he’s doing, and a fair bit of both Iron And Wine and the late, great Jason Molina. I also can’t help but remember how, back when I was younger and more angst-ridden, I would sometimes put on music that sounded a lot like this late at night when I was lying awake in the dark feeling like my heart was breaking. This is the sound you reach for when even Taking Back Sunday is too much for you. Or, well, maybe that’s just true of me. But if you’ve been in that spot a few times in your life, Nolan Taylor’s will definitely hit home for you. Opener The Hill Country Devil hits a very similar vibe, though his music might be even more stripped-down and downbeat than that of Nolan Taylor. Get down with this one, especially if there have been a few tears in your beers as of late.
Friday, May 2, 7 PM
Toro, Velvet Ruin, Homey @ Bandito’s – $10
Here’s a fun one that’ll bring Bandito’s into your life this Friday night. We all need plenty of Bandito’s in our lives at all times, especially because the Diablo Room is secretly one of the best-sounding live music rooms in the city. Also, nachos (but you knew I was gonna say that). The sound system at Bandito’s will surely be a boon to the performance this Friday night by Maryland band Toro — who were something like 15th in the list of artists named Toro when I tried to look them up on Apple Music (thank god I knew what their songs were called). Recent double-A-side single “Heads”/”It’s Only Us” shows that they deserve to show up way higher on that particular list, and probably quite a few other lists too — their glittering indie guitars, driving rhythms, moody yet moving vocals, and soaring atmospherics makes their music a truly immersive listening experience. Getting to hear them live and at full volume should only enhance the all-encompassing nature of Toro’s sound, and make their brilliant sound a persistent rent-free inhabitant of your brain well after their set has ended.
Toro will be joined on this bill by two Richmond-based bands, the first of which is building up a fair bit of buzz in recent months. So far, they’ve only released one single, but with that one song, “Time’s Tether,” Velvet Ruin have given us an incredible glimpse into their hypnotic indie-shoegaze melodies, and left everyone begging for more. More is definitely what you’ll get at this particular show, and rest assured, you will be very glad you did. This bill is rounded out by Richmond band Homey, whose guitar-driven heavy-gaze sound is sure to please folks who wish Nothing were a little janglier, or that Arbor Labor Union were still as heavy as they were when they started out. These are three bands that’ll sound great together, and make for an excellent evening that can only be improved by ordering a plate of delicious Bandito’s nachos. You know what to do.
Saturday, May 3, 8 PM
Rosegarden Funeral Party, Trigger Discipline, Summore, Torturetwinn @ Fallout – $15 in advance, $20 at the door (order tickets HERE)
It’s Saturday night, and it’s not that cold at night anymore, but we haven’t hit the really hot days of summer yet, so all of that makes it the perfect night of the week/month/year to get dolled up in your best all-black outfit and hit Fallout. That’s right, folks, we’re going full gothic this weekend, and it’s going to be glorious. It’s honestly tough to find bands in the goth subgenre that manage to hit all of the right notes without falling too far down any of the more gimmicky rabbit holes that can detract from that style, but with Rosegarden Funeral Party (who are from Texas, of all the non-goth places in the world), we’ve really hit upon a winner. Their name is a reference to a John Cale tune made famous by Bauhaus (one of my favorite of their songs, even if it is a cover), and their music retains an undeniable energy that shows a stronger connection to goth music’s punk roots than you generally encounter. Rosegarden Funeral Party are definitely a cut above the average where this genre is concerned, and folks who are well-educated in the genre’s history will surely catch resonances of Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Cure at their respective mid-80s peaks.
That being said, even in such a referential genre, Rosegarden Funeral Party sound, in the end, like no one as much as themselves, and their originality and talent combine to make for an excellent listening experience. They’re sure to bring the evening to a dramatic crescendo during their headlining set at Fallout, and leave all the goth kids with a night to remember. None of which is to diminish the openers on this formidable bill — a significant set of talents in their own right. Massachusetts ensemble Trigger Discipline conjure up a gloomy atmosphere on their 2022 album American Gothicc, but complicate the situation by displaying a subtly wielded yet strong command of melody. Expect to find yourself thinking of these folks’ choruses in the days that follow this show. Columbus, Ohio duo Summore take things in a direction of outright electropop with their synth-driven tunes, which will surely charm anyone who thought Grimes failed to live up to her potential even before she got involved with Elon Musk. Local ensemble Torturetwinn will kick off the evening with some delightfully moody dream-pop that will thrill folks who love The Psychedelic Furs, The Chameleons, and the most dramatic moments of classic John Hughes movies. I’m definitely looking forward to hearing more from these folks — and from every band on this bill.
Sunday, May 4, 6:30 PM
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings @ The National – $49-$149 (order tickets HERE)
A quarter-century ago, around the turn of the millennium, I was hitting my mid-twenties, and a lot of my friends were starting to get into music that felt more “grown-up” to me. I was still trying to hold onto my youth, staying straight edge and screaming my head off in hardcore bands, and I therefore didn’t pay all that much attention at first when a whole bunch of my friends started raving about Gillian Welch’s 2001 LP, Time (The Revelator). Joke was on me in the end, though; I finally gave it a shot several years later and realized that Ms. Welch and her partner in life and music, David Rawlings, were tapping into a 21st-century version of the same ancient angst and pain that I always appreciated so much in the classic 78-era hellhound blues and doomed folk of long-deceased musicians like Blind Willie Johnson and Skip James. By the time I’d gotten on Welch & Rawlings’ wavelength, they’d become semi-reclusive, going most of a decade between album releases. Indeed, 2024’s Woodland (the first LP of original material to be billed to Welch & Rawlings as a duo, even though everyone knew they’d been equal partners in each other’s albums the whole time) was the first new LP (besides a batch of COVID-era covers in 2020) with Gillian Welch’s name on it since 2011. As the Australians say, that’s a heck of a long time between drinks.
Fortunately for us all, we’re here to witness the return of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings to live performance in 2025. This year is full of a lot of sorrow, pain, and difficulty, but it’s exactly those feelings that this duo are so expert at capturing and bringing to glorious life. There’s something undeniably soothing about that; hearing their stripped-down, minimalist acoustic tunes so filled with aching, open-hearted emotion can really touch a person on a deep level. The material from Woodland isn’t quite as moody and dark as the Gillian Welch records that initially drew me to her work; these days, she and Rawlings are tapping less into the dark heart of the old, weird America and connecting more closely with the spookier edges of British Isles folk. I hear a bit of Fairport Convention, some of the early Incredible String Band, maybe a bit of Bert Jansch… but then, at other times, Woodland evokes no one as much as Neil Young in his most moody acoustic moments. You might hear completely different reference points in Welch & Rawlings’ work, but the crux of the matter is less what all this reminds you of and more how it makes you feel. Answer: intensely, cathartically, powerfully. This will be a truly incredible show. You don’t want to miss it.
Monday, May 5, 7 PM
Void the Sandman, Anastasia @ The Camel – $12 (order tickets HERE)
Monday nights are always a bit slow, but if you know exactly where to look, you can usually find some pretty great sounds to liven up your evening. And as I’ve said many times before, the place I always look first is The Camel, the one club in Richmond that most consistently books live music on every single night of the week. This Monday night finds two Richmond locals on the heavier end of the spectrum getting together to ensure that something worth hearing is happening over on the 1600 block of West Broad St. Void The Sandman have a slightly higher profile, at least as far as my own perception of the scene is concerned, and these folks play heavy yet moody post-hardcore of the sort that owes a powerful debt to both the Deftones and Hum. Quieter, moodier moments also make me think of the most despairing moments on Alice In Chains’ downbeat classic Dirt, and that’s always nice to hear (even if it isn’t so great to feel).
I know a bit less about the RVA quartet known as Anastasia, though I can tell you that this is another band whose song titles you better already know if you want to find them on Apple Music amid dozens of female singers. They’re worth the deep dive to locate, as their self-titled 2024 EP is loaded with heavy stoner doom grooves, complete with foreboding Hammond organ mixing into the downtuned chug riffs and melancholy vocals. Where the spectrum of doom metal is concerned, these folks are on the more emotional, melodic end of the spectrum, sometimes making me think of 40 Watt Sun, though at other times I can’t help but find myself thinking of Soundgarden at their simultaneous heaviest and saddest. Fell on black days, indeed.
Tuesday, May 6, 7 PM
Calabrese, Zombeast, Mr. Fang & The Dark Tones @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Misfits comparisons are a dangerous thing to throw around; the best of that classic band, who basically invented the genre of horror-punk, sets a bar high enough that there’s no way any band compared to them will do anything but fall short. Hell, even a lot of the Misfits’ later, post-Danzig material doesn’t even hold up to their classic era. So please, with all that in mind, if anyone tries to tell you Calabrese, a trio originally made up of three brothers with the last name Calabrese (the bass player retired from the group some years ago, to be replaced by a talented non-family member), “sound just like the Misfits!”, take it with a grain of salt. These folks are absolutely able to summon up the same dark atmosphere through similar sorts of catchy punk hooks and horror-obsessed lyrics, but you’re bound to appreciate what they’re doing a lot more if you forget the Misfits comparisons and just appreciate Calabrese’s music on their own merits.
That being said, I think there is a more apt comparison out there for Calabrese’s music, and it’s mid-period AFI, circa The Art Of Drowning or the All Hallow’s EP. Calabrese definitely summons a Misfits-ish atmosphere, but come to think of it, so did AFI back then — and like AFI, Calabrese have catchier, poppier hooks than the Misfits circa Walk Among Us ever thought about having. What’s more, they do them really well, in a manner that could only be construed as disappointing if you walked in dead set on hearing a note-for-note recreation of “I Turned Into A Martian.” Calabrese aren’t the Misfits. They’re themselves, and that’s the greatest thing they could be. Come sing along with these catchy choruses, and forget about anything a bunch of New Jersey mooks with weird haircuts did 45 years ago. Calabrese are joined on this bill by Zombeast, who also have some clear Danzig-related influences. I’d say these folks pull more from later in Glenn’s career, specifically the first couple of Danzig albums, but their more metal take on that whole sound doesn’t keep them from indulging in some incredibly catchy choruses that definitely bring Calabrese, The Misfits, and AFI back into the conversation. Virginia Beach horror-punks Mr. Fang And The Dark Tones open things up with their Cramps-style surf-garage take on the genre, to get things started on a fun note. Come dancing.
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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