RVA Shows You Must See This Week: October 1 – October 7
FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, October 4, 7 PM
Reverse Yr Curse, Piranha Rama, Snack Truck @ Bandito’s – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s always nice to se new talent freshening up the deep pool of independent music here in Richmond, but sometimes what looks brand new can actually be deceiving. For example, Reverse Yr Curse, a melodic postpunk trio who’ve only been around for a couple of years now, but whose members have all been engaged in the creative arts for decades. Folks in this band have engaged in many other projects over the years, but none have quite captured the lovely tones Reverse Yr Curse have been generating since coming together in the post-pandemic era. Led by veteran visual artist Bonnie Staley, who has had a variety of minor roles in the Richmond music world over the past couple of decades, Reverse Yr Curse has finally given Staley the opportunity to step into the spotlight and let her finely crafted tunes and captivating vocals shine the way they always deserved to.
Reverse Yr Curse released their debut EP back at the start of 2024, and they are finally following it up with their first LP, Where Are We Going And When Will We Get There? While it has technically been available since September 19, this show marks the official record release celebration for the LP, which will be available for purchase on vinyl. Recorded at Spacebomb Studios, the album is well-recorded and full of lovely indie sounds that are always a slight bit left-of-center, making it clear that Reverse Yr Curse aren’t just another indie-pop band. No, there’s a real creative assurance acting as a foundation for their material, one that allows this band to subtly take chances and make sure that their tunes are neither predictable nor samey. After several listens to their new LP, I can say that it has continued to grow on me. And it’ll surely be that much more delightful to hear in a live environment, with the members recreating (and taking creative chances with) their sound, right in front of you.
Besides, if it’s creativity you want, you won’t have to wait for the headliners on this bill to hear it. The two openers on this bill are both talented and well-beloved here in Richmond, and frankly, I’d think the fact that Reverse Yr Curse was able to get them as openers for their record release show demonstrates that I’m far from the only Richmond music lifer who is strongly impressed by what this band brings to the table. For one thing, we’ve got Piranha Rama on the bill. This rollicking country-jazz-indie-swing-pop-rock group with over half a dozen members loves to explore the boundaries of their sound and delve into new corners of musical history, always finding interesting new ideas to incorporate into the inimitable thing that they do. As for Snack Truck, this chaotic math-core noise-rock group has a long history in which guitarist Matt Krofchek has been the only constant member. However, these days, they have come back together in their original duo form, with drummer/vocalist Nate Rappole of long-running experimental solo project Gull rounding out the lineup. Expect this duo to break out some of the best sounds of their early eras as well as some great new tunes to get this evening started on a high note. And it’ll only get better from there.
Wednesday, October 1, 7 PM
Woman Crush Wednesday, feat. Evie Gets, Sarah Dell, Emily Woodhull @ The Camel – $12 (order tickets HERE)
If you’re trying to keep up with new acts in and around Richmond that are led by women and queer/non-binary performers, you really can’t find a better way to do so than to check out Bri Bevan’s monthly Woman Crush Wednesday events at The Camel on the first Wednesday of every month. This time around, the first Wednesday is also the first of the month, so “rabbit rabbit” to you all, and wake up, wake up, wake up, because we’ve got a trio of great singer-songwriters from the region to get familiar with at The Camel tonight. Evie Gets is at the top of the bill, and her recent EP Broken Bottles, Broken Hearts shows her to be a sharp-tongued lyricist who isn’t afraid to issue profanely witty takedowns to all of her exes. She does so overtop of catchy, acoustic guitar-driven pop-rock with energy and heart. She’s young and talented, so be prepared for Evie Gets — and jump on the bandwagon now by coming out to the Camel tonight.
The evening will bring you two more talented songwriters as well, beginning with Sarah Dell, whose debut EP from earlier this year bears the brilliant title It’s Not About You. How many times have I wanted to say that to somebody? Yeesh. Anyway, Sarah Dell’s music has some things in common with Evie Gets, but there’s definitely a stronger folk edge to her tunes, and she has more of a heartfelt yearning approach to lyrics than the sharp rebukes Evie Gets often delivers. These tunes are going to get you in your feelings, in the best possible way. Emily Woodhull rounds out the bill with some fun tunes that are rooted in local cultural traditions and have a decided country-bluegrass twang. Of all the artists on this bill, she’s definitely the one who will get the party started. I can’t promise Long Tall Sally will be there, but regardless, come to the Camel ready to have some fun tonight.
Thursday, October 2, 9 PM
Lothario, Strawberry Moon, VV, Ultra Bleach @ Fuzzy Cactus – $12
There was a time when you could definitely tell the difference between bands that were channeling classic 60s-era garage punk noise and bands that were pulling from 80s postpunk clatter. Somewhere along the way, though, the lines started blurring. You can see it in the later work of the late great Jay Reatard, and hear it more clearly in some of the recent bands who have been categorized as “egg punk” once a silly meme started getting taken a wee bit too seriously. Australian punk project Lothario has it too — that strange mix of blown-out programmed drums, noisy distorted guitars, and herky-jerky riffing that feels sort of like The Fall and The Sonics and Lost Sounds and The Detroit Cobras all at once. It also has a snotty, in-your-face energy that could easily be coded as annoying street-corner punks spitting on the sidewalk if it weren’t coming from a snarling yet obviously talented young woman named Annaliese Redlich. Lothario is her band, and at least on record, she plays everything and records it at home to get that perfect overdriven tone that scorches your ears in the best possible way.
Now, how will that translate when she arrives on America’s shores to blow us all away? I’m not exactly sure. She could be bringing a live band or just her guitar and her drum machine — I have no advance info. But either way, there’s a strong, furious energy to Lothario’s music, and it’ll hit you right in the face regardless of delivery methods. Lothario will be joined on this bill by three excellent local bands as well. The first of these is Strawberry Moon, whose anthemic punk sound has only gotten more delightful as their rock n’ roll momentum has picked up over the past few years. Their latest EP, the borderline self-titled Smoon, shows them scaling new heights of epic punk awesomeness, and I only expect them to up the ante on the next record. Catch the Smoon wave at this gig. Local garage-rock maniacs Ultra Bleach released their self-titled debut full-length only a few weeks ago, and they’ll be riding high on a ton of raw, punchy rock n’ roll energy at this show. Get caught up in it. And of course Richmond postpunk noise-blasters VV will be on hand to hit us all with their scathing anthems of chaos, like Royal Trux bashing out Coachwhips and Captain Beefheart covers. I gotta ask — what part of that does NOT sound fun?
Friday, October 3, 9 PM
Erin & The Wildfire, Sir Rome @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The Camel have been doing their monthly First Friday residencies for a few years now, and it has been interesting to see the different ways each band who has been picked for one has handled the need to plan for a different show in the same venue once a month for a year. Erin & The Wildfire have taken the most fun-loving approach to it that I’ve seen thus far, in that they’ve repeatedly come up with weird theme ideas for shows, just to make sure people don’t get 12 different versions of the same set list over the course of the year. So far this year, they’ve played a show featuring horn arrangements of their normally brass-less live favorites, as well as doing a set where they let people sign up to sing karaoke tunes with them, a set loaded with covers of tunes by famous women in pop music, and quite a few other creative ways to shake up the monopoly and make sure people attending these residency shows get something totally different every month. And you’ve really gotta respect that — after all, it’s a heck of a lot more work than what a lot of other bands would do in this situation.
This month, they’re still bringing out creative new ways to keep it interesting; the idea this time around is to have a “set roulette” wheel with Erin & The Wildfire songs arranged all around it. Audience members will give the wheel a spin, and the band will play whatever song it lands on. Of course, this can be rigged to some extent — you can’t end up playing a song you dread if you never put it on the wheel — but the order they go in might get really wonky and off-kilter. As fans, though, we really can’t miss — every Erin & The Wildfire record is better than the one before, and that trend has definitely continued with the bouncy indie-infused electro-pop of recently released mini-LP Sway. If you haven’t heard it, you’ll definitely want to come out and get the first taste of its tunes in the live environment. And if you have heard it, well, you know this is going to be an incredible show. So regardless of where you stand on this issue, you should definitely head to The Camel this Friday night. And get there early, because VA-based rapper Sir Rome will be getting the evening started with a set full of braggadocious swagger and intense flow over pounding, hypnotic beats. This one will have you on the edge of your seat. Unless you’re up and dancing, of course. That’s always the preferred course of action.
Saturday, October 4, 7 PM
Knifing Around, eX-Tradition, Serqet @ Cobra Cabana – $10
Saturday night at Cobra Cabana is always a delightful time, and this weekend will be no exception. Indeed, saying so constitutes selling this evening short. While Knifing Around are technically the headliners for this gig, let’s start out our cataloging of the delights on offer this Saturday night by talking about the one band on this bill that isn’t from Richmond and the one band that’s most likely to be new to all of our readers. I’m referring, of course, to eX-Tradition, a quartet featuring former members of Haldol and The Ire who have taken things a slight distance away from their punk roots and into a decidedly more postpunk vein. While some moments on eX-Tradition’s brand new album, Apocalyptic Silver, find them overdriving their guitars and cranking the tempos into territory that’s clearly been mapped in the early 80s by such postpunk-influenced crust bands as The Mob and Zounds, at other times they land much closer to the early 80s work of the Cure circa Faith, or early albums by The Sound or The Chameleons.
The resulting mix of dark gothic melody and moody crust postpunk vibes makes eX-Tradition a highly intriguing listen, one that will surely impress listeners to an even greater degree when they come to see this Philadelphia ensemble live at Cobra Cabana this Saturday night. Once your belly is full of a delicious Snake Plissken burger, you’re free to dance the night away on the Cobra Cabana patio to eX-Tradition… and to the two great Richmond-based bands who are playing this one. Knifing Around, whose name may be a Space Ghost reference but are for some reason making me think of a Bobby Brown song today, are really good at cranking out the kind of hard-edged disco-laced funk-punk that groups like Talking Heads and James Chance and the Contortions were geniuses at back in the 80s and was brought forward into the 21st century by The Rapture, !!!, and Out Hud, among others. Knifing Around are able torchbearers for this sound, as demonstrated on their 2024 EP All Across the Nation — a true collection of fun tunes to dance to. The evening will be bookended by a set from Serqet, an incredibly talented if less than prolific group whose mix of gothic and crust-punk elements finds them channeling the best work of groups like Amebix and Submission Hold into beautiful, downcast melodic epics. This entire evening will be delightful, especially for those among you who are prone to wearing thick black eyeliner (admit it, we’ve all had that phase at one time or another).
Sunday, October 5, 7 PM
Mentallo & The Fixer, Pygmy Children, Prisoner, Acheleg @ Fallout – $25 in advance, $30 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Fallout gets a lot of hype locally for being the fetish club that reminds everyone of old-school goth dance nights back in the 90s, but with a side order of open fetish freakiness. And that kind of thing is great (if you’ve check out my most recent fictional efforts, you know I’m all about freakiness). But as a music fan and an appreciator of all sorts of subcultures, what I find most valuable about Fallout is the way that it gives all the goth fans and industrial rivetheads a place to go where they know their kind of music is respected and given the hype it truly deserves. And while Fallout doesn’t do live shows all that often, when they do, it’s often to give music and musicians within that sphere some much-deserved spotlighting. Which is exactly what they’re doing by hosting the Richmond stop of Mentallo & The Fixer’s reunion tour.
Mentallo & The Fixer began back in the late 80s as a collaboration between two brothers, Gary (Mentallo) and Dwayne (The Fixer) Dassing. The two of them worked together creating a groundbreaking psychedelic industrial sound that incorporated multilayered samples and woozy electronic melodies, pushing the sort of sound that Skinny Puppy made their stock in trade into much stranger and darker corners. At one point, Dwayne Dassing exited the group, and Gary carried on by himself for another 15 or so years. The group has been mostly dormant for the past decade or so, although work on new studio efforts has occasionally taken place. But now, Gary and Dwayne have reunited as the original duo version of Mentallo & The Fixer, and the tour they’re on constitutes the first shows the group has played in nearly two decades. Big news for industrial fans who love to stomp around in Doc Martens as a pounding beat churns beneath thick layers of psychedelic noise and screaming. If you ask me, that sounds like a pretty amazing time, and I highly recommend you join in and take part. Mentallo & The Fixer are joined on this date by Baltimore duo Pygmy Children, who are also made up of two brothers, though these folks diverge from the Dassing brothers’ psychedelic instincts in order to focus on pounding beats and dark synth hums. Two Richmond-based acts, industrial metallic hardcore ragers Prisoner and mysterious noise manipulator Acheleg, will get this one started. Be there.
Monday, October 6, 7 PM
Dark Waters, Tarbox, Dogs Run Free, Love Roses @ Bandito’s – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Always glad to see Rival Booking’s name at the top of a flyer; that’s become a real symbol of quality for me over the past year or so. This time around, though, we’re getting something a bit different; instead of super-heavy metal or metallic hardcore, a show full of post-hardcore bands with chugging guitars and heavy rhythms, mixing melody with intense emotional crunch and moving you with their words and their tunes. I admit I’m a sucker for this sort of thing, but you definitely make me even more likely to be stoked about a show like this when you put Dark Waters at the top of the bill. Featuring some local scene veterans who’ve been playing emotional hardcore, poppy punk, and everything inbetween for over two decades now, this band is extremely skilled at creating melodic anthems that retain a core of both emotional and musical heaviness. Their music will definitely move you.
Dark Waters are joined on this bill by two touring acts who also have real potential to move both your heart and your body (i.e. you won’t be able to keep still while you listen to them). The first of these is Tarbox, who hail from Montreal, and have a slightly harder and less melodic sound than that of Dark Waters. Indeed, they do some real screaming in frustration on their latest album, Blood And Water, which captures some of that same crawling-out-of-your-skin urgency I have previously heard on albums like Collision Blonde by Xerxes and Manic Compression by Quicksand. These folks are more than ready to rock you like crazy, and Cleveland band Dogs Run Free, which is the other of the two touring bands on this bill, is much the same way. This group doesn’t have a full-length out yet, but a quick perusal of their recent singles finds them in an urgent frame of mind and a fuzzed-out guitar vibe, one that will definitely wear well over the course of a full set. Richmonders Love Roses will get this evening started with their well-established fast punk rage and riffage, just to make sure everyone gets their blood flowing immediately.
Tuesday, October 7, 6 PM
Haywire, Naysayer, Cloakroom, Jivebomb, Destiny Bond, Stockpile, Paper Trail @ The Canal Club – $1o (order tickets HERE)
I’m not sure how many bands have to be playing a hardcore show before we’d call it a one-day festival, but this jam-packed Canal Club shindig is certainly approaching the line. As it is, though, the plan is for the bands to have a backline set up throughout, and for the between-set band transitions to be kept to an absolute minimum, so this will be a jam-packed show that shouldn’t last all that much longer than any typical hardcore show lasts. And you definitely wouldn’t want any of these bands pulled off the lineup to make the whole thing run shorter or more smoothly either. The headliners, Haywire (aka Haywire 617) have some of the biggest buzz in the hardcore scene right now, and it only takes one listen to their anthemic yet heavy and driving sound to realize exactly why. Their songs make you want to dance, sing along, and punch the walls in furious joy, all at the same time. Most of the hardcore kids in this town probably already know exactly what I’m talking about, so if you’re still in the dark, you better grab a ticket to this show, and do it quick.
There are a lot of other amazing bands on this bill as well, and all of them are essential. There’s Richmond’s own Naysayer, who deprived us all of their brutal, belligerent form of heavy hardcore for nearly a decade after 2016’s Nation Of Greed EP before finally returning to action earlier this year with their new Rage Dreams EP. That record shows no drop in talent and if anything an escalation in fury, so expect Naysayer to crush it completely at this show. Cloakroom’s sound has always somewhat defied description, and this band’s unusual mix of bright punk melodies, fuzzy shoegaze, and twangy country influences will definitely act as a palate cleanser in the midst of all of this heavy hardcore. Jivebomb will bring us right back to the heavy, scathing hardcore fury in the most delightful of manners. Colorado band Destiny Bond have a more rockin’ take on hardcore, which is infused with a punked-out swagger that makes their sound truly fun and enjoyable. Richmonders Stockpile bash out no-frills hardcore with the pedal to the metal, while long-running Virginia Beach band Paper Trail bashes out some rough-as-hell metallic hardcore with definite beatdown vibes. Never let it be said that a hardcore show will leave you wanting — this one gives you everything you could possibly desire and more. And for 10 bucks! Your choice is clear. Go to this show.
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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