RVA Shows You Must See This Week: September 3 – September 9
FEATURED SHOW
Friday, September 5, 5 PM
Hello, My Name Is… Opening Night, feat. Solace Sovay, DuctTape Jesus, Snack Truck, Dropheads @ Gallery 5 – Free!
Long before anyone was talking about the possibility of a Richmond Arts District, Gallery 5 was already in place, bringing art and music to the masses from the corner of Marshall and Brook. Since 2005, it has been an art gallery for the rest of us, a place run by and for the local art and music community that brings local work by local artists to the city as a whole — and beyond. In a city that’s been rapidly gentrifying for so long that we’re all numb to it, it’s been nice to be able to count on Gallery 5 as a place that can keep the spirit of artistic Richmond alive. Of course, their ability to continue in that role relies on crucial support from the community. And one of the best ways to support Gallery 5 is to keep showing up every month, keep appreciating the unique, street-level artistic offerings they bring to us — and keep rocking out to the bands that grace their stage, week after week, month after month, year after year.
This month, Gallery 5’s First Friday offering is the opening night of their latest show, “Hello My Name Is…,” which brings the DIY art form of stickers into the spotlight. Featuring sticker art from over 250 different artists from locally as well as around the world, “Hello My Name Is…” will present a cornucopia of diverse works to everyone who wanders through the gallery this Friday night — most of which I would expect to be rather small, and to require close examination. Once you’ve been through the gallery and seen all the sticker art on display, though, there’s still plenty more to do on this fine evening. For one thing, there’ll be over 40 artisans surrounding the gallery as part of a three-block open air market presented by Richmond Moon Market. For another, “Hello My Name Is…” curator and Little Giant Society founder Ian C. Hess will be on hand with the Sticker Bus, a bus the Little Giant Society intends to cover entirely in stickers as an enormous community art project. They still need more stickers to cover the whole thing — learn details this Friday night if you’re interested in contributing!
And of course, OF COURSE, there’ll be musical performances from a quartet of excellent local artists, all of whom bring different sounds and styles to the table. This will be an eclectic night, and the music will have a prominent role in making it that way. At the top of the bill are veteran indie/shoegaze rockers Solace Sovay, who’ve been intermittently active over the last few years but have put together a lot of new material for the long awaited follow-up to their 2016 debut full-length. Expect some new tunes and some beloved classics from these folks. As for Snack Truck, this long-running noise-core project went on hiatus over a decade ago, but has returned to action in the last couple of years, stripped back to its original two-piece lineup and ready to melt faces with their always-awesome riff chaos. DuctTape Jesus has carved out a strong lane in the Richmond hip hop scene with a distinctive, intriguing sound marked by unique flow and inventive musical approach. And Dropheads’ laid-back take on twangy rock n’ roll riffage is always a fun listen. It all adds up to a festival for the senses — one you should certainly take part in, especially since admission is free! Support Gallery 5, support local art, and keep the heart in the Richmond Arts District. It’s the right thing to do.
Wednesday, September 3, 7 PM
Ghoul, Spiter, No/Mas, Vigil @ Cobra Cabana – $20 (order tickets HERE)
Cobra Cabana don’t only do metal shows, by any means. However, it’s clear that metal, as a genre, is the Snake Lair’s wheelhouse (if I can mix metaphors to the point of absurdity for a quick second), so of course that means this bill packed full of brutal, blazing death/thrash metal will be right at home when it takes place at Cobra Cabana tonight. All the really serious metalheads are sure to be there, too, because Ghoul is headlining this absolute rager of a gig. Ghoul are a long-running Northern California death metal band whose members go by names like Digestor, Dissector, and Cremator. Their lineup features former members of groups like Exhumed, Impaled, and Population Reduction, so you know these aren’t just any old weirdos in masks. And if you didn’t know, you’d be able to tell as soon as they start playing. Ghoul expertly combines the brutal themes of the subgenre known as gore metal with goodtime thrash chaos a la Municipal Waste and some classic death metal pounding. It all adds up to a surefire formula for headbanging nirvana.
Last year, Ghoul released the Noxious Concoctions EP, the first new studio release from the band since 2016’s Dungeon Bastards, and it shows that this band remains more than capable of starting up a downright dangerous mosh pit with their thunderous riffage. Get ready to destroy. And show up on time, because the openers all have plenty of powerful destructive musical energy to lay down as well. Philadelphia’s Spiter will envelop the entire place in a spectral horror-film atmosphere, bashing out spooky thrash like the Misfits if they were possessed by Morbid Angel. DC band No/Mas, who are regular visitors to our fair city, have a sound that hovers somewhere in the area where hardcore, metal, and grind all come together, and is all the heavier and more pummeling for it. And of course, Richmond’s own Vigil just bring a heavy wall of classic thrash riffs to get the whole thing started up in proper fashion. Come to this one prepared for plenty of headbanging, moshing, and overall chaos.
Thursday, September 4, 7 PM
Dawn Of Ouroboros, Exist, Prisoner, Future Mantis @ Bandito’s – $18.35 (order tickets HERE)
Back to Bandito’s once again, this time for a second night in a row of wonderful amazing metal rage. Dawn Of Ouroboros are pretty far from Ghoul, despite the fact that both are from the same Northern California city (Oakland) and draw from a similar foundation in death metal. Where Ghoul charges towards extremes of chaotic thrash wildness, Dawn Of Ouroboros builds up a complex technical framework for their riffs, then precisely execute them in a fascinating manner that remains unpredictable while always retaining a core of melody and beauty that makes the whole thing strangely beautiful even at its harshest moments. Vocalist Chelsea Murphy is capable of singing ever so sweetly and cleanly overtop of the music’s quietest moments, which touch on Alcest-style atmospheric metal, before turning on a dime to scream, growl, and roar with every bit of the fearsome, tightly constructed brutality on display at this band’s heaviest moments. On their latest album, Bioluminescence, the interplay between Murphy and lead guitarist Tony Thomas creates a study in contrasts between moment to moment, song to song — sometimes even within the same song.
In a metal scene that can sometimes feel a tad predictable, Dawn Of Ouroboros stand out as a breath of fresh air — a band able to do technical precision without losing heart, brutal raging without losing melody, quiet moments without dulling out their loud ones. This band’s performance at Bandito’s this Thursday night will no doubt win over a lot of new fans… that is, if they can make their way past the diehards this band’s approach surely deserves to cultivate. Dawn Of Ouroboros are joined on this show by fellow touring metal act Exist, who hail from Baltimore and manage a similar feat of combining progressive melody and technical death riffage. Their latest LP, Hijacking The Zeitgeist, cranks up the heavy end of things slightly more than on past efforts, but regardless of where they are on the heavy-to-proggy spectrum at any given moment, you can expect this band to hit the spot. Featuring members of Cynic, Obscura, and Alluvial, among others, this is an ensemble of world-class talents, and they’re sure to rise to the equation. Richmond industrial-noise-metal veterans Prisoner will offer the kind of support that’s worth showing up early for, while the bass-and-drums heaviness of Future Mantis will offer a sound that is, if not straightforwardly metal, heavy and dark in an emotional manner, and infused with atmosphere and mood. Expect some real magic from this one.
Friday, September 5, 7 PM
Honey Radar, Ultra Lights, Added Dimensions @ Cobra Cabana – $12
At the dawn of the 1990s, a burgeoning movement within the independent rock underground was given the tag of “lo-fi.” This isn’t that stuff people put on to study to today — it was a sound created by musicians with primitive recording equipment, who would play whatever instruments they had at hand and capture their minimalist pop music on recordings that might sound gritty, noisy, or hard to hear, but also added an undeniable frisson to their recordings. Some of the most famous artists to come out of this movement include Daniel Johnston, The Mountain Goats, and Sebadoh, but you can’t talk about the most prolific and influential of the 90s lo-fi bands without talking about Guided By Voices. That band’s abbreviated, noisy pop songs were full of killer hooks that both harked back to the classic pop-rock era of the 60s and stood at the forefront of the indie genre at the time. And they cranked out record after record, sometimes releasing one or two LPs in a single year even as they churned out EPs on smaller labels at an even higher rate.
I mention all this in the writeup of a show GBV aren’t playing because I want to give you context for the following assertion: Honey Radar are the 21st century Guided By Voices. Like GBV leader and only constant member Robert Pollard, Honey Radar leader/only constant member Jason Henn has a gift for concise, powerful hooks, which he delivers through rough-and-ready recording methods that are generally labeled “bedroom pop” today. You can hear some of the classic 60s post-British Invasion influences coming through in his music, as well as plenty of elements from that original wave of lo-fi bands, and all of it sounds amazing. There’s a ton of Honey Radar material to listen to, as well — like GBV before them, Honey Radar are always putting out a new EP on one label or another, all of them crammed full of killer tunes with incredibly catchy choruses, delivered in Henn’s soft, plaintive vocal style. I’m not exactly sure what form the band will take when they reach Cobra Cabana this Friday night, but regardless, you can expect to hear plenty of amazingly catchy indie-pop tunes, all of which have the ability to sink into your brain and not leave for a week or more. Atlanta quartet Ultra Lights (who, like Honey Radar, have released multiple EPs with Chunklet Industries) will arrive along with Honey Radar, dispensing a fair bit of their own lo-fi indie pop genius as part of their sure-to-be-brilliant set. Richmond’s own Added Dimensions, who have an energetic postpunk pop sound all their own, will kick this one off. Come to this show and see one of our generation’s best bands in a delightfully intimate setting. You’ll be glad you did.
Saturday, September 6, 7 PM
Scoby, Fifth Floor, Railgun, False Cape, Rugbie @ Gallery 5 – $14.64 (order tickets HERE)
A lot of times, when I write about touring bands coming through town, I’m talking about well-established groups with significant history within their chosen genre. But for every show like that that comes to Richmond, there are at least half a dozen shows featuring touring bands that aren’t that well-known outside their hometowns yet. They’re coming into Richmond expecting not a huge crowd but an opportunity to play for some fans of similar bands around here, and maybe make some new fans of their own. These kinds of shows can be a bit harder to learn more about, and to pay attention to, but they’re always worth looking for, because the bands that’ll be huge in five to ten years are all slogging it out at small shows with local bands. If you keep your eyes peeled, you can catch them early, and be able to tell everyone in ten years that you saw them when they were still playing small gigs in local art galleries.
Scoby and Fifth Floor, the two relatively unknown North Carolina-based touring bands coming to town to play for us all at Gallery 5 this Saturday night, show significant potential to be those exact types of bands — the ones everyone will freak out about in a decade or so. Scoby, who play indie tunes and mix in some synth-driven elements that feel almost European in nature, are touring behind their debut LP, The Perfect Pleasure. The catchy, cool vibes that permeate this album are sure to enliven the atmosphere this Saturday night at Gallery 5 with an almost movie-like quality of intrigue. Their tourmates, Fifth Floor, are a more straightforward alternative rock band with some catchy guitar riffs, and are touring behind their debut LP, I Put Everything Into This — which, at the moment, isn’t even out yet (though it will be by the time this show takes place). Expect these folks to win everyone over with catchy, chunky guitar riffs and delightfully bouncy choruses. Virginia Beach melodic punkers False Cape aren’t exactly on tour, but they’re from a little ways out of town, and they’ll add their own upbeat, crunchy bounce to this show, complete with a fun-loving element of irreverence exemplified by the name of their recently released debut LP, Tears On My Blunt Vol. X. Emotional rockers Rugbie and energetic punks Railgun, both from Richmond, round out this excellent bill. Get in on the ground floor for this one.
Sunday, September 7, 7 PM
DRI (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), Paralysis, Fit Check, Discipline @ Cobra Cabana – $18 in advance, $20 at door (order tickets HERE)
DRI have one heck of a history. Emerging from the Texas scene in the early days of hardcore, they blasted out a sound that was even faster and more unhinged than previous high-speed hardcore bands had been, debatably inventing the blast beat and cramming 22 songs onto their first 7 inch, before eventually slowing down to a comprehensible high-speed roar and becoming one of the bands that invented the hardcore-metal hybrid known as crossover (which was actually named after DRI’s 1987 third LP). Singer Kurt Brecht’s verbose, politically informed lyrics and double-time delivery were an influence on many, including Municipal Waste’s Tony Foresta, and there are still obvious touchstones drawn from their influence that show up in the most modern fast hardcore. This remains true despite the fact that the group, whose full name is Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, have only released three new songs in the past three decades. Their body of work is just that strong — as you’ll see if you head out to catch them at Cobra Cabana this Sunday night.
Don’t worry — the fact that DRI have only managed one EP since their seventh album, 1995’s Full Speed Ahead, doesn’t mean they’re out of practice, or that this show will be a coming together of old people whose best years are far behind them. DRI have remained an active touring unit the entire time, so they’ll kick your butt like madmen just like they would have 30 or 40 years ago. There are always rumors floating around that they’re working on a new record, too, so who knows? They might even have some new material — though let’s be real, no one would complain if we got a full set of classics like “Couch Slouch,” “Five Year Plan,” and “Thrashard.” Those songs are immortal for a reason. Scathing New Jersey thrash heroes Paralysis are on tour with DRI and will also be gracing Richmond with some properly ripping blasts of classic metal power. Local hardcore ensemble Fit Check will also be on the bill, which will act as a somewhat unofficial release celebration for their new self-titled EP, which enters the world two days before this show takes place. Expect a lot of high-energy breakdowns and gnarly hardcore mayhem. Discipline are another local hardcore band of a more old-school persuasion, sure to please the Negative Approach fans out there (so, like, everybody? Right, yes, everybody). Come prepared to wrap up your weekend with some serious musical insanity.
Monday, September 8, 7:30 PM
Out Of Your Head Records presents Second Mondays, feat. Laura Ann Singh’s Fracas Quintet, Scotty Pippin (Scott Clark & Pippin Barnett) @ Artspace – $10 suggested donation
You know, I might someday stop sending you to every single one of these Out Of Your Head Records monthly Monday gigs at Artspace, but as long as they keep bringing us cool and unique bills month after month after month, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. What’s really remarkable about how interesting and cool these bills are month after month is how often the performances involve many of the same people who have performed at previous Second Mondays. That’s certainly true this time: we’ve definitely seen vocalist Laura Ann Singh on a variety of Second Mondays bills with a variety of ensembles. However, this time around she’s leading a new group: Laura Ann Singh’s Fracas Quintet, the band that recorded her upcoming solo LP, Mean Reds, which will release in October on Out Of Your Head Records. Along with Singh on vocals and the easily-predicted rhythm section of bassist Adam Hopkins and drummer Scott Clark (aka the guys who run the OOYH label), the quintet also features John Lilley (Glows In The Dark) on saxophone and Bob Miller (Bio Ritmo) on trumpet. The term “mean reds” comes from Breakfast At Tiffany’s, and describes angst and anxiety over some sort of undefined impending doom. Singh’s Fracas Quintet evokes exactly that on the album’s title track, currently available as a preview of the full album on Bandcamp; it slinks along, stalking the listener with a furious intensity, rhythm section speeding up even as Singh’s vocal delivery remains agonizingly slow. Fans of Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson might find something to latch onto here, as well lovers of unusual jazz balladry and some of Tom Waits’s spookier stuff.
As far as I know, this will be the first time Laura Ann Singh’s Fracas Quintet has played live, so it will be a real treat to get an in-person preview of this fascinating new work that’ll be coming to us all in six weeks or so. As for the other band on the bill, Scotty Pippin (I see what you guys did there), I don’t know of it having performed live anywhere else before either. This is yet another amazing aspect of Second Mondays — many times, you get to see artists you can’t see anywhere else, at any other time. The dual-percussion duo of Scott Clark (you know who he is) and Pippin Barnett (Zarove) is sure to get into some intriguing rhythms and fascinating musical explorations. What they’ll be able to do with strictly percussive instruments, I’m not sure, but I’m eager to find out, and I’m sure all the jazz and avant-garde music heads in this city will be delighted at what these artists have in store for us as well. Make sure you head out to Artspace on the southside this Monday night — these shows don’t happen that often, and there’s nothing else like them to be found in this city. You need to be there.
Tuesday, September 9, 7 PM
The Green Hearts, Fuzzy Prophet, Sister Planet @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
I have often noted my delight at The Camel’s commitment to hosting live musical events every night of the week, even on nights where there’s a decent chance they’ll be the only club in town that has a show happening. We need clutch venues in this city, utility players that ensure everyone has somewhere to play, and everyone has a place to see a show, even on one of the slowest nights of the week. The Camel’s definitely coming through for us on this slow Tuesday night — this three-band gig is about as cheap as non-free shows come in this day and age, and it’s got a trio of killer bands whose sounds are simpatico with one another, and a delight to all listeners.
The headliners for this gig are The Green Hearts, a Richmond power-pop combo who’ve been playing their Nerves/Only Ones-style tunes around the city for a while now. They don’t have a ton of material out there, but all of it is a delight, upbeat and bouncy, full of spirit and flair. People who like those late 70s bands who played guitars and kept the tunes quick and short, but were just the same not quite punk, will delight in what The Green Hearts are bringing to the table. Fellow Richmonders Fuzzy Prophet bring a similar sort of sound to the table, though they inject a bit more postpunk guitar crunch and nervy, driving rhythm into their sound. Our final Richmond band of the evening, Sister Planet, have a slightly more laid-back and atmospheric approach, but are still firmly in the alternative rock ballpark, complete with some jangly guitar melodies. If you like one of these bands, you’ll like them all — and if you like catchy, poppy rock n’ roll, you’ll definitely like at least one of them.
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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