Oh man, remember these guys? Back in the first few years of the 2000s, it seemed like all of Richmond was in love with the emotionally-driven hardcore punk of Colorado's Planes Mistaken For Stars, who were one of the only non-RVA bands who you could guarantee that all your friends owned records by. And the love affair was mutual, with Planes giving us a shoutout on their song "End Me In Richmond," from their 2002 LP Fuck With Fire, and stopping here regularly on tours back in the day. So of course it's only natural that their current 10-date reunion tour features a show here in Richmond. Which leaves me with only one question--are you gonna be there?
You certainly should be, and I'm not just saying this out of some sense of nostalgia. Over the last week or so, I've been listening to Fuck With Fire and Up In Them Guts for the first time in years, and these albums really hold up. Planes had the perfect mix of pounding heavy midtempo hardcore (as demonstrated by their note-perfect cover of Unbroken's "Fall On Proverb" on an early mini-LP), Dillinger Four-style gruff punk energy, and Hot Water Music's tough but sensitive post-hardcore emotional openness. These ingredients add up to more than the mere sum of their parts on Planes Mistaken For Stars' albums, and you can hear that to this day when you put them on. Place that kind of raging musical inferno in the live environment, and there's no telling how crazy things will get. I'm sure some of you remember their legendary performances in town back in the day (as demonstrated in the video above), while others have only heard the legends and wished they'd had the opportunity to be there. But whether you're getting one more chance to experience a phenomenon you thought you'd never see again, or finally jumping at the chance to be there for the first time, we really can't recommend highly enough that you make it out to this show.
And if everything I just said isn't incentive enough to get you to come out, check out the rest of the show's lineup. Playing just before Planes will be DC's Regents, who feature Dave NeSmith and Drew Ringo on guitar and vocals. This two-guitar team was the key to the greatness of 90s-era Richmond bands Maximillian Colby and Sleepytime Trio, and they're backed by a powerful rhythm section consisting of Thursday bassist Lukas Previn and Frodus/Decahedron/Combat Wounded Veteran/Battery drummer Jason Hamacher--legends in their own right. Will this be amazing? I don't know how it could possibly not be. Rounding out the bill will be local emotional punk stalwarts Smoke Or Fire and up and coming young RVA punks Family Cat. It's gonna be a great night from top to bottom, and you owe it to yourself to make it out!
WHAT: Planes Mistaken For Stars Reunion Tour Hits RVA!
WHO: Planes Mistaken For Stars, Regents, Smoke Or Fire, Family Cat
WHERE: Strange Matter (929 W. Grace St.)
WHEN: Sunday, August 12, 9 PM-2 AM
ADMISSION: $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Pick up advance tickets here: pmfs.eventbrite.com
And if you want to make your night even longer and better than it already will be after checking out all of those amazing bands, come out a few hours early and catch a kickass early show! With performances by excellent new local band Springtime--who kind of give away the game by naming themselves after a Leatherface song; Harrisonburg's post-hardcore guitar-slinging wizards Equestrians; Providence, RI's Best Practices, who feature members of Weak Teeth, as well as transplanted Richmonder/former Wow Owls vocalist Jeff Byers on frontman duties; and the amazing RVA power trio Sea Of Storms, featuring 3 former members of Mouthbreather mixing a more emotional flavor into their driving post-hardcore rock n' roll; this matinee show is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and get you into the perfect mood to see Planes Mistaken For Stars tear down the house later that very evening. So show up early, grab some dinner from the excellent Strange Matter menu, throw a few bucks in the donation cup, and catch eight great bands for the price of four! You won't regret it.
