FEATURE SHOW
Thursday, May 23, 8 p.m.
of Montreal, Wild Moccasins @ Canal Club - $15/All Ages
I do love Athens, Gee Aye. This town full of dawgs has given us R.E.M, B-52’s, Lets Active, Widespread Panic, Herschel Walker and of Montreal. The latter is an extraordinary dance pop band that can get a bit off course and go experimental. I like it. The Canal club will be electric - full of dancing, and don’t forget wine, women and song. Oh hell yes, the band that technically could be "of Athens" is a force beyond curling. Funk and glam combined equals crazy delicious. Red vines? Screw it, I want me some of Montreal. Of Montreal will be performing all their standards as well as new tracks from the upcoming LP Lousy with Sylvianbriar. So, if you’re looking for stylish fun and then some more fun after that, you have to bring the dancing shoes down by the Kanawha Canal, and get loose.
Wild Moccasins, out of Houston, would be worth this stellar evening on their own. This band continues to sell me, as it should you, with their lively sound and fabulous live performances. This is going to be a night of miracles. I can feel it!
Wednesday, May 22, 10 p.m.
Pissheads (Photo by Sarja Hassan), Asile, Prisoner @ Strange Matter - $6/18+
Hardcore boot punk, with a taste of the street, is really happening tonight. The crustiness of Richmond’s Pissheads leads the charge. Not only are Pissheads incredible, but they are a super-group of sorts, kind of like the 80s band Asia. Comprised of current and ex members of punk royalty here in Richmond such as Aghast, Parasytic, Cervix, and Lost Tribe, Pissheads is violence on top of violence. After their set, you’ll have to consider just what is going on in the subconscious. My guess here is that you will want to knock over shit and run through walls. Let me join you. Society is over, and Pissheads prove it.
Asile brings the d-beat from Ottawa. My guess is the ‘d’ stands for “Dirty Sanchez.” Ha, no, really its discore or discrust. This band is brutality. You know, like a soccer mom who has lost her way. Lending support to this beehive of activity will be those Richmond d-beat goons, Prisoner. Looks like the warden released these freaks for only a short leave, but still long enough so they can blow our ugly mugs off.
Friday, May 24, 10 p.m.
Strike the Chord and Burn, Channel 43, The Gospel @ The Nile - $5/21+
You want wild with your heavy metal rock and roll, well, step into the Nile tonight. Richmond metal arsonists, Strike the Chord and Burn is ready to set the power in motion. Channel 43--good to see these guys back--have been doing it for years. The “it” is some of the best metal/hard rock this side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These guys drink, fight and fuck the absolute joy out of you. Opening this loud rooster will be Richmond’s the Gospel.
Friday, May 24, 9 p.m.
Brickwall Jackson, Deep Vinyl Groove @ Canal Club - $10/18+
Glory hallelujah, real country from the roots of the barn is here for all of us to swing our partners to. Brickwall Jackson is a revival of no nonsense country music like the kind grandma, grandpa and your drunken uncle used to play--for it is bourbon-swilling music. Brickwall Jackson is playing in support, of a dandy of an album, Just Life. It’s the kind of album that makes it well worth getting down to the Bottom, finding parking, and taking it in live. Is there a better country vocalist in Central Virginia than Brickwall Jackson’s Melissa Boland? No, there is not.
Deep Vinyl Groove is not a record store here in the city, but a darn good classic rock band that will bring back the sounds of the seventies. Deep Vinyl Groove is highly recommended for seeing live, as well as listening to in your van.
Saturday, May 25, 10 p.m.
RPG @ Balliceaux - $5/21+
Performing on the heels of their spectacular third LP, High Loathsome, along with the beyond-sensational video for the track “Insult and Allure,” RPG is on Lombardy St tonight. And they plan to make not only their fans, Balliceaux, and Lombardy St. their bitch, but also the entire Fan District. Wear something flame-retardant because the house will be on fire due to a severe amount of electricity. Plus, the music will usurp your soul. RPG is fury, RPG is badass, RPG for the most part is a God-like penetration to the maximum rock and roll you think you’ve heard, but haven’t. RPG is a Richmond Hall of Famer that can still strap them on and perform in high quality, not to mention velocity. If you enjoy the true spirited straight ahead rock and roll that tastes like a perfect peach, then run--I mean knock over children and elderly people on the way if you have to--to witness a hair-raising force that will have you levitated for days. Your ears need this juice, people, so don’t you dare miss the miracle that is RPG.
Saturday, May 25, 10 p.m.
Seap One (Daniel Davidson) Memorial Show featuring Gritty City Records, Joe Threat, Johnny Ciggs, Delta Automatik, Pandemic, Sirus the Virus, Skeeky Watahfawls @ Emilio’s in the Fan - $5-$10 suggested donation/21+
The Richmond music community has lost another talent. Seap One (Daniel Davidson) of the local hip hop group Gritty City Records passed away the weekend before last. This unfortunate passing of the beloved emcee/artist occurred just a couple of weeks prior to the releasing of his debut album, The Sickness of Seap. I never had the chance to meet Seap One personally, but was aware of Gritty City Records, and really like what I hear out of those guys, as well as their great videos. I’m sure the rest of the Richmond music community will join me in expressing our condolences to Seap’s group, Gritty City Records, as well as his friends and family.
Tonight will be a memorial show for Daniel Davidson. The monthly hip hop showcase on the last Saturday of the month at Emilio’s will be dedicated to Seap One. The lineup performing will be DJ Billy When, emcees Checkbook, Vreme, and Devious Kanevil, and of course Gritty Gritty City Records, which features emcees Johnny Ciggs, Delta Automatik Pandemic, Sirus the Virus, Skeeky Watahfawls, Joe Threat, and Fan Ran. Copies of Seap One’s debut album will be handed out and donations will be taken from those who would like to lend a hand to Daniel’s family in these difficult times. Everyone in Richmond should be here tonight.
Sunday, May 26, 7 p.m.
James McCartney, Goldrush, Risa Binder @ The Camel - $15/All Ages
Paul McCartney had a son? Who knew? Well the ‘ole bloke is in town, and he has his own musical endeavors. Hey, this isn’t a Julian Lennon fiasco either, James McCartney can sing. He is a traditional style singer that will have you foot stomping for more of that English folk music we all need in our lives. He is a solid singer-songwriter solo or with a band. Touring in support of his new LP Me, James McCartney is worth a Sunday night excursion to that oasis under that independent radio station. Touring with James McCartney is the lovely singer-songwriter, Risa Binder. Apparently she performed recently on one of those morning shows where the hosts are stuck in a constant state of irritability. Richmond support is brought to you by the indie folk band Goldrush. This Goldrush is not to be confused with the four other bands and one DJ--not to mention those hot ass dancers at VCU games--which go by the same name.
Sunday, May 26, 10 p.m.
Vinyl Conflict Presents: Total Control, UV Race, Parquet Courts (pictured above), Dead Fame @ Strange Matter -$12/18+
Vinyl Conflict has scored big time with this showcase. These four bands are four of the best just-about-to-break into the stratosphere type bands I can think of. This is a wonderful combination of synth-punk and that glorious independent rock and roll we all know and love. Australia’s Total Control takes from influences like Wire, Joy Division, and the Buzzcocks to form a sound that is updated, yet will yield to the late 70s/early 80s. Considered one of the best postpunk bands out there, Total Control--featuring members of the garage outfit everyone should know about, Eddy Current Suppression Ring--are a can’t-miss band that demands and deserves your respect, let alone attendance. This band is heavy on the heavy with a side of spirited no-wave.
Also from Australia, UV Race, comprised of a who’s who from Melbourne’s punk scene, finally arrives in Richmond. Also featuring members of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, UV Race’s uncanny glam punk style will have you bouncing off the walls. I’ll have a Fosters please.
Would you like a cherry on the top to this already extraordinary night of music? Well, why not. The band everybody in America is talking about makes their way to Richmond. I’m talking about Brooklyn’s Parquet Courts. Their sound is flat-out addictive. To hell with meth, coke, X, or weed – somebody put in Parquet Courts' already-classic LP, Light Up Gold. This album resonates in such a powerful way to me that it’s better than that last, bottom of the stocking, gift. It’s not your ordinary stuffer. And, to think, I--and you too, dammit--get to hear it live tonight at Strange Matter.
Holy moly! It’s a damn good thing I think church is a flat out joke, because the real worshiping has just begun with Richmond’s dark wave spectaculars Dead Fame, as they open what is easily, no question about it, a Show of the Year Candidate. See you there!
Sunday, May 26, 10 p.m.
Noise Night #11 Flesh Control, R-Complex, Lugweight, Echolalia, Death Register, Ghost Keychain, DJ Girl on Girl @ The Nile– Donations/21+
Noise Nights at the Nile have become better than those Autumn/Spring formals at the Country Club of Virginia. There is absolutely no need for a corsage tonight. Just bring your ears and expect bloody murder.
Here’s the lineup that will put you in a trance and have you hating haters and loving lovers. If you haven’t heard by now, shame on you, but Flesh Control is a musical extermination of brutal noise from local hero Leo Heinzel. Then there’s R-Complex. Shit, who in Richmond doesn’t have a complex? Girls with too many tattoos or guys with stupid beards, the complexes are all here. Wait, I’m sorry, R-Complex is an assault of power electronics, more scary than a burglar in Windsor farms. Those in attendance will rejoice, I assure you of that. Lugweight is also in the house, and this member of the high rising Devil’s Hand will take you by the hand and have you feeling yet more assaulting noise that sounds like noise.
The out of town product is stronger than an ox all hopped up on pure glass. Echolalia has a niche for experimental sounds that will have us raised high. Careful, Echolalia brought a Theremin. Death Register is, oh shit, these guys mean business like an overworked pelican. I’m of course talking about Mr. Noise and Matt Matt, aka Gary Stevens and Matt Boettke. Rounding out the nightmarish flesh-smelling symphony at the Nile tonight will be the new weirdos on the scene, Ghost Keychain. And, for you folks that like girl on girl action--I know, who doesn’t--DJ Girl on Girl will be made available.
Monday, May 27, 10 p.m.
Weedeater, Cough (pictured above), Inter Arma @ Strange Matter - $10 Advance - http://weedeaterva.eventbrite.com / $12/18+
What a crazy Memorial Day this will be. With the lineup of Weedeater, Cough, and Inter Arma, get ready to lose yourself in debauchery gone ballistic. North Carolina’s THC-eating goons, Weedeater, are back in town. Dixie and the boys are ready to celebrate their high-powered sludge metal with some high-powered whiskey and green. This band alone is worth the price of admission--and your life. Bringing in the Richmond support is literally bringing the heat. The doom and psychedelic sludge of Inter Arma will be grinding out the classics as you will be sweating all over the place. And why not make this stellar evening even better? To that end, the organizers have added the one and only Cough. Yes, Cough is back from Europe and ready to remind Richmond of their dooming powers that have everyone, especially myself, bowing down to their mastery. Shit, this might be the best lineup for a Memorial Day evening I’ve ever seen. Have fun cooking out during the day, because I guarantee you it won’t get as hot around the grill as it will tonight in front of this Grace Street stage. This show is a possible sellout, so get tickets early!
Tuesday, May 28, 8 p.m.
Singer Songwriter Showcase @ The Camel– Free/All Ages
Curated by scintillating local singer-songwriter and guitarist Paul Willson, the monthly Singer Songwriter Showcase at the Camel features the best Richmond has to offer in voice and acoustics. The guitars light up like a VCU emergency phone. This night resonates with quality, in what can easily be construed as the best music you will ever hear in Richmond. These poetic sounds are stripped down, and there are no silly music subgenre names attached to it. It’s pure and it’s a dice throw that always comes up seven.
By John Lewis Morgan (onewayrichmond.com)