FEATURE SHOW
Saturday, July 13, 9 p.m.
Hockey, SWIMM, Saint Motel @ Strange Matter - $15/18+
Hockey makes its way to Richmond with their spirited dance indie punk on the rock side that will lead us back to the age of enlightenment. Strap on your skates, music fans of Richmond--you’re going in. Hockey has been doing it for 11 years and, I feel that the band is quite underappreciated. These guys are the party, so let them embrace you. Sophistication is overrated; it’s time to get low down and dirty. Enter constant sweating here.
SWIMM is a beautiful stroke of a band from Florida. From the great minds of Chris Hess & Adam Winn, SWIMM just might avoid the shallow end and take over the deep end by stealing the show. Not only will this band win you over, they're already a constant on Michael Phelps’ iPod.
Then there’s a great rate for your most comfortable stay. Yes, the mints are on the pillows, and there’s free HBO with Saint Motel. Saint Motel is a delirious indie band that travels with every breath. This four piece band just might steal the show as well. I can’t believe this centripetal force of a lineup is in Richmond tonight. Don’t you dare miss it! I’ll see you there.
Wednesday, July 10, 7 p.m.
The Ar-Kaics, Desert Sharks (photo by Vanessa Rees), The Milkstains, Christi @ Gallery 5 - $5/All Ages
Alright! It’s time to rock out, get loud, and drink like a billion fish. This evening is a party for the wicked, the wacky, and the wild. That’s a triple ‘W’ of straight up freakout debauchery. Swill down some of grandma’s shine before you run, yes run, and I mean run in a violent panic, to the guilty rock and roll pleasure we know as Gallery 5. To sum up all four bands is simple. It will be a deluge of garage, surf, lo-fi, hi-fi, punk, psych, and heavy blues rock that sometimes borders noise. Wow, can I get an Amen?
This is a hump day night full of zest and the finest in the Richmond, Virginia sound, along with those tasty surf girls from Brooklyn, Desert Sharks. I can’t believe it’s not butter--but it is. It’s a smooth spread of a night alright to go to a show in the Ward and give your ears the summer vacation they have been waiting for.
Thursday, July 11, 8 p.m.
Jonathan Vassar, Low Branches, Dead Professional @ Gallery 5 - $5/All Ages
This Thursday at Gallery 5 has a spirit I didn’t think was possible. The talent here still holds Richmond up with one strum of the guitar. Indie folk rock the way it is supposed to be played is on tap tonight. There are vocalists out there in Richmond, and then there is Jonathan Vassar and the Low Branches’ Christina Gleixner. Don’t forget Dead Professional, which is John from Charlottesville’s Cinnamon Band. He can really go cat go. Midsummer blues got you down? Show up to this spectacle and you will be resurrected into a most jubilant frame of mind.
Friday, July 12, 9 p.m.
45 A.D., Fatality (photo by Jasmin Tzerelshtein), Cremains @ Wonderland - $5/21+
The metal will be out of control tonight in the Bottom. Richmond’s specific answer to crust and black metal, 45 A.D., will slaughter your face for sure. Be sure to thank Adam, Steve, Brian, Jake of 45 A.D. before your ears pay a visit to the ER at MCV.
Fatality will be just what you will be after a set from these crazy Canadian heavy thrash lads. There’s never a dull moment when these friends from the great white north take the stage.And be sure to arrive early, because you don’t want to miss out on Cremains either. Comprised of members from Gnawed, War Torn, and Necrobeast, their blood-soaking form of metal is a reminder of why even God and country make way for Cremains’ thrash metal mayhem music. I know I’ll be there.
Saturday, July 13, 9 p.m.
The Blue & the Grey, Hypercolor (pictured above), Megan Parochka @ Bogart’s in the Fan - $5/21+
The word on the street is that the best poppy indie folk rock music in Richmond comes from none other than those antsy kids of Hypercolor. This band is comprised of some strong musical talent that deliver seriousness with their music, keeping you clapping while shaking your hips hysterically. Hypercolor’s songs are written by Adrian Olsen & Alexandra Spalding, while the rest of the band, comprised of local musical stalwarts, Cre Moore, Hugo Haggie, and Chrissie Griffith, fills out a five piece to be wreckin’ with.
The Blue and the Grey is a new band from right here. Part Americana, part indie rock, this group mixes a gumbo of a banjo, guitar, mandolin, dobro, harmonica, upright bass, cello, synths, bouzouki, and drums. The Blue and the Grey are ready to go to battle for your inner music listening pleasure. Local songstress Megan Parochka opens, so be here tonight.
Sunday, July 14, 10 p.m.
Mood Rings, Basmati, Everyone Dies in the End @ Strange Matter - $8/18+
Atlanta dream-pop/shoegaze band Mood Rings turned a lot of heads the last time they were in Richmond. If you missed them then, here’s your chance to see them. Mood Rings, off the Mexican Summer label, are touring in support of their debut LP VPI Harmony. And, no, I don’t know if the “VPI” in the title has anything to do with Virginia Tech. I do know this, though--Mood Rings incorporates a plethora of musical taste and spins them into a core of dreamy passages flowing into the waking arms of sensory overload. If you’re a fan of fellow Atlanta band Deerhunter, especially their earlier work, you will love Mood Rings.
It’s a guarantee your mood will be stupendously positive tonight, especially with locals Basmati and Everyone Dies in the End opening. Basmati has their own shoegaze thing going, and it’s a lush of lushes. Everyone Dies in the End is not a spoiler alert, but a ambient drone rock-sounding espionage featuring members of Lord By Fire and My War doing something completely different than their previous bands.
Monday, July 15, 8 p.m.
Grip of the Gods, High Regard, First Class Liar, Wake the Captive @ The Camel– Price at door/All Ages.
There’s indie/alternative rock in the Monday evening air, and it’s coming from the Camel. Philadelphia’s Grip of the Gods headline this bill, and I must say this band has a grip on the music as well. Supported by three local pop punk/indie and alternative bands--High Regard, First Class Liar, and Wake the Captive--this early All Ages show will be a stunner for the kids. Ignore the yearning for the cocaine and whiskey and get to it on the dance floor. This evening will set the record straight for the upcoming week and break off something proper in your ear.
Tuesday, July 16, 9 p.m.
July Songwriter Night featuring Hypercolor, Jordan Tarrant (pictured above), Corey Axt, John Priestley, Ryan Villanueva, Susan Paulette DePhillip, Paul Willson @ The Camel– Free/All Ages.
Another monthly singer songwriter showcase full of skilled guitars and vocals is in store this Tuesday, and the lineup is an explosion of chorus lines. Tonight’s lineup includes a full on, completely fantastic, and daring beyond all spectrums, live band – that band being Hypercolor. They will being doing a scaled down performance of folk rock for this evening. The bill will also include some amazing singer-songwriters from our area. The pride of Berklee, Jordan Tarrant, and the funky bluesy tunes from that world traveling musician currently residing in Richmond, guitarist Ryan Villa Nueva, will easily captivate you with their straight-from-the-heart acoustic music. Plus, Susan Paulette DePhillip, Paul Willson, and Corey Axt perform the music that gets you from A to B on that long and windy dirt road. They say there’s a pot of gold at the bottom of every sunset, yet I say there’s a pot of gold at every singer-songwriter showcase at the Camel.
By John Lewis Morgan (onewayrichmond.com)