This weekend, Shannon Cleary, host of WRIR 97.3 FM's Wednesday evening music program, The Commonwealth of Notions, presents his third annual showcase of live local music, and this time it's bigger than ever. Over the course of four days, over 20 bands and DJs will join to represent Richmond’s thriving music scene through a music festival known as WRIR and The Commonwealth of Notions Presents: Volume Three.
Cleary has hosted The Commonwealth of Notions radio show since 2009. Creating the program due to his love of the local scene, he eventually decided to take his passion for local music beyond the airwaves. “In 2011, I decided that the natural evolution of a local music [radio program] was to put a showcase on physically,” said Cleary. So far, over the course of the festival's three-year life span, Cleary has been able to present over 40 local bands. Rather than any complex calculations, he has selected the lineups according to his personal passion. “There isn’t any sort of equation to [picking the bands],” explained Cleary. “It’s more like what catches my eye.”
The Diamond Center
Having begun the festival with shows at two venues, Cleary has expanded this year's offerings to encompass four local venues, each of which have played major parts in the history of Richmond’s music scene. Strange Matter is a relatively new local venue, but the building that houses it has been a musical hotspot for decades. “929 W. Grace is always going mean something to somebody in Richmond... and it’s really cool to add on to the legacies of an existing stage,” said Cleary. The increased scope of this year's event seems like it could be daunting, but Cleary doesn't let it intimidate him. “Failure doesn’t terrify me,” said Cleary. “My motto with anything [is]...it’s a lot cooler doing things than not doing them.”
Highlights of this year's four-day extravaganza include the return of The Diamond Center, local psychedelic rockers who've been out of the spotlight for the past year while writing and recording a new LP. “The Diamond Center is going to be incredible,” said Cleary. “I’ve heard that people are coming from out of town for [that show].” There will also be a reunion set by Baby Help Me Forget, a local garage rock group whose members have gone on to play in The Milkstains, The Sacred Teachers, and the Southern Belles, among others. Mixing classic Richmond acts like these with newer groups like Wolf//Goat and Herro Sugar, Cleary envisions Volume Three as a chance to celebrate the best local music Richmond has to offer.
Wolf//Goat
The festivities begin on Thursday, July 18 with a late show at Strange Matter (929 W. Grace St). Headlined by the mind-altering musical antics of Wolf//Goat, who mix experimental tendencies with folk, blues, and indie influences, the evening will also feature sets from heavy yet melodic power trio Sea Of Storms, acoustic singer-songwriter Clair Morgan, and the orchestrated indie-pop of Zac Hryciak and the Jungle Beat. Doors open at 9 PM, music starts at 10. Admission is $5, with proceeds going to benefit WRIR.
The show on Friday, July 19 at Balliceaux (203 N. Lombardy St) is centered around psychedelia, with the evening's star attraction being the return of The Diamond Center. While the return of this legendary quartet is the only live music scheduled for the evening, the bill is rounded out by capable DJ sets from WRIR DJs Paul Ginder and Jamie Lay, plus a selection of tunes from the mysterious astral rangers known as Revolt Of The Apes. Show begins at 10:30 PM, and admission is $5, with proceeds again going to benefit WRIR.
Baby Help Me Forget
Saturday, July 20 at Gallery 5 (200 W. Marshall St.) is the weekend's most power-packed event, beginning mid-afternoon and running far into the night. The reunion of Baby Help Me Forget is the headline for this lengthy exploration of the local scene, but with sets from ten other local groups, there's a lot of essential music on this bill. The "acid-surf" sounds of Warren Hixson, driving post-hardcore of bassless duo Navi, experimental electronic sounds of Mutwawa, and noisy punked-out shoegaze of Tungs are just the beginning. A set from often-dormant alt-poppers Adah will be a rare treat, and both indie-electronic quartet Way Shape Or Form and energetic youthful guitar-slingers Herro Sugar also promise to bring the fun times. Finally, performances by indie-folk duo Lobo Marino, jazz-metallers Dumb Waiter, and acoustic multi-instrumentalist Dave Watkins will make showing up early well worth your while. Doors open at 3 PM, and admission is $10, with proceeds benefiting WRIR and Gallery 5.
Sunday, July 21 at Bandito's Burrito Lounge (2905 Patterson Ave) is the grand finale of The Commonwealth Of Notions Presents: Volume Three, and if you've burned through all of your funds attending the previous three nights' shows, you're in luck--this one is free! Headlined by fuzzed-out indie-punks Heavy Midgets, this evening also features heavy rockers Hoax Hunters (featuring members of Diamond Center, A New Dawn Fades, and Flechette), and the garage-rock sounds of Tyrannosaurus Awesome (featuring 50% of Hot Dolphin). The evening starts at 10 PM, admission is free, and Bandito's is secretly one of the best-sounding live music spaces in all of Richmond, so you really should be in attendance for this one.
Hoax Hunters (Photo by Bobby Crockett)
The Commonwealth Of Notions radio show airs on WRIR 97.3 FM on Wednesday nights from 11 PM-1 AM. Keep up with the radio show on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Commonwealth-of-Notions/1907168209872.... For more information on WRIR, go to wrir.org. For more information on WRIR and The Commonwealth Of Notions Presents: Volume Three, click here: http://rvamag.com/calendar/event/21566/wrir-and-the-commonwealth-of-noti...