FEATURE SHOW
Thursday, November 21, 8 p. m.
Kayo Dot, Brother Wolf, Crossing the Event Horizon @ Gallery 5 - $8/All Ages
Pick up your feet--the avant-garde prog-metal group Kayo Dot is in town. This pivotal group in metal experimentation has been doing it for ten years and deserves a look-see. I’m very pleased this band is in Jackson Ward tonight; you will be too. Currently touring in support of their new LP, Hubardo, Kayo Dot turns yet another fabulous corner with their take on modern classical music through a progressive volcanic metal sound. Thanks to an ever changing lineup centered on the mind of Toby Driver, the current eclectic sound of Kayo Dot may be a bit askew of their last three LP’s of this decade (Coyote, Gamma Knife, and Stained Glass), but I assure you will not be disappointed. This band always goes against the grain, and does it in their unique way each year we gain in age. The local experimental group Brother Wolf and the progressive concept band Crossing the Event Horizon provide support. This has the makings of a stellar Thursday evening of bizarreness. See you there.
Wednesday, November 20, 8 p.m.
The Revivalists @ Capital Alehouse Downtown Music Hall - $12/All Ages.
The Revivalists have a multi-genre sound that incorporates traditional rock instrumentation with horns, pedal steel guitars, and funk. Yes, you guessed it, they are from New Orleans. This band full of talented musicians is a tough band to miss out on, so make it out to 6th and E. Main St. on this fine autumn hump day night and take in live titillating music from the Big Easy.
Friday, November 22, 8 p. m.
New Turks, Navi, Tungs, Heavy Midgets @ Gallery 5– Donations please/All Ages
New Turks needed to put out new material, as this band has evolved into a pillar of Richmond’s current rock and roll scene. Combining hard alternative garage metal with grunge, these guys are a sensation beyond Uranus. Celebrating the release of their new LP, Hot Leather, off the awesome Bad Grrrl label, New Turks are a killing spree of cantankerous lads who love vocals over a fervent rhythm section. Bring your dancing shoes and fists, New Turks are performing!
Joining in New Turks’ big night is the typhoon of progressive garage surf, Navi, along with Tungs’ free psych jazz rock spiraling out of control. Then there’s the wildest bunch in Richmond, Heavy Midgets. This experimental psych brigade will take us to the other side of John F. Kennedy’s bullet hole. Hold on tight, this bands rocks with fortitude that accentuates mankind’s hated towards tone deafness.
Saturday, November 23, 6 p. m.
Psychic Teens, Canary Oh Canary, Hoboknife @ Strange Matter– $7/All Ages
Hooray for extraordinary early shows with a full on potpourri of musical bliss. Metal, post punk, and shoegaze can coexist - this lineup proves it. Philadelphia’s Psychic Teens are a blistering good time as they’ll steamroll their way through your gut with their postpunk meshed with a dramatic shoegaze sound. You should already know about arguably the best band in Richmond, Canary oh Canary, so if you don’t please commit suicide immediately. Then the metal takes the stage--or floor, for that matter. Northeast Glen Allen’s Hoboknife, featuring them Tomlin brothers, has in its short incarnation billowed its way to Richmond metal glory. Their blackened doom-like thrash is a piece of the puzzle that anchors the entire picture. What makes these metal veterans, featuring members of Battlemaster, La Mere Vipere, Neckbrace, and every other metal band in our city, so fantastic is their precision on each instrument. Professionalism coupled with tornado-like attitudes rule these train hopping slicers and dicers. Shit, this band’s lead singer is also the drummer. Alex Tomlin’s vocals, I predict, will steal the show. Wow, that equals crazy somersaults. This band is a miracle--after just one show, everybody is talking about Hoboknife. There’s even talk of a Hoboknife Heritage Center as part of the Shockoe Bottom baseball stadium proposal. Hoboknife rulez!
Saturday, November 23, 9 p.m.
The Trigger System presents Jonathan Richman with Tommy Larkins @ The Camel - $15/All Ages / tickets HERE
The Trigger System is bringing Mr. Richman back and it could not have happened at a better time. No insurance? No problem. Missed Jonathan Richman’s last endeavor to Richmond? No problem. The legendary singer-songwriter and ex-Modern Lovers singer comes to 1621 W. Broad St. again, and this time you can’t miss out. Richman has been picking up the pace of late in the touring department, performing old classics along with new songs only he could so brilliantly craft. Richman is simply an authentic performer that is rock and roll history. He is truly a pioneer in the real punk rock sound and has spearheaded modern day indie rock. His voice is a primary beginning for all aspiring singers seeking influences. Without Richman we probably wouldn’t have Frank Black or Bob Mould. Those are just two singers I can think of at this moment. Richman has been receiving strong reviews for his latest studio and live work, so the man has not lost his touch. Joining Richman will be the great percussionist Tommy Larkins. This show could definitely top the last time out at the Camel, so see Richman up close and personal at the warm and intimate confines of the Camel. This is a possible sellout--get tickets early.
Sunday, November 24, 10 p. m.
Lugweight, Geordi La Korg (pictured above), Stone Garden Jam Temple, Retarded Genius, Flesh Control, Projections by Lord Candy Dish @ Strange Matter - $5/18+
Loud fancy noise is the spirit of Richmond. Encompassing the globe for the right experimentation in an avant-garde séance is this evening’s calling card. Not since I shot heroin as a preteen while listening to Saxon’s self titled debut album have I been more elated to witness tomorrow’s parties. Everything tonight represents ear pinching pain that rides a wave of confusing symmetry. Hello Mrs. Doubtfire, I have Quaaludes.
Tonight will commence in the middle of groovy with Lugweight’s ambient, electronic, and drone sound curled up with Uncle Doom. Next at bat is Geordi La Korg aka Hunter Hedgecock. This man makes Sabians his instrument through a horn’s desire. Ole Geordi alone is worth the price of admission, as he puts the strange in matter. Cover your eyes when experimentation hits the fan as Stone Garden Jam Temple vomits on Seattle. Beforehand, Browning takes the floor as Retarded Genius. At first I thought that was me, but never will I be as intelligent as Browning. This is the part of the evening where suicidal thoughts resonate with those who like eating pot pies. Then the granddaddy of this cotillion just might steal your heart; Leo is back, as Flesh Control lets it fly with Neil Diamond’s pearls. It's noise, sometimes harsh like a protester in Jackson Ward marching down the wrong street, yet I assure you of this, it’s remarkably orgasmic, kind of like an oddball calling in to a telethon. I’ll be the first one here tonight, won’t you join me?
Monday, November 25, 10 p. m.
Various Eggs, Ocean vs. Daughter (pictured above), One Friend @ Strange Matter - $5/18+
What’s important these days is no-wave, post-punk, noise, and progressive indie music. Various Eggs from right here do a splendid job of delivering all these sounds right to our ears. Ocean vs. Daughter continues to climb up the mind with extraordinary songs that weave through an amp right into our temporal lobes. Lead by the sensual vocalist Flanna Sheridan, this piano driven band of dreams, beats, and guitars carries the torch for the new Richmond sound.
Everybody needs at least one friend, and locals One Friend will get real friendly with you through their fiery indie rock intensity.
Tuesday, November 26, 7 p. m.
The Silversmiths, Glass Twin, Eric Hunter & The Distractions (photo by Kim Frost) @ Gallery 5 - $5/All Ages
In a deep hallowed Tuesday autumn night we reach this ceremony of rock and roll. It’s an early show, so no excuses. The newly formed Silversmiths lead the charge, as nothing beats a Tuesday night at the Mecca that is Gallery 5. The Silversmiths are dandy song-smiths that will keep you tapping your toes. Glass Twin, the spiritual neo-psychedelic rock group, is right in the middle. They will transform you to a place where your soul meets the sound of a manatee. Eric Hunter & the Distractions are not distractions at all actually, as they lift the science in their beautifully executed performance of quality pop rock. For celestial songs of perfect duration, make Eric Hunter & the Distractions distract you from what is truly awful on our tipsy globe.
By John Lewis Morgan (onewayrichmond.com)