In addition to the main event in Shockoe Bottom last Sunday, the RVA Music Fest featured multiple showcases scattered across town on Saturday night. This idea brought to mind pre-existing festivals such as Harrisonburg’s Macrock, Austin’s South By Southwest and perhaps even the Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh (which was happening during the same weekend). Each of the hosting venues was showcasing different facets of the music community. If you wanted to find a dance night, the Hat Factory and Bellytimber could be the places for you. If rock was the word, Strange Matter and Balliceaux were the destinations. If you wanted to find out what the hip-hop scene has been up to, look no further than The Camel.
Now, the challenge was set. How do I make it out to see as many acts as possible witha short radius to work with and a very tiny window of three hours? This was the adventure of trying to scour this city to take in as much live music as possible on the eve of a landmark festival.
I finished my cigarette before running into Strange Matter. I was unbelievably early and I was surprised to find this working towards my advantage. As I shared a Genesee Cream Ale with friends from The Snowy Owls and Baby Help Me Forget, Fire Bison took the stage, right at ten. This is unheard of, yet made perfect sense considering Fire Bison’s plan to play at The Cellar Door later that evening. While they are still a relatively young band, you wouldn’t be able to tell given the finesse behind their live sets. They channel everything about post-hardcore that I crave into their music. I find myself making any and all efforts to see them play as often as possible. Maybe it’s a Richmond mentality, but I want to say that I was there and be a part of these moments where we celebrate what they create, before it’s all said and done. Thankfully the end of Fire Bison doesn’t appear to be coming anytime soon. It’s understandable why they are one of the most talked about bands in Richmond after not even playing a dozen shows yet. This is a band to watch. Every band in town should want to be good enough to be able to get on the same bills as Fire Bison.
Baby Help Me Forget began soon after and there was an unfortunate issue at hand. I witnessed the band play quite possibly the best set of theirs ever at the final Sprout show. If you were there, you know exactly what I am talking about. In the chaos and increasing temperatures, they created a moment that will not soon be forgotten. Their set at Strange Matter acted more as a course of growing familiarity with the band’s material. I was able to catch three or four songs before having to head off, but their performance was solid and it made me think of the day where the energy of that Sprout show would be recreated for a new set of eyes and faces.
The second stop of the night was at The Camel. As I made my way around the corner of Lombardy, I discovered an onslaught of people wandering and milling about The Camel. From time to time, I see this level of populace in front of the venue on my way to the radio station upstairs. This was something completely different. The crowds were talking about how excited they were to see Noah O featured in the magazine. They spoke of the diversity of the content featured in the magazine. They spoke of how they were so caught up in the moment that they had to run back in to catch the rest of Ohbliv’s DJ set.
As I made my way in, Ohbliv was wrapping things up. I had recently been exposed to several of the artists featured in this showcase by a colleague at WRIR. They pointed me in the direction of the Just Plain Sounds compilations and it acted as a strong precursor to my experience. Ohbliv demanded the attention of the room and he received it. It was spectacular to see so many acknowledge the barest bone forms of hip hop expression and celebrate that in such a way.
Cain McCoy soon followed. His was one of the only full sets I was able to catch at the Camel. This was my first experience with him, and I found his set to be compelling and inventive. His role in the community is something that I discovered after the fact. As a promoter and performer, he is responsible for hip-hop’s accelerated awareness and success in the local community. As he bounced across stage, the audience took the bait at every moment to spout back at his flawless rhymes. The energy in the room was infectious and I was bummed to be dipping out so early. I was looking forward to seeing Swordplay and Noah O especially, but to keep with the adventure of unbelievably absurd music watching in the course of one night, it was time to make my way to Balliceaux.
I made it to Balliceaux in time to catch one song by Canary Oh Canary. Along with Fire Bison, this is probably the other most talked about band blowing up in the city right now. There is a sense of patience in the way they let a song build. On their debut EP, two of the songs take up about seventeen minutes combined. This is something that I would think could terrify most new and upcoming groups. In order to believe in this songwriting practice, you have to put a tremendous amount of confidence in your audience. If Saturday night was any indication during the performance of their epic “Embrace,” the audience is right there with them, and people followed the band around after their set to compliment their efforts. Everybody was buzzing about how Canary Oh Canary was their new favorite band.
Dead Fame set up an elaborate light show as the back room filled with smoke and fog. I had no idea what was in store. I really enjoyed the demos I'd heard by the group, but there is always that slight hesitation over whether the band can pull it off live or not. This ended up not being much of a concern, as Dead Fame felt right at home in the confines of Balliceaux. Their nuanced, Joy Division-influenced dance pop stumbled past everyone’s ears as lasers beamed towards the ceiling. One of my favorite songs I have heard all year is their song “We Can Run.” It was pleasant to find that this song plays out strongly live. After getting the chance to catch a good majority of their set, I thought it was time to continue my travels.
The clock was striking the hour of one in the morning, and I reviewed my options. Miniature Tigers were probably finished at Strange Matter. Long Arms had probably already closed up at the Republic. Word around the street was that there was a line around the block for Long Jawns' DJ set at Bellytimber. The last I had seen of the Camel was Preston Duncan mopping blood and sweat off the floors. I had to assume that that show was making its last rounds as well. There appeared to be only one option to close out my evening. I was going to grab another drink and head to Cellar Door to see Fire Bison again. My night would begin and end in the exact same fashion. As I stood in the basement-level Cellar Door watching Fire Bison, surrounded by members of The Diamond Center, White Laces, and several other RVA Music Fest participants, something struck me. I want to have the opportunity to see this much live music in a given weekend all of the time. It made me excited about how a night like this had not only encouraged my adventures, but it also helped expose me to a hip hop scene that I unfortunately ignore far too often.
Fire Bison crashed through their last song and the night was over. I was ready for it to end; I had to prepare myself for the jaunt that would be the RVA Music Fest the following day. This Saturday Showcase adventure was one for the books, though, and one that I wouldn’t mind getting stoked for again in the future.
Words By Shannon Cleary
Images by Todd Raviotta, Marc Cheatham, Lindsay Phillips