RVA Shows You Must See This Week: April 19 – April 25
FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, April 22, 6 PM
James River Film Festival presents: Richmond Music Showcase feat. Good Day RVA, The Seymores @ The Byrd Theatre – $8 (order tickets HERE)
Saturday, April 22, 9 PM
James River Film Festival presents: Orson Welles’ Too Much Johnson, feat. live score by Gary Lucas @ The Byrd Theatre – $15 (order tickets HERE)
It may be a festival for films rather than for music, but this weekend’s edition of the annual James River Film Festival might just be the most exciting thing happening for music fans in the Richmond area. That doesn’t just extend to Saturday night’s double-header at the Byrd Theatre, either; from Thursday night’s combo of a classic Soviet/Ukrainian silent film and a performance of “kletzmer” music by The Vulgar Bulgars to two different Silent Music Revival performances featuring Hotel X and Sun V Set, the whole four-day weekend has plentiful opportunities to see great music. And while Saturday night might be the headliner, if you pay for both shows you’ll be over halfway to the $40 price of a full four-day pass (available in person at any ticketed event), so you really might as well throw down for the whole thing.
But if you can only spare one night for this year’s James River Film Festival, you really should make it Saturday night. The Byrd Theatre is presenting not one but TWO excellent performances that combine film and music for some excellent entertainment. First up, at 6 PM, is a two-part Richmond Music Showcase, which will begin with a retrospective of Good Day RVA’s work. Having moved into directing music videos over the last several years (including clips for Dumb Waiter, Piranha Rama, Spooky Cool, and more), this collective of filmmakers initially gained prominence in Richmond with their films featuring local bands performing live in iconic locations around the river city. I can’t tell you which of these performances you’ll see, but I can tell you that they’ll be even more amazing on the big screen than they are on YouTube.
Intermission will feature music by The Seymores, a Richmond-based alternative rock group who started in the mid-90s and quickly got swept up in the major label feeding frenzy that erupted in the wake of Nirvana’s success. They made two albums and appeared in a commercial for Dockers, but their 15 minutes of fame eluded them, and today they are unjustly forgotten. This rare, essential performance by The Seymores will be followed by a collection of music videos representing five decades of Richmond music and featuring everyone from Suzy Saxon and the Anglos to Jason Mraz.
Pretty amazing stuff, right? And that’s only the first half of the evening! The true main event comes afterwards, as legendary guitarist Gary Lucas — who spent time in Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, collaborated with Jeff Buckley, and co-created a soundtrack album for classic cartoons by Max Fleischer (the Depression-era animator who brought Popeye and Betty Boop to the silver screen) — will create a live soundtrack for Orson Welles’ 1938 silent film, Too Much Johnson. This fascinating artifact of Welles’ youthful career as a producer and director of stage plays was long thought lost, but has been restored in recent years and will receive a rare theatrical screening at The Byrd this Saturday night. Which would be magnificent enough even if the soundtrack wasn’t being provided by Gary Lucas. As it is, this is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime event — the kind of show you’ll be telling your grandchildren about one day. Don’t miss out on it.
Wednesday, April 19, 7 PM
The Cutthroats, Whatsdysmorphia, Sawza, Slaat, Flesh Machine, Skincrawler @ Powers BMX – $8
It’s 4/19, and if you’ve got a minute, you’re probably gonna want to spend it with The Cutthroats at Powers BMX. This California band is a treat for fans of heavy music, even if you aren’t sure whether they are more accurately categorized as “hardcore” or “metal.” Their new self-titled EP lampshades this exact dilemma by starting the track “Bay Area’s Most Hated” with a sample of some guy saying, “You’re just a bunch of buff metalheads playing fight riffs, dude. Shit’s not tight.” On a purely musical basis, the guy might have a point; the Cutthroats new EP is full of growling vocals, neck-snapping mosh riffs, and pounding double bass — the exact sort of thing you might get from a well-produced death metal record. Then again, it’s pretty fucking punk to put the worst things people are saying about your band right there on your record. But I’m not here to arbitrate this debate — I’m just here to mosh. And if you’re with me, you’ll get plenty of mosh mayhem by hitting Powers BMX tonight to see The Cutthroats.
There are a ton of other great heavy bands on this bill too, beginning with The Cutthroats’ fellow Californians whatsdysmorphia (a question any trans person could easily answer for you, fellas… just sayin), who’ve got just as many brutal breakdowns to offer as The Cutthroats, but add a strong dose of digital chaos and off-kilter noise that almost give them an industrial appeal. If you’ve ever in your life wished Slipknot were as much of a chaotic mindfuck as Last Days Of Humanity, whatsdysmorphia are just the band for you. Sawza also have nu-metal touches to their sound — and they’re proud of it, too, referring to a “Nu Metal War Council” in their Instagram bio. As with whatsdysmorphia, though, Sawza is heavier, more brutal, and way more creative than all but the very best nu-metal bands of the 90s. If anything, they take after death-infused metalcore bands like Shattered Realm or early Sworn In than anything from the nu-metal era. The important thing is that their music is heavy as fuck. If that appeals to you, this show is right up your alley, and features three excellent Virginia-based openers as well as the bands we’ve already discussed. Put on your steeltoed boots and get ready to rage.
Thursday, April 20, 7 PM
Big Lazy feat. Marlysse Simmons @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $20 (order tickets HERE)
I’ve heard all the stereotypical shit about how people stop listening to new music in their mid-30s, and as someone who is well past that particular chronological milestone, I’m proud to say that I’m finding and falling in love with brand new bands on a regular basis. That said, like many people closing in on the half-century mark, I spend way less time with music in my headphones these days. Instead, quite a bit of my listening time is taken up by podcasts and talk radio shows. And there’s pretty much nothing in the world of podcasts and talk radio with a more storied and venerable reputation than This American Life, NPR’s flagship show for going on three decades now. I’m a regular listener to This American Life, and therefore, when I saw that Big Lazy were coming to Richmond on tour in support of their new album, Music From This American Life, it immediately caught my interest.
New York City-based trio Big Lazy have been creating instrumental music they call “crime jazz” and “guitar noir” for decades now. Technically, Music From This American Life is guitarist and bandleader Stephen Ulrich’s first solo album, but it hews closely to Big Lazy’s standard instrumentation — electric guitar, acoustic bass, brushed drums. In order to add the keyboard textures the album features, Big Lazy are augmented on this tour by Richmond’s own Marlysse Simmons of RVA mainstays Bio Ritmo and Miramar. With this sort of star power in their corner, Big Lazy are sure to be a powerful force when they take the stage at Richmond Music Hall Thursday. If, like me, you’re a regular This American Life listener, it might be a bit disconcerting that the music is never cut into by Ira Glass or Chana Joffe-Walt telling a story. Personally, though, I’ve always enjoyed the musical breaks on This American Life. It’ll be a nice change of pace to be able to enjoy it all on its own.
Friday, April 21, 7 PM
Samiam, Cloak/Dagger, The Rememberables @ Cobra Cabana – $18 (order tickets HERE)
I doubt anyone saw this coming when they got their start in the late 80s, but over the past three decades, Samiam have become venerable standard-bearers of the genre known as emo. And they aren’t just a nostalgia act, either — Stowaway, their ninth album, was just released, and it’s every bit as chock-full of upbeat riffs contrasted by heartbreaking melodies and raw, vulnerable lyrics as their music was on Soar or their self-titled debut, both of which came out over three decades ago. As an outcast queer teenager struggling to survive a tiny, hostile high school in rural Virginia, those early Samiam albums offered lifelines for me, letting me know that I wasn’t alone, that I could survive all the emotional issues I was going through and find a community that would get me. What I didn’t know then was that the struggle never really ends, that even decades into adulthood it can be tough to feel like you’re understood, that you have connections with the world around you. Samiam are still singing about that very thing, though, on new singles like “Crystallized” and “Lake Speed” (a tribute to a legendary middle-of-the-pack NASCAR driver who only ever won one race). And listening to these songs makes me feel better, just like their music did 30 years ago.
OK, sorry to get into my overly-emotional-middle-aged-lady bag for a minute there. My only point is that Samiam makes powerful, unforgettable music that stands as some of the best of the past three decades. And whether this will be your 15th time seeing them or your first, whether you’ve got all the albums on vinyl or have just streamed a couple of songs a couple of times, seeing Samiam this Friday night is sure to move you. This band has a ton of energy, passion, and heart, and there’s just no denying that sort of thing. You shouldn’t miss it. Plus, this show also throws in a set from long-running Richmond hardcore act Cloak/Dagger, who released their first new music in five years with last summer’s “Temp Life” single, and showed that they’re still every bit as great at cranking out hardcore punk-n-roll rippers as they ever were. Cloak/Dagger don’t make that many live appearances in a given year, so you will definitely want to be there for this one. The evening kicks off with a set from DC’s Rememberables, whose heavy take on alt-rock and power-pop will please fans of both The Replacements and The Toadies. Show up on time and stick around all night — you’ll be glad you did.
Saturday, April 22, 9 PM
Chained to The Bottom Of The Ocean (Photo by Freddie Ross), Terror Cell, Asylum 213 @ Ipanema – $10
Damn, it just doesn’t get much more brutal than this. Chained to The Bottom Of the Ocean is one of the most metal band names I’ve ever heard, and while it’s the sort of name that, in the wrong hands, could just set you up for an even bigger letdown, this Massachusetts crew totally lives up to the massive expectations its name inspires. People like to refer to this band as doom metal, and they are certainly prone to the slowed-down tempos and extended song lengths that are often hallmarks of that genre, but listening to their music for any length of time will reveal the inadequacy of that genre tag to truly capture what this band is about. Forsaking guttural growls in favor of tortured screams that convey lyrical sentiments with surprising clarity, this band definitely pulls at least a small amount of influence from the emo/screamo continuum — which definitely shows through in titles like Tell Me What You See Vanishing And I Will Tell You Who You Are and I Tried Catching You But You Fell Through Me. This band isn’t just musically heavy; they’re emotionally heavy.
Their forthcoming second LP, Obsession Destruction, won’t be out until a couple of weeks after they come to Richmond, but the two singles that have been released from it show Chained to The Bottom Of the Ocean continuing to mine the “emotional sludge” sound they’ve crafted on previous releases. However, if anything, they’re getting even heavier; for example, on new single “Hole In My Head,” they get into some outright headbanging mosh riffage. This makes them the perfect pairing with Richmond locals Terror Cell, whose 2022 LP Caustic Light showed off a heaping dosage of apocalyptic brutality in its own right. With the evening rounded out by the spooky gothic-metallic tones of Asylum 213, this night of music is a whole entire mood in and of itself. And could any venue be more appropriate for that mood than Ipanema — an entire venue located down a flight of stairs in a basement? I think not. Follow those stairs down below street level for some epic subterranean brutality.
Sunday, April 23, 7 PM
Sun Room, Celler Dwellers @ The Broadberry – $20 (order tickets HERE)
This will be a fun way to wrap up your weekend. After all, it’s pretty easy to smile when you’re listening to the music of Sun Room, a band whose music sounds just like their name — bright and glowing, like it’ll give you a tan if you stand too close to the speakers. These four young fellows hail from San Diego, where the weather’s always perfect and you can pretty much just hang at the beach every day. It’s not even that hot — I remember once I was complaining to a friend who lives in San Diego about yet another hundred-degree Richmond day, and she said something to me about how it had been 85 degrees in San Diego that day and she thought THAT was hot. Seriously, these people lead a charmed life, and while most of us don’t have the means to pick up and move to Southern California, we can all get a taste of that sweet life in the year-round sun by dancing to Sun Room.
Sun Room have only been around for three years, and they haven’t even released a full-length album yet, but they’ve done plenty to establish their sound on their two EPs. The latest, Outta Their Minds, came out a couple months ago and finds them injecting a bit of garage-rock grit into their charming indie-surf songs. The result is four songs that would sound perfect on an old Nuggets comp alongside The Blues Magoos and The Music Machine. This is a great direction for this already fun band to be heading in, and leads me to believe they’ve still got quite a bit of potential to achieve greatness. Catch the Sun Room wave now. And make sure you get to this show early, so you can catch the opening set from local rising stars Celler Dwellers. Their new single, “Better Now,” finds them starting from a similar surf-infused indie-pop foundation, but moving in more of an alt-rock direction than Sun Room’s recent turn to garage. The result is still a blast — totally danceable and lots of fun. They’re a perfect addition to this perfect show. Show up ready to dance.
Monday, April 24, 7 PM
A Benefit Show for Cary Warren, feat. The Milkstains, Xed Out, Sea Of Storms, New Lions @ Cobra Cabana – $10
Cary Warren isn’t someone famous. He’s never done a massively popular band or anything like that. But he has been involved in the Richmond music scene for decades now, and he’s made a lot of friends. Now he’s facing some pretty serious health problems — problems that came damn close to killing him at one point. Thankfully, he’s past that point, but our charming American medical system being what it is, he’s facing a huge stack of medical bills at a time when he’s unable to work, and has two young children to support. Fortunately, he has a lot of friends who are willing to step up and help out, some of whom are in some pretty rad Richmond bands. Those friends are throwing a benefit show for Cary at Cobra Cabana this Monday night, and even if you’ve never met Cary, you’re gonna want to be there purely based on the strength of the talent on display here.
The most noteworthy band on this bill is The Milkstains, a trio of rock n’ rollers who started playing together close to 20 years ago when they were still in high school. They ended their full-time band activities about five years ago, with band members moving on to a variety of other things (including Piranha Rama). But they got back together for a gig last fall, and now they’re doing it again to remind Richmond of their gritty, energetic tunes, which mix surf-guitar influences into an energetic grunge-punk mix. As for Xed Out, this Richmond-based punk band hasn’t been all that active over the last year or so, but definitely proved that they’re deserving of our attention with their 2021 EP, Give Me The Night, a tuneful collection of melodic, emotional punk sounds. Underrated Richmond emo veterans Sea Of Storms are fresh off the release of a killer new EP, Control Alt Delete, while post-hardcore alt-rockers New Lions haven’t released anything since pre-pandemic, but are always a great live band with a ton of great songs. The fact that these excellent bands are all willing to come together to help out a guy whose main role on the scene over the years has been as a supporter and a fan proves something important that we should all keep in mind: everyone involved in the independent music scene is important. From the singer in the headlining band to the kid at their first show, we all matter. And we should all support each other.
Tuesday, April 25, 6 PM
Torment, Ulamog, Dozing, Infernal Gaze, Wasted Space @ Powers BMX – $10
Not all heavy hardcore bands are the same. Some are all about a sort of macho aggression that mainly puts forth the message that they are not to be fucked with. And some of those bands are pretty good, I guess, but the heavy hardcore bands I really appreciate are the ones who land on extremely heavy music as a way to process and work through difficult circumstances and emotions that we all come across in life. All it takes is one listen to Torment, and you know immediately that this is where they’re coming from. Hell, it’s right there in the band name — Torment. This is a band with a lot of rage and pain to work through. Thus far they’ve only released one self-titled EP, on which vocalist Marcy handled all the instruments except drums. Since then, though, they’ve come together as a full-powered live band, which features Eve Dyer of RVA Must-See Shows faves ROTWLCFTSCBMH on guitar, and when I interviewed Eve last year, she said Torment was working on some new stuff too. This show is a great opportunity to get a taste of what this band has in store for us all, and to work through plenty of our own difficult emotions by moshing our asses off during their set.
Torment aren’t the only reason to come check this set out, though — far from it. Tidewater-based band Ulamog have quite a bit to add to this event on their own behalf, bringing a sound that channels aggressive late-80s thrash metal as well as a dose of black metal rawness a la Bathory. We can expect a ripping set from these guys, for sure. Dozing adds a different flavor to the show, as they contrast their heavy, powerful riffing with melodic vocals that take things in a direction you’ll appreciate if you’re a fan of Narrow Head, or if you ever wished Hum was a little more energetic. Shenandoah Valley death metallers Infernal Gaze just released their first EP, Appalachian Death, which is full of guttural growls and neck-snapping breakdowns. You can expect them to bring plenty of both to Powers BMX this coming Tuesday. And of course, local hardcore kids Wasted Space will kick things off with a furious, energetic sound that’s showcased to excellent effect on their brand-new self-titled EP. This one is gonna be great from top to bottom. Let’s go.
Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): rvamustseeshows@gmail.com
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