RVA Shows You Must See This Week: August 16 – August 22
FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, August 19, 3 PM
Crash Fest, feat. Demons, Dark Waters, Heavy Is the Head, Clot, Mean Jesus, The Get Off, Die Today, Contact, Dead Format, Circle Breaker @ Another Round Bar & Grill – $15 (order tickets HERE)
People in the mainstream music world only ever hear about music fests that are enormous. You know the ones I mean: they’re held in a giant field somewhere an hour outside of a major city, they draw tens of thousands of people, and the lineups are the subject of multiple articles on huge music websites. But most music fests aren’t like that. In the DIY underground, there are hundreds and hundreds of them every year. Some are still pretty big, like Sound And Fury Fest in California or The Fest in Florida (are they having that this year, or has Ron DeSantis outlawed it?). Others are just local things created by a bunch of people within a particular scene who want to celebrate a period of creative fertility and spend a weekend, or even just a day, reveling in the great music they’re all making together.
That seems to be the motivation for Crash Fest, happening at Another Round this Saturday (and not to be confused with the bigger punk fest of the same name happening in Portland in October). I think the name mainly exists so the organizers can make “crash test” puns in the promotional materials, but the name’s not what’s important: it’s the music. The music in this case is made by 10 bands, nine of which are from Virginia. The lone out-of-state example is Clot, a Georgia-based group who just released an absolutely scathing slab of vicious metalcore called Grief Tethers. As harsh and chaotic as their album is, I imagine this band will be fucking terrifying live, in the best possible way. I expect their set to be one of the highlights of this one-day festival.
A few of the other bands on the bill hail from elsewhere in Virginia; for example, Demons and Mean Jesus both come from down in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads district. Both are on the heavier side of the hardcore spectrum, though Demons is closer to the sort of biker/stoner punk thing that almost feels like… fast doom. Which I am aware is an oxymoron. As for Mean Jesus (whose drummer was once, long ago, briefly in Converge), they’re a more melodic example of the form. They even brush up against post-hardcore at moments, though they are ultimately too fast and heavy to really cross the line.
The remaining seven bands on this lineup are all Richmonders, and while some are probably better known than others, I’d be entirely comfortable describing all seven as underrated. Heavy Is The Head’s tough, metallic take on thrashcore is energetic enough to make everyone want to get up and move. The Get Off’s angry, political, yet still subtly melodic punk rock will make you want to scream along with the powerful choruses their new EP, Destruction Aesthetic, is full of. Dead Format plays engaging uptempo melodic hardcore; Dark Waters’ sound is melodic, powerful, and emotional; Contact do hardcore in that 90s style that manages to be heavy, melodic, emotional, and political all at the same time; Die Today are somewhere between the most hardcore AFI albums and Municipal Waste if they weren’t so silly; and Circle Breaker round things out with some apocalyptically dark queercore. All of these bands deserve more detailed discussion, but I’m already pushing my word count (and I’ve got seven blurbs to go), so instead of me spilling more ink, how about you just go and find out for yourself. You’ll be glad you did, because this is one fest that’s bringing the sort of musical enlightenment this city could use a good deal more of.
Wednesday, August 16, 6 PM
The Baseball Project @ The Broadberry – $25 (order tickets HERE)
You might not recognize The Baseball Project’s name, but you’re sure to recognize the names of at least some of their members. Combining half of REM (guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills) with singer-guitarists Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate/Gutterball) and Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows co-founder/longtime REM touring guitarist), plus drummer Linda Pitmon (Filthy Friends/The Miracle 3), The Baseball Project works out to quite the alternative/college rock-era supergroup. But the name isn’t just a weird way of distracting you from the members’ formidable resumes; The Baseball Project really does write all of their songs about major league baseball. They’ve been doing so for over 15 years now, so you’ve gotta appreciate their commitment to the bit.
Earlier this year, they released their fourth album, and their first in nearly a decade. I don’t know nearly enough about baseball to comment on the verisimilitude of their lyrics (where sports are concerned, I really just like American football and Australian auto racing — don’t @ me), but I can certainly tell you that Grand Salami Time is full of excellent songs. If you’re familiar with the high quality of the members’ previous projects, you’ll be glad to know that despite its fun, goofy subject matter, The Baseball Project’s material holds up to the standard set by albums like Medicine Show and Life’s Rich Pageant. As far as I know, this show will not feature any openers, just Baseball Project from start to finish. But if you’re a fan of these talented musicians — and really, how could you not be? — that should be more than enough. Head over to The Broadberry tonight and get in the game.
Thursday, August 17, 7 PM
Chepang, Bandit, Decultivate, Blame Game @ Another Round Bar & Grill – $12
I love fast harsh grindcore bands of all stripes, but I particularly appreciate bands who take creative, off-kilter approaches to their hyperspeed shredding. That’s why I’m super stoked that Chepang are coming to town. While Chepang are currently based in New York, they originally hail from the east Asian country of Nepal. They take their name from that of an indigenous ethnic group in their home country, and sing songs of underclass rage — in Nepalese, natch. But that’s not what really sets Chepang apart from other grindcore bands; instead, it’s the unusual instrumentation and creative structural choices that make their music so interesting. In addition to loud guitars and fast drums, they integrate electronic textures into their music, and are perfectly willing to throw unexpected melodic accents into otherwise harsh and blasting songs. Their brand new LP, Swatta, is full of high-speed noise fury, and their live show is just as hyperkinetic as you would expect.
Chepang aren’t the only touring band in this lineup, and the others on the bill have just as much to offer. Philadelphia’s Bandit are capable of the same sort of hyperspeed blasts as Chepang, but bring in a high amount of heavy, pounding breakdowns on their new album, Siege Of Self. Expect to get run over by the musical equivalent of a Mack truck during Bandit’s set. Don’t worry, you’ll love every second of it. The third and final member of the touring triumvirate coming to Another Round this Thursday night is Decultivate, who come from the historic central European city of Prague, Czechia. On 2021’s Pohrdat, they bash out a series of heavy, metallic tracks laced with strange sonic layers that give a hallucinatory, psychedelic feel to their music. Will that translate live? We can hope so, but even if the songs come across as straightforwardly heavy, that will hardly be a letdown — this band has riffs for days and days. Richmond-based newcomers Blame Game will get things started with a set of raw, metallic punk that should set the tone for an evening of mayhem. Get stoked.
Friday, August 18, 7 PM
William Tyler & The Impossible Truth, Burke Ingraffia @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $20 (order tickets HERE)
William Tyler and his band, The Impossible Truth, hail from the South — Nashville, to be specific. However, to call what they do either mainstream country or Southern rock would be flat-out wrongheaded. Sure, you can hear tinges of both in their new album, Secret Stratosphere — Tyler’s first with The Impossible Truth backing him up — but to stop there when describing this music would be to do potential listeners a great disservice. After all, one expects lyrics from those genres; William Tyler’s music is instrumental, focusing on evocative guitar tones that paint vivid pictures in the listener’s mind. The easy comparison might be to all those post-rock bands the indie kids were in love with a decade and a half or so ago, such as Explosions In The Sky or Mogwai. But Tyler brings a sort of heartland psychedelia into his playing that feels closer to someone like Sturgill Simpson, if you ask me.
It also doesn’t hurt that Tyler’s backing band, The Impossible Truth (named after an earlier album of his), consists of several seasoned players from the Southern alternative Americana scene, including former members of Silver Jews and The Dead Weather. Seeing him perform in the company of such talented sidemen can surely only enhance the rich experience of witnessing his off-kilter virtuosity live and in the moment. Secret Stratosphere, after all, was recorded live, and if it is in any way indicative of what the typical William Tyler & The Impossible Truth performance is like, Richmond is in for a treat when he pulls up to Richmond Music Hall this Friday night. Make sure you are in attendance.
Saturday, August 19, 7 PM
Disq, Graham Hunt, No Moniker @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $13 (order tickets HERE)
When I first heard the band name Disq, it made me think of obsolete computer hardware. That immediately led me to expect some overt retro-hipster elements from this Wisconsin band’s sound. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that there would be no gimmicky analog keyboards or Purple Rain-era drum machine sounds to come from this quintet. No, this band is really just concerned with catchy, melodic rock. On last year’s excellent Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet (see what they did there?), they crank up the distortion and set to dishing out a series of songs that mix early 90s shoegaze and alt-rock tendencies with shades of 60s psychedelia and 70s power pop. While their triple-guitar attack certainly lends itself to loud crescendos, they also know how to bring things down and focus on the melodies that make their songs so memorable.
That’s what they’ll be doing at Richmond Music Hall this Saturday night. You can expect the accent to be on the rock, since bands are always louder when they’re performing for an enthusiastic audience. That said, their many melodies are sure to shine through, and get you tapping your foot — in the moments when you’re not banging your head. Disq will be joined on this bill by fellow Wisconsinite Graham Hunt, who recently followed up his 2022 album, If You Knew Would You Believe It?, with a bouncy power-pop single called “Emergency Contact.” His set is sure to please anyone who wishes guys like Ben Kweller or Evan Dando would really let the distortion rip sometimes. The evening will begin with a set from No Moniker, whose new single, “Across The Ice,” will bring a hint of chilly postpunk/alt-pop winter to this hot August night. This one will be lovely from beginning to end. You know what to do.
Sunday, August 20, 7 PM
Classical Incarnations, feat. Classical Revolution RVA performing Terry Riley‘s “In C” @ Gallery 5 – Free! (Donations encouraged)
I’ve always had extremely wide-ranging musical tastes, so there’s no genre I haven’t been at least open to at some point in my life. However, the world of classical music has always felt inaccessible to me, as if you have to buy a subscription to a symphony’s full season of performance before you can expect to have any real understanding of the art. As a girl who grew up going to $5 shows in dive bars and basements, that always felt way too rich for my blood. And I could tell that there were some interesting things going on in the classical music world, so it always bummed me out to feel like I was missing it. That’s why I appreciate Classical Revolution. They operate in a manner that seems diametrically opposite to the typical classical music ensemble, bringing cheap and even free shows to the public on a regular basis, in the same types of affordably priced venues where we’ve all been seeing indie and DIY shows for many years. It’s like: finally, classical music I can find a way to relate to!
The Classical Incarnations performances Classical Revolution RVA stage at Gallery 5 each month are certainly inviting, with their pay-what-you-can door policy. But in a lot of ways they are challenging as well, bringing us a selection of music that will at times feel very foreign to ears tuned to the styles and structures of pop music. That’s even more so this month than usual, as Classical Revolution will spend their performance this Sunday night staging a performance of minimalist composer Terry Riley’s “In C.” Written for a group of anywhere from two dozen to over 100 musicians, it includes over 50 short numbered musical phrases, all of which are different lengths and all of which can be repeated by any musician involved in the performance any number of times. So yes, things can get downright chaotic; however, since all of it is structured around the key of C and, in many performances of this piece, is grounded by a pianist playing the high C key of the piano in a repeated eighth-note pulse (you know, like “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by The Stooges), it all retains a harmonic unity that makes it sound beautiful no matter how out of control it gets. I don’t know about you, but as a fan of musical experimentation, this all sounds amazing to me. I fully expect this performance to be fantastic, and if you’re willing to step a little outside your musical comfort zone, I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of it as well.
Monday, August 21, 6 PM
Sacramentum, Crossspitter, Le Morte, Hellion Child @ Fallout – $15 in advance, $20 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Let’s get back to some more familiar territory. This Monday night show at Fallout will bring together two raging metal rippers: veteran Swedish black metal group Sacramentum, and mysterious new American death metal project Crossspitter. The latter group may even have connections to Virginia’s metal scene; it’s really hard to say, though. Those sacrilegious death metal types can be a mysterious lot. One thing that I do know for sure: Sacramentum and Crossspitter have just released a limited edition split EP featuring one song from each band on one side, and a mysterious etching on the other. This EP will only be available at the shows on this tour, so if you want a copy, you better bring some extra cash to Fallout this Monday night.
Even if you just come out and watch the show, though, you’re still in for a treat. Sacramentum released a series of memorable LPs and EPs in the mid to late 90s that displayed their ability to incorporate the melodies and atmospheric elements of black metal into a harder-hitting, more thrashing death metal sound. They disbanded in 2001, but returned to action early in 2022, and this will be the first opportunity Richmond headbangers have had to see them in who knows how long. Word has it they’re working on a new album, but even if they just stick to their classic material, their set is sure to be incredible. The same can easily be said of Crossspitter, whose raw, blasting take on black metal, as displayed on debut EP Dry & Grinding Mouth, was a true revelation. When bands give themselves confrontational names like Crossspitter, the worry is always that their sound won’t live up to the thrill promised by their name. In the case of Crossspitter, there’s no need to worry: this band is gonna rip all of our heads off — and we’re gonna love every minute of it. Virginia-based blackened doom metallers Le Morte and local thrash ragers Hellion Child will kick this one off in fine fashion. Don’t miss a moment of it.
Tuesday, August 22, 7:30 PM
Shockoe Sessions Live!, feat. Woody Woodworth & The Piners @ In Your Ear Studios – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Ah, Shockoe Sessions — always there to save us. When there aren’t many shows happening on a Tuesday night (and let’s face it, that’s the normal Tuesday night situation here in Richmond), we can always count on Shockoe Sessions’ live in-studio performances to give us something we know will be worth watching. And of course, since it’s Tuesday and chances are you’re tired by the time you get home from work (I’m tired by sundown even on days when I don’t work, so believe me, I get it), you can always just fire up the YouTube machine and stream these sessions right from the comfort of your own couch. But where’s the fun in that? Don’t you want to be there, right in the room, as the band peforms?
You know you do — especially when you’ll get the chance to see local talent like Woody Woodworth & The Piners. This country-style group have been releasing a series of memorable singles since 2023 got rolling, and though it’s still a couple of days in the future, they’re scheduled to release a new album called Outlaws & Saints on Friday. Assuming it will feature recent highlights like the Drive-By Truckers-style rock n’ roll lament of “Bastards” or the moody, foreboding “Hard To Be An Outlaw” (in which Woody memorably asks, “Are you sure Hank done it this way?”), you can expect it to be excellent. And you can expect Woody Woodworth and company to be at the top of their game a few days later when they perform at In Your Ear Studios. I can assure you that, as good as it’ll sound over the internet, it’ll be way better if you’re right there in the room. Make it happen, folks. You’ll be glad you did.
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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