RVA Shows You Must See This Week: August 7 – August 13
FEATURED SHOW
Friday, August 9, 8:30 PM
Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds, The Owners, Shawnis And The Shimmers @ Fuzzy Cactus – $15 in advance, $20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Folks, there is a method to my madness. I’m never sure how clear it is to outsiders (by which I mean all of you who don’t live inside my brain), but it’s there nonetheless. And one of the main methods that order the madness I use to create this show column week after week is: make the featured show something with importance to the past, present, and/or future of Richmond’s musical community. You could say it’s the number one rule by which I put together this column, actually — but that’s not really true, because like Captain Jack Sparrow, I consider them more guidelines than rules, and I’m always willing to break them under the right circumstances. This show is one of those rare but not unheard-of cases where I’m making the week’s featured show something that has nothing to do with Richmond’s musical traditions — because it’s just that damn good.
Why is it that damn good? Because Kid Congo Powers is coming to town. This legendary punk/garage/roots-rock guitarist has had the kind of half-century-long career that puts him in a class by himself. In the late 70s, when he still wasn’t out of his teens, he helped found legendary psychobilly pioneers The Gun Club, then left the band to spend three years playing lead guitar for the equally legendary garage-punk oddballs The Cramps. He returned to The Gun Club in time for their third album, Las Vegas Story, and stuck with them until the band ended with the death of frontman Jeffrey Lee Pierce. During that time, he also played guitar with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, appearing on two of their best albums, Tender Prey (1988) and The Good Son (1989). After all that, he led the “cabaret-rock” group Congo Norvell for a while, then in the 00s, he formed The Pink Monkey Birds, the band he still fronts today.
Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds are coming to Richmond in support of their new album, That Delicious Vice, just released on In The Red Records. For a guy who has been playing in wild, crazy rock n’ roll bands for almost 50 years to still be in top form is certainly not the most likely proposition, but on That Delicious Vice, Kid Congo shows that he’s beaten the odds and remained a top-tier rock n’ roll maniac even unto this very day. If you’ve appreciated any of his previous projects, or enjoy Thee Oh Sees, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, or first-LP Dream Syndicate, you’re going to get a big kick out of Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds, who continue to invest a long-running form with a ton of energy and creativity, never getting the least bit boring. This evening’s wondrousness will be further sweetened with an opening set from The Owners — the sharp-edged melodic punk from DC featuring members of Ex Hex and Gray Matter — and Richmond’s highly beloved homegrown garage-punk maniacs, Shawnis And The Shimmers — who’ll be offering a live preview of their forthcoming LP, which is called (checks notes), uh, Born To Cum. With an album title like that, this crew will be the perfect openers for this night of psychobilly-garage-punk nirvana.
Wednesday, August 7, 7 PM
Woman Crush Wednesday, feat. Sweet Touch, Trash Rocket, Flora And The Fauna @ The Camel – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
It’s the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means! It’s time to head over to The Camel for Bri Bevan’s monthly showcase of female (and trans/non-binary) musicians, Woman Crush Wednesday. This is always worth checking out, but I’m particularly stoked for this month’s edition. Let’s face it, every single band on this one is a must-see. For starters, there’s Sweet Touch, a duo that brings together members of FLKL and The Octavias to make music that is some strange hybrid of electronic soundscapes, bedroom pop, and uptempo hip-hop-tinged indie funk. The mixture of breakbeats, bouncy choruses, and catchy vocal melodies is the sort of thing unusual enough that I can only compare it to The Postal Service and Parts & Labor, both of which are equally inaccurate characterizations. Here’s what matters: this is super-catchy stuff, sure to please those who enjoy synth-punk, indie disco, and everything inbetween.
Fredericksburg’s Trash Rocket are also on the bill with a full-band set after having graced the newly launched Fredericksburg edition of WCW with a stripped-down duo performance. This sextet crank out straightforward rock n’ roll tunes with plenty of grit, snarl, and rage, sort of like The Donnas at their most AC/DC-worshipping crossed with Veruca Salt at their angriest. It’s good stuff that’s sure to sound great blasting out at you from The Camel stage on a Wednesday night, especially if your work days are as long as mine are lately. Last but definitely not least, one of my current local faves, Flora And The Fauna, will be bringing their heartfelt queer indie pop to the evening, kicking the whole thing up a few notches just by being there. If you haven’t caught these folks live yet, I highly encourage you to fix that; they’re sure to cure whatever ails you. Really, this whole show seems handcrafted with the express purpose of brightening up your week. You should definitely take advantage.
Thursday, August 8, 7 PM
Shop Talk (Photo by Antanina Amihava), Serqet, MKVULTURE, Isa Moreno @ Bandito’s – $10
We’ve been having some real rock n’ roll fun so far this column, so why not keep it going? Bandito’s has us covered with this fine four-band bill that will sound twice as good if you show up early and pregame with a plate of Bandito’s excellent happy hour tacos. It’s the right thing to do! Once you’ve done that, you’ll be treated to the killer sounds of NYC trio Shop Talk, who have worked with Guided By Voices’ longtime producer but are sonically closer to the melodic rock n’ roll gold mine that was the UK punk scene of the late 70s. Like The Jam or The Rich Kids? You’ll love Shop Talk. Their first EP was a little tougher, maybe bringing a bit of Generation X/Brian James-era Damned vibes, but their most recent single, “W.C.U.D,” is pure power-pop gold, and should sound like a bajillion dollars cranking at top volume through the secretly outstanding Bandito’s sound system.
The other bands on this bill are bringing a somewhat different energy, but they’ve all got plenty of awesomeness of their own to offer. Serqet have been mainstays around this city’s spooky black-clad punk scene for nearly a decade now; they straddle the line between early 80s UK peace-punk and outright gothic rock perfectly — or at least, they did on the two EPs they released in the mid-2010s. At this point it’s been six years since we got new music from Serqet, and I can’t imagine I’m the only one excited to hear whatever they bring us next. Right now, though, seeing them live is the only way to learn about any new material they might have in the pipeline, so if you dig them at all, you certainly won’t want to miss their set at Bandito’s this Thursday night. As for MKVULTURE, they’re a newer Richmond band who released their debut EP back at the beginning of the year. They’ve got a sound that at times feels like early 80s UK postpunk, but always explodes into high-energy choruses that show off a raw punk foundation. On this bill, they ably bridge the gap between the power-pop energy of Shop Talk and the moody weirdness of Serqet. This evening begins with a set from Isa Moreno, about whom I know pretty much nothing, unfortunately. Everything sounds pretty decent with a belly full of tacos, though. I’m just sayin.
Friday, August 9, 6 PM
Armor, Lethal, Ideation, Fried Reality, Cicada, Hominid @ Studio Two Three – $15
OK, now things are gonna get really punk, in that special raw way that the D-beat kids like to call “noise not music” (though let’s be real, it’s probably still way too musical for the Whitehouse/Throbbing Gristle diehards). It’s plenty noisy enough for me, though, and I’m sure any of you who love your hardcore raw and raging, with plenty of influence from classic UK, Scandinavian, and even Japanese hardcore of decades past will get way into what Armor have to offer. This quintet may be from Florida, but they just released a new EP, Afraid Of What’s To Come, on Richmond’s own 11 PM Records. Like their previous releases, it’s an absolute volcano of raw three-chord punk rage delivered at 100 mph and doused in feedback. And you can bet these folks will blow minds and eardrums when they unleash their live attack over at Studio Two Three this Friday night.
Armor will be joined by fellow 11 PM recording artists Lethal on this bill. Lethal hail from New York City and have more of a classic American hardcore sound — less D-beat, more raw speed in classic Urban Waste/Kraut fashion. Get ready to start the pit right in the middle of Studio Two Three (but don’t mess up any of their equipment). Florida ragers Ideation are the third out-of-town band on this bill, and they might be the speediest yet, stepping on it in classic Boston HC fashion on their 2021 Blunt Instrument EP. Get ready for things to get wild when these guys play. Richmond representatives Fried Reality like to blur the line between “noise not music” and outright harsh atonal noise, so whether this set feels like noisy punk or just plain noise will really depend on what Fried Reality feels like laying on you at any given moment. Richmonders Cicada make their commitment to furious punk noise clear on the title of their recent EP, We Are Going To Kill You. Give these folks their space, would be my advice. Local openers Hominid have a four-song demo that sounds like it was recorded by a single mic in a basement somewhere, and all of the songs on it are less than a minute long, so that should give you an idea of what to expect from these rippers. That’s right folks, it’s gonna be that kind of night. Get stoked.
Saturday, August 10, 6 PM
Mingus Awareness Project, feat. No BS! Brass Band, Michael Hawkins And The Brotherhood @ Ember Music Hall – $20 in advance, $30 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Folks, are you aware of the Mingus Awareness Project? It’s an ongoing effort of a collection of Richmond jazz musicians to raise money to fight ALS, the disease that killed legendary jazz bassist Charles Mingus. A progressive disease that causes muscle weakness and eventual complete paralysis, there’s no known cure for ALS, and those who are diagnosed with it typically live only a few years past diagnosis. In order to help raise money to fight ALS, jazz musicians in both Richmond and Chicago have been playing benefit shows in which they perform the music of Charles Mingus and other jazz legends for close to two decades now. The event taking place at Ember Music Hall this Saturday night is just the latest of these. And as always, it’s sure to be a great time.
No BS! Brass Band is at the top of this bill, and this band should need no introduction to anyone who has been involved with Richmond music for any appreciable length of time. Having initially drawn attention through their variety of unusual cover songs, from a-Ha to Agent Orange, they’ve since shown their agility with original music of all genres, incorporating everything from hip hop and soul to punk and reggae into their jazz-funk foundation. Hearing these folks take on the music of Charles Mingus should be an incredible experience, even if they take it in a completely different direction than you might expect (and I certainly think that’s a likely outcome). As for Michael Hawkins and the Brotherhood, the quartet led by talented jazz bassist Michael Hawkins and featuring other local jazz luminaries including Dr. Weldon Hill on piano and James “Saxsmo” Gates on alto sax, you can probably expect a slightly more straightforward take on the music of Mingus from these folks. But don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean it’ll be predictable; the talent, heart, and sheer power this combo brings to their playing will shed new light on any tunes they choose to play. Not only will your evening’s entertainment go toward a good cause, you’ll be psychically enriched by having experienced it.
Sunday, August 11, 6:30 PM
Super American, Sydney Sprague, Summerbruise @ The Canal Club – $20 (order tickets HERE)
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I love punk rock in all its forms. And while some people might not agree, for me that definitely includes fun, silly pop-punk. That’s why I really enjoy Super American, a band who caught my attention a few years back when they released an album entitled Sup. The fact that I saw what they did there was enough to earn a first listen from me, but I kept coming back to that album because of its many catchy guitar-driven tunes, full of memorable choruses and lovelorn emo lyrics — all of which they undercut at various points with tongue-in-cheek moves like starting the album with a song called “Free Bird,” or calling the catchiest tune on the whole damn record “Fuck It!!!!!”
They’ve taken their irreverent attitude to the next level on their new album, Gangster of Love, and it infects the song structures themselves, especially on tracks like “Manager Haircut,” with its synth breakdowns, and “Hopefully Pitchfork Doesn’t Hear This,” which features lyrics like “Aliens are secretive, man — why don’t they just say what’s up?” They may write songs that land on the more emotionally-fraught end of the pop-punk spectrum, verging at times on outright emo, but don’t get it twisted, man — Super American are a bunch of goofballs. And believe it or not, it’s probably the best thing about their band. So clear some time to see them this Sunday night. You’re sure to have a good time. Alt-indie singer-songwriter Sydney Sprague and power-pop emo-punks Summerbruise will open this one up, so this Sunday night, go say ‘sup to Super American. You’ll be glad you did.
Monday, August 12, 7 PM
The Courettes, Safe Sex, Cinema Hearts @ Cobra Cabana – $10 (order tickets HERE)
This Monday night, it’s time to get back to basics. The Courettes are coming to Cobra Cabana, and this rock n’ roll duo from Denmark and Brazil keep things simple and charge straight ahead with some classic stripped-down garage rock tuneage. If you enjoyed the vogue for minimalist rock n’ roll coming out of cities like Detroit and Milwaukee back in the late 90s and early 00s, The Courettes will make you feel like you’re right back there. Using only overdriven guitars, minimalist percussion, and outstanding girl-group vocal stylings, these folks sound like a perfect combination of The Shangri-La’s and The Dirtbombs. Get ready to rip it up when these folks hit the Cobra Cabana stage — you’ll be twisting the night away.
Where support acts are concerned, Richmonders Safe Sex have a funky sound that moves between danceable guitar riffs and soulful balladry featuring male-female vocal interplay that is quite a thing to hear. The evening is rounded out by DC rockers Cinema Hearts, who have a similarly retro aesthetic to that of The Courettes, though Cinema Hearts come a lot closer to the girl-group end of things on their 2023 EP, I Want You. Bandleader Caroline Weinroth has a flawless pop sensibility, but she never fails to let the guitars rip when the moment calls for it. So get to Cobra Cabana on time, because you won’t want to miss a moment of what Cinema Hearts have to offer. Plus, that way you can grab a Snake Plissken burger before the music gets started. You definitely won’t be sorry you did that.
Tuesday, August 13, 7 PM
Shallow Alcove, Noah Pope, Zachy, Buffchick @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Let’s round out this week’s worth of shows by heading over to Richmond Music Hall and enjoying some gorgeous indie folk tunes from New York-via-Philadelphia quintet Shallow Alcove. Fronted by the harmonizing duo of Grace Krichbaum and Dan Harris, this group focuses on melody and writes lyrics that delve into real life and deep emotion. 2023’s Keepsakes only scratches the surface, as these folks are always releasing new singles, each of which brings a new classic melody to your ears in delightful fashion.
Shallow Alcove’s set at Richmond Music Hall will be a delightful acoustic interlude full of sad lyrics overtop happy tunes, and the combination is sure to make you smile. Their touring partners, which include fellow strummers Noah Pope, Zachy, and Buffchick, each have their own take on acoustic melodies, moving from straightforward folk to something closer to acoustic indie pop. All of it’s lovely, and will add up to a sweet, tuneful evening to help you go to bed with a smile on your face.
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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