RVA Shows You Must See This Week: December 11 – December 17
FEATURED SHOW
Friday, December 13, 8 PM
The Hard Season, Endless Mike and the Beagle Club, ShotClock @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
The holidays are here, and we are often told that this is the most wonderful time of the year. But for all too many of us, the holidays are a complicated time that gets more difficult as we get older. One of the hardest things about this time of year is remembering all the people we’ve lost, and feeling their absence so acutely at moments that are supposed to be joyful. The Hard Season is a band formed to remember someone we’ve lost, and honor his memory by completing some of the music he never got the chance to finish. The person in question is Garrett Berneche, a local musician who played in bands like Brand New Disaster and The Riot Before. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2017, and passed away in November 2019. Over the last few years of his life, he put together demos of material he had been working on since stepping away from music to start a family. He had hoped to start a band and make an album of this material, but in the end, there just wasn’t enough time to complete this ambition.
In the years that followed, friends of Garrett’s who’d been involved in the discussions about recording his final material came together with hopes of creating the music Garrett had hoped to put together himself. It’s these friends who have formed The Hard Season, and who recorded the band’s self-titled album: Brad Perry, Nathan Madden, Bill Chubb, Phil Williams, Chris Shepherd, and Brendan Murphy — names you may recognize from Garrett’s former band, Brand New Disaster, as well as groups like Worn In Red and Forensics. The vinyl is still in the pre-order stages (you can order it from their Bandcamp, linked above, now), but the album has been out on streaming services for a few weeks, and as you might expect, it’s an excellent collection of heartfelt, emotional punk tunes, full of melody, passion, and energy.
It’s a shame the world couldn’t have heard these songs when Garrett was still alive, but it is wonderful that we get to hear them now in all their glory. Even better is this single opportunity to hear these songs live; The Hard Season will only ever play this one show, so whether you want to celebrate Garrett’s memory or just enjoy the honest-to-god brilliance of this set of tunes he wrote, this is your one chance to do it in a live environment. I should warn you — even though I left the ticket link up there, advance tickets have sold out! A limited amount were held back to be sold at the door, and if you show up early at this thing, you can cop one of those, but if you want to get in, do not dawdle. Here’s the good thing: getting there early will give you a chance sets from Pennsylvania emo-pop punks Endless Mike and the Beagle Club and Richmond melodic punk mainstays ShotClock. Even better: this is your one chance to experience The Hard Season’s music live. You do not want to miss it.
Wednesday, December 11, 7 PM
Whores, Dumb Waiter @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $18 (order tickets HERE)
Noise-rock heads get stoked: Whores are back. This heavy AF trio from Atlanta with the problematic name were a pretty significant phenomenon a decade or so ago — they captured my attention with the heavy, pummeling riffs on their breakthrough 2013 EP, Clean, then followed through on that EP’s promise with the harsh brutality of their first full-length, Gold, in 2016. However, there hasn’t been all that much going on with them in the interim — bandleader Christian Lembach has gone through a series of lineup changes, but thankfully solidified the current lineup in 2021 with the addition of drummer Douglas Jennings Barrett (who may or may not actually be along on this tour — he’s recently been diagnosed with lymphoma). This led to the release earlier this year of the band’s long-awaited second LP, War, which shows that they haven’t lost a single step.
Indeed, if anything, Whores are heavier than ever on their new material, and if their reputation for wild live performances holds true, the combination should yield quite the musical experience when they hit the stage at Richmond Music Hall tonight. Their unrelenting midtempo rage and harsh, on-point lyrical attack is of a type to please fans of bands like Young Widows and The Melvins, so if that’s you’re kind of thing, you definitely won’t want to miss this one. Local metallic screamo faves Ostraca have had to drop off this bill, but you will still get a killer set from Richmond jazz-metal terrorists Dumb Waiter, so this show is going to be a great time through and through. Come prepared to bang your head.
Thursday, December 12, 7 PM
RVA Broads Holiday Bash, feat. Mackenzie Roark, Erin Lunsford, Kelsey Ryan, IONNA, Sweet Touch, Sophie Collette, Mara Smith, Allie Longworth @ Reveler Experiences – $15 (order tickets HERE)
The month of December is all about holiday celebrations, and I doubt we’ll get through any of the columns I write this month without at least one of those sneaking into the mix. This time around, it’s the RVA Broads Holiday Bash over at Reveler Experiences in Carytown that takes the honor. This holiday bash was put together in order to benefit community-oriented arts non-profit Art 180, and it was assembled by RVA Broads, a new coalition that has come together to support women in the arts around Richmond. So yeah, not just a clever name putting an ironic twist on this bill consisting entirely of female-fronted performers — it’s an actual movement. Which sounds cool to me!
I’m not sure how holiday-themed this event will be once the music starts, but with a lineup like this one, I’m honestly not sure it matters. Mackenzie Roark’s witty alt-country tunes will pair nicely with the indie sound of Erin Lunsford and the moody electro-pop vibes of IONNA. Then there’s relative newcomers Sweet Touch, who mix EDM-style beats with smooth melodies and intriguing lyrics delivered with a captivating vocal approach that leaves you hanging on every word. Meanwhile, that’s only half of the eight artists on this bill — will they all be doing short sets? I have to imagine so. Others on the bill include the bouncy pop of up-and-comer Sophie Collette, whose 2023 EP Kisses From Clay Street has elements that are sure to please fans of groups like HAIM; alt-country singer-songwriter Kelsey Ryan, who has perhaps the most twangy, down-home sound of the artists on this bill; music educator Mara Smith, who makes intriguing indie-postpunk tunes that I hope to hear more of soon; and music therapist Allie Longworth, whose music moves from solo-guitar indie sounds to bouncy pop. Put it this way — you’re going to hear a lot of great sounds in a relatively short amount of time at this one. And it’s for a good cause! Really, what more could you ask for?
Friday, December 13, 7 PM
False Nectar, Hotspit, Bonemachine, Strawberry Moon @ Bandito’s – $8 in advance, $10 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Here’s an intriguing development that has occurred within the Richmond scene over the past several months: the rise of False Nectar, a new quartet featuring the guitar talents of Ten Pound Snail axe-wielder Holden Wilson. Unlike Ten Pound Snail, in this case Holden is focusing on their guitar and leaving bassist Harrison Wilson the role of vocalist and primary songwriter (I don’t officially know that the two are siblings, but it stands to reason). The lineup is rounded out by drummer Julian Roberts and, intriguingly, Patrick Park on a Bass VI — a sort of electric bass that is set up more like a guitar and can be played like either one. The fact that this band includes one guitar, one bass, and one instrument that’s a sort of hybrid of the two shines through in their sound, which features a lot of multi-level guitar melodies weaving amongst each other in intriguing ways. False Nectar also has a heavier, less psychedelic sound that brushes up against the worlds of post-hardcore and post-rock, though it’s really tough to assign it any one category. Which makes their music an even more intriguing proposition.
While the group have given us a few singles over the past couple of months (including debut single “Perch,” premiered here at The Auricular two months ago), this show is a celebration of their first album, Unlimited Things To Do Forever, which will be released on the very night of this show. Based on what we’ve heard thus far, it seems safe to expect a fascinating set of tunes that will both rock hard in the moment and remain in your head for days to come. If you haven’t caught on to what False Nectar are bringing to the scene, now is a great time to jump on the bandwagon — it’s only going up from here. You’ll also have the chance to see some killer Richmond mainstays that are opening up this show, including emotional slowcore riffers Hotspit, noise-rock mavens Bonemachine, and alt-indie rockers Strawberry Moon. This is going to be a great way to spend a Friday night, and it’s at Bandito’s, so you can make it even better by showing up early and grabbing some nachos! Gotta love that.
Saturday, December 14, 7 PM
Gritty City Is For The Kids 10, feat. Gritty City, Born Unique & Pete Twist, Big No, Skinny V, TROY, Hernbean5150, Eliturite, Benny Watts, MP, Obi-Wan, Dom The Destroyer, Introverse, Hood Da Loc, Gritty City Sound Machine @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s time for another excellent Richmond Christmas tradition — the annual Gritty City Records Christmas benefit show, which donates all proceeds this year to Punks For Presents and, as always, features a ton of excellent hip hop music from around Richmond and beyond. Of course, if you ask me, the Gritty City label has been one of the most reliable providers of excellent hip hop sounds in this city for well over a decade now, so you certainly wouldn’t expect any less. There’s a whole extended cast associated with the label, and you can expect to see pretty much all of them at this show — you can tell by the fact that “Gritty City” is the name given to our headliners, while “Gritty City Sound Machine” is who will be bringing the tunes. My best guest would be that the Gritty City performance will feature label founder Johnny Ciggs, along with Gritty City veterans like Starr Nyce, Skweeks, Rah Scrilla, PT, Delta Automatik, Ndefru, and… quite a few more. Meanwhile, Gritty City Sound Machine, is likely to feature the label’s standard stable of killer producers, including Ant The Symbol, Fan Ran, Profound 79, John Canada, and more. I know I’m bound to miss a few, so don’t worry about the details — just know you’ll get some incredible rhymes and hard-hitting beats from some of the best hip hop musicians in this town.
As for the rest of the acts on the bill, well, Born Unique & Pete Twist are right up at the top, and these two have been coming together as a group called Grime Lords on a semi-regular basis for quite a while. If you like dark, hard-hitting boom-bap beats and street-level flows full of excellent wordplay, you really need to get on board with this group’s 2018 LP, Wimbledon Dons. They’ve only released a few singles since then, but all of them are incredible and their most recent one, “Deathtrap,” features Benny Watts, who is also playing this show, so chances are good that you’ll get to hear this one hit at some point during the evening. There are way too many other performers on this bill for me to even try to cover them all, but you’re sure to know some of them already if you pay even a little bit of attention to Richmond hip hop. And believe me, the rest of them will let you know with the quickness about everything they’re bringing to the table. This show is guaranteed to be one of the best hip hop shows this city has seen in 2024, and you are going to want to be in attendance when it goes down. You know what to do — make it happen.
Sunday, December 15, 7 PM
Antichrist Siege Machine, Jarhead Fertilizer, Jealous God @ Cobra Cabana – $15
Christmas is nice and all, but our culture is definitely known to overwhelm everyone at this time of year with way too much holiday cheer (a lot of it just a thinly disguised imploration to buy, buy, buy), so it’s lovely to dissipate all of that hoo-hah from time to time with some joyous, irreverent blasphemy. You’ll have the opportunity to do exactly that at Cobra Cabana this Sunday evening, as the dynamic duo of Antichrist Siege Machine and Jarhead Fertilizer take the stage to blast us all to kingdom come with powerful grindcore fury. Antichrist Siege Machine are a local duo all about blasting the landscape with scathing noise at 1000 mph, as proven on their excellent 2024 LP Vengeance of Eternal Fire. I’ve been a fan of these guys for a while, and if you like the idea of early Carcass taking cues from Swedish black metal legends Marduk, you’ll probably love what they’re bringing to the stage as well.
As for Marylanders Jarhead Fertilizer, they bring a darker, messier sensibility that pulls pretty strongly from the world of goregrind and the more brutal side of death metal. It’s only fitting, as their anti-authoritarian message comes through strongly on 2023 album Carceral Warfare. These guys are total rippers, and will surely pulverize your head with their low-end devastation, so if that’s your kind of madness, make sure you get up front when they hit the stage. New Richmond ensemble Jealous God will open this one up, and based on the wall of raw hardcore noise they unleash on their recently released demo, I expect this set to go over well with both the D-beat maniacs and the angry hardcore freaks. On the whole, this will be a profoundly antisocial evening of music, one sure to frighten any Christmas shoppers wandering by Cobra Cabana this Sunday night. And to that, I say: good. Make Christmas scary again.
Monday, December 16, 7 PM
Clarke/Caputo/Randazzo @ Reveler Experiences – $15 (order tickets HERE)
Monday night is always a good night for jazz, and when the trio of pianist Daniel Clarke, drummer Brian Caputo, and bassist Andrew Randazzo hit the stage this Monday night at Reveler, you’re in for some very good jazz indeed. While Mr. Randazzo surely needs no introduction to the Richmond faithful familiar with his work in such ensembles as Butcher Brown and R4ND4ZZO B1GB4ND, the trio he’s making up one-third of might be a little less known in this city. That said, they’ve definitely got plenty of experience, originally coming together to hold down a weekly residence at Charlottesville’s Oakhurst Inn. That’s where they honed their repertoire of popular tunes stretching from the postwar era up to the current moment, and always delivered with a focus on improvisation and creativity.
The fact that it’s Andrew Randazzo’s name that jumps out at me immediately from this band’s lineup is not to take away from the other two players in this group, either, who have quite the pedigree on their own. Daniel Clarke has previously played with such Richmond faves as Modern Groove Syndicate and the Devil’s Workshop Big Band, and has served as the music director for SPARC’s Live Art. He’s released work on the Pax Am label, performed at the Winter Olympics, and done studio sessions with folks like KD Lang and The War On Drugs. As for Brian Caputo, he has a three-decade history of music performance around the state, and has most recently been part of a touring jazz cabaret show called “Be Anything,” featuring Charlottesville singer Ali Webb. So yeah — all of these guys have formidable talent and plentiful experience, and they’ll bring all of it to the stage this Monday night at Reveler. If you need to start your week out on a positive note, this is a great place to be Monday night.
Tuesday, December 17, 6 PM
Suffocation, Sacrificial Betrayal, Shovelhead AD, Appalling @ The Canal Club – $22 in advance, $25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Let’s wrap up our week’s worth of music with a visit to the Canal Club to witness death metal royalty in action. Suffocation have been a force in the death metal scene for over 30 years now, laying down some of the landmarks that define the genre with early LPs like 1991’s Effigy of the Forgotten and 1993’s Breeding The Spawn. Suffocation are particularly known for their spearheading of the New York sound within the death metal universe, which gave rise to subgenres like technical death metal and the grinding sludge sound of the genre known as slam. While their original lineup split in the mid-90s, the band returned to action in the early 00s and have since released quite a few more albums than they did during their original run. The most recent of these, Hymns From The Apocrypha, saw the band’s original vocalist, Frank Mullen, replaced by vocalist Ricky Myers — but that’s not as big a shocker as it might seem, since Mullen hasn’t toured with the band in a decade, and Myers has been part of a rotating cast of live vocalists for Suffocation ever since.
This probably explains why he’s so ably stepped into the role of full-time vocalist. No stranger to death metal himself, Myers is a founding member of California death metal group Disgorge, and does an excellent job filling Mullen’s shoes on the new album. Longtime fans of Suffocation can therefore expect the same sort of brutal death metal awesomeness they’ve gotten from the band for over three decades when they hit the stage at The Canal Club this Tuesday night. Rest assured, the pit’s going to be every bit as raging as it always is, and the band’s sure to roll out favorites from every era of their lengthy career. As for opening acts, we’ll get a trio of local metal groups kicking things off. Sacrificial Betrayal mix thrashing metal riffage with some clear influences from hardcore and groove metal, a sound they show off to excellent effect on recent release Doubt Kills Dreams. As for Shovelhead AD, this relatively new Richmond metal band brings more of a Southern-style riff-heavy attack, which is always welcome. Blackened death metal group Appalling will open this one up with a wall of unrelenting harsh blasts and double-time riffs to get everyone in the mood. It’ll be a wonderful time for all — especially if you remember to wear your steel-toed boots.
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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