RVA Shows You Must See This Week: February 1 – February 7
FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, February 4, 7:30 PM
Hotspit (Photo by @2hevns), Lance Bangs, Twin Drugs @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Let’s start this week off on the good foot, by talking about what seems to me to be the first really great album to come out of Richmond in 2023: Hotspit’s Memory Of A Mirror Image, which is still a few days away from official release as I type this, but will be out there in the world before we all know it. Indeed, it’ll allow plenty of time to spare for everyone to play it to death, memorize every note, every lyric, and get super fucking stoked about the official release party for this excellent album, taking place at Gallery 5 on Saturday night.
I assure you, I know of what I speak. An advance copy of this album made its way into the Auricular offices last night (another of the many reasons I’m glad to be here), and… you know how sometimes you get a new record and you just can’t stop playing it, because nothing else sounds as good? That was my reaction to Memory Of A Mirror Image. Three of its six songs have already made it into the world as isolated singles released over the course of 2022, ultimately collected on the three-song streaming-only EP Melting Point, and I knew those songs were great, but the entirely new tracks on the album are, if you can believe it, even better. Hotspit are also the type of band who can never be fully captured on record, simply because the shifts they make from quiet, delicate melodies to crushing overdriven crescendos will always hit harder at top fucking volume — the kind of volume your air pods simply can’t dish out.
Where shoegaze-infused indie tunes full of heartbreak and raw emotion are concerned, Hotspit are pretty much the best it gets, and their new album is going to take them even farther. Be one of the first to find out exactly how great it is by seeing them perform live on Saturday night at Gallery 5. Or play catch-up with your more on-the-ball friends for the rest of the year — the choice is yours. I know which way I’m going, though. And by the way, you’ll also get to see the Richmond torchbearers for slacker 90s alt-rock, Lance Bangs, whose two 2022 singles, “Trust Fall” and “Told U,” show that they’re still excellent at tossing off seemingly effortless slices of laid back indie rock. And then there’s Twin Drugs, who are coming from the more experimental side of the shoegaze tradition (think Medicine, or MBV at their most acid-damaged) and showed they’ve really got what it takes with their rad new album, In Now Less Than Ever. The fact that this show will not only give everyone the first chance to experience the new Hotspit LP in all its live, top-volume glory but also bring killer sets from two bands that could be headliners in their own right just shows how unmissable this one truly is. You know what to do.
Wednesday, February 1, 7 PM
Woman Crush Wednesday, feat. Natural Astronaut, Charm, Prism.Poet @ The Camel – $7 (order tickets HERE)
I always appreciate Bri Bevan’s monthly showcase of female musicians, Woman Crush Wednesday, and not just because it’s one of the few examples I can think of where an internet meme was put to actual constructive use. The fact is, these nights almost always introduce me to new musicians of all genres and types, and widen my understanding of what’s going on both around Richmond and beyond. Plus, they are nights on which I know I can expect to see feminine creatives expressing themselves — I love band dudes as much as the next girl, but they do kinda tend to dominate the discourse, you know?
Anyway, this month brings us a trio of intriguing acts, none of which I know very much about. Natural Astronaut’s at the top of the list, and their music seems to be a collage of guitar-driven soundscapes and folk melodies… but of course, I’m picking all this up from abstract snatches recorded in short bursts and posted to instagram. What this will all sound like when Natural Astronaut take the stage, apparently featuring a drummer in their lineup for the first time in nearly a decade, remains to be seen — but it certainly should be cool. As for Charm, this DC-based artist has a much more easily explained sound: it’s catchy, danceable R&B/pop, with strong influence from legendary divas like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. I don’t know about y’all, but I always need more of that kind of thing in my life. Prism.Poet rounds out the bill, and other than knowing to expect poetry, I don’t really know what’s coming from their performance. Regardless, I’m open-minded and ready to experience it all. You should be too — this one is very much worth your time.
Thursday, February 2, 8 PM
Black Button, Warm Girls, Fried Reality, Hard Copy @ Bandito’s – $10
I last wrote about a Black Button show at Bandito’s only a month ago, in one of my last columns before I left… you know, that other place… but quite a bit’s happened with this Richmond noise-punk combo since then, and it can really all be summed up by discussing Rejoice, Black Button’s first full-length album, which entered the world only a couple of weeks ago. This show is a celebration of its release, and it definitely deserves celebration, because if you thought Black Button’s debut EP was a hectic slice of sloppy punk awesomeness, well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Rejoice really takes things to a whole new level — more unexpected tempo changes, more frantic vocal explosions, more chaotic moments in which everything comes a hair’s breadth from spinning completely out of control, only to snap right back into place with the kind of killer riff that causes immediate, uncontrollable headbangs.
These are all the ingredients we need for a Black Button live performance that’s more off-the-chain than ever, and Bandito’s is the perfect place for it to happen. That is, as long as you finish your tacos well in advance of Black Button taking the stage. They’ll be joined on this bill by at least one band with a great deal of awesomeness to bring to the table in their own right — by which I mean Hard Copy, a quirky quartet with elements of Pere Ubu, Devo, and The Van Pelt, among many others, mixed into their intricate postpunk sound. Members of this band were previously part of local luminaries like Gunboat, Fat Spirit, and New Turks, so you know you’re in good hands when these guys take the stage. As for the other two bands on the bill, well, both of them completely defeated my google skills. That’s assuming Warm Girls are NOT the Tibetan band I found on Bandcamp. Seems unlikely. As for Fried Reality, whenever I googled them, it tried to send me to Fried Realty. Meanwhile, on YouTube, my search results were dominated by the legendarily primitive and bizarre 60s garage single “The Reality Of Air Fried Borsk” by the Driving Stupid. Now I’ve got my hopes up that Fried Reality make really primitive garage rock. If I’m wrong, don’t tell me. I’ll find out soon enough.
Friday, February 3, 8 PM
Artificial Brain, Crossspitter, Voarm @ Fuzzy Cactus – $12
I’ve been known to half-jokingly refer to Fuzzy Cactus as Richmond’s home for rock n’ roll, but in all seriousness, I never expected them to become a haven for outright brutal death metal. I suppose rock n’ roll encompasses a much wider spectrum around here than I had previously guessed. Well, I ain’t mad at it — especially if the result is to bring a tour combining the powers of Artificial Brain and Crossspitter to Richmond. That fucking rules. Let’s talk about Artificial Brain first; these guys released their self-titled album last summer on Profound Lore Records, and it mingles some impossibly deep vocal growls and classic double-bass pounding with some intriguing progressive elements that come through in the interlocking lead lines the guitarists love to lay down even when the songs are at their heaviest. It’s simultaneously got a feel of overwhelming tension and barely repressed rage, and a pensive, introspective mood. Really, you’ve got to hear it to believe it. You’re sure to be impressed.
As for Crossspitter, what you need to be is prepared, as these mysterious blackened thrash perpetrators are clearly pushing the envelope both thematically and musically. On their 2020 EP Dry & Grinding Mouth, their only release so far, they channel the unhinged Christ-hating black metal fury of classic early Norwegian Inner Circle bands — think Immortal or Emperor — as well as the raw harshness of classic Bathory and Kreator records. Listening to this band makes me feel like I should probably give them a wide berth when they perform. You never know what kind of wild shit a band like this will get up to during a live performance. Whether that makes you want to stand back or get right up front, though, you know what you’re about to see will not feature a single dull moment. And that’s always amazing. Richmond black metal mainstays Voarm provide local support on this bill, ensuring that it’ll be a proper rager from the first moment to the last. Hell yes.
Saturday, February 4, 6:30 PM
Ace Frehley @ The Beacon Theatre – $45-$57 (order tickets HERE)
I know that the time in which every young kid grew up worshipping the makeup-adorned superheroes of metal, KISS, is long in the past. I know that the younger readers among you probably haven’t even listened to more than a song or two by KISS. And that’s fine; the world moves on, times change, I get that. Having said all that, if you really do continue on with your life in blissful ignorance of the true brilliance KISS displayed at their peak, you’ll be missing out on a national treasure.
Ace Frehley was an original member of KISS, and while everyone loves to talk these days about Gene Simmons and his ridiculous tongue, for my money, Ace consistently wrote the best songs, and delivered some killer lead guitar parts throughout his tenure in the band. Frehley-penned tunes like “Cold Gin,” “Parasite,” and the unforgettable “Shock Me” are personal favorites of mine, and no one can deny that Ace’s post-KISS project, Frehley’s Comet, is probably the best thing any member of KISS ever did outside KISS itself. Factor in the fact that he wrote the best song on KISS’s late-90s reunion album (“Into The Void” — no, it’s not a Black Sabbath cover) and it’s obvious that Ace Frehley deserves more credit than he usually gets. But don’t just go to this performance at Hopewell’s Beacon Theatre as a way to tilt the scales away from Gene (though that is a good reason) — go because it’s sure to be a night of killer tunes you’ll be singing along with by the second chorus. Plus, you’ll get to see a ton of former KISS Army types breaking out their facepaint for the first time in 20 years or something, like a legion of boomer Juggalos. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Sunday, February 5, 7 PM
The Montvales, Sweet Potatoes, (Eli)zabeth Owens @ The Camel – $8 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Let’s wrap up the weekend with a change of pace by heading over to the Camel for an evening of quieter sounds, headed up by the Knoxville duo known as The Montvales. Neither of their last names are Montvale, so the source of the name is a mystery, but their music is pretty straightforward, generally consisting of catchy acoustic guitar and banjo riffs, topped by gorgeous vocal harmonizing and relatable, open-hearted lyrics. 2020’s Heartbreak Summer Camp is a great listen, and The Montvales’ performance of those tunes is sure to help you relax and prepare for the emotional burden of returning to work on Monday. Meanwhile, their recent single, “Bad Faith,” shows that they’re still testing the limits of their musical range; by the time they hit RVA, they might have even more to offer than their excellent recordings would lead you to expect.
As for the other two artists on this bill, they’re both local, and they’ve both got a significant profile on the RVA scene. Acoustic jazz combo Sweet Potatoes were the house band for Gallery 5’s First Friday art openings for the past year or so, and have the exact kind of sound that would make an artistic evening even greater. Incorporating old-time swing, classic jazz guitar sounds, and both dynamic vocals and evocative violin, this group will definitely take the evening in some unexpected directions — and you’ll be loving every minute of it. The talented (Eli)zabeth Owens (you can call them Eli) rounds the evening out with their uncategorizable sound, previously captured in all its finery on 2021’s Knock Knock. Their facility on multiple instruments, including guitar, piano, and harp (!) means that it’s tough to predict what will happen during an (Eli)zabeth Owens set — but it will always be an intriguing and rewarding listen.
Monday, February 6, 7 PM
Phrases, Self-Checkout Renaissance, The Saturn Death Cult @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
As always, we must thank our lucky stars that The Camel, seemingly alone among this city’s music venues, remains committed to ensuring that there’s something cool to see any night of the week, even those early-week evenings that too many of us take as an opportunity to go home, veg out on the couch, and crash out so we can get a good night’s rest before work in the morning. What kind of poser shit is that? If you’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when you walk into work on any weekday morning, you’re leaving life experiences on the table. Or something like that, I don’t know.
Anyway, this is a show we’re talking about, right? Let’s talk about these bands already. Starting with Williamsburg’s Phrases, who are celebrating the release of their new demo on a Monday night — good a night as any, if you ask me. The singles this band has been putting into the world since their 2021 Small Talk EP paint a picture of a talented group of musicians with ambition toward complex pop anthems and the chops to pull them off. This set should be a lot of fun for anyone who digs The Beatles, Animal Collective, Apples In Stereo, or the Flaming Lips, among many others. Phrases are joined on this one by visiting Louisianans Self-Checkout Renaissance, whose name alone is good enough for me. That said, their 2021 album, Fair Trade Blood Diamonds, is full of raw, scrappy punk tunes with sardonic political lyrics and catchy choruses — so I’d have loved them regardless of what they were called. Just for a total change of pace, locals The Saturn Death Cult round this out with a set full of Fu Manchu-style revved-up stoner metal riffage that’ll start the evening with some serious headbangs. Be a part of it, my dudes. You know you want to.
Tuesday, February 7, 7 PM
Shockoe Sessions Live, feat. Hotspit @ In Your Ear – $15 (order tickets HERE)
OK, it’s time for this show column to come full circle — literally. Like Rust Cohle tracing the top of his beer can in True Detective, I’m here to argue that the Richmond music scene is a flat circle, and it’s never too soon to get back to where we started — which was, you’ll see if you scroll up, going to see Hotspit. Now, I know what you’re thinking: twice in four days? But just trust me on this one; for one thing, you’re guaranteed to be left wanting more after this band’s set at Gallery 5 on Saturday. For another, the tunes off the new Hotspit record are good enough that they could play them five times in a row and you’d still be stoked to hear them a sixth time. You can take that one to the bank.
On top of all that, it’s always nice to see any band get the full Shockoe Sessions treatment; getting to play an extended live set right there in a top-level studio, interspersed with interviews and opportunities to get to know the band a little better. It isn’t the kind of thing you usually get when you see a band in a crowded club, and for that reason, it offers an entirely new experience of a band — even one you already love. Best of all, if you’re too tired to make it out on Tuesday night, you can stay home and watch the whole thing live on YouTube. That said, if there are still any tickets left to buy, you are absolutely ripping yourself off if you don’t buy one and get your ass over to In Your Ear for this Shockoe Session. Don’t do that to yourself; you deserve better. And two Hotspit sets in the space of a single week is pretty much the best it gets in Richmond these days.
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
Also, I’m a freelancer now, and I’m looking for commissions, so if anyone needs press releases, band bios, or even actual articles written, you should hit me up! I work cheap.
