RVA Shows You Must See This Week: October 9 – October 15
FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, October 12, 1 PM
Bamboo Cafe 50th Anniversary, feat. Piranha Rama, Prabir Trio, Tiny Lights, Barstool Heroes, Noel Haven @ Bamboo Cafe – $10
I don’t know how much time my readers spend on social media, but something I’ve noticed in my relatively infrequent jaunts on sites like Reddit or Twitter is that there are a ton of people moving to Richmond these days. It’s really been going on for years; I blame the remote-work renaissance unleashed by COVID, but it could have been a lot of things. Here’s why I’m talking about it: because with new cookie-cutter apartment buildings popping up all over town and big new buildings erasing the city layout I’ve known for decades, it’s tougher than ever to see the old Richmond I used to know amidst the e-scooters and co-working spaces and pop-up artisanal restaurants I can’t afford. And I know it just makes me a crotchety old lady, but I can’t deny that it’s a frustrating thing to see as a woman who’s made this city her home for over three decades.
There’s one place I can go if I want to see a part of Richmond that’s not changed a bit since I got here in 1993, though. That’s the corner of Main and Mulberry, where Bamboo Cafe has sat for 50 years. It’s one of the last true neighborhood spots I know about in this city — a place where you can still get a truly amazing burger for not much more than you’d pay for a quarter pounder at Mickey D’s, a place where you can run into old friends, local artists and musicians, and the truly weird characters that always made Richmond the unique place it always used to be. At a time when I worry about this town losing everything that made it seem great to me when I showed up straight out of high school, looking for a place to make my home… well, as long as Bamboo Cafe is still there, I’ll know the old Richmond isn’t entirely gone.
That’s not the only reason that I’m sending you over to Mulberry St. this Saturday afternoon to join in a rockin’ block party celebrating 50 years of Bamboo Cafe, but it’s the biggest one — because at a time when Richmond’s in danger of losing its unique character, we’ve gotta celebrate the things in this city that still feel real. And it’ll be the perfect occasion to do so, as Bamboo throws an outdoor block party featuring amazing live music from modern stalwarts of this city’s independent music scene, including the indie-funk blockbuster that is Piranha Rama, who will be headlining this shindig. And of course you know Prabir Trio, whose illustrious leader has been known to frequent Bamboo Cafe himself, will be on hand to rock us all. We’ll also get sets from alt-rockers Tiny Lights, honky tonk mainstays Barstool Heroes, and singer-songwriter Noel Haven, and that’s not to mention the other awesome stuff that’ll be going on: raffles to support Richmond Animal Care and Control (part of your door price will go to them as well), food and drink trucks, good friends, and a great party atmosphere. Come out and spend an afternoon pretending apartments in the Fan are still affordable, at one of the last great bastions of the Richmond we all know and love.
Wednesday, October 9, 7 PM
Fake Fruit, Spllit, Hard Copy, Clenchers @ Another Round Bar & Grill – $10
I tend to expect certain types of shows from certain venues around the city, so it’s always nice to find myself being thrown a curveball. That’s what Another Round is doing with this one; instead of their usual hard n’ heavy stylings, tonight they’re bringing us a bill full of quirky, angular postpunk tuneage to keep us all guessing even as we dance around in strange patterns. At the top of the bill, Californians Fake Fruit will simultaneously remind you of Courtney Barnett, Dry Cleaning, and James Chance and The Contortions, throwing some fun occasional skronking blats of no-wave sax even as their herky-jerky riffs have you skittering sideways across the dance floor. Their latest LP, Mucho Mistrust, is packed with the kind of nervous energy that Devo-inspired postpunkers have attempted to generate for decades; their turn in the ring is far more successful than most.
Fake Fruit’s compatriots on their current tour are New Orleans band Spllit, whose extra L is definitely making WordPress’s spell-check tool mad at me. Of course, that slight off-kilter note in their very name is a strong clue as to what this band are up to on their latest LP, Infinite Hatch, which throws curveballs at the listener on pretty much every song — always in the catchiest, most fun ways. If you dig it when bands subvert your expectations, simultaneously getting you moving and ensuring that you’ll place a foot wrong every 30 seconds or so, you’ll have a lot of fun trying to keep up with Spllit’s strangely charming grooves. And then there’s Richmond combo Hard Copy, who are relatively new to the city’s music scene, but feature a variety of local indie-scene veterans, and have done quite a bit already to establish themselves as the monarchs of the local postpunk scene. Newcomers Clenchers will open this one up, and that’s about all I can tell you about them — but the local gossip gives me a good feeling. Indeed, I expect this whole show to be outstanding — and I hope it will introduce a whole new side of the scene to what’s going on out at Another Round. The people need to know.
Thursday, October 10, 8 PM
Tyler Meacham, Caroline Vain @ Reveler Experiences – $15 (order tickets HERE)
For several years now, Richmond singer-songwriter Tyler Meacham has been making clear to all who have ears to hear that she’s one of the more formidable pop artists active in the city during the current era. Her 2022 debut LP, Into The Fray, was a powerful statement that let everyone know exactly what she was up to, and the expanded re-release that came out in 2023 added an EP’s worth of new tunes and rerecorded older tracks to take things up a notch. Now she’s moving onwards and upwards with a new EP, Sad Girl Summer, the release of which this show will celebrate in proper fashion. As the type of girl for whom every summer is a sad girl summer, I was definitely intrigued by the title of this new collection of tunes. And now that I’ve heard the whole thing, I must say that it shows a new side of Tyler’s talent; quieter, moodier, and featuring more stripped-down instrumentation, these tunes nonetheless feel richer and more filled with emotion than even the best of her earlier tunes.
That’s definitely a good reason to come out to this particular Tyler Meacham show, even if you’ve seen her play a whole bunch of times. Her new batch of tunes seem tailor-made to both shine in full-band arrangements and glow brightly in the more stripped-down just-voice-and-guitar format she often brings to her live performances. In fact, I don’t even know whether this show is a full-band gig or a solo performance. To be honest, though, it doesn’t really matter; she’s going to sound incredible no matter what. And you definitely want to be there to hear what she’s bringing to us. Local singer-songwriter Caroline Vain will open this one up with her own brand of emotionally driven guitar-pop, and that’s definitely a bonus, but the real reason to hit this one is to see Tyler Meacham level up. Don’t miss out on this one — you’ll be sorry if you do.
Friday, October 11, 9 PM
Mark Sultan, Paint Fumes, Mel Machete @ Fuzzy Cactus – $20 in advance, $25 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Canadian musician Mark Sultan may not be all that well known to a lot of my readers, but he’s famous in the underground garage punk world — although, to be fair, not always under the name Mark Sultan. When he sang in Montreal-based raucous punk maniacs The Spaceshits, he was Creepy. As the drummer for Los Sexareenos, he was known as Blortz. When he started The King Khan & BBQ Show with fellow former Spaceshit Arish Khan, he was called BBQ. He was billed as BBQ in his early solo days, too; back then he was doing the one-man band thing. But once he started recording under the name Mark Sultan (which, believe it or not, is still not his real name), the vibe shifted. Instead of pure garage trash noise, he mixed in a variety of other influences, from retro-space age exotica and classic R&B vibes to psychedelic soul. On albums like his 2007 debut Sultanic Verses, or his most recent, 2018’s Let Me Out, he made the kind of music that simultaneously evoked the soundtracks to 60s B-movies and sounded way better than any of the actual nuggets you can dig up from even the most obscure corners of that era’s music. He didn’t quite attain the high profile of that scene’s leading lights, such as Ty Segall, or Thee Oh Seas’ John Dwyer, but he made music that was every bit as great as anything they came out with.
More recently, though, Sultan’s been out of the public eye. Over the past half-dozen years, he’s barely released any music. However, he’s clearly moving back toward a higher rate of activity, because not only is he on his current tour, which brings him to Fuzzy Cactus this Friday night, he’s also been working on new music — according to recent posts on his social media accounts, he has nearly 20 new songs he’s put together over the last year or so. A new single, “We’ll Meet Again,” hit streaming services a week or so ago, and it’s definitely got a sort of doo-wop vibe to the vocals, even as the instrumentation leans more heavily on classic Farfisa organ than his previous material. That said, he’s still doing one-man band stuff, as he always has, and the word is that he’s incorporated updated versions of classic Spaceshits, Sexareenos, and King Khan & BBQ Show tracks into his set, as well as a heaping helping of new jams. Apparently the Farfisa even makes an appearance in his new live setup? So I’ve heard, at least. Regardless, the man’s a true talent, and his music is much more varied and multi-faceted than you might expect from his background. You certainly won’t just get the same old garage-rock noise when Mark Sultan hits the stage. So come see him, and rock out with Richmond garage-rock heroes Mel Machete and North Carolina legends Paint Fumes while you’re at it. This one will be a night to remember.
Saturday, October 12, 8 PM
Charlie Glenn, Deau Eyes, special guests TBA @ The Camel – $12 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This one snuck up on me, and it kind of blew my mind. Who knew that Charlie Glenn, leader of mathematically inclined power-pop veterans the Trillions, secret weapon of past Richmond supergroups like Avers, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, and Palm Palm, was making a solo album? I’m guessing there are some people reading this who think I’m embarrassingly late to the party, but hey… it’s not out yet, and this Saturday night shindig at The Camel is actually the first solo show Charlie’s playing to let the world know about his forthcoming solo debut, Get Reflected. So if anything, I’m not late — I’m right on time. And you can be too, if you make it out to The Camel this Saturday night to see what Charlie will be unveiling for us all.
There’s a special significance to the date of this show; it’s actually the night before Charlie’s 40th birthday. Depending on how late the set goes, you may very well get to see him turn 40 before your very eyes. And in a lot of ways, Get Reflected is a diary of Charlie’s last decade or so — from a lost relationship that left him broken-hearted and housing insecure to the sudden dissolution of Palm Palm, just as it seemed like they were about to blow up. At times when things were difficult and nothing else was making sense, he laid down solo demos, playing all the instruments except drums himself. At one point, he looked up and had an album’s worth of those demos, and they all had a similar feel. That’s the stuff we’ll all be hearing for the first time at The Camel this Saturday night — featuring an all-star backing band full of Charlie’s regular collaborators, an opening set from Richmond mainstay Deau Eyes, and a bunch of special surprise guests. It all adds up to something really great that you’ve never seen before, and you definitely won’t want to miss. The Bamboo Cafe party ends at 6. As soon as it does, point your feet toward the Camel for part 2 of the best Saturday of the whole damn month — if not the entire year.
Sunday, October 13, 6:30 PM
Bears In Trees, Mothé, Thank You I’m Sorry @ The Canal Club – $20 in advance, $24 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I admit it: I really wanted to like Bears In Trees before I ever heard a note of their music. Putting bears into your band name may be an overdone trope in the year 2024, but few bear bands have a name that’s anywhere near as cute as Bears In Trees is. Thankfully for me, this band is every bit as great as their name — they’ve proven that in a big way on their latest album, How To Build An Ocean: Instructions. Full of lush indie pop tunes, this band’s music tosses out amazingly catchy choruses and musical crescendos full of dramatic emotion as if they come up with these tunes multiple times per day. In truth, I imagine their music is extremely refined, melting down a hundred ideas per song just to get the half-dozen or so greatest into each three-minute tune. Amazingly enough, they also have incredible lyrics that display wit, irony, and erudition. They remind me of what The 1975 would have sounded like if their goal had been to be a more mainstream version of Los Campesinos. And while I like both of those bands a whole lot, Bears In Trees’s alternate-universe take on a sound that combines both bands into one is truly amazing.
This London-based quartet is coming to Richmond to bring that amazing sound to everyone in this city who loves music, and based solely on my own experience, I have to figure that at least some of the other people within this city who’d eat up what this band is bringing to the table haven’t heard them yet. This Sunday night performance is a great opportunity to familiarize yourself; trust me, once you’ve heard this band, you’ll only want more of what they have to offer. Gender-fluid maximalist artist Mothé is also on the show, and their catchy, dramatic pop tunes will certainly complement what Bears In Trees are up to in the most glorious of ways. As for openers Thank You I’m Sorry, their band name reminds me of a Gin Blossoms album, but their music is closer to groups like Cayetana or Hop Along — emo-punk tunes with alternative pop leanings and twangy, lovelorn vocals. This bill is full of creative artists with flawless pop sensibilities, and to have them all converge from various points around the globe and arrive in Richmond on the same night presents us all with an intriguing opportunity. Don’t let it pass you by.
Monday, October 14, 6:30 PM
Obituary, Private Hell, Heavy Is The Head @ The Canal Club – $22 in advance, $25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
You’ve gotta hand it to Obituary — they’ve proven that they’re in it for the long haul. While they did have a several-year hiatus at the end of the 90s, they’ve been back in action for over 20 years, to add to their decade-long original run, and their latest LP, 2023’s Dying of Everything, is every bit as awesome as the cassette copy of their 1989 debut, Slowly We Rot, that I used to blast while I was driving to my senior year of high school back in 1993. Granted, the sound has modernized a bit, gone a bit more toward groove than the snarl and thrash of their earliest material, but to hear any of the OGs of Florida death metal’s first wave still going strong after 35 years is fucking amazing. John Tardy’s inimitable roaring monster vocals are still just as weirdly brutal, and the riffage churned out by original guitarist Trevor Peres retains a continuum with classics of the Cause Of Death/End Complete era. So rest assured, whether these guys are bashing out a classic you remember from your own thrash teenager-hood or bringing you a fierce new track, their set is going to be a rip-roaring rager from one end to the other.
As for our two local openers, they help keep the Richmond tradition of hardcore-affiliated metallic openers for flat-out death/thrash-metal bands alive in fine fashion. Private Hell recently followed up their incredible 2023 EP, Days Of Wrath, with a new single, “Dead Inside,” that finds the band alternating between brutal sludge-mosh trudge riffs and absolute fury that hits warp speed without ever losing any of their trademark crushing heaviness. More of this, please. And rest assured, that’s exactly what you’ll get when they lay a full set on you at The Canal Club Monday night. And of course you’ll also get some straightforwardly furious metallic hardcore from Richmonders Heavy Is The Head, who have survived tragedy and continued to push forward with their life-affirming brand of brutality. You’ve gotta love it. Expect this show to hit hard throughout — come prepared to add a dose of your own rage to this one.
Tuesday, October 15, 7 PM
Killusonline, A Doberman’s Shadow, 1000Bliss, Art School @ Bandito’s – $10?
Back when I was young in the early 90s, it was all the rage to fuse hip hop with hardcore and metal, to come up with fusions that accented both lyrical wizardry and heavy riffage. A few bands pulled it off — Rage Against The Machine, anyone? — but too often, it ended up feeling kinda cringe. Maybe that’s why it took three decades for the sound to get a revival, but one thing I do have to admit is that most of the bands attempting the hip-hop/metallic hardcore fusion sound today are pulling it off far better than the bands who tried it 30 years ago. Maybe that’s because there haven’t been any breakout hits from the genre yet; instead of being besieged with imitators just trying to be the next big thing, things have been allowed to develop in a more organic way, and those who want to do this sort of thing have their hearts firmly in it.
All of this is to say that I’m very impressed by Killusonline, a Minneapolis-based band that started out as a relatively straightforward hip hop project before taking things in a heavier direction, adding live instrumentation, and becoming what you’ll see if you go to this Tuesday night show at Bandito’s. The result is quite a ways away from the typical Rage Against The Machine/Limp Bizkit knockoffs you might expect; in truth, Killusonline land closer to the technical jazz-metal hijinks of New York legends Candiria, though they also mix in a good bit of the atonal electronic dissonance and anti-social fuck-you attitude of Death Grips (a group whose outsize influence on the world of underground music still hasn’t been fully reckoned with). The result is fucking amazing, and whether you’re into tough, heavy hardcore; harsh noise dissonance; lyrical hip hop genius; or quirky metal guitar pyrotechnics, you’ll find something to love in Killusonline. Openers include Lynchburg noise-rock punks A Doberman’s Shadow, local shoegaze newcomers 1000Bliss, and punk rock anthem-bearers Art School, all of which have plenty to offer on their own behalf. So come out, eat some nachos, and enjoy some killer tunes in a genre you might have expected that you’d never hear again. Believe it or not, 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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