Supporting music in Richmond since 2000 - "Eight-sided whispering hallelujah hatrack / Seven-faced marble eye transitory dream doll / Six proud walkers on jingle-bell rainbow / Five men writing in fingers of gold / Four men tracking the great white sperm whale / Three girls wait in a foreign dominion" - Grateful Dead - "The Eleven"
July 4th weekend! Wave that flag! Wave it wide and high!
Friday kicks off with an early show at Strange Matter with punk/pop/emo band The Hotelier, out of Worcester MA. Tix are $12 advance, $14 day of show. Told Slant and Bellows open the show. Doors open at 5, show starts at 6 and it'll all be over by 9 so you can rest up for the rest of the weekend. Here's The Hotelier's "Piano Player":
If you don't want to head home early on Friday night, you've got a couple more choices.
No BS! Brass Band will be at Vagabond. That's the restaurant right next to The National. The doors open at 9:00, show starts at 10 and it's $10 to get in. No BS just got back from Canada where they were scoping out places to live in case Trump wins. Just kidding! They were up there playing the Ottawa Jazz Fest. Here they are at Audiotree in February 2015:
Also on Friday, jam band The Southern Belles begin their last few months of First Fridays at The Camel with a show featuring openers The Slank. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. tix are $10 advance, $12 day of show. Here's the Belles at the Jefferson Theatre in C'ville a few months ago:
Fine slide-guitar driven swamp/punk/blues/American rock n' roll band Dismal Swamp Lords inaugurate music at Buskey Cider. Buskey recently opened up in Scott's Addition (2910 W Lehigh St). The music gets underway at 4 PM. It's FREE to get in. In honor of the holiday, you can try a flight of Red, White & Blue Cider and they'll be celebrating all weekend long. Here's a little introduction to the Lords:
Over at The Broadberry, salsa band Bio Ritmo will be sure to get you moving Saturday night. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and no opener is listed. Tix are $12 advance, $15 at the door. This will be Bio Ritmo's only show in Richmond this summer and what better way to celebrate Independence Day weekend than with the melting pot of sounds and band members that this band represents. Here's the band a few years ago playing in NYC:
On the 4th of July, it's bands, beer, food trucks and fireworks (courtesy of being near The Diamond) at Hardywood. Five, count 'em, five bands get underway at 3 PM with Mikrowaves (American rock n' roll), KINGS (R&B/Soul/Funk), Andrew Leahy & The Homestead (Guitar-fueled Americana), Rikki Shay (pop/soul/rock), and finally Full Moon Fever (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers tribute). It's FREE to get in. You can bring the kids too. I hope FMF play this one.
That'll do it. I'll see you at Buskey Cider on Saturday and Hardywood on July 4th. I'll leave you with this one because it got stuck in my head today and I listened to it about 10 times in a row at work today and I just listened to it five more times. The harmony vocals are like cotton candy for my ears (with Emmylou Harris helping out on backing vocals) and the bright colors of the video scream summer fun.
The Avett Brothers are on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight (11:35 PM, NBC). They'll most likely be playing a selection from their new album, "True Sadness". You can stream the album now on NPR Music. Here they are doing a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR six years ago:
Garage punk band Twin Peaks will be on Conan tonight (11 PM, TBS). You know you are moving up in the world when Goose Island teams up with you to make a special "garage lager" called "Natural Villain" which debuted at this year's Pitchfork Festival. Here's the, um, "making of" video:
And here's Twin Peaks "Making Breakfast". I bet they drink their beer at breakfast.
Here's The Claypool Lennon Delirium on last night's Late Late Show:
The weekend starts Thursday night at Gallery5 with the RVA funk of KINGS, the psychedelic West African funk by way of Brooklyn of Super Yamba Band and the "Minimalist Appalachian Math Rock Live Looping Sound Explosion" of Dave Watkins. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8, tix are $5 advance, $7 at the door. Here's Super Yamba Band playing in Harlem in December:
Since releasing their first album, 2005’s Washed In Blue, Drew & The Neighbors (Ellie Holcomb, Nathan Dugger, Rich Brinsfield) have established themselves as a formidable indie act, selling more than 75,000 records, playing more than 1,500 live dates, selling-out headline shows, and touring alongside such varied acts as The Avett Brothers, Ryan Adams, Los Lobos, NEEDTOBREATHE, Susan Tedeschi, North Mississippi Allstars, Marc Broussard, and more. Their songs have been used in countless television shows and commercials, most notably in TNT’s Emmy Award winning 2011 Christmas Day NBA Forever spot, which paired the song Live Forever with a mesmerizing montage of past and present NBA video footage.
Here's DH&TN performing "American Beauty":
Fear of Music: Talking Heads Tribute Band get all new wave on your ass at The Broadberry Friday night. This will be Fear of Music's last RVA show until September. Tix are $12 advance, $15 day of show, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with The Slank opening. Here's the Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House". The long fade-out at the end of the song always reminds me of watching MTV late at night when I was in high school. And what's weird is that Fear of Music look exactly like the "cover band" in this video.
Electronic alternative pop rock band PVRIS comes to The National Saturday night. Tix are $15 advance, $18 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Joywave opens. You might dig PVRIS if you like Paramore, Chvrches, Florence & the Machine, From PVRIS, this is "My House":
At Hardywood on Sunday afternoon, celebrate the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality with Love on Tap: A Benefit for Virginia Pride. The tasting room opens at noon, music starts at 2. There will be gourmet food vendors, a photo booth, and music from Trunk Show Band, presenting a Mix Tape of greatest hits from They Might Be Giants, Green Day, The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Paul Simon and David Bowie, Then, indie pop duo My Darling Fury plays. Finally, the disco punk of Toxic Moxie closes things out.
Strange Matter features BRONCHO on Sunday night. Winter and Big No open. Doors open at 9. $10 to get in. BRONCHO play indie garage punk alternative noise pop rock. Their new album, "Double Vanity" just came out. Here's Broncho's psychedelic track from that album, "Senora Borealis":
Alternative rapper Aesop Rock is at The National Monday. Tix are $18 in advance, $20 day of show. Homeboy Sandman opens the show at 8, doors open at 7. Press blurb please:
New York-born, San Francisco-based Aesop Rock (aka Ian Bavitz) is a critically acclaimed hip hop artist/producer, recognized for his dense and abstract word play. Between 1997-2007, he released five solo albums, three EPs, and a 45-minute piece of music designed for runners, commissioned by Nike. His lyrics have been published in the New York Times Best Seller Hip Hop Speaks to Children, by author/activist Professor Nikki Giovanni (Oct. 2008), as well as Yale University's Anthology of Rap (Nov. 2010). Aesop is also co-founder of900bats.com, a creative resource of arts, information, and oddities.
Here's Aesop Rock performing on Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week backed up by Yo La Tengo:
That'll do it. Have a great weekend! I'll see you at Cheers.
I'm going to leave you with some more Suffers because they absolutely crushed it last week at Cheers. They did this song about a third of the way through the set and by the time they were done, they had the audience eating out of the palm of their hand.
The brilliant psychedelic pairing of Les Claypool from Primus and Sean Lennon is called The Claypool Lennon Delirium. And they will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden tonight (CBS, 12:37 AM). I really hope this band comes to RVA. They only have one album out but they do some choice covers in their set, such as The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine". I'm sure it's mind warping. Here's their lyric video for "Cricket and The Genie (Movement I, The Delirium)":
The Head and the Heart performed a couple songs on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night. Notice the lead singer wearing a "Virginia Is For Lovers" t-shirt.
The Head and The Heart are on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight (11;35 PM, ABC). Head and the Heart's new album, "Signs of Light" will be out September 9. From 2011, here thay are doing "Lost In My Mind":
Sam Lewis' show at The Tin Pan, scheduled for yesterday in Richmond, was
canceled due to massive power outages in the area. The show has been
rescheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday, June 21, at 8pm).
The good shows start Wednesday night with Joan Osborne at The Tin Pan. Tix are $50 advance, $55 at the door. Doors open at 6, show starts at 8 and there is no opener. Besides her own hits, Joan was amazing when she performed with the band behind Motown's greatest hits, The Funk Brothers, in one of my favorite rock documentaries, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown". She also did one of the greatest versions of the Grateful Dead's "China Doll" I ever heard in Camden NJ when she toured with The Dead in 2003 w/Greg Osby guesting on sax. It still gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Here's the press blurb on Joan:
Joan Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation — both a commanding, passionate performer and a frank, emotionally evocative songwriter. Osborne is widely known for her beloved hit song,“(What If God Was)One of Us,” as well as her live performances of “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” and “Heat Wave” in the GRAMMY Award-winning documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time GRAMMY Award nominee, the soulful vocalist and noted song interpreter is a highly sought-after collaborator and guest performer who has performed alongside many notable artists, including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, and Patti Smith to name a few.
Osborne is widely known for her live performances of “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” and “Heat Wave” in the GRAMMY Award-winning documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Both fans and critics have praised Osborne’s contribution to the film. Counting such legendary artists as Etta James and Ray Charles as influences, Osborne is firmly rooted in R&B and soul, as evidenced by the soul covers she has recorded on her albums How Sweet It Is and Breakfast In Bed, in addition to Bring It On Home, which garnered a Best Blues Album nomination at the 2013 GRAMMY Awards. Those heartfelt performances are reflected in her Soul Revue concerts.
And here's that version of "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" from "Standing in the Shadows of Motown". Because I need to know what happens to us.
Indie pop rock band Lucius is at The Broadberry Wednesday night. Tix are $17 advance, $20 day of show. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with opener Margaret Glaspy. The lead singers of Lucius, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, have recently performed with Roger Waters Band too and will do so again at his Desert Trip Indio show. Here's Lucius performing in March at Amoeba Records in LA:
Folk rock band Boy & Bear pull into The National on Thursday night. If you like bands like Fleet Foxes or Lord Huron, you might dig these guys. Tix are $18 advance, $20 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with RVA's own Big Mama Shakes opening the show. As the national bands that play in RVA the two weeks surrounding Bonnaroo, Boy & Bear played Bonnaroo this year. I've been digging this band a lot lately and this song "Southern Sun" is one of my favorite songs of the last year and a half. Even though the video is wintry, it makes me think of heading out on a road trip, driving down a road on a beautiful, sunny morning in the summer, with green filtered shadows from the trees surrounding the road playing on the car. Check it out.
Punk pop band The So So Glos are at Strange Matter Thursday night. Tix are $10 advance, $12 day of show. Doors open at 9 and Big Ups, Honduras, and Ghosts open. Their new album, "Kamikaze", is getting some might fine reviews with AllMusic saying, "Almost a decade into their existence, the So So Glos have matured and tightened their execution, making Kamikaze a huge leap past their already 2014 breakthrough, Blowout. Musically, the album is a pure joy". From that album, here's "A.D.D. Life":
We are gonna get funky at Friday Cheers this weekend with old-school sounding soul/R&B/reggae band, The Suffers. They may sound old school but they just started in Houston five years ago. They'll come on at 8. Openers Too Many Zooz will kick things off at 6:30. Doors open at 6 and it's just $5 to get in. And I will bring my rain jacket this time so you know it won't rain. The Suffers will be playing Cheers a few nights after playing in Tokyo, so while they may be a little confused as to what time it is, they will be sure to get us dancing and you know we dance better than Tokyo. They've also played Paris and Wichita recently. That's right, THE Wichita. Here's a 30 minute show they did recently for Audiotree:
Alt-country singer-songwriter Robbie Fulks is at Capital Ale House Downtown Friday night. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. It's $12 to get in. No opener is listed. Robbie has a great new album out called "Upland Stories". Country Weekly said "This is a masterful album, replete with wonderful stories and fully drawn characters." And besides great songwriting, the guy can play guitar like a mofo too. Here's a session Robbie did for Audiotree two weeks after the one The Suffers did up there. Audiotree gets a lot of great artists.:
Jam banders The Southern Belles are at The Broadberry Friday with bluegrassers Jackass Flats. It's $10 to get in. Doors at 8, music at 9. Here's the Belles last Saturday night in C'ville:
Americana band The Taters will be at O'Toole's Restaurant Friday night at 8 PM. And if you miss them there or want to see them twice, they'll be at JJ's Grille in Glen Allen Saturday at 8 PM. The Taters recently did a Badfinger tribute show and did a stellar version of "Day After Day":
Innsbrook's gonna rock Saturday with XL102's Big Day Out Festival. blink-182, Kongos, The Struts, Ann Beretta, and Fun Size will all play. Gates open at 2 PM, show starts at 3. Tix are $30 for GA, $39 for Gold Circle. If you get the GA tix, note that no lawn chairs are permitted for this show. blink-182 will surely be playing songs from their new album, "California". From 2000, here's blink-182's "All the Small Things":
Hardywood has White Laces (future tech psych rock from RVA), Manzara (RVA post expanse driven kraut psych metal rock), Black Liquid Drop (drone psych from Austin) and Spooky Cool (RVA) playing Saturday evening from 5 - 10 PM. The taproom opens at 2 PM. Here's White Laces "Heavenly Creatures":
No BS! Brass Band hits Broadberry up again on Saturday night and we're not complaining. Doors at 8, show at 9. $15 to get in. My Darling Fury opens. Sometimes No BS play giant European festivals. Sometimes they play for tacos.
Soulful (with a country twang) up-and-coming Nashville singer-songwriter Sam Lewis takes some time away from opening for Chris Stapleton to play The Tin Pan on Sunday night. Chris gave him a shout-out in Rolling Stone recently, calling Sam "a great singer-songwriter." Doors open at 5 PM, show starts at 7 with opener Karen Jones. $15 to get in. Sam's second album, "Waiting on You" was produced by Oliver Wood of the Wood Brothers and has some great musicians helping him out on it, among them guitarist Darrell Scott (Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Robert Plant), harmonica legend Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young), guitarist Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Buffett), keyboardist Gabe Dixon (Paul McCartney, Supertramp), and vocal group, The McCrary Sisters (Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin). Here's Sam performing "Little Time":
Monday night, it's more great Nashville singer-songwriting with the legendary Jim Lauderdale at Capital Ale House Downtown. Tix are $15. Doors at 7, show at 8, no opener. Here's Jim performing "Why Do I Love You?" last week:
How about one more fantastic singer-songwriter this week? Jason Isbell, whose last album, "Something More Than Free" was recently nominated for Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association, is at the Altria Theater Tuesday night. Tix range from $29.50 to $49.50. Show starts at 7:30 with Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls. Here's Jason's full show in Boston in February as recorded by PBS station WGBH in Boston. Nice!
Alright! I'm out. See you at Cheers and maybe a few other shows this weekend. So much good stuff to choose from. I'll leave you with U2 doing "Mysterious Ways" on the ZooTV tour for no particular reason. One of the greatest concerts I ever saw. I believe Edge married the belly dancer.
Friday Cheers starts the weekend on Brown's Island and the weather should be gorgeous. Unlike last Friday when I got drenched. I usually bring my rain jacket if there is even the slightest chance of rain. Last week, the forecast at 5:30 looked like the rain had passed so I didn't bring the jacket or a hat. Of course, it poured and I looked like a drowned rat. Went into Penny Lane to warm up with some fish & chips and stood at the bar eating while I dripped all over their floor.
This week at Friday Cheers, it's Philly boy Kurt Vile with his band The Violators. They are stopping here on their way to play Bonnaroo the next day. And the latest artist out of RVA to get much national attention, Lucy Dacus, opens the show at 6:30. Kurt does a version of the Grateful Dead's "Box of Rain" with The Violators and J. Mascis on the new album, "Day of the Dead", which benefits the Red Hot Organization. Here's some Kurt and some Lucy.
Jazz/funk band Butcher Brown is at Strange Matter Friday night. Tix are $10. Doors open at 9. Tennison and a Special Guest TBA will open the show starting at 10. Here's BB in Brooklyn in March:
Like The Beatles? Does anyone answer no to that question? It's Beatles Immersion weekend at Plan 9 Records in Carytown. They'll be showing off all their cool Beatles stuff. All Beatles media will be on sale. And best of all, local musicians will be playing Beatles music live in the store all weekend. The store is open Saturday 10 - 9 and Sunday 11 - 7. Here's the band lineup:
Sun Jun 12: 2pm Uke 'n' Roll, 3pm Hullabaloos, 4pm Taters
Live auction on Sunday just before the Taters of a few rare items Silent auction ends Sun at closing. Check Facebook for details
Here's The Beatles playing on the roof:
Electronica artist M83 hits us up the day after he plays Bonnaroo at The National Sunday night. Tix are $33 advance, $38 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Sofi Tukker opens. M83's song "Go!" was recently illustrated by comic artist James Harvey in Paste Magazine. Here's M83's "Reunion":
Folk artist Iris DeMent is at The Tin Pan Sunday night. Doors open at 5, show starts at 7, no opener. Tix are $35 advance, $40 at the door. Here's the press blurb for Iris:
You may have heard her many recordings with John Prine, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Ralph Stanley, and contemporary country singer Josh Turner. Iris DeMent has been featured many times on Garrison Keillor's radio show, A Prairie Home Companion and in the Cohen Brother's film True Grit. And to top it off, the Goo Goo Dolls song "Iris" was written about her.
Iris DeMent has been recording since 1992 with her first album, Infamous Angel. The songs "Our Town" and "Let the Mystery Be" brought Iris to national attention and were featured on the TV show Northern Exposure and re-recorded by the 10,000 Maniacs. In 1994 her second album My Life was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
After sixteen years of waiting, in 2012 Iris DeMent released a new album of original songs called Sing The Delta. Rolling Stone describes the new album: "…these artisanal songs of love and doubt wear their homeliness proudly; the effect is like finding a bountiful farm stand in the middle of nowhere."
Here's Iris singing "Let The Mystery Be":
Talking Heads tribute band Fear of Music plays for free in Forest Hill Park on Sunday evening. They'll play from 6 to 8 PM. Bring the kids. Here's Talking Heads on the UK's "Old Grey Whistle Test" in 1978:
Dismal Swamp Lords are at it again on Sunday night. They'll be part of the Bossy Lil' Thing Records showcase at Bandito's Sunday night. It'll start at 9 and it's FREE to get in. I believe the Swamp Lords will kick things off, followed by Suneater and then Imaginary Sons close the show. But don't hold me to that. Here's Imaginary Sons playing "Dorl Shorstl". Music starts in the video around 1:30.
Fitz and the Tantrums are at The National Tuesday night. Tix are $27.50 advance, $33 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with Finish Ticket opening. Fitz and the Tantrums new self-titled album comes out on 6/10 so expect to hear a lot from that. Here's the first single from that album, "Hand Clap":
That'll do it. I'll see you at Cheers, Fear of Music and maybe Bandito's. I'll leave you with another one from the "Day of the Dead" album. This is Unknown Mortal Orchestra doing a fine and funky version "Shakedown Street" on Conan on Tuesday night.
Newgrass/jazz band Bela Fleck & The Flecktones kick off the weekend and the first show of the year at Maymont on Thursday night. Gates open at 5:30 and the show starts at 6:30 with no opener. Tickets run $20 - $65 and kids under 10 get in for free. Here's the press blurb on the band:
In 1989 Fleck and Victor Wooten formed Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, along with keyboardist and harmonica player Howard Levy and Wooten's percussionist brother Roy "Futureman" Wooten, who played synthesizer-based percussion. The band made their self-titled debut recording in 1990 by playing a "blu-bop" mix of jazz and bluegrass , soon becoming a commercially successful, critically-acclaimed and award-winning band. Levy left the group in 1992, making the band a trio until saxophonist Jeff Coffin joined the group onstage part-time in 1997, eventually becoming a permanent member. Howard Levy has rejoined the band, while Jeff Coffin is now a member of Dave Matthews Band.
Fleck has been nominated for Grammys in more categories than any other musician in history (jazz, bluegrass, pop, country, spoken word, Christian, composition and world music categories) and has shared Grammy wins with Asleep at the Wheel, Alison Brown, and Edgar Meyer. Fleck has a total of 12 Grammy Awards, including a 2010 Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album.
Here's a full show from the band in 2007:
The Wailers are at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell Thursday night. Tix range from $25 to $65. Doors open at 6 PM and Kyle Davis will open. Besides playing songs from the great Bob Marley, they may also do some originals, like this song they released in 2010 to help support The World Food Programme.
Jamtronica band Dopapod comes to The Broadberry Thursday night. Tix are $15, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with Jouwala Collective. Here's Dopapod's first set in Cambridge MA on 4/30/16:
Friday Cheers brings rock/R&B/jam band The Revivalists (8 PM) and soul/garage/alternative/indie/roots/blues/punk rock band Seratones (6:30) to Brown's Island this week. Pandora recently chose The Revivalists as one of the "Artists to Watch" at this year's Hangout Fest and they responded with a great set. Here they are at the classic New Orleans venue Tipitina's in May:
The Southern Belles are back for their monthly First Friday gig at The Camel. Tix are $10 advance, $12 day of show, doors open at 8 and the show starts at 9 with openers Soul Mechanic. The Belles always like to jam with their opener and here they are doing "Terrapin Station" with members of the Captain Midnight Band at May's First Friday show:
DJ Williams Projekt celebrate their 13th Anniversary with a show at The Broadberry Saturday night. Tix are $10, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with The Slank. This is also a farewell show of sorts as DJ Williams is moving to LA to pursue more studio and production session work with prominent artists. He'll still be playing live and I'm sure he'll return to RVA when he can, but he will be missed. Whether with the Projekt or sitting in with local or national bands, I've never seen him perform a bad show, bringing the power of soul and funk to whoever he was playing with. Here's the full story on his departure from Style Magazine. And here's the Projekt performing at this year's RiverRock. We'll do two for old times' sake.
Disco punk band Toxic Moxie do a free show Sunday night at Bandito's. Spectaculars open the show at 9 PM. Here's TM at the Camel a couple weeks ago:
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats are at Innsbrook After Hours Wednesday evening. This is one of the few bands that will get me out to that lame venue this year. That and the $10 GA tickets they had the first seven days they were on sale. If you missed that deal, tix are now $20 for the GA lawn and $25 to $59 for Gold Circle. Gates open at 5 PM, music starts at 6 PM with an opener TBD. Their blend of roots soul rock has inspired their own brand of moonshine and you know you're good when they name moonshine after you. Here's the band's "Howling At Nothing" which you may find yourself doing after drinking a bottle of that moonshine:
Over at The National Wednesday night, it's Band of Horses. Tix are $27.50 advance, $33 day of show, doors open at 7, show starts at 8, no opener is listed. BOH's new album "Why Are You OK" comes out June 10 so expect to hear some stuff off of that. In fact, here's some stuff off that. This is "Casual Party" featuring some fine jello molds and some freaky looking creatures.
That'll do it! I'll see you at Friday Cheers and Nathaniel Rateliff and maybe Southern Belles and DJ Williams Projekt. Could be a fun weekend and I need it.
I'll leave you with this cool video from Placebo and a mystery to figure out:
