Weekend Picks: Purity Ring, Richmond Bluegrass Festival, Car Seat Headrest, Beach Slang, KISS, Titus Andronicus, Long Arms, Big Payback

Friday night finds indie-electro-future pop band Purity Ring at The National. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with Ki:Theory. Tix are $29.50 but that will also get you into Wizard World Comic Con for free on Saturday. You might dig Purity Ring if you like Bjork, Lykke Li, or Grimes. Here's "bodyache":



Over at Richmond Coliseum on Friday is a little band called KISS. Get there for the fire-breathing, blood spitting, laser shooting, flash potting spectacle that only KISS can provide. Tix range from $25 to $125. Show starts at 8 with openers The Dead Daisies. If you can't get enough KISS, they've just published the first issue of KISS Magazine. Here they are back in '75 on The Midnight Special performing "Black Diamond":

At The Camel Friday night, it's an RVA showcase with indiepunkrockcountryfolktwangpop band Long Arms, Toward Space and Prabir Mehta. Just $7 to get in.  Doors at 8, show at 9. Here's Long Arms getting mellow a couple years ago. But they rock too. Head to the Camel and see for yourself.

Saturday, it's the Richmond Bluegrass Festival 2016 at Hardywood. It's FREE and runs from 2 - 10 PM. The bands will play in this order:

• Cook County Bluegrass
• River City Band
• Only Lonesome
• Tara Mills Music & Jimmy Stelling
• The Hot Seats

Bring some shade because the music will be outdoors. There will be a bunch of food trucks there to provide yummy vittles, too. Here's The Hot Seats a few years ago doing "Hell & Scissors":

Philly indie punk rock band Beach Slang rolls up to The Camel Saturday night. Beach Slang is fresh back from playing a lot of the big European festivals. Their show at The Camel may be a little smaller but they are gonna own the place and hit you hard in the gut and the heart. Tix are $13 advance, $15 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers Positive No and The Kneads. Beach Slang's new video, "Atom Bomb", just came out today. It's fresh.

It's another free evening concert in Forest Hill Park as part of the summer/fall Music in the Park series. This time, we're gonna get on up with The Big Payback: A Tribute to James Brown. It'll start at 5 and go to 7 and it's FREE. Here's the band a few weeks with the lovely and talented Sam Reed sitting in:



NJ punk rock band Titus Andronicus is at The Camel on Sunday night. Tix are $15. Doors at 7, show at 8, A Giant Dog opens. From last year's "The Most Lamentable Strategy", this is "Dimed Out":



Band with a big buzz Car Seat Headrest drives into The National Monday night. Tix are just $13 advance, $15 day of show. Doors at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with openers The Lemon Twigs and Gold Connections. They've been selling out a lot of shows on this tour so don't sleep on tickets. They made their TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert a couple weeks ago. Here it is:



That'll do it. I'll see you at the Purity Ring show Friday, Big Payback on Sunday and maybe the Bluegrass Fest on Saturday.

Today (9/8) would have been Ron "Pigpen" McKernan's 71st birthday. He was a founding member of the Grateful Dead and also the first member of the band to pass away on 3/8/73. In honor of his birthday, here's a little "Next Time You See Me":



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Richmond Jazz Fest, Celebrating Sean Hoppe, The Julie Ruin, Sierra Hull, Landlady, Major & The Monbacks, Future Prospect, BJ Kocen, DJ Williams

New wave/indie pop/rock band The Julie Ruin are at The Broadberry Wednesday night. Tix are $20, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and be sure to get there early to see opener PWR BTTM. Here's "I'm Done" from their latest album:



Local musician BJ Kocen has the album release party for his new double album "Searching for Signal / Old Lake" at The Broadberry Thursday night. It's $15 to get in, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and no opener is listed. Here's the press blurb in BJ:

BJ Kocen has been on the music scene for decades now whose work really started to get noticed in the early days of the Ashland Coffee and Tea where he opened for Todd Snider, Hosted and won The Singer Songwriter Showdown, and played many shows there with some of the top musicians in the area. BJ then broke off and founded his own music series hosted at The Barksdale Theatre called "Stretchin" which lasted for five years. His first solo release "The Breaks" was produced by Paul Curreri and gave BJ the lift he needed to keep writing and improving. It took Kocen three years to finish a most ambitious project, "Searching for Signal/ Old Lake." This double album features 20+ musicians and truly is two separate albums packaged together. "Searching for Signal" is a highly arranged studio effort whereas "Old Lake" was recorded live to focus on performance. This massive efforts features the talents of Brad Tucker (The Taters), Jeff Bunn (Funkadelic), Steve Bassett, Jackie Frost and many other of Richmond and Charlottesville's finest. BJ is proud Co-Owner of the glave kocen gallery and has been working with the love of his life Jennifer Glave there for almost ten years.

Here's BJ performing "Old Lake" a few years ago at Ashland Coffee & Tea:

Major and the Monbacks kick off Richmond Jazz Fest (more on that in a minute) weekend with a show at Hardywood during their weekly Food Truck Court. That starts at 5:30 and the band will play from 7 to 8. It's FREE to get in. This is a great chance to catch the band who seem to be expanding every time I check them out, playing in Chicago, WI, NYC, STL, and festivals up and down the East Coast. Here they are last month playing on Music City Roots:



It's Funky Friday in RVA with not one, not two, but three funky shows going on. Decisions, decisions for you funkheads.

Jazz/funk band Future Prospect is having their release party for their album, "The Climb" at The Camel Friday. The album is up to #6 on iTunes Jazz Charts so here's another great RVA band making it's case on the national scene. It's $10 to get in, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and get there early. This is a great triple bill with Butcher Brown and Vanilla Summit opening. And if you can't make this show, or you want to see them twice, Future Prospect will also be at the VA Museum of Fine Arts for a FREE show Thursday night from 6 - 9 PM. Here they are playing "Closer" earlier this year at The Camel:



The Big Payback pays tribute to the Godfather of Soul and the man who built funk from the ground up, James Brown, at The Broadberry Friday. Tix are $10 advance, $12 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and this is another one you'll want to get there early for with Clusterfunk and the lovely and talented Sam Reed opening the show. Here's JB doing "Sex Machine":



Don't know if DJ Williams hasn't left for LA yet or if he's just back for a visit but either way, we'll take it. DJ will be at Cary Street Cafe on Friday night. This one is billed as DJ Williams & Friends and will kick off at 10 PM. It's $7 to get in. DJ gets to host a Jam Room on this year's Jam Cruise with George Porter Jr. of The Funky Meters and Steve Kimock (Phil Lesh, The Other Ones) along with the many musicians who will wander in. Not bad company to keep! Here's DJ Williams Projekt  a couple months ago ripping through "All I Do":



Saturday & Sunday, the Richmond Jazz Festival is at Maymont and they've got another great line up this year. Jazz purists may not be totally pleased but you can't complain much when they are bringing acts like Herbie Hancock, Wyclef Jean, Esperanza Spalding, Vanessa Williams, Diane Schuur, Stephanie Mills, Arrested Development and Buckwheat Zydeco to town and that's just on Saturday. Sunday has The Roots, Al Jarreau and Morris Day & The Time. The festival runs from noon until 10:30 each day. Tix are $85 for a single day or $160 for the weekend. Here's some Esperanza Spalding at this year's Festival de la Guitarra de Córdoba. Her latest album, "Emily's D+Evolution" is being hailed as one of the albums of the year so far:



It will be a bittersweet affair at Broadberry on Saturday as friends and former bandmates of singer/guitarist Sean Hoppe pay tribute to the recently departed musician who blessed the Richmond music scene for many years. Here's the press blurb for the show:

We will open the doors at 4:00 pm and start an Open Mic Jam format and ease into band sets from the bands Hoppe played with: Mothers Little Helpers, The Headstone Circus and King Solomon's Marbles to headline. Fred Hoppe (Sean's Dad) and the family would love to see you and hear the stories of Papa Hoppe, preferably only the good stories :/. Please keep in mind that this is a way to raise money for the expenses that this has caused and all proceeds from the door, auctioned items, and raffle will go to the family. If you can’t make the show and still want to donate, please make check payable to: Fred Hoppe, 11202 Summer Harbor, Chester Va. 23831 Thank you.

Here's Hoppe and King Solomon's Marbles in 2011:



On Saturday, the melodic art rock of Landlady (think Man Man, Pixies or Flaming Lips) will be at Hardywood for a FREE show from 5 - 9 (the tasting room opens at 2). Josh Small and Easy Company open the show. Here's Landlady's "Above My Ground":

The Taters will be at The County Seat Restaurant in Powhatan Saturday night. Looks like a FREE show that will run from 7 - 10 PM. Reservations are recommended.  Here they are performing The Coasters classic "Poison Ivy":

Bluegrass singer/mandolinist/guitarist Sierra Hull is at Capital Ale House Downtown Sunday night. Tix are $18 advance, $20 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Annie Stokes. Is she well respected in the bluegrass community? Well, when you get to play with Bela Fleck and Ralph Stanley, I would say you're doing OK. Ralph was showing his age a bit at the beginning of this video, but just having him on stage with you was an honor for any bluegrass artist.



That'll do it! I'll see you at the Sean Hoppe tribute on Saturday and maybe out at one of the funk fests on Friday. I'll leave you with the Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem show at Outside Lands last weekend. Animal still rocks!



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Shovels & Rope, Wild Nothing, STRFKR, Ill Nino. L.A. WITCH, 9th Annual Jonny Z fest, Big Payback, Future Prospect

Oh, what a busy weekend this looks to be. Hopefully, it will stop raining so we can enjoy it even more.

One-man alternative, indie, rock, pop, new wave, post-punk band, Wild Nothing, is at Broadberry on Thursday night. Tix are $15, doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Make sure you get there early to see opener Charlie Hilton. Here's two songs in one video from Wild Nothing. From their latest album, "Life of Pause", this is "To Know You" and "TV Queen":



As of 9:30 Wednesday night, it looks like the skies will clear right around 6 PM on Friday, just in time for this week's Friday Cheers. Americana/blues/rock duo Shovels & Rope are the headliners coming on around 8 PM. They were the opener at a Cheers show three years ago and they were excellent. The buzz was just starting on them then and they played to a larger than normal crowd for an opener. They totally delivered, leaving us all wanting more, so Cheers brought 'em back. Phil Cook will open the show at 6:30. Gates open at 6 and it's $10 to get in. Here's Shovels & Rope performing "O Be Joyful" in a cave:



Hardywood has it's own heavy psychedelic punk Happy Hour on Friday. It's FREE to get in. The tasting room opens at 4 PM and the music starts at 5:30 PM with punk fuzz band Bummers Eve. They'll be followed by The Harlequins (Experimental, psychedelic rock), Richmond's own Lady God, and then L.A. WITCH (Reverb-soaked punked out rock). Here's L.A. WITCH's "Kill My Baby Tonight":

There's tribute bands exploding all over the place Friday night. At The Broadberry, The Big Payback (tribute to James Brown) and Life on Mars (tribute to David Bowie). Maybe Life on Mars could borrow some of those horn players from Big Payback and do some tunes from the "Young Americans" album. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. $10 advance, $12 day of show. Here's some JB:



Over at The Camel Friday, it's a tribute to Prince with Future Prospect and special guests Viva La Hop. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Tix are $7 advance, $10 at the door. Future Prospect isn't really a tribute band, but they felt the need to celebrate the greatness that was Prince and everyone is down with that. Here's Prince at the 1991 MTV Video Awards with a song that was going through my head all today, "Gett Off". I believe this is the exact stage set Future Prospect will be using at The Camel Friday night:

Saturday, alt-psychedelic-pop band STRFKR, Com Truise and Fake Drugs take over The National. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Tix are $20 advance, $25 day of show. You might like STRFKR if you like MGMT, Fun., Phoenix, Chromeo, Goldfrapp, Flaming Lips, New Order, or ELO. Here's a 20 minute performance they did for KEXP recently:



Sunday afternoon, Hardywood hosts the 9th Annual Jonny Z fest to benefit ART 180 which supports creative programs for Richmond's youth. It'll run from noon to 6 and its FREE to get in. 10% of the sales from the beer and the arts and crafts from Bizarre Market will go to ART 180. Lots of stuff for the kids including a moon bounce and face painting. There will be a raffle too and food trucks to satisfy your hunger. Live music will run all day from:

• My Friend Kyle
• julie karr
• Josh Small & Andrew Alli
• Gull
• Get in the Car
• Cavum
• BIG NO
• MANZARA

Tuesday night, it's loud and in your face with metal bands Ill Nino, Bobaflex, Terror Universal, Saint Diablo, and Stellar Circuits. Be sure to get to The Canal Club when the doors open at 6 to catch all the bands. Tix are $18 advance, $20 day of show. Here's Ill Nino's 45 minute set at the Wacken Festival last year (language NSFW):

Have a great weekend! I'll see you at Cheers. I'll leave you with one more from Prince, where he absolutely kills the blues classic, "Motherless Child":



Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: JJ Grey & Mofro, Church Hill Irish Festival, Mutemath, Cage the Elephant, Foals, Bluegrass Jam, Silversun Pickups, Butcher Brown, Big Payback

St. Patty's Day falls on a Thursday this year, which should be good enough to make it a big party night and there are a couple of big party shows on Thursday night.

Funk/soul/blues/rock band JJ Grey & Mofro will be at The National. Tix are $20 advance, $25 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener David Ramirez.  You might dig JJ Grey & Mofro if you like Bill Withers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Van Morrison, or Muddy Waters. Here's the latest single from the band, "Brave Lil' Fighter":

At The Camel, it's a St. Pat's Day Celebration with Butcher Brown and The Big Payback (James Brown tribute). This should get funky enough to make even the most Irish person dance like they are on Soul Train in 1975. Doors open at 8, music starts at 9, tix are $10 advance, $12 day of show. Butcher Brown has achieved international status. They were recently featured in the Japanese magazine, Music Magazine. Here they are in more local climes in C'ville last July:

The oldest (at least as far as I know) and still the best St. Pat's day festival in Richmond, The Church Hill Irish Festival is up on Church Hill (natch) on Saturday (10 AM to 7 PM) and Sunday (10 AM to 6 PM). The band schedule is posted above. There is a $5 donation to get in that benefits a bunch of great local causes. It takes place at 25th St and E Broad St. Lots of good music, good food, good beer & Irish coffee and a large kids' area for the wee lads & lasses to go on all those bouncies.

If you prefer bluegrass to Celtic, you can go to the 7th Annual Richmond Bluegrass Jam at the Cultural Arts Center in Glen Allen on Saturday. 30 bands on 3 stages from noon to midnight. There is no charge but it is HIGHLY suggested that you give them a donation to The Fisher House, which helps military families. HERE is the band schedule.

Alternative/indie/pop rockers MUTEMATH are at The National on Monday night. Tix are $20 advance, $25 day of show. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with openers Paper Route. They've been selling out or close to selling out many shows on this tour, they'll be playing the Neon Music Festival in El Paso this summer as well as opening for Twenty-One Pilots on their tour this summer. I would say things are looking up for this band! Here's "Used To" recorded live earlier on this tour:



Richmond Coliseum hosts Spring Fling 2016 with Cage the Elephant, Silversun Pickups, Bear Hands & Foals on Tuesday night. Make sure you get in early to see Foals as they may be the best of them all. Tix run from $29.50 to $39.50. Show starts at 7. Here's one from Cage and one from Foals.






That'll do it. Have a great weekend! I'll leave you with REM doing "Country Feedback", It's time to fill out my bracket!



Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: GWAR, Southern Belles, Big Something, Lady God, The Machine

This weekend is all about New Year's Eve. I've never been a huge "go out on NYE" fan., All the prices are doubled. There are a bunch of people out who get drunk twice a year (St. Pat's Day being the other) and use it as an excuse to get obnoxious. There are cops all over the place but you can't get a cab or Uber because so many other people don't want to drive (which I guess is a good thing). But when I do go out on NYE, it's to see a band. Bands usually pull out all the stops and give a little something extra for the occasion.

GWAR has always been a band that knows excess even on a normal night, let alone NYE, so who knows what they'll do at The National Thursday night. Tix are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 7:30 with openers Kepone, Occultist, and Rocket Queen. Here's GWAR's "Penguin Attack". As always, this is not for the faint of heart or ear.



If you are looking for something a tad mellower on NYE, head to The Camel for the first of two shows with The Southern Belles. NYE has Jackass Flats opening. Doors open at 8. It's $25 in advance, $30 to get in. If you want to go NYE, get your tickets soon. They're going fast. New Year's Day has The Big Payback: James Brown Tribute opening. Tix for that one are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. I'm sure there will be some mixing and matching with members of all the bands which should lead to some special musical moments. Also, this will be the last show for Belles drummer Raphael Katchinoff. He'll be joining The Congress in the new year. The band, not the DC institution. Though he couldn't do much worse in DC and we know he'd be a strong advocate for the legalization of marijuana. Here's the Belles in the rain at Mantrabash in September. Not the best camera shot, but the sound is good and you get a good glimpse of Raph's chops.



If you like your punk pop rock n' roll with a side of tacos and champagne, En Su Boca has the NYE for you! It's FREE to get in (a rarity on NYE). Doors open at 10 and the music starts at 11 with Lady God and Cherry Pits.

The Machine (Pink Floyd tribute band) turns on at The National on Friday. They'll be performing the "Wish You Were Here" album in it's entirety, along with other Floyd faves. Tix are $15 - $20 in advance, $18 - $23 at the door. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 and no opener is listed. Here's The Machine doing "One Slip" from "Momentary Lapse of Reason":



Jam band Big Something is at The Broadberry on Saturday night. Doors open at 9:30, show starts at 10 with Shack Band opening. Tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Big Something is a nominee for Sirius XM's Jam On channel's Best New Jam Band of 2015. Here they are this past July:



Gladys Night & the Pips member, William Guest, died at the age of 74 this week so let's do one from them. The Pips had the moves!



And, of course, heavy metal/hard rock pioneer, Lemmy Kilmister, of Motorhead and Hawkwind, passed away yesterday at the age of 70. Here's their classic, "Ace of Spades":



And let's do "Overkill" too:


Have a Happy 2016! It's gotta be better than 2015....

Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Speedy Ortiz, Lady God, Big Payback: James Brown Tribute

Get down with your bad self on Friday night at The Broadberry. The Big Payback: A Tribute to James Brown will help you. Tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Rattan DJ (Rei Alvarez from Bio Ritmo) starts spinning at 8 and will spin in between sets. No other band opening. Here's a little "Sex Machine" to get you on up:



Hardywood has another Christmas beer release on Saturday. This time it's another variation on the Gingerbread Stout. It's called Christmas Morning and it's Gingerbread Stout conditioned on locally roasted coffee beans. Things get started at 2 PM. There will be the usual array of yummy food trucks for your culinary pleasure. Music starts at 5 with Grass Panther, the newest project from Michael Harl of Canary Oh Canary and Manzara). Then, comes Vug Arakas from LA playing "Midwestern rock and roll with a warm heart". Next, is Raccoon Fighter out of Queens, NY, "A three-part tumultuous psych-rock/fuzz-pop assault on the senses - a gritty, cathartic blend of musical bravado and camaraderie that propels you forward". Finally, RVA's own Lady God. They play "bristling surf guitar, webby bass lines, and sneering dual vocals compose an oddly satisfying vintage rock n’ roll salad they call “Slink.”" Here's Lady God's set in Gainsville, FL in September:

Grunge rockers Speedy Ortiz are at The Camel on Monday. Tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Bring some extra cash because if you make a donation to the Girls Rock Camp Foundation you can get some free Speedy Ortiz schwag. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with Aye Nako and Atta Girl. Here's Speedy's new video, "My Dead Girl", a tribute to both David Lynch and Muppets:



That's it this week!

Been listening to this one a lot this week. This is Drive-By Truckers' "World of Hurt" performed live at Plan 9 Records in 2006 (language NSFW). I was there and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen them do. It was a benefit for the Harvey Family Memorial Endowment and this was the emotional highlight of the show.



Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Umphrey's McGee, New Pornographers, Fear of Music, Everwilde, Big Payback, Sleepwalkers, Andy Vaughan & The Driveline

Thursday is Abraham Lincoln's Birthday and what better way to celebrate than with progressive jam rock band, Umphrey's McGee! Umphrey's will be at The National. Tix are $25 in advance, $30 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with Tauk and you'll want to get there early to see them. They're pretty good. If you have to miss the Umph show or just want more, their next six shows will be streamed online for $9.99 a show or $49.99 for all six. If you're interested, check that out at http://tourgigs.com/show/umphreysmcgee_wintertour_live/. Here's UMG doing "Bad Friday > Auld Lang Syne" amid New Year's Eve mayhem in Atlanta. They don't usually have the horn section. That was a special NYE thing.



Talking Heads tribute band Fear of Music is at The Broadberry Friday night. Tix are $8 in advance and $10 at door. Doors open at 8 and The Invasion will open the show at 9. I am assuming Fear of Music will play "Love/Building on Fire", "Love For Sale" and the song that leads off this show which is one of my favorites:



Out at Uptown Alley, country rock band Everwilde take the stage in The Rotunda bar at 8:30 and will play until 11:30. It's $5 to get in starting at 8. Here they are "Still Trying":



If you don't want to celebrate Valentine's Day on Saturday, head to the Anti-Valentine's Day Party at Center of the Universe Brewery in Ashland. It's run from 1 PM until 8:30 PM with special kegs of Imperial Stout, other delicious beers for you to drink, southern food and live music from Undercover Bandwagon (they are on from 4 - 7). It's FREE to get in. Here's Undercover Bandwagon's original "Screen Time":



More beer and music with FREE admission at Hardywood on Saturday with the Sidamo Coffee Stout release. That will get tapped at 2 PM. There's square dancing from 4 - 6 with music provided by The Hashbrown Belly Boys from Charlotte NC so be prepared to do-si-do. At 6:30, Jay Turner & The Swinging Doors will play classic honky-tonk country. Andy Vaughan & The Driveline close things out starting at 8 with more Americana honky-tonk country rock. Here they are playing "Her Body's On My Mind":

At The National Saturday night, it's indie pop rock group, The New Pornographers, and really, what goes better with Valentine's Day than pornography? Ok, there won't really be porn there (unless you bring it yourself), that's just the band name which is designed to shock and titillate you. Tix are $22.50 in advance, $25 at the door, doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 with Jaill. The New Pornographers hail from Vancouver and this video has been nominated for the Prism Prize for the Best Canadian Video of the year.

Tuesday is Mardi Gras and there is a Mardi Gras Git Down at The Broadberry. The Big Payback tribute to James Brown is headlining and the excellent rock band The Sleepwalkers open things up around 9:30. Doors open at 8, it's $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

That'll do it. See you at the Umphrey's McGee show! Here's Bruce with "Valentine's Day":



And what the hell, here's another one for the season from the Drive-By Truckers, "Feb. 14":



Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: MST3K, Trey Anastasio, J Roddy Walston & The Business, Dopapod, Former Champions, Susan Greenbaum, The Floorboards

To see what's going on Wednesday, 11/26, Thanksgiving Eve, check out last week's blog HERE.

On Thanksgiving, every one is taking the day off including all the bands. If you want a break from football, check out the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Marathon starting at noon on YouTube HERE. Six classic MST3Ks will be shown back-to-back with new intros from Joel. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the trailer and playlist of clips below and then tune in.

Friday, it's time to work off that turkey and rock with J Roddy Walston and The Business, last seen in these parts with a killer show at Friday Cheers this summer. They'll be at The National. Tix are $12.50 in advance, $15 day of show. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 with excellent Richmond band, Avers, so don't be late. You'll like J Roddy if you like My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers, Kings of Leon, Warren Zevon, Led Zep or long, whipping hair. Here's "Heavy Bells":

Over at the Broadberry Friday, it's a Black Friday Throwdown with The Big Payback: A Tribute to James Brown.Tix are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Doors open at 8, Kenneka Brook and Stonebrook Moonshine will open. Big Payback is promising some special guests and some new jams for the show so if you've seen 'em before, go see 'em again and if you haven't seen 'em, go see 'em. Here's James Brown on Shindig with Spanish subtitles. Sing along!



Get down jamtronica style at The Camel Friday with Former Champions. Doors open at 9, show starts at 9:30 with Homemade Bread and DJ Phil Dice will fill in all the empty spaces around the bands. It's $7 to get in. Here's a full Former Champions set from 2/1/14:



Once Thanksgiving is done, I guess it's OK to start listening to some Christmas music. I don't usually like to dig in to the Xmas tunes until a week or two before Christmas, but I could make an exception for the talented and lovely Susan Greenbaum and her Band's Holiday show at Ashland Coffee & Tea on Saturday night. They'll play some originals and some classics. Show will start at 8, no opener. Tix are $16 in advance, $20 at the door. Here's Susan's "You Are My Holiday":



Americana bands are featured at The Camel Saturday night. The Floorboards, The Atkinsons and Relacksachian will all take the stage, perhaps one at a time, perhaps together. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and it's $7 to get in. Here's The Floorboards riding in the "Devil's Cadillac":

Sunday, Trey Anastasio, guitarist from Phish, brings the Trey Anastasio Band to The National. Tix are $39.50. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 and there is no opener. This will be the third show of their fall tour so they should be rarin' to go. Here's Trey and the band at The Wellmont Theater in NJ doing one of my favorite songs from The Band, "It Makes No Difference" into one of my favorite songs from TAB/Phish, "Gotta Jibboo":

Tuesday at Broadberry, progressive dance rock band, Dopapod, pulls into town, with Tauk to open the show. You can check out Dopapod's new album, "Never Odd or Even" on Spotify, if you are so inclined. Or you can check them out here. This was their 2nd set opener at The Stache in Grand Rapids MI on 10/19/14. It's call "New James".



Have a great Thanksgiving weekend and thank you for reading Handful of Brains!


Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Cory Branan, Nellie McKay, Cracker, The Last Bison, Broken Bells, Hamilton Leithauser, Manchester Block Party, Sons of Bill

Now that fall is here, the weekends get busy. Lots of bands on tour, lots of festivals around town. But things start out of town, but close by, in Hopewell at the Beacon Theatre where country legend Marty Stuart & the Fabulous Superlatives will play Thursday. Doors open at 6, show starts at 6:30 with a "special guest" i.e. a local band that's been hired to open. Orchestra lower level reserved seating is $36.50 in advance, $45 at the door, GA Balcony is $21.50 in advance, $30 at the door. Marty & the band were recently on the World Cafe on NPR and you can listen to that HERE. Here they are doing "Wanted Man":

Thursday in the Manchester section of town, it's the Manchester Block Party with The Big Payback: James Brown Tribute (7:30) and Cover to Cover Band doing Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album in it's entireity at 6. All the fun starts at 4 PM and they'll have beer and food trucks to satisfy your belly. The event takes place in the parking lot at 6th and Stockton streets until 9 PM and it's FREE to attend. Here's the Mac doing "Dreams":



It's jamtronica at The Broadberry with Former Champions Quartet w/ former member, guitarist Matt Walton Thursday. Doors open at 8 and it's $7 to get in. Here they are as a trio at Camp Barefoot in August:



Trongone Band brings classic rock covers and great originals to Cary St. Cafe Thursday night. That starts at 10 and it's FREE to get in. Guitatist Andrew Trongone recently sat in with War when the Trongone Band opened for them. Here's the Trongone Band at that show with a little "West LA Fadeaway > Boogie On Reggae Woman":



Charlottesville's alt-country Sons of Bill are getting a big push to stardom, starting on a US tour to support their new album, "Love & Logic" that will take them all over the country. You can check them out at Plan 9 on Friday at 5:30 PM for FREE when they do a special in-store performance. Later that night, they'll be at The Broadberry, tix are$15 in advance, $17 at the door, doors open at 8 and Israel Nash will open. You can check out the new album on the website of magazine Garden & Gun right HERE. Here they are doing "Brand New Paradigm" from the new album on WNRN earlier today.

Bluegrass based Americana band Leftover Salmon are at The National on Friday night and they are bringing along a very special guest to play with them: Bill Payne, keyboardist from Little Feat. Tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener, Sunliner. They had a whole bunch of special guests (John Bell, Sam Bush, Col. Bruce Hampton, Del McCoury, and more) join them for a special show to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their album "The Nashville Sessions" a couple weeks ago. Here's a tune from that show, but it's a brand new tune from an album that will be out in November, "High Country":



Singer Nellie McKay joins the Turtle Island Quartet for a show at Modlin Center for the Arts Friday night. The show starts at 7:30 and tix range from $10 to $36 depending on your demographic. Here's the press blurb for the show:

Singer-songwriter Nellie McKay enchants audiences with her musical wanderlust. Her sweet, light voice enraptures as it dances on a vivacious lyrical journey. Her voice is an instrument in its own right, undulating with the staves of Turtle Island Quartet’s melodies to create smooth, and at times gentle, music. Light and airy, the swishing and sliding of sound through the strings of the quartet blend into one philharmonic, nimble as they move between classical quartet to jazz band. This performance by McKay and Turtle Island is an evening spent running through the natural notes of song and string. 

 Here's Nellie's tribute to her dog when she did a TED thing a few years ago:

Indie folk band out of Chesapeake VA, The Last Bison, will be at The Camel on Friday night. Tix are $12 in advance, $14 at the door, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Logan Vath & Claire Morgan. You can check out a stream of their new album, "VA", courtesy of Paste Magazine HERE. This show at The Camel starts their US tour promoting the album. Here they are last Friday on WAVY-TV in Norfolk:



Ashland Coffee & Tea has David Lowery & Johnny Hickman of Cracker doing an acoustic show Friday. I really wish Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven (David Lowery's other band) would come play an electric show here in Richmond someday, but this will do for now. Tix are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and the show starts at 8 PM. Get your tickets quick. As of a few days ago, there were only 20 tickets left. Here they are playing for my old radio station, WZZO. I worked there in the early 90's, back when me and Cracker were young and full of teen (well, 20's) angst:



Get the funk up with The Big Payback (James Brown tribute band) at The Tobacco Company Friday. Show starts at 9 and it doesn't cost anything to get in. Here's one of the most famous James Brown performances ever on the T.A.M.I. Show movie in 1964:



Americana singer-songwriter Cory Branan is at The Camel Saturday night. It's $10 to get in, doors open at 8:30, show starts at 9:30 with openers Paulo Franoco & The Rateros and Alison Self & The Lonesome Lows. You might dig Cory if you like Bruce Springsteen, John Prine or Steve Earle, not just for his sound, but for his lyrics too. Here's Cory's "Survivor Blues":

No BS! Brass Band will make you horny Saturday night at Balliceaux. Show starts at 10:30 and it's $7 to get in. They played on CBS6 early this month:


Sunday, the side project of Brian Burther (aka Danger Mouse, who recently helped produce the new U2 album) and James Mercer (lead vocalist for The Shins), Broken Bells, comes to The National. Tix are $31 in advance, $36 at the door, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and make sure you get there on time to catch the opener, Hamilton Leithauser. Broken Bells just released remixes of their songs "Angel and the Fool" and "Holding On For Life" which you can download for free HERE. Here's the original version of "Holding On For Life":



And here's one from opener Hamilton Leithauser:

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Dark Star Orchestra, Big Payback, Southern Belles, Silo Effect, Lollapalooza webcast, Phish webcast

Big weekend for Deadheads at Pocohontas State Park. Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, will be there for two shows on Friday and Saturday. Tix are $21.50 in advance for Friday, $25 at the gate. Saturday, tix are $25 in advance, $30 at the gate. You can also get a two day ticket for $40. Friday night, DSO will recreate the Dead's 8/1/73 show at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ, which is an epic show. Opener, The Weight, a The Band tribute band (that all sounded weird) will open the show recreating The Band's opening set from that same night. Gates will open at 4 on Friday. Saturday, DSO and The Weight play again with the addition of The Bridge starting things off. Gates open at 2 on Saturday. Here's DSO's full show from 7/6/14 when they recreated the 3/20/77 Winterland Arena show:

At The Broadberry on Friday night, more tributes, this time from The Big Payback, the local James Brown tribute act. Tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors open at 8. Black Girls & The Green Boys will open. The show is celebrating the release of the new James Brown biopic, "Get On Up". If you go see the movie, bring your ticket stub to the show and you can get in for just $8. Also, you can join the band at Bow Tie Cinemas earlier in the night and watch the movie with them. Check out their Facebook page to see which show they are going to. Here's the trailer for the movie:



Southern Belles (not a tribute band) will be jamming over at The Camel for their monthly First Friday gig. Doors will open at 9, it's $7 to get in, The Deaf Scene from Baltimore MD will open the show. Here's the Belles with Mekong Express and the Get Fresh Horns doing the Funkadelic song, "Funky Dollar Bill" at The Camel on July 4.



If you are stuck at home this weekend, it's a good weekend for webcasts. The annual Lollapalooza Festival from Chicago will be on Friday through Sunday starting at 2 PM each day. There will be 3 different channels and you'll find the webcast at lollapalooza.redbull.tv. Here's the full lineup. The number in parentheses is the channel they'll be on.

Friday, August 1st:

02:00 – Into It. Over It. (3)

02:15 – Wrestlers (1)

02:15 – Courtney Barnett (2)

03:00 – Bombay Bicycle Club (1)

03:00 – J. Roddy Waltson & The Business (2)

03:00 – Brillz (3)

04:00 – Jagwar Ma (2)

04:00 – Perry/Etty vs. Joachim Garraud (3)

05:00 – Interpol (1)

05:00 – Portugal. the Man (2)

05:00 – Blood Orange (3)

06:00 – CHVRCHES (1)

06:00 – Above & Beyond (2)

06:00 – Rudimental (2)

07:00 – Lorde (1)

07:00 – Broken Bells (3)

07:15 – The Glitch Mob (2)

08:00 – Lykke Li (3)

08:30 – Arctic Monkeys (1)

08:30 – Zedd (2)

09:00 – Phantogram (3)

Saturday, August 2nd:

02:15 – Wildcat! Wildcat! (1)

03:00 – Meg Myers (2)

03:00 – Kate Nash (1)

03:15 – Duke Dumont (3)

03:45 – The Temper Trap (2)

04:00 – Vance Joy (1)

04:45 – Grouplove (2)

05:00 – Fitz & The Tantrums (1)

05:15 – Smallpools (3)

05:45 – Manchester Orchestra (2)

06:00 – Gramatik (3)

07:00 – Foster the People (1)

07:00 – Martin Garrix (3)

08:00 – Jenny Lewis (2)

08:00 – The Head and the Heart (3)

08:15 – OutKast (1)

08:45 – Krewella (3)

09:00 – Cut Copy (2)

Sunday, August 3rd:

02:05 – Shy Girls (1)

02:05 – Bear Hands (2)

02:15 – Lindsey Lowend (3)

02:35 – Gemini Club (1)

02:45 – White Denim (2)

03:00 – GTA (3)

03:15 – Bleachers (1)

03:30 – Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (2)

04:00 – Cage the Elephant (1)

04:00 – RAC (3)

04:30 – London Grammar (2)

05:00 – Chromeo (1)

05:00 – Glen Hansard (3)

05:30 – The 1975 (2)

06:00 – The Avett Brothers (1)

06:00 – The Airborne Toxic Event (3)

06:15 – Flosstradamus (2)

07:15 – Childish Gambino (1)

07:15 – Young the Giant (2)

07:45 – Flume (3)

08:30 – Kings of Leon (1)

08:30 – Skrillex (2)

08:45 – Chance the Rapper (3)

On Sunday night, Phish will celebrate their last show of the summer tour in Alpharetta GA with a FREE webcast. That'll start at 7:45 and you can catch that at LivePhish.com.

You can jam electronica style with The Silo Effect at The Broadberry on Saturday night. Doors open at 8, it's $7 to get in, show gets under way at 10. Here they are at The Broadberry on 4/19/14:

I'm still a little burnt out from the really fun Phish show last night in Portsmouth, so I'm calling it a night. Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Weekly Picks: Psychedelic Furs, Bipolaroid, Loudon Wainwright III, Leo Kottke, Southern Belles, Zep Replica, Big Payback, Fear of Music

Friday is packed with music. If you've ever wondered what would happen if Led Zeppelin, James Brown and Talking Heads did a concert together, well, wonder no more. At the Canal Club Friday night, it's tribute band mania with Zep Replica (their last show ever!), The Big Payback and Fear of Music. Doors will open at 7, it's $8 in advance, $10 to get in. FOM will start the show at 8 so get there early. All fans of Phil B. should attend also. Here'e Zep Replica doing "Since I've Been Loving You" at Hardywood Brewery on 11/17/12:


Zep Replica - Since I've Been Loving You from Todd Raviotta on Vimeo.

At the RVA Theater (formerly the Hat Factory) on Friday night, it's Rockn' to Lockn' Round 1 as Virginia bands face off to see who will get a spot on the big stage at this year's Lockn' Festival. The first round will feature Everwilde, People's Blues of Richmond, The Green Boys, and Bryan Elijah Smith and the Wild Hearts. All of them are great bands and if one of them is your favorite, make sure you get there to vote. It's $8 to get in. There will be four rounds in all over the next few months with the championship round at the RVA Theater on August 9th which, perhaps not coincidentally considering the Grateful Dead/jam band centic Lockn' Fest, is the 19th anniversary of the death of Jerry Garcia.

Speaking of jam bands, The Southern Belles (who will hopefully be in a later round of Rockn' for Lockn')c continue their first Friday residency at The Camel. It's $7 to get in, show starts at 10 with openers Brushfire Stankgrass from Asheville NC. You can catch the Belles on the radio or the interwebs (www.wxjm.org) on WXJM from Harrisonburg on Thursday night from 8 - 10 PM. Here's the Belles on March 19 at Cary St Cafe with the "Jet Trails Medley" featuring Jet Trails (Southern Belles) > Bloody Well Right (Supertramp) > I'm a Wreck > Jet Trails.



Legendary folk musicians Leo Kottke and Loudon Wainwright III at the Modlin Center on Saturday night. The show starts at 7:30 and tix range from $18 - $36 depending on your demographic. Here's the press blurb on the show:

"For more than four decades, Leo Kottke’s innovative fingerpicking style of guitar-playing has earned him five “Best Folk Guitarist” wins (Guitar Player magazine), a “Best Instrumentalist” win (Performance magazine), an induction into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame, two Grammy nods, and an honorary doctorate. Kottke has released 22 studio records and 14 compilations, live albums, and soundtracks.
 Throughout a recording career consisting of 25 albums, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, humorist, and actor Loudon Wainwright III’s songs have been covered by music icons including Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Rufus Wainwright, and more. In addition to a prolific music career, Wainwright’s acting credits include film roles in Knocked Up (for which he also recorded the soundtrack), The 40 Year Old Virgin, Elizabethtown, The Aviator, Big Fish, 28 Days, Jackknife, and The Slugger’s Wife, and television roles including Parks and Recreation, Undeclared, Grounded for Life, Ally McBeal, and M*A*S*H."

Here's Leo doing "Deep River Blues" in 1997:

And, seeing as the weather is finally warming up, here's Loudon getting you ready for summer with "Swimming Song":



Sunday, The Psychedelic Furs will be at The Beacon Theatre in nearby Hopewell. Tix range from $20- $55. Show starts at 6:30. No word on whether there will be an opener or not. The Furs had a great run of hits and albums in the 80s. This one was my favorite, "Love My Way":

On Monday night, at record store Steady Sounds, there will be a free in-store performance from Louisiana band Bipolaroid who play "delta psychedelic music influenced by the likes of Dr. John the Night Tripper, Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd and the 13th Floor Elevators" which sounds right up my alley. Richmond's Roseanne will open. It starts at 5 PM and goes until 7. It's FREE but if you want to bring some $ to help out the touring band, they'd be grateful. Here's Bipolaroid's new video for "Self-Portrait".



Who says cartoon aren't good enought for Carnegie Hall? Here, Ensemble ECJW (don't ask me what that means) of Carnegie Hall do a medley of 43 Cartoon Theme Songs. See if you can name them all. The fun visual cues they provide might help.



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Infamous Stringdusters, DJ Williams Projekt, Black Girls, Big Payback

This is going to be a quick blog about what's going on this weekend because:

1. It's the weekend before July 4 and there isn't a whole lot going on musically
2. Since I got back from my vacation, I've been really busy at work and home and tired, too. Looks like I need a vacation from my vacation! But I'm hopeful that between the weekend and a lot of people taking off from work next week, that I can catch up and right the ship.

Tonight it's the last Friday Cheers of the summer (a tear rolls slowly down my face) and it should be a fine night (if there is no rain) for sitting by the river and listening to the newgrass/bluegrass sounds of The Infamous Stringdusters. It's $10 to get in. The show starts at 6:30 with opener James Justin & Co. The Stringdusters will come on around 8. Tonight will be a little preview for the Stringdusters as they'll do an "American Rivers Tour" in August going to some of the great river towns in the Western part of the US. They like to book their tours around fun things to do to keep touring fresh for them. Perhaps you'll see them out on the river this afternoon. Here's the Stringdusters doing "Rockets":

Some quick local heroes to note:

Tonight at Capital Ale House, DJ Williams Projekt celebrate their 10th Anniversary with Black Girls opening and perhaps some special guests. Doors open at 9:30, show starts at 10. $12 to get in.

Saturday evening, Black Girls will headline an early show with James Brown tribute band, The Big Payback, at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. Each band will play two alternating sets with Big Payback staring first around 6 PM. Doesn't look like there is any charge to get in. Black Girls finished the first round of demos for their upcoming album and will be heading into the studio next week to record.

That'll be it. Hope to get back on track next week. Have a great weekend and I'll see you at Cheers!

Tony Jordan