Toad's update, Tribute bands, The Bridge, Neko Case

In the further adventures of Toad's Place, Style reported that The National may buy Toad's. Toad's would then be the stepping stone for bands who are too big to play The Canal Club but not big enough for The National. Sounds like a good plan to me. I am again offering my services to help re-establish Toad's place. Please contact me through this blog to offer me a job.

Van Halen super-fan Gordon had this to say about Fair Warning, the Van Halen Tribute band who played at the National last Friday: "Fair Warning was pretty good. It looks like Dave may have aged about 10-15 years, but I think he may actually be touring with them:-) The lead singer somewhat looked and sounded like DLR. The guitar player did a good job covering EVH. He looked like EVH when the lights were low and all you could see was a silhouette. They actually referred to themselves as Ed, Dave, etc. May have taken themselves a bit too serious....really played the part."

Here's what Fair Warning said on their blog about playing The National: "We just did a show last weekend at a relatively new venue up in Richmond called The National. I have to say I haven't played a better stage or worked with a better group of people since The House Of Blues in the 90's.Thanks to the National for having us and thanks to all you Richmond hell raisers that came out in that nasty weather anyway and made the show happen. You guys are the greatest. "

If you want to see tribute bands taking themselves too seriously, check out a documentary called "Tribute". They show it on IFC or Sundance every now & then. The movie follows tribute bands which honor The Monkees, Queen, Judas Priest, & Kiss. The Kiss band has to replace their Gene Simmons because the previous Gene actually began to believe he was a demon and ends up in a mental institution. The Monkees band has artistic differences, split into two Monkees tribute bands and trash talk each other throughout the movie. The Queen and Priest band are relatively well behaved.

If you want to check out some tribute bands, Us & Them will perform Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety and Brown Sabbath (tribute to Black Sabbath) will play at The National on Saturday night. Doors open at 7, show starts at 7:30 and tix are $13.

In other shows this week, The Bridge play at the Capital Ale House Downtown Music Hall on Friday night. Doors open at 9:30. Tix are $12. The Bridge hail from Baltimore and are a good funky, slightly jammy band. And they have a dude who does a killer human beatbox thing. Here's what the Ale House web site says: "A unique rock band that combines various elements of blues, folk, funk and bluegrass throughout their entire repertoire. From their gritty and grand live performances, as well as through their poignantly hand crafted albums, THE BRIDGE has become one of the most popular bands to hail from the Mid-Atlantic region.
Featuring guitar, mandolin, saxophone, bass, drums and vocal percussion, THE BRIDGE offers up a sophisticated yet approachable musical experience, one that is sure to move your feet, as well as your soul."

Here's The Bridge doing an acoustic thing at Baltimore radio station WTMD:


I'd go check out this band but I must rest up for my Fantasy Baseball draft which takes place Saturday at noon. Priorities, people, priorities.

Indie alt-country darling and Paste magazine cover girl Neko Case comes to The National (moved from Toad's) on Monday. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener Crooked Fingers. Tix are $25. Here's the video for her latest single, "People Got A Lotta Nerve". Its got monkeys AND a killer whale in it.


That's about it this week. I'll leave you with a video that they used to show on the classic 80s show "Night Flight" a lot. I remembered this video when the song came on the Willie's Place channel on XM tonight.

From Crackle: Cow Cow Boogie

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Fair Warning, Shamrock The Block - The Reboot, Black Kids

I was finally able to escape my son asking my a 1001 Batman questions as we watched "Batman Forever" (the one with Val Kilmer). He was asking so many questions that he kept missing the parts in the movie where they were answering his questions. He barely stopped talking for the last hour. Its exhausting. It doesn't help that the movie has one of the worst sound mixes of all time. The music and special effects are incredibly loud and the talking is very low. I had to keep moving the volume up and down accordingly so we wouldn't wake the baby when the action scenes came on. Anyway, just needed to vent. Now onto this week's entertainment.

If you are tired of waiting for Van Halen to come back or thinking that they will have some argument that will lead them to break up again, you can check out Fair Warning, the Van Halen tribute band, at The National on Friday night. Doors open at 7, show starts at 7:30 and tix are $15. It looks like there are three opening bands, Seth, Automatic, and Scarz Within. You'll probably dig Fair Warning if you dig, er, Van Halen?

On Saturday, Shamrock the Block will try again. This is the St. Pat's fest at the 17th St. Farmers Market that was supposed to go down on Mar. 14. However, due to the wintry weather they postponed it until this Saturday. Won't be as wintry (temps in the 50s) but may still be a little wet. If you want to check it out, it don't cost nothin' and it will run from noon until 6 PM. They'll have local bands Against Grace, Sweet Justice, Boss Keen's Ditch, and Sludge's Build-A-Band "along with plenty of green and golden beverages for everyone. For the kids, there are games and entertainment along with lots of local vendors with an emphasis on "the green", so bring the whole family. Pets are welcome! This exciting annual event benefits Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now). "

Next Thursday, 4/2, Black Kids, Mates of State and Sunbears! play at The National. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8, tix are $19. Black Kids will also play an acoustic set for free at Plan 9 at 6:30 that day. Black Kids play New Wave influenced indie rock. You may dig them if you like The Cure or David Bowie. Here's a link to the video for their song, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You".

This guy was huge in Eastern Europe in the early 80s. I can't figure out why he didn't make it big on this side of the Iron Curtain.


Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan