Weekend Picks: Wussy, Freakwater, K. Michelle, The Arcs, The Atkinsons, American Babies, The Ar-Kaics, Karen Jonas

R&B singer K. Michelle is at The National Thursday night. Tix are $29.50 in advance, $33 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener PJ. Here's the press blurb for K. Michelle.

Her debut album, 2013’s Rebellious Soul [Atlantic Records], flipped the script for R&B and enjoyed staggering success in the process. Arriving at #1 on Billboard’s “Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums” chart and #2 on the Top 200, it made history as it became the highest Top 200 entry for a female R&B singer’s debut since 2001. She also solidified her place amongst music’s elite, garnering a Soul Train Award for “Best New Artist” and an NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding New Artist.”

Alongside shooting the second season of her highly rated VH1 docuseries, “K.Michelle: My Life,” her sophomore album Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart debuted at #2 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Chart and #6 on the Billboard 200, making it the top debut of 2014 for an R&B artist. Billboard named the album one of 2014’s Best R&B records, while Complex proclaimed, “K. Michelle is leaps and bounds ahead of many of her peers.” The Associated Press, Billboard, and Rolling Stone have all named Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart as one of the best R&B albums of 2014.

 Here's "Love 'Em All":

Roots rockers Tom Hamilton's American Babies are at The Broadberry Thursday. Tix are $10 advance, $12 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with RVA's own The Southern Belles, so get there early. Here's American Babies' video for "Fever Dreams":



If you find yourself hanging around the house at night this weekend, you can check out Disco Biscuits' free live webcast of their sets at their festival, Camp Bisco. You'll find those shows streamed on the UphoricTV channel on YouTube. You do need to subscribe to their channel to see them. Here's the set times:

Thursday July 14: 

10:30pm – Midnight

Friday July 15:

Set One – 7:00pm - 8:15pm

Set Two – 10:30pm – Midnight

 Saturday July 16:

Set One – 4:00pm – 5:15pm

Set Two – 7:30pm – 8:45pm

Set Three – 12:30am – 2:00am

Missing Friday Cheers? Hardywood looks to pick up where Cheers left off with a FREE Friday evening show featuring The Ar-Kaics (60's Troglodyte garage rock), Lady God (Bristling surf guitar, webby bass lines, and sneering dual vocals compose an oddly satisfying vintage rock n’ roll salad they call “Slink.”), Best Behavior out of NYC (Straight up fresh surf-garage), Today Junior from Boston (Indie Rock), and the freshly named Bummers Eve (punk fuzz from Cincinnati to RVA). The music starts at 5:30. Here's The Ar-Kaics at Garageville in Hamburg earlier this year:

A few weeks ago, I saw the lovely and talented Karen Jonas open for Sam Lewis at the Tin Pan. She's a very talented alt-country singer/songwriter out of Fredericksburg. She teams up with Tim Bray who provides some great twangy guitar to accompany Karen.They'll be at Legend Brewing on Friday night from 8:30 - 11:30. Here they are performing at the Takoma Park Folk Festival in 2014:

Americana band The Atkinsons are at Cary Street Cafe on Friday night. It'll be $5 to get in. Things get underway at 9:30 with openers Jessica Salomonsky Pooley and Adam & Amanda Beason. This is The Atkinsons "I Love Everything":



Saturday from 3 - 5 PM, yours truly will do my first radio show in over 20 years when I hit the airwaves to fill in on the Songs from the Big Hair show on WRIR. Appropriately enough, that's an 80's music show so I'll be playing songs from the era when I first started on radio. What comes around, goes around.

Atmospheric indie rockers Wussy are at Strange Matter Saturday night. Doors open at 9 and it's $10 to get in. Sunndrug, Lady God & Various Eggs open. The Noisey web site named their latest album, "Forever Sounds", one of 26 Extremely Dope Overlooked Albums of 2016 (So Far), saying "Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker are the best songwriters in America. They have been for over a decade, too." Here's the video for "Dropping Houses":



Tuesday at The National, Dan Auerbach's other band, his psychedelic side project, The Arcs, pull into town. Tix are $28 advance, $33 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. No opener is listed. Here's a bit of the press blurb:

[Their album} Yours, Dreamily, continues to receive critical praise. Rolling Stone named the record among their top ten albums of 2015, calling it a “turbulent R&B noir, spiked with psychedelic flourishes… Spectral hip-hop coated in crusty mellotron.” The single “Put A Flower In Your Pocket” also has received excellent reviews, Consequence Of Sound called it “rife with foggy, psychedelic vibes” and Vice’s Noisey says its “dirty, bluesy soulful music with a reverbed, modern twist.” 

Here they are performing "Outta My Mind" in NYC earlier this year:



Over at The Broadberry Tuesday night, alt-country band Freakwater will perform along with Morgan Geer's Drunken Prayer. Doors at 8, show at 9, $12 advance, $15 day of show. You might dig Freakwater if you like Lucinda Williams, The Carter Family, Infamous Stringdusters, Lucinda Williams, Wilco, or Emmylou Harris. Here's their "What the People Want":



That'll do it. I might see you at The Atkinsons, Wussy, The Arcs and/or Freakwater. I'll leave you with some classic Stones because "I want to be your knight in shining armor, riding across the desert on a fine Arab charger". Have a great weekend!



Tony Jordan

John Mellencamp, GWAR, Leon Russell, Marathon Bluegrass Jam, Puddleduck

The newly single and dating Meg Ryan (will she be in town?) John Mellencamp will be here on Thursday night at the Landmark Theater.  Good tix are still available which is not surprising when tix run from $44.50 for the balcony to $128 for orchestra.  You do get a free download of JM's new album, the T-Bone Burnett produced (that guy is everywhere) "No Better Than This", which is getting very good reviews, the best for a Mellencamp album in this decade (though all his albums have been good).  The show starts at 7 PM and opens with a short film, "It's About You" which profiles the making of the new album.  Then Mr. Mellencamp will perform a mix of old and new songs in a more than two hour show.  Here's JM playing "Easter Eve" from his latest album at Radio City Music Hall on 2/19/11:


On a completely different note, GWAR brings their horror rock to The National on Friday night.  Tix are $18.50 in advance and $21 at the door.  Doors open at 7 and show starts at 8 with openers Cannabis Corpse and Mensrea.  If you don't know much about GWAR this video should help you out.  Heavy metal, awesome costumes and gor-gor rises and attacks:


After the mayhem of GWAR, you can chill out the next day, Saturday, with the Marathon Bluegrass Jam at Grandpa Eddie's Alabama Ribs & BBQ.  The jam runs from noon until midnight and is a 12 hour non-stop bluegrass jam to benefit the Fisher House - an organization that lodges families of American soldiers recuperating at McGuire Veterans Hospital.  The bands particpating are East of Afton, Churchyard Grass, Leather Britches, Highway 249, Copper Ridge, Shockoe Bottom Boys, The Cary Street Ramblers and Shelton's Mill.  Musicians of all levels are invited to come and jam with the bands.  There is no cover charge for participating jamming musicians or the spectators but you better damn well give a donation.

Saturday night at Alley Katz, (Alley Katz, please stop that bang and music that comes on when you first go to your site.  It always makes my jump, I have to hurriedly turn down my volume, you've had it for 10 years now, and its just really f'in annoying) Puddleduck and opener Hazeltones will perform for your pleasure from 9 PM until 2 AM.  Tix are 8 in advance, $10 at the door.  Puddleduck play "funkin' southern rock", mostly original, though they've been known to cover Phish, Floyd, and Allman Brothers.  Here they are performing "Carolina" a couple years ago at Alley Katz:


Sunday afternoon, you can enjoy great beer and fine music at Legend Brewery's 17th Anniversary Party.  The party Starts at 3 PM and goes till 9 PM. Admission is $20 at the door and will include 3 live bands and 3 tickets for food and refreshments. Music by: Cyrus McCormick and the Reapers (50s & 60s rock n' roll), The Remnants (classic rock & R&B), Wade Reynolds and The Greater Richmond Pipes & Drums.  Guests under 21, $12 & Children under 12 are $5.

Tuesday night, Leon Russell, superstar of the 70's who is enjoying a comeback right now thanks to his new album with old friend Elton John, will be at The Hat Factory.  Tix are $20 in advance for standing, $30 in advance for seating.  Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener TBA.  Leon will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June along with John Bettis ("Human Nature", "Crazy For You", "Slow Hand"), Garth Brooks, Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly ("Like a Virgin", "True Colors", "I Touch Myself"), and New Orleans great Allen Touissant ("Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley").  Leon wrote such songs as "This Masquerade", "Delta Lady", and "Tight Rope".  Here's Leon performing his current hit with Elton, "If It Wasn't For Bad":


And as a bonus my favorite Leon performance, "Jumpin' Jack Flash/Young Blood" from the Concert for Bangladesh.


In our continuing review of the 25 Best Music Videos of 2010 as chosen by Paste Magazine, this week we check out Nick Cave's band Grinderman and their video "Heathen Child".  This is one seriously f'd up video with Nick and the band as Gods of War who have the ability to fart nuclear explosions, werewolves, voodoo and a little dog who conducts the band.  I have no idea if the video is supposed to "mean" something other than being a nightmarish, yet sometimes humorous, collection of images.  Its pretty cool.


I'm outta here. Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan