Weekend Picks: Legendary Shack Shakers, Shawn Mullins, New Stew, Big Mama Shakes, Taters, Runaway Gin, Hazeltone

No alternative facts here. Just the real deal on who's playing where in the RVA this weekend.

Start your weekend right with The Legendary Shack Shakers blues, punk, rock and country Southern Gothic hell-for-leather roadshow at The Broadberry on Thursday. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers The Brains & The Delta Bombers. Here's a taste from the Shack Shakers press blurb:

Although not legendary upon being named, the band has grown into its reputation the last several years due to their heavy tour schedule, six critically acclaimed studio albums, and songs that have been featured on television shows such as HBO’s True Blood. Past tour mates and fans include Reverend Horton Heat, Rancid, The Black Keys, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, and Hank Williams III. Robert Plant is also a noted Legendary Shack Shakers fan, and picked the band to open for him on his 2005 tour of Europe. Plant named the band's third album Believe as one of his favorite records of 2005. The list of esteemed admirers goes on to include horror novelist Stephen King, who listed “CB Song” as among his iPod’s Top Five in a 2008 Entertainment Weekly article. Such a wealth of devoted fans over the years has only added to the mystique that the Legendary Shack Shakers possess, carrying them down the road toward new creative pursuits and barn-shaking tunes.

Here's the Shack Shakers playin' in the "Mud":


Louisiana singer/songwriter Marc Broussard is at The Tin Pan Friday night. The show might be sold out, but if tix become available they'll run $45 advance, $50 at the door. Door open at 6 and Jamie McLean Band opens the show at 7:30. Get there early to see Jamie. He used to play with Dirty Dozen Brass Band and his band has been touring with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Drive By Truckers, Gov't Mule, Soulive, Jackie Greene, Blues Traveler, North Mississippi Allstars and more. Here's one from Marc:



And one from Jamie:



At Capital Ale House Downtown, help yourself to a big serving of The New Stew Friday night. Who's in the Stew, you say? Here's the lineup:

Corey Glover – Vocals (Living Colour, Galactic)

Roosevelt Collier - Lap Steel/ Pedal Steel (Lee Boys)

Yonrico Scott – Percussion (Derek Trucks Band, Royal Southern Brotherhood)

Dave Yoke – Guitar (Susan Tedeschi Band, Dr. John, Scrapomatic)

Jared Stone – Drums (Stone's Stew)

Matt Slocum – Piano (Oteil and the Peacemakers, Col. Bruce Hampton & Aquarium Rescue Unit, Lee Boys)

Jonathan Meadows from The Congress is going to sit in too. These soul/jazz/blues vets will pay tribute to the classic album "Bill Withers - Live from Carnegie Hall" by playing the album in it's entirety. Tix are $20 for GA or $32.50 for VIP and you can get a $20 discount HERE. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Here's the band performing "Harlem/Cold Baloney" from that album last year:

The Taters kick off their 20th year with a show they are calling Bridge of The Cyber Taters. Will this be a prog-rock sci-fi epic rock opera? (Probably not.) Will they wear robot costumes? (Maybe!) Find out at O'Tooles Friday night. The show starts at 8 and goes until 11. Here's the band last week on Cary NC:



Phish is off the road for a while and if you miss them already, head to The Camel Friday night. Runaway Gin - A Tribute to Phish will take the stage at 10:30. There's no opener and the doors open at 9:30. Tix are $10 advance, $12 at the door. This is the Richmond debut of the band, who have played 200 shows, earning them the self-appointed title of World's Most Active Phish Tribute Band. Here they are doing "Tweezer > Sneaking Sally Through The Alley" in November:



Big Mama Shakes will shake your big ass Saturday night at Garden Grove Brewing Company. This will be a release party for Big Mama Brown Ale. I always loved Big Mama Brown and I'm glad they named an ale after her. Oh wait, it's a brown ale? I get it. It's a collaboration between the band and Garden Grove to make a fine brown ale. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Dharma Bombs. It's FREE to get in. The band can rock the Southern/classic/blues rock thing pretty loud but they get a little introspective on this song, "Places":



Americana band Hazeltone is at Poe's Pub Saturday night with a special guest opening the show. Doors at 9, show starts at 10. No cover charge is listed. Here's their description of themselves:

We play B side, off the wall stuff from the Tom Petty, Rolling Stones, REM, David Bowie, Neil Young. Our originals lean towards Better than Ezra ,Petty Doors, John Mayer influence. We are a 7 member band that includes 12 & 6 string acoustic, harmonica, 6 string electric guitar, violin, piano, accordion,sax drums, and bass...We are an all original song band with some hand crafted covers.

Shawn Mullins is at The Tin Pan Sunday night. Doors open at 5, show starts at 6:40 with opener Rick Brantley. Shawn's big hit was "Lullaby" in 1998 but he's continued to make great storytelling music: emotional, romantic. sometimes cynical, sometimes humorous. Tix are $25 advance, $30 at the door. Here he is performing "Gulf Of Mexico" last March.



That'll do it. I'll see you at Legendary Shack Shakers on Thursday. Maybe Taters or Runaway Gin on Friday. Maybe Big Mama Shakes Saturday. I'll leave you with "Magic", a song Bruce Springsteen wrote about "alternative facts" during the Bush II era. Who knew it could get worse.



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Umphrey's McGee, Doyle Bramhall II, Be Bad Weekend, Poe's B'day Bash, Karen Jonas, Sammi Lanzetta's B'day Bash

A fairly busy weekend with bands starting to hit the road again after holiday break.

We'll start with two shows at The National from prog/jam band Umphrey's McGee. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with Spafford opening on both Friday and Saturday. Tix are $27.50 but Saturday's show is SOLD OUT so hurry and buy those tix if you want to go Friday because they are running low too. If you miss 'em, get some Lockn' tickets because they'll be back there this year. Here they are on 1/14 in Atlanta:

Another multi-night show starts Friday night. This is one is Friday through Sunday at Strange Matter and it's the Be Bad Weekend 2017. If you are ready to rock hard, this is the show (shows?) for you. It's three days of celebrating women in punk and hardcore. And the ladies rock for a good cause. Proceeds go to Girls Rock RVA. Oh, and also to some of the out of town bands for gas money. Shows start at 7 each day and it's $8 advance, $10 at the door. You can get a discounted show price if you bring NEW picks, instrument cables, xlr cables, clip-on tuners, 9v batteries, drum sticks, and/or power strips!! Girls Rock! RVA needs NEW supplies, not used! There are different lineups all three days. To see whose playing, click that link or look at that poster up there.

Murphy's Kids bring their punk/reggae/ska to The Camel Friday night. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with Eastern Standard Time and King Easy. It's $7 to get in. There will also be chances to win tickets for 2017 SuperNova International Ska Festival. Here's Murphy's Kids:

Like some literature with some rock n' roll sprinkled in? Head to Poe's Birthday Bash at The Poe Museum on Saturday. It'll be twelve hours (noon to midnight) of performances, music, film, tours, exhibits, fun, and games for the whole family, all for just $5 per person. You can check the link there for the full schedule. Bands are scheduled to play at:

• 11:45-1:15 p.m. Junk Music with The Junkman (Experimental, Dance, World Fusion, Avant-Garde, Art Rock)
• 6:30-8:00 p.m. League of Space Pirates (Science Fiction Rock and Roll)
• 10:15-11:45 p.m. Charming Disaster (tragi-comic duets about love, death, crime, and the paranormal)

Charming Disaster seem made for this event with songs like this one, "Ghost Story":

Sammi Lanzetta (of Venus Guytrap) celebrates her birthday with a show at Sound of Music Studios Saturday night. It's $7 to get in, doors open at 7, show starts at 8. It's BYOB (cans only please, no glass). Sammi's gonna play last because it's her birthday so she gets what she wants. Opening the show will be Big Baby & Pete Curry. Here's a song that is near and dear to my heart if anyone knows my love for Sudafed:

Suzie & the G-Tones are at Ashland Coffee & Tea Saturday night. Show starts at 8 (no opener) and it's $8 advance, $10 at the door. They've got a new album out, "Wine, Tears & Rain", that they'll be playing a bunch of stuff from along with some choice covers. And if you've seen the band before, you've never seen them like this, as they just became a five-piece, adding Scott Young on sax and keys. Here's "Battlegrounds" from their new album:

Fredericksburg based alt/trad-country singer Karen Jonas is at the new Steam Bell Beer Works on Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5. Don't cost nothing to get in. Karen's 2016 album, "Country Songs", is starting to get noticed not just in the US, but worldwide. And check out the great guitar work of her collaborator, Tim Bray. Here's the title track from that new album.

Underground guitar hero Doyle Bramhall II is at Capital Ale House Downtown Wednesday. You may not have heard of him, but you've most definitely heard him. He was recruited at 18 by Jimmie Vaughan to play with The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Then he joined Arc Angels with Charlie Sexton and Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section, Chris Layton & Tommy Shannon. Then he joined Roger Waters' band. Next, he started a long time, ongoing collaboration with Eric Clapton in his bands and on his albums. He's also played with Sheryl Crow, Tedeschi Trucks, Elton John, Questlove, Gary Clark Jr., Erykah Badu, Gregg Allman, Robert Randolph, T-Bone Burnett, Me'shell Ndegeocello, Dr. John and many others. Tix for the show are $22 advance, $27.50 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers Future Stuff. Here's DBII in Chicago in November. If you are watching at work, skip ahead to ten seconds. The guy introducing them says a dirty word.



That'll do it. Have a great weekend! I'll leave you with this one.



Tony Jordan

Late Night TV Pick: Josh Abbott Band

Alt-country/Americana/rock band Josh Abbott Band is on Conan tonight (11 PM, TBS). The band formed in Lubbock TX in 2007. Their last album, Front Row Seat, was a concept album, not something you usually see from country acts, about the rise and fall of a relationship. From 2011, here's "Oh Tonight" with the band getting a little help from Kacey Musgraves:

Weekend Picks: Del McCoury, Nighthawks, No BS! Brass Band, Afro-Zen Allstars, Atkinsons, Instant Karma

This is a long weekend for some of you, so no excuse for not getting out and seeing some live music. Besides Martin Luther King Day, state workers also get a day off on Friday for Lee-Jackson Day, which is, of course, a celebration of Bruce Lee and Samuel L. Jackson.

Speaking of Friday, that's your first of three, count 'em, three chances to see Afro-Zen Allstars. They'll be celebrating the release of their first CD, "Greatest Hits", all weekend. Their long weekend starts at Garden Grove Brewing Company Friday evening from 8 - 11. Don't cost nothin' to get in.

You can catch them next at Plan 9 in Carytown on Saturday afternoon from 1 - 2:30 where they will perform in-store. Here's a little taste of their "World Jazz and Global Grooves":



Finally, they'll be opening for No BS! Brass Band's Ten Year Anniversary Party at The Broadberry Saturday night. This will also be a great chance to check out the new bathrooms at The Broadberry. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about not having to fight through the crowd at the front of the stage when I gotta go. No BS is promising surprises and guests for the show. Doors open at 8, Afro-Zen Allstars go on at 9. $10 to get in. Let's go with an oldie but a goodie, here's No BS on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert in 2013:



Fan of the lads from Liverpool and like to late lunch? Head to Cary St. Cafe Saturday afternoon for Instant Karma, a Beatles and Lennon tribute band. They'll play from 2 - 6 and it's free to get in. Perhaps they'll play this one for the president elect.



Long running blues band The Nighthawks (feat. Rev. Billy C. Wirtz) are at The Tin Pan Saturday night. Doors open at 6, show starts at 8, no opener listed. Tix are $18 advance, $22 at the door. Here's the band last month in NYC:

Legendary bluegrass musician Del McCoury is at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell Saturday. Doors open at 6:30, the show starts sometime after that with a guest TBA. Tix range from $30 - $100. Here's Del and the band ringing in the New Year at Bluegrass Underground in Cumberland Caverns.

The Atkinsons play the Americana music at Poe's Pub Saturday night. Mike Koehler will kick off the music at 9:30, with The Atkinsons on after. There may be a slight cover charge. Here they are talking about "Lyin' and Honesty":



That'll do it. I may see at Plan 9 Saturday for Afro-Zen Allstars, Instant Karma for lunch at Cary St. Cafe and then the Broadberry for No BS. Could be a fun music day. Here's another one for Trump and the hope for a pees-ful transition.



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Lettuce, Popa Chubby, Threesound, Clair Morgan, King Easy, The Machine, Life On Mars, Long Strange Night

It is sometimes hard to get motivated when various viscous fluids are coming out of your face and your throat feels like it's closing up. But we will push through this illness, at least for a few hours, to complete this week's blog. It helps that it is a relatively slow period for live music in town. But with the lack of national touring bands in the area, this is a great time to find your new favorite local band that you can follow and watch grow over the coming year, like a little baby bird that makes a lot of noise with guitars until they fly from the nurturing nest that is RVA.

And here's a local band making national year-end best of lists and playing every first Friday at The Camel this year. The band Clair Morgan will be joined by Smoke Break, Anousheh, and Lightfields this Friday. Doors open at 8, music starts at 9, tix are $6 advance, $8 day of show. This show will benefit the Virginia ACLU, who I suspect will be extra busy over the next 4 years. You know Clair Morgan is getting big because they teamed with Three Notch’d RVA Collab House to come out with their own beer called New Lions Blonde Stout. Check it out at Three Notch'd. It just came out today (1/5). Hopefully they'll make a new video soon, but until they do, we'll keep playing this one:



CANCELED DUE TO SNOW: If you are looking for some music in the afternoon on Saturday, classic rock/blues band Long Strange Night is at Cary St. Cafe from 1 - 6 PM and it don't cost nothin' to get in. Here they are playing an original called "Love My Baby":



TAPROOM IS OPEN BUT KING EASY WILL BE RESCHEDULED. Reggae band King Easy are at Castleburg Brewery & Taproom Saturday evening from 7 - 9. I caught King Easy when they opened up for Antero a few weeks ago at The Broadberry and was mighty impressed. This one is also FREE to get in. Here's a little peek at their rehearsal on my birthday last year:



SHOW IS POSTPONED. NEW DATE NOT ANNOUNCED YET. Blues guitarist Popa Chubby is at Capital Ale House Downtown Saturday night. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and no opener is listed. Tix are $15 advance, $20 day of show. I saw Popa at The Tin Pan last year and it had been at least 20 years since I had last seen him. He's only improved with great guitar playing, a solid band and excellent rapport with the audience. It looks like the Tin Pan show put Richmond back on the map for the NYC based Chubby so we'll hopefully see him more frequently now. Popa's current album, The Catfish, is currently sitting at #12 on the Living Blues Radio Chart. Here's a full Popa Chubby show, not sure when it was filmed, though he looks pretty young here. Now a days, Popa sits while he plays because he is Chubby. But he still plays electric and still brings the jams.



POSTPONED UNTIL APRIL 16 DUE TO SNOW. Can't get enough of that Pink Floyd stuff? Check out The Machine at The National  Saturday night. Tix are $15 - 20 advance (you can get reserved balcony seats for this show) and $18 - 23 day of show. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and there is no opener. Here they are this summer doing "Pigs on the Wing" and "Pigs (Three Different Ones)":

More tribute bands Saturday night with Life On Mars (Bowie) and Better Off Dead (Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia) at The Camel. This is a special celebration for David Bowie's birthday. They'll be toasting at midnight to the Thin White Duke. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9, tix are $10. Here's Life On Mars doing "Stay":



Sunday at The National, get funky with Lettuce. Tix are $19.50 advance, $23 day of show, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers Jaw Gems. Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch also played with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings on a European tour in 2006 and he wrote this memorial to her when she passed away. Here's Lettuce at The Brooklyn Bowl a few days ago:

Monday at The Camel, there is a benefit for the Conservation Music whose mission is to foster a global culture of sustainability through locally created music and film. The show will feature Threesound, Gull, Philosophunk, and Worse Curses with special guests Mark Ingraham and Matthew Walton. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and it's $7 to get in. Here's Threesound's latest video, "Better Places":



That'll do it. Happy New Year everyone and thanks for reading! I'll leave you with this Beastie Boys video with some guys you might recognize playing the Beastie Boys and lots of celebrity cameos.



Tony Jordan

Late Night TV Pick: Janelle Monae

The dynamic, lovely and talented Janelle Monae is on The Late Late Show with James Corden tonight (12:37 AM, CBS). I've been listening to her 2010 album, "The Archandroid" quite a bit lately. Almost every song is a different genre and she does them all well. I hope she will play some music but she may just be interviewed as she is out promoting her role in the new movie "Hidden Figures", the true story of a team of African-American women mathematicians who helped NASA's first space missions. From "The Archandroid", this is "Cold War":

Weekend Picks: New Year's Eve Shows, Infamous Stringdusters, Dark Star Orchestra, Yarn, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Locust Honey, Miramar

It's a big weekend with lots of shows and New Year's Eve!

Dark Star Orchestra, the Grateful Dead tribute band, trucks into The National for two shows on Wednesday and Thursday. Tix are $25 advance, $30 day of show. The doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and there is no opener. DSO will play two sets, as always. Here's DSO in C'ville in November:



Wednesday night at The Broadberry, former Richmond electro jam band Former Champions get together for a reunion show. Doors open at 8, show starts at 8:30, Kenneka Cook opens and DJ Phil Dice will spin between sets. Tix are $8 advance, $10 day of show. Here's a set from Former Champions in 2014:

Americana band Yarn hits the stage at The Broadberry Thursday night. Dalton Dash will open the show at 9, doors open at 8. Tix are $15. Their album "This Is The Year" recently came in at number 46 on the Americana Music Association's Radio Albums of 2016. From that album, here's "Carolina Heart":



For a good happy hour show on Friday, head to Hardywood for Locust Honey and The Atkinsons. The tap room opens at 4 and The Atkinsons kick off the music at 6. It's FREE to get in. Here's the press blurb on Locust Honey:

As Locust Honey, Chloe Edmonstone and Meredith Watson bring their experience in Old-Time, Bluegrass, and Pre-War Blues to both their original material and the traditional songs and tunes of the American Southeast. With a rotating instrumentation of fiddles, open-back and resonator banjos, acoustic and resonator guitars, they set an emphasis on lively arrangements that showcase their signature vintage vocal harmonies. Joined by John Miller, (The Fox Hunt, The Hackensaw Boys,) on upright bass, they have been touring the US, UK and Ireland since 2012.

 Here's Locust Honey in July:

Jam band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are at The Broadberry Friday night. PPPP will be playing at Lockn' Festival in 2017 so you can get a sneak preview on a smaller stage Friday. Tix are $14 advance, $16 day of show, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with Elm opening. They've been known to throw Star Wars references, lyrically and musically, into their sets, so here's hoping they'll do a little tribute to Carrie Fisher aka Princess Leia at the show. Here's PPPP playing in September:



Miramar (w/members of Bio Ritmo) bring some Latin flavor playing Puerto Rican boleros (joined by a string quartet!) to Gallery5 Friday evening. Tix are $8 advance, $10 at the door, Doors open at 8, music starts at 9 with openers Yeni Nostalji and Armando Muñoz. Miramar has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and here they are performing at The Kennedy Center in July:

Bluegrass/newgrass band The Infamous Stringdusters do two nights at The National, Friday and New Year's Eve. Friday's show has tix are $18 advance, $23 day of show, doors at 7, show at 8 with opener Jon Stickley Trio. NYE tix are $28 advance, $33 day of show, same times with opener Billy Strings. The Stringdusters got to collaborate like Ryan Adams and this lineup at Lockn' with Phil Lesh, Jon Fishman & Page McConnell (from Phish), Joe Russo, and Anders Osborne.



You can kick off New Year's Eve with your kids at Noon Year's Eve at noon on Saturday at Lamplighter Coffee Roaster's Addison St. location. No BS! Brass Band will provide the music. Lamplighter will provide the free cocoa. The ball will drop. There will be much rejoicing.

If you prefer a proper NYE show with No BS! Brass Band, they will be at Vagabond on NYE. Tix are $40 (including late night buffet and champagne toast) or $75 (includes the aforementioned and a 4 course prix fixe dinner). The doors open at 9 and a special guest will open. Here's No BS! at Plan 9 last month doing a Michael Jackson favorite:

The Taters ring in NYE at The County Seat Restaurant in Powhatan. The show starts at 8. It's $10 to get in and reservations are recommended. Here's The Taters on VA This Morning a few months ago:

The Shack Band and Jackass Flats are at The Camel for NYE. They'll get together at some point to form the Shackass Flats Band to pay tribute to rock icons we lost in 2016. Tix are $25 advance, $30 day of show and that includes champagne toast and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are going fast so don't sleep on this if you want to go. Here's one from The Shack Band:

The Broadberry will feature yacht rock tribute band Three Sheets to the Wind on NYE. Tix are $40 advance, $50 day of show and $75 VIP. Every attendee gets a free live CD from Three Sheets. Need something to get you ready for the show? Watch the hilarious 12 part Yacht Rock series. They are only 5 minutes each. There's a story behind every song. And it's a NSFW story. Here's episode 1, the story behind "What a Fool Believes":

Elana Lisa & The Hot Mess bring their swing/jazz/blues to The Tin Pan for NYE. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8:15. Tix are $27.50 and includes champagne toast. You can also get dinner reservations for a prix fixe menu. Here's the band earlier this year:

If you want some Grateful Dead for NYE, head to Iron Horse Restaurant in Ashland for Long Strange Night. They'll mix in some originals, some Beatles and some blues too. Things get underway at 9 and no cover is listed. Here's the band doing "Cold Rain & Snow" this summer:



That'll do it! Maybe I'll see you at the Stringdusters show on Friday night! Have a Happy New Year and good riddance to 2016. We lost too many good people this year and Carrie Fisher today was the last straw. Here's the Princess Leia theme from STAR WARS EPISODE IV "A New Hope" (1977).
Composed by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. May the Force be with you.



Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Trongone Band, The Congress, Antero, Fear of Music

Not much going on this weekend due to Christmas and all. But rest up for next week, because that will be a hot one.

Thursday night, Richmond reggae band Antero reunites for a show at The Broadberry. Tix are $10, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers King Easy and Burning Fire. Antero will be bringing back some songs they haven't played in many years, and will share the stage with some old school and first time special guests. Here's Antero in 2015:



Friday night at The Broadberry get your Talking Heads on with Fear of Music (Talking Heads tribute band). Josh Small & Easy Company open the show at 9, Doors open at 10. $10 advance, $15 day of show. This is a holiday bash so perhaps the band will play such Talking Heads Christmas classics as "Psycho Santa", "Once in the Christmastime", "Decorate the House", and "This Must Be The Place (For the Office Christmas Party. I Think We Put Our Coats Over There.)". For your viewing pleasure, here is the complete "Stop Making Sense":



Friday night at The Camel, The Congress throws their third annual Christmas Eve Eve show. Russell Lacy opens at 9. Doors at 8. Tix are $12 advance, $15 day of show. Special guest friends will sit in throughout the night with the band. Here they are doing "Oh Babe" at the Broadberry in September:

Monday & Tuesday night The Trongone Band comes Home for the Holidays at The Broadberry. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 both nights. Tix for Monday night are $10 advance, $18 day of show, Tuesday night tix are $10 advance, $12 at the door. Both nights will feature Ron Holloway on sax and special guest TBA. South Hill Banks opens both nights. Guitarist Andrew Trongone recently sat in with Anders Osborne and his band in NYC. Here's Trongone Band playing their original, "Anne Marie" last month:



That will do it until next week. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day! Here's one from the late Sharon Jones' Christmas album, "It's a Holiday Soul Party" which came out last year:



Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Hamaganza, Skalidays, Carbon Leaf, Phantogram, Clair Morgan, No BS! Brass Band, Bush League, Blind & Dirty

This is a very busy weekend. Lots of local bands doing benefits and getting a last gig in before the holiday season. So you can rock out and do good at the same time.

You can do happy hour (or happy four hours) at Hardywood on Friday night starting at 4 PM. The music will start at 6 PM with Clair Morgan, Young Rapids (”..a spectacular rainbow of sound.. orchestration constantly diverts to new forks in the road..”-Spin (“Melt” premiere)) and Hot Reader (Richmond-based four-piece plying the psychic craft with audacious licks and a reverence for classic pop songwriting.). The show ends at 10 so you can still get home early and get some sleep for Christmas shopping the next day. The bands are collecting canned goods to be donated to FeedMore so bring some goodies with you especially since it's FREE to get in. USA TODAY named Clair Morgan's album "New Lions and The Not-Good Night" to their 50 best of 2016 list. Here's Clair Morgan's "How to Set Your Bed on Fire":



No BS! Brass Band is at Broadberry  Friday night collecting canned goods for FeedMore. Admission is $10 advance, $15 Day Of Show or $8 advance with canned goods, $10 Day Of Show with canned goods. The doors open at 8 and the music gets under way at 9 with Luray. They will also be releasing the NO BS! CREAM ALE brewed in collaboration with Three Notch'd Brewery, RVA Mag, The Broadberry, and No BS! For every beer poured, $1 will be donated to FEEDmore. So drink up and Uber or cab home. Here's No BS! at Plan 9 Records (a fine place to find a gift for your favorite music lover or music blogger):



Grateful Dead tribute band Blind and Dirty play Cary St. Cafe Friday night. $5 to get in and it starts at 10. This will be Blind and Dirty's last show of 2016 so if you're a fan, get out and catch it. Here they are performing "The Other One" last month in Williamsburg with Lamb of God's Mark Morton on guitar.



Carbon Leaf does their annual home for the holidays show at The National Saturday night. Tix are $17 advance, $20 at the door. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with the Will Overman Band. Here's "The Friendship Song" which the kids, and those of you with kids, may know from the "Curious George 2" soundtrack:



The annual "Hamaganza" Benefit for The Food Bank"Feed More"!! Hams for the Hamless!!!" takes place at The Camel on Saturday night. Doors open at 8:30, the extravaganza (it's more than just a show) starts at 9:30. Featuring this years Host "Dirty" Dean Owen, T.V.'s Danny P., Local Heart Throb Corey Axt, The Dangerous Herschel Stratego, Noah Scalin and The League of Space Pirates, Atom Eve Eclipse,the very sexy Maximum Zero , Jonathon "The Juggler", The Hamaganza House Band, Donnie "Dirt Woman" Corker (of course),and many more. Admission is $10.00 or a Ham!! No Spam excepted!! ALL proceeds go to Feed More!! You never know what or who you will see at this event. A mix of music, bawdy comedy, local celebrities and quasi-celebrities and and other talents, it's always weird and often entertaining. And if you can't make it to "Star Wars: Rogue One" this weekend, League of Space Pirates is the next best thing.



The Broadberry hosts Skalidays with Murphy's Kids, Imaginary Sons, Space Koi, Signal Fire, and JACKMOVE. Doors open at 8, show starts at 8:30, $10 advance, $15 day of show. Proceeds from the show will benefit the James River Association. Here's Murphy's Kids:

Blues band The Bush League play their last gig of 2016 at Lakeside's Sonny's Bar & Grill on Saturday night. Show starts at 8:30. No cover charge is listed. Here's the band playing "Manish Boy" at The Camel in October:



Sunday, trip-hop alternative indie electronic dream-pop rock band Phantogram are at The National. Tix are $24.50 advance, $28 day of show, doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with opener Foreign Air. Phantogram is out supporting their new album, "Three". Here's Phantogram playing in NYC recently:



That'll do it. Have a great weekend! Here's a new Christmas song from RVA's Natalie Prass and she's getting her dance groove on:



Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Reverend Horton Heat, Sad13, Thievery Corporation, Local Natives, Futurebirds, Turkuaz, Punk for Presents

There's thieves in the temple tonight. Well, actually it's lush electronica world music band Thievery Corporation at The National on Thursday night. Tix are $39.50, $43 day of show, doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with opener The ReMINDers. You'll probably hear some tracks from Thievery Corporations new album, "The Temple of I&I" which is set for release on 2/10/17. Here's their 30 minute performance on KEXP in October. Love how the first song mixes bossa nova beats with a sitar.



At The National on Friday, it's a psychobilly freakout with Reverend Horton Heat, Nashville Pussy, Unknown Hinson, and Lucky Tubb & the Modern Day Troubadours. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30, tix are $19.50 advance, $23 day of show. Here's part of the press blurb on Reverend Horton Heat:

Seeing Reverend Horton Heat live is a transformative experience. Flames come off the guitars. Heat singes your skin. There’s nothing like the primal tribal rock & roll transfiguration of a Reverend Horton Heat show. Jim becomes a slicked-back 1950’s rock & roll shaman channeling Screamin’ Jay Hawkins through Buddy Holly, while Jimbo incinerates the Stand-Up Bass like Jerry Lee Lewis on steroids. And then there are the “Heatettes”. Those foxy rockabilly chicks dressed in poodle-skirts and cowboy boots dreamily dancing the night away. It’s like being magically transported into a Teen Exploitation picture from the 1950’s that’s currently taking place in the future.

Listening to the Reverend Horton Heat is tantamount to injecting pure musical nitrous into the hot-rod engine of your heart. The Reverend’s commandants are simple. Rock hard, drive fast, and live true. And no band on this, or any other, planet rocks harder, drives faster, or lives truer than the Reverend Horton Heat. These “itinerant preachers” actually practice what they preach. They live their lives by the Gospel of Rock & Roll.

Here's a sexy little video from the Reverend, "Let Me Teach You How to Eat":

Strange Matter brings you the dreamy Americana of Futurebirds, The Trillions and Camp Howard on Friday night. Doors open at 8, music starts at 9, $10 advance, $12 day of show. Futurebirds recently released part 1 of a 2 EP series called Portico, named after the repurposed Baptist church outside of their hometown of Athens GA where they recorded the EPs. And that sentence right there goes a long way toward describing their sound, steeped in Southern roots and repurposed by the college town and music of Athens. Here they are playing "Bad Man" at Pickathon 2016:



If you want to give for the holiday while you rock the f**k out, head to Punks for Presents: Night 1 at Wonderland Saturday night. All of the proceeds from the events go directly to the Childrens Hospital of Richmond. There will be tons of raffle prizes at each show! And for music on Night 1, you've got  ZOMBIE X-MAS (preforming the best of Rob Zombie and White Zombie) along with ELVZIG (preforming Danzig) and CELTIC FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (preforming Celtic Frost). It all starts at 9 PM, tix are $10 at the door and $8 if you bring a canned good. Here's my fav White Zombie song:



Sad13 is the poppy side project of Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis and she'll be at Strange Matter Sunday night. Vagabon, Emily Reo, and Told Slant. It's $10 to get in. Sad13's debut album is called "Slugger" and it's getting fine reviews including one from The Skinny who said the album was full of, " Nuanced, thoughtful discussions broadcast with power and volume". Here's "Get a Yes" from "Slugger":



Monday at The National, ethereal indie pop/rockers Local Natives will perform along with Brice Woodall. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30. Tix are $23 advance, $26 day of show. Local Natives is already getting spots on some of the big festivals next year including Hangout, Primavera (in Barcelona), and they just got back from an international tour that included Istanbul, Copenhagen, Berlin & Stockholm. I love this song Local Natives did back in 2010, "Sun Hands":

The funky double bill of Turkuaz and The New Mastersounds is at Broadberry Tuesday night. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9, tix are $20 advance, $22 at the door. This promises to be a fun show and be prepared to dance. Here they are at Lockn' fest in August. I unfortunately missed them because I think they played early one day and I was still shaking off the night before. But I may have to make up for it by catching them at The Broadberry.



That'll do it. Have a great weekend! Here's the new one from the Rolling Stones:



Tony Jordan