Concert Calendar: Oct/Nov

Yeah, I forgot to do one of these for October, and it’s a little late now, so I’m including November in this. I have expanded my reach a bit, so this one’s going to run long. As a refresher for those of you who’ve forgotten, and a caveat for those of you who are checking out the Mother’s Milk concert-listings for the first time, I don’t list every cool concert in the area. I list all the concerts in the area that I think will make for a rollicking-fun time with alcohol. These are not shows to get depressed at, or shows to dance at, or shows to get in fights at, although any and all of those things may be grand at any and/or all of these shows. This is a list of all the shows over the next 45 days or so that will be great to get liquored up at.

So then… I’ll be going in chronological order; if a band is playing Richmond itself (most of them are) they will be mentioned whenever their Richmond date occurs. It’ll all make sense in a sec; you’ll see. Highly recommended/must-see artists are in bold. Starting out…

Slippery When Wet and Rocket Queen are playing Alley Katz on Friday, Oct. 19th. That’s the day after tomorrow. Most everyone has probably seen Rocket Queen at this point, but they’re great live, and if you haven’t seen them yet, you simply must see Blaxl Rose in all his glory before you die. Never seen the other guys, so that’s hit or miss. The same day, in Charlottesville, there’s a red-necky looking band called Six Day Bender playing the Outback Lodge – I can’t vouch for them (which is something I tend to steer clear of in this column) but with that name, they almost have to be fun.

This Saturday, the 20th of October, Black Cash and the Bad Seeds are playing with the Flesh Mountain Boys at Alley Katz. Black Cash is awesome, and if I remember correctly Flesh Mountain is equally cool, although more in the vein of bluegrass or country than rock, which is where Black Cash pretty much sits, in my opinion. I predict Alley Katz will run out of PBR this night. Once again, turning to Charlottesville, Wilco is playing the Charlottesville Pavilion. They have some good drinking songs, if I recall correctly, and lots of people like them – including a number of regular listeners to my show, since I seem to get requests pretty regularly. They’re not my cup of tea, but I felt you should know. I bet there’s an ass-ton of Bass Ale consumed at this one.

Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Capital Ale House Downtown Music Hall (that’s a long-ass name for a venue, isn’t it?) we have another entry I’ve never heard before: they do Celtic music, they’re called Albafier, and they have not one but two whistle-players, which speaks highly of them. This was the best thing I could find going on at the CAHDMH any time soon, and it’s a really cool, relatively new venue. Capital Ale is one of the few places you can get a decent wheat beer at a show, so you should do that.

On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Mary Gauthier is playing Ashland Coffee & Tea. She’s absolutely marvelous acoustic music; I saw her there last year, and it was her on guitar and vocals, with another guy on guitar, and they had tears in my eyes a couple of times. She does the Mother’s Milk favorites “I Drink”, “Camelot Hotel”, and “Drag Queens and Limousines”, and to my knowledge does not have a bad song. The venue is non-smoking, but the sound is good, the crowd is laid back, and like I said, this artist is just brilliant.

On Wednesday, the 24th of October, They Might Be Giants plays Toad’s Place. Everyone knows who They Might Be Giants is, and they’re not only quite good, they’re quite hilarious, they have a number of tunes about boozin’ (special thanks to Horsey for hooking me up with the track “Alienation’s For the Rich”), and are renowned for having the world’s largest conga line at their shows, if memory serves. If you can’t make it to the Wednesday show, they’re playing the next day (Thurs, Oct. 25th) at the NorVa.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds are playing Friday, Oct. 26 at Toad’s Place. I don’t like them, as their two big hits might as well be one big hit, and really ought not be hits at all, but they are for some reason well-respected, and they do the kind of blues-influenced sorta thing that suggests that they’ll play a couple of boozy tunes. I have no idea what kind of crowd will go to this show, and I suspect they will suck, so enter at your own risk, but I couldn’t not mention the event with a clear conscience.

RPG is playing Alley Katz the next day, Saturday the 27th, and they’re an awesome hardcore/metalish project based here in Richmond. I used to sell them beer when I worked at 7-11, so I know for a fact that they’re some hard-drinkin’ cats, and they’re a lot of fun live. Loud, heavy, fast, fun. In Charlottesville, it’s another tribute-band twofer (they always come in twos, don’t they?) , with Brown Sabbath (Black Sabbath tribute) and Swollen Goat (Clutch tribute) playing the Outback Lodge. Never seen either but a Clutch tribute band just has to be completely and thoroughly awesome, and Black Sabbath plays RVA all the time, so between the Richmondness and the Clutchness, it’s almost definitely going to be the sort of event at which massive quantities of Pabst are swilled, and enjoyed, by hairy sweaty people.

I’m really looking forward to the day before Halloween – that being Tuesday, the 30th, and also being the day that Lucero, Bobby Bare Jr., and Whiskey and Co. are playing Alley Katz. I dunno about the headliner or Bobby Bare, but I am absodamnlutely positive that Whiskey and Co. are frickin’ awesome on CD, and I was bummed about missing them when they played Best Friend’s Day(s) last year. They’re great; they have songs that are up-tempo and songs that are down-tempo, a great female lead singer, and everything I’ve heard by them has been at least tangentially boozy. If you miss this tour on Tuesday, you can see them on Wednesday (Halloween) in D.C. at the Black Cat.

Also playing on Halloween is another damn tribute-twofer. This is ridiculous. It’s Even Better Than the Real Thing and Brown Sabbath at Toad’s Place (so there’s no need to drive to C’ville if you’re not interested in a Clutch tribute). Again, haven’t seen either, but if Even Better Than the Real Thing is 25% as good as the real thing, minus the self-important humanistic proselytizing of Bono, I reckon’ it’ll be a decent show, and again, Brown Sabbath has been in Richmond for more years than I have (I’ve been here seven years, for the record) and they keep getting shows, so they must be a pretty solid Sabbath tribute.

The third of November offers a plethora of options for the public drinker who loves music: You’ve got Richmond favorites Avail playing a show at Alley Katz (wow?), Rev. D-Ray & the Shockers, The Bo-Stevens, and Gojira-X playing Wonderland, and Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder playing Toad’s Place. Of those, I think the Wonderland show will offer you most bang for buck, and probably most bang, as it’s got not one but two bands I’ve seen before and think kick ass, and it’s also almost definitely significantly cheaper than your other two RVA options. That said, Avail certainly seems to have something of a following in this town, so if that’s your band, then you should probably go there. D-Ray is a rockabilly/punkabilly/something-like-that sorta thing that’s just awesome, and the Bo-Stevens are a solid sort of country band if I recall correctly. Never heard Gojira-X but they’re headlining that show so they’re probably awesome. The Ricky Skaggs show is a bluegrass extravaganza from what I hear, so if that tickles your fancy, I reckon it’s for you.

The 5th of November brings Against Me! to town. Specifically, to the Canal Club. I think lyrically they come off a little dumb and a little pretentious, but they’re still somehow endearing, and they put on an absolutely killer live-show, so I recommend them wholeheartedly, if you have heard a track by them and it didn’t make you puke. If it did, in fact, induce vomiting, no big deal; just stay home and drink alone to the same effect. If they give you orgasms, instead, you can check them out at the NorVa on Monday the 12th, and in D.C. at the 9:30 on Tuesday, the 13th. Weirdly, Tuesday the 13th is an awesome day for the 9:30 specifically; you have Against Me! as an early show, and Deborah Harry (i.e. the chick from Blondie) as a late show. So if you can drink that long, that’s a good solid day of concert-going, and you don’t have to leave the venue. Unless they make you; I’ve never tried to go to two shows at the 9:30 on the same day.

On the 8th of November, it’s a return to Toad’s Place for Zappa Plays Zappa. I haven’t seen this, or seen any Frank or Dweezil Zappa related event, but from what I understand Dweezil is quite competent, and Frank is of course, frickin’ awesome. “Titties and Beer”. ‘Nuff said. Zappa Plays Zappa is Dweezil Zappa touring and playing his dad Frank’s music, so I suppose it’s the best thing available to people like me who didn’t get a chance to catch Frank Zappa before his (I quote!) “untimely demise.” Interesting fact: Dweezil Zappa was in Pretty In Pink and The Running Man? Crazy. Anyways, this should be a relatively awesome show.

On the 9th of November, two items of interest: The Jennifers and The Rulers are playing Wonderland. I assume The Jennifers are awesome because a.) I don’t think they let bad bands play at Wonderland, and b.) they’re playing with The Rulers who, to put it bluntly, rule. In Charlottesville at the Outback Lodge, the Oregon Hill Funk Allstars are playing. WTF? I haven’t heard of a show with them in Richmond, for eff’s sake, in a minute. They were much beloved the last time I saw them; maybe I just haven’t noticed and they’ve been playing out regularly all along. Either way, if you dig ’em, or dig a good funky time, you have to drive all the way to Charlottesville to see Oregon Hill’s finest.

Okay, this is the show I’m most excited about, and have been most excited about for the last month or two. Sunday, November 11th, Toad’s Place is delighted to bring you Rev. Horton Heat, Hank Williams III, and Nashville Pussy. If you go to only one show on this list, it should either by this one or Mary Gauthier. And if you want a totally kick-ass, tons o’ fun, in-your-face drunktastic experience, it should be this one. Mary Gauthier fulfills other needs. She’s got pretty sounds; this show is rockin’ sounds. You know you better than I do; you decide. I recommend both. Anyways, yeah, I don’t think these artists need any introduction or explanation; if you think they do, you simply must come to this show. I expect it will sell out, so if you miss this tour in Richmond, you can go see it at the 9:30 Club on Thursday the 15th. Seriously. GO SEE THIS SHOW.

Okay, on with the other stuff. November 12th gives you Third Eye Blind. This could be hit or miss. I don’t really like their radio-tunes, but I’ve heard some really good songs by them, and I even play one on the show every once in a while. They’re competent, if nothing else, and although I expect most of their fans probably suck, making a live experience hit or miss as far as the fun-factor goes, this probably wouldn’t be a bad show at all. And drinking may dull the pain of having to deal with all the sad pathetic people who surround you.

On the Thursday the 15th of November, Stiff Little Fingers is playing Black Cat in D.C. – they’re solidly good punkish fun and I’m hoping I get to go to this show. On Saturday the 17th, Electric Six is playing the same venue. I keep missing these guys, and I will not miss them this time. If you don’t know the cult sensation “Gay Bar” from its Tony Blair/George W. Bush parody video on the internets, or from their astoundingly awesome mix of punk and dance as available on CD everywhere and played on WRIR (until some total asshole jacked both of their albums from the Rock shelves, anyways), you should familiarize yourself. They’re awesome, and hilarious, and catchy as hell.

Okay, two more for ya, real quick. Clutch is opening up for Coheed & Cambria at the NorVa on Saturday, November 24th. Clutch is the draw here. They’re awesome; rest of the bands aren’t my cup of tea, but they may be yours. And finally, on Wednesday the 21st of November, The Pietasters are playing the 9:30. Ska, I think from the D.C. area, and they’re alright even tho I’m not a big fan of ska. I play their songs occasionally on the show.
Okay, there you have it. Every thing I know about that’s worth getting drunk at. If you know of anything I missed – and I’m sure I missed stuff; I’m not Mike Rutz, I’m just some guy – please comment and let me know about it. This post will be revised to reflect your info.

— devlocke