Webb Center Chaos

(Ultra Dolphins' Nate Rappole, Toggle Switch)


(Marnie Stern, Toggle Switch)



(Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino, Toggle Switch)

Saturday's Campus Chaos show at Old Dominion University was predictably strange, but strangely satisfying. I missed several of the bands that played in the afternoon, but caught a good part of the set by Richmond's hard-hitting Ultra Dolphins. Metal, punk and math rock blend together in the Dolphins' sound. They were very aggressive and very tight. Apparently they've been around for years but have played rarely in Hampton Roads. I hope somebody brings them back soon.

Those guys played on the steps of the Webb Center. Inside, The Love Language, a band from North Carolina was a nice surprise. Their carefully-crafted and artfully arranged indie pop was refreshing after the Dolphins' blast of angry energy. While their sound isn't incredibly original, it's lovely. I'll be reading and listening and learning more about these guys.

Marnie Stern was a bit of a disappointment, though. Her Dokken-meets-The Shaggs sound gets mad points for originality, but way too few points for melody. What she's doing is so interesting I was frustrated that her songs weren't just a little more comprehensible. Also, for someone with amazing chops, her performance was surprisingly sloppy.

Blonde Redhead was great. The trio puts out an amazing amount of intoxicating sound. Their film-soundtrack drama was powerful and beautiful and fun to watch. I'm glad I finally got to see this band, which more than lives up to the promise of its recordings.

Thanks, ODU, for assembling such an entertaining day of music.

Record Store Day Dream

To celebrate Record Store Day, I headed down to Birdland Records in Virginia Beach to spend some money and bag some CDs. Barry Friedman's store has moved a couple of doors down. It's in the same shopping center (Providence Square) but in a smaller space. Barry tells me that his landlord wanted to put an ABC store in his old location. So I suppose I shouldn't be depressed that yet another record store is shrinking. Plan 9 in Williamsburg moved across the street to a smaller location a year or so ago. I know that D.J.'s Music and Video in Norfolk is planning to move into more compact quarters.

The upside is that Plan 9, Birdland and D.J.'s -- along with Skinnies in Norfolk and Fantasy in Newport News -- are still alive in 2009. This time last year, I would have bet that one of those four would be gone. Instead, it's Volume in Virginia Beach that was the victim. I saw the marvelous Sarah Carter there for the first time last year at an in-store performance. I'll miss Volume.

When I walked up to the counter at Birdland on Saturday and set down my selections, the guy at the register (not Barry) wondered why I was buying so much. "Is it your birthday?" he asked.

Here's what I bought:

The Stooges "Funhouse" (double disc special edition)
The Beatles "Love" (for my wife, Patty)
Jill Sobule "California Years"
Buddy and Julie Miller "Written in Chalk"
Animal Collective "Merriweather Post Pavilion"

As a bonus, I got a "Record Store Day" compilation LP including tracks by Glasvegas, Raphael Saadiq, Black Kids and Q-Tip.

Mixed Bag

(Killbot photo courtesy of MySpace)

Here are some quick thoughts for a Sunday night:

1) Neko Case at The National in Richmond April 6. Case's voice is a wonder. In Richmond last week, it sounded as good -- possibly even better -- than it does on record. While the pace of her show was jerky due to between-song dawdling, her songs, her singing and her excellent band made for a fine night of music. My only other minor complaint was that some feedback problems marred at least one song. Beyond that, I was thrilled by the show. It was my first trip to The National (even though the place has been open about a year). Seeing how much it has to offer, I'm sorry I didn't cruise up to Richmond much earlier. As an aside, I'll point out that Neko is, in fact a Virginian, even though she's lived in many places across the nation and even in Canada. She was born in Alexandria.

2) "Locals Lounge," the radio show hosted by Alfredo Torres, featured Freedom Hawk live in the studio tonight. Great to see Torres still flying the flag for local music by asking one of the area's top hard rock acts to stop by his show. While not every band Torres spins on his show is a favorite, he does hit a home run from time to time. I understand he's even spun "My Brain" by Hampton's Uglyography -- for which he deserves my admiration and yours.

3) Speaking of Uglyography, Matt Thomas' solo project spent last week on a regional tour -- an impressive feat of logistical planning and utter gumption. I'm hoping that the tour pays dividends for Matt, who's been making great music and paying his dues for years -- including many in Hampton's wonderful Outer Loop. Matt's MySpace page includes some blog posts about his tour, which has included stops in Washington, D.C., Chapel Hill, N.C., Charlestown, W.Va., Richmond and Johnson City, Tenn.

I know next to nothing about Johnson City, but it seemed to be one of the highlights of the tour. Matt played with Johnson City's own Killbot, who made quite an impression. Here's an excerpt from Matt's blog:

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After me was another solo act called Killbot. This guy (Daniel is his name) was really off the wall and pulled off some rad stuff. His setup consists of a suitcase. It is a magical suitcase and I'm still not sure exactly what was in it. He performed with his back to the audience for the majority of the time, leaning into this suitcase on a table, and pushing buttons, tweaking stuff, doing something, I don't know what, performing magic. The result was the ultimate in noisy distorted dance music freak out with all sorts of samples and synth sounds and super nasty vocal tones ... it is difficult to describe without a sample of the music. Check out his myspace profile for a taste. To top it off, he jumped around in a quick step troll-like dance, which again, is impossible to explain. I'm not sure if troll-like is the right description, but I do not mean that as an insult, dude! It is the highest compliment.

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Are They Not Men? They are Stimutacs

(Stimutacs photo from MySpace)

If Toggle Switch really had its act together, it would be reporting on how Virginia bands -- including the delightful Hot Lava -- did at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, a couple of weeks ago. Or, even better, Toggle Switch would report on how this year's edition of MACRoCk event in Harrisonburg. That new-rock celebration just wrapped up this weekend and I'm sure that some juicy news came out of that annual event.

Alas, Toggle Switch doesn't really have its act together. But maybe I'll eventually be able to devote some time to finding out how all that worked out. (Please do send me reports and I'll happily pass them on).

In the meantime, I'm going to write about Stimutacs, a Norfolk band that's worth your attention. Think about Devo with a more lo-fi approach and more metal guitars grinding in the mix, and you're starting to imagine what these guys are cranking out.

While the recordings posted on the band's MySpace page are a bit too crude for their own good, and the singing on all the tracks is a bit sketchy, there's clearly something interesting happening here. They're a band to watch -- which may be why they were signed up as an opening act for the Blonde Redhead-Marnie Stern show happening at ODU on April 25. For ticket info on that show, go here.

Winning Ugly

(Matt Thomas is Uglyography/Toggle Switch photo)

Uglyography cannot be stopped. It's doing exactly what too few Hampton Roads rock bands ever attempt: A regional tour. Hampton-based mastermind Matt Thomas has continued to refine his one-man-band concept (he performs live vocals, bass and guitar accompanied by pre-recorded tracks), and, based on the set I caught late last year, he's never sounded better.
At the shows listed below, he'll be performing tunes from his fine disc "Love Boat" which was released a few years back and possibly some new blasts of his quirk punk.

Here's the message Matt sent out earlier this week:

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Friends, Family, Fans, and everybody else out there,

I'm super stoked to announce Uglyography's first regional tour. I'll be hitting the road April 4 - 11 on a tour that encompasses 4 states and our nation's capital. If you live nearby any of the towns listed on this schedule, I would really love to see your mug out in the audience when I roll through. If you don't live in any of these towns, but know someone that does, please forward this along - I love to see strangers' mugs in the audience as well!

Super big ugly thanks to all of you who have helped me out in booking these dates and offered up places to stay, etc. You know who you are and I am forever grateful.

Note that I am playing THIS Friday [March 27] in Washington DC for what I consider to be a "warmup" show. The Andalusians rock (that is who I am playing with) and the record store is great from what I hear.

So, without further ado, here are the dates. Pass them on!!!

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Warm up show:

Washington, D.C. - Friday March 27 - @Crooked Beat Records at 2318 18th Street NW 7:00pm with The Andalusians.
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April Tour:

Roanoke, VA - Saturday, April 4 - @ The Water Heater with Kid A and Billy Wallace 7:30pm, $5, all ages

Washington DC -Sunday, April 5 - @ Solly's U Street Tavern with Sean K. Preston and a special guest 8:00 pm, $5, 21 and up

Charles Town, WV- Monday, April 6 -@ Jumpin' Java with Rob Crutchfield 6:00 pm, $3, all ages

Johnson City , TN - Tuesday, April 7 - @ The Hideaway with Killbot 11:00 pm, $5, 18 and up

Chapel Hill, NC - Wednesday, April 8 - @ The Cave, details to come 10:00 pm - $5, 21 and up

Blacksburg , VA - Thursday, April 9 - @ Gillie's Late Night with Schmarx of the Incline 8:00 pm, free, all ages

Harrisonburg, VA - Friday, April 10 - @ The Little Grill Collective with Buck Gooter, Book of Kills, and Don Zientara 8:00 pm, $5, all ages

Richmond , VA Saturday, April 11 - @ Wonderland with One Friend and Push Button Reaction 10:00 pm, $5, 21 and up

Hope to see you out there on the road. Thanks for all your support!

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Sock Hoppin', Hot Rockin'

Forgive the short notice, but this is a great show that will raise money for a great cause, Gallery5. If you're looking for entertainment and a way to get all up in the Virginia new rock scene, You should head for Gallery5. Word up.

Weekend Wrap-up

(Toggle Switch photo of The Mountain Goats, Darnielle left, Vanderslice right)

A few brief, belated words about a pair of fine concerts that took place in Norfolk over the weekend. The Mountain Goats, who played Friday night at The Attucks Theatre, were in fine form. John Darnielle cuts an unusual figure as a performer -- his weird, nerdy energy is strange, but compelling. I'd never seen him live before and I was certainly impressed. His voice was every bit as strong as what's heard on his records. And his odd charisma meant he commanded the stage even though he was alone for most of the show. His producer (and opening act) John Vanderslice joined him for a few tunes, but mostly it was John alone. Definitely one of the young year's most memorable sets.

The size of the crowd at the Attucks was a pleasant surprise. The place was almost sold-out. I know the Discovery Music Series (of which the Goats were a part) has chalked up a few sellouts, including ones by blues rocker Joe Bonamassa and The Avett Brothers. But this was the biggest crowd I personally witnessed. Says something good about the local audience for adventurous music.

On the other hand, Saturday night's show by the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players attracted just a handful of folks. The Trachtenburg's didn't seem bothered that there were only a few dozen folks at The Boot to watch their sweet, funny performance art shtick. "It's fine. We're about to break this thing wide open," Jason Trachtenburg told me after the set. "The show's never been better." Amazing that he could be so optimistic after playing a nearly empty room in Norfolk, Virginia. But it was great to hear and see the Trachtenburgs here. And for only $10? Where was everybody?