Best Live Shows 2023 Edition
No Rankings, Just Recaps
Oso Oso - Rams Head!
This was a cool show because I really got to spend some quality time with my friends John, Von, Jordan, Neev and Tyler. I took the train to Baltimore, hung with J&V, Jordan come to the show and I got some great face time with Neev and Tyler (a surprise guest!). This wasn’t the best I’ve seen Oso and I didn’t really care for Chelsea Wolfe nor the Gaslight Anthem, but it’s also amazing to see how far Jade has taken this band. I also, for some reason, never record their live shows. This is my favorite active band and I’m lucky enough to have so many people in and around the band I can call friends.
The Beths - Brooklyn Bowl
I quit my job the week before I went to this show. It was in Nashville and I still ended up going to the work conference. It was a weird week and I really started to process the emotion of not working for a year. I had a few Beths’ songs that I really dug, but I wouldn’t say I was a fan before the show. I ended up going with my associate Mike, who ended up being promoted into the job I vacated instead of the team building exercise on the docket that night. They were incredible! Four part harmonies live? Get outta here.
Alien Boy - Banditos
This was the second time I’ve seen Alien Boy. Unfortunately I only caught the first song on video, because there were some hitches on the first song. From there, they reinforced why they are one of my favorite current bands. It was cool to see some friends at the show, which was at capacity. People were showing up for Alien Boy, it was great to see! I spoke with the drummer a little after the show, really cool person and I am always excited to see talented bands build an audience. Especially if it means I’ll get to see them live more often.
Samiam - Cobra Cabana
I’ve seen Samiam so many times. Hung out with Sergie in at least three different bands, because he is far too humble for the rock God that he is. Cobra is my favorite dive bar in Richmond and the sound is incredible. I also just got to see Samiam in Richmond again. I never take that for granted. I managed to snag one of the last door tickets before it sold out too. There were people watching from behind the fence. I saw friends from out of town! People I hadn’t seen in years. I was in a weird headspace, about spending money after quitting my job, about processing quitting my job. I still kind of am. But Samiam is a band who has been there for me for thirty years. And they were there for me again.
Pool Kids - Canal Club
This was the third time I saw Pool Kids in under a year. Nothing is going to top Fest last year, they were on a different level. But they are consistently fantastic live. I met Syndey Sprague, who Neev told me to say hi too. Very sweet and Adrianne became a fan. I told Andy Anaya, the guitarist, after the show that they are consistently great and he is someone who does not take any of this for granted. Pool Kids will be a huge band in a year or two if they keep up the current trajectory. Good for them, they deserve it. I’ve known a lot of people who get into that position and approach it with less humility.
Being in a touring band is some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows. When the highs start coming more regularly, you can start to lose grasp on the lows. But I’ve seen my friends who are decades in and touring life never really stops being hard. It gets easier, but there’s still a lot of sleeping in green rooms and hiding from people because your social battery was gone a week ago. A lot of late nights and long drives.
I hope Pool Kids tickets get too expensive for me one day and I hope they keep at it. Their album last year was a landmark record and I think they can get even better. I do see a time when they aren’t a band for me anymore, and I get that. I’m just glad I got to see them so much and I’m glad they always deliver. That’s a hard thing to do.
Dollar Signs - The Milestone
I have been friends with this band for a long, long time. A decade plus at this point. To see them grow from a band playing to 5 people at a house show to headlining stages at Fest has been incredible. They have continued to grow as artists and as people. I’ve met a lot of significant others and seen those relationships end.
Except, Allison, Erik’s long-term girlfriend, then fiancée and now wife. He proposed to her at Fest. I just missed her. I left Charlotte before they started dating. So, the first time I met her was at her wedding. Mostly everyone was just kind of surprised it had never happened. She is a delight and I’m glad that they found each other.
I was honored to be included on such a special day (the band version of the wedding, there are a lot of layers to this). I got to see some old friends in an intimate setting and catch up. I got to see Slingshot play “Paycheck” again, which is my favorite song by them. Phil and Lauren let me crash with them and it was good to catch up with them as well. Dollar Signs have gotten a little more restrained in their live show. There’s a lot less chaos. But it is still a great time.
We just missed seeing them at Gilman, which I think would have been amazing.
Stoop Kid - Kuub
Seeing a local show in another country? Sign me up! I was so excited that Adrianne was open to seeing a show in Belgium and it did not disappoint. I wrote extensively about that trip here. They were really tight. The songs were way more interesting live. And it was a cherished memory. They were the only band that played, they had a pretty solid turn out and I loved all the stage banter being Dutch or French. Some of it was so universal I understood without knowing a single word that was spoken. Especially when it came time to pass the hat.
We bought a record but overpaid as our “cover” for the show. I got to chat with people that shared mutual friends. I love how tight knit the DIY community is, even world wide. It was so much more post-punk than I was expecting live in the best ways.
Rozwell Kid/Plastic Flamingos - The Pinhook
Rozwell Kid is fantastic live. I’ve seen them in Richmond, Durham, Gainesville a couple of times. I think five times total. This time was awesome because I never thought I would see them again. They put out a surprise single and announced a tour. They are still rippers live and I hope this means they are getting back at in the Covid era.
It’s also been fun to see Plastic Flamingos get better and better. They really seem to be finding an audience and I love that for them. They will probably never be a band for me, but that’s okay. Not every band should be, even if I would like that better! Just knowing that people are connecting with it is awesome to see. Colleen Green also played the show and I made sure to tell her how much I loved that Blink cover album she did years back. I really never thought I would see her live, who knows where life will take you.
Shotclock/Sea of Storms - Banditos
Sea of Storms is a Richmond staple, made up of members of other bands as is RVA tradition. I had never listened to them before. They were AMAZING live. I fell in love instantly. Very much a band inspired by 90s gruff punk, but also in the ways that appeal to me. There’s bits of post-hardcore, emocore, and punk that comes out sounding powerful. They don’t record or play a lot of shows, but see them if you can.
They played with Shotclock, who I think I’ve seen ten times in their short life. Shotclock is probably my favorite current Richmond band. Power pop-punk, they remind me a lot of the Parasites. Pedro is a veteran of the DIY scene and is currently a member of The Iron Roses. But Shotclock is my favorite of any of his bands so far. I’m excited for an upcoming album.
Maura Weaver - Gallery 5
It was great to see Maura again. I baked her a loaf of bread, because I do that now. There were a ton of long time friends at this show. This was definitely a Richmond reunion for the DTFH community of punk rock. I didn’t realize how much I missed that social aspect of shows until I was talking to people I hadn’t in years. Maura was experiencing some laryngitis, if I remember correctly, but she still sounded great.
I got to spend some quality time with my friend Jake, who shared the now released BAT BOY debut record with me after the show. It’s great, you should check it out if you like Lookout Style pop punk.
It was also cool to get to introduce Adrianne to Maura. Maura and I were “labelmates” for a brief period of time, but we played shows together and posted on message boards together. We’ve had so many close friends in common for so long and have always been friends, so I love getting to share that part of my life with Adrianne. Beyond that, getting to see my friends grow as artists is really cool.
Austin Lucas/Dorothia Cotrell - Get Tight
Austin was Adrianne’s first real dive into the world to DIY music. She had been to house shows and met bands, but never really embraced it before Austin. She has been a fan since we saw him at Fest 7. We met Austin on the Revival Tour and quickly became friends. He’s played at least two houses we’ve lived in. We’ve met so many talented artists because of him. I think I’ve seen him in at least 4 different cities, maybe more. He would remember, he’s got a great memory.
He’s always incredible live. An amazing voice and an incredible guitar player. I’ve seen him full band and solo. I think I prefer solo, because he is a rare breed of artist who can command your attention by himself. That’s hard to do. We showed up early to see Austin a little before he played. Adrianne has really started pushing her musical boundaries this year and has really come to appreciate opening acts on shows.
Dorothia Cottrell was amazing. Ambiance live is very hard to pull off well. Especially in a stripped down setting. Get Tight has a very accessible space, it felt more like a mainstream brewery than a punk show. She was incredible and songs bled from one to another seamlessly. It was one of the more memorable Austin Shows and I’ve seen a ton of them.