Anniversary Song

Four years ago, in an alcohol-free church basement, the Listening Room was born.

I know because I was there that night, here, and thrilled to have found a place where music trumped blather.

Tonight was the fourth anniversary Listening Room and the program ably demonstrated how far the series has come.

Curated by Shannon Cleary of WRIR's Commonwealth of Notions show, it featured three local bands, all of whom I've seen before and all of whom impressed me mightily.

Chatting with some fellow long-time regulars before the show, we talked about how the series has evolved, having begun as all acoustic with no drums and no electric instruments.

Tonight was all about the drums and the plugged-in instruments.

Way, Shape or Form had originally appealed to me with their jazzy guitars and unique time signatures, dancing right on that edge of math rock with just enough pop thrown in to be catchy.

Tonight was more of the same but the band sounded even tighter than when I'd seen them last winter.

Singer Troy apologized late into their set, saying, "Of course I picked this week to get sick and have to do a show where everyone is quiet and listening to my voice."

Honestly, his voice sounded fine, plus they did two songs, the first and the last, without vocals, always a pleasure to hear because they veer beautifully close to soaring post-rock soundscapes.

I did the seated mingling thing during the break, turning to talk to friends behind me and waiting for others to come sit in the row with me and catch up.

As a veteran of 42 of the 44 Listening Room shows, I think I've earned the right to play queen bee on occasion.

Next up was Warren Hixson and just before they started, a bearded friend leaned down and asked if anyone in the band was actually named Warren Hixson.

Is there an Echo in the Bunnymen? No, and there's no Warren here either.

Brent, the leader of the band, began by asking if the stage lights could be turned down a bit.

"They're fixed," sound man Dave called down to him. "Just like me," Brent joked (or maybe not).

Their sound is unlike anyone else's in Richmond at the moment, one part garage rock, a little grunge-like guitar, killer keyboards that wove the most interesting sounds plus male and female vocals (including the incomparable Nelly Kate).

A couple songs in and the listener has to acknowledge the sound as a pastiche with no discernible genre other than its own.

Every time I think they're veering too close to classic rock for my taste, those keyboards kick in and they start sounding surf-like and psychedelic and I find myself sucked back in.

Pausing to acknowledge the room, Brent said, "This is cool. We once played a show in an attic with four dudes dancing and unplugging our pedals, so this is very cool."

Because they didn't have dudes dancing or people talking, they decided to do "Cruel Whims," the last song on their record and one Brent characterized as a "bedroom song, one that's awkward to do in loud situations."

Such are the benefits of hearing a band when they can be heard.

When their set ended, a photographer friend slid into the seat next to me and said, "I wasn't ready for that to be over. They were amazing."

Since he's a big show-goer, too, I was sincerely surprised that he'd never seen them before but agreed with him about their set.

During the second break, I got up and moved around to mingle, ending up talking to some people about how electric the Listening Room had become.

In the old days, breaks between sets were extremely brief; one guy with a guitar walked offstage and another guy with a guitar walked on.

Now it's like a regular show with break down and set up times that approaches 20 minutes, an unheard of amount of time in the old days.

"Yea, in another four years, we'll have entire orchestras playing," one guy observed humorously.

Curator Shannon took the stage again, this time to talk about the local music scene and what a terrific point in time it is for it.

He thanked the people who document the scene, mentioning specific sites and blogs (including this one, she said proudly), at "this moment in Richmond's music history."

Last up was trio White Laces, a band who only has to begin playing to remind me how very much I love their dreampop sound and that it's always been too long since I heard them last.

Tonight they were here to play the songs that will be on their new album, which they start recording in a week.

"Most of these songs have been played out once or never," singer Landon told us before treating us to some absolutely brilliant new hook-filled songs.

Admitting that many of the songs never got past their working titles - "Skate or Die, "Janet," "Keith Sweats"- the audience sat entranced by melodic songs, kick ass drums and guitar hooks that surely must get them laid.

Of "New Jam 2," Landis said, "It still doesn't have a name beyond that. We've been calling it that for five months now, which doesn't bode well for it."

Named properly or not, the song was one more strong example of songwriting and execution.

Drummer Jimmy kept track of the set list, reminding the others what was upcoming and occasionally getting distracted by the joking onstage.

"Every time we start laughing, I forget what the next song is," he explained before a do-over.

"We don't have humor at practice," Landis deadpanned, "So when we do up here, it's weird."

We didn't used to have alcohol or drums at the Listening Room and now we do but it's not weird, it only makes things better.

I'd say that bodes very well for the next four years. But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself. Just be quiet about it, will you?

Because some things about the Listening Room will never change. Lucky us.