Mel and Rudy at The Shop

The PopCulteer
June 20, 2025

Last night your PopCulteer and his wife did something that we hadn’t done in a long time.

We went out to hear a local band play, and we didn’t shoot any video and just took the time to appreciate the music and enjoy ourselves. And we had a great time.

That may not seem like a big deal. Back in the heyday of the Radio Free Charleston video show I used to go out four or five nights a week to record bands in various local venues, and then I’d turn those trips into bits of the show, but when I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis back in 2016, the meds they put me on sort of put an end to staying out late bar-hopping to capture video.

Hello June’s Sarah Rudy, who is the reason we made it out last night

Last night was a perfect storm of events that got me out of the house. First, the venue was The Shop, in Dunbar…a mere ten blocks or so from my house. I’ve been curious about this place since they opened a few years ago, but never had the time to check them out.

Second, I’ve been a big fan of Hello June since the late Lynne Sandy turned me on to them years ago, and they’ve been mainstays of the RFC radio show on The AIR ever since, but I’d never actually met them in person. When their frontwoman, Sarah Rudy, sent me a Facebook message inviting me to go see them, it was a bit of a no-brainer.

Black light art at The Shop

The bonus third factor is that The Shop has not fallen into the late-starting trap that bedevils most of the Charleston music venues. We were able to go hear three terrific musical acts and still made it home before 11 PM. That’s about half an hour before the first bands tend to go on stage in Charleston.

This was the first time we’d been in building where The Shop is located in probably more than a dozen years. Back in another life it was “The Tank” and we’d go there after IWA East Coast Wrestling shows to hang out with our friends, and meet the guest wrestlers like The Blue Meanie, Spike Dudley, Eugene and Johnny Fairplay.

Nolan Ellis Collins

The building has been completely redone and looks nothing like it used to. It’s a pretty great performance space, with black light, cool wall decor, a fantastic stage and sound system, and actual seating…which is a big selling point for your aging blogger.

The show it’self was a blast. Nolan Ellis Collins, whom I’d never had the chance to hear before, despite me plugging him several times in STUFF TO DO, is a great singer/songwriter, and his slacker/stoner between song banter had the crowd in stitches. He offered up some clever originals and choice cover or two to a very receptive group of fans.

Later in the show he was harrassed by the audience for not having any merch for sale.

June Swoon, redefining “bar-hopping”

June Swoon is a Los Angeles based singer and songwriter with a killer band, and you will be hearing them in the future on the Radio Free Charleston radio show on The AIR.

Her backing band was incredible, and sounded to me like the classic  early 1980s Pretenders line up of James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon and Martin Chamers. Swoon’s songwriting and voice is powerful and original and I’m looking forward to hearing the new music they have in the pipeline for release later in the year.

They made it to the show and captivated the audience despite having a flat tire in Kentucky eariler in the day. June even hopped on the bar near the end of her set.

June Swoon and band

I was already a big fan of Hello June. Sarah Rudy is a true WV original, on par with the best songwriters this state has produced, and a powerful singer and guitarist. Hearing her perform live is quite a treat, and I recommend anybody see Hello June if they get the chance.

The headliners, Hello June

It was wonderful to finally get to meet Sarah in the real world, even though my annual summer cold has me going around telling people “Hey, it’s great to meet you…this is not my real voice.”

I sound sort of like a cross between the old Men’s Wearhouse announcer and Lurch. If that doesn’t clear up in a day or so, this year’s Marx Toy Show video will be narrated by my lovely wife, Mel Larch.

Back to last night’s show…it probably reignited my desire to shoot video of bands again. To be honest, that never really went away. Whenever I hear live music, I feel sort of naked without a video camera. Last year when we went to Chicago to see Thompson Twins Tom Bailey and Thomas Dolby I couldn’t resist whipping out the phone, and that resulted in the apocryphal “Radio Free Chicago” episode we did.

Even Mel spent much of the night thinking about the logistics of where we’d stand if we were shooting video at The Shop. I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll be going back.

It does feel weird not have shot any video last night, though.

Cool event in Huntington

Coming in over the transom too late to be included in STUFF TO DO this week is a show happening during Huntington’s Art Walk, tonight from 5 PM to 8 PM. Our old friend, Douglas Imbrogno, has a new musical project with Jim Probst and Ray Garnett: Through The Trees: An Electrified Folk-Chamber ensemble.

You can hear them at The Gazebo at Heritage Station, with the details in this handy graphic…

And that is this week’s PopCulteer. Check back for our regular features and fresh content every day, even when your humble blogger is bedeviled by vocal issues.

Next week’s radio shows should be really interesting.