(L-R) Philip Charos, Tom Dicks, Alexander Charos and Logan Coats. Credit: The Venus

The Venus’ last full-length, Ancestor Simulator, was one of the best albums of 2020, but the St. Petersburg psych-rock band didn’t get many chances to play it live, opting instead to release a B-sides companion, Overlooked & Undercooked.

The band, led by Alexander Charos (pictured), is finally meeting fans face-to-face at 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5 when it plays The Bends—located at 919 1st Ave. N—alongside Chlorine Fields and Chaunces. The show is 21 & up, and free to attend.

Longtime followers of Charos will be surprised to see the songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Yoko Phono producer once again flanked by Tom Dicks, who played bass with Charos’ other band, Alexander & the Grapes’ on its 2012 debut Hemispheres. Dicks moved north to Nashville, then Raleigh, shortly after the release of the Grapes’ 2014 “Falling Apart” 7-inch.

Charos told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay he is, “Stoked to have him back in town and playing music together again.”

The Venus, which experimented with its lineup and sound for a handful of shows after the onset of the pandemic, will also see former Grapes drummer Philip Charos (Alexander’s brother) move to lead guitar and Logan Coats—who plays drums in Brother Cephus—back behind the drum kit.

Songs from Ancestor Simulator and The Venus’ self-titled 2018 full-length are planned for the Bends show, along with extended jams plus the band’s take on the Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers jazz standard “Harlem Nocturne” (made most famous by brit-pop quartet The Viscounts).

“Everyone rips on their instrument which will allow us the freedom to take the live show in a more improvisational direction which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Charos told CL. Check out the show poster below.

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