Knifework slices through Artspace

Steve Astra, also known as Knifework, played his first show in Richmond on Saturday night at Plant Zero in Artspace. Astra was the only solo artist at the event that hosted local acts such as Obit, At the Stars and Ones and Zeros.

For those in limbo, Knifework is what Astra would describe as “Folky/Country, honest music from a jaded sinner.” With his album Charleston Boogey Ain’t S*** to This, Knifework has performed on a tour and multiple single gigs in Virginia, predominately with frequent stops in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He is just getting started in the Richmond area.

“Hopefully the city likes my style,” Astra said.

With great stage presence, Steve Astra performs like a gifted professional. There is no hint of shyness here, just a strong performance and a tight command of his audience. Knifework is a collective expression of minimalist solo folk guitar in the vein of Dylan mixed with Nirvana unplugged or Ryan Adams.

When asked if Knifework would expand its sound in the future, Astra laughed and said, “(It’s) the Bob Dylan situation. I’ve recorded one song electric, but I’ve never released it. I may get into it when I get my back-up band finalized, but right now it is good to be solo. I do everything myself, and I like it that way.”

The small crowd responded warmly. The vibe at the Artspace gallery wasn’t exactly the best for Knifework, with a lot of displays and crazy fence sculptures in the way in addition to extremely bright lights. However, Astra made it work to his advantage.

“I get a lot of positive feedback. Also a lot of, ‘You don’t belong at these rock shows. Maybe in a coffee house.’ But I don’t like coffee houses. It is too laid back, and you end up crossing that fine line between performing and entertaining. You entertain when you perform, but you do not perform as an entertainer. I like to change people’s ideas of what you hear from an acoustic guitar,” he said.

Astra definitely has his skills in check, switching chords without hesitation while maintaining the melody in his voice.

“I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14. My brother taught me,” Astra said. “I formed a band a few years later on the other side of the country, Aeorta Suture. That went well, but I got sick of the pop/rock scene. Knifework is my response to everything I did and saw in that scene, the shows, the people, and the bands I played with. It all went into Knifework, and how I feel about that.”

The music is very minimalist and easy on the ears. A few songs had very similar tempos, and some chord progressions were a little too typical of this genre, but that is something to appreciate when melodies and lyric lines get caught up in your brain and you find yourself singing along without realizing it.

Knifework doesn’t need complexity, and in some ways there is really no room for it. It’s just a man and his guitar, and that is how this all got started in the first place, isn’t it?