Tuesday, March 14, 2006

thomas truax at leeds brudenell social club

on saturday just gone.

thankfully (for you), i forgot my camera, so you'll not be graced with shoddy photos for this one.
picture from fluttr site

"thomas truax (pronounced troo-aks) plays mechanical sound sculptures and instruments which he builds himself out of found objects and spare parts (such as the Hornicator), as well as with more standard gear like the guitar. He is an illegitimate son of Screamin' Jay Hawkins and a mad scientist of music with a history as a stop-motion animator".

he is what i can only describe as an oddball musical genius, hailing from both new york and the mythical wowtown. instruments include the hornicator, the stringaling, the cadillac beatspinner wheel, the back beater and the sister spinster.

starting with 'prove it to my daughter', he managed to instantly captivate the crowd, before starting up the sister spinster for 'shooting stars' with yodelling galore...
this was followed by 'inside the internet' (complete with pocket modem noises), then an acoustic full moon over wowtown, in which mr truax made his way around the whole club, standing on tables and balancing on bars, while managing to not drop a single note.

'the butterfly and the entomologist' span a story of a hitchiking pollinator insect, escaped from a 'bastard entomologist' by tearing her own wing away from the board she was pinned to.... (lyrics here)truax's monologue assures us that he 'is not a violent man', in response to the butterfly's song that she is 'going to a no-mans land, as men and violence are intertwined'. however, at the end of the song, he rescues the butterfly from being captured, and gives the entomologist his 'just desserts': "I moved as if by instinct, I did it without thought / I clipped him and I kicked him / And I grabbed him 'round the throat / I pinned him to the wall and his eyes were bulging wide / I said if there's a next time I will see YOU crucified."
when he turns round again, the butterfly has disappeared, singing the same two lines... serious-ish stuff, for (at first glance, at least) a 'novelty' act..

we were next treated to 'in my dreams', which preceded the encores.
the stringaling (which contains the most common material in the manufacturing world - looked like tumble drier vent tubing) made an appearance in 'whistle while you sleep', and 'audio addiction' came complete with flashing light 'rave rings'. the final song, 'the fish (i'm coming home)', about a wowtown prostitute, involved audience participation, sampling, looping and incredible harmonies.

a perfect showman, thomas truax is on tour around the uk and europe for a while yet - catch him if you can:

"Wed 15 UK, Cheltenham, Flak, 16 Bath St, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1YE Tel: 01242 524011 www.calmermusic.co.uk Doors 7.30 Admission £5
Thu 16 UK, Southampton, Joiners Ejector Seat Venue: The Joiners Venue Address: 141 St Mary St, Southampton, SO14 1NS Box Office number / website: 02380 632601 - www.joinerslive.co.uk
Sun 19 Denmark, Klub Argot
Tue 21 Holland, Amsterdam, De Anita
Wed 22 France, Bordeaux, El Inca website: www.elinca.org Time of doors: 20h30 Price of ticket: 3 euros
Thur 23 France, Angouleme at le mars attack, place du champ de mars, 16000 angouleme, france.
Fri 24 France, Bourges friche l'Antre Peaux, 26 route de la Chapelle, 18000 Bourges
Sat 25 Germany, Cologne, TrashBin / Hšninger Weg 208 / Kšln-Zollstock supporting YANCEE PORNICK CASINO 10 euros
thur 30 Italy, Clandestino -Faenza
Fri 31 Italy, Sin-e-Rovigo

APRIL

Sat 1 Italy, Zuni-Ferrara
Sun 2 Italy, FreeMuzik-Brescia
Tues 4 UK, London, Spitz The Spitz (www.spitz.co.uk) 109 Commercial St Old Spitalfields Market London E1 6BG £7 7:30pm
Fri 7 UK, Manchester, Akoustik Anarkhy Truax 7" single launch Party
Sat 8 UK, Northampton, Labour Club
Fri 14 UK Nottingham, Junktion 7 (with Chemistry Experiment)
Sat 15 UK, Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
Mon 17 UK, Aberdeen, The Tunnels

Travelling one man acts have a complicated life, these dates may not be updated to accomodate last minute changes, Please check with venues near dates to confirm and for further details."

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