music
The Grrrlz are Back in Town
Steampunk Electronica
Grrrlz Rock, the organization dedicated to
celebrating the contributions women make to the local
arts scene, is hosting a showcase of talented performers
at Cozmic Pizza this Sunday.
Girl musicians, troupes from The Dance Factory and
father/daughter circus act Freepilesirkus will entertain
audiences throughout the day. The event is a fundraiser
for their CD compilation project, scheduled for release
early this summer. The CD will prominently feature girl
bands and was recorded at live shows throughout the
year. The liner artwork will be original pieces from the
musicians and the art will be on display during the event.
New CDs from several participants will be available,
along with Grrrl-gear prizes for the winners of the door
drawings.
Organizer Matrisha Armitage says to look forward
to regular events in the months leading up to the Grrrlz
Rock Festival in November. She is working to reach out
to local girls and encourage their participation in the
arts. The proceeds will be used to sponsor the next
generation of “grrrlz” in their endeavors. The Grrrlz
Rock Showcase will be at Cozmic Pizza from 3 pm to 11
pm Sunday, April 17, $3-5 donation, all ages.
— Bronwynn Manaois
There are three different spellings of the mythological Greek craftsman Daedalus’s name. James
Joyce’s reoccurring fi gure, Stephen Dedalus, in both his A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and
his epic Ulysses is depicted as a nascent explorer (some critics say that mirrored the character of
Joyce himself) of experiences in art and life. Though he is not eloquently enshrouded in a literary
stream-of-consciousness technique, L.A.’s Daedelus prefers to melt minds on the dance fl oor via his
orchestrated labyrinth of glitchy, trip-hoppy, electronic Victorianism.
Whilst craning over his Monome — a large, wooden interface box with a grid of small, identical square
silicon buttons — Alfred Darlington (Daedelus) with his mutton chops, pasty hair and natty Victorian
suits, patches together beats on the fl y for high-as-a-kite ravers and electronica afi cionados alike.
Patchwork is the term to describe Darlington’s music. Snooty critics have termed it as having a “lack
of cohesion,” or being “eager-to-please ADD,” but Daedelus is really more performer than composer.
While some of his tracks may seem cluttered, they also refl ect the artistic creativity of an all-American
boy piecing together and reworking snippets of a crazed industrial culture. Darlington orchestrates
an electronic steampunk interlocking of hip hop beats, odd
monologues, and everything else from dub to triphop
as he swipes and punches at his dizzying grid of
illuminated buttons. Daedelus’s show is an
electronic performance unto itself, and as
much as he wouldn’t want you to stand
and stare (he’s very conscious of crowd
reaction), one can’t help but to ogle
the master at work. A fi gure from a
waning industrial age with his box of
magic sounds, Daedelus continues to
reinvent the defi nition of performance
and improvised electronica. Daedelus
plays at 9 pm Wednesday, April 20 at
the WOW Hall; $12 adv., $15 door.
— Andrew Hitz
Outlaws and Carnies
Anyone with a proper hillbilly name and a back-up
band named after some of society’s least desirables
deserves further investigation.
The sideshow attraction that is Bob Wayne and the
Outlaw Carnies pull up in their signature black Cadillac
limo, complete with horns and a John Deere RV, to the
Axe and Fiddle this Thursday night.
On tour to promote their fi rst studio album, Outlaw
Carnie, Wayne and his vintage-hillbilly, road-warrior
sound have taken a dust-covered boot step from selling
homemade CDs out of the back of the Caddy.
As a former roadie for Hank III, Wayne’s own
gritty, “more punk than country” sound evolved to
its fi ght-at-a-trucker-roadhouse style. Wayne is the
sordid underbelly of the American road, mixing classic
Americana stand-up bass and banjos with punk-a-billy
electric guitar.
Songs like “Everything’s Legal in Alabama,” Wayne’s
personal favorite on the album, features fellow bad-
boy Wayne Hancock and makes you want to slam a few
Budweisers and join the carnies to see just what you can
get away with out there on the open road. Bob Wayne
and the Outlaw Carnies play the Axe & Fiddle at 7 pm
Thursday, April 14, $5. — Bronwynn Manaois
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EUGENE WEEKLY APRIL 14, 2011 29