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    Music Preview: Helter Swelter 2016 at Ace of Cups

    The first iteration of Ace of Cups’ signature festival, Helter Swelter, lined up roughly with the bar’s anniversary in 2014. That first Helter Swelter was one of the sweatiest, most fun events I’ve ever seen in Columbus. A remarkable love-fest with classic Columbus bands like Moviola and Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, great DJing, and the first Columbus appearance of New Zealand icons The Clean, it was everything I love about Columbus.

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    After taking a year off, Ace in conjunction with Archie Fox Creative Group has brought Helter Swelter back with maybe the best-curated, tightest lineup in town this year. And that’s saying something after 4th and 4th Fest, the best yet, was one hard, swinging punch after another. The crown jewel is a band even more unlikely than The Clean was, Royal Trux. Though they played Columbus a few times

    The crown jewel is a band even more unlikely than The Clean was: Royal Trux. Neil Michael Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema’s (with a rotating cast of supporting players live and in the studio) project defined the ’90s underground rock scene by sawing against the grain. Tape collage and stuttering greasy rhythms reminiscent of Faust or Neubauten, name-checking Ornette Coleman’s theory of harmolodics, working over tracks until they had a shine like leather about to wear through, like the shine of city water rolling through a gutter. Then, in the next breath, they’d turn to a skewed classicism, winking at classic rock tropes most bands on similar touring paths were eschewing but not making fun. Getting the sensual pleasure of a big riff and a rhythm section that makes a crowd want to move, commenting on it at the same time, and not doing a disservice to either. In the process, inspiring many bands here – I’m thinking of a years-long period where I couldn’t be at a party or a rock club DJ night without hearing at least one Royal Trux track – and worldwide. After they dissolved in 2001, this was one of the surest bets in rock for a reunion to never happen. Since it did, last year in San Francisco, Columbus will be only the fourth city to host the reunited Royal Trux.

    After they dissolved in 2001, this was one of the surest bets in rock for a reunion to never happen. Since it did, last year in San Francisco, Columbus will be only the fourth city to host the reunited Royal Trux. I’ve had friends at each of the three previous cities, and they came back raving. Do not miss your chance to welcome this band back to town in more welcoming environs than their last time through town, at Bernie’s.

    Almost as exciting for those of us who grew up as the Royal Trux records were coming out and gravitated toward the music scene in and after college is a reunion of The Lindsay. In a period when it felt like I had a new favorite band every five minutes, The Lindsay made me forget all (great) comers the next time they stepped on a stage and clicked together. The combination of bassist-singer Gretchen Tepper and guitarist-singer John Olexovitch, augmented by Tom Schmidt’s guitar and Jimmy Lavery’s rock solid drums and hilarious, ribald antics, was one of the most perfect maelstroms of rock and roll Columbus has every produced.

    Their 2006 record Dragged Out is still in many of our top ten lists for Columbus music, and the snarling, all-sharp-and-rusty-edges EP Syrup Bag and criminally overlooked sophomore album Deep in the Queue aren’t far behind. Glorious party-ready fusions of everything good in the previous thirty years of rock cooked down until the elements are inseparable from one another. That band grabbed you by the collar and made you dance so furiously you didn’t have time to play “catch the referent,” but they dropped you enough breadcrumbs you could argue over those songs at after-hours until the sun came up. The Lindsay’s last appearance was at Megacity Music Marathon in 2012, organized by Ace of Cups current booker Bobby Silver, and it’s been a long four years since we got blessed with their presence.

    Beyond those two high points, the rest of the line-up is stacked with things the discriminating listener shouldn’t miss. Dead Moon blew out of Portland in the late ’80s and spent the next 15 years turning out one stripped-down, gnarled masterpiece after another. Their two leading members, Fred and Toody Cole, appear here in an acoustic set. We’ve been very lucky to host the Coles in various configurations including Pierced Arrows and Poison Idea, but if this year has taught us anything, you can never see the legends too many times, it could always be your last chance.

    Baltimore mad scientist Dan Deacon has worked with classical ensembles like Bang on a Can and So Percussion and made one-man tapes in tiny rooms. He’s gone from crumbling diy space basements to the most prestigious museums in the world and back again and kept his integrity. No matter how many people work in a similar vein, no one sounds quite like him. His last record, Glass Riffer, might be my favorite album he’s made, and he was a key player on one of my records of the year so far, Matmos’ Ultimate Care II. Ed Schrader’s Music Beat come out of that same Baltimore scene and have toured with groups as diverse as Wye Oak, Man Man, and locals Psychedelic Horseshit. Neil Hamburger has a similar hard-to-pin-down aesthetic as an underground comedian and his rabid fanbase should be well-rewarded by his set.

    The locals are also well-chosen. The Kyle Sowashes, the hardest working band in town, get the party started at 2:00. The infectious, acid-fried textures of Egon Gone and the Sun Dogs and cracked-pop of Kizzy Hall should fit into this mix like a glove. Come early, stay late.

    • ROYAL TRUX 9:50
    • Dan Deacon 8:40-9:30
    • Neil Hamburger 7:35-8:10
    • Fred & Toody (of Dead Moon) 6:35-7:25
    • THE LINDSAY (one-off reunion performance!) 5:30-6:20
    • Ed Schrader’s Music Beat 4:30-5:10
    • Kizzy Hall 3:40-4:10
    • Egon Gone and the Sun Dogs 2:50-3:20
    • The Kyle Sowashes 2:00-2:30

    Doors for Helter Swelter open at Ace of Cups (2619 N High St) at 1:00 pm on Saturday, September 24. Tickets are available at http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1242685

     

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    Richard Sanford
    Richard Sanfordhttp://sanfordspeaks.blogspot.com/
    Richard Sanford is a freelance contributor to Columbus Underground covering the city's vibrant theatre scene. You can find him seeking inspiration at a variety of bars, concert halls, performance spaces, museums and galleries.
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