Pharoah Maybelline's Sound Trough, No Toilet #5

Sunday June 29
Dyemark
Theremin Barney
Heule/Nishi
Bullshit Detector
Dirty Branchez
@ Pharoah Maybelline's Sound Trough, No Toilet

Incredible show. Dyemark's balloon & PVC bagpipes sounded great and were entertaining to watch in operation. A new three-handled tone gun helped him move his set from science show demonstration to a more cohesive musical experience. The demonstration is a joy in itself, but of course I love music even more. I enjoyed playing with Kanoko Nishi, as always. We ignored all restrictions regarding maximum volume and maximum set length, but did not get in trouble. Perhaps we unintentionally complied. Bullshit Detector delivered his best set to date. A special 2'x4'x2' cabinet loaded with four couch-shaking sub transducers wasconstructed for the occasion, and sent signals from a simple oscillator and Moog analog keyboard (right? I didn't really take a good look). Sub-bass rumbles and plywood rattle harmonics ensued, and it sounded so good. There's a whole world of possibilities for electronic music in foregoing shitty P.A.'s and taking control of your own sound transduction. Dirty Branchez used a related technique, running the preset rhythms of a consumer keyboard out of a Piezo buzzer, which in turn directly resonated the strings of a lap steel into which it was wedged, fed through some tape delay and so on. Lots of great tinkly sounds and light drone. Eventually moved into a seemingly more improvised/exploratory section that was a bit louder and more churning rather than sustaining. A really enjoyable and tight set. All this in a cold and windy back patio/alley in the Mission. A vital series. More info & photos: http://pharoahmaybellinessoundtrough.blogspot.com/