LIVE SHOW REVIEW - Burial Hex

Phoenix Co-Op

Madison, WI

March 17, 2011

Show coordinated by LURK SLEEP KILL and Brave Mysteries

Video excerpts by Centrifuge Reviews



Burial Hex Live March 17, 2011 from Centrifuge on Vimeo.

The sound of my deepest fears surfacing. Enlightenment at a nauseating volume. Once again, Burial Hex unveils a bridge between the banality of our world's present state and the ever impending afterlife. The experience is terrifying, tickling my subconscious like a ghost, meandering across the ivory keys, searching.

Over the years, it has been my privilege to take in Burial Hex performances at various local and international venues; however, to once again bear witness to Clay Ruby brooding over his suitcase full of God-only-knows-what, on his home soil in Madison, Wisconsin, is truly an honor. Equal parts performance art and musical performance, the horrific electronic spectacle haunts me still.

By Troy Schafer

MUSIC REVIEW - Dragon Fagot

Artist: Dragon Fagot and thee Crystal Skulls in Tibet
Title: self-titled

Label: Earjerk
Catalog No.: EJK-43
c20

Recorded and Mastered by Endless

A warming assortment of medium mellow, psychedelic sounds served up by Madison wierdos at a South Side Pizza Parlor. Side A: “IO was recorded live, August 23, 2009 at the Glass Nickel.” Side B: “OI was recorded live, sometime in 2009, somewhere else.”

The charm of IO’s improvisations lie within the uplifting textures created by electric guitar noodling, slowly evolving synth progressions and live tape. Trippy man. The spaced out timbre of Karen Elliot’s choice electronics provide an informative reference to Karen’s work with Second Family Band and Davenport. Long delay, reminiscent of the steel drum voice on a Yamaha DX7, melts into cosmic drone clusters while tapes of similar sounding synths slow down and speed up. The guitar wanks on.

Overall volume climaxes when the tape is flipped. DF’s time machine, loop pedal and delay knobs are dialed back a few settings to an earlier period when the guitar player didn't take quite as many solo ops. Shorter splashes of reverb bow to the arrival of a massive, boomy bass section with warmth and presence that sink me deep into my armchair. I attribute much of this satisfaction to Endless’s vintage, analog recording and mastering style, which always leaves me with an all-inclusive, feel-good vibe.  

According to Urban Dictionary, a “dragon fag” is someone who is deeply involved in card trading games. I have no idea if and/or how this applies to Dragon Fagot.

By Troy Schafer

ART REVIEW - Shinique Smith: Menagerie

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
227 State Street
Madison, WI

Through May 8, 2011

In Menagerie, multi-media artist Shinique Smith uses an innumerable quantity of found and second-hand objects, primarily clothing, to create abstract forms and pop-culture references. Accompanied by sensual and semi-frenzied murals, drawings and sketches, the sculptures and installations are a refined and rapturous take on three-dimensional collage.

Carefully connected pieces of consumer waste, bound with rope and string and often bearing the neon price sticker of a thrift store, create a rhythmic swoon of color and texture. Personal references, made with objects from Smith's family and friends, are intimately intertwined with the cast-offs of the anonymous many, making for a whimsical commentary on the overall theme of excess.

In Bale Variant No. 0017, an ombre effect is obtained via a cube made from layers of uniformly dyed garments. A rich, dark black-blue migrates vertically into a creamy color-field of undershirt white, as hundreds of scrunched-together pieces of clothing cascade upward into the white space of the gallery, both infinite and burdensome in the same moment.

Smith's works are an incredible match for MMOCA main gallery space. Using both the lofty height of the ceilings and the breadth of the walls to create a rich, vibrant atmosphere, Smith achieves a pertinent nonchalance while strategically illuminating and enhancing the architecture of our own consumer waste.

Shinique Smith, Bale Variant No. 0017, 2009. Clothing, fabric, ink, twine, ribbon and wood, 72 x 52 x 52 inches. Private collection. Image source: MMOCA

ART REVIEW - Chung Chak: Superman

Wisconsin Union Galleries - Class of 1925 Gallery
Memorial Union
University of Wisconsin Madison
800 Langdon Street
Madison, WI
Through Jan. 25, 2011

In Superman, photographer Chung Chak seeks to encourage contemplation of a superhero's sexuality by contrasting his hyper-masculinity with an unknown, effeminate, nude male.

Low-quality digital prints, mounted on foamcore, are cast in lighting that could easily have been leftover from a previous show.  As poor presentation will, the lack of quality execution distracts from the images themselves. Not dissimilar is the redundant re-interpretation of a combination of figures -- male nude, Superman, unspecified female superhero -- dispersed throughout urban street scenes, sometimes involving Asian-looking citizens.

Haphazard as the photographic quality and display are, they are far more calculated than any dialogue that can potentially be gleamed from the images. Too premeditated to be mere observation or social commentary, the photographs possess a quasi-theatrical quality reminiscent of that expected from an undergraduate attempt at a fashion editorial.

ART REVIEW - Kristin Lucas: Video Check Out

Wisconsin Union Galleries - Porter Butts Gallery
Memorial Union
University of Wisconsin Madison
800 Langdon Street
Madison, WI
Through Jan. 25, 2011

In Video Check Out, New York artist Kristin Lucas displays concrete-cast VHS cassettes on a set of two, double-sided, white shelving units. Reminiscent of shelves found at video rentals stores of yore (or just down the road at Four Star Video Heaven), these clean, IKEA-esque versions stand in modern contrast to the roughly-made castings of videocassettes in varying shades of cement gray.

Viewers are invited to participate by signing out a "video" or placing his or her name on a list to receive a delivery; however, it was unclear if they actually do the deliveries.  A desk with information and sign-out sheets stands near the entrance, above what looks not unlike a fast food, swing-door garbage receptacle. Upon peeking in, a lone cement videocassette awaits re-shelving at the bottom. 

Although apparent tribute to VHS and in-store rentals during a time of NetFlix and iTunes online streaming, the minimalist display was semi-discreetly anti-nostalgic and, in a time of hyper-aging new electronics and ever-popular neo-vintage reproductions, provoked a somewhat vague contemplation of where the videocassette stands historically.

MUSIC REVIEW - Nuclear Witch

Artist/Title: Nuclear Witch
Label: LURK SLEEP KILL
Recorded in Racine, WI
c15

An Iboga intervention on the cold, thick concrete floor of a tool and die factory. A shell-shocked hallucination through the eyes of a feverish street-psychic. Uber-compressed blast beats throb to the heavy pulse of purist goat metal while swirling shrieks of a banshee torture victim are heavily manipulated by slap-back delay. A complex nightmare and a powerful migraine. The rare moments in which I was slightly removed from the horrific aesthetics were due to the sampling of Anneliese Michel’s exorcism. 



Harsh and atmospheric tracks like “Bitch From Hell” and “Basement Attack” left me feeling completely vulnerable and bewildered. Highly recommended for fans of extreme metal and terror music.

By Troy Schafer

MUSIC REVIEW - Human Hands

Artist: Human Hands
Title: Palus Nectaris
Label: JUGULAR FOREST
Edition of 75, J4F4342
c20

As ambient music, the glitch-y vocals and distorted Casio do little to produce a meditative environment.  "Pierrot of the Stars" did not bring visions of celestial bodies or new moons, or transport me to a higher plane.  It reminded me of a poorly circuit bent FM - Buddha Machine.  As an electronic sound collage, "Palus Nectaris" offers a few slightly engaging rhythmic combinations.

While converting low bit rate digital sources to analog cassette seems to be a recurring format choice for experimental acts touring through Madison, tape does not mask the lo-fi toy keyboard quality that "Palus Nectaris" seems to be rooted in.  However, this tape does provide an accurate representation of Human Hand's live set as presented at a Madison house show this fall -- and the performer's masquerade-wear and clown nose were an amusing distraction.

By Troy Schafer