'Museum' Worth Checking Out

One of the most obnoxious things someone can say about their band is that it’s “more of an art project.” Besides being an unbearably pretentious comment, it is also belittling to one of the greatest, most sought-after gigs in the world; being in a rock n’ roll band. If being in an “art project” is more appealing to you than being in a rock band, you are more than welcome to make a paper maché sculpture or an oil on canvas, but please put down your instrument. Nonetheless, artists as diverse as Jack White and Marilyn Manson have gone on record professing their artistry over their music, and lesser-knowns have made similarly pompous remarks.

This is not to say that a rock band cannot successfully pull off being an art project. Consider KISS, one of the most famous rock bands of all time, who embellished their act with outlandish costumes, an elaborate stage show, and distinct, larger than life stage personas. Even ignoring their laughably excessive merchandizing, KISS were flying, fire-breathing comic book heroes overflowing with artistic vision. KISS succeeded as an art project because they had no pretenses of being one. Rather, they were four guys who played rock ‘n’ roll because they wanted to get laid. The rest came naturally to them. Being in a rock band/art project is like being badass—those who really are don’t go around telling everyone, they just are.

Few musicians are able to pull off being a rock band and an art project, but one that does so particularly well are Oakland’s Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, who brought their unclassifiable show to New York City’s Bowery Ballroom, March 15. SGM’s third album, In Glorious Times, will not see release until May, and as with the band’s first two studio albums, will most likely serve as an afterthought to their performances, an anthology of the magic they’ve been bringing to the stage since their last release, Of Natural History. On March 15, SGM played only three songs from their first two albums in their entirety, transcending the idea of a band playing the songs their fans like.

Onstage, the band is a monster, costumed and in make up. The instruments defy conventions, many of them-self made, including a stringed, seven-foot long board known as a piano log and some surprisingly percussive kitchenware. The band’s imaginative setup, which in the past has featured nightmarish Butoh performances, conjurings, “history” lessons, puppet shows, and most importantly, great music, reflects the band’s defiance of musical categorization and the boundary between the stage and the crowd. At the Bowery, vocalist/guitarist Nils Frykdahl, whose versatile voice can switch from carnival barker to death grunt to Disney movie villain, handed out lyric sheets in order to pull the audience into the performance. The sheets featured lyrics inspired by Finnegan’s Wake, and whether or not Frykdahl really has delved into Joyce’s nearly unreadable novel, he conducted the singalong in a convincing manner. Most bands would have sounded pretentious referencing Joyce and inane conducting a singalong, but SGM are not most bands.

In the Museum on finds an elaborate, detailed history. Their albums’ liner notes contain old photographs, indexes, footnotes, and a seemingly continuous Museum “history” told in chronological order with each album. There is much in the history about insects, museum “founders” John Kane and Lala Rolo, various manifestos, the Unabomber, and other meticulous, exhaustive aspects which could take up hours of analysis upon end. Is it all a crock of shit? Yes, the same way Batman and Don Quijote are. Appropriately, the band itself is a living, breathing museum, and the atmosphere they create is too real to deny.

Considering how well Sleepytime pulls off their artistic exploits, it’s amazing that they’re still a rock band. But rock they do, and no better proven when they unleashed Grand Opening’s “1997” on the Bowery crowd. This prompted a mosh pit, the first I’ve seen in years of attending Sleepytime shows and a sign of their growing audience. But the pit was not forced or imposed by drunk guys getting out their aggression; rather, it felt natural, as it often does at metal shows. The band had created an ideal metal setting, and the loud, impetuous music was every bit as compelling as the Joyce-inspired singalong. Few artists could pull off such a feat, and clearly this is a Museum that warrants many explorations and return visits.

Openers Secret Chiefs 3, a San Francisco collective featuring members of Mr. Bungle and Estradasphere, opened the show with a vibrant, animated set which included a decidedly original take on the Halloween theme. Stylistically unpredictable and making the most of first rate musicianship, the band perfectly set the stage for Sleepytime.