Phonoroyale Freak Fest

Gary Bear took the stage with his guitar and echoplex. Gary is "The Man Who Doesn't Put His Pants On One Leg at a Time." I can relate, neither do I. Gary's sound is something like Gordon Gano without the rest of the Violent Femmes, spiced with really painful biblical puns. Fear not, gentle reader, he's not preaching. If you wanted to hear his message anyway, he'll be in The Cellar March 10.

Next up was Curtis Roy. A multi-talented musician, his incarnation as "The Yodeling Cowboy of Love" could only be described as "Profane Guy with Banjo Singing in German." Entertaining, but not family fare. He closed his short set with "Sheik of Araby" which provided something of a segue into the next act, the aptly named Fire Eating Trio.

Curtis switched to the clarinet to provide accompaniment for the Shriner-looking types who feasted on Sterno to the hoots of the audience. Afterward, when I asked one of the Trio whether the old rumor that "the only way to get the hat is to kill the Shriner" was accurate, he opined, "No, you just have to set him on fire." Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. . .

Next up was a Meat Puppet Show. No, not the annoying Phoenix pop outfit of "Backwater" fame. This was puppeteering with sausages and plucked chickens. I'd enlighten you as to the daring repartee, but I fear it was (intentionally?) unintelligible.

By now I doubted that the evening could get any stranger. As if in response to my thoughts, the next act was the dance of the seven veils! OK, I'm exaggerating. Two dancers, two veils, two BIG SNAKES! Eye-popping. With the low ceiling and flashing lights of the lounge, I now had the bizarre feeling of being trapped inside the "Arabian Nights" pinball machine.

I was thus primed for a brief time warp courtesy of the band Phonoroyale. This Phoenix-based combo was playing for the first time with a new drummer. Their vintage torch-song sound was quite unique, aided by an instrument that singer Mary Katherine termed a "Phonophone." I say that it looks like an old coffee pot but sounds like a muted trumpet. Their mellow sound stands apart from the "Swing" genre recently in favor. Unique, to say the least. Lucky for you they have a regular gig at the Lounge every Friday.

A repeat performance by this motley crew could neither be confirmed nor denied, but with Gary Bear's future show at The Cellar and Phonoroyale's regular booking, the essence is sure to remain in the air. Admittedly, these two were the least freakish components of the evening, but as a good friend of mine once said after executing a perfect fall off a brick wall, "Sometimes vaudeville hurts!"