Carnival of 8
Thurs July 26, Zak's

Toward the beginning of Carnival of 8's performance, singer/guitarist Tristan Dreykus says, "I ate Big & Tasty before I came here, and now I gotta take a crap." I'm mildly amused.

I'm thinking he looks like Frank Zappa, and he's a good buttrock frontman, and almost funny to boot. Besides, this is Zak's. There's no pretense. The bartender is perhaps the nicest lady who has ever served me, and people are happy.

Dreykus finishes charming the pants off his audience, and the band goes into another chugging metal song. Dreykus takes over on lead vocals. (The previous song had been performed vocally by bassist Chuck Alexander. The two trade off throughout the show, though Dreykus sings more, speaks always, and is obviously Carnival of 8's leader.) Dreykus' voice is stylistically typical for buttrock: He shakes his hair around a great deal in that ballsy manner, also typical for the genre, and acts like his solos are really, really difficult to play. And they're mostly good solos, albeit wanky and gratuitous.

Alexander loves Metallica--or I bet he loves Metallica; he has long, straight hair hanging in his face. The drummer, Scott Tatman, is the squarest of the bunch, wearing a baseball cap and looking a bit less like a "crazy rocker" than the others. While Alexander is an aggressive bass player who stands stone still and looks sort of creepy throughout the performance, Tatman is straightforward and unassuming. I like his drumming. It's strong, and his fills are clean and masterful. He's the least showy member of the band, and also the best.

But Dreykus is the one to watch here. I glance back over at him because he's busting out another solo. (Each song has one. They are long.) He closes his eyes and faces upward, toward the ceiling. Each time he does this I want a high-powered fan to blow on him.

The band goes into a silly song called "Looking for Drugs." Alexander does the vocals, but I'm still watching Dreykus. I sense that Dreykus is amused by his own weirdness, but I also believe that he takes his band very seriously, and I can't tell what's meant to be funny and what isn't. I assume that it's all supposed to be fun, but what am I meant to laugh at here?

Alexander has the superior voice, but he sounds dark and a bit scary as he sings. His glasses peek out from behind the horse's mane that hangs down around them, and I wonder if he's ever killed anyone. Then the song gets darker and more repetitious, evolving into a brooding, ominous breakdown that's definitely meant to be serious.

The next song is "Mental Amputee." Dreykus introduces it to the 16 fans up front. "It's about ME! ME!" he screams, attempting to amuse us. But I think he might be serious. The song is a little bit funky and Southern-sounding, but the low, throaty hollering makes it pure buttrock. Ass metal. Dreykus plays a multiplicity of high notes in his solo, letting them hang and sort of ring out as he mimics each one facially. He appears alternately pained and sexual. Then the two frontmen bang their heads in unison, bringing the song to its conclusion. I decide the show needs a punchline.

Just then, the microphones go out. (I'm not making this up.) I don't know whether to laugh or scream. As the frustrated band joins the crowd, I approach Alexander to get the band members' names. When I introduce myself, the first thing he says is, "Oh, please don't write anything mean about us."

That's not a punch line.