BY B AO L E - H U U TROTSKY’S WATERCOOLER | PHOTO BY MATTHEW MOYER
Sadly, the Orlando music com-
Trotsky’s Watercooler,
munity just lost one of its longtime pillars. the solo vehicle for Local musician Jim O’Rourke is as original Orlando noise luminary a gangster as it gets around here. According to owner Will Walker, he was the first perDan Reaves, just son to play live music at Will’s Pub — no, released new, eerie the old one, at Loch Haven. Nearly everyworks that should one who’s anyone in the city’s music scene knows him, probably only be I knew Jim’s name long before I’d ever listened to during the met him. After we finally met, all I ever saw day while someone else from him since was a kind, gentle and creis home with you ative soul. And that creativity kept up until the very end, with a particularly prolific release roll the last year or so. Although it’s a distant second to still having Jim among us, his footprint in the Orlando music scene nearly 30 explorative minutes of Reaves will be a lasting one. looping and manipulating spoken-word and instructional records. Recorded at the Gainesville apartment LOCAL RELEASES Worried about that Delta? If only we all of experimental underground pioneer and were. But you can savor some good live longtime cassette champion Hal McGee vibes from the safety of your own bubble in as part of his live Apartment Music series, a couple of recent releases from local acts “Polite Instruction for Our Feathered that have electrified the Mills strip with Friends” is a melted and dizzying piece that’s as psychedelic as it is industrial. The some well-documented performances. Gamma Waves have repeatedly proven second track, “I Don’t Buy It” — recorded, on stage to be one of the most impressive notably, at this year’s X-Day celebration at new Orlando rock bands to emerge recent- Land of Id in Land O’ Lakes — is an eerie ly. Their latest release is a live recording of work that sounds like the escalating stages a May performance they did in the Milk of a paranormal possession and should District. The seven-song Live at Iron Cow probably only be listened to during the day is a solid bottling of the raw grunge brawn while someone else is home with you. It’s that these guys can muster in concert. It’s up on Trotsky’s Watercooler’s Bandcamp. generously available on Bandcamp as a name-your-price download. MUSIC EVENTS THIS WEEK The other noteworthy live release It’s getting bad out there again, guys. is Design for Survival by Trotsky’s Be safe. Watercooler, the solo vehicle for Orlando noise luminary Dan Reaves that uses some Zeta, Sunstrife, 430 Steps, the of the more inventive hardware in the Rottens: Venezuela’s Zeta have been one game. Culled from two very recent per- of the hottest imports to the Sunshine formances in July, Design for Survival is State in recent years, and Orlando pro-
moter Montgomery Drive has been their biggest advocate here in Central Florida. Now based in South Florida, the band’s avant-garde punk rock is fierce, tropical and forward. And live, it electrifies. Supporting will be an all-Orlando roster that’s like a deconstruction of Zeta’s complex kaleidoscope, including the math rock of Sunstrife, the high-velocity hardcore of 430 Steps and the punk en español of the Rottens. (7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, West End Trading Co., $10) Gerald Law II’s Sensory Vibes: Across the realms of stage, studio, education and social consciousness, Gerald Law II is rising as not simply a player in Orlando’s music scene but a visionary. His upcoming performance at art-music bastion the In-Between Series will see the progressive percussionist explore expression through emerging technology. Law’s latest solo enterprise, “Sensory Vibes,” will employ electronic sensors that allow full instrumental and compositional range all through his drums. Expect an exhibition that plays at the intersection of art and innovation. (7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 16, CityArts, $5) Future Bartenderz: This Orlando act has amassed a considerable digital catalog over the past few years. But this event marks the first physical release, a sprawling 32-song cassette — titled Chester Cheetah, Macrame, Brian Eno, Chardonnay — that cherry-picks and gathers the best cuts from their oeuvre so far. It’ll be a heaping primer of the project’s mix of odd pop, weird punk and huge sense of humor. (10 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, Will’s Pub, free but donations strongly encouraged) baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com orlandoweekly.com
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AUG. 11-17, 2021 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY
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