Rushad Eggleston is an alien. As an ensemble musician he can pass for a very odd human, but as the leader of his own band (currently Tornado Riders, though at the time we purchased our tickets they were billed as Western Wizards, and a month before that, Butt Wizards) Rushad's true nature is unmistakable. He is a hilarious, awkward, giddy alien that plays the cello like no one else.
At Club Passim, the audience was initially unsure of what to make of him. The gibberish between songs was certainly strange and the music was equally mind-bending. Rushad made his cello sound like a fiddle, electric guitar, rhythm guitar, and classical cello, simultaneously. Keyboardist/drummer Gabriel Caves provided a rock/techno drum beat, and on top the duo sang surreal melodies of randomness. Though technically impressive, I wasn't sure how to respond emotionally or physically. I was torn between head-banging, stomping my foot, and laughing out loud.
Rushad's answer to this was to get us singing, swaying, and cheering in our seats. The Tornado Riders theme song was especially catchy: "Rock-u-punga, -ish tornado; Rock-u-punga, in the dark; Rock-u-punga, -ish tornado; Hits my mind out of the park." Another favorite was the call and response. "Who's a falcon?" "I'm a falcon!" Seriously, who doesn't want to be a falcon?
Club Passim is a small, dine-in music venue; I'm sure if the tables were gone, Rushad would have pulled us up and had us dancing with him. Alas, we had to settle for a one-man dance-off. Halfway through the second set, Rushad stormed out the back door, leaving Gabriel Caves to entertain the audience while Rushad changed into a Tarzan outfit outside. Jumping and flailing and bouncing and turning, Rushad insisted "give me a little cheer when I do something you like so I know how to dance for you."
So I've established that the show was exciting. Musically, there was a whole lot more going on. Though the lo-fi samples on MySpace don't quite capture it, this man can wail like a lead guitarist, and his percussive rhythms are unbelievably adroit. A graduate of the Berklee School of Music, Rushad has the technical training and he has already made a name for himself with innovative improvisational and fiddling techniques. He can make his cello do anything, and that alone was worth seeing live.
For example, on "Beep Beep Beep," he started out playing a blend of classical technique with a rock influence on the chords. Occasionally he would slide the bow towards the bridge, producing an ethereal electronic sound. He used this electric guitar quality frequently during solos. For more percussive, rhythmic sections, he used the "downstrike" and "chop" techniques learned from Darol Anger, leader of Fiddlers Four and Republic of Strings.
I have seen Rushad perform with Crooked Still before, and was of course blown away by the group, but as the front man for Tornado Rider, Rushad holds nothing back. This was especially apparent when Tornado Rider performed "Mountain Jumper," which appears on Crooked Still's second album, Shaken by a Low Sound. Whereas the Crooked Still performance is reserved, composed, and balanced, Tornado Rider played loud, desparate, and with a lot of head banging. And the song worked better that way (which I guess makes sense considering Rushad wrote it). I could almost hear him saying with every head-thrash, "THIS is how it's supposed to be played!"
Gabriel Cazes held his own as well. He somehow managed to play the keyboard with his right hand and a full drum set with his left—all while singing on the offbeat. His musical contribution was unexpected—more of an electronic or house beat than the folk rhythms that typically accompany Rushad. Gabriel's MicroKrog, a small synth keyboard, blended smoothly with the cello at the lower register, and the higher notes added a playful synth sound.
Alien or not, Rushad is a musician to see live. Some bands just play through their most recent CD; Rushad forces you to drop your inhibitions and just enjoy his random creative energy. I am reminded of Devo, the Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants—all performers who do whatever they think is fun and exciting and creative, and are talented enough to bring the audience around to their unique approach to music and performance.
After the concert, I gushed to my girlfriend about how invigorating the concert was. I felt like I could do anything and everything. She responded, "Yeah, everything else seems so much less weird."
