Graham Reynolds - Instore Tonight at Waterloo

In anticipation of tomorrow night's premiere of A Scanner Darkly, hosted by the Austin Film Society, movie- and music-lovers can check out a live performance of pieces from the film's score at 5pm tonight at Waterloo Records. For free, of course.

Composer Graham Reynolds, along with some-odd nine musicians, including the current members of the Golden Arm Trio, will entertain and quite likely enlighten you, as Reynolds and his cohorts are wont to do. Plus, you'll have a chance to pick up a copy of the film's soundtrack, which is being released tonight and features Reynolds' original score along with remixes by DJ Spooky and Meat Beat Manifesto.

Why is this an extra exciting event? For several reasons. First, Reynolds is incredibly talented at creating haunting, timeless music that reaches down into those hidden parts -- the ones you didn't even know you had -- and speaks to them in a language you didn't even know you spoke. We were utterly captivated by Reynolds' score for 2004's Death of a Cat -- not to mention the entire C. Denby Swanson written, Salvage Vanguard Theater helmed production, which got rave reviews (props to AusChron's Robert Faires) and awards that year. We couldn't get the score's main theme out of our minds for weeks...which didn't bother us in the slightest. (We only wish SVT would make it available on CD.) Tonight's performance gives you a chance to check out A Scanner Darkly's music, see if you like it, and pick it up on the spot if you do.

Second, Reynolds is an accessible, intellectual composer who is willing to share his thought process with you in a way that helps you dig into his music up to your elbows, and really get a grasp on what it is about it that pulls at you so hard. We had the treat of watching him perform, and listening to him dissect, his Death of Cat score in the environs of the Austin Museum of Art, which happened to have a nice collection of spirit photographs on display at the time. It made an already impressive, coherent production even more meaningful. We imagine tonight's instore will do much the same for A Scanner Darkly.

Finally, even if you're not terribly interested in A Scanner Darkly (though we can't fathom why you wouldn't be -- Richard Linklater + Philip K. Dick + the baddest of bad-boy&girl stars + Austin scenery + local cast & crew members -- we're surely excited!), we can pretty much guarantee, based on the teasers we've heard, that tonight's performance will be well worth your time. Heck, how often does Waterloo squeeze in 10 (ten!) musicians for an instore?

Graham Reynolds and Golden Arm Trio perform
pieces from the score of A Scanner Darkly
Tonight, 6/27, at Waterloo Records, 600A N. Lamar
Free

Image (c) Graham Reynolds

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