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This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a
very special screening of the classic 1922 German film, Nosferatu, which all
of you, being on a goth list, are no doubt familiar with ;)
So what makes this particular showing, you might ask? Well, it was not only a
viewing of the film itself, but it was also accompanied by a performance by
Nash The Slash, who composed an all new score for the film just a few months
ago! For those of you who don't know, Nash The Slash is an avant garde
musician who is a virtual legend in the Toronto area. He has performed in and
around Toronto and southern Ontario since the mid 1970's, having even opened
for bands like the Who, Gary Numan, the Tubes, and Iggy Pop. He was also in a
Canadian electronic prog-pop band called FM that had several hits in their
day. Beside his bizarre music, he is known for several trademarks: he plays
electric violin and electric mandolin, and in public he has always appeared
in a tuxedo with top hat, with his face is completely wrapped in bandages and
wearing dark sunglasses, like the invisible man. Yes, he's been doing this
for over 25 years now and nobody knows what he really looks like!
So you can imagine just how eerie and creepy the whole thing was. Here was
this vampire classic (which is still creepier than most that would follow)
being shown in an old, decrepid theatre (Bloor Cinema), with an eccentric
fellow resembling a mummy in a tux playing some rather forboding music of his
own creation as well as on themes of Faure's Requiem and Saint-Saens Danse
Macabre. The vibe was electrifying! His score for the film is excellent,
masterfully conveying the appropriate emotions. It is largely orchestral,
with many weeping violin and organ passages along with eastern chants. On
occasion a drum machine supplied a hynotic forboding beat, and his distorted,
humming electric mandolin riffs enhanced the gloomy melodies to perfection.
I loved just about every minute of it. Bought a nice poster and got the guy
to sign it too as a nice memento. He was selling CD's of the soundtrack as
well, and I'd love to get my hands on one eventually. If you want one, just
go to his web site at www.nashtheslash.com! There are mp3's there as well,
and he also has several tracks available for download on www.mp3.com. The
guy's a freak, but Toronto could surely use a lot more like him.
review by roland
April 25th, 2001
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