Over the last decade or so, the Tom Fun Orchestra have pissed a few people off, and made some other people very happy. Often-times these groups tend to overlap at least a little bit. Touring around the world in their trusty Garbage Plane, the band has broken stages, mended hearts, rescued wildlife, won some awards, danced with robots, painted the world with a weird-assed brush and did it to the eardrums of the unsuspecting masses.
The recipient of multiple Music Nova Scotia and East Coast Music Awards, The Tom Fun Orchestra self-describe as the world’s first Cluster Rock Ensemble, a sophistical title for sound that embodies the band’s celebratory ethos of camaraderie and nomadic hedonism. With its reputation far preceding itself, the musical institution from Cape Breton spent years touring the world on the merit of two critically acclaimed albums, Earthworm Heart (2012) and You Will Land With a Thud (2008) as well as a wildly energetic live show.
These days, the band generally lays low, whistling the songs of their Island kingdom, the music stewing within their hearts, bellies, guts and brains. But this weekend, the heroes of our daydreams and favourite nightmares are leaving their shadowlands behind, embarking on a brief but mighty blitz with shows in Halifax, Charlottetown and Sydney.
It’s been four years since Tom Fun last made an appearance in Halifax. Now is the time to focus all collective energies on losing your mind… if only for just one night. That one night is Thursday, August 25 at the Seahorse and to help focus that energy, Tom Fun has invited along old pals Like A Motorcycle and Horses.
Like A Motorcycle is Halifax’s favourite gutter nuisance. They drink from a handheld cannon called a whisky gun and they are better than your band. They have a new album coming out in autumn of 2016, so get out to see them in a small venue while you still can. Horses includes a bunch of past Tom Fun Orchestra members who may or may not have come to their senses. Only way to find out for sure is to be there and see and hear for yourself.
The Tom Fun Orchestra has toured across Canada a few times, and made multiple appearances in Scotland, Ireland, the UK, and Australia, but the first time they ever hit the road, they went directly to Charlottetown, PEI. These were simpler times before Facebook or Beliebers or Donair Eggrolls. They like to say they made the sky rain feathers across the cradle of Confederation and were forever changed. Following Thursday night’s return to Halifax, they will gather up the remains of Like A Motorcycle, and simultaneously retrace their steps and lay down some new footwork. It is expected to be a glorious mess of scandal and delight. It will be all things at once, the band suggests, and it will be in your best interests to be there.
Hometown shows for Tom Fun are few and far between these days, so don’t miss the chance to see them in all their tattered and leftover glory at Governor’s Pub & Eatery Saturday night with Electric Spoonful as they wrap up their summer excursion.
Electric Spoonful is a fuzz rock quartet hailing from Cape Breton Island. The band is now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with hard hitting drums, fast driving guitar, thunder fuzz bass and a gruff gritty voice behind the mic. The high energy and very prominent stage performance can get pretty messy. These elements make this band great for throwing back a beer, or twelve and gettin’ down to some dirty tunes. Electric Spoonful draws on the sounds and styles of acts such as The Black Keys,The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Spooky Tooth, Led Zeppelin and The Doors.
