Slideshow Players

July 15, 2003 3:21 PM

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players have been lauded by The New Yorker ("arguably the best-known local act of the new millennium"), Entertainment Weekly ("Okay, maybe it is a joke, but it's a very good one") and David Cross ("When I first saw them, I felt something that reminded me of the feeling you have when you’re, like, 11 or 12, and a not-unattractive girl tells another girl to tell you that she might think you’re cute.") This mom, dad and daughter play punk-rock anthems to slide show pictures they purchase at garage sales. And they're playing L.A. tomorrow!
posted by adrober (15 comments total)

I saw the Trachtenburg's at Bonnaroo, where their ironic vibe didn't quite fit in. The dad made a couple of Jerry Garcia jokes that the audience didn't appreciate, and their slides were barely visible in the afternoon festival tent. Still, I enjoyed the 3-4 songs I had the patience for, and decided I'd see them again when they play New York. Look for "Mountain Trip to Japan 1959" on MTV any day now.
posted by muckster at 3:39 PM on July 15, 2003

I saw 'em in Nashville and they were a lot of fun, even though little Rachel had hurt her foot the day before and couldn't play the drums. She sat on a stool in the front, sang, shook her eggs, and seemed very irked by the replacement drummer ("Nooo! You're going too faaaast!")

If I might be allowed a second of self-promotion-- if you like the Trachtenburgs' found-art style, you may enjoy a project I'm working on now, mic in track, based upon sound files that people have recorded on their PC's and unwittingly shared with the world via p2p networks.
posted by starkeffect at 3:47 PM on July 15, 2003

I caught the TFSP in Seattle before they moved to NYC, picking a fight on their way out of town. I thought they were funny, though the gimmick definitely wore thin toward the end of their 40 minute set.
posted by Ty Webb at 3:51 PM on July 15, 2003

They are getting so much press in the last few months, so much ironic hipster street cred that there's gonna be some fallout here in a while, mark my words. I've never seen them, but I've heard so much about them that it feels like I should be tired of them by now.
posted by Hildago at 4:19 PM on July 15, 2003

Their daughter definitely got the best of the available genetic material, hottie-wise.
posted by bingbangbong at 5:05 PM on July 15, 2003

(Self-link alert!) Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players Answering Machine Messages
posted by gluechunk at 5:08 PM on July 15, 2003

isn't self-linking in comments okay?

anyway, i think it's amazing they have a 9 year old playing the drums...i mean, the entire heart of the performance is a 9 year old girl. that's awesome!
posted by taumeson at 5:47 PM on July 15, 2003

Saw them in May at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. Behind all the ironic chit chat there is some real songwriting going on, it tends to disappear with the whole "act" though. In particular, if the father of the family cut down his between song schtick by 25% the whole act would be about 50% better.
posted by jeremias at 6:52 PM on July 15, 2003

Their CD is only $10 and has free shipping. I saw them on Conan a while back and thought it was a sketch. Except it seemed too surreal even for that show.
posted by Gary at 7:03 PM on July 15, 2003

Two things I've been wondering:

(1) Why do they have a CD and not a DVD? The joke doesn't quite work on CD, but their schtick seems ideally suited to a DVD/VCD. I know, I know, they haven't had the money to do a DVD, but still, why didn't they include pictures of the slides in with the CD? Maybe the copy I got was missing something...

(2) I thought there were laws against underage persons performing in bars, and yet they did a show (9-year-old and all) at the 9:30 Club here in DC. Am I wrong, or is it only certain states? (I can see Washington not caring enough to enact a law like that, if it is commonplace elsewhere.)
posted by arco at 7:32 PM on July 15, 2003

Talentless parents taking advantage of their staggeringly cute daughter. She's the entire act. Though amusing for a few minutes, their performance left me feeling sorry for the little girl. It's all rather tragic.
posted by aladfar at 7:45 PM on July 15, 2003

They were supposed to play twice (and I was going to see them twice) at the Ottawa Bluesfest, this past weekend. But they didn't bother to show up - no explanation was given by the organizers, and there's no news at the Trachtenburg website. I was and am not amused!
posted by Marquis at 8:16 PM on July 15, 2003

I saw them at the Seattle YMCA when they were smaller, and the girl is definitely having a great time.

aladfar, are you working for The Stranger? (kidding, kidding)
posted by j.edwards at 10:34 PM on July 15, 2003

Wot, no Michelle? And I clicked on that link in good faith...
posted by benzo8 at 12:02 AM on July 16, 2003

I enjoyed their show in New York, but it also left me feeling a little strange -- will the act still interest people as the daughter gets older? Do they really need to be performing constantly? Or am I just jealous that I don't spend my birthdays performing at clubs, like the daughter was that night at Fez...
posted by armacy at 11:54 AM on July 16, 2003