An Evening with The Toxhards
May 9 - 12, 2024
by Lain Harley
Deep Ellum Art and Co., from a distance, largely looks like a run-of-the-mill renovated Old Dallas building—so much so that it's kind of easy to miss if you don't already know what you're looking for. It's nothing extravagant by any means, but this lack of excessive frills is exactly what gives the venue’s personality room to shine through, hypnotizing me in a way that other venues haven't. Directly to the left of the stage, there's a wall full of paintings in a myriad of art styles, depicting anything from a cartoon orange cat with pants (not Garfield) to a Pez dispenser with Elvis Presley's head on the top of it. To the right of the standing area is an abstract, almost futuristic-looking cluster of metallic hexagons arranged in the shape of a triangle, with three holes close to each corner of it. This environment stands out in a way that almost feels effortless. It doesn't feel like the venue's trying to get your attention, but it's so full of life that it grabs your attention anyway.
To me, there is a clear parallel between my feelings about the venue and my feelings about seeing the Toxhards in concert on the 9th.
This is not to say The Toxhards' music is run-of-the-mill, because it absolutely is not. The reason their music hooked me is that their sound is so versatile and tries so many different things while having strong compositions backing up their experimentation. For example, Doombop!, their most streamed song on Spotify and the first of theirs I heard, oozes power pop influence, with the lyrics satirizing, through their absurdity, America's political sphere and its eternal tendency to dismiss criticisms of the state of the world as unnecessary as long as society is still functioning. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the iconic Ængus, The Prize-Winning Hog, a tale set to progressive rock (with a bit of metalcore and chamber rock mixed in as well) that could reasonably be taken as a commentary on cruelty to animals, but is first and foremost a silly story about a pig revered as a godly figure by the masses, and his fight to the death with a butcherman. Somewhere in the middle, or perhaps on another spectrum entirely, is the jangly pop-rock tune Should We Get a Dog?, a sugary ode to a burgeoning domestic life and my personal favorite of the Toxhards' repertoire. This is just three of the ten studio recordings they have out so far, but even these songs by themselves feel like the work of three completely different bands, and they show off a constant enthusiasm to play around with different sounds.
I was already excited to see the Toxhards live for this reason, but I thought it would be a fairly conventional show for a rock band (avec pig costume). I was very, very wrong. To start, the concert was long. Despite only having ten songs released, the concert was a whopping twenty-four songs in length, due to the band peppering an already eclectic setlist of their own music with covers of other tracks ranging from the Jonas Brothers' 2000s pop classic Burnin' Up to Rush's 10-minute long prog rock epic La Villa Strangiato, from Creed's grungy 1999 hit Higher to the Grateful Dead's beautiful and underrated Franklin's Tower. Even when the band wasn't performing, the breaks between songs often displayed the members' undeniable chemistry. With every word spoken, tune sung, and note played, it became clearer and clearer that each member of the Toxhards is so genuine and so human in such a lovable way. In the spotlight, bassist and frontman Alan Macchiarolo radiated charisma, captivating me and the rest of the audience with everything said between every song, no matter what it was about or how silly it may have been. He and guitarist Emerson Harrison bounced off each other incredibly well when performing, and Emerson consistently showed such warm enthusiasm, playing his heart out at every turn. From the back of the stage, drummer Casey Donovan treated the audience to the occasional visual joke throughout the set, and his time in the spotlight felt almost too perfect as he donned his giant inflatable hog suit to perform the role of the titural lead in the band's Ængus trilogy of songs (one of which is exclusive to this tour—more on that in the interview). The band gave guitarist Matt Garcia what I feel to be the opportunity of a lifetime as he spent a solid few minutes, during the aptly titled "Matt's Anime Hour" intermission, speaking to the crowd about his opinion on the issue of pacing when adapting a manga to anime. Above all, though, it was clear the whole night that the four members were in their happy place playing music together on stage. The concert was a wonderfully entertaining example of the endless charm inherent in watching a bunch of friends have fun together, magnified by each member's immense talent and the convergence of said talent to take the audience on a wild ride of a concert, exuding personality from the very beginning to the very end.
Interviewing the group, though, was a much more relaxed experience. About two hours before doors, I nervously entered the venue from the side door per Alan's instructions. The place was empty, obviously, save for Matt and Emerson sitting at a table in the center and Alan in the back configuring the in-house projector to prepare for the show—Casey was feeling unwell and resting up before the concert. Matt and Emerson greeted me and we chatted for a bit, mostly about South Park, as I had resolved the day before to proudly wear my Tweek x Craig shirt during the interview, a decision all the members seemed to appreciate. As Alan joined us at the table, the supporting act for the concert, Ryan Sneed—whose set was one of the cleverest and most entertaining openings to a concert I've seen so far—began his soundcheck. Alan, in turn, suggested we go out to the side of the venue, where I entered, and have our conversation out on the sidewalk.
Roadside Chat
Dinky little voice recorder in hand, I made my way out to the sidewalk outside the venue with Alan, Matt, and Emerson. All three of them made some sort of reference to Why Don't We Do It In The Road on the way out; I took this as an immediate sign of a notable common influence, the Beatles' legendary White Album, the record from which they later covered another treasured Paul composition, Rocky Raccoon.
Common influences were a recurring theme of our conversation, as the topic always ended up circling back to the environment they grew up in together and the way their quite varied tastes in music have intermingled and broadened the horizons of all four members. Kind of an obvious point, sure, but this sharing of influences is uniquely strengthened by the attitude each of them have toward discovering new music and hearing each other's ideas; any time one member is talking about the composition of another, it is filled to the brim with compliments, and I get the impression that they are always so genuinely stoked to hear what their bandmates came up with. Throughout the interview, one of the most points that stuck with me the most was the extent to which each member shares influences, and how the favorite songs of each member have all kind of combined into a large, massive sphere of influence that all of the Toxhards share.
You’ll find, as the Rush fan, [How Lucky Am I?] is the power pop influence, and then, as the Weezer fan, Casey writes Ængus, the Prize Winning Hog. Alan Macchiarolo of the Toxhards
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