Royal Trux at The Cooler (09-12-1998)

On September 12th, 1998, Royal Trux played the second of two nights at The Cooler in New York City. In April 1998, the band released their seventh studio album on Drag City, “Accelerator.” In October 1998, Stephen Garnett penned a nice review of the gig in Ink Magazine:

Veterans of disorder may apply to Royal Trux, but Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty seemed at-ease, well-adjusted, charming, focused and relatively healthy performing before a packed Cooler in NYC. Spillout into the bar was inevitable, where thankfully, the somewhat muddy sound mix in the main room was given space to dissipate, and so the bass/percussion-heavy rock songs were revived by clearer fuzzy guitar and the dual vocal stylings of Jennifer and Neil.

Opening with the two and three-minute songs that make up much of their latest Drag City release, Royal Trux kept rocking with minimal chatter, maximum time spent playing. “Waterpark” could have been louder, sure, but the tribute to splashing around seemed a fitting opener as summer fades. “Witch’s Tit” features the penultimate Trux riff, “The Exception” was likewise slight of guitar, and “Yo Se!” was mantric. Do they make Spanish language typewriters? I know.

The Cooler was located in the Meatpacking Distrct and the club was well-known for it’s eclectic bills. Specifically, in addition to Royal Trux performing on September 11th and September 12th, the final months of 1998 say several, Beck and Thurston Moore performed on September 21st, and Michael Karoli and Damo Suzuki of Can played the following weekend.