David Wax Museum

What do you expect to see or hear when you are going to a wax museum? Whatever your preconceived idea is, it does not fit The David Wax Museum who performed at the 1200 Club at the Holland Center last Friday night.
The David Wax Museum is a musical group of three people. Their music is a combination of folk, country, blue-grass, and spirituals with a strong influence of current indie rock music with a Mexican flavor.
This group is like a museum in that their music is based on traditional folk songs but definitely have a blended mix of old and new together in one song. Guitars and a fiddle were the basic accompaniments, but also used were the drum box, Cajón, a small Mexican guitar called a viheula, and a donkey’s jawbone as a rhythmic percussive instrument.
The group leader is the energetic and versatile David Anderson Wax who is extremely talented and just has a great time performing his music. Also notable are the unique talents of Suz Slezak along with the mellow harmonies of their percussionist, guitarist, and vocalist, Greg. The combination of the three was a rousing fun night of interacting with three unconventional performers.
Some of the folk songs performed were “It’s a Bee Keeper Drawing Honey from Our Hearts”, “That’s Not True”, “Beatrice”, “Look What You’ve Done to Me”, “I’m Not Trying to Get Away from Anything for Anyone, I’m Trying to Get Away from You”, and the controversial “Chuchumbe”.
Although many of the songs were based on Mexican folksongs, the performed numbers were mostly telling the stories using updated music and harmonies in English. You could really understand and enjoy the humor and vitality of each song.
The David Wax Museum is an up and coming musical experience which has been reviewed and noticed both by National Public Radio and Time Magazine. Their enthusiasm and artistry make each song an enlivening experience. The variety of instruments along with their powerful voices definitely delighted this audience who eagerly rewarded the performers with a standing ovation. Fortunately, the performers recognized this and continued with a blue-grass gospel song, “Let Me Rest in the Wake of the Lord” and concluding with their rendition of “Yes, Maria, Yes”.