Watching Malcolm Tent perform for his acoustic stage show is similar to watching a low budget circus act. There are cheers and jeers, ups and downs, and twists and turns, but in the end the crowd always leaves amused.

Tent, a 45-year-old former Brookfield resident currently living in Newtown, has been playing music for over 25 years. He says he has been playing "more full time since my landlord screwed me out of Trash American Style's lease in 2007." Most "Trashies" refer to the music shop as "Trash," a place where you could buy anything from records and fanzines to hand-made tie-dyes and incense.  Tent and his business partner and former wife, Kathy Kelly opened their record store in 1986 on Station Road in Brookfield and lived in the apartment upstairs.  Kelly makes beads and jewelry they sold in the store, which moved to Danbury a few years later.

"Trash might've folded or become a Goth shop if not for the Brookfield High School football team in 1987 going straight-edge," Tent muses.  Straight-edge, a term coined by the band Minor Threat in the 1980s, is a lifestyle of no drinking, no drugs and listening to hardcore music, which Tent supplied them with. 

Tent and Kelly participated in a documentary film called I Need That Record, chronicling the death of their record shop as well as others around the country.  In the documentary, Tent and Kelly, along with some loyal customers, shared how much it meant that the store front closed after 21 years in business. On any given day, Tent would chat with customers, sharing his views on Corporate America, the government and other controversial issues he felt passionately about. Since Trash closed in 2007, Tent has been selling his goods online and at record fairs across the country.

Tent says when he received word that their store was closing, Brian Gerosa of Gerosa Records "went above and beyond to help us get out of our store, spending hours helping us load up boxes and crates to move to our storage facility," and they "have been good friends for years."  Tent says Gerosa even let him set up shop at the vacant store-front on the side of Gerosa Records, free of charge. Tent explains, "He let us squat there for three weekends in a row.  It was mutually beneficial because we were cross-pollinating each other's audiences." Gerosa Records and Trash opened within days of each other but were never competitors because of the different musical genres they sold.  

Tent will be showcasing his acoustic act at Gerosa Records on Saturday, April 17. His solo performance is one to remember.  At a recent show when someone in the crowd attempted to heckle Tent, he would have none of it.  He compared himself to Ted Nugent ("Who is twice as old and not half as smart."), Alice Cooper ("He will charge you $450 to sign an autograph and take a picture, I'm free!") and David Lee Roth ("He has guys who will poke at you with sticks to keep you away.").  Tent told the crowd that night, "I'm easily approachable, full of quipable quips and quotable quotes, so come say hi." His snarky quick wit, coupled with an innocent charm holds audiences in his grip and keeps them coming back for more.

In addition to Tent's solo acoustic act, he plays bass guitar in a performance art noise rock band, Ultrabunny on TPOS, Tent's record label.  They also have releases on Noiseville and Equation Records. As if that weren't enough Tent hosts Mr. Tent's Wild Ride Radio Show on WNHU 88.7 FM.

Copies of I Need That Record will be available for sale at Gerosa Record's Record Store Day on April 17.  Tent will be performing at the event along with nationally known musicians Lys Guillorn and Shawn Persinger.  The store opens at 10 a.m. and the music begins at 1 p.m.