By Jodi Temyer
Published: June 11, 2009
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He opened with “No Man Shall” ('American Hearts,' August 2007). Most of Bondy’s lyrics have common themes—God, the devil, love, death, and the ocean—and a common Johnny Cash-depressing type of pace. Yet no matter what a downer the music could be, there is nothing like an amazing harmonica/guitar combo to really enchant a crowd (or give the assumption that a “Piano Man” cover is a possibility at any given moment).

Bondy previewed most of his upcoming album, 'When the Devil’s Loose,' due to be released September 1, to which he announced no song titles and left a lot of the lyrics unfinished. The new album is no exception to his biblical references and murmurings of the sea, but there was one song that strayed slightly from this path—a song about being bitten by a vampire, which random sources on the Internet title “Oh the Vampyre.”

The pace of the show lent itself easily to the “couple’s night” theme that was happening at Club Café, with two people sitting cozily at each table. However, it was a pace so slow that at one point Bondy asked the audience, “Does it seem like I’m falling asleep back here?” To which the audience only replied in a nervous type of laughter. As the night went on, Bondy continuously looked at a sheet of paper he had weighted down on the music stand with his chewing gum and drink of choice. He performed “Of the Sea,” also off of 'American Hearts,' which on the surface sounds like a song about two lovers who drown in the sea (surprise, surprise).

Despite the fact that A.A. Bondy is talented enough to perform at Bonnaroo this weekend, and has a jam-packed summer of touring, he wasn’t far enough removed in his stardom to notice his audience start to glaze over a bit. Whether he was trying to make excuses or be humorous, he said, “This is the third show, and I just keep playing slower and slower and slower…But my what lovely bridges you have!”

The last leg of the set was probably the best, with Bondy covering Hank Williams Sr.’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” and two more songs off of 'American Hearts,' “Killed Myself When I Was Young” and “Black Rain, Black Rain,” which seemed to satisfy those who showed up and were familiar with his previous work.

The opening act, Holly Miranda, who is touring hand-in-hand with Bondy through the better part of the month, was an entirely different type of depressing. She, along with band members Tim Mislock (guitar) and Marques Toliver (violin) performed with a funkier, sillier type of sound. Miranda’s voice can fill a room and make just about anyone pause and listen, with how she belts out tunes in a very Norah Jones type of way. The range on her vocals is impressive, and she takes the time to demonstrate it as often as possible. Simply amazing, and definitely worth a listen.

Despite the music being kind of a downer (with Miranda even saying at one point, “Isn’t that depressing?”), the whole crew just looks like good ol’ Brooklyn fun. Mislock wore a funky hat and thick-rimmed glasses; Miranda was in a baggy blue t-shirt with rolled up sleeves and tight black jeans, with her long hair hanging freely in her face; and Toliver rocked short khaki shorts with an old-school striped t-shirt and loafers with no socks. It appeared as if the three of them had just rapped up a street-style game of baseball with a group of ten-year-olds.  

It was definitely a scene worth watching, and listening to. They played songs off of Miranda’s self-released album, 'Sleep On Fire,' and even when the audio screwed up and starting making Alvin and the Chipmunks noises it still sounded great. The chemistry between band mates was there as well. When Miranda asked if she could “try a really weird song on you guys?” and was left alone on stage, little did she know that Toliver was around the corner cracking up over Miranda’s random keyboard sounds. Their hour seemed a bit too short.

Bottom line: While everyone on the stage at Club Café Tuesday night was ridiculously talented, it was a show that definitely couldn’t take your mind off of the fact that the rest of the city was watching the Pens play Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

 

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