Where I indulge in the overrated phenomenon of a year-end list and discover my bias for sullen songs over happy ones; 20 most-loved songs of the year, with a self-imposed rule of one song per artist so as to not make it entirely pointless.
At Union Hall, AA Bondy asked that we call him Gus from that moment on. The two A’s in Bondy’s name stand for Auguste Arthur, however, and I ask: why the hell have we been diverted from using that fantastically royal birth name? He may have appeared to be more of a Gus that night, dressed in the most generic combination of shirt over t-shirt with jeans and boots (and a cap pre-show); he may have even sung like a Gus in that extra raspy voice of his, wailing on the harmonica every now and then, but his personaly sure as hell has the heroic poeticism of an Auguste Arthur. Opening band Two Dark Birds tried their best to hold the attention of the room, but going by the chatter that poured of that tiny space, they were unsuccessful. Bondy, on the other hand, with the might of his acoustic guitar and an array of harmonica options, claimed the spotlight. I would’ve liked to stay for Delta Spirit, but an incident before Bondy’s last song dictated I and my posse, shaking with fury, storm out into the pleasant arena of home sweet home as soon as Bondy’s set was done. (ps. I’ll add photos later today)
Snark is not a new pastime hobby; I’m not even sure if it’s necessarily on the rise, though the comment section of most blogs may make you think otherwise. For one thing, how can the witty (in my book the brightest) not have always turned to full-time mockery as a channel for expression only too fulfilling (especially if the others really are halfwits), second only to comedy, or maybe not even that. But my point is that when witty people do it, snark is highly entertaining and totally hip. I, however, have neither the wit nor the heart to attack people whose only fault is to love themselves (happy and confident people are often the subjects of cutting snide, aren’t they?). But! I am dying to talk about a real douchebag who grabbed me by the arm and yelled at me to stand up at tonight’s otherwise fun AA Bondy show at Union Hall. I hope you read on, and then tomorrow I’ll tell you all about how great AA was.
Download “Rapture (Sweet Rapture)” by AA Bondy | Download “Vice Rag” by AA Bondy | It was an easy-listening night at Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday, and how wonderful AA Bondy must’ve been with that dreamy, rustic voice of his. I wasn’t there, but Kashish was, and he tells me the performance was mesmerizing. I believe him. A pure crystal of human experience is sheltered in the lyrics, “I don’t want to talk about Jesus / I just want to see his face / The trees are swinging like hanging men / and I just want to see his face”. When a song opens quietly with those words and sweeps you up into the endlessly sweet chorus of “Rapture (Sweet Rapture)”, you can be sure there will be goose bumps. View full post to see all pictures and learn who was suffering from a cold.
All pictures by Kashish.
hooves on the turf is a mostly-music blog based out of brooklyn. i can be reached at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com - please send me your lovely music as an attached mp3 or an mp3 link. if i like what you send, i'll be sure to ask for more.
