AA Bondy, JBM flex the muscle in their songcraft
Buzz on
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By Addy Danti
AA Bondy proved himself once again Wednesday night, wielding his low-slung Guild Starfire guitar and his high-class honesty to deliver an hourlong set of captivating songs to a receptive Spaceland crowd. Backed by two understated multi-instrumentalists (Ben Lester on pedal steel and drums, Macy Taylor on keyboards and bass), the Southern-bred troubadour sipped his scotch and charmed the packed house with songs from his two full-lengths – and a new one whose pounding bassline and sonic build-up reveal Bondy heading toward a louder, more frenetic version of folk-rock.
Bondy’s records are known for their true-to-life vocal tone, and he’s able to recreate that voice live in a way that can haunt even the most cynical listener. There’s a swagger to his brand of Americana, balanced with melodies so sweet they’re like lullabies for grown-ups. “A Slow Parade” sways like the slow-dance ’50s standard “Sleepwalk” before exploding into a delicious wall of rock toward the end. A rollicking version of the title track from Bondy’s 2009 album “When the Devil’s Loose” followed, and the songs seemed to grow bigger as the night grew late. To close the show, Bondy played an epic, pounding version of “Killed Myself When I Was Young” with a drums-and-bass intro the audience couldn’t help but clap along to. They stretched the four-minute song into anthem territory with feedback and solos that almost made me long to see Bondy in front of his old band, Verbena, again.
Opener JBM (the initials of singer/songwriter Jesse Marchant, a former L.A. resident) played a set that was fragile but powerful, and gratefully received by a quiet audience. His songs are simple and spare, belying the emotional weight of the lyrics behind them. Armed with little more than an acoustic guitar, bass drum and tambourine, JBM crafted songs with a comfortable, alluring space.
His show at the Detroit Bar the next night was also powerful and well-received by the OC crowd. Bondy at one point in the show said, “TV tells me that you all are a bunch of rowdy surfers, and I don’t know maybe you are, but I am having a lot of fun with you all.” I also think Bondy should look into reviving his old band, and patch whatever bad feelings there are with ex-bassist Anne Marie Griffin. All the albums she appeared on were great, her absence on La Music Negra is noticeable.