AA Bondy: the reinvention continues
Great Scott, Boston, September 8, 2009
Reviewed by Jeffrey B. Remz
A.A. Bondy used to call himself Scott Bondy. He also used to be part of the Alabama rock band Verbena, which enjoyed moderate success.
Bondy seems to be reinventing himself though, not only with a change of first name, but living in Alabama (he left the Woodstock, N.Y. area splitting with his "old lady" earlier this year) and going for a Dylanesque sound, sometimes country, sometimes bluesy, sometimes a bit rootsy. Some compare him to Ryan Adams. Verbena was a rock-oriented affair.
And Bondy has got a bit of a buzz going about himself as well. After 75 minutes in a small, tightly packed Boston club, the jury may still be out about Bondy, but he ultimately did enough things well to make you take notice.
The biggest problem was that too many of the songs were a bit too low key, ho hum affair. They tended to be on the spare side, a bit of atmospheric guitar coming from Bondy or light backing from two of his compadres, including Macey Taylor on bass. But there often wasn't enough to sustain the songs. And he ended a few songs before their time was up.
Yet, the show certainly picked up as it went along, including the country song On the VampyreWhen the Devil's Loose being highlights. The songs that proved most enjoyable tended to have a lot of build to them - they may have started off soft with Bondy's vocals taking over, but the music picked up the pace and intensity level.
Following a few songs early on that were too slow, Bondy picked up the pace with Vice Rag off his first solo CD, "American Hearts."
While certainly likeable, Bondy sometimes slowed the pace down in between songs as well, taking a bit too long to get into the next song, which tended to occasionally kill the big mo'. Bondy did not dish out the perfect show, but maybe he will put out some of the things that didn't work so well behind him and move on.
Willie Mason preceded Bondy with an excellent set. The Massachusetts native, who is working on a new CD, has a very strong, sturdy, full-sounding voice that came through in song after song and made you listen and pay attention. His set was not all about him, though, as he did something unusual. He brought his mother on stage to sing a duet with him, to very good effect. "I don't know what I could ever sing after that," Mason said.
But he "soldiered" on for four more songs without any problem at all in an excellent outing.
