By: David Schultz

There’s no better barometer of an artist’s growing popularity than gauging the size of the crowd upon every return visit. For A.A. Bondy, the lovably moody and irascible Alabama born singer-songwriter, his fans have gone from mingling with those of the Cold War Kids, Alejandro Escovedo and Bon Iver to finally getting a room of their own as Bondy matured into a headliner. Having outgrown the intimate Mercury Lounge, which he uncomfortably packed to capacity on his last visit to New York City at the start of his tour, the logical next step was to move into the Bowery Ballroom.
Singers that open themselves up in the studio usually have a close rapport with their audience; their live shows being more akin to an intimate gathering of friends. Bondy poetically sings of disaffected feelings, compassion and spiritual longing incorporating Book of Revelations imagery and enigmatic metaphors. His stage demeanor though, sometimes belies the fragility found within his lyrics, Bondy’s gruff though amiable Southern attitude never far from the surface. In introducing “Oh The Vampyre,” Bondy made his views on the country’s fascination with the vampire craze quite clear – “Fuck Twilight” summing it up succinctly – and he made a similar though superficial proclamation relating to anyone standing between the Crimson Tide and an NCAA title. No bleeding heart, his often sarcastic prefaces show a slight detachment from the insightful subject matter but in acknowledging his philosophical foils, he makes clear the battles he’s fighting.

Labels: AA Bondy