Usually the last Tuesday night of each month at Bungalow Joe’s in Hanover Park can be described as a laid back, mellow night of fun and music. Regular performers, solo artist David Biggs and Beat Salad, usually share the bill, each dishing out heartfelt acoustic sets in which the latter also incorporates congas, bongos and looping effects into their songs. Though the two mentioned acts are certainly worth checking out in their own right, this past Tuesday was especially inviting as Almond stopped by for a special performance that will have show goers in the northwestern suburb buzzing for some time to come. In other words, the mellow was shaken up.
According to many patrons, Almond, a one-man music machine, was unlike anything they have ever heard before – and that’s a good thing. His atypical lyrics coupled with his aggressive presentation took the crowd by surprise but quickly sucked them in, as Almond’s raw energy and unpredictable time changes injected everyone with a taste for the unknown.
While some songs like “Many of Your Cares” and “Tired Cock” carried with them a more catchy and melodic feel to them, outside-the-box tracks like “Rubber”, Length” and “Summer Frog” kept the audience off balance just enough to keep them planted in the last car on Almond’s roller coaster Thrill Ride Bizarre.
Towards the end of his set, just when one thought they might be entering the mind of Almond, his alter ego, Girth Garden, took over to perform the insane 40-second freak cruise, “Schindler’s Wishlist”. Then, just like that, Almond reappeared, once again taking control by inhabiting the artist’s human shell where he went on to perform his finale number “Water Sadist”.
Accompanied by his guitar, Almond also relies on a laptop for his rhythm and backing tracks. Almond’s show is musically charged and it’s his abundant eccentricity that puts him in a league of his own – something that is never easy to do.
Missed him? Worry not. Almond will be playing dates to be announced all around Chicago this summer.
For more information on this artist go to www.myspace.com/yesalmond.
