By Nick Quirke

On a Saturday night, which felt more like a reverent Sunday morning, A.A. Bondy and Elvis Perkins in Dearland played to an engaged and patchouli-soaked crowd at Chicago’s newest rock venue, Lincoln Hall. Alternating between holy, hushed words and towering trombones over marching band-worthy percussion, the two artists seemed polar opposites, yet it was clear from the emotion and intensity in each of their performances that they share a passion for performance and storytelling.

Bondy stood quietly over the audience, basked in a dark red light and began quietly and deliberately finger picking his Gretsch guitar, a preview of what we were to enjoy from the technically proficient and creative guitarist.

He leapt quickly into new material from his 2009 release, When the Devil’s Loose, with the sprawling, tentative “Slow Parade,” and intentionally kept the volume to little more than a whisper through the first verse. Only during the second chorus did this dirge fully reveal itself as the expansive and anthemic work it is. The audience, fresh off antibiotics from Chicago’s brutal flu season, hushed coughs and stood silent until Bondy’s guitar came crashing down, signaling the parade’s arrival.

Moving deliberately through more new material with his band, listeners were treated to pristine sound, arranged by tour manager Jake McLaughlin, which seems to be the hallmark of this new, indie-friendly venue.

In a performance that seemed appropriate for Club Silencio, seen in David Lynch’s largely misunderstood film Mulholland Drive, Bondy’s band steps off stage and takes in his cover of My Pretty Valentine. No hay banda. If this surreal moment was the sonic nadir of the show, the peak was to follow shortly, as Bondy tuned his guitar to an open E chord and began plucking and picking the resonant first notes of “Black Rain, Black Rain.”

Bondy, who could draw favorable musical comparisons to Jeff Buckley or Lou Reed, noticed and appreciated the congregation’s silence and attentiveness as he made his way through fan favorites “Killed Myself When I Was Young,” “Oh The Vampyre” and “To The Morning.”

Bondy closed the night with “I Can See The Pines Are Dancing,” which was fitting, but the real emotion from the set came from his earnest and sanguine slower numbers.

Displaying the showmanship that endears fans to small venues and independent music alike, Elvis Perkins’ band began their set in the balcony and processed to join the singer on the stage as if they were the brass band following a Louisiana funeral.

Perkins begins by worshiping at the microphone, solemnly emoting a song that continued the night’s soft, stoic feel. But all that changed when Brigham Brough broke out his stand up bass and began to construct the bouncing rhythm section of the New Orleans sound that has been the trademark of Perkins’ projects.

Perkins, who at times sounded like a young Roy Orbison, exhibited impressive vocal harmonies with his band mates, while tearing through “Slow Doomsday,” off the group’s new Doomsday EP and “Shampoo,” the breakout hit from early 2009’s eponymous release. But the artist lost the room after asking for a sing-along, which was rebuffed by a crowd content to peer into the dark and deep past that Perkins seems to carry. Afterward, Perkins laments the audience’s participation, calling it, “the best we’ve heard on tour.” After a weak applause, Perkins continues, “that’s not true.”

This moment was forgotten shortly after, though, as Nick Kinsey led the band with a booming beat played upon a marching band-style drum wrapped around his torso. The bouncy number morphs from a revival hymn into a Paul Simon Graceland-era harmony, finally engaging and elating a crowd that seemed to need more from the headliner.

The night ended with a traditional hoe down; Bondy and accompanying band members joined Perkins to close the set with the fast version of “Doomsday.” The stage, replete with instruments, becomes a smaller version of the dance party a few feet below, and everyone leaves satisfied.

It should be noted however, that A.A. Bondy delivered a raw, feral performance that stole the show, and though Perkins did not connect fully with the audience, his music continues to impress.

Buy: Elvis Perkins in Dearland | A.A. Bondy
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MP3: Elvis Perkins in Dearland – “Shampoo”
MP3: Elvis Perkins in Dearland – “Slow Doomsday”
MP3: A.A. Bondy – “I Can See The Pines Are Dancing”
MP3: A.A. Bondy :: “When The Devil’s Loose”