DAVID DONDERO
Live At the Hemlock (Future Farmer Recording)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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Giving David Dondero credit for his sense of humor is only the beginning; his album Live At The Hemlock plays fun on indie rock cliches with the raw sensuality of a touring roadside acolyte, one too many bored audiences in to his career not to see the irony. From the opening song about the modern day troubadour's life, "Living and the Dead," Dondero displays a vocal style that is two parts energy and one part talent and frenetic guitar strumming that sometimes fails to follow his voice closely. Yeah, I've heard quite a few songs about casino shows where no one is paying attention and more than my share of deliberately off key tongue-in-cheek tricksters quoting Lou Reed, but as much as Dondero has in common with them, he comes out clean in the end here. It takes a brimming pocket full of moxie to do with conviction what Dondero does on songs like "Pre-Invasion Jitters" and "Boulevard of Broken Hears, Busted Dreams, Shattered Wills, Booze and Pills," precisely because he too has heard it before. Of course, a brimming pocketful of moxie wouldn't allow someone so devout to slow down for his own potential missteps. It would inspire the opposite: it would be the impetus for a solid, fun live recording and that's what the unflappable Dondero delivers.

[After its release on October 26, pick this up at www.futurefarmer.com.]

© 2004 - Erick Mertz