The Von Bondies are one cool pack of people with Jason Stollsteimer on vocals and lead, Don Blum on drums, Leann Banks on bass, Christy Hunt on rhythm. They re-fuse alternative rock into a pop-punk sound by combining fun melodies with scorching electrics and hammering rhythms. Jason serenades the crowd with his flexible alto voice, continuously moving smoothly from middle to high-pitched trills. His inflections never once hit deep pits, staying far away from the roars and belches most rockers are attracted to. The guy actually has a great voice. His vocals were pure and clean, and very pleasing to listen to. As he sang about outcast angst, the ladies would chime in with their canary chants, sounding like sexy little chipmunks -- cute, adorable, and cheerful. Don kept the tempo fast and contemporary, combining light cadences with boisterous beatings that rev up your heartbeat and get you excited. The Von Bondies have a sound that while still rock, it makes you want to dance, clap, and sing along -- almost like the B-52’s crash landed into The White Stripes.
The energy on stage was pumped. Christy would throw up her guitar in between strums while Leann leaned over the crowd in classic head-banger fashion. Jason is quite the comedian and between songs he was either telling a joke or cracking on someone in the front. At one point he made everyone scream “FUCK!” and then giggled, saying “Now didn’t that feel good?” He knew how to loosen the crowd, massaging us till we were full of smiles and laughter, and completely theirs for the taking.
My favorite lyrical artistry of the night was introduced by Jason reminiscing about being a geek in school, never getting a chance to dance at the prom – “You don’t look so cool, but you look so alive” – and as he sang the verse, the band went wild behind him, making the crowd go nuts with adulation.
The Von Bondies are a band everyone can appreciate. Good looking, talented, artistic makers of good music, they still remain humble and likeable. They’re fun, lighthearted, and different. Go see them if you want to enjoy great music you can go wild to.