[Throw Me The Statue and David Dondero at The Red Herring, 10/10/08]

Click the jump for more photos and a review of the show!

David Dondero:

With a drum rattling offstage in echo of his playing, David Dondero sung smart poetry with an edge, a style that utilizes simple guitar backing and melodies to stretch his categorical denomination from lyricist to musician. Though his stage presence (or lack thereof) is anything but glamorous, the feet-shoulder-width-apart performance became worthwhile in his choice of words, by sprinkling sarcastic yet tasteful phrases throughout his songs. Through providing war commentary from a solider’s perspective — “this ain’t like Playstation at all” — and taking hard looks at different occurrences, Dondero sings dryly about current issues, but carefully balances his critique as to not come off complaining.

Videos:

“Living And The Dead”:

Throw Me The Statue:

Though the set began with audience members tentatively bobbing in their mismatched chairs, frontman Scott Reitherman commented on the miniscule crowd (18 people were there, tops), encouraging them to forget they were at the vegan restaurant and mosey up to the front of the stage, which they did.

The move was obviously to make their performance feel less like a stale wedding and more concert-like, but watching Throw Me The Statue from up close made their set more entertaining, even if we didn’t deserve it. With press outlets calling their live show “wildly energetic,” it’s obvious that we dropped the ball on attendance at this one. Thankfully, the unignorably attractive boys comprising the band still performed with the vigor they’re known for, playing a gathering of songs and intermittently handing extra instruments over to the audience members to let them join in. “Lolita,” their addictive uber-single was perfectly satisfying live, especially when enhanced through high-pitched clangs coming from what seemed to be a childlike xylophone played by Aaron Goldman, who is both pursuing his PhD while on tour and quite possibly the only indie rock musician my Jewish mother would ever approve of me befriending.

It’s hard not to describe Throw Me The Statue as a non-saccharine version of Vampire Weekend that actually has musical substance, but the fact of the matter is that they, unlike VW, probably won’t disappear after their first album. From the group’s sarcasm-infused conversations while celebrating drummer Jarred Grimes’ birthday at The Blind Pig later that evening, it was obvious that the secret to their wonderful performances is the continuity between the boys, something that is not only reflected through their show, but through their camaraderie.

Videos:

Lolita: (the video has muffled sound, but the song is fantastic. Hear it here.)

Live Vicariously:

Throw Me The Statue’s MySpace

David Dondero’s MySpace

David Dondero’s Website