BALTIMORE, Md. - A mosh pit at a Von Bondies concert? While it may seem unlikely, since the band isn't known for the hard rock usually associated with moshing, this is exactly what happened at the band's concert Sunday night at Fletcher's Bar in Baltimore.
Apparently the Von Bondies have a large fanbase of college boys. And these fans didn't quite understand that starting a mosh pit in a venue the size of a dorm room may not be a good idea.
As the show progressed and the boys got drunker, the pit only gained momentum. In fact, it expanded to include nearly the whole floor. It didn't matter to these guys that they kept slipping on the beer-drenched floor and smashing up their faces - they simply ran to the bar to grab another brew and a bag of ice to hold to their swollen jaws.
This kind of behavior may be expected at a more hardcore show, but certainly not for a band whose lead singer got the crap kicked out of him by Jack White. Still, it made the concert all the more interesting.
The Von Bondies sound much better live than they do on their albums. Their songs are much livelier, and the band's stage presence makes even the most reluctant hipster want to dance along. Lead singer and guitarist Jason Stollsteimer possesses just the right amount of energy to engage the crowd.
While he is clearly the mastermind behind the band's music, bassist Carrie Smith and guitarist Marcie Bolen provided the sex appeal the show needed. Smith is a cute and competent bass player, while Bolen's mullet rivals Ziggy Stardust's.
Even better than the Von Bondies were the two opening acts. The Sun, a group of quintessential indie-rockers, whose lead singer came complete with black-rimmed glasses and a vintage T-shirt, managed to energize the nearly empty room.
The real highlight of the show came from the newly formed band Auf der Maur. Former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur recently released her first solo album, and has been touring relentlessly to support it. Although her music sounds ridiculously out of place (think mid-90s grunge with a twist of '80s metal), Auf der Maur's stage presence makes up for what her music lacks. Quite simply, she oozes sex, and she knows it.
The audience didn't seem to care that her music probably should have been made more than a decade ago. More people showed up for her set than the Von Bondies, who were the show's headlining band. So in the end, maybe the mosh pit was a good thing - it distracted from the fact that the shoebox-sized venue was only a little more than half full.
