TJ and The Atomic Bomb @ The Magic Gardens 9/12

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TJ and The Atomic Bomb @ The Magic Gardens 9/12

POSTED: Thursday, September 17, 2009, 9:30 PM

Filed Under: Music Show

photo by Brion Shreffler

Under an ornate wooden carapace. Winding around the labyrinthine pathways of The Magic Gardens the sound of rousing country blues follows after us, softly building as continuous waves curve along the living corals of Isaiah Zagar's artwork to bring us to the fore where the band ' part of TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb complemented by members of Jubel Jenkins ' stands under an ornate wooden carapace. Sans microphone, Kong's froggy voice, rich with character, powerfully projects outward with relaxed ease as the accompaniments- cello, violin, accordion, and standing bass- rise together with mirthful glee, the synergy at its height on the track, Everyone We Know, where the cello weeps in slow measure throughout while Kong leads with trilling guitar rhythms as his harmonica busily sings to the frenetic dance of the violin. A chorus of subdued melancholy rises up from the string pieces while Kong softly strums on a slow number, singing, 'I'll trample the flowers by my own grave, but they'll only bloom again,' his signature vocals instilling nuances through expert tonality. Fittingly, the music is tinged with malaise during this song about 'the whole world going dry,' while Magic Gardens' plethora of repurposed beer bottles surround us. Though not too dour, the pulse quickly shoots back up on the next track, the music returning to an approximation of convivial times one could imagine Mr. Zagar and his friends experienced in emptying all those bottles.

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