Friday, December 2, 2011

Play Locally: Poi Dog Pondering A Tale Of Two Cities At Metro


Come out to Metro tonight (Friday) and/or tomorrow night, for some great music for a great cause.   Poi Dog Pondering is doing a unique double bill, with a different line up and split in material by location “A Tale of Two Cities: The Austin Years and The Chicago Years”.   This is sure to be a special weekend of shows.  


Metro and 93XRT are proud to announce two, one-of-a kind Poi Dog Pondering performances on Friday, December 2 and Saturday, December 3.  Tixs are available at the Metro Box Office and online at metrochicago.com.



Poi Dog got their start in lead singer-songwriter, Frank Orrall's native Hawaii back in 1985.   I can remember being in college when I first heard Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea on our excellent, local alt-rock station and running out to buy it.   Two years after I made the move to Chicago, so did they.   I remember seeing them play out, back in The Lounge Ax days.

A Tale of Two Cities: The Austin Years and The Chicago Years – one weekend, two different shows - tells the story of Poi Dog Pondering’s journey over the last 25 years. On the first night, Friday December 2, the original Austin-based lineup of the band will perform songs from the Austin-era albums, including Wishing Like a Mountain, Poi Dog Pondering and Volo Volo. The Austin lineup of Poi Dog Pondering will feature Bruce Hughes, John Nelson, Adam Sultan, Susan Voelz, Ted Cho, Dave Max Crawford, Frank Orrall, Daren Hess and Abra Moore.

The second night, the current Chicago-based lineup of Poi Dog Pondering will perform songs from the Chicago years, beginning with 1995’s Pomegranate all the way up to this year’s Audio Love Letter. The Chicago lineup features Dag Juhlin, Robert Cornelius, Carla Prather, Kornell Hargrove, Ron Hall, Charlette Wortham, Earl Talbot, Rick Gehrenbeck, Susan Voelz, Ted Cho, Dave Smith, Dave Max Crawford and Frank Orrall.

Known as "The little big band with the strong back and supple / stubborn heart," Poi Dog Pondering has been following their intuition for over 25 years now. From bohemian street buskers to impossible-to-market major label sacrificial lambs, PDP has ripened into a group of staunchly independent musical voyagers. They have let every sound that has excited them flow through their music and flood it with ever changing colors: rock and soul; orchestral, acoustic and electronic textures; Americana, disco and international music; all threaded along the way with lyrics that embrace the beauty and pain that life can bring. 




The two-night engagement is part of 93XRT’s 25th annual Holiday Concerts For The Kids series. For over two decades, the radio station has sponsored an annual holiday concert series to collect toys and raise money for local children’s hospitals including Children’s Memorial Hospital, University of Chicago Children’s Hospital and Central DuPage Hospital. Over two tons of toys and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised since 1985. 

At this show, 93XRT staff will be on hand to collect donations from concertgoers – attendees are encouraged to bring a new book or toy to the show, which will be delivered to Chicago area children hospitalized during the holiday season.

We'll be there for the early, Austin years show tonight and have a review and photos up for you soon.

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