Poi Dog Pondering

Way back in 1986, Frank Orrall, Poi Dog Pondering‘s founder, audaciously launched an acoustic-based, truly cheerful band into the gloomy world of what was just becoming known as “alternative music.” Now, after two relocations (to Austin, Texas, where members of the band made brief cameos in Richard Linklater’s Slacker, and Chicago, its home for the past eleven years), Poi Dog Pondering is still making a joyful noise, blending funk and house grooves, acoustic instruments and just about every musical style imaginable. Comfortably parking almost a dozen musicians onstage, including ringleader Orrall and longtime violinist Susan Voelz, PDP’s conglomeration still sends out that good-time feeling. In a post-Dave Matthews and Sonia Dada world, Poi Dog Pondering, named after the kind of stray mutt generally taken care of by a whole neighborhood, might have finally found a home.