Dustin Wong’s solo show at Monster Island Basement should be just a bit calmer than his loud, raucous performances with Ponytail (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Monster Island Basement
128 River St. at Metropolitan Ave.
Tuesday, November 2, $8, 8:00
www.myspace.com/dustinclarence
www.toddpnyc.com
Born in Hawaii and raised in Japan, guitarist Dustin Wong found escape through punk rock and watching Jack Nicholson talk about aliens in EASY RIDER. “Since I can’t explore outer space, I will explore inner space,” Wong decided. A founding member of the experimental music project Ecstatic Sunshine and guitarist for the on-hiatus noise rockers Ponytail, Wong has also been releasing multilayered solo works over the last two years, starting with the four-song suite SEASONS in 2009 and the ten-track LET IT GO earlier this year. He’s now touring behind his splendid new album, INFINITE LOVE (Thrill Jockey), two discs of gorgeous guitar meanderings layered with tape loops and sound explorations that fill out into forty-minute forays called “Brother” and “Sister,” which begin and end the same way but go off on different paths in the middle, a metaphor for life itself. “The listener gets two choices,” Dustin explains. “I think of them as twins, a brother and a sister, living their lives, then reuniting.” Wong will be playing Monster Island Basement on November 2 with Avocado Happy Hour and Baltimore’s Holy Ghost Party.