CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 4: An Albatross

Eddie Gieda – vocalist for An Albatross — is an evangelist for nightmares. It might have been the only gig the guy could get, considering he looks like a D-list Steven Tyler on acid. Nonetheless, if his performance with the circus sideshow that is An Albatross is any indication, Gieda has embraced the occupation with every ounce of himself. Between Gieda’s onstage antics, which frequently included walking over the crowd, and bassist Jason Hudak nearly sticking both his fists down his own throat, it was clear from the get go that An Albatross’ mish mash of psychedelic rock and spazz punk were secondary to their absurd stage show. But though it provided merely a soundtrack to their freaked out circus, An Albatross performed it well, bludgeoning the crowd with sonic knives for 45 minutes straight. I’m still not entirely sure what I saw, but I’m now a believer.