Poi Dog Pondering Plays Along

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 26, 2007 7:50PM

Even before we moved to Chicago we were aware of Poi Dog Pondering, thanks to a splashy ad in Rolling Stone for their album Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea. Their song "Thanksgiving," from the aforementioned album, always pops into our playlist this time of year; and it was really cool to see them open for David Byrne a few years back at Navy Pier.

However, their newest foray comes as something of a surprise: they have composed a soundtrack for the obscure Brazilian silent film Limite and will perform it live tomorrow night at 8:30 as the movie unspools. Hey, if Tortoise can do it then why not PDP? The film itself was the first and only work directed by Mário Peixoto, who began it at the tender age of 18. The screening's sponsor, Chicago Cinema Forum, describes it thusly: "The story of three castaways, it makes fragmentary connections relating to themes of love, betrayal, and entrapment. Peixoto's poeticism is hard to place but parts are clearly influenced by the early French avant-garde and Soviet montage." Peixoto created an experimental film that nonetheless rejected the contemporary surrealism of Dada and Luis Buñuel (it was first shown in 1931).

We're pretty darn curious to see how the easy-going, eclectic folk of Frank Orrall's largish band meshes with such exotic imagery. A bonus: before and after the movie DJ Joe Bryl will be spinning Brazilian obscurities from his personal collection. It's a 21-and-over show tomorrow night at Sonotheque, 1444 W. Chicago; admission is $7.