Music: All eyes on the Ally

There's the old saying, "the more things change the more they stay the same." Most of the time old adages are little more than the outdated banter of porch-sitting grandmas, but this adage held true when The Ally took the Rotunda stage as part of a recent run of shows marking an end to their six-month touring hiatus. Things are different this time around; in the past the Ally sound revolved around the unique inclusion of the electric violin of Jon "Kimbo" Kim. However, since their last few shows in August of '02, Kimbo has departed, with Chris Shepherd entering the fold. Somewhat surprisingly, the band seems to have picked up where it last left off. Armed with a new array of songs, the music itself still remains true to the original Ally groove -- it incorporates the old live-tronica meets jamband meets drum 'n' bass sound, or -- put simply -- "roots-fusion." The Saturday night performance was an up and down affair -- with climactic highs where the music flowed and the vibe was right and the band seemed to find ease in the new tunes -- and with concurrent lows, where the music seemed lost and erratic. While overall a bit rough and ragged about the edges, The Ally demanded the attention of the listener, asking for a bit of patience through growing pains and perfection of new material, but suggesting a future not to be overlooked.