Spider Water warms up the open mic crowd at The Jungle on Tuesday, 12 September 2023.

Altered Lemon breaks the seal in the opening slot.

It was a night of music and comedy at The Jungle in Union Square.

The pendulum was supposed to be tilted towards music. But one of the three acts bailed and the standup comics overran the place like a thousand barrels of cheese rolling down a grassy slope.

Spotted: Aaron “Tiny” Smith, and other notables of the local standup circuit. At least a few other regulars from Midway or the Highway across town at Midway Cafe.

The chief tell that the music had concluded was the four- or five-wide row of empty chairs lined up in front of the stage. Open mic hosts love to organize empty chairs in front of the stage and goad, shame, cajole, encourage people to have a seat. You need some cannon fodder for the crowd work.

It’s no surprise that non-comedians, if they’re more or less sober and know better, don’t take a seat. But if you’re one of the comedians?

Have a seat already!

Altered Lemon

The local four-piece Altered Lemon performed its inaugural live gig at The Jungle on Tuesday night. The band showed a good command of their music and nice rapport with the crowd.

A few tells here and there that the band is still breaking itself in, like the drummer whisper-counting the song in: “one, two, three…”

Hey, you’re not tiptoeing around the drunken carcass of your abusive stepfather passed out on the couch. Shout it out! You’re allowed.

Extra points for the third song, which had a kind of “Heroes”-era Bowie vibe, guitars building energy. The band closed with the Christmas classic “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears.

Spider Water

Take my wife, please! Who knew Spider Water was the opening act for a night of comedy? The open mic-ers did. They can smell an available stage from miles off like bloodhounds on the trail.

The four-piece has been gigging around town of late. In the backroom of the Sil, at Cantab Lounge, now The Jungle and who knows where else. At each stop along the way they bring a kind of sultry, rhythm-forward pub funk.

There’s a nice give-and-take with the rhythm section, bass and drums. Shades of The War and Treaty. Atop the rhythm section a six-string and keys flash like heat lightning on a summer night.

The band performed a song that sounded like a spoken word parable about the Crash of ‘29? And there was a drum beat in the set that sounded like the percussive signature from Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing” (or NIN’s “Closer”, if there’s a difference). It’s a take-your-time tempo.