DAVID THOMAS STONES ROCK RITUALS AT AL’S BAR

“Turn this down,” David Thomas instructed the sound man as he took the stage at Al’s Bar on Saturday. “I don’t want it to be louder than the sound of people talking.” Believe it or not, the idea of performing in a rock club at a painless decibel level is nothing short of revolutionary, and Thomas delights in flouting the rituals of rock.

The former leader of the seminal ‘70s art-rock band Pere Ubu, Thomas is the most gently subversive artist performing under the rubric of rock. Combining the whimsical charm of “Sesame Street” with the brilliant anarchy of Antonin Artaud, Thomas is a common-sense philosopher who espouses a simple message of brotherhood similar to that of Jonathan Richman; unlike Richman, Thomas puts an edge on his plea by packaging it in jagged, Beefheartian rhythms and a strangled, yelping vocal style.

Accompanied on Saturday by the Wooden Birds, a crack trio featuring former Ubu members, Thomas focused on material from his and the Birds’ new album, “Monster Walks the Winter Lake,” addressing such unusual themes as the joy of pockets, the wonders of nature, dinosaurs and the awesome fragility and resilience of the human heart. Though Thomas’ records are certainly recommended, they pale in comparison with the live performances of this most special and gifted artist; he blew through the hot, smoky confines of Al’s like a sweet spring breeze.