Fountains of Kenny

Before taking the stage in the back room of Radio-active Records last night, Kenny Millions snagged a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerated case at the front of the Fort Lauderdale store. He'd need to stay hydrated for the intense, physically demanding and unflaggingly entertaining one-man show he was about to unleash on the sparse group of hipsters and noise aficionados gathered among the bins full of vinyl records.

For his second monthly performance at Radio-active, Millions once again brought out the mini-guitar but added the alto saxophone to his arsenal of tenor and clarinet. Poker-faced and rocking on his heels, Millions laid down a wall of electronic distortion, which he looped on a sampler and over which he then blew sax and clarinet. The sound was simply HUGE, as Millions reveled in the sonics he pulled from the guitar, activating various distortion pedals and creating industrial-grade grunge with a whammy bar. Always an intuitive and feel-motivated performer, Millions was obviously feeling the guitar last night, as he featured it more prominently than in his May concert here.

Of course, the horns did come into play, as Millions blew with tremendous force and utilized techniques he had honed playing alongside heavy avant-garde jazz cats such as Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Sam Rivers. But also ingrained in his sensibility are the examples of the great blues and R&B honkers he had seen and heard growing up in Detroit, the ones who put a premium on keeping audiences entertained. And certainly, Millions did just that, as he dropped to his knees, mumbled obscenities into his mouthpiece, rhythmically beat the guitar slung at his side, spat water onto the concrete floor in front of the stage and ultimately collapsed into a catatonic heap on the lip of the stage, his eyes glassy, his guitar buzzing.

For some of the most exciting and vital musical performance art you're likely to hear in South Florida, be sure to check out Millions on the last Thursday of the month at Radio-Active, which is located in the Gateway Plaza on East Sunrise Boulevard. The only thing predictable about the show is that it will take place July 31.