NY Sun has Risen, Don't Leave The Basement

* * * * * * * Out of a smoky haze, as a guitar wails and flames lick the doorway, a man leaps onto the stage. He's tuxedoed, dangerous, a rock 'n' roll screamer - and he's a clown. A little forelock of red and yellow licks out of his forehead, his eyebrows scroll calligraphically, and it looks as though he's rouged his ears.For the edgiest of the hip-hop crowd, or for those who remember KISS with any fondness, clowns and loud music aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. But this guy isn't just in whiteface. He has a tricycle, a brace of puppets, and no trouble doing half the show in his bunny slippers.In "Uncle Jimmy's Dirty Basement," Uncle Jimmy (James Godwin) and his band forge bravely into new puppet-rock territory. Taboos written long ago, like "Never use your own cat in a rock montage" or "Try not to smell the audience's feet" crumple and die before their onslaught. Sense and logic also wither on the vine in Uncle Jimmy's basement, but for most of the evening no one will miss them.Uncle Jimmy and friends have long been a fixture in venues like the Bowery Poetry Club. The screeching audience occasionally sings along, greeting old favorites with yowls of appreciation. The show can stretch to two hours, which will feel long, especially during certain bits with a puppet sidekick named Chuck-Bob. But once Uncle Jimmy starts singing again, or wandering into the audience, or stripping, you won't want to leave the basement.