All they needed was a dancing bear...

[triadruid]

So we went to the Cake concert last night, courtesy of our good friends saffronhare and agrnmn (who gave us the tickets atop a cake, amusingly enough). Both of my other thirds are big fans and I'd never heard more than their most popular songs, but it was a good show overall. Thanks guys!

However the highlight of the evening in MY world was the hysterically manic "Gypsy Punk" opening act they had, Gogol Bordello. I'm not sure I can describe it properly, as they're one of those quintessentially live acts, but they had washboards, a violin, a minor-key accordion, buckets and drumsticks, a pogoing Charlie-Brown-dressed rapper, and a lead singer with the weirdest blend of broken Ukrainian and English I've ever heard. It was a trip; all they needed was a dancing bear to complete the ensemble, but I asked him about it afterward and he straight-faced "I'm an animal rights activist, I would never do that". This from a man with a five-of-diamonds safety-pinned to his hat, and a handlebar mustache. Surreal, but very, very good. I bought an album of theirs during the second opening act (Tegan and Sarah, which we were all disappointed in, sorry reeling), and upon opening it what do I find in the liner art?

Yellow bunnies with halberds, shields, and spears. I'll see if we can get a scan up later, because the center image is crying out to be a new icon for Saff. It's actually quite good line art, supposedly from a traditional Ukrainian children's book, but who knows with this group?

Oh, and Cake was alright too. But go-go dancers with washboards and a bass drum!!

Comments

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

We had all kinds of fun! Thank you again for the opportunity. :)
Also, seriously. Extra bonus unexpected Gypsy cabaret punk. You have to love that.