Some background: a while ago I went and saw Underscore Orkestra at The Bearded Lady. Some weeks later they came back to the same venue with Mzaza. Unfortunately I missed that event but I joined the mailing list for Mzaza. Thus I was thrilled when I saw the announcement for this event.
The venue: Vision Gallery
West End continues to surprise. Across the road from The Three Monkeys is the ABSOE warehouse. The block is the site for West End Markets. This gallery is on the top level of one of the warehouses in the block It is a small intimate venue. I loved some of the art work that was displayed. There was a picture called The Vikings, which I thought was great, and another unnamed picture which I admired at various times of the night. I don't know if it was because of the frequently changing lights but it seemed there was something new nearly every time I looked at it. It's not a picture I'm likely to bring home given the skeletons and skulls littering the beach in the picture. As well as the paintings there were several clay castles, lots of chairs and tables and some bookshelves with various interesting looking books on them. They had a bar there that served a very good scotch and dry (even though Steve kept asking if I wanted coke with it. No Steve).
Before the show I went to The Three Monkeys for a coffee and Greek biscuit before the show. It was my first coffee of the day and I felt like I really needed it.
I went up a little while before the scheduled start time and presented my ticket. Unfortunately I didn't have any spare money for CDs, songbooks and other merchandise. In the gallery I bought a drink and spent some time checking out the artwork before taking a seat. It was a good thing I sat down and didn't move because the gallery soon filled with people and the chairs that had been set up earlier were augmented by even more chairs. Yet they weren't enough. By the time Mzaza started there were people sitting on the floor in front of the stage.
Mzaza
They were amazing. The vocals were outstanding from start to finish and varied in type of song as well as language. The violin player started off with a Persian-looking instrument before switching to the more traditional violin. She was incredible to watch. It wasn't just the way she played (which was great) but the way she moved, the way she interacted with the other band members, the way she was always doing something even when she was not playing. What impressed me the most about her was the way she was able to put her arms around the lead singer and still play the violin. I'm going to have to learn how to do that one day... The bass player was playing a more modern instrument and the sound was great. I hope the guy playing the accordion didn't think I was checking him out. I wasn't. I was just interested in his accordion and the way he played. Apparently the percussionist was a ring-in. He was an original member who filled in for a missing member. On behalf of Princess Sage I was paying attention to what he was doing so I could report back to her. I thought it was so cool they were able to call in a former member of the band when necessary. And in the same vain, another original member joined the band for a few songs to play a wind instrument. They played a few new songs. One story was spooky: they said during a performance about a week ago a man with a violin got up and interrupted their set! It wasn't me, I swear. A couple of times during their show a lady dressed in a colourful gypsy-style outfit got up and danced to a song. She moved really well and added another level to the performance. Apparently she teaches Balkan / gypsy dancing.
During intermission I made the "fatal" mistake of getting up to get a drink and losing my seat. It was still really packed by the time Chaika came on. I had to find a place to stand towards the back of the room to make sure I was not blocking anyone else's view.
Chaika
The four ladies and two men who made up this group blew me away. Two of the ladies frequently swapped between keyboard and accordion. Another played the clarinet and the fourth the violin. On top of the fantastic way they played they all had outstanding voices. They often shared the microphone as they related stories about the band and the music. As near as I can tell the music and lyrics were all theirs.
One of the gentlemen played percussion. He was unreal though not as pretty as my princess. He had a cool looking three-legged drum and a variety of other percussion instruments. He got to speak once. The other gentleman played the traditional double bass, and as talented as talented as he was this his instrument he was mute on the microphone.
It was really difficult to divide my attention between the accordion and the violin. Actually I would have liked to have seen the show more than once to focus on each instrument. Even the percussionist was interesting to watch, especially with the big three-legged drum. He said he was used to playing it very loud when he joined the group and now he has become used to playing it very soft.
This is what Wikipedia says about it:
"The distinctive sounds of women's choirs in Bulgarian folk music come partly from their unique rhythms, harmony and polyphony, such as the use of close intervals like the major second and the singing of a drone accompaniment underneath the melody"
The gypsy dancer made another performance. I get the feeling it was unexpected although again she was very good.
Perhaps the only letdown was the lack of room to dance. The space was great and intimate but that meant there was almost no room to dance, which I understand is usually what happens at Mzaza and Chaika performances.
By the time the last note faded away and the cheering died down it was 11pm and I had several messages and missed calls from Mrs Sage. She was worried because she thought the show would be over by 10 (the published finishing time was 1030). West End is not the safest area to be in, especially on a Sunday night of a long week-end. There were ambulances and police in the area. Having said that, I never felt in danger. It was actually a sign of how engrossed I was with both bands that I lost track of time during the show.
At the end of the show I did get to meet to and speak with Greta. She plays the violin for Mzaza. She seemed lovely. She talked about how safe she felt playing with an accordion because it fills out the sound with the violin and they are a good match. It turns out the Mzaza played with the London Klezmer Quartet in Tasmania and she was able to go to one of the workshops with them! She also told me Bemac have lessons in Middle Eastern music on Wednesday nights. Alas she was called away and I had to go before she could tell me more. I have searched the Bemac site but could not find any reference to what she mentioned.
All in all it was an absolutely amazing night. It was everything I had hoped for and more. I can't explain how much I am looking forward to the next show by either of these groups. As for the gallery, I am keeping en eye out for future events.
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