SIDESHOWS: I Was One Happy Devotchka

Posted by gabriellenp in Entertainment, Featured, Interesting News, Music News | 0 comments

Cotton candy, hotdogs, liquor, insane circus performers, new tunes from new dudes and DeVotchKa! What more could a music-lover ask for? Denver, Colorado based four-gem ensemble, DeVotchKa, was the first headlining band to perform at New York City’s freshest new concert series called, SIDESHOWS, in which a collision of band sets and circus acts weave together to give the audience a tasty multi-sensory treat.

One of the acrobatic wonders of SIDESHOWS

The opening act, Angus and Julia Stone, consists of a Cat Power meets Joni Mitchell archetype by the name of Julia and her Ben Kweller-esque brother, Angus. The Australian-bred duo kept their set on a folksy blues level that held the audience’s rapt attention. Julia’s voice is a beautiful oxymoron that is both delicate and strong whilst Angus serves as the vocalist with a balanced smoothness that further enhances their sibling musical medley. Kudos!

DeVotchKa’s energy was unparallel to the many musicians I have observed on the current music scene. The quad stars consist of Nick Urata (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, piano, trumpet and theremin), Shawn King (percussion and trumpet), Tom Hagerman (accordion, violin and piano) and Jeanie Schroder (vocals, double bass and sousaphone). Their outside-of-the-box cocktail blend of punk, folk, Slavic, Greek, Mariachi and everything in between makes them a flavor you’ll crave after just one taste. The talented quartet’s music and circus combination, consisting of a male contortionist and two femme fatale acrobats, was an A.D.H.D. person’s playground. An amazing sight to see was the plethora of instruments used in the set: a trumpet, guitars, keyboard, drums, a sousaphone (looks like a tuba) and more! It was extremely hard to stay subdued in my seat in the sea of pretentious New Yorkers where everyone was “too cool” to dance and too lame to care. It was a breath of fresh air to witness a super fan dance as if he were in a gypsy dance troupe all the while being completely sober. Impressive. The band came out for a thrilling encore and it was then that the entire tent became a dance party…Eastern European style.

DeVotchKa!!!

I look forward to attending another DeVotchKa show. Until then, I’ll just dance around my apartment to the sweet sounds of “Death By Blonde.”