Devotchka with Main Squeeze Orchestra Mermaids
It was a treat to see Devotchka headlining the Bowery Ballroom; I'd last seen them during SXSW during a short showcase set, and even then I was impressed with the energy and liveliness of the four very talented musicians on stage. Their sound is a heady cocktail of disparate sounds: spaghetti western meets the sidewalk cafes of Paris meets roving band of gypsies. On Saturday night, the room was surprisingly devoid of arms-folded hipsters, at least from my vantage point, rabid fans screaming out frontman Nick Urata's name as soon as he appeared on stage between sets.
Unlike many indie rock bands who have no grasp on the finer points of banter and stare at the floor the entire time, Devotchka have a keen sense of drama and a polish to their live show, filling it with dramatic lighting and orchestra blacks, frantic violins and swinging sousaphone. I felt like I was transported into the midst of a drunken gypsy wedding banquet, people clapping and dancing the whole time. The wonderful performance was filled with Urata hamming it up, drinking red wine straight from the bottle, and causing the girls around me to swoon. In a word: sensual. Plus, the encore was completed by a round of six accordion-clad mermaids joining the band on stage, wearing costumes from that day's Coney Island Mermaid Parade. The mermaids are part of the Main Squeeze Orchestra, "a New York City-based, dozen-plus, all-girl accordion troupe." More photographs.
Photographs on this site are © Kathryn Yu. Don't steal.
