I have heard so much about this band, E Muzeki, and how talented they are that I’ve been dying to go check them out. So Saturday Staci and I joined some of my other friends on the patio at Sam’s Burger Joint to hear some E Muzeki. It was the monthly (first Saturday) Renaissance gathering, so there were a lot of people dressed in garb (i.e. period costumes, stuff people might have worn during the Renaissance or in Medieval times). Which was fine by me. I have the highest appreciation for a long-haired man in a kilt. Yummy.
Anyway, on to the music. I feel totally inadequate to describe E Muzeki, because I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to world music. But, in the words of Ben Stein, “I shall do my best.” E Muzeki is a trio that plays a variety of world music, both traditional melodies and original compositions. I was a little disappointed that the band wasn’t livelier - they pretty much just stand (or sit) there and play, faces expressionless, but the music was absolutely captivating.
E MuzekiThe most interesting thing to me was their instruments. I had to go to their website for help with this, because I didn’t know what they were all called. If I had to describe them with my limited knowledge, I would have said the girl plays violin, you’ve got a guy on guitar and a mandolin-type thingy and another guy on what looks like a drum kit made out of bongos. But then I would sound stupid. So, Jenny O’Connor plays Celtic fiddle and Gypsy violin, and if it’s ok to say someone shreds on violin, Jenny shreds. Mark Varelas plays guitar and a really cool instrument called a bouzouki, which is similar to a mandolin and has a sharp metallic sound. As for the drums, here’s where I really needed their website: Michael Huebner “contributes the rhythms and texture of exotic drums such as the djembe, darabuka, ashiko, and dumbek configured into a unique hand-drum kit.”
Mark on BouzoukiDuring the first set, we were eating (you gotta get a burger when you go to Sam’s, it’s mandatory in my book), so I couldn’t write down what they were playing during that time. I know I heard “Hava Nagila” in there, though. And some Celtic and Gaelic songs. Partway through the second set, I finally got to write stuff down. They played a Greek dance and a Scottish dance; “The Kiss” from The Last of the Mohicans, which is actually a song called “Gael” (I think) with some more added to it; a hillbilly mountain tune, with some great fiddling; and (what I was waiting for) an instrumental adaptation of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on violin, which was amazing.
Jenny Playing KashmirAs I said, I am not qualified to describe their music except to say that I loved it. I’ve never been very into world music, but E Muzeki has inspired me to listen to more of it. All this week I’ve been listening to E Muzeki (Staci bought two of their cd’s), as well as other bands like Gypsy Caravan and Tribal Trance and thoroughly enjoying it. It’s also amusing to see the faces of my friends and family when they walk into my room and, instead of Metallica, they hear an Irish jig!
If you would like to experience some E Muzeki, there are 30 clips of their songs on their website at emuzeki.com. You can also catch them at Boardwalk Bistro at 4011 Broadway Friday, January 27th from 7:30-10:30pm, and at Blend on S. Flores Friday, February 3rd from 8:00-11:00pm.
After E Muzeki finished, we went inside Sam’s to hang out with our friends from The Killing Floor, 21BLACK and Amplifyd, who were playing inside that night. Right Road Lost and the Jack Michaels Band also played, but we missed them, except for part of one song of the Jack Michaels Band. Just enough to know that their female singer has a great voice. Definitely I need to go check them out for a full set soon.
The Killing Floor had their old bass player, David, back and they sounded the best I’ve ever heard them sound, which is saying a lot! I especially liked that Larry played the congas with his hands instead of his mallets. I like the sharper sound of hands hitting the drums better than the muffled mallet sound. Great job guys!
The Killing Floor21BLACK was up next with some more blues rock. I always love to hear some good guitar action and Robert didn’t fail me. Unfortunately, even though I heard several people saying how much they were enjoying the music, Sam’s pretty much emptied out between sets, so there weren’t many people left for 21BLACK. Probably for this reason, the guys didn’t seem as into it as they were when I saw them at Rock City a few months ago. At Rock City, they seemed like they were having a lot of fun with their music, mixing it up, throwing bits of this song and that song in the middle of other songs, laughing a lot, etc. Not so much this time, which was a little disappointing, but understandable.
21BLACKLast up was Amplifyd and again, they sounded the best I’ve heard them sound. Their set was all originals, which was great and I hope they do this more often. And even though just about all that was left was us and the other bands, they put on a great show, even doing an encore and playing “Rock Steady” upon my request. Thanks guys!
AmplifydThanks to everyone for all the good jams!
ADDED NOTE: I mentioned that I heard part of one song by the Jack Michaels Band and that the female singer sounded great. Turns out this is what happened...this is from Meagan Tubb: "My name is Meagan Tubb and I was the "female singer" in the above mentioned blog. Interesting story, Jack Michaels is the bass player for my band "Meagan Tubb." He had a show that night with his band that he fronts called "The Jack Michaels Band." Unfortunately, the guitar player was coming down from Austin and broke down right before the show. Jack was like, "How am I going to play this gig now?" I happened to be there to see him play and said, "Well, I could learn your songs," and he said, "No, let's do your songs instead," so it ended up being a very impromptu gig with the drummer who I hadn't even met learning the songs off my CD in the car."