Monday, November 30, 2009

Petrojvik Blasting Company at Bar 107


Last night, I saw the Petrojvik Blasting Company play at Bar 107. I was just downtown, but I was also kind of in Williamsburg, and for that matter, kind of in Serbia, too.

Last Sunday, I went to the Hollywood Farmer's Market. As I approached the end of the line, where it dissipates into a Calpirg solicitor, a guy peddling pesto out of a squeeze bag, and a few random stragglers, I heard the sound of horns. The source: a tiny klezmer band, singing and blowing their horns for whoever might pass by. Picture young beastie-boyish faces, suspenders, vests, and cropped trousers; the accordionist peering over his instrument to sing the harmony to the trombonist's earnest melody, as the French horn player simultaneously used his heel to pedal a bass drum behind him. Love.

These guys are the Petrojvic Blasting Company. I bought their album right there for five bucks, and eventually stalked them to Bar 107, the weirdest reddest downtown dive. Did not disappoint.

Klezmer is a secret pleasure of mine -- it's the hoydel-doydelest musical genre of all (and in fact may be the source of 'hoydel doydel' itself), so in the extremely rare cases that it becomes hip(ster), it makes me happy. The Blasting Company -- now 8 strong (including two hornblowing women, but minus the banjo that was there at the farmers market) -- got all the downtown goyishe ladies dancing with their sultry oompa stylings.

The accordionist showed some serious chops, the trombonist continued to belt out unintelligible but endearing words in vaguely-Eastern-European-sounding languages, and they all just put on a good show.

and downtown was all asparkle

(also, they are going to play at the bake sale this year. i just decided. they don't know yet. but they will.)

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