barbez
“the relationship between man and bird”
Seeing Barbez live is a little like seeing the Elephant Man – something disfigured but beautiful. Fusing traditional Russian music, post-punk cabaret flair, pre-Glasnost Eastern Bloc nightclub atmosphere, and a gypsy caravan feel, Barbez excites and tingles the senses. It also is extremely disturbing.
When they took the stage at Northsix, I knew I was in store for a show. The lead singer, a tall blonde drink of water, wore old Victorian clothes (a blouse with ruffled collar and heavy petticoat). The rest of the band’s dress ranged from gypsy to 1940’s gangster. But it was the music that was the most unique and strange participant that night. It is theatrical show music twisted with rock. It is idiosyncratic, driving, and haunting. “We’re inspired by a lot of intense music,” said guitarist Dan Kaufman. I found myself thinking of a twisted Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The lead singer, Ksenia Vidyaykina, has a dark, rich, and operatic voice. She sings mostly in English, but Russian sneaks in unexpectedly. The music gets under your skin, like a sad, maudlin children’s bedtime song. The assortment of unusual instruments used by the band adds to its cache of attempting something different: violin, accordion, vibraphone, theremin, and an iPaq (to sample from as well as create sounds). It’s hard to compare their music to anything remotely resembling mainstream, but imagine a recipe consisting of Portishead and Joy Division with a Eastern European bent, and a dash of punk.
Their self-titled CD showcases their live show very well, and the songs do not lose in the translation. “The Defiant Bicycle” is light-hearted folly, like carousel music. “Ultimate Disaster” is a Russian punk opera, discordant and fast with a voice that juxtaposes against the music that changes to floating and supernatural. “Sacrifice Poles” was brooding and had a bass line that reminded me of “Kashmir.” “West Rogers Park” consists of a haunting melody and no vocals. “Wisconsin” alternates between airy weepy and driven punk noise with an orchestrated violin. “Tango Ballade” features a guest vocal from the lead singer of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and is quite disturbing. It is a conversation between a husband and wife, and reminds me of something out of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The show I caught at Northsix was fascinating to watch. Ksenia either stands still at center stage while belting out the words, watching the audience like a ringmaster at a sideshow, or she dances like a puppet on strings, jerky and raw. The music is ambient at times, allowing Ksenia’s voice to hover in your minds, then exploding into Moulin Rouge bombast or collapsing without giving you a climax. The vaudeville veneer of their show thinly masks something more sinister and tragic beneath, something they never name, but allow you to glimpse nonetheless. Barbez is like nothing you’ve seen or heard before.