you already know...

you already know... how this will end

I'm a little behind on reflecting upon the concerts I've been to in the last couple weeks, mainly because I've been on vacation and dealing with the ramifications of going on and having been on vacation, and now for the past few days, on an unfortunate deadline (pee-yoo).

That hasn't caused me to forget about the wonderful DeVotchKa show I went to this past weekend (Showbox SoDo). I've been to three or four or so concerts of theirs, and they never fail to entertain, in the bohemian/romantic/classically glamorous rock style that they have perfected as their own. It appears as though they've really come into their own, however, since I first saw them a few years ago.

The show was so tight... granted, it did appear as though they were filming some sort of band-ography as there was a camera hovering about onstage, so that might explain, somewhat, why the transitions between songs, and the lighting, and the choreography was all so smooth. Their usual blend of rock, gypsy, folk, latin, and punk-y sounds serve them well for a rockin' show. I must also say, that as a fan of strings, I was awed by the fact that the usual one violin (Tom Hagerman, you are amazing with your mastery of accordian, keyboard, and violin) multiplied to four and was a veritable symphony. This impressed me greatly. The bold, somewhat Feist-esque lighting also made the show feel grown-up in a posh and dramatic way. Their performance was flawless, so beautiful and moving... but I must say that I missed a little bit the what-the-hell attitude that their previous concerts had, with the copious red wine-drinking during the entire show by Nick (Urata, the lead), the continual thanking of the crowd between songs, the christmas lights on Jeanie's sousaphone, the egalitarian lighting (this time, it seemed to focus nearly exclusively on Nick), and his classic emptying of the remaining wine onto his suit at the end of the performance. I do miss these things, a little bit... However, I'm not sure that I would say they should replace or negate the power and the ambiance that the performance Saturday contained- there was something truly magical about being there. They played two encores, after the first one mesmerized the crowd with a curtain-climbing, Cirque de Solieil-esque, acrobat-ress, they came back for a second. (I was lucky enough to be in a good, close position to get a few good photos.) It was enchanting. They put on a great show, even as they mature along with their increased popularity.

It was just announced that DeVotchKa will be coming back to Seattle to headline the Capitol Hill Block Party in July. Might have to pick up some tickets for that.

As I finish writing this, the girls at the table next to me (I'm internetting away at Ladro as my free wireless disappeared a couple weeks ago), who are not able to see my screen, just randomly mentioned that "Devotchka does a really good job." TWILIGHT ZONE!!!