pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

In Cincinnati, we got to see Raquy Danziger, Liron Peled, and the rest of the Cavemen about twice a year due to the large tribal bellydance scene.  Well, luckily, Raquy’s sister lives in Eugene; so we get a visit roughly once a year.  They always put on a great show, full of wonderful percussive world rhythms.

I’d never been to Joe’s Bar & Grill… if I get a chance, I hope I’ll choose not to go again (or at least on a Thursday). You see, last night, besides the four different sources on the web with different start times and openers listed, was “ladies night.”  So, during Raquy’s set, we got a nice dose of “two drunk ‘ladies’ shouting too loudly over the music.”  One girl was literally explaining in a PhD dissertation-length exchange about how her phone was ringing, that she was going to pick it up, that she did pick it up, that she was going to talk on it, and then the volume didn’t decrease much when she was talking on it.  It must have been listed as “classy ladies night” in the local paper.

Despite prior interweb research, the Ruins of Ooah (a local band) was not the opener, but rather the last band.  We didn’t stick around for them, but I’ll try to catch them at another venue around town.  Up first was Mood Area 52 (a local bohemian/gypsy-style band).  They usually have a larger band, but last night was just accordian/vocals, cello, and double bass.  The cellist, Amy Danziger, is actually Raquy’s aforementioned sister who is Eugene-local. I’ve seen MA52 several times, but usually in a more “secondary” setting… meaning, they happen to be playing I stop by for a few songs during a Saturday Market, art walk, or coffee shop visit.  They played about 6 songs over 30 minutes.  They weren’t mic’ed at all, but it didn’t seem to matter.  They missed the loud lady convention that seemingly descended on the venue during Raquy’s set.  MA52 was quite delightful, and I recommend them if they’re playing and you’re in town.

Raquy and the Caveman hit the stage around 9:45 or so.  This time it was sans Nezih (only a Raquy & Liron duo band).  We had caught their long-ish soundcheck, and due to it being a “school night” only stuck around until about 10:30 for their main set.  They started out with several dual dumbek / dumset* songs… mostly fast, showing off both Raquy’s and Liron’s insane percussive skills.  We left shortly after their song that featured Raquy on kemenche (a Persion stringed instrument) and Liron on a Liron-custom 11-string guitar (stringed and tuned with a saz in mind).  A great performance by both of them… we wished we could have mustered up enough to stay longer.  Next year, we shall!

*-The “dumset” is a small set-up by Liron with a dumbek set up to a kick pedal, a dumbek in hand, cymbals, riq, etc.  It’s played like a regular drumset.

Raquy & the Cavemen’s fifth album, Bewitched, is out now.  We picked it up at the show, and I look forward to spinning it today.  Click the picture for more information on the new release:

The Appropriate Linkage:

• Raquy and the Cavemen’s Official Site
• Raquy and the Cavemen on MySpace
• Mood Area 52
• Mood Ares 52 on MySpace
• Ruins of Ooah
  
• Ruins of Ooah on MySpace
• Joe’s Bar & Grill
  

~Dan – np: Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone