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 FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
12/3 update: emobie photographs added

Last night, the Indigo Bellydance group and friends brought Eugene the stupendously entertaining Le Serpent Rouge: An Evening of Beguiling Dance and Strangely Familiar Music.

Le Serpent Rouge is a traveling road show that captivates.  At its core it is the Indigo: made up of Mardi Love, Rachel Brice, and Zoë Jakes (L-to-R in picture to the right).

While they have danced in various groups — including the Bellydance Superstars, Beats Antique and the Yard Dogs Road Show — The Indigo is the group that they call home. They each bring their own influences to make their own modern dance forms unique. Love’s fluidity, Brice’s sinewy strength, and Jakes’ intensity and charm make their sum greater than each one individually. They are known to be theatrical and playful, often playing characters within their performances.

While rooted in Middle Eastern styles, their dance style for this tour might be found in an old West saloon mixed with a Prohibition-era speakeasy. The burlesque and tribal fusion bellydance fits snugly with steampunk-meets-flapper blues/jazz/jug band from the Crow Quill Night Owls and Gallus Brothers. Tub bass, washboard, kazoo, banjo, guitars, percussive bones, feathers, tattoos and legs.

Local group Blair Street Mugwumps were the openers the show… fantastic performers.  I had never heard them, but I had heard of them, and well, now I’ll make a point to hear more of them.  All fantastic musicians, and while not all that dissimilar from the main group, they were a noticeable difference from “just another opening band.”  A jug band with a modern edge.  Quite entertaining.

Le Serpent Rouge started with Rachel Brice coming out dressed as an old lady… and introducing the show for us.  The show was a nice mix of saloon tunes from Crow Quill Night Owls and the Gallus Brothers with dancing (group, duo and solo) and skits mixed in.  The dramatic side of the Indigo shone through in their silly stage presence.

As far as the backing bands… the Gallus Brothers were actually part of the Crow Quill Night Owls band, but then splintered off to do silly tricks, juggling, and of course… glitter throwing.  Here’s a shot of one of their silly tricks during a song…

Of course, the ladies of the Indigo were lovely… here are a few photos, with more at the bottom.  I’ll also post some from Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography) once she gets them edited… update: added 12/3.

many more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

• The Indigo’s Main Site / Zoe / Rachel / Mardi
• The Indigo’s Social Media Links (see below)
• Crow Quill Night Owls‘ MySpace
• Gallus Brothers‘ MySpace
• Blair St. Mugwumps’ Site / Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
• My Other Related Reviews~
  • Beats Antique @ McDonald (Eugene Celebration – Aug 2010)
  • Beats Antique @ Faeireworlds (Mt. Pisgah – Jul 2009)
  • The Indigo @ Oregon Country Fair (Veneta – Jul 2008)
• WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter

Tonight is their last night of the tour (Dec 1st at Portland’s Mississippi Studios).  For a list of where they’ve played, check below.

~Dan – np: Puscifer – C is for…

LE SERPENT ROUGE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld
and Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography)
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Le Serpent Rouge Fall 2010 Tour Dates

• 11/5 – Seattle, WA – Market Theater
• 11/6 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
• 11/9 – Ashland, OR – CultureWorks
• 11/11 – Sabastopol, CA – Hopmonk Tavern
• 11/12 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
• 11/14 – Reno, NV – The Great Escape
• 11/16 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
• 11/18 – Tucson, AZ – Solar Culture
• 11/20 – Albuquerque, NM – Low Spirits
• 11/23 – Los Angeles, CA – King King
• 11/28 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
• 11/30 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
• 12/1 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios