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| | Arts Calendar / April 28 / Concerts |
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20:00 | Billy's Band (Russia) |
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 Billy's Band is a famous Tom-Waits-influenced-romantic-alco-jazz-quartet from St Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in 2001 by Billy Novick and Andrey Reznikov. Started as a mere musical joke for friends, The Billy’s Band trio became the brightest event on the clubbing stage in St.Petersburg and Moscow. Tackling anything by Tom Waits is like wrestling an alligator: do it well and you`ve got a new pair of shoes:, screw up and you`re dead, Jack. Describing themselves as a Dixiland funeral with an infinite happy end, Billy`s band is on the fringe in its St.Petersburg home and will be on the fringe of the fringe here. Bandleader, Billy Novik heard Waits` “Early Years, vol.1”, and that is all she wrote. Novik barks gruff and hip (in Russian and English) just like Waits – or perhaps Cookie Monster on a vodka bender. A great deal of the band`s repertoire is Waits` stuff, and when the band ventures out on its own, the genius, the oddity, and the antiquated charm still shines, just like those alligator shoes. They were wearing worn-down trench coats and no shirts, letting their bellies show for everyone. You might call them strange, but just call them special. They are one of the few popular bands in Russia which practice the DIY model: releasing distributing and advertising records and organising concerts and tours itself and not signing a contract with a major record label or producer. Billy’s Band are enthusiastically welcomed in Russia, Italy, Germany, France, Finland, Israel, Estonia and America. They play a perfect English-Russian blend of jazz and blues, Slavonic Lieds, rock ballads and sporadic beats of enigmatic Russian soul. Billy's Band calls themselves "Dixieland funeral with an infinite happy end", they describe it as "like a combined Dixieland and polka band that plays almost jazzy".
Sixteen Tons  |
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