N.O. Klezmer All-Stars at Wesleyan

[David Chevan <chevan...>]

A quick review of the N.O. Klezmer show at Wesleyan this past Friday.
First, it was great to be out at a live music performance and be in the
audience and not on stage.  Not only did I enjoy it, but my wife and I had
our first date in months.  Now that confession time is over I'll observe the
evening.  The show was almost a complete sell-out with every seat that I
could see being occupied.  The band came on and almost looked laconic,
perhaps the touring was taking it's toll.  All I know is that they did not
really hit their stride until about half an hour into their 90 minute or so
performance.  At that point they invited the audience to get up and dance.
Dozens of Wesleyan students began dancing around the sides of the auditorium
(it was not a dance hall and there was little if any room for them to
dance).  I'm sorry that I don't remember most of the musicianss names, but I
can report that when the dancers hit the floor, the band really took off.
I've heard and seen reports about them being almost punkish, but I did not
hear that in the music on Friday.  I did hear a great deal of that N'Awlins
backbeat and I do think it works in counterpoint to the klezmer 2-beat feel.
The band has a very odd kind of banter with the audience, almost an
anti-banter style that is only patially effective.  Freilach, the guitarist
is a real character, and the crowd warmed up to him, but my sense is that
the accordionist (Glenn Hardman? didn't catch the name quite right) is the
one who's pulling it together.  The clarinetist, Robert Wagner (like the
name, I think he's an actor), gets a good thing going, but on this night his
ideas were coming out more or less the same for every tune.  Part of what
might have been boing on is that the eminent musicologist, Mark Slobin, was
in the audience and perhaps the group was intimidated by his presence, they
certainly mentioned it enough.
All in all, I had a great time listening to a pretty good band on what I
sense was not their very best night.  They are worth seeing, especially once
the dancing starts.

David Chevan

  
David Chevan
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent St.
New Haven, CT 06517

(203) 392-6630

chevan (at) scsu(dot)ctstateu(dot)edu