Lucid Culture

If yesterday’s Ljova and the Kontraband show was the sonic equivalent of open bar without the hangover, last night’s Ansambl Mastika show at Barbes was an eightball of coke without the OD. Led by a scorchingly fast, incisive clarinetist who goes by the name Greg Squared, the band features the drummer from Slavic Soul Party as well as the bassist and accordionist from Zagnut Orchestar along with trumpet and electric lead guitar. This band is something beyond mesmerizing: ecstatic, powerful and danceable as hell. They seem to pride themselves on their originals, and from what they played tonight, their sprawling, sometimes fifteen-minute excursions through every conceivable gypsyish style could either have been theirs, or they could have been classics from Bulgaria, Turkey, Lebanon or the shtetls of Poland. It was impossible to tell, because they didn’t announce song titles, they just pummeled the audience with one after another. Ansambl Mastika calls their sound “New Balkan Uproar,” which is an understatement. With the electric instruments and the big bass drum in the little back room at Barbes, they were LOUD: of all the gypsy bands in New York, only Gogol Bordello – who have gone more punk rock in the last couple of years – raise the decibel level as high. Although there was obviously a lot of improvisation going on, what Ansambl Mastika was playing was obviously composed through, not just endless jams on the Dorian scale. And the bass player has found a way to play this stuff on a Fender without getting all wanky and fusionish: he plays reggae licks, except without the reggae beat! Along with the occasional big, boomy chord or slide to the top of the fretboard, which only made the songs stronger.

Then the band brought up an all-female vocal quartet who call themselves Black Sea Hotel, and played behind them. With their soaring yet chilling harmonies, swooping and diving all over the place, it was like watching the Voix Bulgares backed by Taraf de Haidoucks except with electric instruments.

To those who might be sick of this page’s constant shilling for a steady stream of New York-area gypsy bands, brace yourself: there’s more to come. Yes, it’s bandwagonesque, but finally there’s a popular scene here with room for pretty much everyone. What punk was to late 70s New York, the gypsy scene is now. Admittedly, just like the golden age of punk rock, most of the crowd seems to be musicians from other bands in the scene. Which actually has an upside: this is all about the music and the fun, not the pose. Nobody onstage tonight was wearing any kind of uniform, i.e. 70s dumpster-diver kitsch or Urban Outfitters. And the crowd was rapt: everybody came to listen, not to bray at each other over the music or huddle over their phones, feverishly texting anyone and everyone whom might conceivably be their next hookup. We’ve needed this for a long, long time.  

Ansambl Mastika don’t have any upcoming gigs listed on their myspace at the moment, but Black Sea Hotel are playing Pete’s at 9:30 on May 12.