DeVotchKa, ICA, London, July 17th
Saturday, 19 Jul 2008 19:30
DeVotchKa, ICA, London, July 17th
Still riding the high and beautiful wave of critical acclaim following the release of their 'A Mad and Faithful Telling' album, DeVotchKa take the stage full of confidence. Their star has been on the rise since the soundtrack to indie smash A Little Miss Sunshine was released in 2006, quintupling their fan base overnight. In response the group have toured the world relentlessly since, bringing fans their fusion of rag-time gypsy melodies, military oompah and American punk.
The crowd is high-brow, but also high spirited and the ICA suits this sort of leftfield act to a tee. While not yet a household name, DeVotchKa – who take their name from the Nadsat language invented by Anthony Burgess for A Clockwork Orange – attract a wisened crowd, all of whom are willing to fully appreciate the delicate offering presented this evening. Beginning with Basso Profundo, the opening track to their latest, and to fans greatest, album the band instantly fills the space with their sepia tinted nostalgia and joyous laughter.
This is the attraction to the band, shown in the first few seconds of their show; a seamless mix of hedonism and reverent austerity presented through a prism of bravura musical talent. Drummer/trumpeter Shawn King was raised by raised by polka musicians, Tom Hagerman moonlights as a professorial classical violinist, while Jeanie Schroder on the sousaphone and double bass used to play in an American Civil War recreation band – and all these styles blend to create a unique hybrid. However, at the centre is the towering presence of Nick Urata. While Urata plays the guitar and Theremin, drinks copious amounts of wine and marshalls the band, it is his voice which is the star this evening. Although the lyrics are often maudlin – "So this is the city? So this is progress? How did something so pretty become such a mess?" – they are sung with such passion as to mesmerize the gathered faithful.
Dipping into their back catalogue - with Queen of Surface Streets, from the Una Volta album, an early highlight – DeVotchKa effortlessly slip between the slow, intimate numbers and the raucous cacophony of their more involved material. When the group hit their stride it is almost impossible not to dance, with even the most sober members of the audience throwing their hands into the air in delight. A cover of Somethin' Stupid, as popularised by Frank & Nancy Sinatra, brings the weaker-willed to tears, but is presented in a touch and cheek manner, bringing knowing smiles from the band.
At times it is virtually a religious experience with Urata controlling the flow of praise. In split seconds he becomes a tragic Shakespearean hero, thrown from his lover's arms onto the wiles of the world, and the next a reborn king striking a valiant pose toward the future. An encore inevitably follows the final crescendo with the band returning to play a stripped down version of Blessing in Disguise before retiring for the evening. This was a one off London gig, with the band now touring the European festival circuit.; a measure of their new found success. A few years ago they were rejected Warner for being "unmarketable" - how wrong they were.
Chris O'Toole 