With a funeral drudge version of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” emerged onto the stage on Friday as skeletons clad in Ushanka hats and Babushkas. This Nov. 1 show on the Day of the Dead marked DeVotchKa’s second helping of Halloween pageantry.
“Dia de los Muertos” is a time for friends to gather and celebrate death as a part of life. What better way to do that than with music that complements this culture? And what better band than DeVotchKa to lead the way? DeVotchKa blends the gypsy sounds of the eastern block with Mariachi horns of the southwest. The finished product comes out as a worldly blend of indie-rock.
DeVotchKa had a busy week with shows including , a and Friday’s show at the Boulder Theater. Perhaps any fatigue on the band’s part was covered by the elaborate face paint and frocks, because the performance didn’t suffer. Fans oohed and aahed as the Slavic Sisters provided aerial acrobatics and DeVotchKa leaped from early hits “Queen of the Surface Streets,” to music off their last two albums with “We’re Leaving,” “All the Sand in all the Sea” and “How it Will End.” The band covered the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday,” adding a classic rock element to its genre-hopping sound.
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Evan Semón is a Denver freelance writer and photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. See .
