[ATTENDED: April 2, 2022] DakhaBrakha
After the last few nights, I was in need of a break, but there was no way I was passing up a chance to see DakhaBrakha.
I heard about this Ukranian band from Tiny Desk Concerts, of course. I fell in love with them immediately. Their music was weird and wonderful with amazing harmonies and interesting instruments. And their outfits were incredible. Giant hats and beautiful dresses on the women–who totally kicked ass while they played, too.
I was thrilled when I saw they were coming to SOPAC–local, small and seated. I snatched up tickets way back in November,
And then Russia invaded Ukraine. And who even knew if they’d be alive, much less able to play in the States. Evidently they left the country about a week before the show–so they had been there (their home base is in Kyiv) during the bombing. It’s unreal.
So now, this show went from being a fun celebration of Ukraine to a pointed attempt to show support to a country that needed it. Suddenly, the night was more significant.
Which, fortunately, didn’t change the music. True, the visuals that the band showed were often far more somber and dark than they probably would have been otherwise, but you can’t change the music. And it was wonderful.
The band is a quartet: Marko Halanevych. He plays more than this but for tonight he did: vocals, goblet drum, tabla, harmonica, accordion, cajón.
Then there was Olena Tsybulska, vocals and drums. She had a small kit but a huge sound. Next to her was Iryna Kovalenko who played everything. She sang and played drums and keybaords and djembe, flute, buhay, piano, ukulele, zgaleyka, and a tiny accordion. On the far end was Nina Garenetska who sang and played cello. The cello was the one major constant through the songs–she made bass lines, rhythms and even cool effects through pedals.
And when the women sang together, wow. It was mesmerizing. The guy behind me on three separate occasions said it was like a drug. And it really was.
Marko sings lead on many songs. He has a falsetto and also a deeper vocal style. He played accordion for many of the songs. But I couldn’t take my eyes of the three women, who were doing so much.
I thought that a setlist would be easy to come by, but I had a hard time cobbling this one together. Some of the songs were new, and presumably not available yet, but most seem like they should be easy to track down. The ones listed here I’m sure of. And I know a few more were from their newest album Alambari, so maybe I’ll be able to fill them in, too.
The set was just incredible. And hearing the Ukranian members of the audience speaking Ukranian from their seats and having a dialogue was truly an unusual experience for me.
They dedicated songs to those who died. And dedicated a song to those who stayed and fought.
They even had some light-hearted moments like “I’ve Boarded the Wrong Plane” [“Ye Siv Ne v Toy Litak”] which Marko recited in English (one of the few English moments of the night).
Near the end of the set, the women started making the most amazing, lifelike animal sounds-birds and more. This was all as an introduction to Vesna, a song encouraging spring to arrive. It is full of joy.
They ended the main set with “Divka-Marusechka.” Marko introduced the song saying that When Ukraine wins, and they will win, they will rebuild and celebrate. The song has a two note drone on the accordion–it sounded so heavy and intense up there and just builds and builds. The vocals that the women do at the end are, simply put, mind blowing.
It was an incredible ending.
They took a short break and came back with another song in English, “Baby.” A light, fun song with Marko’s most falsetto delivery.
When they were done, they stood in front of us and we applauded. Many people brought flags and waved them and someone satrted singing the Ukranian national anthem and everyone (who knew it, which I didn’t) proudly sang along. It was so moving.
The only bummer thing was that they didn’t have anything for sale (I’m sure they had better things to worry about), but I wanted to throw money at them. They were collecting money for Ukraine and has was happy to donate. And you can donate here: https://www.comebackalive.in.ua/
- Tataryn-Bratko
- Sho z-pod duba £
- Sonnet ∇
- Dostochka ∇
- Monakh ∇
- I’ve Boarded the Wrong Plane (Rembetika) ∇
- Torokh
- Vesna ψ
- Divka-Marusechka ℵ
encore - Baby ¥
∇ Alambari (2020)
¥ Light (2010)
£ Yahudky (2014)
ℵ Na Mehzi (2009)
Ik ow this is not the right spelling, that is what brought me here. Capitian Rap…..kicked my ass! They say, Rhodes scholars, when you listen to music that you don’t the language of, you getore out of the music itself. I believe that was my experience with DakaBraka. Cheers