Gypsy Caravan2
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, Oregon
2 November 2001

I had intended to do a real review, but I dont have the song titles nor could I take photos, so....I have albums by 3 of the 4 artists here but as with most albums with English I don't identify the names with the tracks. You dont get any info, you're in Row V, you just have impressions.

For me, this was Gypsy Caravan1. As many people know, I have always lived in the megacultural boondocks, so I usually have to drive somewhere around 100 miles to see the big shows, most of the time even the small shows. I heard about this concert because on the day before my husband had OPB on the radio as he unfailingly does, and they were playing an Indian CD I thought was Musafir, but somehow got back announced in those mesmerizing NPR tones as Esma Redzepova.

So I bought a ticket on the internet and the next evening drove the 90 miles to Portland. Luckily it wasnt raining and I could use my PSU parking ramp permit. The concert was put on by the Indian arts organization, Kalakendra, which meant that there were many "Indians" in beautiful clothing attending; the only children in the audience were Indian. I had a "cheap" seat on row V of the orchestra, which was filled only to about 6 rows behind me. It was not until intermission that I noticed that there were many many people in the larger balcony above.

Maharaja ex Musafir came on first. Dressed in beautiful clothes and turbans, they sat on a raised platform and played and sometimes sang with much more exhuberence than I am used to from Indian music (which is why I bought their CD). It was good to see the harmonium. However, I am not used to these big concert halls, and the disconnection I felt from the players was very frustrating. The sound was great, but there was no sense of being "part"of the music, it was if someone had put up a TV screen with musicians on it. I'd gone in earlier in the year to see Afro-Celt at the Xtal Ballroom where there was a big open floor and most of the audience was dancing and I didnt feel that way at all. In any event, Maharaja has 2 dancing girls who came on separately in beautiful clothes and twirled amazingly and were wonderful.

Esma Redzepova and her band were up next. The music was great, but Esma's vocals...and her stage style...are really something. Though probably culturally correct, I think I could do without the synthetic keyboards. She did one song where the keyboards were meant to mimic the wind, but to me they sounded like a death metal album where the next moment someone with a low voice comes on and says "I am the master of your doom." But it was merely Esma wrapped in a black lace shawl mourning and sobbing, finally emerging into a perky but passionate song and dancing around. There was obviously a lot of interesting stuff going on but no explanations like you would hear with an American performance and nothing about the particular songs in the program. Esma is quite the diva and can do great things with her voice...she often danced around the stage and at one point came down into the audience and harrassed people while she sang. This is when the man next to me started to literally giggle with glee and shake his head. He was much more animated than most of the audience, though about 3 or 4 women were dancing at their seats and one man danced in the aisle holding what could have been a homemade Macedonian flag. I did recognize one song, "Chaje Shukaije."

During intermission I walked around, confident in my black KMart jeans, black and red garage sale sweater, and black Bass outlet clogs that I looked "portlandissa." There were actually many people in brighter, more ethnic garb, though most of these looked to be Punjabi. When I went back in, the show started and the announcer talked about the series. The last artist in the fall menu had been cancelled because he/she/they could not get a visa.

I admit that I came to see my boys, Fanfare Ciocarlia, but I still cannot name the tunes. One I know was "Asfalt Tango." FC was great, but again remote. The most fun part is that they have 2 tubas and 2 other big horns, and that they are dressed so casually and mill around in such chaos, no choreography. When a player shouted "Tsigane!," the man sitting next to me almost had convulsions laughing. Along with playing tunes a la clarinet, horn, sax, to tuba rhythm, they did a few vocals, including "Lume lume si Hora," very smooth. They walked out in double file, through the audience. There were maybe 10 or 12 people dancing in the orchestra section at this point.

The last act, Antonio del Pipa Flamenco, abruptly took everyone by surprise. I would say this was the most stunning performance, but the one I liked the least, because I really dont like flamenco. Antonio, wearing a grey suit which got progressively less, started off dancing very passionate stark ...um...flamenco, really beautiful job. The man sitting next to me got a big kick out of it, too. I was just amazed by the aunt's vocals (and hesitate to make the quip that she should get together with Esma's son on the keyboard and form a death metal band). It's fascinating to watch the drama unfold and the amount of slow emotion expressed.

There was a grand finale, with sort of a flamenco-Rajasthani mix featured. People clapped a lot. As I walked back to my car, I heard "my boys" playing, and knew they were playing out in the lobby. It was a real pity, because this was what I would have preferred to do, listen to brass in the lobby. But I had to drive back the 90 miles through the Cascades so I didnt go back.

I told the MCFS booker about the performance.
"Maybe we should have them out here instead."
"You get 10 gypsies playing tubas, its not gonna work for a house concert."
"We have bigger places to put them."

The Columbia Gypsy