Friday, March 16   8:00 p.m.
The Ale House   (310 E 6th St (Alley Entrance))

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  Barbez - Strange
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Brooklyn-bred, internationally based band Barbez brings together a talented mix of musicians from avant-classical to Balkanologists with one amazing theremin player to weave together the band's unique and haunting soundscapes. Drawing on such disparate musical traditions as Argentine tango, pre-MTV punk, the music of Kurt Weill, and the beautiful eeriness of The Residents, the band creates music that evokes everything from dark rock like Swans and P.J. Harvey to the melancholy lyricism of Eastern European folk music.

The group came together in the late 90s, and through extensive touring and two stellar albums (recorded and produced by Martin-Bisi of Swans, Sonic Youth, Angels of Light fame) they have gained international attention and wide critical acclaim. The band’s current lineup features Dan Kaufman (Tzadik Records) on guitar; theremin player Pamelia Kurstin (Air, David Byrne, Cibo Matto); Peter Hess (Balkan Beat Box, World/Inferno), and John Bollinger (Antony and the Johnsons) on drums. The band has played with such great artists as Cat Power, godspeed you black emperor!, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Sun Ra Arkestra, MC5, Faun Fables, Devendra Banhart, and The Dresden Dolls.

Barbez recently released its third album, "Insignificance," (Important Records) and completed a US tour, as well as a European tour, where they revisited Italy, Portugal, France, Slovenia, Croatia; and stopped in Germany to once again provide musical accompaniment to MacArthur winning playwright John Jesurun’s Chang In A Void Moon.

A night with Barbez is a blend of the stirring, the spiritual and the hilarious; the joys and miseries of our every day existence---from traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge to an exuberant Russian wedding dance. Not to be missed!