A Feastival!
Lemon Bucket Orkestra has been on the Toronto music scene for 15 years and has not only won the hearts of its Baltic community but the hearts of all walks of life. When you go to one of their shows, of course you will see people from the Ukraine and other eastern European countries, but you will find people from around the world embracing this lively music.
This band has not only won the hearts of its audience but has won the respect of many other bands. I believe that is because they show a lot of respect to the bands they get to play with.
With that respect, LBO organized two nights of music with 4 bands on the first night and 3 bands the second night.
What is Klezmer?
When two of the three bands had Klezmer in their name, I had to look up what this name means.
Well, Klezmer is a vibrant folk music that originated from the Central and Eastern Europe Ashkenazi Jewish Culture. The sound is a mix of lively and soulful sounds that will get you dancing. There are ritualistic qualities to this music as well of plenty of improvised moments.
The term “Klezmer” historically refers to the musician or instrumentalist, and the music draws it energy from various traditions, including Synagogue music, European folk dance and Ottoman styles. It is also influenced by American Jazz and Pop music.
The Toronto Klezmer Society
With rising horns, the vibe felt like the circus was coming into town. This felt like fun parade music walking right past you. As I was finding some good spots to photograph this event, I noticed the place was filled with all walks of life. Young, old, Europeans, Asians, North and South America were all there representing.
The band kept everything simple and somewhat traditional. They came on and had an open jam for about 20 minutes while people in the room began to dance around and soak in the vibe of the night. I felt like I was at a fun Jewish wedding as the audience had one continuous dance.
The organizers were smart by bringing in seating for people who wanted to sit down, and the other half of the room could stand and party. Every seat was taken at the beginning of the night. As the night grew, the seats were emptying out because dancing seemed more important.
Here is TKS opening the show:
The Klezmatics
This was the first time seeing this cherished band. They have been performing for 40 years, and they do not look like they are slowing down. You could see how much fun this band was having. They were playing their hearts out and it spilled throughout the room.
Personally, I love the way they combined a polka rhythm with improvised jazz. It is really hard to describe this sound and energy. You really need to go out and experience this for yourself to grasp this energy.
They did finally slow down for one song and it felt like a sacred song coming from the heartland.
They ramped up their wild music before sliding into a waltz. By the end of their set, they had the crowd singing out of the palm of their hands.
The Klezmatics live:
Lemon Bucket Orkestra
With a single trumpet an ushering was forthcoming, and it swelled into joyous noise and carefree chaos. This is a band that comes out of nowhere and hits you with guerilla tactics from a high energy folk music that almost has your body slamming as if you were at a punk show.
This band is not here to create angry chaos, but an open invitation to celebrate life by including all kinds of people from different communities. They welcomed people from the Ukraine, the Jewish, and people from Parkdale. They want all of us to become a peaceful loving community.
During this performance, more seats were being left so people could experience a little dancing. At one point I felt I was locked into an epic movie soundtrack. I found myself dancing to my own movie which I named, Fiddler on the loose!
They are also experts in slowing down the tempo where people would kneel down and wait for that moment where we all jump up and release negative energy in an unabashed way. Who needs a workout at the gym, when you can just go to a Lemon Bucket concert!
If that was not a workout enough, the band opened up the stage to the Klezmatics to come and play with them. The stage was fully packed as all these musicians whipped the crowd into a flurry of wonderful emotions.
If you have been to one of their shows, you know they love to end it with them leaving the stage and play right in the middle of the crowd. This is community at its highest level.
Eventually this even turns into a full-blown dance circle that draws every walk of life together for a moment of being one nation.
LBO high on emotion:
I would like to acknowledge one stranger in the crowd that I had a short conversation with. I simply asked him about the popcorn he bought and then I told him the mission of Blast Toronto. Then I went to find my spot to take pictures. I got a tap on my shoulder, and it was this guy, and he handed me a box of popcorn, just because. That is a small example of the kind of community this band brings together. So, to the guy who I know is reading this, thank you for the Popcorn, it was a great treat that made my night.
Here are some links to these great bands:
www.instagram.com/lemonbucketorkestra/
www.instagram.com/theklezmatics/
0 Comments