I must admit, I wasn’t familiar with the Russian band Auktyon until I noticed they were playing Irving Plaza with John Medeski and Marc Ribot. My curiosity peaked, I headed on over to their MySpace page and I liked what I heard. From the looks of it, they don’t play in the US that often, so it seems like a pretty big deal that they’ll be coming here in March and embarking on a short tour in support of their brand new album, Girls Sing. Some of the (non-band member) musicians that played on Girls Sing include: Marc Ribot, John Medeski, Frank London, Ned Rothenberg, and Vladimir Volkov. For the uninitiated, (like myself), Girls Sing is available for purchase in CD and mp3 format from their official website, Auktyon.com.
Here’s a band bio from the scribes at Time Out NY:
Just about the only Russian rock band to nurse out a sound that resists an easy matchup with a Western source, Auktyon are consistently and wholly original. They are a legend in their homeland and a cult band in continental Europe where they spend half of their time touring. Their sound keeps changing all the time and now, complete with assorted percussion, multi-reed player, a trumpeter and a tubist, it approaches tight jazzy arrangements of Charles Mingus or Radiohead Kid A style.
Sure, they’ve traveled from psycho theatrics to lo-fi trickery to Beck and back, but with the constants (vocalist Lenya Fedorovs crusted-molasses voice, the clearly relished fret buzz, the tragicomic horns, and the truly bizarre stage presence of clowning percussionist Garkusha) still in place after 15 or so years, they are quiet simply the best music out of todays Russia.
“Legendary and undefinable, the veteran Russian alt-rock band Auktyon serves up a swinging, horn-driven skank thats drawn comparisons to Tom Waits and Beck appropriate enough, but still short of describing the bands boundless, theatrical energy and instantly memorable melodic hooks.” – Time Out NY
All Auktyon tour dates after the jump.
Auktyon Tour Dates
Mar 20, 2008 Washington DC, The State Theater w/ Vladimir Volkov
Mar 21, 2008 Philadelphia, World Cafe Live w/ Vladimir Volkov
Mar 22, 2008 New York, Irving Plaza w/ Marc Ribot, John Medeski, and Vladimir Volkov
Mar 25, 2008 Boston, TBA w/ Vladimir Volkov
Mar 28, 2008 Chicago, Martyrs’ w/ Vladimir Volkov
Mar 29, 2008 Denver, TBA w/ Vladimir Volkov
Mar 30, 2008 San Francisco, Rickshaw Stop w/ Vladimir Volkov