Barbezians at the Gate

Last Monday I walked four blocks from my house in Los Feliz to Steve Allen Theater's Center for Inquiry, where New York-based Barbez was the headliner for a trio of bands that promised "a peculiar auditory delight," according to the venue's fall/winter showbook.
Indeed, the first act -- Becky Stark, who performed with the same pianist and drummer who usually accompany her in Lavender Diamond -- conjured the little match girl with her set of songs about hungry misery, poor tinderstick sales, self-immolation and rebirth. With an ethereal voice that tried valiantly to hit the super-high notes and a vintage-shop wardrobe, she resembled Holly Hobbie who had stepped out of a time machine and found herself in the middle of Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood. The second performer was Hans Fjellestad, a castaway from the Osaka noise/art rock sect who used an old-school Moog synthesizer to bombard the audience's ear drums with very loud screeches, sirens and stumping. Because I forgot my earplugs, I kept my fingers in my ears during the entirety of the two long songs.
Barbez was fortunately lower on the decibel scale. Pamelia Kurstin, the musical collective's resident theremin player, opened with a solo enhanced by a loop and sound distorter that let her pile on melodies and harmonies evoking cellos, clarinets and other classical instruments. Speaking in a high-pitched baby voice, Kurstin had a fancy-schmancy Moog theremin that stood by itself and was as large as she was. I picked up some cool hand techniques. In addition to doing karate chops with my hands, I can now mimic a duck quacking and a foot banging a steady beat on a bass. My FAB bandmates are always dropping hints that I should play the flute or another instrument because not every song needs a theremin. But I offer Kurstin as proof that the theremin does add essential flavor to songs. Barbez also had a guitarist, bassist, drummer and dude who played the cow bell, clarinet and tenor saxophone (albeit not all at once). I have to confess that I got bored with Barbez's habit of starting a song slow with the clarinet, sax or theremin and then building up to a hard-driving jam that evoked a klezmer band in a horror movie. For Barbez's encore, a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes," Kurstin switched to the electric bass and the guitarist reqlinquished his instrument to the bassist. Again, the band started off slow and easy. The singer prostrated himself on the ground in front of the drum kit. I thought he was suffering from a nervous breakdown. He quickly got himself up and the band rocked out to the rest of their Bowie tribute. At a quarter till midnight, I walked home a little sleepy and stupefied.

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