The wondrous royal festival hall was packed to the rafters teaming with aristocrats and cultured enthusiasts alike, toppling in for a night of world musical extravaganza.
The audience was immediately transported by the Catalan rumba outfit Kaloome (France) sending punters into a whirlwind of frantic interludes from their acoustic Gitano guitar, whilst mediterranean temptress Sabrina Romero flamencoed her evocative hips in a passionate fashion.
If this wasn’t enough to get the pulses racing, we were accompanied by Mahala Rai Banda (Romania) and acquaintances from Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania) to form a 12 membered brass band. The roof lifted with rapture as they tore into an array of Balkan bonanza tracks combusting with Romani origins. Each chant catapulted cameo performances from belly dancers to eastern block chart toppers. Showcasing their typical village dance skills and native tongue scatting.
Esma Redzepova (Macedonia) made her way to the stage with a set of powerful lungs spiralling her falsettos to compliment the orchestral reverberations.
The revolving stage of dances and performers bought upon Jony lliev (Bulgaria), who began his trade in the bygone era when he sang at weddings all night long at the mere age of 10. Tonight was no exception as he relished every chance he could to pilot the band and give the crowd a first hand appreciation of a Eurovision experience.
The sparkling talent Florentina Sandu (Romania), who was an integral piece of this gypsy puzzle, fluctuated her vocals along with her glittering costume and temptress eyes.
Throughout the evening folks were scuttling down hallways, jumping out of their seats almost subconsciously from the spellbound resonance delivered by this conglomerate affair.
Superbly fitting was the encore of 20 gypsies who delivered an unrelenting finale playing whilst exiting the drawing curtain. Lights returned to gasps of air and reality checks were commonly seen throughout the hall with faces digesting the night’s remarkable proceedings.
Posted In Live Reviews, Nov 15 2009.
Words - Chez De Bartolo