DeVotchKa, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, 3/26/11

This post is long overdue but still worth writing about three months later because, well, it was that good. When I heard that DeVotchKa was coming to Boston, I jumped on the chance to see them again. I had seen them live at the Paradise back in 2008, before all the renovations were done to the venue. I fell in love with them after hearing a friend play their song “The Enemy Guns”—over and over again. I decided I needed to know more, but assuming that “The Enemy Guns” is indicative of their catalog would be shortchanging a band whose sounds carry across all different cultures and continents, slashing borders and mixing them up together in a strange, vibrant mix. That this has been some of their main criticism should also be a sign that there isn’t too much to critique. But if trying to capture and do too much on an album is a fault, then I’ll go down with them.

It might be true that they sweep through such broad musical strokes that it’s a little disorienting as to what you’ll hear next (or what region you’ll next land in), but I for one don’t mind that their sound might not be grounded in one thing. Maybe that is exactly what keeps the music from getting too serious and too heavy. DeVotchKa bring you a sampling of sounds and eras and ask you to indulge for a few minutes in each one. At once you’re hearing about a love torn apart on the front lines of the Mexican War, a modern-day love from afar amidst a dirty subway, and next “come with me” sung in a deep French to the backdrop of the accordion.

You may recognize some of the sounds—pick them apart and you hear European polka music, Mexican mariachi bands, and other somewhat familiar sounds that you can’t quite place. The group is a band of modern-day gypsies traveling with tuba, Theremin, upright bass, violin, accordion, and more. And it’s true that, unless you know what you’re in for, it may be hard to grasp what DeVotchKa are all about, especially on their earlier albums. But live, it all comes together. The sounds mesh, the songs flow into one another, and Nick Urata’s powerful, crooning voice leaves you downright awestruck. In today’s music, a voice that sounds better live than on record is a novelty and to see this whole band live is to see them completely break out of the confines of the recording studio and of a neatly organized album.

DeVotchKa performing "The Clockwise Witness"

"I'll Open the Window" by Anna Swir

Our embrace lasted too long.
We loved right down to the bone.  
I hear the bones grind, I see  
our two skeletons.

Now I am waiting
till you leave, till
the clatter of your shoes
is heard no more. Now, silence.

Tonight I am going to sleep alone  
on the bedclothes of purity.
Aloneness
is the first hygienic measure.  
Aloneness
will enlarge the walls of the room,  
I will open the window
and the large, frosty air will enter,  
healthy as tragedy.
Human thoughts will enter
and human concerns,
misfortune of others, saintliness of others.  
They will converse softly and sternly.

Do not come anymore.  
I am an animal  
very rarely.

mayocoba beans and kale with yogurt cheese

This is a little detox from all of the sugar in that birthday cake. It's easy to make, keeps for a long time, and travels well--the perfect office lunch. So there have been a couple of bean and kale recipes because, well, that's what I've been craving, but I'll be sure to mix that up soon enough.

This is great on its own or served over some brown rice (what I did). Cook a vat of brown rice when you have time and freeze it in sheets in large ziploc bags. You can break off pieces of it whenever you want, ready with just a quick spin in the microwave. 

snowboarder birthday cake

The bar had been set pretty high. Okay, really high. For my birthday this past September, my boyfriend surprised me with an entire swimming pool [cake] (I have been an avid swimmer my entire life. In fact, swimming is really what brought my boyfriend and I together . . . you know, out-of-breath flirtations in between swim sets . . . romantic). This cake was detailed with lane lines, little stick figure swimmers, flags pronouncing things like "Go Jen!" and "#1," and, last but not least, diving blocks made of rice krispy treats. Yes. The bar had been set very high, but I was determined to match it. Snowboarding was the obvious choice and a friend and I had been eying a marshmallow fondant (think edible play-doh) recipe for quite some time. Now, I thought fondant was a bit scary. The pros on TV use the stuff to make some pretty incredible things and I was afraid that little 'ole me in my quaint suburban house might be a little too low-key for such elaborate, edible structures. But then I said, nahhh.

What did I have to lose . . . besides a couple pounds of marshmallows and several pounds of powdered sugar? (I doubled the recipe but still might be exaggerating some here.) I did a whole lot of searching for images of snowboarding cakes and took inspiration from a very impressive professional cake. I don't even want to show you that one because it is so good that you'll be disappointed with my final one. However! In the name of developing ideas and inspiration and maintaining some amount of blog street cred, I thought it important to show how the idea snowballed (hah!). So, I decided I wanted a cake "mountain," I wanted pine trees, I wanted a fresh powder snowboard track, and, if possible, I wanted a nice blue icy look to the base fondant. Easy . . . ?