Vagabond Opera was one of the first bands we stumbled upon when we decided to do Sepiachord.com. If bands like this existed, it proved that we weren't crazy.
Now I have a copy of their (second, self-titled) CD in my player. "Vagabond Opera" was worth the wait.
The band has a up-hill battle when it comes to recording. They are, after all, a performance group and, as such, a musical recording only conveys half of who they are.
So the music better be damned good. Luckily it is.
Most cabaret/circus/show bands fail when they record because they have swathes of instrumental portions in their songs where much of the visual performance should be. These sections tend to sound flat and safe. Not so with Vagabond Opera, they do have their fair share of instrumental sections but these are full and flow along nicely, the sense of energy never dips. Kudos.
Musically VO is appropriately exploratory. Klezmer is the basis to most of the songs but that is melded/multiplied/mutilated with balkan ("gypsy") folk, urgent jazz and middle-eastern romps.
It's all cemented together with a vaudeville flair that makes you want to smile and join in the fun.
The end result is circus as street opera... or vice versa.
