If you think New Orleans is where you’ll find the best brass bands, you might want to take a second look at Southeastern Europe.
Balkan music is high-energy, virtuosic brass/percussion at it’s best and it has been finding it’s way into more American acts. You may have heard the influence in the music coming from that moody New Mexico kid Beirut, who is apparently more popular now than the actual Lebanese city which bares the same name.
San Francisco has its own Balkan Brass band, Brass Menazeri, who have been tearing it up for years. In fact, they are probably one of the only groups of their caliber in the states. Their shows are dancey and fun. Here’s a clip of them on Chasing the Moon.
If you’re into this stuff, starting October they are performing first Thursdays at El Valenciano. You know, that place you always walk by and wonder, “what goes on in there, anyway?”. Turns out, it’s actually a beautiful room with a lot of charm and an excellent dance floor.
Thursday, October 6, 2011 Brass Menazeri – now every first thursday!!!!
1153 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA (United States) – Map
Set: 9:00 PM
21+
Tickets: $5-10
Yes, I think New Orleans is where you’ll find the best brass bands. But I’m biased.
Awesome! These guys are so good. You gotta love a dance band powered by three french horns and a tuba. The long, fast, synchronized horn lines in Balkan music are sick.
Beirut (Zach Condon)was/is heavily influenced by this style of music from travels through the Balkans. You can really hear it in their music.
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