I’ve been sitting at my desk all week trying to find the right words to describe Devotchka’s style of music, but I’m still at a loss. I asked my wife and she replied, “I don’t know….they’re just… they’re Devotchka“.
That sounds about right.
On Saturday, the band played a stellar show here in their hometown of Denver, Colorado at the Bluebird Theater. Fans in attendance were treated to a performance of the album How It Ends in its entirety. Fans of Little Miss Sunshine will have recognized many of the tracks, as Devotchka were heavily involved in both the musical scoring and soundtrack for that movie. I’m listening to the album now and it just reconfirms my inability to describe their style.
The set opened with “You Love Me” as singer Nick Urata crooned over lost love in an indie style reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel. As the song progressed, the remaining members of the band trickled onto stage, picked up their instruments, and joined the fray.
Next up was “The Enemy Guns” which has an old west rock style that would fit right at home on the soundtrack of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. This song has everything: guitar, drums, accordion, synth, “old west” whistling, upright bass. That’s when it hit me: Devotchka is probably the answer to the question “how many instruments can a band bring to the Bluebird?”
Over the course of the show, the band flexed their fluidity of style. “Charlotte Mittnacht” is to polka as “We’re Leaving” is to mariachi. “Such a Lovely Thing” is certainly inspired by eastern european gypsy. Heck, even “Viens Avec Moi” is sung entirely in french. Each song showcased the band’s wide-ranging musical talents, but most importantly, their ability to compose epic, full sounding music while seamlessly transitioning between instruments. From what I caught, Nick Urata sang, played multiple guitars, a bouzouki (an 8-stringed instrument that looks like a lute), and famously, a theremin. Meanwhile Jeanie Schroder bounced back and forth between her upright bass and tuba. Most impressive was Tom Hagerman, who expertly jumped between accordion, piano/synth, violin, among others that I couldn’t catch. Even the drummer picked up the trumpet from time to time. Despite the wide range of styles that they played throughout the evening, each track had that *something*. That indescribable feeling that tied every song together into one holistic sound that is… simply Devotchka.
Claire Heywood
This line up may have been a little unfair to the unsuspecting fan (that’s me). Claire Heywood is an indie singer/songwriter with an incredible voice, poetic lyrics, and a hollow body guitar. Joining her on stage was guitarist M.G. Hoffman. The lyrics to each song were cleverly and expertly written and relatable. During her performance, she shared with the audience the story behind “Good Information, Bad News”, where she recently discovered a genetic disposition for breast cancer. As a cynic with a recent scare, I felt the walls around my heart begin to soften throughout her show. By the time Devotchka finished the title track of How It Ends, I was completely in shambles. In the best way possible.
