DeVotchKa Aided by Curtain Dancer at Austin City Limits

Posted on Oct 5th 2009 11:00AM by Mike Ayers
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If there's one way to get an audience's attention, it would be putting a woman on stage wearing just her underwear. Heck, many '80s hair metal bands made a living by incorporating this aesthetic into everything they did, so why shouldn't Middle-Eastern, gypsy cabaret band DeVotchKa do the same thing?

Indeed, as the Colorado quartet's high energy, whistle and tuba-backed folk set came to a close at Austin City Limits, a woman appeared in just her underwear. Two thin red curtains that were tied to the ceiling were released and hung down to the stage, where she immediately started to wrap herself in them, twisting her body into a choreographed dance. But it didn't stop there -- she managed to climb up the curtains, doing somersaults, splits and making herself disappear some 20 feet above the stage. In a matter of moments, the band's set was transformed from an energetic rock set to a burlesque show.

For some reason, DeVotchKa started their set 20 minutes late, to which restless fans could be heard chanting their name in an effort to get the music going. They were the last performance under the park's one lone tent, so they had some time to spare. Or maybe they just wanted to make sure the curtains were in proper working order.

Earlier in the set, the group tackled the Velvet Underground's 'Venus in Furs" and 'How It Ends' from the 'Little Miss Sunshine' soundtrack. DeVotchKa will bring their curtain theatrics to San Francisco on Oct. 13 and wrap 2009 with two Halloween shows in Boulder, Colo. on Oct. 30 and 31.