Katzenjammer

Tkts. available at the McPherson Box Office and its outlets (250-386-6121 or online at www.rmts.bc.ca)Lyle's Place or the VJS office (Suite J-727 Johnson St. or 250-388-4423)


Despite that retro name, Katzenjammer is a fun, forward-looking, all-female quartet from Norway who, collectively, play 29 instruments and have an irresistible, dizzying, blendomatic style that careens from folk and country to Balkan, gypsy and what they have dubbed “rickety-rock pop.” Their 2008 debut album, Le Pop, garnered lots of critical praise (including one writer who described it as “a mix between Eastern European folk music, B-52s, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, seasick bluegrass, country blues and a carnival orchestra on the run”). Not surprisingly they have attracted a lot of notice: Elvis Costello and David Byrne are fans, and Spin Magazine put them in its list of “25 Must-Hear Acts.” If you want to hear the musical logic that connects tootling tubas to plinking mandolins, and a bass balalaika to a melodica, better give this amazing band a listen. The members of Katzenjammer are Anne Marit Bergheim, Marianne Sveen, Solveig Heilo, and Turid Jorgensen.
“There was no telling what they’d do next, except that it was sure to be deft and charming.” –New York Times