{"id":159406,"date":"2022-04-10T13:36:50","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T17:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/punkoutlawblog.com\/?p=159406"},"modified":"2022-05-24T00:38:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T04:38:34","slug":"ukraines-dakhabrakhas-emotional-nyc-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/punkoutlawblog.com\/2022\/04\/ukraines-dakhabrakhas-emotional-nyc-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine’s DakhaBrakha’s Emotional NYC Return"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I first heard\u00a0<\/span>DakhaBrakha<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0from Ukraine, I was in Los Angeles, driving in my car and listening to NPR (National Public Radio). I was mesmerized by the ethereal, folkloric, timeless sound of their music, even more so because I had visited Ukraine in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dakh Daughters Rehearsing in Kyiv, Ukraine<\/p><\/div>\n

Later, in 2019, I’d revisit Ukraine to film. I’d meet and film their sister band\u00a0<\/span>Dakh Daughters<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on two subsequent trips to Ukraine. Seeing their musicianship live and in person at an intimate rehearsal spot pounded home that these were no novelty acts. These are classically trained, top-shelf musicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then when DakhaBrakha toured the Americas and made a stop in NYC, I trekked out to Brooklyn to see them in the beautiful\u00a0<\/span>Murmrr Theatre<\/span><\/a>. That experience was like no other musical event I’d ever witnessed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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DakhaBrakha @ Murmrr Theatre 2019<\/p><\/div>\n

I had a catbird’s seat at this event because, again, I was filming and would get to interview Marco, the lone male of the quartet (and sole English speaker fluent enough to give an interview to me) after the show.<\/p>\n

That experience in 2019, with memories of Ukraine freshly in my mind, changed my life. There were moments during the concert during a sentimental melancholy melody or two that I was moved to tears.<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to me, I had just begun to cry for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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Anastasia Kyiv, Ukraine 2019<\/p><\/div>\n

My trips to the Russian-occupied territory of Ossetia in the country of Georgia and Ukraine had somewhat prepared me for the brutality of Russian aggression.<\/p>\n

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DakhaBrakha at Murmrr in 2019<\/p><\/div>\n

I witnessed the raw fear and hatred people in Georgia and Ukraine had for the Russian government’s war machine (but importantly – not necessarily the Russian people). I began to understand what Ukrainians knew. So many of us in the US did not, including apparent members of western governments at the time… that Putin and Russia were the biggest threat to world peace since Hitler.
\nWhen I visited Russia in 2010, I had a completely different experience. I remember connecting with so many Russian people and observing how hard-boiled they appeared on the outside but genuinely soft and friendly on the inside once you got to know them. But the FSB (former KGB) was another story. They were on my ass at Red Square and rudely harassing my guide.
\nMy guide was genuinely afraid. So we frantically split, and it was not until we’d reached several blocks away that she felt safe enough to relay to me how close we’d been to getting arrested… for simply filming at a known tourism site.
\nI would later contrast that with Ukrainians who are more open and friendly off the bat. But most notably, my interactions with their soldiers or police were all positive, friendly.. genial even.<\/p>\n

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The gentle hand of authority in Kyiv, Ukraine (2019)<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve made friends in both countries, and as far as I can tell, all of my friends are anti-war, anti-Putin, which is to now say anti-war criminals. My friend from Moscow, Dima, lead singer of the legendary punk band <\/span>Tarakany!<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is now in exile with his wife, unable to return to Putin’s Russia because of fear of arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew something was afoot in Russia in July of 2021. When traveling in Croatia, I received an email from Dima that seemed desperate as he tried to fend off harassment and threats from Putin’s goons and FSB (former KGB) lackeys. Over 30 years of playing in a punk band, this was the first time this thing had happened so consistently and systematically.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dima – Lead Singer for “Taratany” (Cockroach)<\/p><\/div>\n

This was a change. He knew what I suspected. Something was up, and a dark change was in the air in Moscow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ironically, when I received the email on my phone, I was walking back to my apartment after meeting a young lady in Zagreb, Croatia who, in the course of our conversation that evening, admitted she was a bit of a fan of Putin for “standing up to the power structure of Europe.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The following day when she and I met up to film (she had volunteered to guide and help me film around Zagreb since I was solo on this trip), I showed her Dima’s email and asked her if she was still a fan of Putin. She was understandably a bit embarrassed and backed off her pro-Putin stance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, I was perplexed. How could someone seemingly above-average intelligence and empathy support Putin? Well, Russian disinformation is pretty powerful. Just ask kooky musician\u00a0<\/span>Aaron Lewis<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of the post-grunge band\u00a0<\/span>Staind<\/span><\/a>. More on that later.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I wonder how embarrassed she is now that Putin’s brutality is on display for the entire world to see? Ukrainians have known of Putin’s brutality for decades. Georgians (the country, not the state) as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our own leaders\u00a0<\/span>“Looked into his eyes and saw his soul,<\/span><\/em>” –\u00a0<\/span>George W. Bush<\/span><\/strong>, or “<\/span>I knew then, the cold war was over,”<\/span><\/em>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>Condoleezza Rice<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0on Putin’s cooperation after 9\/11, or\u00a0<\/span>“Cut it out,”<\/span><\/em>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>Barack Obama,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>“He said he didn’t do it (interfere in US elections), and I have no reason not to believe him<\/span><\/em>,” –\u00a0<\/span>Donald Trump<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m paraphrasing, but you get the point. Not coincidentally, the person most hardcore on Russia,\u00a0<\/span>Hillary Clinton,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0was the one who was perhaps the biggest victim of Russian disinformation (with a big assist from her domestic enemies and Comrade Tucker at Fox News Channel, of course).<\/span><\/p>\n

US and European leaders mollycoddled a known cold-blooded killer for years (because of energy?), and now he’s making innocent Ukrainian citizens, including grandparents, women, and little children, pay dearly.<\/span><\/p>\n

So in March, after the invasion’s brutal first blows and DakhaBrakha announced they were coming to\u00a0<\/span>Le Poisson Rouge<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the West Village of NYC, I was at first just thrilled they were out of harm’s way. Then I bought my ticket. I was not going to miss this show.<\/span><\/p>\n

By the time the event rolled around on April 7th, I was in a foul mood (yes, most days these crazy days, but especially) the day of the concert, and I now realize why. It would not be that transcendental experience that I’d experienced three years prior at Murmrr Theatre. This was not going to be a celebration of joy and “cool people around the world uniting,” as my friend from Dakh Daughters once aptly put in an interview, but a recognition of injustice, loss, horror, and misery.
\nAt first, I was correct. The crowd mainly felt Ukrainian, and they were waving flags and wearing Ukraine colors but rightly subdued on this rainy, gloomy evening. Compared to the Murmrr Theatre crowd, a more extensive mix with few Ukrainian flags in sight, that I can recall, but with a more festive atmosphere.
\nWhen DakhaBrakha took the stage, the emotion and enthusiasm were palpable. This was going to be tough, but we were somehow going to have to make it through…. and we can… if we stay together.
\nUnlike the Murmrr show, the visuals on screen at LPR, not just the musical elements, costumes, and theatrics of the band were critical components of this show. The visuals combined with the Dakhabrakha’s music were stunning and powerful.
\nEspecially when DakhaBrakha mixed in their haunting, slow, timeless ballads with recent images from the war dedicated to the dead, it was not uncommon to witness people openly weeping. Yours truly included.<\/p>\n