The UJD kitchen
clock--available only at concerts. |
From its inception
in 1985, the incomparable avant-garde Czech rock band Uz Jsme Doma has lived
the punk rock ethos of doing things on its own terms as much as possible.
On Wednesday, October 25, UJD stood on the cusp of its own new millenium
when it played its 1000th concert -- an accomplishment more remarkable for
the fact that, when the band started, its shows were more or less illegal
and had to be organized and carried out with subterfuge. From five concerts
in its first year to the more than 100 it has played in recent years, UJD
has become one of the best live acts on the planet, with explosive, engaging
concerts featuring frenetic tempos and time changes, soaring operatic vocals
and gutteral chanting, rock anthems and folk dances, seeming anarchy that
is orchestrated down to the last skronk. Celebrating the absurd, the sad,
the beautiful and the unbearable, often all in one song, Uz Jsme Doma taps
into life's underground reserves and lets it shoot skywards. |
