In our weekly series “The Saturday Gig”, we highlight one special performance happening on Saturday night in Budapest – if you have no plans, you do now!
Zuboly Christmas concert at A38 – December 23rd, 7:45pm
THE BAND: With equal parts talent and humor, Hungary’s delightfully distinctive Zuboly ensemble magically intermingles disparate musical genres ranging from opera to hip-hop, folk to beatbox, jazz to pop, and anything else that captures the band’s wild imagination. Founded by Magyar maestro Béla Ágoston – who contributes vocals, saxophone, and viola as needed – the group’s “broken ethno” sound goes beyond world-music boundaries into experimental zones of underground weirdness and wonder; in their songs you may recognize influences like Chris Isaak, Michael Jackson, and Mozart, yet by mixing up such an unpredictable mélange of music with both modern and traditional instruments, Zuboly creates songs that are uniquely amazing.
THE VENUE: Once upon a time, A38 Ship was a stone-carrying barge plying Ukrainian waterways, but after a voyage to Hungary’s capital and extensive renovations, this is now Budapest’s primo destination for all kinds of concerts, featuring prominent Hungarian bands and international luminaries alike. This floating funhouse is much more than a music club – “passengers” will discover a high-quality restaurant and an art gallery aboard, along with a bow bar and a rooftop performance area both popular in summertime, and no other Budapest nightspot has its very own ferryboat dock.
THE SHOW: For this special night-before-Christmas Eve concert rich with Hungarian harmonies, Zuboly shares the stage with Csángálló, an exuberant quintet playing Eastern European folk music with a free-flowing improvisational edge that renders traditional sounds played on old-fashioned instruments into transcendent psychedelic experiences. For more details about this concert, check out the A38 website.
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