Bambir Rehearsal, Stop Club
Narek, Bambir Rehearsal, Stop Club, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005
After sitting well into the early hours of this morning with Narek and Arman from Bambir, listening to their new album, some of the music by their dads (also known as Bambir), watching some of their video footage, and generally chatting about music and life over beer and khoravadz, I caught the band rehearsing today for Sunday’s John Lennon Birthday Bash at the Stop Club.
The rehearsal should have started at 12 noon but Ashot, Bambir’s drummer, only showed up at 2.30pm, as Erik Olsen at Gadling.com knows only too well. So, as I had some work to sort out with UNICEF at 3pm, I caught only a couple of Beatles and John Lennon covers. To be honest, I generally don’t like covers, but Bambir managed to fuse something of their own in there and it worked.
It worked well.
Happy Birthday, Working Class Hero, Cold Turkey, and Taxman were all performed fantastically, leading me to suspect that Sunday’s gig will be storming, as all Bambir gigs always are. From seeing the playlist, there will also be some of their own material in there, but anyway, it looks like Stop Club and Bambir are preparing for a lot of people to turn up.
Although a few events are planned to celebrate Yerevan’s birthday the same day, I’m sure there will be a huge crowd and not least since Bambir concerts usually run into the early hours when the rest of the city starts to go to sleep. Show will start at 9.30pm and the entrance fee will be 1,000 and 1,500 drams.
Narek, Bambir, Shushi, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2001
I hope to be there on Sunday, so long as my new wife lets me out of the house!
Comment by Christian Garbis — October 7, 2005 @ 2:31 pm
Bambir 2 receives my highest “live performance” rating in Armenia and should be categorized as a “must see” event. While Diasporans and locals alike have generally missed the boat in terms of catching onto to Bambir 2 en masse so far, this next show is a great way to introduce yourself and a friend to one of Armenia’s hottest underground musical acts. Don’t let the “rock” genre fool, talent and energy come in all forms and should be appreciated as such. However, if you get a chance to pull Narek and Arik aside, you should drop a suble hint to start writing and performing more Armenian tunes mixed into the repertoire in order to make the leap to the international stage.
And, any Diasporans interested in hooking on with a North America Bambir tour can contact me at raffi@pomegranatemusic.com or Gor Mkhitarian at mcgor2000@yahoo.com
Comment by Raffi Meneshian — October 7, 2005 @ 5:16 pm
I spoke to Narek the other night and he says that most of the material they perform live is their own. It’s a 60-40 split. However, some of the newer material is in English which is a pity but understandable. I mean, the Scorpions sing in English and not German, for example. Narek also thinks that it’s not so easy to write and sing rock music in Armenian. However, they could do something like have two sets for two different markets i.e. mainly Armenian and a few covers for the local market while performing their own english-language compositions with some Armenian and fewer covers thrown in for a foreign audience. Either way, their new material which is mainly in English is still damn good and there’s one Armenian language track which in my opinion is a killer. Incidentally, in all their compositions there’s an Armenian influence whether they’re sung in English or Armenian.
Comment by Administrator — October 7, 2005 @ 5:50 pm
BTW: Raffi, I heard J&G for the first time this week by the older Bambir although really there’s not much of a distinction as it’s pretty much the younger Bambir, traditional Armenian musicians and Narek’s dad, Jag, from the older Bambir singing his own music or traditional stuff reworked as folk-rock. Great stuff, though. Reminds me of when I saw both Bambirs perform in Shushi in 2001. The older Bambir accompanied by the younger group were awesome but at the end, I never thought I’d see the younger Bambir be able to get the poverty-stricken inhabitants of war-ravaged Shushi dance to rock ‘n roll. Thing is, the music of both Bambir’s is just so addictive and powerful that they managed to do something that I previously thought impossible.
Comment by Administrator — October 7, 2005 @ 6:03 pm
In my opinion, J & G is a masterpiece and I almost had it on my label. In the end, Anahid and I just decided it was best for them to release it. I still may republish it since no more than 50 people have purchased here in the States, if that. J & G is almost too ambitious for people to comprehend. I actually remember your article quite well regarding the NK Arts festival and it lead me to investigate the band through Gor, and then your suggestion to publish it.
On to Bambir 2, they really are quite interesting. Since they are young, they seem to be trying to finding their identity. The decision to play songs in English is fine with me if they can pull it off. However, in the global world music market, you get categorized as either 1. A world music band bringing forth music from a native country, or 2. An “international band” capable of seamlessly singing in different languages. The crossover album has been so rarely a hit that having two distinct sets is actually quite neccesary for them.
So, my analysis on them is that they should continue busting their chops in Yerevan until they get their break. When they come to America and Europe, they should lean heavily on the Armenian language stuff with their rock and roll attitude. In Europe, the may be able to get away with more English language stuff. In Yerevan, their current set is just fine since there is a demand for English language rock music. They are filling the void nicely and as far as I can tell, better than anyone in that country.
I predict in about 3 years, if they keep going with good management and direction, they will be huge. Ultimately, teaming up with their parents would be the best solution for both bands, Bambir 1 and Bambir 2. However, Jag and Company in Gyumri are tough to get out of there, as Narek told me.
I am trying on my end to bring there to the States.
Comment by Raffi Meneshian — October 7, 2005 @ 7:22 pm