RUSIN JÈZ

Sometime in last week we came across a flier advertising a regular sundown jazz session at one of the nearby resorts and yesterday afternoon we ventured forth to listen to a bit of what turned out to be a bunch of hobbyists on vocals, drums, bass and guitar with a half-decent saxophonist and a solitary-and-serious muso who brought along his melodica. The gig was advertised to begin at 4.30, but when we arrived we were told that the music only starts at 5.30. However, some of the band members only arrived after six and I assumed that they must have been rushing from their day jobs…

The soundman was probably employed to set up speakers for DJ’s and the vocalist either made Russian sound like an English-like gibberish or gibberish sound like some lost Anglo-Russian dialect that was all but incomprehensible. The bass player was closest to the on-stage sound mixer and his guitar was even louder than the kick-drum. The guy with the melodica brought along a microphone that wasn’t working so he sort of drifted around the mic-stands in the hope of being picked up while the saxophonist’s harness waged a silent war with his mullet.

The initial idea was to have dinner at the gig but after the drab Greek salad starter we changed the plan and as it turned out, lucky for us. Usually we would have drinks and a three-course dinner for around two thousand rupees, but at this particular establishment everything was overpriced and we ended up being charged more than three thousand just for a couple of cocktails and a few beers! At every other restaurant we have been to, the local beer and spirits average around 60 rupees per tot, but at the rip-off lodge nothing was under a hundred-and-fifty rupees. But being the dedicated trooper that I am, I will be returning for one more drink so that I can add a little non-poor flavour to the all-white décor.