Did I have a good time? да!

When I read a couple months or so back that Igor & the Red Elvises were coming to town, I immediately thought, "I am going. I don't care if it's on a Monday night, I am going." The thing is, I don't recall why I felt that way. I am beginning to think I saw them at a summer festival here in Madison at one point because I recognized their name and was eager to see them. And so I hoofed it over to The Bur Oak on Monday night.

I was seated up close and the show was nice'n'loud much to my delight. It kicked off with the title track of their 2017 album She Works for KGB which saw bandleader Igor Yuzov solo on his guitar using his fingers as well as a plastic banana and they didn't let up until the set break nearly an hour later. The second tune was a medley that included "Hava Nagila" - I recall that much. "Twist Like Uma Thurman" and "I Wanna See You Bellydance" got people moving.

"Everybody Polka", an original, and a medley of the Peter Gunn theme and "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors were genuine, 24-karat rock and roll. Great stuff. These folks rocked! And they had a lovely lady playing a giant balalaika-bass for that true Russian touch. Kudos to drummer Tatá Batera for keeping a steady beat and sneaking in powerful tom fills whenever she could. Sorry I didn't get a good photo of you.

After the show the lovely balalaika lady was at the merch table. Upon learning that they were unable to process credit cards, I went to an ATM to get cash. I bought a CD and was given one for free for taking the trouble to get cash.

A great show. Hopefully they come back soon.