Cover bands always set to play for music-loving pub regulars
Like most, in my early student years I used to go dancing often. But as my idea of an enjoyable evening changed, I began to favor spots where I could talk with my friends, which is practically impossible at a disco club. Besides, I prefer good old rock’n’roll to hard techno, and the casual atmosphere to glamorous. Also, some favorite tunes performed live sometimes sound better than the original and so I started to frequent pubs and art clubs, where cover-bands are the norm, entertaining the crowds as they drink their beers or even go out to the dance floor. Naturally, every band has its own style; some musicians are more professional, charismatic, and good at improvising, some are not so impressive. Still, Kyiv has seen an increase in live bands playing for pub regulars which is certainly a positive tendency. After all, the more fierce the competition, the better bands will play for us.
All my friends, who either play music themselves or simply are big fans of live music, agree that the best cover band in Kyiv is Contrabanda. The band is led by a female vocalist which is unusual for a cover band. They perform every Sunday in a pub called Dakota.
Another band fronted by a girl, is Animals’ Session. I usually come across them at the pub Bochka Khmilna and am always surprised by their wide repertoire that includes all the hits starting with The Beatles and finishing with AC/DC. They play energetic and catchy songs that get the crowd dancing and singing along.
The young music band Angie Nears is made up of talented musicians, who mix well-known songs with crazy improvisation. The first time I heard the band play was at Art Club 44 where they performed “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors for more then twenty minutes. As you have already guessed, their favorites are Jim Morrison and the like. They perform regularly at their home stages at Docker ABC and Docker Pub.
Another regular of Club 44 is Second Breath. The band has been together for almost forty years, but now, only the guitarist remains from its original composition. They mostly play the blues including the hits of B. B. King and John Lee Hooker, both popular American blues artists.
CD-Band is one of the heavyweights of the Kyiv cover stage. Dropping by the pub U Kruzhki or O’Brien’s Irish Pub you can hear old rockers singing classic hard rock songs and everyone sings along. “We like playing hard music and people come to listen to us,” they say.
An absolutely different type of music is played by the band Unity. When I saw eight performers coming up a small stage of the recently opened Kozyrna Karta night club Kalinka-Malinka I was afraid they won’t be able to play a song. For one thing, I thought there were too many people in the band: two vocalists, a lady and a guy, two trumpeters, a pianist, and of course a drummer, bass and solo guitarist. As it turned out the first impression was very wrong. This whole group energetically gave the rhythm and heightened the spirits of clubbers to the hits of disco 80s, creating a fun atmosphere for all.
Dakota (14G Heroyiv Stalinhradu, 468-7410)
Bochka Khmilna (3B-1 Khmelnytskoho, 390-6106)
44 (44 Khreschatyk, 279-4137)
Docker’s ABC (15 Khreschatyk, 278-1717)
Docker’s Pub (25 Bohatyrska, 451-8528)
U Kruzhki (12/37 Dekabrystiv, 562-6262)
O’Brien’s Irish Pub (17A Mykhaylivska, 279-1584)
Kalinka-Malinka (47 Mayakovskoho, 515-0322)
