I’ve seen them a couple times in the past and was surprised to see that they had changed their name from “Red Elivses” to “Igor and Red Elvises” (no, no “the”). My first thought was that lead singer, Igor Yuzov, was getting a bit greedy and wanted to take the band in his own direction. So I was skeptical, but happy to see that the band still included gifted drummer, Adam Gust, plus two new members, Kefir Melamed and Milka Ramos. 

There was no sign of the trademark giant balalaika, but, as usual, most of the band wore animal print pajamas. I looked them up after the show to find that the name change was not a result of any prima donna issues (from what I could tell), but rather of former band mate, Oleg Bernov, running off to join the circus! www.slavasnowshow.com

As usual, it was a fun show. I must say that the addition of Milka Ramos was a great choice. Her gravelly voice and punk-rock style add a lot of charisma.

“You don’t need to be able to read Cyrillic to understand this Russian band—a fluency in groovy post-punk and edgy guitar rock is all that’s required. The foursome, based in Vladivostok and Moscow, fires off sparkling pop songs that keep its young chainsmoking fans dancing.” – The New Yorker, January 26, 2009