Drom

Having presented my ticket to the guy at the door, I became thoroughly confused when he informed me that the show had already happened a week ago.  I showed up for the show scheduled on Sunday the 13^th but learned after some reiteration that the present day was actually the 20^th.  Sheepishly, I asked him for a description of the lineup for that night and went in deciding that there was likely improvisation involved in one of the Balkan bands.

I’ve been daily poring over a hand-drawn calendar posted by my bed in an effort to focus and live with clarity the first months in the new year.  And yet, I failed to make the connection between the date of the show and the numbers on my calendar, showing up an entire week too late.  My brain rebels against my meticulous, detail-oriented nature once in a while, resulting in hilarious situations like the time I showed up for my flight a couple hours after it departed and the time I headed to the wrong airport altogether.

Actually, upon hearing what I later learned was coined “Balkan Psychedelic Jazz-Rock” from a band named Choban Elektrik, I was glad for the serendipitous turn of the night.  I seldom go to concerts where I don’t already know who’s playing but I enjoyed the energetic, danceable music of the group consisting of violin, voice, drums, bass and Nord/guitar/accordion.

The multi-instrumentalist leader of the group mumbled something between songs but I couldn’t decipher what he was saying and was bewildered as to what they were playing and who they were.  This may be how a casual listener at a jazz concert feels.  It’s important to make clear announcements from the stage, making no assumption that the audience has any depth of knowledge in the matter presented.

This venue presenting world music, jazz, funk and more has one men’s room and two women’s rooms.  The women’s room to the left is only about half the width of the one to the right.  The sink hangs slightly over the toilet in there, making it cumbersome to use so I recommend that you use the more spacious bathroom to the right.  They both had large, modern hand dryers.  I only got a peek into the men’s room and saw that they had bar stools stacked up in the corner by the entrance.  The Drom has awesome restroom signs that they’ve clearly put some thought into.

Eva from the band sang convincingly in Turkish and Romanese, even though she speaks neither.  She mentioned that the Drom is run by Turks and directed me to an employee who could translate our key phrase for us in Turkish. Ilker tells us how to say, “Where’s the restroom?”  –

Tuvalet nerede?