A doughnut with pink frosting and colorful sprinkles on top graces the cover of Dollars for Doinas, the fourth CD from Madison's internationally renowned klezmer band Yid Vicious. It's a fun, deliciously appropriate image for a group that's helped keep Yiddish folk songs alive for almost 15 years.
Few bands, regardless of genre, make music as celebratory as Yid Vicious. Indeed, these 14 songs-punctuated with fiddle, tuba, saxophone, French horn, clarinet, accordion, Theremin and guitar-may conjure carnivals, circuses and parades. But that's the point. Yid Vicious flavors Eastern European and Russian Jewish musical traditions with contemporary spices and serves it to the masses. "Serfing on the Dead Sea" rides a tidal wave of tuba, the dark classic-rock vibe of "Vicious Grrlz" ends with a horns-galore finale, "The Breathless Terk" flirts with free jazz and "21st Century Tangar" tones down the frenetic pace without diminishing the band's art of noise.
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