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Taraf De Haïdouks aren’t as far from Hendrix on the live Band Of Gypsies — a sly name for a record by a group of hard-driving wedding musicians from Romania — as it might seem. With searing violin solos, triple-time beats and songs with titles like Absinth I Drink You, Absinth I Eat You, the 13-member party band is disturbingly heavy, at least in an unhinged folk music way. Raised from village musicians to world-music superstars on the strength of their devastating live performances, it makes perfect sense for Taraf De Haïdouks to cut an album in concert. While crowds whoop in the background, the band blows like a blowtorch through a set of unreleased songs, abusing their violins and making accordions sing while being joined by a squawking brass band that bellows like a herd of elephants. A Gypsy punk classic.
