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--- February 15, 2007 -- AARON JENTZEN -- Pittsburgh City Paper
Live review: Ishtar and Mandrake Project
Belly-dancing music rules.
Mandrake Project has to be the only band in Club Café's history to cram seven members and two full drum kits onto the tiny stage. Which meant last Saturday's show was something I had to see. Mandrake's long, late-night set started with a bang and ended with a final, crushing crescendo as Rick Nelson shredded on a viola and violin simultaneously. The low-key jazzier numbers in the middle of the set seemed to kill some of the momentum (no reflection upon accomplished saxophonist Darnell Anderson), though with another drink or two in me I wouldn't have minded.
The real surprise, though, was opener Ishtar: Belly-dancing music rules. Even though patrons seemed to assume it was just background music, the quartet and the two sinuous belly-dancers created a heady atmosphere that eventually ensnared the chatty crowd. Accompanied by doumbek and other percussion, Melissa Murphey's clarinet and Jeff Chmielarski's fretless bass wove intricate modal patterns from the exotic time signatures and melodies.
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