Revelation

As with native speakers of any language, Poles tend to use a few words that leave foreigners scratching their heads due to the similarity of the utterances to those of the visitors home language. Catching snippets of conversations while walking down Sw. Marcin one might get the impression there's been an atrocity committed somewhere thanks to the prevalence of the word 'masakra'. I keep expecting the pharmacist to hand over a pot of jam to the kid who asked for a 'prezerwatywy'. However, every now and then the use of one these Polish-English false friends describes a moment better than anything I could come up with. This happened after the Dead Members concert last Friday night when I asked my friend what she had thought of the show and she responded with 'rewelacja'!

Whenever I hear a Pole using this word I feel like telling them "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means" just like Inigo Montoya upon hearing his boss ('szef', but not his chef) repeat the word 'inconceivable' for the umpteenth time. Yet, on this occasion, it somehow fit in a couple of ways. Now, I'm not saying that lead singer Peter Jones reminded me of the angel Gabriel or that the stage at u Bazyla bore any resemblance to Mount Sinai, no. Nevertheless, Friday night's show was indeed a revelation as both the band and venue both surprised and impressed.

While not their first live show it somehow seemed this is the one where the Dead Members finally revealed their personality. The aforementioned Jones led the crowd through a rocking set from the opening number '51 weeks' right through to the final encore. Guitarist/vocalist Dave Leonard provided a bit of flair and took control whenever he stepped to the mic or delivered a solo. The unique duo-bass combo of Steve (who also contributed vocally on Business, New Wave and Sunny Day) and Sam Bradley pumped up the musical underbelly while the sole Pole in the band, drummer Błażej Kozieł, drove the beat from the beginning til 5am (the song, sadly, not the finishing time).

All week I got the same reaction when I'd mentioned that I would be heading down to u Bazyla for the Members show: "Really?", combined with a look of doubt. This planted the seed for the second revelation of the night: u Bazyla is a great bar for live music. The contrast between Friday night's opening act, Jester, and the Dead Members serves as the perfect illustration of the range of music, atmosphere and people the club offers. Heavy metal head bangers mix with debutante socialites and everything in between to create a unique mix. With more than enough space, the concert crowd had room to groove and move they did thanks to the danceable beats provided by the Members.

If the band continues their progression you'd be a fool to miss their next show coming up Saturday the 24th at Tanner's Pub on Klasztorna. While a Pole might hope for a 'genialny' show, hopefully I won't describe it as genial but brilliant instead. No, not 'brylant', but tell your friends anyway as the Dead Members are indeed a diamond in the rough.