On Wednesday night I met my Bulgarian tutor I. and her J. and a couple of their friends after work for a drink. Then we headed over to the club Blender (under NDK)  to listen to some music.

I hate to admit this but I've listened to very little live music while in Sofia (well, really almost none). In DC, going to clubs like the 9:30 club and the Black Cat was a pretty regular habit. Sure it helped that I lived in the neighborhood but I made time to do it. So when I. invited me to go along, I figured it was about time that I made time to enjoy some live music and frankly that I am glad I did.
<a title="Oratnitza at Blender club in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/8168619791/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/8168619791_5e0467b262_z.jpg" alt="Oratnitza at Blender club in Sofia" width="640" height="640" /></a>
Blender was hosting two groups the band Oratnitza featuring Kipri and the DJ-musician Kottarashky. In full disclosure  I'd never heard of either group before being invited to the event.

I. told me that the music is being made by young Bulgarians with Bulgarian instruments and traditional songs  but that it has a very modern twist with unexpected instruments like the didgeridoo or it's mixed with a new beats.  She wasn't kidding. The DJ Kottarshky was a lot of fun and the group Oratnitza was crazy good but I've never heard anything like it before.<!--more-->

Moreover the crow was amazing, amazing. I've never seen anything like it in a club in Sofia. Usually everyone in a club in Bulgaria looks more or less the same. Guys wear button down shirts or too-tight tee shirts and they are sporting short haircuts or no hair at all. Girls wiggle into tight jeans and short skirts paired with equally close fitting tops and their long hair is worn stick straight or maybe it's been crimped here and there. This look is more often than not topped off with teeteringly high heals.

But at the Oratnitza and Kottarashky show the crowd was made up of an incredibly diverse group of people sporting such an interesting mix of clothes and styles. There were a lot of great hair cuts on women-short, stylish and modern as well as men with long hair and men and women a like with dreads. As for clothing there was too much variety to even try to describe so I'll just say I felt like I could be on the streets of Brooklyn, Portland or Seattle. People looked good but not as overdone or manufactured as is the case most Friday and Saturday nights in Sofia.

I'll just leave it at this the music was great and the people watching was equally good. And I had an equally good time.
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