Review: The Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan St George's 7/10 by Louis Emanuel
ON Sunday evening, St George's welcomed a family of Indian gypsies to its hall. The Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan – self-professed "undisputed cultural ambassadors" of their region – took to the stage after a busy 10 years in the business.
The family-of-four have a celebrated musical heritage spanning seven generations and since rising to international recognition a decade ago. they have toured the globe. As Rahis Bharti, one of the three brothers and creator of the group proudly proclaimed to a half-full hall, the band have played more than 1,000 gigs in 80 countries – including playing in front of the French and Indian presidents and, more importantly it seemed to him, Mick Jagger.
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Despite their whirlwind time at the top there was no sign of fatigue as the six world-class musicians delivered their rich repertoire of traditional Rajasthani folk music with force.
The group passionately and tirelessly ran through their famous sweeping scales and vocals accompanied by performances from a traditional Rajasthani dancer dressed in intensely bright traditional clothing. The two-hour gig induced the audience into a trance-like state watching the rhythmic speed of the group's harmonic vocals.
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But thankfully the prolonged, almost tribal bellowing, was interrupted by crowd-pleasing performances from the band's stuntman, balancing jugs on his head and walking on nails as the music played on.
The audience were snapped out of their reverie with a timely bit of participation, taking the lead from Rahis, the most recognised of all the family.
With an average age of those attending not below half a century, it was a slow but healthy dose of movement before the gig drew to a close with one final vibrant dance from the professionals. They joined together at the front of the stage away from their microphones for one last taste of their unique scat- like singing – bringing the hall to its feet. Those who attended applauded with gratitude and respect but it felt like the band deserved more than half the capacity of the hall.
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