Red Square dance

>> Rocket to Russia: A Communist Party
will get the Kremlin a-tremblin’

POLE POSITION: Sons of Warsaw

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

“I like throwing parties and shows and having fun,” says Pop Montreal’s kingpin Dan Seligman with the same guileless enthusiasm a 12-year-old girl might display when listing “kittens, rainbows and Brian from home room” as things she really, really “hearts.”

“I find that events that are in new and interesting locations always add a heightened awareness of atmosphere and occasion,” Seligman continues. “The theme of the night only adds to the specialness of the party.”

The night of “specialness” in question is this weekend’s Rocket to Russia: A Communist Party, a pseudo-Soviet shindig going down at the Russian resto-club Kremlin on Beaver Hall. The line-up for the night is eclectic—Moldovan crooner Boris Kletinich, armed with a portable keyboard and a powerful bass-baritone voice (fine-tuned first in the Red Army Chorus and Air Force Orchestra), starts things off with a set of pop and traditional classics, perhaps a heartfelt love ballad or two as well. He’s followed by the Gabba Gabba Hosers, who’ll perform the 1977 Ramones album Rocket to Russia end to end. DJ duo Sons of Warsaw wrap the night up.

“It’s about Russia, communism, rock ’n’ roll, propaganda, kitsch and irony,” says Seligman of the event, “and hopefully this will come across in a light-hearted and respectful spirit. The theme is nostalgic and whimsical and I think it will lead to a lot of rollicking good times.”

Sons of Warsaw, whose hyper blend of East Bloc e-pop and neo-disco is sure to be a highlight of the party, have a more historical perspective.

“The motive for the Sons of Warsaw participation in this event is straightforward—conquest,” says Son number one Bartek Komorowski. “An often overlooked historical fact is that Poles are the only foreigners to have ever occupied the Kremlin. Indeed, in the 17th century, the forefathers of the Sons of Warsaw did what Napoleon and later Hitler both failed to do. On Saturday, you will witness a Polish conquest of another Kremlin. Sons of Warsaw will deploy their own kind of nuclear arsenal, with ordinance from Poland, Russia and other ex-Warsaw Pact countries. The Kremlin will fall quickly, and the proletariat will dance ecstatically.”

The Hosers, for their part, offer an appropriately nuanced and knowledgeable assessment. “We’d like to say we got involved in this party to celebrate Russian culture and the spirit of socialism or some shit,” mumbles drummer Tommy Hoser, “but it’s really just an excuse to have a party and flip the bird to the Queen on her birthday. The only thing the Gabba Gabba Hosers really know about Russian culture is vodka, and that apparently you can trade jeans for cars over there. Oh yeah, we also remember handing them their ass at the 1972 Summit series.”

At Kremlin (1015 Beaver Hall) on
Saturday, May 24, 9 p.m., $7
($5 with red-and-black costume)