Residency by Rasputina Leader Begins Next Week

Back in my 1990s New York rock days, Rasputina was definitely one of the most unusual bands on the scene: three lady cellists and a drummer playing alternately heavy and dream-like Baroque rock in the same Lower East Side dives that hosted the rattiest of the city’s resident and visiting punk acts. Twenty-some-odd years later, the group, now pared down to two cellos and a percussionist, is still led by founder Melora Creager and remains like no other. Between Rasputina’s tours, Creager, now a Hudson Valley resident, has been keeping busy with a new side project, Melora Creager and the Calico Indians, which will be in residence next month with a series called “Mondays with Melora” at Club Helsinki on Mondays, starting November 3.

Creager, who I profiled for a feature on Rasputina in the October 2010 issue of Chronogram, has also played with Nirvana, Marilyn Manson, Bob Mould, Cheap Trick, Joan Osborne, Porno for Pyros, and a cornucopia of other big names.

Here she is with Rasputina, doing a brilliant cover you may just recognize:


“Mondays with Melora” take place at Club Helsinki in Hudson on November 3, 10, 17, and 24 at 8pm. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 day of show. For more information, call (518) 828-4800 or visit http://helsinkihudson.com/index.html.