Husky Gawenda, Gideon Preiss, Willy Zygier, Alma and Syd Zygier, Josh Abrahams, Simon Starr, Audrey Powne, Cheryl Durongpisitkul, Alex Burkoy

Infusing traditional Yiddish tunes with new takes from across genres, including elements of EDM, Weimar Republic Cabaret, Free Jazz, Indie-pop and Big Band influences. Add late ’70s funk to drive the bus well over the edge.

ZETS! is YID!’s sophomore album. The album breaks new ground with the combination of the traditional Yiddish songs that are the lifeblood of YID!, with original music and lyrics and their first recorded rap.  This celebration features an all star line-up including HUSKY GAWENDA, GIDEON PREISS, WILLY ZYGIER, ALMA AND SYD ZYGIER, JOSH ABRAHAMS, SIMON STARR, AUDREY POWNE, CHERYL DURONGPISITKUL and ALEX BURKOY.

Drawing inspiration from Dark Side Of The Moon and the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, ZETS! was recorded by the whole band plus guests between lockdowns in 2021, and after a loving and exhausting production period from the Kvetch Brothers (Simon Starr and Josh Abrahams), the new album took a long time to gestate, but is so worth the wait.

Hipsters, grandparents, children, everyone in between; all people find something to dance, cry and laugh to during a YID! performance. Daring and unique.

DATE : Sat 10 December

TIMES: Doors 9.30PM, Showtime 10.00PM

TICKETS: $50/40/30+bf & $40 at door www.memomusichall.com.au
VENUE: MEMO Music Hall, 88 Acland Street, St Kilda Victoria

What The Critics say

“Back at Stage 2, another extraordinary Australian act was in full swing. YID! are a 22-piece band – members coming on and off stage in various combinations throughout the performance – who play a mixture of Yiddish folk songs (think Hava Nagila on steroids as a possible genre label) interspersed with oddly beautiful impassioned covers of songs like Simon & Garfunkel’s The Boxer and The Andrew Sisters’ take on Yiddish classic, Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen. The deceptively tight, ramshackled performance was a diverse and always entertaining listening experience.” The Upside News, March 11, 2018

“It was a testament to the infectious … knees-up renditions of Yiddish drinking songs by 22-piece Melbourne band YID! that plenty of people were willing to risk dignity and heatstroke by emerging from the shade to dance wildly in front of the stage.” The Guardian, March 13, 2018

“..YID!’s 22 energetic (and slightly unruly) members took old Yiddish songs and wrapped them in ingenious elaborate arrangements spiced with funk, electronica, Afrobeat and big-band swing.” Sydney Morning Herald, March 13, 2018

“…The day’s most entertaining set came from Melbourne’s own YID!, a freewheeling jazz/klezmer/folk/funk big-band led by Simon Starr. Chairs were discarded along with inhibitions as the audience was swept up in the band’s zany fusion of Yiddish drinking songs, punchy brass passages, woozy electronic interludes and feisty free-jazz exclamations – not to mention an Andrews Sisters homage that saw Zygier and Conway’s three daughters join the band for an irrepressibly swinging Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn – no translation needed. Shir Madness review: Festival performances heartfelt and entrancing

Jessica Nicholas’ Top 5 Jazz highlights of 2017:

“…The absolute highlight of the festival was the performance by the Melbourne-based ensemble YID!. YID! is a 22-piece ensemble that performs an avant-garde take on klezmer, the traditional music of eastern European Jews. Featuring Yiddish songs and beats with contemporary inflections, YID!’s mesmerising jazz fusion, with its spiritual and political overtones, enraptured the audience. With a smorgasbord of instruments, YID! created a raucous symphony that embodied ‘wild rapture’, a leitmotif in the Yiddish aphorisms that punctuated the music….”  https://www.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/arjun-rajkhowa/festival-of-jewish-arts-and-music-melbourne-recital-centre-vic-258770?fbclid=IwAR3ViOkfEfziTEtVsHMmea7mLvfpXPyLeupoLNL8Y7H6ya_BrDNpjYh6GUI   

Thursday 12 September, 2019