Most of the people on this planet consider cabaret to be forgotten and possibly too retro to be interesting. But not this duo from the US.

Amanda Palmer (piano/vocals) and Brian Viglione(guitar/drums/bass/vocals) are the Dresden Dolls or one of the unique band that are still keeping up the flag of the cabarets. Their music is like Vertinsky meeting The White Stripes, music of the 20^th and 30^th clashing into modern indie. The result is awesome! Amandas voice and piano provide the old and gloomy part, while Brian is making the rest of the music with his very interesting drumming and arrangements.

Combine that with almost theatrical performance on the live shows and you’ll get a really unique band. Their two albums “The Dresden Dolls” (2003) and “Yes, Virginia” (2006) can be surely considered gems of modern music.

The Ditty Bops are two girls Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald and the band is a mystery from the beginning. These two were on a search for a lost cat as they stumbled upon a backyard of a stranger who was a musician and a guitar collector. He encouraged them to form a band. Not even a band, an adventure that never ends. They sometimes add a little bit of theatre to their shows and the last tour was a cross country on bicycles!

As for the music it’s even more interesting that the outfits and ideas. Ditty Bops are a mix of country, cabaret, saloon and a huge part of the so called western swing. The have extraordinary melodies, nice female vocals, a vide range of string instruments like banjo and mandolin. The lyrics are smart and interesting, a combination of simple words that makes a huge meaning. But still the main thing is the feeling, they have nice groove and have really something more than a casual swing or country band.