Yekaterinburg-born Max Ilyin of ‘Sobaky Kachalova' has created a following of good-looking groupies who, trance-like, mouth the words to his songs and watch the intricate fingerings of the instruments, or dance like wild men. The rest of the crowd at Vermel seemed to be shocked by lyrics censored from radio due to their political content.

A 30 year-old songwriter, vocalist, and self-taught guitar player, Ilyin has only been in Moscow since May, but has been working with a Moscow production company for 3 years now. They currently have a music video showing on Russian MTV called ‘Everyday War,' produced by the same director as Zemphira and Mummy Troll.

Classified as alternative-punk-rock, Sobaky Kacholova, a play on words taken from the name of a line by early 20th century Russian folk poet Sergey Yesyeni, currently consists of Ilyin, bass guitarist Sergey Nicolsuy and drummer Pavel Voiscov. Ilyin seems to add a bit of his personality into his singing — eerie, intelligent and solid enough to listen to with pleasure for hours on end, even if you don't understand the words. See his concerts to enjoy the full effect of his creativity.

Sobaky Kachalova's upcoming performances will take place on Sept. 16 at Vermel, and Sept. 23 at Schwein. Keep an eye on the ‘Where to Go' column for spontaneous performances.