LYDIA LUNCH ARCHIVES > ST. PETERSBURG TIMES (RUSSIA): 19 MAR 2004 CHERNOV'S CHOICE  (C) 2004 St. Petersburg Times Although the concert by Lydia Lunch at Red Club last Saturday left some of her public bewildered, the gig easily ranks with the one by Einsturzende Neubauten in late February as one of the two best local shows of the last few months. Having started with luxurious blues, the show soon transformed into an inspired musical and poetic onslaught with plenty of four-letter words and some very genuine artistic dissonance. "Never in my life was I called 'asshole' 150 times in a row," said one member of the audience after the concert, confused. "I actually enjoyed being misunderstood," said Lunch, speaking at Pulkovo airport the next day just before taking a flight to London. "Most artists hate it, but I actually enjoy it if people might not know exactly what I am talking about. "I have no problem with it. Because even if they understand English perfectly, they still don't know what the f*** I am talking about." She said she liked the concert, which she described as the same show as the one she performed in Moscow, except for its encore. "I liked the encore a lot, which was totally improvised last night," said Lunch. She added that the material used for the show has been recorded, albeit with different musicians, and is set for release in September as an album called "Smoke in the Shadows." Lunch, who last performed in Russia in 1990, found the country "much improved." "It was harder then. It's more sophisticated now," said Lunch, who spent some of the afternoon at a flea market near Gorkovskaya metro station. Her best buy was a 1947 record player. International entertainment will continue with a concert by Debout sur le zinc, the French folk-rock band which will perform at PORT this Friday. The concert is the central pop event of Francophonia, a celebration of the French language and arts promoted by the French Institute. Debout sur le zinc, an upbeat band featuring an accordion, a double bass and a banjo, performs its own blend of French folk, rock and traditional music from other parts of the world. This includes music such as that from the Middle East, and is perfect for parties and any kind of entertainment involving alcohol. But "colder" Karelian and Finnish folk can also be heard this week, as performed by Myllarit, from Petrozavodsk, Karelia (see photo, page iii). Myllarit will play at JFC Jazz Club on Friday and Moloko on Saturday. Alternative rockers Kirpichi, who flirted with hip-hop for a few years, will celebrate the release of "Let's Rock," the album that they describe as "more straightforward rock," at PORT on Sunday. Seminal punk band P.T.V.P., or Posledniye Tanki v Parizhe (Last Tanks in Paris), will showcase its three-CD anthology with a concert at Orlandina on Thursday. Support comes from a newer local band called L.O.V., or Lots of Vodka. International acts set to come to the city soon include David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, who will perform as part of the Stereo Leto Festival this summer. Byrne first came to St. Petersburg in 1995 to launch an exhibition of his photos at the Borey art gallery.