Mad Juana at the Bowery Electric

Sami Yaffa on guitar and Karmen Guy on melodica

Finish-born Sami Yaffa (born Sami Takamäki) had his first shot of international fame as bassist for Hanoi Rocks from 1979 to 1985. Yaffa moved to New York in 1990 to form Jerusalem Slim with Hanoi Rocks vocalist Michael Monroe and Billy Idol's guitarist, Steve Stevens, but the band split in 1992. Yaffa remained in New York and met his future wife, vocalist Karmen Guy, in 1994. Together, they started a short-lived band called Lewd Vagrant. Guy and Yaffa in 1995 relocated to Mallorca, Spain, where his parents lived, and were inspired by that country's traditional music. Returning to New York in the mid-to-late 1990s, they collected a changing cast of musicians and founded Mad Juana, named after the insane queen of Castile, Spain, known as Juana la Loca - or Juana the Mad. Mad Juana's fifth and most recent album is 2010's Kumpania.

Since forming Mad Juana, Yaffa has played in several other bands, including Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and the New York Dolls. Tonight at the Bowery Electric, he strapped on an acoustic guitar and committed himself to the odd blend of world music that defines Mad Juana. Guy sang sultry, soulful vocals and moved like a dancing gypsy. In the background, one could hear Spanish guitar, funk basslines and brassy horns. The band performed an energetic and hypnotic brew of gypsy-flavored rock, blending in blues, reggae, dub, flamenco, tango, mariachi and punk. Mad Juana may be one of the most unusual-sounding bands in the New York club circuit.