It's indeed unbelievable what a massive number of tour-gigs this man has been playing over the last few years. Playing shows worldwide as solo-performer either alone or supporting artists like Billy Bragg, Balkan Beat Box or his friends Kaizer's Orchestra from Norway or the numerous festivals he's been invited to. And again (possibly even more than the previous ones) it's a provocative go on the genre but never in a disrespectful way. "Klezmer Mongrels" is in a way dealing with Klezmer-traditions in a positive way but then again it's an album one can easily see in the tradition of big Canadian songwriters like for instance Leonard Cohen. A timeless piece of great songwriting that has got everything to add new aspects to Klezmer music and make it interesting for people that probably never would buy a Klezmer record. Berner is political and sarcastic. He can be dismissive at times but that's good in the way he does it. With "Klezmer Mongrels" Geoff Berner has finally and definitely reached what he was aiming for: "I want to drag klezmer music kicking and screaming back into the bars. I want to make original klezmer music thats drunk, dirty, political and passionate. As a Jew of eastern european descent, I feel I have a calling to make this music live, not just preserve it under glass like something in a museum."