Band Orphaned Land... do you know them?
Maybe not unusual instruments but for sure unusual sound - mixture of metal and oriental music :)

This old song is part in arabic and part in hebrew language with oriental instruments



They have now new album The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR and here is video for the first track Sapari...

well, once on a concert I saw something that reminded me of a violin and a guitar. It has a small drum-like body and a lond handle, with strings.
The guy had it hanging on this belly)))
I don't even know the name of this thing, but the atmosphere it created reminded me of an ethno festival)
if somebody can name this instrument, I'll be grateful)

wait could it be a banjo

this is a beautiful banjo
http://www.musicwithease.com/banjo-4.gif

I like when they use violins and flutes.

The Triangle in a Metal Band, I heard there was an electric Triangle, but i'm not sure.

The oboe doesn't show up all that much outside of symphonic orchestras and yet here it is.



*Or rather there it was.

The Berimbau is one of the most unusual instruments I've ever seen (it's like a fishing rod made of bamboo or something)

Churchfitters use a saw quite regularly and have made most of their instruments, they have a double bass made from mainly kitchen objects.

Saw some folk bands this year using balalika (not sure on spelling), kazoos and lapsteel.

CAKE has been known to utilize a melodica. pretty neat looking instrument, makes a cool noise

i've used a radio as an instrument (i turn dial all the way up so it's noise then by adjusting volume and waving my hand and or metal object around the antenna i can make a very nice glitch sound)

i've used paper as an instrument in an unreleased song i made called "Origami Tea Leaves"

i bow pretty much every strings instrument i have (2 acoustic, 1 electric, 1 3-string ukulele, a busted violin)

in a song called "Early Cremation" i spoke through a harmonica, sounded interesting, thought it can get tricky to do it correctly.

in a song called "Eddy" my cat was outside the door trying to come in it sounded like percussion